Dreams of Qing Surrounding the Jade Pool ( Shared with Empress Xiaoxian )
Because all the concubines of Yongzheng lived in the East Six Palaces, Yunzhu would take a shortcut through the Imperial Garden to get to Chongqing Palace and Jingren Palace every time she went to pay her respects. This route was the shortest distance, with beautiful scenery along the way, making it the best route.
The weather was too sultry, and as soon as they left the palace, Yunxi felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She thought it was just the heat, but the palace maids and even Fulingya were already sweating profusely after walking just a short distance, looking like they couldn't catch their breath. And this was before they had even left the imperial garden! Looking at Yongheng, who was usually well-behaved in Nurse Jia's arms, he was now restlessly waving his limbs and crying "wah wah wah", his small face flushed red, looking very uncomfortable.
Suddenly a loud "wa" cry sounded, Yunzhu frowned and looked over, the small baby wrapped in a small quilt was rubbing uncomfortably, her nanny Autumn Shi was holding her and soothing her, but the thin quilt didn't dare to be taken off, both sunbathing and fearing the wind.
"Let's go sit in the pavilion over there first, Sister Jia. You put down Big Brother and don't let him get heatstroke." Yunzhu said, ignoring Fuling's grateful gaze, with some guilt: "I didn't think this through, Autumn Sister. You carry Little Princess back, and have several ice basins placed in Little Princess' room. I'll talk to Shang Sister later, don't be stingy with their use."
From here to Chengqian Palace is still a long way, but unlike the Imperial Garden with trees and water, it's much cooler. I think after Empress Dowager Cixi passes away, there will be plenty of opportunities. Yunzhu thought stubbornly, the more you don't want to see me, the more I want to "filially" appear in front of you, and take advantage of my grandson/daughter who was born on an unlucky day and not pleasing to your eyes.
"Yes." Autumn nanny got up with the child and responded, actually letting out a sigh of relief in her heart. Holding the crying baby to go to Chengqian Palace? Wouldn't this make Xi Fei, who didn't like the little princess from the start, even more displeased? This was what she, as the little princess's nanny, did not want to see.
In this palace, those who treat the little princess well are only doing so with the idea of raising her, but where can they truly consider a small child? This Fourth Lady is a good one, unfortunately, the princess staying in these two palaces of Qingxi will ultimately be improper and cannot last long.
"This weather seems to be much hotter than in previous years." If she weren't thinking about maintaining her elegant image, Fuling would have directly grabbed the handheld fan from her maid and fanned herself vigorously. Glancing at Yunzhu, who looked cool and composed, with a calm expression and elegant demeanor, wearing a light purple silk dress embroidered with sea holly flowers, she let out a sigh. Status was still very important, as many fine fabrics and jewels were not something that a "Gege" (a prince's daughter) could wear.
Last year it wasn't this muggy, the sky seemed to be pressing down really low, making people feel suffocated.
The air seemed to be in a state of stagnation, Yunzhu slightly narrowed her eyes and gazed at the vast white sky, and an inexplicable bad premonition arose in her heart, as if a great calamity was about to arrive...
After eating the various fruits and nuts produced in space, the snowball that had been getting smaller and smaller seemed to have sensed her unease as well. It chirped a few times on her shoulder and jumped up and down. Yunzhu picked it up from her shoulder, "What's wrong, so restless?" Today's snowball also looked particularly irritable.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp——" The snowball jumped up and down in her palm, gesturing with its tiny hands. In the black eyes of Yunzhu, which were as small as green beans, it seemed to see a certain panic emotion, and instinctively followed its hand to scan the surroundings——
As soon as she paid attention, she realized that the birds flying back and forth in the imperial garden seemed to be more than usual. There were many sparrows, unknown small birds, and colorful parrots flying around like headless flies... How could birds be like headless flies? They have nests after all... And a large group of butterflies fluttering about... Even ants were marching in groups...
