The Emperor also felt that his son wouldn't be so negligent, so he asked, "How are Prince Ling and Princess Ling?"

Xiao Xizi hurriedly replied, "The ones with ceiling fever in the Ling Prince's mansion are all in the outer courtyard. I haven't heard of any problems with the Moyuxuan where the Ling Prince and Princess live."

The Emperor immediately issued an order: "Issue my decree that Prince Ling and Princess Ling move into the palace."

Xiao Xizi was about to deliver a message when Eunuch Yuan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

“If you send Xiao Xizi to the Ling Prince’s residence, the Ling Prince and Princess will not enter the palace. It will only cause them controversy and make people in the palace uneasy.”

“If the Prince and Princess Ling are going to contract smallpox, they must have already contracted it by now. If they haven’t, they should take precautions so they won’t get it later.”

Although Eunuch Yuan was on Xie Jingyan's side, it was his duty to serve the emperor and advise him.

Prince Ling and Princess Ling would certainly not enter the palace at this time, so why spread this message and cause resentment in the palace?

The Emperor was so concerned that he forgot Xie Jingyan never listened to his father. It would be pointless to spread the word, so he had to abandon the idea of ​​bringing them into the palace.

Smallpox and blizzards were already enough to annoy the Emperor, but knowing that many people in the Ling Prince's mansion had contracted smallpox made him even more worried and irritable, and he couldn't even bear to read the memorials anymore.

It was cold, and the palace servants were afraid of catching the plague, so they tried to stay indoors as much as possible. However, news that someone in the Ling Prince's residence had contracted smallpox quickly spread throughout the entire palace.

Those who heard it were all shocked.

Everyone thought it was fake news.

It's astonishing that so many people in other princely mansions have contracted smallpox, let alone the Ling Prince's mansion.

Prince Ling knew about the plague outbreak in the capital earlier than everyone else in the capital. He should have taken strict precautions, but instead, he focused on the outside of his residence and neglected his own. It's hard to say whether Prince Ling was concerned about the world or just too blindly confident.

When the news reached the Empress Dowager's ears, she was taking medicine. When the palace maid reported it, the Empress Dowager was stunned and asked, "Has Prince Ling contracted smallpox?"

The palace maid shook her head, "I haven't heard of it..."

But with so many people in the Ling Prince's mansion infected, how could the Ling Prince and his wife escape unscathed?

The Empress Dowager felt inexplicably uneasy.

...

The maids and servants in the Ling Prince's mansion who contracted smallpox were all housed in the embroidery room.

Shen Wan was on tenterhooks for two days.

fine.

No one in Moyuxuan had a fever, headache, or general malaise.

But the situation in the embroidery workshop was terrible. One of the embroiderers died, and her body was taken out of the city and burned by the guards of the Prince Ling's mansion. Nothing she had used was left behind.

One has died, and two more embroiderers are seriously ill, with little chance of surviving.

Upon hearing this devastating news, Shen Wanxin felt as if she were covered in mud, a deep and unbearable pain.

She was trying to save the people outside the mansion, but she couldn't even save the lives of the embroiderers inside.

Shen Wan was in a very bad mood, and Xie Jingyan comforted her, saying, "We will find out how smallpox entered the manor."

Manager Zhou has been investigating this matter for the past two days.

There's something strange about this.

Those who had contact with people outside the mansion these days did not contract the plague, and none of those who did contract the plague left the mansion. It was as if the smallpox virus had scaled the walls of the Ling Prince's mansion and gone straight to the embroidery room.

Doctor Tao determined that the first person in the mansion to contract smallpox was the embroiderer, who then infected the servant who delivered the food, and it eventually spread to the outer courtyard.

The problem is that no one from the embroidery workshop has left the mansion in the past two weeks, so there has been no chance to bring the smallpox virus into the mansion.

As Shen Wan pondered this matter, a knock came at the window, and Chen Feng's voice came through, "Master, we may have found out how smallpox was brought into the manor..."

"Come in."

