Time flies by like water, and before you know it, several days have passed.
Jia Heng also learned from Qin Keqing that Pan Bingyi, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, had made some small moves against his father-in-law Qin Ye. At the same time, Qi Guan'er also continued to deliver news from Prince Zhongshun's palace.
With eyes wide open in the capital city, the capital inspection turmoil is surging. The comments from the six departments and the temple supervisory hall official examinations, together with the consultation papers issued by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Civil Service Department, are gradually collected to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Civil Service Examination Department for the consideration of the Ministry and Academy. .
Jia Heng traveled between Jinyi Mansion, Wucheng Military and Horse Division, and Jingying. From time to time, he went to Jinyang Princess Mansion to see Li'er and... Yuanchun.
As for Mrs. Wang's marriage in Yuanchun, it seems that the prince's departure from the capital has gradually ceased. It is unknown whether another plot is brewing.
February 12th is Daiyu’s birthday.
On this day, early in the morning, it was Jia Heng's turn to sit in the military aircraft office again. He entered the palace garden at dawn and went to the military aircraft check-in room in the west pavilion of Wuying Palace to read the official documents from various provinces.
Not far away, several military aircraft drivers were sitting behind the desk, busy with their duties.
At noon, Dai Quan called Jia Heng to the Daming Palace to see Emperor Chongping.
In the side hall of the Daming Palace, Emperor Chongping was wearing a yellow dragon robe. He was hunched over his desk at the back, reviewing the memorials submitted by the General Affairs Department of various provinces, which contained the opinions of the cabinet ministers.
"I am here to see you, Your Majesty." Jia Heng walked into the palace and said with his hands raised towards the dignified middle-aged emperor.
Seeing Jia Heng enter the palace, Emperor Chongping put down the vermilion imperial pen in his hand, looked at Dai Quan aside, and said with a gentle expression: "Look at your seat."
Dai Quan gave the order, and then ordered the two young eunuchs to move the embroidery pier.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jia Heng thanked him and sat down.
Emperor Chongping asked: "Jia Qing, how old is Li Ge?"
Every time Li Zan visited a place, there was a local post station to report to Beijing, but this kind of news still had a lag and was not as fast as the information from Jinyi Mansion.
Jia Heng said: "Going back to your Majesty, the day before yesterday, a flying pigeon from the north sent a message. Mr. Li Ge's motorcade has arrived in Zhuozhou. I think Mr. Li Ge will be able to reach Beiping Mansion in the next day or two."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said: "The sooner I sit down in Peiping, the sooner I can feel at ease."
Then, he picked up the tea cup on the case, took a sip, and said: "Recently, the six ministries and government offices in Beijing have been criticizing each other frequently, and the atmosphere is full of chaos."
At the end of the sentence, the emperor's tone was obviously not very good.
Jia Heng said: "I think that the capital inspection should not be moved too long."
The Beijing inspection plan is often delayed for more than half a year, sometimes affecting the normal handling of government affairs in the country.
Emperor Chongping smiled and said: "I also plan to have the capital inspect..."
While he was speaking, Emperor Chongping suddenly felt dizzy, and the tea cup on the table fell to the ground. He couldn't help but reach out and press the mahogany desk to steady himself.
"No, this is an earthquake."
Jia Heng was shocked, his expression suddenly changed, he stood up quickly, rushed towards Emperor Chongping behind the mahogany table, and said urgently: "Your Majesty, the ground is shaking, we can't stay here for a long time, follow me to the outside of the palace quickly. "
Dai Quan, who was standing beside him with his hands down, was also swaying from side to side, with a look of fear on his face.
Emperor Chongping also reacted and was dragged by Jia Heng's arm out of the inner study of the side hall of the Daming Palace.
Fortunately, the distance from the inner study to the outside of the palace is not far. Generally speaking, when an earthquake occurs from a tremor to a real earthquake, there are still precious seconds to escape.
However, as soon as Jia Heng took Emperor Chongping out of the palace, he saw that the side hall of the Daming Palace was shaking violently, and the tiles under the eaves "crash" fell, and for a while it was as dense as rain.
Jia Heng had no choice but to protect Emperor Chongping and move towards the square.
At this moment, "Whoosh..."
Suddenly, a black shadow fell from the sky. It was clearly a piece of blue brick falling down and hitting Emperor Chongping.
In a hurry, Jia Heng pushed Emperor Chongping away and said, "Your Majesty, be careful."
With a "bang" sound, the brick fell and hit Jia Heng on the shoulder. Jia Heng couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
"Ziyu." Emperor Chongping was startled when he heard this voice. He turned his eyes and his expression changed suddenly, just in time to see this scene.
