Chapter 234: Thunder Strikes the Palace
The sound of thunder was extremely harsh.
The loud bang caused the dishes in front of the emperor to fall directly to the ground and break into pieces.
Then, the palace servants cried out in surprise, and there seemed to be chaos outside.
To Emperor Qinglong's ears, it sounded extremely harsh and noisy.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table.
The eunuch beside him immediately walked out, his face stern, and scolded in a sharp voice: "What are you all arguing about? You all want to die, don't you? If you disturb the emperor, how many heads will you have to lose?"
The eunuchs and palace maids scattered outside all knelt down.
"Eunuch Li, this... this isn't something we should be arguing about. It's... something happened outside."
A young eunuch answered with courage, his body still shaking and his face full of fear.
Eunuch Li's brows furrowed even tighter. "You're crazy and your words are incoherent. What happened? Tell us clearly."
"Don't hide anything, or you'll be in trouble."
How could the people below dare to hide it?
A eunuch in a blue robe immediately ran over and knelt down before Eunuch Li in fear and trepidation, his face looking panic-stricken.
"Eunuch Li...Eunuch Li, it was...it was Chengzhao Palace that was struck by lightning."
"Right now...right now there's a fire, the palace servants are trying to put it out, and we don't know if there are any casualties."
Eunuch Li's expression suddenly changed.
The eunuchs and palace maids in front of them were about to cry.
"Eunuch Li...Eunuch Li, this...this Chengzhao Palace being struck by lightning is an inauspicious sign!"
"Is this... is this a warning from heaven? We... we Dongchu..."
After hearing the following words, the eunuchs and palace maids dared not say anything more.
Chengzhao Hall is the place where sacrifices are held every year.
If nothing unexpected happens in Chengzhao Palace throughout the year, it can ensure good weather and good harvests for the entire year.
But if... if any disaster happens, then there will be a series of disasters.
The previous two dynasties were destroyed because the Chengzhao Palace was struck by lightning and accidentally flooded, so both dynasties could not last more than ten years and were destroyed.
And now...
Now the disaster of the Chengzhao Palace being struck by lightning and accidentally flooding has fallen on Dongchu.
For a moment, everyone in the palace was in a panic, praying that this disaster would not befall them.
If it was just an accidental fire, perhaps all the blame could be put on the elegant palace maids and eunuchs in Chengzhao Palace, and killing this group of people would calm the emperor's anger.
But right now...
But the fire in the hall right now was caused by lightning!
Eunuch Li did not expect such a disaster to happen. He suddenly broke into a sweat and walked in tremblingly. Then he knelt down in front of Emperor Qinglong with a thud.
His face was pale and he reported the truth to Emperor Qinglong tremblingly.
Emperor Qinglong's expression suddenly changed drastically.
At this time, he no longer remembered whether to force Su Tan and Song Tingchen to get married.
No one even remembered to find any reasonable excuse to allow this pair of estranged couple to rekindle their relationship.
He only remembered that Chengzhao Palace was struck by lightning!
During his reign, Chengchao Hall was struck by lightning!
When Emperor Qinglong woke up this morning, he felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen.
He just thought that when Lu Zhiheng and Su Tan returned to Beijing today, he would think of those unpleasant past events when he saw them, so he felt extremely unhappy.
But who could have imagined that this actually meant that Chengzhao Palace would be struck by lightning tonight!
Lu Zhiheng's brows instantly furrowed.
He immediately bowed and replied, "Father, this matter is of great importance, but you must also take good care of yourself."
Even Lu Zhiheng did not expect that Chengzhao Palace, which could be said to carry the destiny of the country, would be struck by lightning without any warning.
Can……
But is there really no sign at all?
Lu Zhiheng lowered his head, thinking of the corpses falling one after another in front of him when he first entered the disaster area, and a cold light flashed between his eyebrows.
Perhaps, the lightning strike on Chengzhao Palace was not without reason and there was no sign at all.
Seeing the cold aura flashing from Emperor Qinglong's body.
