What's more, King He Yuan of Zhongshan had just arrived in Beijing at that time and was in a stalemate with the empress dowager and court officials over whether to succeed to the throne as the crown prince or the eldest brother of the emperor. No matter what happened, it was more important than this one, so naturally everyone's attention was focused on this side.
As for the life and death of the people in the capital, they became trivial matters before the throne was passed.
Now that I think about it, it was probably precisely because of this earthquake that the capital city urgently needed to be stabilized, so Empress Dowager Lin at the time had to take a step back and agree to let He Yuan inherit the throne as the late emperor's brother in order to appease the people.
Now He Qing knew more, and he stepped out to look at the various signs before and after as a bystander, and finally came to some understanding: perhaps the root cause of the dynasty's downfall was planted from this moment on.
If there's nothing you can do about a matter, or you just dismiss it as something that doesn't concern you, even if you know the consequences will be disastrous, you might just grit your teeth and pretend you don't see it. But once you've started intervening, you can't help but pay attention and intervene again and again.
Just like He Qing, knowing that the Chu Dynasty would fall, she couldn't help but remind the Empress Dowager, causing everything to deviate from the path she had known. And after taking this first step, the matter seemed to become closely related to her, and she could no longer sit idly by.
So now that she knew the severity of the earthquake, she could no longer sit still. She hurriedly changed her clothes and went out to find the Empress Dowager.
The Grand Empress Dowager was still meeting with court officials in the Ziping Palace. On the way there, He Qing thought about this matter over and over again, but gradually calmed down and realized that she couldn't rush out and tell everything, not to mention whether the Grand Empress Dowager would believe her. Even if she did, it would not be appropriate.
The Empress Dowager was already somewhat wary of her, and if she displayed this "precognitive" ability again, she would probably be even more feared.
We have to think of a different way.
She couldn't say this because there was someone else who was more suitable than her.
…
Empress Dowager Zhang was having lunch at the moment. Seeing He Qing, she enthusiastically invited her to join them. He Qing had no choice but to suppress his worries and eat with her. Perhaps because her worries had subsided, Empress Dowager Zhang ate and slept soundly, and her complexion seemed much better.
Because she liked sour food, and there is a saying among the people that "sour boys and spicy girls", the Empress Dowager was very satisfied. Anything she wanted to eat was sent to her in double the amount. She became a lot rounder and looked more wealthy and blessed.
After finishing the meal and sending the people around her away, Empress Dowager Zhang took her hand and sat down, asking, "Master Zhen looks worried. What happened?"
"I had a dream." He Qing lowered his voice and told the story again, saying worriedly, "I'm afraid it's not a good omen."
Empress Dowager Zhang now had an unreasonable trust in He Qing. Upon hearing this, she frowned, "Since Master Zhen has become a monk and is practicing to pray for the country, he also bears the heavy responsibility of the country's destiny. Suddenly having this dream, perhaps it is a warning from heaven?"
"I think so too," He Qing sighed. "But given my status, it's not appropriate for me to say this, and I don't think many people will believe it. The weight of the country is too heavy for a little woman like me to shoulder. Even if the heavens wanted to warn me, they shouldn't look for me."
Empress Dowager Zhang was a smart person. She almost immediately understood the hidden meaning of her words and asked, "What should I do?"
It's not "what do you want me to do" but "how should I do it".
He Qing felt a lump in her heart, and all her emotions were blocked in it. A soft emotion enveloped her. In the end, she just squeezed Empress Dowager Zhang's hand hard, without showing anything. She stood up and walked to the desk next to her, spread out paper and ground ink, and picked up the pen to draw on the paper.
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