At this moment, groups of eunuchs and palace maids poured out from the halls, towers and pavilions of the Daming Palace, gathering in the square in front of the palace with hurried expressions on their faces.
"Your Majesty." Jia Heng also pulled Emperor Chongping to the square.
Emperor Chongping turned around and looked at the swaying palace with bricks and tiles falling down, his expression gloomy.
Earthquakes and other disasters, were God warning him?
Is there something immoral about him?
Jia Heng said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, although there is no danger of earth-shattering earthquakes this time, we need to be careful of aftershocks."
Ancient palace buildings used brackets and tenon structures, so they had excellent earthquake resistance. Although he did not have measuring tools for this earthquake, it should not be a major earthquake. There was no collapse of the palace in the Daming Palace, so there should be no Large casualties.
Of course, it is also possible that Shenjing City was not the epicenter of the earthquake. As for where the source of the earthquake was, I think there should be reports there soon.
Speaking of which, natural disasters have occurred frequently in recent years, and Chang'an is located near the earthquake zone of later generations.
Emperor Chongping nodded, looked at the earth-colored Dai Quan, and said in a deep voice: "Look around the harem. If there is any palace that has collapsed, report it quickly. If there are any casualties, treat them as soon as possible."
Dai Quan quickly led several eunuchs and guards and left as ordered.
But at this moment, before Dai Quan could go to the harem, he saw a large number of eunuchs and maids in the direction of the harem, surrounded by a graceful and graceful beauty with a graceful and graceful appearance. She was walking towards him in a panic.
It was Empress Song who came immediately as she was worried about the emperor's safety.
Seeing Emperor Chongping safe and sound from a distance, protected by a group of eunuchs and guards, he breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Your Majesty."
When Emperor Chongping saw Empress Song, he quickly asked: "Zitong, are there any buildings in Kunning Palace that have collapsed? Are there any casualties?"
"Your Majesty, some broken tiles fell in the southwest corner of Kunning Palace, injuring several servants." Empress Song came close, her face was as white as the sun, and she said softly.
Emperor Chongping asked again: "Where is Chonghua Palace?"
"My concubine has sent someone to see her, but she hasn't come to report yet." Empress Song said softly.
Then, after a while,
Emperor Chongping composed himself, turned to look at Jia Heng aside, his eyes fell on Jia Heng's dusty shoulders, and asked with concern: "Zi Yu, are your shoulders okay?"
Just now he saw this young man working so hard...
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm fine." Jia Heng subconsciously cupped his hands, but his brows furrowed as he felt the injury.
This naturally fell into the eyes of Emperor Chongping, who also frowned.
Empress Song frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, who is Ziyu?"
"During the earthquake just now, Ziyu was hit by a brick falling from the palace while trying to save me." Emperor Chongping said in a complicated tone.
"Then you have to ask the imperial doctor to come over and take a look." Queen Song heard this, her heart was slightly shaken, and she said quickly.
Emperor Chongping nodded and called out: "Come here, please call the imperial doctor quickly..."
Then, before he finished speaking, an internal eunuch trotted over from a distance, out of breath, and said: "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Chonghua Palace has fainted and his personnel are unknown!"
As soon as these words came out, it was no less impressive than the earthquake just now. Everyone took a breath and looked surprised.
Queen Song's jade face was also filled with shock, and she whispered: "Your Majesty."
"When someone comes, the Imperial Guard will lock the palace gate immediately. Ziyu and Zitong will follow me to Chonghua Palace." Emperor Chongping's expression changed, and after a moment, he quickly gave instructions.
If something big happened to the emperor, it would be a big deal.
"I obey the order." Jia Heng responded without saying much.
Then, as Emperor Chongping headed towards Zhonghua Palace, Queen Song also led a group of eunuchs and palace ladies towards Zhonghua Palace.
At the same time, with the earthquake, the entire Shenjing City fell into temporary chaos. In fact, not every house has the excellent earthquake-proof and fire-proof functions that Daming Palace prepared at the beginning of its design.
Many old houses collapsed in the Shenjing City, injuring some people, while the Wucheng Bingma Division and the Jingzhao Mansion sent people to rescue the injured and clear the rubble.
But as time passed, the officials from the five prefectures, six ministries, and temple supervisors in the capital who had recovered from the earthquake couldn't help but look at the palace garden, inquiring about the safety of the emperor and the people in the palace.
Emperor Chongping ordered the palace gates to be sealed, and various speculations spread like wildfire.
Chonghua Palace
In the open space in front of the palace, large pieces of broken tiles and bricks were scattered, making it a mess. The two side halls that hugged the palace on the left and right also collapsed.
As for the maids and concubines in colorful embroidered clothes gathered in front of the palace gate, there were even more powerful men and eunuchs groaning in pain, and the scene was in chaos.
