Like Pearl and Jade

Chapter 8

In front of a natural disaster, humans were minuscule. Aristocratic families and ordinary people would receive equal treatment in front of these disasters.

The violent movement did not stop due to the cries on the earth. The shaking increased in a destructive manner, as though sky and earth would flip upside down.

The people seemed to hear the roar under the ground. The terrifying sound caused many people who had fled outside to kneel on the ground and cry to the heavens to spare them.

The shaking finally stopped, whether it was due to the tiredness of the earth dragon or the prayers of the people. But some not so secure buildings had become ruins, and the cries for friends and relatives came from all over.

After the terrifying movement, the common people had lost some wealth, but they were filled with gratefulness towards the emperor. If the emperor was not benevolent and virtuous so the ancestors sent a warning, they would likely have been smashed to death in their sleep by the falling house beams. They would not have been able to survive, and even protect their important assets.

No one knew who first shouted "Long live the emperor," but the call caused numerous common people to kowtow in the direction of the imperial palace. They desired to set up a monument to the emperor. For the common people who innately revered the imperial house, the emperor being only thirteen years old was not important.

They did not care how young or old, ugly or beautiful the emperor was. In any case, the emperor received a dream from the ancestors just after taking the throne, and the people of Jing escaped a calamity. This showed that the emperor was a wise ruler.

Compared to the ordinary people who listened to the court and left their houses, some of the aristocratic families in Jing were not so lucky. From the bottom of their hearts, they thought nothing of the young emperor, so they thought the earthquake was just frightening words to scare people.

As a result, they were woken up from their dreams by the shaking of the earth. While most people escaped under the protection of their faithful servants, there were some who died, and there were innumerable damages to their property.

The Sima Family also had great losses. The members of the third branch looked at the messy residence with lingering fear.

Sima Ling, who stood in the middle of everyone, had tear tracks on her face, her hair a mess. She had none of her usual cold and pride. Sima Xiang, who was soothing her softly, was not much better off. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were dusty. She was unspeakably dishevelled.

The Sima Family had no place where to voice their complaints. While they were the young emperor's maternal family, they were not very close to the young emperor and did not have a good outlook on his rule. So in the last half year, they had remained distant as subject and ruler without any hint of feeling.

Even more importantly, the young emperor seemed to be closer to the new nobility and the aristocratic families who were not especially prestigious. This displeased them even more. They did not care too much about the earthquake warning this time. This place was the prosperous location for several dynasties and in the last millennium, there had been no record of earthquakes. Would the earth move just because you say so?

The young emperor had an inexplicable dream, and after being fawned upon by the Gu Family, he took it as true. Rashly putting out such notices was to make people panic.

The Li Family had the same thoughts as the Sima Family. Influenced by the two families, several other families had not moved, so they were the families that suffered the great losses in this disaster.

In the end, before they had time to mourn, people from the palace came. They said that after the earth movement, it was feared that the earth dragon would still not go back to sleep, and hoped that the ladies and gentlemen would be careful.