Something that could make animals in nature appear abnormal, a certain thread in Yunzhu's mind suddenly tightened. Wasn't it the most experienced before the end of the world filled with all kinds of ominous signs and disasters? She stood up abruptly, remembering that there was a big earthquake in Beijing during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.
"Master?" Ling Huan asked in a low voice, having just sat down, are you leaving already?
Yunzhu came back to her senses and saw that everyone was staring at her, so she said: "You all take a rest, Lingzhou will accompany me for a walk over there."
"Yes." Everyone hastily nodded in response.
Ling Xue followed Yunzhu quickly around the heavy eaves and sharp corners, past the delicate pavilions, near the pond, and curiously followed her gaze to the water's surface. She saw that the colorful carp in the pond were jumping out of the water one after another, constantly turning in the water. Could it be that the master could predict this and knew that these fish would jump out of the water today, so he specially came to see?
Loyal and devoted, thinking that their master is the best and most clever person under heaven, Ling Xue has learned to calmly face her master's various whims and tricks.
"Ling Shuai, don't you feel that the water level in this pool has risen?"
"Ah, the water level? Has it risen? The usually unflappable Ling Xiao furrowed his brow, "Master, should we let Su Wen and the others take a look?"
"It's okay." Yunzhu turned around and smiled slightly: "Let's go."
"Mother, look, Yonghuan looks just like Prince Beile! Yonghuan, call Mother." When they arrived at Chengqian Palace, Yunzhu led Fulinga to pay respects to Xi Fei and then had Jia Mama bring over Yonghuan for Xi Fei to see.
The little one who can only walk a few steps and is still mostly crawling is the most adorable, especially since Yong Ruo has raised him to be so fair and tender. Xi Fei took a closer look and felt that he looked a bit like Hong Li when he was young, and her dislike for him lessened somewhat. She put on a loving expression: "Come here and let me hold you."
Yunzhu smiled and watched as Jia Yuyan placed Yonghui in Xi Fei's arms, watching as Xi Fei stiffened her hands and feet to support the chubby Yonghui, almost unable to bear the weight.
“…Horse… Horse.” Yong Huang waved his hand and slapped Xi Fei's face with a loud "slap".
Xi Fei's smile froze! Her fingers, clad in nail guards, involuntarily clenched tightly.
Fu Cha was even more frightened and knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "It's all the fault of the concubine for not teaching the child well, Your Majesty please forgive."
Xi Fei endured the stinging pain on her face, gave Qin Mama a look, and let her take the child in her arms away. Irritated, she said: "Alright, what's there to calculate with a child who doesn't understand anything?!"
"Without a hint of shame, Mother is the one who raised Beile Ye after all. When Father was young, he was full of energy and Mother didn't have it easy, how could she not understand children's nature? Hurry up! Yunzhu covered her mouth with a faint smile, "Mother, you don't know, I've also received several 'rewards'."
"Really?" Xi Fei was delighted, "Hong Li also told you about his childhood."
"Hmm, he's caused his mother a lot of headaches. As for what kind of headaches, he didn't tell his wife about it. Why don't you tell us, Mother?"
Xi Fei was even more delighted, with an unmistakable sense of pride in her eyes. "Hehe, when he was first born, his skin was so tender, and he would cry at the slightest displeasure... But as he grew up, he became obedient, studied well, and excelled in archery and horseback riding, earning praise from his teachers..."
In her eyes, her son was the best, the beginning of her good fortune, and her lifelong reliance. Unfortunately, soon after her son was born, he was taken to Wu La Nara's house to be raised, and she could only see him when she went to Zhengyuan to pay respects to Fu Kun. She had always been afraid that her son would not be close to her, suffering from the aftermath of the struggle between Fu Kun and Ni Shi, a situation that did not improve until Hong Li moved to Waiyuan.
So all she knew was the situation at the time of Hongli's birth and what she had heard later, as well as some things that Hongli had told her. As for what she had told Hongli, only she herself knew how much was true and how much was fabricated.