Chen Feng jumped through the window and entered the room. As soon as he approached, Shen Wan asked, "What did you find out?"

Chen Feng replied, "On the second day after the plague broke out in the capital, the palace sent a batch of silk to the mansion, saying it was a gift from the Emperor to the Princess. It was originally intended to be sent to Moyuxuan, but the Princess only allowed vegetables to be delivered to Moyuxuan and no one else was allowed in. So Steward Zhou had the silk sent to the embroidery room instead."

"Dr. Tao suspects that the silk fabrics carried smallpox and infected the embroiderers..."

Shen Wan frowned slightly and looked at Xie Jingyan, saying, "Why is Father Emperor bestowing silk upon me at this time?"

Although the Emperor has rewarded her many times, smallpox is rampant right now. Even if the Emperor wants to reward her, there is no need to rush. There will be plenty of time to reward her after the smallpox subsides. What if the palace servants bring smallpox back to the palace when they send silk out of the palace?

Xie Jingyan also felt that this matter was strange, and he said, "Let's go to the palace to inquire about it."

Chen Feng's lips twitched, and he said, "Master, the Prince's mansion is surrounded, and no one can get out."

The force surrounding the Ling Prince's residence was none other than the City Patrol Division.

Xie Jingyan glanced at Chen Feng and said, "If people can't get out, why don't you send a message by carrier pigeon to ask Eunuch Yuan?"

Chen Feng, "..."

Chen Feng silently withdrew.

The Imperial Study.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking at a jade pendant.

That was a gift from Consort Chen.

Eunuch Yuan stood aside, wondering where the Emperor had found this jade pendant. He had never seen the Emperor wear it since Consort Chen's incident.

The Emperor stroked the jade pendant with his fingertips. At that moment, Xiao Xizi came in carrying a pigeon and said, "Eunuch Yuan, a carrier pigeon is looking for you."

Eunuch Yuan, "..."

The Emperor looked at Eunuch Yuan.

Fearing that the Emperor might misunderstand that he was communicating with outsiders, Eunuch Yuan quickly explained, "This is Prince Ling's carrier pigeon."

It would have been better if they hadn't explained; the more they explained, the darker the emperor's face became.

His own son and Eunuch Yuan used carrier pigeons to send messages, but they didn't even bother to contact their father, the emperor.

The Emperor's gaze fell on the carrier pigeon, and Eunuch Yuan quickly took the pigeon from Xiao Xizi's hands, removed the letter from the pigeon's ankle, and presented it to the Emperor for inspection.

The Emperor said, "Dare you let me take a look?"

The smell of vinegar...

Grandpa Yuan's teeth are almost sore from the sourness.

Eunuch Yuan hurriedly said, "Prince Ling has something to attend to, and this servant can't help him. It's just that it's inconvenient for him to go directly to Your Majesty, so he asked this servant to pass on the message..."

That's more like it," the Emperor said, reaching out to take the letter.

Expand.

The letter contained only a few words—

Has the Emperor recently bestowed any silks upon the Princess?

emperor,"……"

I thought it was some important message delivered by carrier pigeon.

That's it?

The emperor looked disappointed.

Seeing that the Emperor's expression was a bit off, Eunuch Yuan mustered his courage and cautiously leaned closer for a peek. Even Eunuch Yuan couldn't believe what he saw.

The Emperor handed him the note. "Is this the code you've been using?"

Yuan Gonggong's forehead creased with annoyance. "Your Majesty is joking. This servant and Prince Ling communicate by carrier pigeon; there's no need for coded messages..."

The Emperor also felt it was unlikely, and his gaze fell back on the letter.

He didn't believe his son was so free that he would send a message by carrier pigeon asking about such trivial matters. The last time he rewarded Princess Ling was for the birth of the eldest grandson of the emperor, and he hadn't rewarded her since. This question was definitely not asked casually.

Could this be related to the smallpox outbreak at the Ling Prince's residence?

Thinking of something, the emperor's eyes turned cold.

"Go and check if the palace has recently sent any silk to the Ling Prince's residence."