"Your Majesty has arrived." Jia Heng shouted.
Seeing the emperor's arrival, His Majesty Dan in front of the palace said, "Hulala..." A group of palace maids and eunuchs knelt down, not daring to raise their heads.
Emperor Chongping and Empress Song, surrounded by Jia Heng and the guards in golden robes who came to protect them, approached the front of the palace, looked up at the main hall that had not collapsed, and asked: "Where is the emperor?"
At this time, a middle-aged internal prisoner in the crowd who was kneeling on the ground hesitated and said: "Still sleeping in the palace... Manager Xu has already gone in to check."
It turns out that when the earthquake happened, the Supreme Emperor was doting on his maids. Originally, all the eunuchs and palace maids were waiting outside, waiting to be summoned to serve afterward. Unexpectedly, an earthquake suddenly occurred, and the tiles fell down, injuring many people. people.
Xu Guan, the eunuch in charge of Chonghua Palace, had already led the eunuchs in to rescue the emperor when the earthquake occurred. After the aftershocks stopped, he first helped to dress the concubine and the emperor. The concubine was okay, but she was crying at the moment. , and the emperor... fainted.
Emperor Chongping's face was gloomy, and he felt both angry and ashamed.
Sleeping peacefully, this is a nice way of saying it, but he doesn't know what it really means, which is to show off one's prostitution in the daytime and pamper one's concubines.
It's still broad daylight...how unbecoming!
Jia Heng's expression turned strange, and he thought to himself, "It's really an old man who spends no time hoeing."
"Get out of the way, I'll go in and take a look." Emperor Chongping said in a low voice as he looked at the crowd of eunuchs and palace maids surrounding the human wall.
At this moment, when the inner prisoner and the palace maids were walking around, the closed vermilion palace door slowly opened.
Xu Guan, the eunuch in charge of Chonghua Palace, led two eunuchs in brown robes out. When he raised his eyes and saw Emperor Chongping, he saw panic on his old and furrowed cheeks. He knelt down and cried: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Passed out."
Emperor Chongping swayed, and Empress Song and Jia Heng quickly supported the emperor's arms from the side.
"Physician, please call the doctor quickly."
An urgent voice sounded under the eaves.
Immediately, an internal prison officer took the order and trotted towards the Taiyuan Hospital in the front hall.
"Ziyu, Zitong, follow me in." Emperor Chongping said in a deep voice with an iron face.
Jia Heng hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, are you..."
If he saw something unbearable later, wouldn't he have violated a taboo?
However, this is also a strong signal. After the previous "rescue" incident in the study room of the Daming Palace, the emperor has regarded him as a relative.
"It's okay, follow me in." Emperor Chongping said in a low voice.
Xu Guan had just entered and was cleaning up the mess, so the inside wouldn't be too ugly.
Then, with the support of Jia Heng and the guidance of the eunuch in charge, Emperor Chongping strode into the palace.
At this moment, in this luxuriously decorated palace, the bronze tripod, jade, and high tables were already swaying on the carpet in the aftermath of the earthquake. They turned around the beams and pillars covered by the yellow curtains and walked around a fallen bamboo and wooden rack. Two large screens of palace ladies are looking at the dragon couch covered with bright yellow silk cloth. The curtains are raised, and several eunuchs are surrounding the Supreme Emperor. Not far away, a woman with disheveled clothes and messy hair is kneeling on the ground. , shoulders trembling.
As for the Supreme Emperor, he was lying on the bed, covered with a quilt, and didn't know who was going on.
It's not an unsightly sight, it's obviously been cleaned up.
Seeing the face lying on the dragon bed, Emperor Chongping's expression changed. He came closer and asked the eunuch, "How is the emperor's condition?"
"He has been strangled, and he is still fainting." The prisoner's face was so frightened that his face was ashen.
At this time, Empress Song led the female officials and stood in the distance with her phoenix eyes upside down. She looked coldly at the disheveled young woman beside her and said, "What are you still doing here? Why don't you go down."
Hearing this, the young concubine felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She raised her charming face with pear blossoms and rain, expressed her thanks, got up, and left the palace.
While he was talking, the surprised voice of the eunuch came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the imperial doctor is here."
In a moment, amid a series of hurried footsteps, five or six doctors from the imperial hospital rushed into the hall and entered the inner room one after another.
"I have met Your Majesty." A group of imperial doctors knelt down to pay homage to the middle-aged emperor in front of the bed.
Emperor Chongping said urgently: "Without courtesy, come here to diagnose and treat the emperor."