As she spoke, Xi Fei brought up the little princess being raised in front of Yunzhu: "It's said that the Emperor letting you take care of Little Wu is a sign of his trust in you, but if this gets out... let's not speak nonsense, my dear. There are already many people in the palace who have been asking me questions about this. It would be best for you to come up with a plan and report it to the Emperor as soon as possible. Even if you do decide to raise her, she is still the legitimate child of Hongli, after all. What do you think?" She gently stroked the gold-plated nail guards adorned with pearls and precious stones, speaking in a warm tone that couldn't hide her disapproval. Her words also seemed to hint at something else.
Since Hongzhao's big wedding, she had been fainting for no reason. After all this time, seeing that everything was calm and peaceful, her fear of Yunzhu slowly faded away, and her tone gradually became more arrogant again.
"This Emperor Yama has moved to the Summer Palace as soon as summer arrived, and even if his wife wanted to say something, she couldn't find him. Otherwise, Mother, you should take charge?"
Xie Fei said, "If she dares to be the host, why bother talking nonsense with her here?"
Unwilling to say anything more, suddenly the heavens and earth shook violently——
"Quickly squat down!" Yunzhu shouted, pulling Linghui to run to the edge of the kang and crouch down. The house shook violently, those golden jade decorations fell rolling on the ground, and the beams seemed to have deformed... Fucha Fulina screamed in horror, hugged Yongyuan and rushed over, shielding the child under her body.
After a while, the shock subsided, and it seemed to have stopped. Yunzhu knew that this was just the prelude, and she quickly pulled up Xi Fei, who was lying on the couch, and said to Qin Mama and others: "Hurry up and go to an open space, I think the earthquake will continue..."
"Ow!" Xi Fei rubbed the large bump on her forehead, still dazed from the impact. Before she could regain her composure, she was dragged away in a rush. Wearing only a thin undergarment and not being physically fit, she stumbled as she tried to avoid objects on the ground, managing only a few slow steps before the earth began shaking again. A tall cabinet on their left suddenly toppled over towards them, prompting Xi Fei to dodge to the right with a cry of alarm. However, the row of shelves on her right side came crashing down, along with several gold and jade artifacts that had miraculously remained intact until then... Yun Zhu turned around, shouting "Be careful, Your Ladyship!" as she yanked Xi Fei towards the direction of an ominous dark glow, positioning herself to block the falling cabinet beside Xi Fei.
Qin's nanny followed behind, saw Yunzhu's brave move, and quickly ran to the side of the multi-treasured cabinet to help hold it up. "Madam, come out quickly!" The ground was shaking and tilting, she could hardly stand, let alone support this heavy frame. Fortunately, Ling Shuo also hurried back to help.
Only Fuling and a few palace maids managed to run out smoothly. No one noticed that Xi Fei was knocked down by an unknown Declaratory furnace flying from somewhere, hitting her head, and she fainted, falling to the ground and being trampled on her chest by rolling golden utensils, so painful that she couldn't even make a sound.
Yunzhu quickly pulled up Xi Fei, who had fallen to the ground, and supported her as they rushed towards the palace gate. Qin Mama and Ling Shuo let go of Duo Bao's sedan chair, which fell to the ground, and closely guarded the two as they moved outside.
……
In the seventh year of Yongzheng, in July, a strong earthquake occurred in the capital city. The palaces suffered varying degrees of damage. The city walls cracked for 37 zhang at Andingmen and Xuanwumen. Over 16,000 houses collapsed in the capital city. Temples, the White Pagoda in Beihai, guildhalls, and churches were all damaged. 457 people died or were injured... After the great earthquake, the weather suddenly changed, with over a month of continuous rain, during which there were still occasional small earthquakes.
The area most severely affected was the area from Xiangshan in the west of Beijing to Hualongguan in Changping, and adjacent to the epicentral zone was Yuanmingyuan, which was the detached palace where Yongzheng would retreat from the world and listen to politics. At the time of the earthquake, he was sitting on a boat on the water's surface at Yuanmingyuan... what a stroke of luck.
