Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 176 - 174: It’s an Earthquake

Chapter 176: Chapter 174: It’s an Earthquake

"The diamond rings made in the workshop are so beautiful!"

"Right? The workshop reaches into the ancient past and reaches for the future. How can the jewelry it makes not be beautiful!" Bai Tian said proudly.

"Absolutely, absolutely, space-produced, definitely extraordinary!" Tian Bai also nodded in agreement.

Having heard these words, a new thought popped into Xiao’er’s mind.

Shouldn’t she become a jeweler?

Yes, she must become a jeweler. Not doing so would be a complete waste of space!

What did the space give her?

It gave her a pair of treasure-seeking swans.

It gave her a mysterious workshop.

It gave her mountains of gold, silver, and jade!

And those pearl clams that produced pearls like they were laying fish eggs.

There was nothing the four winds owed her!

I will create a Cartier here, a Tiffany, the most authoritative jewelry brand in the world.

Her heart boiling in the world of jewelry, Xiao’er hurriedly took out some paper and began to make a planning document.

Pricing, professional training, shop locations, decoration...

It seemed she would have to go around everywhere, looking for good jade stones.

It would be best to establish the first shop in the Imperial Capital.

Xiao’er made plans until the day outside began to break before she prepared to exit the space and go to sleep.

Seeing Xiao’er come out of the study, the two geese hastily said:

"Master, four days from now, in the middle of the night, there will be crustal movement in Qinghe County, Master. If you want to go back to Shengping Town, you’ll have to go back early the day after tomorrow at the latest! You should hurry up and go on a fast horse!"

Xiao’er was startled upon hearing this. Crustal movement? Wasn’t that an earthquake?

In modern times, earthquakes were tremendously destructive natural disasters. Each major earthquake is devastating, causing many casualties and leaving many families homeless.

Take a fast horse and leave? The journey from here to Qinghe County takes just over a day. If she leaves on a fast horse, it’ll only take half a day, meaning she will need to cover more than a full day’s journey in order to be safe.

"How big of an earthquake is it?"

"We don’t know, a big earthquake! Anyway, going back early can’t be wrong." Animals feared earthquakes the most. Although they were all in the space, they still felt fear when they sensed it.

"Alright, I know. I need to go notify my parents." After leaving the space, Xiao’er realized that there was still some time before dawn.

But she decided not to sleep. She lit the light in the room. This was a big deal, and she had to think about how to tell Shangguan Xuanyi.

Not knowing is one thing, but knowing and not saying anything, only caring about her own family’s escape, she really couldn’t do.

She would tell Shangguan Xuanyi first, let the Imperial Court think of a solution, then her family could flee.

At the same time, on the observatory tower, the National Master was observing the stars at night and discovered that the five stars were in chaos, disaster stars flickering, which was extraordinary. His face changed, and he quickly divined, only to find three consecutive ominous signs pointing southeast.

The National Master quickly grabbed all his belongings, then divined again. After a series of divinations that only vaguely predicted the location, he rushed from the observatory tower and headed straight for Zichen Palace.

...

As usual, Xiao’er washed up and had breakfast with her family in the main courtyard.

"Mother, after you finish breakfast, have someone pack all the valuable items in the house and put them in boxes. Place the boxes near the door of the warehouse, especially fragile items that need careful packaging." Xiao’er reminded again at the end.

"What’s going on?" Mrs. Liu looked nervously at Xiao’er. Packing valuable items didn’t seem like a necessary task, it was more like preparing to flee.

"Does Xiao’er want to go home?" Shen Chengyao was not worried, thinking that his daughter wanted to return to Shengping County.

Xiao’er nodded, "Yes, I’m planning to go back. Today, Father, take care of the things here, Mother, pack up the luggage, how about we go home tomorrow morning?"

"Why the rush?" Jingrui sensed something unusual.

There were no servants in the room, so Xiao’er spoke in a soft voice, "Last night, a god came to me in a dream and said there would be an earthquake in Qinghe County, followed by shaking mountains and collapsing houses."

