Southward

Boo-hoo~

The sounds of weeping and rummaging through rubble rang out without end.

After Mount Tai's earth-shaking night, the Tai'an City below was far from unscathed.

The violent disturbance of the earth veins had not been confined to the Jade Emperor Temple atop the mountain.

Many old houses in the city, especially in the districts facing Mount Tai, had collapsed or been damaged by the tremors. Fallen beams and shattered tiles lay scattered through the streets and alleys, stirring up dust that had yet to settle. Mixed with the morning dew, it made the scene especially bleak and sorrowful.

Grief hung over the city, and cries of mourning filled the air.

The people who had lost their homes gathered beside the ruins. Some mechanically searched for whatever household goods remained; others leaned against one another and wept. Pain and fury permeated the air.

Officials dispatched by the Jinan Prefecture Provincial Administration Commissioner Office and the Surveillance Commissioner Office had urgently taken up residence in Tai'an.

They set up porridge sheds, distributed clothing, organized soldiers to clear the ruins, and helped the people rebuild. They were busy to the point of utter chaos. With the Chief Steward of Prince De's Residence supervising, no one dared embezzle the supplies. Yet the disaster-relief efficiency and unequal distribution of resources still sparked new, small-scale clashes and complaints from time to time.

The people cursed not only the natural disaster, but the man-made calamity as well.

Zhao Bingzhong, Zhou Xian, dozens of officials throughout Tai'an City, and the officials of every rank who had colluded with them in the Tai'an Commandery Commandant Office—those who had turned a blind eye to the blood-sacrifice scheme involving boys and girls, neglected their duties by overlooking the city's abnormalities, or even aided the evildoers—all became targets of the people's