The Empress of Jingren Palace was carried out by Chen Mama and others, she was originally in poor health, and during the earthquake, she fell and was severely injured, after which she lingered on her sickbed, with a very bad condition. Xi Fei was also injured, the palace concubines were leaderless, Yunzhu was also slightly injured, but she was young and recovered quickly, so Yongzheng entrusted her with handling the affairs of the palace, ordering Yu Pin and Ning Pin to assist.
Yunzhu had seen those omens in the imperial garden, and although she had her own thoughts, she didn't think the earthquake would happen so soon. But man's plans are not as good as heaven's plans, and this earthquake brought such severe destruction. Feeling a bit guilty, she took charge of the affairs in the palace, rearranging the concubines to less damaged halls, and sent eunuchs to visit elderly relatives... The entire imperial hospital was also reorganized by her, with doctors assigned to take care of injured concubines, palace maids and eunuchs, as well as princes and high-ranking officials. In the name of the empress, she ordered four doctors to lead their apprentices and famous physicians in the capital to provide free medical treatment to injured civilians every day.
At the same time, she also sent Guo and Suwen back to the Fu family with some medicine and supplements. Knowing that her loved ones were safe and sound, just a bit frightened, she put down more than half of her worries.
Earthquakes have always been considered an ominous sign in Chinese history, believed to be a result of the ruler's mismanagement and violation of heaven's will. Earthquakes also occurred in the 18th and 59th years of Kangxi, but the epicenters were located in Sanhe and Pinggu in the east of Beijing, and Shacheng in the west of Beijing, respectively, causing less damage to the city and its suburbs than this time. This earthquake struck the capital, where the emperor resides, not only causing massive destruction but also aftershocks lasting over a month, during which the area was hit by heavy rain, forcing people to flee and leaving them struggling to survive...
Zheng's village was also severely damaged, but fortunately, Hong Hui seemed to have seen a glimmer of hope in the dark night and began to secretly manipulate things. "Heaven is helping me!" This sudden crisis of heavenly wrath and human resentment, isn't it an opportunity to shake the imperial throne?!
The author has something to say: The following is the main body of the text:
Because all the concubines of Yongzheng lived in the East Six Palaces, Yunzhu would take a shortcut through the Imperial Garden to get to Chongqing Palace and Jingren Palace every time she went to pay her respects. This route was the shortest distance, with beautiful scenery along the way, making it the best route.
The weather was too sultry, and as soon as they left the palace, Yunxi felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She thought it was just the heat, but the palace maids and even Fulingya were already sweating profusely after walking for just a short distance, looking like they couldn't catch their breath. And this was before they had even left the imperial garden! Looking at Yongheng, who was usually well-behaved in Nurse Jia's arms, he was now restlessly waving his limbs and crying "wah wah wah", his small face flushed red, looking very uncomfortable.
Suddenly a loud "wa" cry sounded, Yunzhu frowned and looked over, the small baby wrapped in a small quilt was rubbing uncomfortably, her nanny Autumn Shi was holding her and gently coaxing her, but the thin quilt didn't dare to be taken off, both sunbathing and fearing the wind.
"Let's go sit in the pavilion over there first, Sister Jia. You put down Big Brother and don't let him get heatstroke." Yunzhu said, ignoring Fuling's grateful gaze, with some guilt: "I didn't think this through, Autumn Sister. You carry Little Princess back, and have several ice basins placed in Little Princess' room. I'll talk to Shang Sister later, don't be stingy with their use."
From here to Chengqian Palace is still a long way, but unlike the Imperial Garden with trees and water, it's much cooler. I think after Empress Dowager Cixi passes away, there will be plenty of opportunities. Yunzhu thought stubbornly, the more you don't want to see me, the more I want to "filially" appear in front of you, and take advantage of the fact that my grandson/daughter was born on an unlucky day and isn't liked by you.
"Yes." Autumn Auntie stood up with the child in her arms and responded, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. She carried the wailing infant towards Chengqian Palace. Wouldn't this make Xi Fei, who didn't particularly care for the little princess to begin with, even more displeased? This was something that Autumn Auntie, as the little princess's wet nurse, did not want to see happen.
