Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 133 Epidemic

That night, in the imperial palace, Langhua Palace.

Chu Yunyi seemed to be haunted by a nightmare. He suddenly sat up straight from the bed, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, soaking his clothes.

His breathing was rapid and his heartbeat was as clear as a war drum in the silent night. It was obvious that he was in a very uneasy mood.

Guard Mu Song, who had been waiting not far from the bed, quickly stepped forward upon hearing the noise, but his face remained expressionless as he calmly asked, "Your Highness, are you having a nightmare again?"

Chu Yunyi wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he muttered to himself: "He's dead, but he still lingers like this..." Before he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Mu Song, with a hint of vigilance in his eyes, "How is it going?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Song immediately bowed his head, clasped his fists, and said respectfully, "Your Highness, something happened with Feng Que."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunyi's already furrowed brows knitted even tighter. His pupils trembled slightly, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Pointing the finger at Feng Que so quickly! Li Yaocheng's words are really fragile!"

A cold light flashed in Mu Song's eyes, and then he said coldly: "Do you want me to get rid of them?" As he spoke, a cold murderous intent emanated from him.

However, Chu Yunyi simply shook his head and responded in an unusually calm tone, "There's no need to act rashly for now. Without solid, actual evidence, these little tricks won't do anything to me. Humph, they're trying to lure the snake out of its hole, but I won't let them do that!"

After hearing this, Mu Song's expression remained unchanged. After a moment of silence, he didn't say another word.

Seeing this, Chu Yunyi glanced at him thoughtfully, then asked again, "Have you dealt with all the correspondence?"

Mu Song nodded without hesitation and replied, "Not a single bit left."

Chu Yunyi nodded with satisfaction, "How are things going on the other side?"

Mu Song's eyes moved, and he said, "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be done now."

A sinister glint flashed in Chu Yunyi's eyes. "If this succeeds, the capital will be in chaos. I want to see how my conceited third brother will handle this."

*

On the river bank, houses are built against the mountain, scattered and scattered, and all the lights are out at this moment.

The sound of flowing water by the river is particularly clear at night.

Zhuang Yan sat quietly on a thick branch in front of a farmer's house, yawning silently, lowering his head from time to time, staring at the well in the yard, as if waiting for something.

Time passed quietly.

Suddenly, a sneaky figure appeared near the wellhead.

The figure moved extremely cautiously, taking every step slowly and lightly, for fear of making any sound.

Zhuang Yan, who was originally a little sleepy, all his sleepiness disappeared immediately when he saw this figure.

He stared wide-eyed, watching the man's every move below, not daring to relax even a little.

The figure quickly took out a package from his arms, opened it hurriedly, and was about to sprinkle the white powder inside into the well.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yan jumped down from the tree like a flash of lightning.

Before the thief could react, Zhuang Yan had already landed steadily in front of him and snatched the powder from his hand in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, Zhuang Yan kicked the thief hard.

Just as the man was about to fall heavily to the ground with a loud noise, three or two people also dressed in black appeared behind him.

They were quick-witted and quick-handed, and quickly stretched out their hands to steadily support the thief who was about to fall to the ground, successfully avoiding making any noise and alerting others.

Zhuang Yan was very satisfied with his companions' performance. He smiled and gestured to them.

Afterwards, without any delay, this group of people used their lightness skills one after another, and disappeared into the vast night in the blink of an eye like light birds.

*

Imperial Prison

Feng Que was naked from the waist up, tied to a wooden frame, his body covered in bloodstains. Every time the whip lashed down, a stream of blood would splash onto the ground, forming patches of shocking scarlet.

His face was distorted with pain and he screamed at the top of his lungs: "Please, let me go! I was just greedy at the moment and took advantage of my position to collect a little more taxes. I really don't know anything else!" Feng Que's voice was filled with fear and despair, echoing throughout the room.

Shang Jiu sat leisurely on a chair beside him, holding a cup of steaming hot tea in his hand, with a cold smile on his lips.

Hearing Feng Que's plea for mercy, he took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Right now, all the major pharmacies in the city have been suspended due to suspected counterfeit drug cases and are undergoing a comprehensive rectification. If you still want to save your life, you must honestly confess everything you know. Otherwise... you will not be able to endure just a mere flogging."

These words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Feng Que's heart hard. His heart suddenly tightened, and his eyes began to roll rapidly, obviously racking his brains to think of a response.

Just at this moment, the sound of footsteps came from far away.

Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open and Zhuang Yan strode in.

Behind him was a group of men who were tied up. They had their heads lowered and their faces could not be seen clearly.

Zhuang Yan walked to Shang Jiu as if no one was around and sat down very naturally.

He also snatched the teacup from Shang Jiu's hand, which was about to be brought to his mouth again, and drank the remaining tea in the cup in one gulp.

He was completely unaware of the hint of surprise in Shang Jiu's eyes.

"There were over ten of them, all plotting to poison the wells the villagers depend on for survival. Not only that, they even attempted to attack the river region directly. Fortunately, the Lord was aware of this and immediately deployed personnel near the major rivers."

Zhuang Yan spilled the beans like a bamboo tube, unleashing the entire story without so much as a breath. "Unfortunately, we were still a step too late. By the time the adults realized they were likely to attack the waters, these people had already taken action. Now, innocent villagers in several villages have unfortunately been infected. What's worse is that the disease is spreading at an alarming rate and is still spreading."

As soon as Zhuang Yan finished speaking, Feng Que, who was tied to the cross, suddenly turned as pale as paper and his eyes became blurred and dazed.

He stared at the new faces on the ground who were also tied up and escorted here, and felt short of breath.

Shang Jiu glanced at him, his eyes as cold as ice and a hint of sneer. Then he lowered his eyes slightly, turned to face Zhuang Yan, and asked in a serious tone, "Have the epidemic prevention measures been implemented?"

Hearing Shang Jiu's question, Zhuang Yan quickly straightened his back, patted his chest and answered confidently, "Don't worry, it's in place!"

But just as he finished speaking, Zhuang Yan's confident expression disappeared in an instant, replaced by a face full of worry and helplessness.

He sighed deeply and continued, "It's just... alas, ordinary doctors are completely helpless against this epidemic. So far, many people have died. If it continues like this, I'm afraid it will cause panic."

Shang Jiu's face remained calm. "The imperial physician Chen in the palace has experience in treating epidemics, and so-and-so..."

"And that scoundrel Xiang Heng!" Zhuang Yan grinned. "If his ancestors were all miraculous doctors, he shouldn't be any worse off, right? Even though his family has fallen on hard times... he's incredibly lucky. He's now the deputy director of the Imperial Hospital's Pharmacy Bureau..."