Bazhou, Jincheng.
In the early summer morning, Xia Huai'an was in the back courtyard of the prefectural office, teaching his daughter, Ruyuan, how to speak. The little girl, who was about to turn one year old, sat on his knee. Her chubby little hands were held in her father's, and she babbled, "Daddy... Mommy..."
"Report!" Main Bookkeeper Zhou rushed in frantically, the beads of sweat on his forehead gleaming in the sunlight. "Master, something is wrong! A massive area of bamboo is flowering all across Bazhou, and the people are panicking!"
Chapter 209