Eunuch Yuan immediately ordered Xiao Xizi to investigate the matter.

Less than half an hour later, Xiao Xizi returned and reported to the Emperor, "This servant has investigated and found that since the smallpox outbreak in the capital, the palace has not sent anything to the Ling Prince's residence."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Yuan replied, "This servant will report back to Prince Ling immediately."

Fifteen minutes later, Chen Feng grabbed a pigeon and knocked on the window.

Xie Jingyan took the note Chen Feng handed him; it contained only two words—

No.

Upon seeing those two words, Xie Jingyan's eyes turned icy cold.

Originally, Doctor Tao only suspected that the smallpox was brought into the mansion by those silks. Now that it has been confirmed that those silks were sent by someone under the guise of the Emperor, what else is there to doubt?

The Emperor has bestowed gifts upon the Ling Prince's residence so many times that if it were said to be a gift from the Emperor, not only Steward Zhou, but also Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan would not suspect anything.

Smallpox ravaged the land, causing widespread panic, yet some used it as a weapon to take their lives.

The thought of such a vicious method sent chills down Shen Wan's spine.

If it weren't for her vigilance, and if Steward Zhou hadn't followed orders so diligently, the silk would have actually been delivered to Moyuxuan...

Shen Wan didn't want to think about it anymore.

It's just a pity for those innocent embroiderers in the embroidery workshop, who suffered this calamity.

Shen Wan grew angrier the more she thought about it. She looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "Who could do something so ruthless?"

If Empress Song were still firmly in the empress's seat, Shen Wan would be the first to suspect her.

But now Empress Song has been banished to the cold palace and can barely protect herself. The entire Left Prime Minister's family has been executed, and those who were close to the Left Prime Minister's family have been killed, demoted, or exiled. Only a handful of people remain in the capital. These people are already too ashamed to do anything else, so how could they dare to harm them?

Seeing Shen Wanqi's chest heaving, Xie Jingyan said, "No matter who it is, I will find him."

If those people were only after him, Xie Jingyan might have been able to tolerate them a little. But the people behind them wanted to take down Shen Wan and his newborn son as well. How could Xie Jingyan tolerate that?

He has never been a soft-hearted person.

Xie Jingyan instructed Chen Feng, "I'll keep those silks for later use, don't burn them."

Chen Feng said, "But there are patterns on the silk..."

"If smallpox can be added, it can be eradicated."

...He did something stupid in front of the master and the princess again.

If smallpox can't be eradicated, then the entire embroidery room is doomed.

Chen Feng silently withdrew and went to the front yard to deliver a message.

Shen Wan was eager to find out who had harmed them, but the Lingwang Mansion was currently surrounded by the city patrol, and no one could get out. She had no way to investigate, so she could only patiently wait for the plague to pass.

Previously, when Doctor Tao researched and developed a prescription, he would have someone send it out of the city to test it. Now, that's no longer necessary. Once the medicine is prepared and decocted, it can be sent directly to the embroidery room.

However, no cure for smallpox could be found. All the prescriptions could only alleviate the symptoms of those infected with the plague. Once infected, whether one lived or died was entirely up to fate.

Shen Wan had never felt that life was so hard to endure.

Half a month felt like half a year.

In the past two weeks, half of the maids and servants in the outer courtyard who contracted smallpox died, while the remaining half survived. The situation outside the city was even worse, with less than three or four out of ten surviving.

No more people in the city contracted the plague. Those who were under centralized management and contracted the plague, except for those who recovered, all died.

The plague stopped spreading, and it was pretty much over by then.

However, just in case, even after they have recovered, they must remain outside the city until there are no further problems before they can return home.

The same applies to the Lingwang Mansion.

Ten days later, the patrol officers who had been guarding outside the Lingwang Mansion finally left.

The day the city patrol withdrew was the day Shen Wan finished her postpartum confinement, and she felt completely relieved.

After getting up in the morning and finishing her makeup, Shen Wan couldn't wait to go out.

The sun was shining brightly, and spring was in full bloom. The trees in the yard, which had been bare all winter, were now lush and green.

Good news kept coming in one after another.

First came good news from the Prince of Yanping's residence: Cheng Yao was pregnant.

It was discovered half a month ago, but it only reached Shen Wan's ears today.

While Shen Wan was still happy for the Prince of Yanping and Cheng Yao, news also came that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke of Tan's mansion was pregnant.

With so many pregnant women, the young prince will never have to worry about not having playmates in the future.

Haitang covered her mouth and laughed, "I didn't expect that Young Master Xu would get married first, but Young Master Tang would become a father first."

Shen Wan chuckled. Pregnancy doesn't depend on the order of marriage, but given Tang Ze's personality, he would definitely show off in front of Xu Ji.

As Shen Wan had predicted, Tang Ze was not only smug in front of Xu Ji, but so smug that Xu Ji almost couldn't help but want to beat him up.

She was angered by Tang Ze when she went out, and her parents still disapproved of her when she returned home.

The wife of the Minister of Justice said, "You were so eager to get married, why don't you try to have a grandson sooner?"

Xu Ji, “…”

If he doesn't try harder to get his wife pregnant, he won't be able to live like this anymore.

Seeing them getting married and becoming fathers one by one, Du Cheng'an, who had finally managed to arrange a marriage, became anxious.

It's a pity that he was only engaged for two days when a plague broke out in the capital. The betrothal gifts haven't even been sent to the Yan family yet. Heaven knows when he will be able to get married.

Shen Wan was happy for them, while Yin Shuang said dejectedly, "Damn smallpox, it ruined the young master's full moon celebration."

A full moon celebration only happens once in a lifetime.

Ever since the young prince's third-day celebration, Yinshuang had been looking forward to the full-moon banquet.

And just like that, it disappeared without a trace.

Mentioning the full moon banquet, Shen Wan felt a little regretful. However, the regret was for her and Xie Jingyan. As for Jin'er, he was still so young and didn't understand anything. Even if a full moon banquet was held, he wouldn't remember it. It was already a blessing that the smallpox outbreak spread to the outer courtyard but didn't affect Mo Yuxuan.

Thinking of the embroiderers and servants who died of smallpox, Shen Wan's eyes turned cold.

Previously, the Prince's mansion was besieged and people couldn't get out. Now that the frost has cleared, it's possible to find out who sent those silks to the Prince's mansion.

When Xie Jingyan returned from his morning exercise, he saw Shen Wan standing at the door. He asked, "Why did you come out?"

Shen Wan said, "You forgot, I'm out of confinement."

Forgetting is impossible; I'm counting down the days.

Xie Jingyan whispered in her ear, "I'm going to take a bath."

Shen Wan, "..."

That bastard!

You have to make it sound so seductive, like you're taking a shower every morning after your workout.

Thankfully, none of the maids were around, otherwise it would have been so embarrassing.

However, it seems they haven't been around for quite a while...

Shen Wan's face flushed, and she quickly turned around and went back into the house.

When Xie Jingyan returned after taking a shower, breakfast was brought out from the small kitchen, and the two sat down to eat.

After breakfast, Shen Wan prepared to take a stroll in the garden. She had been cooped up in the house for forty-two days, and she would have gone crazy if it weren't for Xie Jingyan and the children with her.

She wanted to do more than just stroll in the garden; she also wanted to go shopping outside the mansion, return to the Pingyang Marquis's residence, and visit the Yun family. There were so many places she wanted to go.

Shen Wan wanted to stroll in the garden, and Xie Jingyan would definitely accompany her. However, just as the two left Moyuxuan, a maidservant hurried over and reported, "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you to the palace."