"Sister, you can’t trust what you dream. I often dream of things that prove to be false," Yun’er said after finishing a steamed dumpling.

In the past, she would often dream of her parents coming to pick her up, but these dreams were always false upon waking.

Xiao’er of course knew dreams could be false, and she wouldn’t believe it if someone else told her this.

But it was enough for her that Shen Chengyao and Mrs. Liu believed her.

"Sister’s dreams are very real. A couple of years ago, she dreamt of the earth crackling open due to severe dryness, and then there was indeed a drought," she said.

Shen Chengyao truly believed it, considering that his daughter had a connection with divine beings.

"Such a big matter... we need to report it to the Emperor, otherwise the people there would suffer a great misfortune," he said.

Xiao’er thought to herself: To Shen Chengyao, government duties outshine even parental love!

Jingrui, Jinghao, Fang Wenri, and Yun’er all stared at Shen Chengyao in disbelief. Report to the Emperor? All because of a dream?

They all protested in unison, "Father, no!"

"Why not?" Shen Chengyao stood up, forgoing breakfast. He needed to draft a report.

"Father, don’t worry. I have already sent for Brother Shangguan," said Xiao’er.

"Xiao’er, just for a dream, you have alarmed... Isn’t that a bit... inappropriate?" Jingrui still found it unbelievable. Everyone dreams, but who would take them seriously?

"Brother, don’t worry. Whether it’s true or false, I know it in my heart," she reassured him.

Her siblings fell silent after hearing these words. Xiao’er never acted without certainty, especially in such a major matter.

Aunt Rong walked in, announcing, "Master, Madam, the Sixth Prince and Young Master Di have arrived."

"I’ll be back shortly," Xiao’er quickly set down her chopsticks and left the room.

Shangguan Xuanyi and Di Shaowei were preparing to head to Qinghe County. But upon hearing from Aunt Rong’s messenger that Xiao’er had urgent business with them, they decided to stop by first.

"Brother Shangguan, Brother Di!"

The two guests were admiring a modern landscape painting that Xiao’er had copied.

"Young lady, this place depicted here is truly beautiful!" Di Shaowei, who had traveled to many places, had never seen such a heavenly landscape.

"It’s a product of my imagination. Why are you both here together?" asked Xiao’er.

"We had business in Qinghe County. Before we set off, we heard that you sent someone to inform us of an urgent matter, so we came right over," Di Shaowei replied, becoming increasingly captivated by the painting to the point of desiring it for himself.

Shangguan Xuanyi asked Xiao’er with his eyes about her urgent matter.

Qinghe County? That name again!

"Why are you both going to Qinghe County?" Xiao’er asked.

"The imperial astrologer foresaw that something major would happen in Qinghe County. Father Emperor sent us there," said Shangguan Xuanyi.

"What major incident?" So it wasn’t only her who knew.

Shangguan Xuanyi shook his head, choosing not to tell Xiao’er in order to avoid worrying her. He only knew that it concerned a great calamity, but he was unclear about the specifics.

"A great calamity! But we don’t know what it is. Young lady, would you like to come with us?" Di Shaowei, who was outspoken and uninhibited, blurted out.

What a blabbermouth! Shangguan Xuanyi glared at Di Shaowei. Knowing it was a great calamity, how could he still invite someone?

Go with them? This... "Alright," Xiao’er nodded in agreement.

"We don’t know exactly what will happen, so you shouldn’t go," said Shangguan Xuanyi.

"What could happen? It’s probably a snow disaster! The young lady just needs to bring an extra down jacket," said Di Shaowei.

"No!" Even if it was most likely a snow disaster, what if the remaining one or two possibilities came true? He didn’t want her to suffer any harm, no matter how minute!

Predicting a snow disaster in the middle of winter seemed right, but they were wrong.

"It’s not a snow disaster, it’s an earthquake. A big earthquake. That’s the urgent matter I was talking about," said Xiao’er.