Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 36 The Torment of Waiting

There were ruins everywhere in Shuntian Prefecture, and all the officials were mobilized. Even the official who sat high up in the government office yesterday went to the front line to direct the disaster relief work.

No matter whether it is sincere or false, if you want to keep this black hat, you must do all the follow-up work to avoid gossip.

This earthquake is still intermittent and aftershocks continue. No one can guarantee whether there will be a bigger earthquake next time, which leads to slow progress in disaster relief.

The sight of unrecognizable bodies being dragged out from the rubble was heartbreaking and made people cry.

The women and children who lost their loved ones looked at their husbands who were lying on top of them with their arms outstretched, trying desperately to protect them. The despair and pain they felt could not be expressed in any words. Silent crying and sobbing could be seen and heard everywhere on the streets of Shuntian Prefecture.

The comrades who survived by chance, whether they knew each other or not, all joined the disaster relief work with all their might.

When our nation faces any difficulties, our unity, our strength, and our kindness are beyond the estimation of any country!

The lights in the Forbidden City were on all night long. It was as if the Ming Empire had pressed the pause button, halted all work, and devoted itself entirely to disaster relief work. Officials were shoulder to shoulder coming and going in the Qianqing Palace, and statistical data were constantly being sent to the emperor's desk.

Emperor Hongzhi personally supervised the officials in their work and did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Earthquakes of varying degrees occurred in the capital, Zhending, Ningxia, Yulin, Zhenfan, Lingzhou, Taiyuan, Haifeng and other places, especially in the capital, where one-tenth to one-twelve ten houses collapsed. A rough estimate showed that thousands of people had died.

Looking at this shocking data, Emperor Hongzhi's eyes turned red, his dragon body trembled, and he couldn't help but sigh, "I pray to God to forgive all the sins on me and not hurt the people." Then the historian recorded it in the history books.

……

Huaihua Hutong is relatively remote, and the disaster relief officials have not yet arrived here.

In the dark ice cellar, Chen Ce carefully groped around for half an hour before he was finally familiar with every corner. The second half of the night was very cold, and the damp and dark cellar was even colder. Because it was next to the Tongji Canal, the ground in the cellar became more and more muddy, adding to the chill, and Chen Ce could not help but shiver.

Madam Wu was still sleeping and there was no movement for a long time. When Chen Ce groped to the side of the small bed, she hugged him immediately.

Chen Ce was frightened. He had always thought that Madam Wu was sleeping, and suddenly someone touched him like this in the dark. How could he not be scared?

Madam Wu rarely spoke since she went down to the cellar. She was like a completely different person from the one she was in the courtyard before. Her slender and smooth neck was pressed so tightly against him that Chen Ce almost suffocated.

This time, Mrs. Wu's body was shaking violently. Chen Ce felt a few drops of water on her neck. She was crying.

Maybe she thought he had left. Chen Ce smiled bitterly. The cellar was so small, where could he go? It would be great if he could really get out.

Chen Ce gently patted Madam Wu's shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, don't worry, you will definitely get out alive."

Mrs. Wu's collapse seemed to happen in just a moment. She didn't collapse even when faced with natural disasters and earthquakes. Why did she become like this here?

Chen Ce didn't understand. This young lady must be hiding a lot of things.

It was Mrs. Wu who gave her hope when the earthquake came. Now it was Chen Ce's turn to give her hope. Chen Ce wanted to push her away and give her some advice, but she was unwilling to let go and just held him tightly.

This is certainly not love. Chen Ce is not that naive. Mrs. Wu is just looking for someone to rely on and relieve her fear. That's all. Chen Ce will not think too much about it.

The air was chilly, and the two hugged each other for a while to ease the cold. Chen Ce also felt less cold, and his body, which had been stiff just now, gradually relaxed.

Chen Ce didn't know the time. There was no light here, and soon he felt very sleepy. However, there was only one quilt on Mrs. Wu's small bed, and the bed was not big. After Chen Ce felt around, he found that it would be very crowded for the two of them to sleep together.

"Madam Wu, in this emergency, I will not be too fussy. After we get out, you and I will not say anything. No one will know that we slept in the same bed. I hope you can understand."

Madam Wu didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly in the darkness.

The bedding was a little damp, and Chen Ce was getting more and more sleepy. He lay half of his body on the bed, covered with half of the quilt, and soon fell asleep.

When he woke up again, his first reaction was to listen to the movement above. Everything was quiet, empty and dark. Madam Wu fell asleep next to him, her arms still tightly around his neck, the quilt was wrapped around her, and half of her body was no longer covered.

Chen Ce tentatively touched her head and suddenly felt something was wrong. Her head was very hot, probably because she had caught a cold.

How could she not catch a cold if she had to wrap herself in the quilt all night? Chen Ce blamed himself a little. This was not a solution. Zhu Houzhao... come quickly!

Now Chen Ce can only hope that Zhu Houzhao will send people to Huaihua Hutong first out of friendship, and count on the government to rescue them one by one. It is unknown how long he will have to wait.

If both of them were healthy, Chen Ce would not be worried, but now he was afraid that Madam Wu could not hold on.

"Are you ok?"

Chen Ce asked, then stood up and walked to the side to find a dry noodle bun and stuffed it into Mrs. Wu's mouth little by little.

Madam Wu hummed and said, "Cold...cold."

She was taking off her clothes, making some rustling noises. Chen Ce seemed to notice it and hurriedly held her hand and asked, "What are you doing?"

Madam Wu trembled and said, "I, I may not survive. You can use my clothes to keep warm."

Chen Ce held her hand tightly and said, "Believe me! You will definitely survive! Definitely!"

"Don't give up hope, someone will come to save us."

Chen Ce didn't dare to let Madam Wu sleep any longer, fearing that she would not be able to wake up, so he asked for something to talk about: "Madam Wu, how did you know there is a cellar here?"

As he spoke, he gently patted her shoulder, trying his best to calm her down.

Madam Wu sobbed softly and said, "I was imprisoned here before."

what?
Chen Ce was stunned for a moment, and didn't know what to ask for a moment. His mind was a little confused. What did it mean to be locked up here?

This is at the foot of the capital. The public security can’t be said to be very good, but it can’t be this bad, right?

No wonder she seemed like a different person since she came here. Chen Ce always felt that she was not like an ordinary farm girl, and now it seemed to be true.

Chen Ce deliberately changed the subject and said in a gentle voice: "By the way, I don't know Miss Wu's name yet."

Madam Wu said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Wu Shuxian."

……

Forbidden City, Eastern Palace.

After the earthquake subsided a little, Liu Jin suggested that Zhu Houzhao go to the Yangxin Palace as soon as possible to show his presence. Even if he could not help in any way, he should leave a good impression on the civil and military officials, and also make the teachers in the Eastern Palace happy and proud.

Zhu Houzhao sneered, "Go to hell! Do they still have the nerve to see me?"

"Liu Daban, go find the Jinyiwei!"

Liu Jin was delighted and said, "Okay, okay! Let's ask the Jinyiwei for disaster relief. Let's just do practical things!"

Zhu Houzhao said, "Stop talking nonsense. Let the Royal Guards go find out if Brother Chen is safe and what has happened to him."

Liu Jin: "..."

(End of this chapter)