Qi Zhixi wrote "Poetry and Wine While You Are Young" with great respect, and after giving it to Liu Shichu, he pestered her to recall other poems of Su Shi and was still thinking about finding Su Shi's works.
Liu Shichu immediately regretted her words. Why did she insist on reciting "Enjoy poetry and wine while you are young"? She was just thinking of a phrase that some literary and artistic people in later generations had almost said to death. Unexpectedly, it brought out Qi Zhixi's obsession with Su Shi. She was really committing a sin, because no matter how hard Qi Zhixi looked, he was destined to not find Su Shi's works.
Feeling guilty, Liu Shichu quickly left the tavern. After returning to the Liu family, she wondered whether she should write down some of Su Shi's poems and give them to Qi Zhixi.
Ever since Qi Zhixi showed up in the tavern, the owner had praised him several times in front of Liu Shichu, saying that he had a good way of dealing with people, and that even if there were drunk guests in the tavern who wanted to cause trouble, he could handle it properly.
When Liu Shichu thought of this, he decided to write out Su Shi's poems from memory as a reward for him.
She had just written a line when she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet moving. Before she could react, the account books and papers on the table began to shake, and then the shaking became stronger and stronger, and the table was obviously moving.
Liu Shichu was startled and realized that it was an earthquake. She stood up quickly and shouted to the maids and nannies, "There's an earthquake! Run out of the door! Don't hide in the house!" Then she ran out herself.
As she ran, tiles fell from the house and hit the servants who were running away in panic. In an instant, everyone started screaming and crying.
Liu Shichu frowned and grabbed a little maid who had fallen to the ground. He dragged her out and shouted, "Don't panic, don't stop! Don't worry about anything, just run out..."
She was dragging a half-grown maid with her, and couldn't save anyone else. There were many houses in the courtyard where she lived, and when she ran out from the corridor, the roofs and walls began to collapse.
If she hadn't been so agile, she would have been crushed by the collapsed wall.
By the time they ran out of the house and reached the garden outside, the earthquake had become so severe that they could feel the ground shaking even when they were standing. The other servants who had run out with them were howling in fear, and the little maidservant that Liu Shichu had dragged out was also crying so hard that she collapsed to the ground and couldn't even get up.
"You just stay hidden carefully in the open space outside and don't go near the house. Those who are not injured should help bandage the wounds of the injured. Don't run around. I want to find my sister-in-law now!" Liu Shichu loudly instructed the still panicked servants and wanted to leave.
“Madam! It’s very dangerous now! You will get hurt if you run around…” Liu Chun, Liu Shichu’s trusted maid, hurriedly grabbed her and said worriedly.
"Don't worry, I can avoid danger. Have you forgotten that I have practiced martial arts? Don't be afraid, just stay here and help settle these people. I want to find my sister-in-law." After Liu Shichu finished speaking, he pulled Liu Chun's hand away and ran quickly to the main courtyard of his sister-in-law Wang.
Along the way, she saw the servants in the house running out in a panic. Liu Shichu didn't care about them and ran all the way. When she arrived at Wang's yard, the first thing she saw was the servants who were scrambling to escape.
"Where is my sister-in-law? Where is she?" Liu Shichu grabbed a familiar-looking maid and asked sternly.
The maid was held by her, crying and shaking her head, shouting frantically: "I don't know! I don't know... Don't hold me... "
Liu Shichu had no choice but to let her go, and then caught a maid who ran away from her: "Where are my sister-in-law and old lady now?!"
Fortunately, although the maid was panicked, she still had some rationality and quickly replied: "In her bedroom, the old lady was taking a nap and hasn't gotten up yet..."
When Liu Shichu heard this, she immediately had a bad feeling. She had to dodge the things that were thrown at her from all directions while looking for Wang's bedroom.
Unfortunately, Wang's bedroom was at the deepest part of the courtyard, surrounded by many houses. Normally, such a house design could show her majesty as the mistress of the Liu family, but during this great earthquake, it became a fatal flaw.
Liu Shichu had to avoid the dangers on the road and resist the shaking of the ground so as not to lose her balance and fall. Therefore, the journey was really difficult. By the time she found Wang's bedroom, she was already sweating.
Wang's bedroom was half collapsed. Liu Shichu saw that her sister-in-law had her legs pinned down by a beam. She was gritting her teeth and trying to pull her legs out. Unfortunately, she was old and weak, and she was unable to pull her legs out from under the thick beam.
Next to Wang, there was an old woman with blood all over her head, who was pushing the beam with all her might, trying to help Wang escape.
"Madame Wang, just run away and don't worry about me..." Wang said to the old maid in a miserable state.
"How can I abandon my master and run away alone? Master, please insist, if you want to run, we can run together!" the old maid answered firmly.
"Sister-in-law!" Liu Shichu hurriedly stepped through the pile of messy things.
When the old lady saw her, she immediately shouted excitedly, "Aunt, please help lift this beam. The old lady's legs are being crushed!"
Liu Shichu picked up the beam, gritted his teeth, and exerted all his strength to move the wood away from Wang's legs in one go. The old nanny immediately spread Wang's legs apart and tried to help her up.
However, Wang's legs were pressed down, and she was in great pain. She couldn't use any strength at all. She was so anxious that she cried and said, "Don't worry about me. You and Chu'er can run together!"
The ground shook again, and the tiles on the half-collapsed roof fell down with a crash, hitting Liu Shichu.
Wang was so anxious that she shouted, "Chu'er, get out of the way!" Fortunately, Liu Shichu was agile and dodged to the side when he heard the sound. However, there was a collapsed cabinet next to him, so Liu Shichu had to avoid it. As a result, he did not completely avoid the falling tiles, and several pieces hit his shoulders and back.
However, she didn't feel much of the injury, so she just shook off the dust on her body, walked flexibly to Wang, pulled her onto her back, and then said to the loyal old lady, "Follow me!"
“Chu’er… I’m very heavy, it’s too dangerous, put me down quickly…” Wang was so anxious that she could only cry. She wanted to get off Liu Shichu’s back, but she was afraid that if she moved too fast, it would hinder her movements and put her in greater danger.
"Sister-in-law, just stay here and be at ease. I will definitely take you out safely." After saying that, Liu Shichu carried Wang on his back and fled out again with difficulty.
After finally escaping from the house, suddenly a brick as big as a washbasin came flying towards Liu Shichu and was about to hit her.
Wang was so anxious that she shouted, "Chu'er, be careful!"
Liu Shichu wanted to put her arms around Wang from behind, so she quickly raised her right leg and kicked the brick aside with a bang.