September 16th, 5:00 AM.
Xie Zhaozhao and Gu Shaoyu slept soundly together for several hours, like two hibernating bears.
Having been abstaining for seven or eight days, and having made love several times a night, Xie Zhaozhao was exhausted and somewhat dazed.
However, the two woke up precisely on time for the morning court session at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).
Yuan Yuanman had already lit all the lamps, and Qingpu Courtyard was filled with light.
"Little darling, sleep a little longer, there's no need to go and pay your respects." Gu Shaoyu has been away for the past two days, but he knows everything that's going on at home.
He simply doesn't have time to deal with certain people right now.
Just as he got up, he suddenly saw the canopy above his head, which seemed to be swaying.
Both of them were trembling, feeling dizzy and nauseous.
Xie Zhaozhao exclaimed in a panic, "It's started!"
Gu Shaoyu quickly put on his clothes, tied the belt around her neck, and the two of them ran towards the small wooden house in the yard.
Stepping outside, the ground swayed violently, and the wooden window frames rattled loudly.
Everyone in Qingpuyuan knew that an earthquake was coming.
Because Xie Zhaozhao had told Yuan Yuanman about the unusual weather, Nanxing and Beichen received information from the Imperial Observatory that there might be an earthquake in the Central Plains, which could affect the capital.
Even when the earthquake struck, everyone was still somewhat panicked, after all, it was the first time they had ever experienced an earthquake in their lives.
The Central Plains are more than 2,000 miles away from the capital, but the tremors were still very strong there.
Clearly, the severity of the earthquake exceeded Gu Shaoyu's expectations; he did not expect that Kyoto would also feel such a strong tremor.
He quickly instructed Nanxing, Moyan, Xuli, and Guanyan: "You guys, go out and call everyone in the mansion and on the street to leave their houses and go to a spacious outdoor area immediately."
Upon receiving the order, the group rushed out of Qingpu Courtyard, shouting as they ran, "The earth is shaking! Get to the open courtyard quickly!"
"The earth shook!"
"The ground is turning upside down! Get out of the house immediately!"
At dawn, most of the officials' families in the prestigious western district had already gotten up. The shouts in the darkness were sharp and piercing, causing great unease.
They also banged on a large gong.
No one expected an earthquake. Some people were still asleep when they were startled awake and ran outside as fast as they could, without even having time to put on their clothes and shoes.
The entire capital was filled with panic and confusion.
People have already felt the earthquake, but many people haven't thought about it.
In no time, the entire street was filled with people.
Everyone panicked, and the children huddled in their parents' arms in fear.
"What happened?"
"The earth shook."
I heard the windows rattling.
"I walk crookedly."
The earthquake wasn't a continuous shaking; the first wave passed, and the earth seemed to return to normal, but the chickens and dogs were restless.
"Woof woof woof"
"Giggle giggle"
The animals' agitation heightened the tension throughout Kyoto.
Fifteen minutes later, the earth shook and trembled again.
"Moyan, go to the street near the Xie residence and bang the gong. Go on horseback," Xie Zhaozhao said anxiously. "Remind them."
Mo Yan rode off on horseback.
Gu Shaoyu held her hand tightly and said, "I'm going to the palace to accompany His Majesty! Little darling, you don't need to go anywhere, just stay in the wooden house."
"good."
Because Xie Zhaozhao had mentioned that dream, Gu Shaoyu had asked Nanxing, Beichen, Moyan, and a group of others to build several sturdy wooden houses in an open area of the courtyard a few days earlier.
The second wave of earthquakes was much more severe than the first, and the entire earth was rumbling.
From the moment the people from the Marquis's residence shouted "Earthquake!" in the street, the government immediately sent people to beat gongs to warn every household to escape.
Everyone in the city who could run out of their houses did, and those who couldn't run were carried out.
People wrapped in bed sheets were everywhere on the streets.
There were no casualties, but everyone was quite frightened.
In the morning, as soon as the rice shop opened, it put up a price list: fifty coins per catty.
That's how people are. When it was three coins, nobody was in a hurry to buy it. Now that it's fifty coins, everyone's chasing the price up and selling at a loss. Rice that's seventeen times more expensive is being snapped up like crazy.
It is said that earthquakes usually last for at least a month, and some can last for decades, so it is very necessary to stockpile daily necessities such as rice, grain, and salt.
Xie Zhaozhao called Guanyan over and said, "Take your rice bags and go to the rice shops to buy some grain. Be sure to ask about the prices at each shop. Buy a few bags if the price is under 100 coins, but don't buy anything if it's over 100 coins."
Mo Yan and Guan Yan stuck out their tongues: "My God, one hundred coins? That's outrageous!"
"Buy the grain as soon as you have it, or you might not be able to buy a pound of rice for a hundred coins in the future."
Mo Yan and Guan Yan went to buy grain, and Yuan Yuan remained silent. She knew her master's arrangements, so she didn't say a word.
The earthquakes continued, and Xie Zhaozhao quickly wrote a letter and said to Yuanyuan, "Go to the Xie residence and give this letter to my grandmother."
Yuanyuan stuffed the letter into her bosom and rode off to the Xie residence.
The Xie family was also on edge. When Old Qin saw Yuanyuan arrive, he hurriedly asked, "Is the eldest young lady alright? Is the Grand Secretary alright?"
Yuanyuan thanked her and said that everything was fine, but she had an urgent matter to attend to and needed to see the old lady.
Old Qin quickly led the way, taking Yuanyuan to see Madam Xie.
Madam Xie and her family had already retreated into the all-wooden embroidered tower. Having experienced many great events in her life, she remained calm until she saw Yuanyuan arrive, at which point her expression changed.
"Is the young lady alright? Is Grand Secretary Gu alright?"
Yuanyuan immediately bowed and said that both Grand Secretary Gu and the eldest young lady were very kind, but they had asked her to send a letter urgently.
When Madam Xie took the letter and read what Xie Zhaozhao had written, she paused for a moment and said to Yuanyuan, "Good child, go back and tell the eldest young lady that Grandmother has remembered everything and that she should take good care of herself."
After Yuanyuan left, Madam Xie looked at the letter again and said to Granny Xu, "Tell the purchasing agent that the rice and grain on the estate are enough for the Xie family's consumption, and there is no need to purchase rice and grain from outside."
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