Chapter 182: Divine

Chapter 182: Divine

It was acceptable that Vice Minister of Revenue Pei Zuo was sent for disaster relief, as it was customary to dispatch Ministry officials for such tasks. However, appointing Prince Qing as an imperial envoy was intriguing.

All the ministers present were shrewd and surmised that the Emperor intended to give Prince Qing a chance to prove himself for the future.

Indeed, Emperor Xingyuan did intend to train Prince Qing through this task.

This was related to Miss Kou.

Emperor Xingyuan was disappointed when Prince Qing engaged in a drinking contest with Miss Kou at Princess Zhaoyang's birthday banquet. Such recklessness made the Emperor hesitant to hand over the empire to him.

Emperor Xingyuan did not dote on Prince Qing like he did with his other sons. His different treatment of Prince Qing mainly stemmed from a belief in his suitability.

The Emperor did not favor his eldest son, Prince Xiu, and the other princes were too young, leaving only Prince Qing as a viable choice.

Prince Qing was summoned to the palace and informed that he had been appointed as the imperial envoy for disaster relief and would have to leave for Dingbei the next day. Following this, he went to Handan Palace.

Consort Shu was surprised to see Prince Qing. "Yi'er, why are you entering the palace at this hour?"

"Father called me in to accompany Vice Minister Pei Zuo of the Ministry of Revenue and head to Dingbei for disaster relief tomorrow."

Consort Shu was taken aback. "What’s going on in Dingbei?"

"There was an earthquake yesterday. I heard that Dingbei was severely affected, some counties were entirely destroyed," Prince Qing said, his brows furrowed with the news he had just heard.

With the cold weather and the prospect of seeing many dead and injured people, Prince Qing felt an overwhelming annoyance.

"The entire county was devastated?" Consort Shu found it hard to believe, her face turning pale.

Prince Qing nodded. "It's in the urgent report. It shouldn't be false."

Consort Shu grabbed Prince Qing's wrist, her brows knitting together in concern. "You're leaving tomorrow? What if it’s too early?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Prince Qing shook off Consort Shu's hand and rubbed his face in frustration.

Judging by the Emperor's demeanor, if it weren't so late, he would have wanted him to leave immediately.

Her son’s frustration paradoxically calmed Consort Shu. "Yi'er, your father values you."

Even if he does nothing, a trip to the disaster area will count as a merit.

"I know." Prince Qing wasn't foolish. He had shown enthusiasm in front of Emperor Xingyuan but could afford to be honest with Consort Shu. "I'm just annoyed that I have to go out in this cold weather."

"Be careful and prioritize your safety," Consort Shu urged earnestly.

Irritated by her constant worry, Prince Qing hurriedly left.

Upon hearing the news, Prince Xiu stayed in his room for a long time. The next day, he acted as if nothing had happened and joined others in seeing off the disaster relief team.

Dingbei was not far from the capital. A team of light cavalry had been sent to scout the situation the previous day, but today's team was much larger.

Seeing this, the people of the capital gathered and started discussing among themselves.

"What's happening? Why are there so many soldiers?"

"I heard that a major earthquake occurred in Dingbei, many towns and villages were flattened!"

"Is that true?"

"Who would talk nonsense about something like this? Haven't you seen that even the princes have left the palace because of the earthquake?"

"Dingbei is more than two hundred li away from the capital, it’s no wonder the capital felt the tremors."

"Alas, how many casualties there must be. We’re fortunate to be in the capital, where nothing happened."

"You don’t know this. I heard that all the buildings in North Tower Ward collapsed, but fortunately, Miss Kou..."

Upon hearing this, someone who hadn’t heard the news immediately headed towards Qingsong Bookstore. "Miss Kou is so kind-hearted, I’ll buy a storybook to support her."

"By a twist of fate, Miss Kou saved so many people, she must have deep blessings, I’ll go to share in her blessings."

Thus, some went to support her, some went to seek blessings, and many more out of curiosity went to see for themselves. Master Hu was nearly pushed out of the bookstore by the influx of people.

Most of these people weren’t there for the storybooks, but since they were already there, buying a book that cost only 200 wen was a natural thing to do.

Master Hu soon became overwhelmed with work.

Prince Xiu stood by the roadside, lost in thought as he gazed at the bustling Qingsong Bookstore.

The distant earthquake in Dingbei gave his second brother an opportunity for political achievements and also spread Miss Kou’s reputation as a kind and blessed person.

While he did nothing, certain things slipped further from his grasp.

Prince Xiu smiled slightly and turned to leave when a carriage pulled up in front of the bookstore, and two women got off.

Xin You had come from the tailor’s workshop.

In the cold twelfth lunar month, no amount of warm clothing would be too much in such a disaster.

"Why are there so many people here?" Xiao Lian, who was accompanying Xin You, walked towards the bookstore together.

Xin You also got off because she saw the bookstore was crowded and was worried something had happened.

A sharp-eyed person spotted Xin You. "It’s Miss Kou!"

With that shout, everyone in the hall looked outside.

"Miss, it seems they are here for you!"

Xin You realized what was happening, and seeing that the crowd was about to rush towards her, she lifted her skirt and ran.

"Hey, where did Miss Kou go?" The first person who rushed out looked around confusedly.

Not far away, Prince Xiu was stunned, then fell into deep thought.

The speed at which Miss Kou ran was not typical of an ordinary lady.

Snow piled up on the sides of the street, while the road had been swept clean. Prince Xiu walked over, bent down, and picked up a beaded hairpin.

It took several days for the commotion at Qingsong Bookstore to settle down. A story quietly spread in the Imperial Academy.

"Did you know, the reason Miss Kou was able to save those people wasn’t a coincidence, it’s because Miss Kou is a divine calculator, she foresaw Guyu's blood calamity!"

"Cough cough."

Hearing the cough of Master Meng, the students gathered quickly greeted him, "Sir Meng."

"What were you just discussing?"

"Just idle talk!"

"Hmm?"

A sharp-witted student hurriedly said, "We were talking about the monthly exam results, sir."

Seeing that he wouldn’t get a straight answer, Master Meng, looking stern, walked away.

Don’t assume that just because he’s older, his hearing has worsened. It was clear these young men were discussing Miss Kou.

Is Miss Kou skilled in physiognomy?

Master Meng shook his head, smiling wryly.

On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the Imperial Academy was on a ten-day break. Zhang Xu, who again scored last in the monthly exam, returned home and hesitated to visit his grandfather and grandmother.

"Xu'er is back." Zhang Xu's grandmother, Lady Zhu, cherished her precious grandson more than her own life. "Baqin, please serve the young master a bowl of the simmering lamb soup."

Despite the delicious lamb soup, Zhang Xu felt heavy-hearted about reporting his exam results to his grandfather. "Grandmother, where's Grandfather?"

Today is also a day off for officials.

Lady Zhu sighed, "The court is preoccupied with the aftermath of the Dingbei earthquake. As the chief minister, your grandfather has no leisure time."

Zhang Xu's eyes widened, "Isn't Grandfather taking a break?"

"Yes, he’s staying in his study room."

"That’s good—" Realizing it wasn’t appropriate to be so happy, Zhang Xu quickly stopped himself, then, with a sudden shock, muttered, "It’s really amazing!"

Lady Zhu didn’t understand, "Xu'er, what are you saying?"