The next day, the rain had stopped and the sky cleared.
However, in Yangxin Hall, all the ministers had ashen faces, trembling as they stood.
Li Tianze saw them in this state, and the fury in his heart grew even-stronger.
He abruptly stood up and threw a memorial to the floor, angrily rebuking, "The plague in Qingzhou is so severe, why was it only reported today!"
The memorial happened to land at Gu Qing's feet, his body shaking even more, legs weak.
Suddenly, he remembered, several months ago, a young man came to the Prefect of Jingzhao's office telling him there was a plague in Qingzhou.
At that time, he did not take the matter seriously, had the man beaten, and threw him into prison, where he was starved for several days.
Now, Gu Qing realized just how big of a hole he had dug for himself.
If he had paid attention to the matter back then and reported the news earlier, he might have received the emperor's commendation.