Lu Zhiheng immediately knelt down and said to Emperor Qinglong, "Father, the sudden change in Chengzhao Palace may be a warning from heaven, not a sign of the country's demise. Father, please do not be suspicious."
Emperor Qinglong really didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment.
He just subconsciously set his eyes on Su Tan.
Thinking of the other party's ability to calculate, he felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"Master Su, you are the Princess of Jiayi County, conferred by me. Your abilities are known to everyone. Now... now I want to know why the lightning struck Chengzhao Palace..."
"But...but God, do you want to blame me?"
Although the country is now at peace and prosperity, Emperor Qinglong does not understand why such a great disaster suddenly befell him.
The lightning strike and flooding of Chengzhao Palace was a sign of the country's demise.
As a king, what he fears most is not that someone is eyeing his throne and is ready to pull him down at any time, but that he becomes the king of a fallen country.
If one's position is lost, if one is plotted against or loses his life by mistake, he will at most be recorded as a loser in history books.
But if he becomes the king of a fallen country, then he will be the sinner of the entire East Chu.
Once he goes underground, how can he face his ancestors?
This is still light.
To put it bluntly, being ashamed to face his ancestors is just a small matter. What is more terrifying is that from then on, he will be recorded in history books as either a foolish ruler or a tyrant.
Those historians would transform the pens in their hands into the sharpest swords and stab him with them again and again.
Emperor Qinglong did not seek to be recorded in history, but at least he could not really be infamous for eternity.
Su Tan slowly raised his eyes, then lowered them again, not looking directly into Emperor Qinglong's gaze.
Of course she knew what happened with the fire in the palace tonight, and she also knew what happened with the lightning strike.
Because she did it all, of course.
Emperor Qinglong has been too idle recently, so idle that she can't stand it anymore. There is no way, she has to find something for Emperor Qinglong to do.
Su Tan shook her head and sighed softly, "Your Majesty, I am just a weak woman with limited knowledge. I only need to do small things like supporting my husband and raising my children. I dare not even think about discussing such big things."
"Now that your majesty has asked this, I dare not answer."
Didn't Emperor Qinglong want to confine her in the inner chambers? Didn't he think that as a woman, it was enough for her to respect her husband and raise her children?
Even if this husband is not a human being and the child is an ungrateful person.
She has to do her duty well.
In that case, now that something has happened, why bother asking her, a woman with long hair and little knowledge?
Emperor Qinglong choked.
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but why did he feel that Su Tan was deliberately being sarcastic and mocking him?
He did not directly say that Su Tan's duty was to take care of her husband and children, nor did he say that Su Tan was narrow-minded.
He just wanted to arrange a marriage between Su Tan and Song Tingchen!
Emperor Qinglong took a deep breath.
I really don't understand why Su Tan is so angry here.
Although Song Tingchen misjudged Liu Qingyin and shouldn't have brought her back, Liu Qingyin was already dead, and Song Tingchen and Song Xiao realized their mistake.
Song Tingchen even ran to the gate of Duke Dingguo's mansion and knelt there without getting up.
Isn’t this enough to make Su Tan change his mind?
But now that such a big thing has happened, it is not the time for Emperor Qinglong to argue with Su Tan about these things.
His tone was somewhat firm. "Princess Jiayi, you are too modest. If you are just an ordinary woman with long hair and little knowledge, then is there any woman in this world who can be smarter than you?"
"Princess Jiayi, I allow you to speak frankly. If you figure out anything, just tell me clearly."
"Was the incident in Chengzhao Palace today an accident?"
Su Tan has always been good at fortune-telling and enjoys great prestige among the people.
Although those court officials looked down on her because of her female identity, they also respected her abilities.
Emperor Qinglong wanted to use her mouth to say that what happened today was just an accident.
Only if Su Tan said it was an accident would the people and the civil and military officials believe it.
Otherwise, tomorrow morning, there will be an uproar in the whole city.
Then it will be taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives.
No one knows how things will turn out.
Even though Su Tan had the emperor's permission to speak frankly, he still didn't say anything, but just lowered his eyes and looked at his toes.
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