In this palace, those who treat the little princess well are only doing so with the intention of raising her, but where can they truly consider a small child's thoughts? This Fourth Imperial Concubine is a good person, unfortunately, the princess staying in these two palaces will ultimately be improper and cannot last long.
"This weather seems to be even more sweltering than in previous years." If she weren't thinking about maintaining her elegant image, Fuling would have directly grabbed the handheld fan from her maid and fanned herself vigorously. Glancing at Yunzhu, who looked cool and composed, with a calm expression and elegant demeanor, wearing a light purple silk dress embroidered with sea holly flowers, she let out a sigh. Status was still very important, as many fine materials and jewels were not something that a "Gege" (a title for the children of a prince) could wear.
Last year it wasn't this muggy, the sky seemed to be pressing down really low, making people feel suffocated.
The air seemed to be in a state of stagnation, Yunzhu slightly narrowed her eyes and gazed at the vast white sky, and an inexplicable bad premonition arose in her heart, as if a great calamity was about to arrive...
After eating the various fruits and nuts produced in space, the snowball that had been getting smaller and smaller seemed to have sensed her unease as well. It chirped a few times on her shoulder and jumped up and down. Yunzhu picked it up from her shoulder, "What's wrong, so restless?" Today's Xuetuan also looked particularly irritable.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp——" The snowball jumped up and down in her palm, gesturing with its tiny hands and feet. In the black eyes of Yunzhu, which were about the size of a green bean, seemed to have seen some kind of panic emotion, instinctively following its hand to scan the surroundings——
As soon as she paid attention, she realized that the birds flying back and forth in the imperial garden seemed to be more than usual. There were many sparrows, unknown small birds, and colorful parrots flying around like headless flies... How could birds be like headless flies? They have nests after all... And a large group of butterflies fluttering about... Even ants were marching in groups...
Something that could make animals in nature appear abnormal, a certain thread in Yunzhu's mind suddenly tightened. Wasn't it the most experienced before the end of the world filled with all kinds of ominous signs and disasters? She stood up abruptly, remembering that there was a big earthquake in Beijing during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.
"Master?" Ling Huan asked in a low voice, having just sat down, are you leaving already?
Yunzhu came back to her senses and saw that everyone was staring at her, so she said: "You all take a rest, Lingzhou will accompany me for a walk over there."
"Yes." Everyone hastily nodded in response.
Ling Huan followed Yunzhu quickly around the heavy eaves and sharp corners, past the delicate pavilions, near the pond, and curiously followed her gaze to the water's surface. All she saw were colorful carp jumping out of the water one after another, constantly turning in the water. Could it be that the master could predict this and knew that these fish would jump out of the water today, which is why he came especially to see?
Loyal and devoted, thinking that their master is the best and most clever person under heaven, Ling Xiao has learned to calmly face his master's various whims and tricks.
"Ling Shuai, don't you feel that the water level in this pool has risen?"
"Ah, water level? Has it risen? The usually unflappable Ling Xiao furrowed his brow, "Master, should we let Su and the others take a look?"
"It's okay." Yunzhu turned around and smiled slightly: "Let's go."
"Mother, look, Yonghuan looks just like Prince Beile! Yonghuan, call Mother." When they arrived at Chengqian Palace, Yunzhu led Fulinga to pay respects to Xi Fei and then had Jia Mama bring over Yonghuan for Xi Fei to see.
The little one who can only walk a few steps and is still mostly crawling is the most adorable, especially since Yong Ruo has raised him to be so fair and tender. Xi Fei took a closer look and felt that he looked a bit like Hong Li when he was young, and her dislike for him lessened somewhat. She put on a loving expression: "Come here and let me hold you."
Yunzhu smiled and watched as Jia Yuyan placed Yonghuan in Xi Fei's arms, watching as Xi Fei stiffened her hands and feet to support the plump Yonghuan, almost unable to bear the weight.
