When the Right Chancellor reported this, his voice trembled slightly. Usually, urgent messages delivered by messenger were not good news. Reporting bad news at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was to offend her.

The news had already been sent to the capital by express courier. The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was already nearing its end, and they could still delay for a while. However, it was only halfway through, and the Right Chancellor dared not delay. The Empress Dowager's birthday was important, but the affairs of the court were even more important. If the important matters were delayed, even if he was the Right Chancellor, he could not bear the responsibility.

Inside the palace, singing and dancing filled the air, and toasts were exchanged.

As soon as the Right Chancellor reported to the Emperor, all the singing, dancing, and music stopped. Everyone looked at each other, and with Fu Shu's accident before them, they all had a bad feeling.

Shen Wan sat next to Xie Jingyan, feeling inexplicably nervous. In her previous life, the bad news from Meizhou was only sent to the capital three days after the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. Why was it sent so quickly in this life?

The Right Chancellor felt that the urgent dispatch of eight hundred taels of silver needed to be processed immediately. The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet could be postponed for a while, and the Emperor was even less likely to delay. He immediately said, "Bring it here."

The eunuch withdrew, and a short while later, a guard entered the hall carrying an urgent secret letter containing eight hundred taels of silver, and knelt to present it to the emperor.

The Right Chancellor took the bamboo tube containing the secret letter, and only after confirming that it was correct did he open it, take out the memorial inside, and then have Eunuch Yuan present it to the Emperor for review.

The emperor took the memorial, opened it, and frowned as soon as he glanced at it.

The Emperor's gaze swept quickly across the memorials. His furrowed brows relaxed slightly when he reached the middle, glancing in the direction of Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan before continuing. By the end, his brows had furrowed into a tight knot.

The Empress Dowager asked, "What happened in Meizhou?"

The Emperor said, "An earthquake occurred in Meizhou five days ago."

The Empress Dowager's heart skipped a beat. "How serious is it?"

The Emperor said, "The magnitude of the earthquake is even greater than that of the one in Qingzhou twenty years ago, and it occurred at midnight."

The already quiet hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop after hearing the emperor's words.

The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

Only officials of the fourth rank were qualified to bring their families to the palace for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. Those who could reach the fourth rank were at least in their thirties. Even if they were not in the court, they should have heard about the earthquake in Qingzhou twenty years ago, which killed and injured tens of thousands of people, and it happened in broad daylight.

The earthquake in Meizhou was no smaller than the one in Qingzhou, and it happened late at night when everyone was asleep. Just thinking about it sent chills down the spines of the civil and military officials.

Meizhou is probably already a living hell by now.

etc.

The emperor's expression didn't seem so grief-stricken or worried...

The Empress Dowager felt that holding this birthday banquet was worse than not holding it at all. It was bad enough that Fu Shu had an accident, but now the earthquake in Meizhou had also struck. The Empress Dowager was exhausted and asked, "What are the casualties in Meizhou?"

The Emperor glanced at Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan again, and then said, "The earthquake in Meizhou was prepared in advance, and the casualties should be kept below a thousand."

...How come there are still thousands of deaths?

Shen Wan felt the number was too high, but the Empress Dowager said with satisfaction, "The earthquake in Qingzhou back then killed tens of thousands of people, and many more were injured. Meizhou was able to reduce the number of casualties to such a low level. The officials of Meizhou deserve great credit. His Majesty must reward them handsomely..."

Shen Wan felt very uncomfortable hearing this. The officials in Meizhou were almost all the people of the First Prince and the Duke of Maoguo. They didn't even know what the situation was like after the earthquake in Meizhou. Instead of thinking about getting the Emperor to send people to provide disaster relief as soon as possible, the Empress Dowager was already asking for rewards for her own people.

Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, the Emperor raised his hand to interrupt her, saying, "The Prefect of Meizhou and several important officials have all perished in this earthquake."

Empress Dowager, "..."

The Empress Dowager's face stiffened.

Duke Mao's expression changed drastically.

The civil and military officials were completely baffled.

Since precautions were taken and the damage from the earthquake was minimized, how come the prefect of Meizhou and several important officials died in the earthquake?

After the burning of the Meizhou granary, Prince Jin suspected that the fire was unusual, and the fourth master of the Left Prime Minister's residence stepped forward to request an imperial decree to go to Meizhou to investigate the case...

Whether the death of the prefect of Meizhou was an accident or intentional is not necessarily true.

Duke Maoguo stood up and said, "May Heaven bless Great Chu. The casualties in this earthquake in Meizhou are relatively light, but the prefect of Meizhou has unfortunately perished. We need to send a prefect to oversee disaster relief as soon as possible..."

Before Duke Mao could finish speaking, the Left Prime Minister said, "Duke Mao need not worry. My younger brother was ordered to investigate the grain depot fire in Meizhou. Meizhou was hit by an earthquake and the prefect was killed. My younger brother will take on the prefect's responsibilities."

The Duke of Maoguo looked very grim. He would never allow the Left Chancellor to try and gain influence in the officialdom of Meizhou.

The two then began arguing inside the hall.

The Emperor said, "Stop arguing, they've all perished."

These words were undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for the Left Chancellor and Empress Song.

Master Song the Fourth was not born out of wedlock; he was the younger brother of the Left Prime Minister and Empress Song, born of the same mother.

The prefect of Meizhou is the nephew of the old lady of the Maoguo Duke's mansion and a confidant of the Maoguo Duke. The Meizhou granary has been flooded, and the suspects are accused of embezzlement and reselling grain. If the evidence is conclusive, even though the Maoguo Duke's mansion is the Empress Dowager's family, the Emperor will not tolerate it. Demotion would be the least of his worries. Without the support of the Maoguo Duke's mansion, the eldest prince will be left to fend for himself and will no longer have the strength to compete with Xie Jingyin for the position of crown prince.

Whether Xie Jingyin can bring down the eldest prince depends on whether he can find evidence in Meizhou. It is a matter of great importance, and the most reliable person must be sent. Empress Song and the Left Prime Minister decided to send Master Song.

Who could have imagined that this departure would be a final farewell...

A few days ago, when she was copying Buddhist scriptures, Empress Song was somewhat uneasy. She thought she had been tricked by Princess Ling and felt resentful, but she did not expect it to be a feeling between blood relatives.

Empress Song burst into tears.

The hall fell silent once again.

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