"Everyone else is eager to say good things about themselves and pat themselves on the back. But Miss is different; she actually takes all those unfounded flaws and blames them on herself."

Xiao Hong couldn't understand why Li Youran would do this. Even if she wanted to break off the engagement, there was no need to smear her reputation.

If this news gets out, I'm afraid I'll never be able to face anyone again.

"Xiao Hong, come quickly and help me up, I... I'm laughing so hard my stomach is cramping."

Li Youran didn't care about any of this and, with Xiao Hong's help, went back to bed.

Little did she know, Li Youran didn't care what others thought of her or whether she could still get married. She already had someone she loved, and she believed her sweetheart wouldn't care about such questions.

Li Youran fell asleep shortly after lying in bed. This time, Feng Yu was not in her dream; it was just her and Tang Lei, which made her feel exceptionally relaxed and happy.

"Princess, wake up! Princess, wake up!"

"Xiao Hong, stop making a fuss, let me sleep a little longer."

As Li Youran was talking, she turned over and continued to sleep, but her arm was pinned down, and she woke up in pain again.

"Um……"

As soon as Li Youran opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Hong's anxious face. Seeing this, she became more alert and hurriedly got up.

"But what happened?"

"Princess, something terrible has happened! I just heard a guard report to His Highness the Second Prince that Young Master Tang has lost contact."

Upon hearing Xiao Hong's words, Li Youran was suddenly taken aback.

She hurriedly got out of bed, wanting to ask the Second Prince what had happened, but Xiao Hong stopped her. She forced herself to dress up, quickly changed her clothes, and left in a hurry.

"Princess, His Highness the Second Prince has already left."

Li Youran arrived a step too late. The Second Prince had already left the county office, so she hurriedly called a carriage and went out to look for him.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! There's a large-scale outbreak of diarrhea in the city."

Before the Second Prince could be found, he encountered Wu Yong on the road.

Wu Yong then instructed his men to haul cartloads of medicinal herbs into the city.

"How could this happen? Aren't all the ingredients supposed to be distributed by us?"

Li Youran frowned deeply. She didn't know why this had happened. Just yesterday, she had personally witnessed everything being distributed.

"I personally checked everything, there is absolutely no mistake."

Wu Yong naturally knew what Li Youran was saying, because he had also checked the goods with Li Youran. However, the residents of the city were indeed experiencing a collective bout of diarrhea, and it was quite severe.

"Could it be a problem with the water source?"

"I'll send someone to check right away."

Upon hearing Li Youran's words, Wu Yong slapped his forehead, realizing how careless he had been and had forgotten to check the water. He then hurriedly left.

"You Ran, don't worry, it's just that we've temporarily lost contact with Tang Lei."

Seeing You Ran's tense appearance, the Second Prince hurriedly comforted her.

“When carrying out a mission, it is common to lose contact temporarily in critical situations. Let’s wait two days and see if we can find Tang Lei’s whereabouts. If we still can’t, I will immediately send people to look for him.”

Li Youran knew that the Second Prince's words were partly meant to comfort her, but he wouldn't lie to her. If Tang Lei's situation was truly dire, the Prince wouldn't stand idly by.

Although Li Youran was worried, she could only tell herself to calm down and wait two days to see how things went.

"Where did Doctor Ma go?"

These past few days, Doctor Feng has been busy researching prescriptions, so he has left the outside affairs to Physician Ma.

Since arriving here, the Second Prince has not seen Physician Ma.

They initially thought that Doctor Ma was treating the people's diarrhea, but when they sent people to look for him, they couldn't find him anywhere.

"Your Highness, please forgive my lateness."

Just then, Physician Ma rushed over in a panic, knelt on the ground, and begged for forgiveness from the Second Prince.

"Does Physician Ma know about the diarrhea outbreak among the city's residents?"

"Your Highness, I am aware of your question and am currently investigating the cause."

Just as Doctor Ma was speaking, Li Youran noticed that the soles of her shoes were covered in wet mud, and there were also traces of water on her body.

"Dr. Ma, have you made any discoveries?"

"Your Highness, after examining them, I found that all of their symptoms were the same; it was likely diarrhea caused by eating something unclean."

Li Youran was puzzled. If what Doctor Ma said was true, why was there wet mud on the soles of her shoes? Did he know in advance and go to the well to check?

"If it's just simple diarrhea, it won't be life-threatening. But people with pneumonia have high fevers and are already dehydrated. Now they have diarrhea, vomiting and having diarrhea. I'm afraid their situation is not optimistic."

Just then, Detective Huang and Wu Yong walked over, bowing as they continued speaking to the Second Prince.

"Your Highness, I went to check the water source at the well just now and found that it had been poisoned!"

As Detective Huang spoke, he knelt down and addressed the Second Prince with righteous indignation.

"I humbly request Your Highness to send me to investigate this matter thoroughly, to uncover the truth, and to find the person behind the poisoning."

"Wu Yong, you and Detective Huang will investigate this matter together and make sure to find the person behind it."

The Second Prince's expression remained unchanged. After speaking to Wu Yong, he turned and left.

In truth, the Second Prince's mind was also in complete turmoil.

The city is now under lockdown, and people are not allowed to move around freely. All the people are staying at home, and the only people who can move around freely are those who work for the government.

Another possibility is that someone outside the city took the opportunity to secretly poison the food and then left.

However, both of these possibilities are clearly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.

The Second Prince knew perfectly well that, under these circumstances, apart from his brothers, no one else would have any reason to add fuel to the fire.

"Where did Dr. Ma visit today?"

Detective Huang had seen many cases and quickly discovered clues.

He looked at Doctor Ma warily, and Doctor Ma avoided his gaze slightly, turning away and letting out a snort.

"Do I need to report to you where I go?"

Doctor Ma looked like he had been bullied, and left angrily after speaking.

"Take down Doctor Ma for me."

At Li Youran's command, two guards behind him blocked Physician Ma's path.

What are you trying to do?

Ma Taiyi said angrily.

"I am a court physician, holding the sixth rank!"

Before Doctor Ma could finish speaking, he was interrupted.