Several imperial doctors got up quickly and gathered around the emperor. They were taking pulses and checking their eyelids. After a while, the medical examiner of the imperial hospital was busy applying acupuncture. .
Seeing this scene, Jia Heng couldn't help but feel strange in his heart, but he didn't show any trace of it on his face.
He thought to himself, "The emperor will not die just like this, right? However, this life can be considered to be tough. He was so "shocked" that the bed fell down and the house collapsed... and his son and daughter-in-law saw this ugly scene..."
Thinking of this, I thought to myself that this idea was a bit disrespectful. I couldn't help but take a peek at Queen Song's face with my peripheral vision, but I saw that there was also something strange about Queen Song's face, which was rich in peach and plum blossoms and beautiful in beauty. color.
Empress Song seemed to be aware of it. The clear phoenix eyes under Liu Ye's eyebrows turned, and her clear jade eyes couldn't help but glance at Jia Heng.
As a result, the two people's eyes met, and they both read something strange in each other's eyes.
Jia Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly lowered his gaze and calmed down his expression.
Queen Song frowned, and there were faint ripples in the lake in her heart.
He secretly thought, this Jia Ziyu is so brave, he dares to ridicule the emperor, and even... peek at her?
Just for a moment, she pursed her lips, a little unnaturally. Wasn't she just mocking?
I think Jia Ziyu also saw it...
But on the Emperor's side, after a lot of busy work, the unknown old man on the bed let out a long cough, and his breathing gradually became evener, but his eyes were closed tightly.
A group of internal prisoners gathered around and called to the emperor, but they still didn't wake up.
Imperial Physician Li hurriedly stopped calling from the inner prison and said: "Don't call me by force, it will harm the emperor's dragon body."
Emperor Chongping asked quickly: "How is it?"
Doctor Li turned to look at Emperor Chongping, bowed and reported back: "Your Majesty, the Emperor suffered from palpitations and fainting due to the earthquake. It is not serious. He will be fine after a few days of rest. However, after all, the Emperor has grown up and should exercise restraint... After this For one thing, you need to take good care of yourself and take good care of yourself." Although the words of the imperial doctor later are taboo, the meaning is very clear, it is still abstinence.
In fact, after all this trouble, Emperor Longzhi's physical condition began to decline.
Emperor Chongping's expression changed. He suppressed some of the cluttered thoughts in his mind and said in a deep voice, "You guys, just prescribe the medicine."
Several imperial doctors began to take out paper and prescribe medicines.
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment and then said: "Mr. Li, Jia Ziyu also suffered some injuries on his shoulder just now. You can help take a look at it later."
Doctor Li just put down his pen, glanced at Jia Heng, and said: "I obey the order."
Jia Heng said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I only suffered some minor injuries, nothing serious."
"You are a military commander. Although you have a good foundation, you should not be careless." Emperor Chongping cast his gentle eyes on Jia Heng and warned him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Jia Heng held his hands in thanks.
Then, Emperor Chongping and Empress Song came to the main hall and sat down on chairs outside.
After a while, Empress Dowager Feng, Concubine Duanrong, Princess Xianning, and Wu Guiren and other harem concubines also came to visit the Supreme Emperor from Changle Palace, Shuyu Palace... with the support of the maids.
"Emperor, how is your father?" Empress Dowager Feng asked Emperor Chongping as soon as she entered the palace with the support of the palace maid.
Princess Xianning, who was next to Concubine Duanrong, nodded when she saw Jia Heng, exchanged glances with her, and also turned her concerned gaze to her father.
Emperor Chongping looked solemn and said: "Father has just been rescued and is no longer seriously injured."
As for the rest, it’s hard to say much.
Even if as time passes, some palace secrets will be spread in the palace, at least they cannot be admitted by the emperor.
While everyone was talking, Dai Quan came from outside, came to Emperor Chongping, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, hundreds of officials are holding the gate at Anshun Gate, begging for the Holy Lord's blessing."
"Tell them that I have nothing to do. I will summon the cabinet's great scholar, the six ministers, the minister of Dali Temple, and the censor of Zuodu to Hanyuan Hall to discuss the matter." Emperor Chongping stood up, said in a deep voice, and then looked at Jia Heng aside. , said: "Ziyu, you will also come with me. The matter of post-earthquake pensions cannot be separated from the Wucheng Army and Horses Division."
Jia Heng cupped his hands and said, "I obey the order."
Emperor Chongping then looked at Empress Song and Empress Dowager Feng who were standing aside, and said, "Queen Mother, on my father's side, I'll just trouble you."
Empress Dowager Feng nodded and said: "The emperor is going to take care of the important affairs of the country."
Emperor Chongping said no more and went to Hanyuan Hall with Jia Heng, Dai Quan and others.
(End of chapter)
