Chapter 371 – Dongqing Earthquake (Three)
The sight before him made the young boy’s face go pale as he shouted, “Sir—Sir, there’s a monster—”
The Book Boy noticed the strange occurrence, and both the Young Man and Wei Ci had already sensed it too.
The two hurriedly made their way to the open area as the tremors continued for half a stick of incense’s time.
“This is… an earthquake?”
The Young Man tightened his cloak, feeling a chilling sensation wash over him despite the oppressive heat of the night.
Wei Ci’s face went ashen, his mind blank as if something in it had shattered.
Dongqing… when did an earthquake ever happen here?
At this time in his previous life, he was already in Zhong Zhao’s Bianzhou, with the Wei clan in Heguan dwindling and relying on the Wei clan of Bianzhou, living off scraps.
He had no intention of getting involved in clan disputes, retreating into seclusion for the next few years, living a carefree life, occasionally keeping an eye on worldly affairs.
It was only when chaos engulfed the land that he earned the recognition of the late emperor and stepped out to help.
By that time, the world was already in shambles, the Nine Provinces and Five Kingdoms no longer existed, the feudal lords were fighting for control, and the power struggles were at their peak.
As for Dongqing, he had researched it thoroughly.
He scoured his memories, unable to recall any news of an earthquake happening at this time.
“The earthquake… originates from the direction of the Ziwei star…” He looked up at the stars, a strange alignment seemed to exude a cold aura, tinged with a faint blood-red hue that sent chills down his spine. After some calculations, he eventually deduced that the source of the earthquake was indeed from the Ziwei star.
The Dongqing’s Ziwei star referred to the Emperor of Dongqing.
And that direction pointed straight to Shangjing!
The area he was in was quite far from Shangjing; riding hard could take two months.
To feel such notable tremors from that distance was hard to imagine, leaving him to ponder what condition the capital must be in.
If he had known that there would be an earthquake in Shangjing, how could he possibly let that person go there?
No matter what, he had to stop it!
Could it be that he had lived another life and even Heaven couldn’t bear to see him succeed?
“Zixiao… what’s wrong with you?” Who dared to go back inside to sleep after an earthquake?
The Young Man and the Book Boy rushed in to gather some bedding, planning to sleep in the open courtyard for the night, discussing everything when dawn broke.
Momentarily distracted, he noticed his friend seemed to be acting like a lost soul.
“Xiheng… it’s nothing, I just thought of the nightmare earlier… perhaps it was a warning from heaven…”
Having had a nightmare just before waking up to a real earthquake, could it not be a heavenly warning?
The Young Man wore a troubled expression. “This current Dongqing… how much more can it endure? The Official Master is negligent in governance, with the court and common folk filled with relatives and eunuchs; how many common people will be lost in this earthquake? How many will survive…”
Wei Ci gazed into the distance, unsure if he had heard his friend’s murmurs.
“Two flowers, each with its own branch.”
Jiang Pengji’s alertness was sharper than that of any beast; half a minute before the earthquake struck, her nerves were already taut to the maximum.
She had never felt this level of unease before, her heart racing unnaturally fast.
“Don’t sleep—” She slapped Feng Jue’s back, waking the sleepy kid who had been dozing off, “I feel very uneasy…”
Feng Jue looked bewildered at Jiang Pengji, wondering what her anxiety had to do with him.
“Do you want me to rub your shoulders?” He maintained a disengaged expression.
The audience in the livestream erupted in laughter at his reply, the comments flooded with sympathy for the hapless kid—it was a deep comedic moment.
“Go away—who told you to rub?!”
Jiang Pengji retorted fiercely, her rough demeanor leaving Feng Jue with an even worse impression of her.
“I feel something’s about to happen—go wake Huaiyu and stay in the open courtyard for now; I’ll check the delivery room.”
Feng Jue’s temper flared at her impolite treatment, but Jiang Pengji was already quick on her feet, heading into the delivery room.
At that moment, the midwife suddenly opened the door to the delivery room and shouted, “The lady is in labor!”
What!
At this time?!
Jiang Pengji was momentarily stunned, a strong sense of crisis surged from her soles to her brain. She waved her hand to push the midwife aside, rushing into the delivery room. The midwife, startled by her sudden action, let out a surprised cry and fell to the ground, twisting her waist.
In the next instant, the ground shook violently, like the sky had turned upside down, the deafening sound of collapsing buildings echoed in her ears.
Dust filled the air, the sounds of frightened screams drowned out.
Everything happened too suddenly, the audience in the livestream was completely dumbfounded. By the time they reacted, the livestream screen was a chaotic mess, rooftops had collapsed, crashing down on the maidservants in the delivery room, leaving them bloodied and mangled.
Jiang Pengji’s instinct kicked in as she lunged to hold Wei Jingxian, pulling her from under the crumbling debris along with a thin blanket, rolling to avoid the worst of the destruction. The candle flames in the room had already flickered out, plunging everything into darkness.
Relying on her intuition and memory, she rushed out of the delivery room with the bloodied Wei Jingxian in her arms.
The moonlight spilled in, offering some clarity.
The ground continued to shake as Jiang Pengji laid Wei Jingxian down in the open space, handing her over to the shock-stricken midwife.
“I’m going back in to save more people; you take care of Jingxian… Feng Huaiyu, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and help!”
Fortunately, Feng Jue didn’t go for complex fancy decorations, the courtyard only had a small pond, without grandiose rocky terrain.
The surviving servants gathered in the open area; Feng Jue was snapped awake by Jiang Pengji’s reprimand and quickly stepped forward to calm everyone down.
Feng Jue was utterly exhausted, sleeping soundly.
However, he was fortunate; the collapsing beams didn’t crush him, only grazing him and startling him awake.
At this point, the city of Shangjing was already in utter chaos.
Feng Jue clutched his injured arm and pallor filled his face as he tried to reassure the crowd.
“My Husband… it hurts…”
By the time the earthquake struck, Wei Jingxian had already fainted; her last memory was of a beam falling towards her and the familiar silhouette. The midwife was psychologically prepared, and under Jiang Pengji’s firm orders, she pressed on Wei Jingxian’s pressure points, forcing her to regain consciousness… At a time like this, if the pregnant woman didn’t stay conscious, it would lead to a tragic fate for both mother and child.
“Hurry—Lady—Jingxian—” Once Feng Jue regained his senses, his mind was a muddled mess; his heart felt frozen, as if it were trapped in a cold cellar. Hearing the familiar calls brought him back to reality; he tightly embraced the bloodied Wei Jingxian.
“…My stomach… it hurts so much…” Wei Jingxian felt a heavy pain in her belly, as if something warm and wet had burst, soaking her clothes and bed linens, waves of intense pain flooding her mind, “Is… it time to give birth…?”
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji had saved two injured servants, helping them to a more open area.
The entire residence had turned to ruins, and with more aftershocks expected, all she could do was her best.
Fortunately, the houses in ancient times were low; even with aftershocks, there was little fear of being buried in the rubble.
She dug out some bedding and sheets from the debris and tossed them to Feng Jue.
“Surround this area; make a temporary delivery room. Someone needs to find a stove and quickly boil some water!”
Feng Jue, still dazed, obeyed Jiang Pengji’s orders before his senses were fully gathered.
