They thought the tidal bore was just a random natural disaster, but who knew that in mid-to-late June, a major earthquake would strike Tongwei, Gansu.
On this day, Emperor Kangxi and his ministers were discussing the imperial examinations for the following February when an urgent report suddenly arrived.
"Report! The ground in the northeast corner of Tongwei County, Gansu Province, has cracked and sprung up, with yellow sand and black mud billowing out. The city wall has collapsed, and Maojia Mountain outside the city has collapsed. The northern mountains of Gangu County have shifted southward, destroying thousands of houses. Government offices and houses have been almost completely destroyed, and almost all the households and livestock in the villages northwest of the city have been crushed to death."
Emperor Kangxi, overcome with anger and anxiety, barely managed to swallow the mouthful of blood and, enduring the pain, asked:
"Besides these?"
"More than 10 counties, including Jingning, Zhuanglang, and Qin'an, were severely affected by the earthquake, which also spread to Shanxi, Ningxia, and Henan. In addition, the earthquake triggered more than 300 large-scale landslides in Tongwei and Gangu. Among them, the north mountain of Yongning Town in Gangu County shifted southward, burying the entire town of Yongning and causing more than 30,000 deaths."
Liang Jiugong, who was standing nearby, noticed that something was wrong with Kangxi and wanted to step forward, but Kangxi stopped him with a look.
"Fourth Prince, you and Thirteenth Prince should spend the next few days visiting the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works and come up with a plan for me. Eighth Prince and Ninth Prince, I'll leave the relief supplies to you."
The princes' eyes darkened. On the surface, they said, "Your subject obeys the decree," but in reality, they each had their own ulterior motives.
"Fourth Brother, why do you think Father made this arrangement? Since we were already sent to the Ministry of Revenue, why did he put Eighth Brother and Ninth Brother in charge of the relief supplies? Isn't this just putting meat right in front of a wolf's mouth?"
Yinzhen shook his head:
"No, I think Father Emperor has another plan behind this arrangement."
Meanwhile, Yinzhi, Yintang, and others were also gathered at the Eighth Prince's residence.
"Eighth Brother, do you think Father Emperor's arrangement has another hidden purpose? We have a conflict with Fourth Brother and the others."
Yinzhi also felt that something was amiss:
"Ninth Brother, this time you instructed your men not to lay a hand on anyone, or don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Myna, it's not that serious, is it?"
Yin Tang felt that Yin Si was making a mountain out of a molehill.
"No, Father is deliberately testing us. If your men are not careful this time, they will run straight into Father's knife."
At this time, Kangxi had already fainted in his sleeping quarters behind the Qianqing Palace.
Fortunately, Liang Jiugong and others kept their mouths shut, and the imperial physician was also a close advisor to Emperor Kangxi, so they didn't reveal too many details.
"Imperial Physician, how is the Emperor's health?"
"Eunuch Liang, His Majesty is too tired lately and needs to rest. You must persuade him to rest."
Liang Jiugong sighed:
"Imperial Physician Zhao, you've been serving the Emperor for almost twenty years now. In all these years, have you ever seen him take a few days off? Even when he does rest, his mind is still on state affairs. Let alone you, I feel sorry for him too. Alright, go and brew the medicine."
"good."
The imperial physician went to brew the medicine with his medicine chest, and Wei Zhu came closer:
"What should we do? People from Yonghe Palace keep coming."
Liang Jiugong snorted:
"You brat, do I need to teach you this? The Emperor said that with tens of thousands of people displaced by the recent disaster in Gansu, the entire court and the harem must pray for them. Understand?"
Wei Zhu gave a thumbs up:
"Great job, you're the best."
This wasn't Liang Jiugong forging an imperial edict; it was an edict drafted by Emperor Kangxi before he fainted. However, before it could be proclaimed, the Emperor collapsed.
In the evening, Emperor Kangxi woke up after two acupuncture treatments.
"Liang Jiugong".
"Your Majesty, I am here. Oh, Your Majesty, you have finally woken up."
"But what happened again?"
"Your Majesty, rest assured, nothing has happened. The medicine has been kept warm on the fire. This servant will have Wei Zhu bring it over right away."
Liang Jiugong hurriedly ran to the outer room and asked Wei Zhu to bring the medicine.
"Your Majesty, the ladies of the palace have heard that you are not feeling well and are clamoring to come and see you."
Kangxi frowned, downed the bitter medicine in a few gulps, and then asked:
"Have you conveyed the imperial edict I drafted to all the palaces?"
"Your Majesty, Wei Zhu has already been summoned."
Kangxi nodded, then asked Liang Jiugong to bring over a few memorials.
"Your Majesty, you have just finished your medicine, please rest for a while longer."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Liang Jiugong dared not disobey, so he had no choice but to bring Kangxi some more memorials.
Meanwhile, Yinzhen was resting at Yunhui's place.
"Your Highness, it has been a long time since you last visited me."
Yinzhen lay on the couch, letting Yunhui quietly massage his head, as he had been experiencing frequent headaches lately.
"What's wrong? Are you angry with me?"
"Your Highness is very busy, how could I dare to be angry with you? I'm just worried that your health might not be able to handle it."
Yinzhen looked up, patted his forehead with his hand, and said:
"Now that I'm here, are you relieved?"
"Of course, don't worry. Your Highness, I've been feeling a tightness in my chest and have a poor appetite these past few days, so I might not be able to serve you later."
Yinzhen suddenly opened his eyes:
"Gao Wuyong, summon the imperial physician."
"Your Highness, why did you summon the imperial physician?"
The imperial physician arrived shortly afterward.
"Your Highness, Consort Yun is pregnant. However, her pulse is weak, so she should rest more in the coming days."
"Thank you for your trouble, Imperial Physician. Gao Wuyong, see the guest out."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Imperial Physician, this way please."
As he was leaving, Gao Wuyong quietly handed the imperial physician several silver notes.
"Your Highness, am I pregnant again?"
Yunhui was so surprised that she both cried and laughed.
Yinzhen quickly comforted him:
"Look at you, you're such a grown-up, why do you still cry like a child?"
Yunhui nestled into Yinzhen's arms.
"I just can't believe I still have a chance to conceive Your Highness's child."
Yinzhen patted Yunhui's back gently in a comforting manner.
Because Yunhui was pregnant, Yinzhen had to go to another courtyard that night.
"Your Highness, it's been a while since you last visited Consort Nian."
"Have you delivered all the things I asked you to deliver the other day?"
"Your Highness, rest assured, nothing has been missed."
Although Yinzhen deliberately avoided visiting Nian Yunrong much, the rewards still flowed into her courtyard like water.
"Then let's go see Consort Nian."
The next day, during the greetings, Yunhui made a point of revealing that she was pregnant.
"Yunhui, is it true?"
"Reporting to the Princess Consort, the Prince sent Gao Wuyong to personally invite the imperial physician, and the Prince was also present when he took the pulse."
Nian Yunrong, standing to the side, looked rather grim.
She was initially happy that Yinzhen had visited her last night, but upon hearing the news that Yun Gege was pregnant, she realized that Yinzhen had gone to her last night because Yun Hui was pregnant and it was inconvenient for him to take care of her.
The green smoke behind Nian Yunrong seemed to sense her master's displeasure and quickly tugged at her clothes, signaling her not to get angry with such a person over such a trivial matter.
How could I not be angry?
After everyone paid their respects, they returned to their respective courtyards. The first thing Nian Yunrong did upon returning to her courtyard was to smash things.
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