Chapter 206: Misfortunes never come

alone After hearing Mingxi and Changzhang's sighs, everyone fell into silence. Natural disasters and man-made disasters are the most unavoidable, and the ones who suffer are always the innocent people.

Just when the atmosphere was solemn, a crisp voice of a female servant saluted and broke the silence, "Master! Second Master! Third Master!"

As soon as the voice fell, Sheng Hong and Changbai Changfeng appeared outside the door. The three of them entered the hall. Hai Chaoyun and Liu Wenxuan stood up and saluted, while Ruolan and Changzhang followed Wang Ruofu and Mingxi to greet them.

Chang Zhang looked behind Sheng Hong and the others, but didn't see Minglan, so he asked, "Dad, has the Queen Mother kept the Sixth Sister in the palace again?"

Sheng Hong nodded silently, and his expression was worried, and it was obvious that something was wrong.

Mingxi noticed the solemnity on the faces of the people who returned, and roughly guessed that something must have changed in the court. It was raining heavily outside the window, and Mingxi was a little worried about Minglan who was left in the palace.

The old lady also noticed that the atmosphere was unusual, and slowly asked, "Why did you come back from the palace? You all look embarrassed, but what happened?"

Changbai frowned, his face full of worry, Changfeng lowered his head and said nothing, Sheng Hong sighed and explained the whole story, "The heavy rains for several days have caused the river water to surge, and the floods have raged. Hebei Road and other places have suffered from floods. Farmland was flooded, crops were destroyed; houses collapsed, and people were displaced; countless people died in this disaster.

All parts of the country have submitted memorials, requesting the court to send troops to rescue, open warehouses to release grain, resettle disaster victims, and reduce levy taxes. But now the rain has not subsided, and rescue is even more difficult. Some people even said that it was your majesty's implementation of the new policy that angered the emperor, and the heavenly punishment was sent down, so that your majesty should issue an edict of guilt. "

Sheng Hong's words made Chang Zhang very angry, and he said bluntly, "The officials in the court always fail to distinguish the priorities. At this time, they should pay attention to the disaster situation, how to settle the victims, and how to rescue them, instead of criticizing your majesty. They just want to seize power. "

Wang Ruofu was so scared when she heard Chang Zhang's treasonous words that she stood up from her chair and wanted to cover Chang Zhang's mouth, for fear that he would say too much. This is not allowed to talk nonsense!

Unexpectedly, Changbai agreed with Changzhang's words, nodded in agreement, and said angrily, "Anyone who wants to fight for power at this critical moment is a parasite to the country and should be severely punished!"

Wang Ruofu was so angry that she simply fell back into the chair and ignored it.

The old lady pondered for a moment, then turned to Sheng Hong and asked, "Is there the Queen Mother behind this?"

Sheng Hong shook his head to indicate uncertainty, "I don't know if it was the Queen Mother's order. Let's wait for Minglan to come back and hear what she says."

"Changbai and Changzhang are right. The people are in dire straits. When the country is in danger, the country should be given priority. If the Queen Mother insists on fighting for power at this time..."

The old lady's words were still echoing in the air, and before they landed, a sudden sense of earthquake and tremor suddenly hit, making people feel dizzy for a moment, as if the whole world was shaking. In the air, an indescribable subtle uneasiness quickly spread, as if some ancient and powerful force was stirring deep underground, quietly transmitted to every corner of this hall through invisible waves.

This kind of shaking was not easy to detect at first, but soon it became more and more obvious. In the hall, the slight shaking made the hanging objects sway slightly, making a slight sound, which formed a sharp contrast with the usual quietness.

This sudden change made everyone present feel unprecedented tension and uneasiness.

"It's an earthquake!" Mingxi was the first to react. "Quick, find a solid place to hide, quick!" Mingxi

shouted, and at the same time grabbed the stupid Chang Zhang and stuffed him under the nearest chair. Her movements were agile and decisive. Then, she turned and ran to the old lady, regardless of everything, and pulled the old man under the table, and at the same time did not forget to put Fang Mama in a proper place. After completing all this, she quickly pulled Sheng Hong up, and the two ran to the corner together to find a more stable shelter.

Seeing this, the others followed Mingxi's example, hiding under the table or leaning against the corner to protect themselves from harm as much as possible.

At the same time, in Baoci Palace,

Minglan was trying her best to persuade the Queen Mother. She spoke earnestly, emphasizing that the people affected by the disaster were the most important, and called on the Queen Mother and His Majesty to work together to rescue the victims, rather than putting pressure on His Majesty at this critical moment.

"I know that I am the Queen Mother of the Song Dynasty, so I naturally care about the people. However, the noble families have suffered from the new policy for a long time, and have long been resentful of Your Majesty. Why did they miss this good opportunity and want to bite off a piece of meat from Your Majesty..."

Before she finished speaking, something unexpected happened. The teacup on the table trembled inexplicably, and the famous calligraphy and paintings on the wall also swayed slightly. Minglan instantly felt a tingling sensation in her feet, and her heart was alarmed.

"It's an earthquake!" She exclaimed, quickly pulled up the Queen Mother, and walked quickly out of the hall, shouting loudly, "Quick, go to the empty area!" A palace servant caught up with them and held an umbrella for the two of them, and the rest of the palace servants also hurried out.

As soon as they stepped out of the palace gate, a series of thrilling sounds came from inside the palace - the crisp sound of teacups breaking, the dull sound of decorations falling, intertwined into a mess.

The Queen Mother covered her chest tightly, her heart beating like a drum, and her face was full of disbelief and fear. "How could this earthquake be so sudden? Why didn't the Imperial Astronomical Observatory warn in advance?"

Minglan always held the Queen Mother's hand tightly, and scanned the surroundings vigilantly to ensure that she could respond to emergencies at any time. When the tremors under her feet gradually subsided, she did not relax her vigilance immediately, but took the Queen Mother to stand quietly in the rain for a long time, until she confirmed that the ground had returned to calm, and then she ordered the palace servants to return to Baoci Palace to clean up the aftermath.

Looking at the gloomy sky and the ground that seemed to still be shaking slightly under her feet, the empress dowager was filled with uneasiness. She turned to Minglan, her tone filled with confusion and self-blame: "Could it be that the royal family of the Great Song Dynasty has really done something immoral that God sent down an earthquake as a punishment?"

Minglan approached the empress dowager tenderly and said comfortingly: "Your Majesty, an earthquake is a natural phenomenon that cannot be controlled by human power, nor is it a warning from God to anyone. It is a disaster and a test for the Great Song Dynasty. At this moment, Bianjing may not be the epicenter, but there must be other places suffering from even more serious suffering. At this time, we should be more concerned about the people and overcome the difficulties together."

After the palace people had swiftly restored everything in the Baoci Hall to its original state, the envoys of condolences sent by His Majesty and the Queen also arrived in a hurry. Seeing that the Queen Mother was safe and sound, the visitors finally put their minds at ease. The

Queen Mother frowned and asked with concern, "Do you know where the earthquake happened?"