Once the news spread that someone in Kyoto had contracted smallpox, the number of pedestrians on the streets dropped by more than 90%.

The usually bustling streets were eerily empty.

Previously, Shen Wan had restricted people from entering and leaving the palace at will, which caused some discontent among the servants. They thought that Shen Wan was in confinement after childbirth and therefore could not go out, so she also prevented them from going out. Now that they know it was to prevent the spread of the plague, they silently swallowed their complaints and apologized to the princess in their hearts.

To prevent people from contracting the plague, Steward Zhou forbade anyone from leaving the manor to buy supplies, and ordered the fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat to be delivered directly to the manor from the estate.

Plagues are terrible, and smallpox is the worst of all plagues. No one dares to be careless. Their young prince was less than half a month old when he encountered such a terrible thing.

At first, only two or three people contracted smallpox, but the number increased on the second day, and by the third day, the number had jumped from a dozen to nearly a hundred.

The entire city of Kyoto was shrouded in a shadow of fear.

As if things weren't going to go wrong, the snowstorm hit as well. Many thatched houses in villages near Kyoto collapsed under the weight of the snow, and tree branches in the courtyard of Moyuxuan were also broken.

It was too cold. Two charcoal braziers weren't enough, so they lit another one and brought it in. Yinshuang and Haitang placed the brazier by the bed and said, "This servant has served the Princess for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such heavy snow in the capital. Luckily, the Princess can dream and had the Yun family prepare a lot of charcoal. Otherwise, the price of charcoal would have increased many times over, and many people would have frozen to death."

Smallpox coupled with blizzards made the disaster worse.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince of Western Liang was assassinated and fell off a cliff to his death in Great Chu. Western Liang wanted to take the opportunity to attack Great Chu, leaving Great Chu beset by internal and external troubles.

To cope with the smallpox and blizzard, Xie Jingyan and Shen Wan did everything they could. The Yun family was responsible for ensuring that the capital had enough medicinal herbs, charcoal, and food. The Imperial Hospital and Doctor Tao were responsible for researching prescriptions to treat the plague, as well as providing relief to the victims. Anything that needed to be done by the court was written in advance and sent to the emperor in the palace that same day.

Following the instructions in the memorial, the Emperor ordered troops to be drawn from the military camps to set up tents outside the city. All those who had contracted smallpox were sent outside the city for centralized treatment. Disaster victims were also housed in tents, but not in one place.

The Emperor did not assign Xie Jingyan to this matter, and Shen Wan was not clear on the specifics of how the smallpox was contained.

Shen Wan was still in her postpartum period, and even though there was no smallpox outbreak in Kyoto, she couldn't leave the house, so it didn't affect her much.

That day, Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan were talking when suddenly there was a knock on the window.

"Come in."

Before Xie Jingyan could finish speaking, the window was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making Shen Wan shiver.

Chen Feng jumped in through the window, quickly closed it, and came over to report, "Master, the Ministry of Justice just sent someone to say that a landslide has occurred thirty miles outside the capital. The falling rocks have blocked the official road, and the carriages can't get through. They can only turn back to the post station. It is estimated that it will take several days for the young master and young lady to enter the capital."

Returning to Beijing a few days later is fine, but I'm worried about the safety of the post station, since it's not far from the capital.

Xie Jingyan was worried, so he sent a secret guard to the post station to send a message back by carrier pigeon if anything happened.

Chen Feng agreed and jumped out of the window.

After Chen Feng left, the small kitchen brought in the food, and Shen Wan got out of bed to have lunch with Xie Jingyan.

Yinshuang set out the bowls and chopsticks, then stepped back and said, "Dong'er just told me that many maids in the front courtyard have caught a cold, especially in the embroidery room, where several embroiderers have fevers..."

Shen Wan heard this and said, "How come so many people are catching a cold? Didn't Steward Zhou provide them with charcoal?"

My cousin sent over a lot of charcoal, enough for everyone in the palace. Logically, so many people shouldn't be suffering from the cold.

Yinshuang shook her head. "I asked Dong'er the same question, but she doesn't know either. She heard it from the servant who brought the vegetables from the main kitchen today."

Shen Wan felt inexplicably worried. She looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "Should we send someone to the front yard to ask?"

Xie Jingyan picked up a piece of braised pork rib and put it in Chen Wan's bowl, saying, "Doctor Tao is in the front yard, we can leave it to him."

Shen Wan thought about it and agreed.

The maids caught a cold and needed to see Doctor Tao for treatment. She sent someone to inquire, but it was no use; what if they had contracted smallpox…

Pah!

Even with all these precautions, people still get smallpox, and so many people get it. I'm afraid there's no household in the capital without someone suffering from smallpox.

Relieved, Shen Wan served Xie Jingyan some food, and the two chatted as they ate, neither of them taking the matter to heart.

After finishing their lunch, Yinshuang and Haitang took the bowls and chopsticks out, and Shenwan sipped her tea. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the room.

Shen Wan looked out through the beaded curtain and saw Yin Shuang enter the room with a pale face, saying anxiously, "Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The maids and servants in the embroidery room in the front courtyard don't have typhoid fever, they've contracted smallpox!"

Silver Frost's voice trembled like a sieve.

Shen Wan stood there, stunned, as if struck by lightning.

Xie Jingyan's brows furrowed deeply.

Shen Wan came to her senses and asked, "Did Doctor Tao say they had smallpox?"

As soon as she asked the question, Shen Wan knew it was a pointless question.

Given the strict security measures at the Ling Prince's residence, no one would have suspected smallpox had it not been for Doctor Tao's claim.

How could smallpox have appeared in the manor, and so many people have contracted it?

She had forbidden people from freely entering and leaving the palace long ago, confident that she could ensure no one in the palace would contract smallpox. But as it turned out, countless people in the outer courtyard had contracted it.

Xie Jingyan asked, "How many people in the outer courtyard contracted smallpox?"

Yinshuang hurriedly replied, "At least a dozen people, especially those in the embroidery workshop, almost all of them are infected."

Shen Wan was puzzled. "The embroiderers in the embroidery room rarely leave the room. These days, their food and drink have been delivered by people from the main kitchen. How could they all have contracted smallpox?"

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