"I am Master Huang's advisor. It has been a long time since I heard of Physician Ma. I greatly admire you. Would you mind if we went to another place to talk?"

Grand Tutor Huang bowed to Physician Ma and said this.

Originally, Physician Ma was feeling discouraged because he wasn't being taken seriously by the Second Prince's side. But now, after being praised like this by Master Huang, he felt a little flattered and followed Master Huang into the carriage.

"I heard that Li Youran also went to Liaocheng with His Highness the Second Prince."

As the Empress spoke, she put down her teacup, looked up at Feng Yu, and continued.

"Since the Emperor has arranged a trial marriage for the two of you, why don't you go to Liaocheng to visit him?"

Although the Empress cared about her nephew Feng Yu, she wouldn't dwell on the private matters between Li Youran and Feng Yu.

Sending Feng Yu to Liaocheng was merely a gesture of goodwill towards the Second Prince, and a way for him to share in the credit.

The Empress originally intended to win over the Second Prince, because among the four princes, the Second Prince was the one who was the most secretive and cunning.

However, the Empress did not expect that a plague would break out, which disrupted all her plans.

Therefore, when the plague first started, the Empress simply watched from the sidelines, because she did not know how capable the Second Prince really was.

Now that the epidemic in Liaocheng has been effectively controlled, and the Second Prince's abilities stand out among the other princes, Her Majesty the Empress intends to take the initiative and send Feng Yu to Liaocheng in person.

“Aunt is right, but will the Emperor think that I am getting too close to the Second Prince…”

As Feng Yu spoke, he glanced at the Empress, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, not finishing his sentence.

"Don't worry, if the emperor doesn't want you to get close to His Highness the Second Prince, he won't bestow a marriage upon you and Li Youran."

After all, they had been husband and wife for decades, and the Empress understood the Emperor's thoughts quite well.

If the Emperor had no intention of supporting the Second Prince, he wouldn't have agreed to this marriage. After all, even disregarding her connection, the Imperial Uncle's family alone had enough influence to help the Second Prince ascend to the throne.

The Empress's actions were actually a deliberate test of the Emperor's attitude towards the Second Prince and the Feng family.

"This is utterly inhumane. People should be laid to rest in the earth after death, so how can they be forced to be cremated?"

On the surface, Physician Ma was angrily rebuking the officials, but in reality, he was speaking to Li Youran, criticizing her for acting without any method or discipline.

"What Doctor Ma said is very true. It is true that burial brings peace, but it also depends on the circumstances."

Li Youran knew that Physician Ma disapproved of her actions, so she did not intend to use her power to suppress him, but rather to use reason to shut him up completely.

"But the situation is different now. These are patients who died from the plague. Even their feces have to be handled specially, let alone their corpses."

After Li Youran finished speaking, he glanced at Physician Ma and saw that Physician Ma looked unconvinced. He knew that trying to reason with him would not work.

"Since Doctor Ma insists, these corpses should be laid to rest. We will listen to Doctor Ma."

Li Youran used a feigned retreat to advance. After hearing Li Youran's words, Physician Ma's expression softened considerably, revealing a smug look on his face.

“Detective Huang, go and report this matter to His Highness the Second Prince. Tell him that Physician Ma intends to bury these people and that he will bear all the consequences himself.”

Originally, when Mrs. Ma saw that Li Youran had given in, she was about to put on airs and say something condescending.

But before he could even open his mouth, he heard Li Youran's words and his expression changed drastically.

"I can't bear such a heavy burden. I'll just have to follow the princess's arrangements."

After saying this, Doctor Ma turned and left, while Detective Huang hurriedly turned his head away and laughed.

"Alright, let's cremate these bodies as soon as possible, lest things get complicated."

Li Youran shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly.

I thought that no matter where I went or what I did, I would encounter people I couldn't get along with, just like Doctor Ma.

She knew that Doctor Ma was arrogant and looked down on her, a mere woman, but one must learn to be flexible in many things, especially for a doctor, who must apply what he learns flexibly.

Thinking of this, Li Youran suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Doctor Feng since this morning.

"Detective Huang, I'll leave this to you. I'm going to attend to other matters."

"Princess, please rest assured, I will keep a close watch on you."

Detective Huang hurriedly wiped the smile off his face, put on a very serious and solemn expression, and bowed to Li Youran.

"You Ran, look."

As soon as You Ran arrived at the yamen gate, she met Tang Lei, who was out. He was carrying a basket of cherries like he was showing off a treasure, and he said to Li You Ran with a happy face.

"I heard there was a cherry orchard in the south of the city, so I went to look for it. I didn't expect it to actually exist. The cherries there are really good."

As he spoke, Tang Lei picked up a large, dark red cherry from the top and said it to Li Youran.

In reality, Tang Lei's acquisition of these cherries was far more complicated than he claimed.

Just getting through that thicket of thorns required exceptional lightness skills; Tang Lei's robe was nearly torn. He searched for a long time before finally finding the cherry trees.

For some reason, when Li Youran saw Tang Lei smiling at her with beads of sweat on his face, she suddenly thought of Tian Alang.

Since arriving here, Tian Alang has been in charge of troop deployment and relief efforts for the disaster victims outside the gate.

To be precise, Tian Alang only visited her briefly through the door when she contracted pneumonia. Later, when she recovered, he sent someone to deliver a bunch of wildflowers from outside her door, and after that, the two had no further contact.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!