The Capital City was shaken by an earthquake.
It was terrifying.
There were too many nobles and royals in the Capital City.
The epicenter was right in the center of the city.
In the dead of winter, someone actually ran out of a brothel naked on the next street over.
It attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Fortunately, there were no smartphones, otherwise, it would have been photographed and posted on social media.
When the earthquake hit, Qin Luoxia was at the Meng family's home.
The Meng family was also startled.
In the moment of danger, Qin Luoxia held her two grandchildren securely, one in each arm.
Eunuch Yan, who was about to take his leave, was also frightened.
However, seeing Sister Xia so calm, as if she wouldn't be afraid even if the sky fell, he calmed down and felt reassured.
Jiang Yu was also very steady.
She had experienced earthquakes before in Jingzhou.
She had plenty of experience, because after the earthquake, Aunt Yin had trained the family on what to do in case of an earthquake.
Mianmian had also chimed in, summarizing what to do during an earthquake: find open ground, avoid things falling from above, and don't panic.
You can't outrun a big quake, and there's no need to run from a small one.
Jiang Yu, as the young Madam Meng, took charge of the situation in an orderly manner, earning her more points.
This gave Madam Meng and Old Madam Meng a sense of security, and they were no longer afraid.
When the earthquake struck, Mianmian was practicing calligraphy with Princess Huiyun and Brother Chong.
Heaven knows, the usually lively Princess Huiyun had actually requested to practice calligraphy together.
It was unexpected, truly unexpected.
Mianmian felt that her princess grandmother seemed like someone who couldn't sit still.
But to accompany her in practicing calligraphy, she sat there quietly.
She had no choice but to obediently write along with them.
To write beautiful Chinese calligraphy, there doesn't seem to be any trick, just carefully write more, practice stroke by stroke.
Writing calligraphy can also cultivate one's temperament.
While writing quietly, she felt her mood was quite good, not as restless as before.
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly the earthquake hit.
The chairs and tables were shaking.
In that split second, Princess Huiyun pounced over.
Brother Chong also lunged over at the same time.
Mianmian was a bit stunned. If something really collapsed during this earthquake, your pouncing wouldn't be enough, would it? Using your bodies as cushions on top of me, are you afraid I'm not crushed enough?
In critical moments, Mianmian was very calm.
Perhaps it was from spending time with her mother, she had her mother's composure.
Mianmian grabbed Princess Huiyun and Brother Chong, one in each hand, and pulled them out.
They reached the open space in the courtyard.
My goodness, the earthquake had shaken out all the princess's hidden guards.
Mianmian only then realized there were quite a few people in the courtyard.
Mainly because during an earthquake, if you stayed under beams and such, you'd be dying too slowly.
Looking at people flying out from everywhere, Mianmian was absolutely stunned.
How high must these people's salaries be, and how challenging their daily work environment?
Or was there a hidden martial arts world in this world?
With shouts of "Protect the Princess!" there was nothing else to be done.
Princess Huiyun had truly been frightened in that instant.
Although she had always been reckless before, unafraid of death, and fearless.
But now that she knew her own son was actually still alive, she had found a new reason to live.
She was now very afraid of death.
Afraid that she might suddenly die, unable to do anything good for the child she had just found, leaving them only to mourn her.
That would be too outrageous.
Brother Chong's breathing was also a bit heavy.
This earthquake, he hadn't had any premonition at all.
Or perhaps it wasn't that serious.
But in that instant just now, he actually felt he didn't want to die, perhaps because his illness was slowly getting better. He no longer felt bored, there were many things to do, he was busy every day, and didn't think about death as much.
Zi Congheng and Princess Huiyun were both breathing heavily.
Mianmian felt at this moment that the ancient times were a bit inconvenient, without mobile phones, not knowing how her parents were doing.
Also not knowing how her brother and brother-in-law were.
As she was thinking this, she suddenly felt that her father had been acting strange today, as if he had sent everyone out.
Thinking about it, there was no one at home today, could the earthquake have hit their home again?
In the imperial palace.
Everyone was in a sorry state.
Some were sitting on the ground, some had fallen flat, some were hugging pillars, some had crawled under tables...
Even the noble princes were in no better condition.
After all, when faced with natural disasters like earthquakes, everyone's most genuine reaction is to prioritize survival.
Even the palace maids, eunuchs, guards, and secret agents who professionally served the Emperor were the same.
This was human instinct.
For them, serving and protecting the Emperor was their job.
But survival and self-preservation were instinct.
Instinct certainly took precedence over work.
But there was one abnormal person, a bit of a madman, who was different.
He actually prioritized work over self-preservation.
And in such a critical moment, he could still flatter the Emperor, saying such emotional and nauseating words.
The others, while trembling in fear, were a bit nauseated by this.
Especially the Seventh Prince, who wanted to save the Emperor but was beaten to it, felt particularly disgusted.
But at this life-and-death moment, the Emperor found Second Jiang exceptionally sincere and honest.
At this time, everyone was showing their most instinctive behavior.
Even his own sons only cared about hiding themselves and escaping.
He didn't expect that Second Jiang would think of protecting him first.
More loyal than the guards and eunuchs, even more than Eunuch Liu.
Eunuch Liu usually stood by his side, constantly saying things like "This old slave would die a thousand deaths without hesitation" and "This old slave wants to serve Your Majesty for a lifetime", but when the earthquake hit, Eunuch Liu should have been behind him, yet he didn't even think of the Emperor, falling to one side and crawling out first.
Only Jiang Er supported him, protected him, thinking of him first.
On the other side, Sixth Prince, who had been crying about father-son relationships in front of him just a few days ago, didn't think of him at all when trouble came, also avoiding danger first.
Only Chang Tian, this honest child.
The Emperor heard Chang Tian's words, he had just been frightened, and his heart was racing.
He tightly grasped Chang Tian's hand with his wrinkled hand.
He couldn't help but sigh: "Good child."
Jiang Changtian's eyes immediately reddened.
"Uncle, you won't be in danger. In the past, I didn't have any real family. Now, halfway through my life, I've finally found my family. I can't bear for anything to happen to you. I want you all to be safe and sound, to live long lives. Chang Tian wants to be protected by his elders. Chang Tian doesn't want to be alone anymore, walking barefoot alone is too hard," Jiang Changtian said to the Emperor, his eyes red.
"Nothing will happen. I am the Emperor of Ten Thousand Years, I will certainly protect you," After all, he was the Emperor, having seen many storms, he recovered quickly after the initial shock. He stood up, not letting go of Chang Tian's hand.
The Emperor looked at the Seventh Prince who had fallen in front of him, and a palace maid who had also fallen beside him, and said, "Little Seven has done well in protecting me, I shall reward this girl to you as a secondary wife."
