Chapter 455: Fire in the Imperial College
That night, Lu Xiang set up two tables in his yard. Tomorrow was New Year's Eve and they would have a reunion dinner, so today he would have a small celebration.
The old lady naturally did not go with the younger generations as they ate and drank, for fear of spoiling their fun.
Yun Zha and other maids sat at one table, Lu Xiang and Qiao Jingru, Lu Yao and Lu Qiao sat at another table.
When Lu Chao learned that Qiao Jingru was going to Qixiayuan for dinner, he shamelessly followed her, which left Lu Xiang speechless.
"Brother, there are so many girls at the table. Isn't it weird for you to sit here alone?"
The table for Yunzhai and the others was placed in the side hall, separated from them by a room. So they could be more relaxed if they didn't sit together.
Lu Chao served a bowl of soup to Qiao Jingru and another for himself, and said as a matter of course: "What's so strange about that? Aren't we brothers and sisters all happy together? There are no outsiders here, so don't be restrained, third sister. Just be casual, just be casual."
Lu Xiang: “…”
This is my yard.
"Will Second Sister go back tonight?" Lu Chao turned to ask Lu Yao.
Lu Yao chuckled and shook her head: "I agreed when I left the house that I would stay at my parents' house for one night and go back tomorrow."
The Lu family is no longer ashamed of herself. Her mother-in-law's attitude towards her is simply heaven-and-earth. She is extremely attentive. If Xiaonian was not unsuitable to visit someone else's house, she would probably ask her to bring Zhou Huaixiang with her. It is self-evident what she is thinking.
Lu Yao glanced at Qiao Jingru secretly. With the care and love of her elder brother, she was now more charming than before.
With a brother who is the top scholar, the Qiao family’s door is likely to be broken down by others.
Her mother-in-law, thinking that she is the first to see the moon because she is close to the water, always reminds her indirectly.
But as a married daughter, why should she go to her parents' home to interfere in the marriages of her elder sister-in-law and second brother?
Her sister-in-law treated her well, she was crazy and wanted to go against her natal family.
The night is hazy.
The sky was covered with heavy clouds, which slowly obscured the bright moon, and the moonlight suddenly became dim.
The cold wind blew swiftly and strongly, with twisting force, sweeping violently across every street in the capital.
hiss--
A roar broke the silence!
Outside Qixia Courtyard, there was suddenly a burst of noise, and soon, Wu Yue strode in.
"Miss, there was a sudden fire in the distance, burning almost all the way to the horizon. The streets were full of people. I just heard from the servants in our mansion that it seemed to be in the direction of the Imperial College."
Lu Xiang and the others were all shocked and quickly put down their bowls and chopsticks and walked out.
The Lu Mansion is not close to the Imperial College, but even so, standing in the mansion, one can clearly see the thick smoke billowing up in the distance, which shows how big the fire is.
Since it alarmed everyone in their house, I guess the fire has been burning for a long time.
"I'll go out and take a look. The streets must be very chaotic now. Even if you are curious, don't go out and wander around, okay?" Lu Chao thought that as the assistant manager of Jingzhao Prefecture, he had to lead the way if something big happened in the capital.
Qiao Jingru said worriedly: "Then be careful."
"Don't worry, there are others who can help put out the fire. I won't act rashly."
The Imperial Palace, inside the Cining Palace.
Emperor Chengde and Empress Song were having dinner with the Queen Mother when they suddenly saw a eunuch stumbling in, his face pale and full of fear.
"How dare you barge into my Cining Palace without permission. Come, drag him out and execute him."
The eunuch was so frightened that he was trembling with fear, his mind went blank, and he forgot what he wanted to say.
Emperor Chengde recognized that this man was serving in Chengqian Palace. He guessed that he must have something important to report, which was why he was so rash. Just as he was about to ask him a question, he heard Hu Qian on the side speak first.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. The Imperial College has been damaged."
Emperor Chengde was shocked and suddenly jumped up from his chair, asking in disbelief, "What's going on?"
Hu Qian was about to cry. Tomorrow was New Year's Eve. Could he let everyone have a happy New Year? Under the gloomy and cold gaze of Emperor Chengde, he gritted his teeth and said, "The cause has not been found yet. Everyone found that when the Imperial College caught fire, a hall had been burned down. The fire spread and burned to the next door. Prince Song has already led the Jingwu Guards to put out the fire..."
But from hearing people describe the severity of the fire, I was afraid that by the time the fire was out, half of the Imperial College would be destroyed.
Fortunately, it was close to the New Year and there were no students living in the Imperial College, otherwise the loss of talent would have been enough to deal a heavy blow to the Wei Dynasty.
"Is there no one left in the Imperial College? How do these people do their work? A bunch of useless trash." Emperor Chengde was so angry that he kicked over the stool and flew into a rage.
Queen Song quickly stood up and tried to appease him: "Your Majesty, calm down."
The Queen Mother was startled and glared at Emperor Chengde with dissatisfaction.
You bastard, can’t you go outside to vent your anger? You threw her things in her palace. Did you ask her before?
Emperor Chengde didn't bother to look at the empress dowager's expression. He just got up and walked away, his face almost as gloomy as the night.
Queen Song hesitated for a moment, apologized to the empress dowager, and followed Emperor Chengde.
The Imperial College was close to the imperial palace. Standing in the harem, Emperor Chengde could see the rising smoke as soon as he raised his head, and his face turned ugly with a mixture of blue and red.
Queen Song looked into the distance and gasped in shock. After a long while, she said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Since the Jingwu Guards have brought people to put out the fire, I think they will be able to control the fire as soon as possible."
With so many guards in the capital, they were probably concentrating on putting out the fire, but they discovered the fire too late, so it burned so fiercely. The fire was where the students were taking classes, and the area was large. As the fire was being put out, more smoke was produced.
There was chaos in the Imperial College. Looking at the academy that had been burned to ashes, everyone looked at each other in speech.
This fire is quite good at finding places to burn.
Fortunately, the fire did not burn the library or other important places, otherwise the loss would be devastating.
"The Emperor has arrived."
Hu Qian's voice of "yes" suddenly rang out. Upon hearing this, the exhausted crowd all gathered their strength and knelt down to greet him.
"Your Majesty, long live the Emperor."
Several officials were kneeling in the front, and behind them were soldiers kneeling to put out the fire. Emperor Chengde glanced over and seemed to see a few people in prison guards' uniforms. They must have been the people from the Ministry of Justice next door who came to put out the fire.
"No need to be polite, how about destroying it?" Emperor Chengde stood with his hands behind his back and asked coldly.
Everyone thanked him and stood up.
Song Yanjun said, "Your Majesty, a school in the north was burned down. Fortunately, there was an open space between the other houses, so the fire did not spread to the side. The students have gone home for the New Year holidays, so there are no casualties for the time being."
This is a blessing in disguise.
The Imperial Academy is the highest institution of learning in the Wei Dynasty, where every blade of grass and every tree is extremely precious.
Unfortunately, the fire only burned one school, and the rest were not affected by the fire.
Emperor Chengde looked at the school in front of him which had been burned into ruins. His eyes were stern and his expression was extremely ugly.
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