“…Horse…Horse.” Yong Huang waved his hand and slapped Xi Fei's face with a "slap".
Xi Fei's smile froze! Her fingers, clad in nail guards, involuntarily clenched tightly.
Fu Cha was even more frightened and knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "It's all because the concubine didn't teach the child well, Your Majesty please forgive."
Xi Fei endured the stinging pain on her face, gave Qin Mama a look, and let her take the child in her arms away. Irritated, she said: "Alright, what's there to calculate with a child who doesn't understand anything?!"
"Without a hint of shame, Mother is the one who raised Beile Ye after all. When Father was young, he was full of energy and Mother wasn't spared from being tormented. How could she not understand children's nature? Hurry up! Yunzhu covered her mouth with a faint smile, "Mother doesn't know, but I've also received several 'rewards'."
"Really?" Xi Fei was delighted, "Hong Li also told you about his childhood."
"Hmm, he's caused his mother a lot of headaches. As for what kind of headaches, he didn't tell his wife about it. Why don't you tell us, Mother?"
Xi Fei was even more delighted, with an unmistakable sense of pride in her eyes. "Hehe, when he was first born, his skin was so tender, and he would cry at the slightest displeasure... But as he grew up, he became obedient, studied well, and excelled in archery and horseback riding, earning praise from his teachers..."
In her eyes, her son was the best, the beginning of her good fortune, and her lifelong reliance. Unfortunately, soon after her son was born, he was taken to Wu La Nara's house to be raised, and she could only see him when she went to Zhengyuan to pay respects to Fu Kun. She had always been afraid that her son would not be close to her, suffering from the aftermath of the struggle between Fu Kun and Ni Shi, a situation that did not improve until Hong Li moved to Waiyuan.
So all she knew was the situation at the time of Hongli's birth and what she had heard later, as well as some things that Hongli had told her. As for what she had told Hongli, only she herself knew how much was true and how much was fabricated.
As she spoke, Xi Fei brought up the little princess being raised in front of Yunzhu: "It's said that the Emperor letting you take care of Little Five is a sign of his trust in you, but if this gets out... Let's not speak nonsense, my dear. There are already many people in the palace who have been asking me questions about this. It would be best for you to come up with a plan and report it to the Emperor as soon as possible. Even if you do decide to raise her, she is still the legitimate child of Hongli, after all. What do you think?" She gently stroked the gold-plated nail guards inlaid with pearls and precious stones, speaking softly, but her disapproval was not hard to discern. Her words also seemed to hint at something else.
Ever since Hongzhao's big wedding, she had been fainting for no reason. After all this time, seeing that everything was calm and peaceful, her fear of Yunzhu slowly faded away, and her tone gradually became more arrogant again.
"This Emperor Yama moves into the Summer Palace as soon as summer arrives, and even if his daughter-in-law wants to talk to him, she can't find anyone. Otherwise, Mother Empress, you should take charge?"
Xī Fēi said: "If she dares to be the host, then there's no need for us to waste our breath talking to her here."
Unwilling to say anything more, the heavens and earth suddenly shook violently——
"Quickly squat down!" Yunzhu shouted, pulling Linghui to run to the edge of the kang and crouch down. The house shook violently, those golden jade decorations fell rolling on the ground, and the beams seemed to have deformed... Fucha Fulina screamed in horror, hugged Yongyuan and rushed over, shielding the child under her body.
After a while, the shock subsided and seemed to be calming down. Yunzhu knew that this was just the prelude, and hurriedly pulled up Xi Fei who was lying on the couch, saying to Qin Mama and others: "Hurry up and leave, go to an open area, I think the earthquake will continue..."
"Ouch!" Xi Fei rubbed her forehead, which had a big bump on it. Before she could even react, she was pulled and dragged to run outside. She was wearing flower pot-shaped shoes and wasn't used to exercising, so she had to dodge objects on the ground, making her run extremely slowly. After just over a dozen steps, the ground started shaking again. A tall cabinet on their left suddenly fell towards them, and Xi Fei let out a cry as she dodged to the right. However, the multi-tiered shelf on the right side also collapsed, bringing down several gold and jade objects that had not fallen earlier... Yun Zhu turned her head back and shouted, "Be careful, Mother!" As she pulled Xi Fei towards the direction of a dark light flying over, she herself dodged to the right and propped up the collapsing shelf with her body.
