Chapter 374: Earthquake in Dongqing (6)

Most of the mansion collapsed during the first wave of the earthquake. The remaining fell amid the subsequent aftershocks. Wei Jingxian had to go through her confinement… She couldn’t possibly continue to lie in a makeshift delivery room. There had been an emergency, but now she had the ability to move somewhere more comfortable.

During an earthquake, being in a tent was safer than being in a house.

When everything was in place, Jiang Pengji bade farewell to Feng Jin. “I must return home to assess the situation. The house and my possessions are secondary… I am worried about Xiaoyu…” Fortunately, the property the Liu’s owned in Shangjing was not large. The house was short and mostly composed of wood. The house did not have many tiles, so even if it collapsed, nobody would die. “I need to return to oversee the house.”

Feng Jin knew what Xu Ke meant to Jiang Pengji. They were master and servant, but also genuinely good friends.

“I will ask my servant to send you off. The earthquake produced countless refugees. Please be careful,” Feng Jin said.

Jiang Pengji was about to nod when she heard a familiar sound.

She abruptly got up and faced the direction of the sound.

“Yu—” Xu Ke was breathless upon seeing Feng Jin’s once low-profile but glamorous mansion reduced to a pile of ruins. His heart pounded, then unexpectedly grew heavy.

White carried him through the ruins. He saw a familiar figure from afar, and his worry turned to joy.

“Langjun!” Xu Ke jumped off the horse. He was overjoyed to the point of tears.

His face had a grey hue to it. His attire was crumpled like dry vegetables. His sleeves were torn, and his hair was disheveled. He looked pathetic.

“Xiaoyu? Thank the gods! You are still alive… How is the mansion? Were there many casualties or injuries?” Jiang Pengji’s heart was at ease upon seeing that he was alive. He had only scraped his arm.

Xu Ke was slower on foot compared to White. He continued to stagger towards Jiang Pengji, while White had already reached her. The horse kissed and rubbed her face.

Xu Ke regulated his breathing and replied, “With White’s warning prior to the earthquake, only the stableman was injured. Everyone else is fine.”

Jiang Pengji asked doubtfully, “Only the stableman was injured?”

Xu Ke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at White and said, “Langjun, White here saved many lives. Just before midnight yesterday, it suddenly became wild and overturned the stable. It accidentally hurt the stableman, who had attempted to stop it… It rushed into the house, causing a commotion.”

After all, it was a brave and majestic warhorse from the Northern Borderline, and its master was none other than Jiang Pengji.

Nobody could sleep because of White’s outburst. Its spiritual sense had been on point. White would nibble on the head of whoever approached the house, but nobody dared to harm it. It was Jiang Pengji’s beloved horse… All the lives of the servants could not compare to the life of the horse.

They had no other option. With White’s stubborn and willful nature, Xu Ke and all the servants had to stay in the inner courtyard. Thereafter, the earthquake occurred.

Jiang Pengji heard Xu Ke’s words, and she wore a strange expression. “Did White make your hair so messy?”

She initially thought Xu Ke messed it up amid the mayhem, but it was White that had done it.

Xu Ke had nothing to say. Langjun, it hurts for you to say this.

“You did well!” Jiang Pengji stroked White’s fur. The proud and beautiful horse stretched out its tongue to lick her face as if it was claiming its reward.

Xu Ke witnessed it, and the frustration in his heart dissipated somewhat. It nibbled on my hair… So be it. That is better than losing my life.

“The earthquake came suddenly. I ordered the servants to clean the ruins and search for survivors. Thus, I was delayed. I seek your forgiveness.”

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Jiang Pengji smiled and said with an open mind, “You did well. Why would I blame you? The moment the earthquake happened, the probability of survival was high. By the time the aftershocks ended, a lot of time had been lost. You know my capabilities. If I was unable to survive, then Shangjing would have been full of corpses. Do you know anything about the situation out there?”

If something unfortunate happened to her and she died during the earthquake, what purpose did Xe Ke have?

His decision was truly responsible and respectable.

In the current era, highly ranked people were suspicious and said that Xu Ke was rebellious. However, Jiang Pengji was very magnanimous… How could she blame him?

Xu Ke wasn’t a sentimental person, but after experiencing a disaster, he was under great pressure to make decisions based on survival. Moreover, he received Jiang Pengji’s affirmation. He was hovering on the brink of tears. He sniffed, forcing his tears to retract.

“Outside… It’s full of ruins. Out of ten houses, nine have collapsed. Numerous people are dead… I fear… survivors are few, if any…” Xu Ke choked with emotion while he spoke. A terrible scene floated before his eyes, and his heart was full of sorrow.

In ancient times, the people worked from nine in the morning until five in the evening. The earthquake happened after midnight. At that time, the majority of the people were already asleep. In addition, the earthquake happened suddenly, and it was shocking. Many did not have the chance to escape.

“Out of ten houses, nine have collapsed…” Jiang Pengji let out a long, heavy sigh. She mustered the energy to sit on a pile of ruins.

She was a warrior in her genes; she was part of the most intense wars in the galaxy. Both her hands had harvested an innumerable number of lives. Life and death were nothing out of the ordinary to her. From Jiang Pengji’s perspective, the people were no different from the federal citizens she protected.

The lives of her enemies were worthless in her eyes, but the people she guarded were priceless treasures.

The massive earthquake caused many deaths…

Their deaths held no value. Life was fragile like the grass of a field.

“Langjun…” Xu Ke thought of counseling her, but he didn’t know how to.

He knew that his Langjun had a cold personality. Her temperament was feisty, and her ways were bold. She had no limits, but deep down he knew she was pure of heart.

Yes, she was pure of heart.

Jiang Pengji would go down to the ground because she was pure of heart. She learned how to farm from the old farmers. She learned first-hand about what crops needed to grow and how to improve farming tools. She managed to optimize the process of tool design for the craftsmen.

She had established troops and guards who ensured peace in Hejian by protecting people from the bandits. She established the women’s troops and embraced the orphaned and trafficked young girls…

There were many books amid the ruins. They were the precious books she received from Marquis Cheng, which she wanted to print more of in the future. She wanted to provide an opportunity for young people to have access to books.

There was also Chongzhou’s sandalwood, where she secretly established a paper factory and experimented with many ways to create paper. Her method for each process was well thought out. The purpose of each step was clearly seen by Xu Ke.

She was born into an aristocratic family, but she did not base her identity on it. She had a genuine heart for the people.

Xu Ke wondered that if such a person could not be called pure of heart, then who could?

Jiang Pengji was not in a daze for long. She quickly recovered her composure and wore a cold expression.

“Open the storeroom and set up a place for porridge and rice to be distributed…”

Xu Ke knew his Langjun would want to do that. She had prepared and planned for it way ahead of time.

“The storeroom is stocked with rations. If we set up a site to distribute porridge, it will be able to last for half a month.”

Of course, the porridge distribution site was not huge. It would hardly be sustainable for five days.