Qin's nanny followed behind, seeing Yunzhu's brave move, and quickly ran to the side of the multi-treasured cabinet to help hold it up. "Madam, come out quickly!" The ground was shaking and tilting, making it hard for her to even stand, let alone support this heavy frame. Fortunately, Ling Shuo also hurried back to help.
Only Fuling and a few palace maids managed to run out smoothly. No one noticed that Xi Fei was hit on the head by an unknown Declarative furnace when she fell, and she fainted, falling to the ground and being trampled by golden utensils rolling around her chest, so painful that she couldn't even make a sound.
Yunzhu quickly pulled up the fallen Xi Fei and supported her as they rushed towards the palace gate. Qin Mama and Ling Shu let go of Duo Bao's sedan chair, allowing it to fall to the ground, and closely guarded the two as they moved outside.
……
In the seventh year of Yongzheng, in July, a strong earthquake occurred in the capital city. The palaces suffered varying degrees of damage. The city walls cracked for 37 zhang at Andingmen and Xuanwumen. Over 16,000 houses collapsed in the capital city. Temples, the White Pagoda in Beihai, guildhalls, and churches were all damaged. 457 people died or were injured... After the great earthquake, the weather suddenly changed, with over a month of continuous rain, during which there were still occasional small earthquakes.
The most severely affected area was the area from Xiangshan in western Beijing to Hualongguan in Changping, and adjacent to the epicenter was Yuanmingyuan, which was the detached palace of Yongzheng for avoiding noise and listening to politics. When the earthquake occurred, he was sitting on a boat on the water surface of Yuanmingyuan... What a great luck.
The Empress of Jingren Palace was carried out by Chen Mama and others, she was originally in poor health, and during the earthquake, she fell and was severely injured, after which she lingered on her sickbed, with a very bad condition. Xi Fei was also injured, the palace concubines were leaderless, Yun Zhu was also slightly injured, but she was young and recovered quickly, so Yongzheng entrusted her with handling the affairs of the palace, ordering Yu Pin and Ning Pin to assist.
Yunzhu had seen those omens in the imperial garden, and although she had her own thoughts, she didn't think the earthquake would happen so soon. But man's plans are not as good as heaven's plans, and this earthquake brought such severe destruction. Feeling a bit guilty, she took charge of the palace affairs, rearranging the concubines to less damaged halls, and sent eunuchs to visit elderly relatives... The entire imperial hospital was also reorganized by her, with doctors in charge of injured concubines, palace maids and eunuchs, and those responsible for treating princes and ministers. In the name of the empress, she ordered four doctors to lead their students and famous physicians from the capital to provide free medical treatment to injured civilians every day.
At the same time, she also sent Guo and Suwen back to the Fu family with some medicine and supplements. Knowing that her loved ones were safe and sound, just a bit frightened, she put down more than half of her worries.
Earthquakes have always been considered an ominous sign in Chinese history, believed to be a result of the ruler's mismanagement and violation of heaven's will. Earthquakes also occurred in the 18th and 59th years of Kangxi, but the epicenters were located in Sanhe and Pinggu, Dongcheng District, Beijing, and Shacheng, Mentougou District, Beijing, respectively, causing less damage to the city and its suburbs compared to this time. This earthquake occurred in the capital, where the emperor resides, not only causing massive destruction but also aftershocks lasting over a month, during which the area was hit by heavy rain, forcing people to flee and leaving them struggling to survive...
Zheng's village was also severely damaged, but fortunately, Hong Hui seemed to have seen a glimmer of hope in the dark night and began to secretly manipulate things. "Heaven is helping me!" This crisis that erupted at the slightest touch, wasn't it an opportunity to shake the imperial throne?!
