241. The fertile waters flow eastward.

Xie Wenling and Prince Zhennan left the mansion one after the other and walked along the stone-paved road.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the riverbank. I could hear the sound of the water crashing against the bank. The turbid water carried withered branches and rushed downstream.

Xie Wenling stopped and turned to look at the Prince of Zhennan: "Many people have already died in the city. We can't delay any longer. I will decide on a method to treat the epidemic, isolate patients in different areas, burn mugwort for disinfection, and brew medicine. All of these require manpower, medicine, and food. We need to send these to the isolated people to prevent them from going hungry and causing trouble."

With his hands behind his back and kicking pebbles on the ground, the Prince of Zhennan spoke in a perfunctory tone: "Lord Xie is very thoughtful, but my men are all soldiers who fight battles. How could they do such delicate work? If they get infected, who will guard the fiefdom? As for medicine and food, the granary was flooded by the torrential rain a few days ago, and many of the medicines were also damaged by the dampness. We really can't take them out."

"Destroyed? What a coincidence?" Xie Wenling stared at him, then suddenly smiled. "Since Your Highness is unwilling to help, then I won't force you."

The Prince of Zhennan looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he had suddenly become so easy to talk to.

He pointed to the rushing river, his voice as soft as the wind, yet every word clear: "Look at this river, how beautiful it is! What's its name?"

The Prince of Zhennan had no idea what he was up to: "Wohe, what, Lord Xie, you haven't heard of it?"

“I’ve heard of it, and I’ve also heard a proverb,” Xie Wenling said with a smile, looking at him. “The Wo River flows eastward, rising from the clouds and descending to Xingyang.”

The Prince of Zhennan's heart skipped a beat as he looked at his smile: "What does this mean?"

Xie Wenling said gently, "If I remember correctly, Xingyang is where the Prince's mansion is located, right?"

"If I have people collect the bodies of those who died of disease, I don't need many, just ten will be enough."

"I will throw the body into the Wo River, and it will float downstream, directly crossing your fiefdom, including Xingyang, along with the Wo River."

"When the plague spreads, not to mention people, there won't even be chickens or dogs left in your fiefdom."

The Prince of Zhennan's face gradually turned deathly pale. He stared at Xie Wenling in disbelief, as if he hadn't understood what he was saying: "...Are you crazy?! Aren't you afraid of being executed by slow slicing for doing this? Even if you cure the plague here, the imperial court will never let you go! Your reputation, your future, will all be ruined!"

He couldn't imagine how someone ordered to treat the plague could come up with a plan that would kill off half of the south.

He thought it was a threat.

"Reputation and future prospects? That's something I'd only consider if I'm confident I can cure the plague." Xie Wenling stared at the Prince of Zhennan and chuckled softly.

He said nonchalantly, "I'm not confident I can cure it now, and if I can't, even more people will die, and I'll still be sentenced to death. I might as well take you with me. If I die, you and the people of your entire fiefdom will take the fall with me. It'll be worth it."

He seemed very satisfied, as if he had found a sure-fire way to make money.

The Prince of Zhennan was so frightened by his madness that he took a step back. Looking at the calm-faced man in front of him, he felt a chill run down his spine for the first time.

He opened his mouth, wanting to find another excuse, but saw that Xie Wenling had already turned around, seemingly about to send someone to find the body. He quickly said, "Wait! You...you mustn't act rashly!"

Xie Wenling stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes unwavering: "Has Your Highness come to a decision?"

The Prince of Zhennan gritted his teeth, his face turning pale and then red, before finally giving in: "I'll give you manpower, medicine, and food, but you have to promise that if the plague can't be cured, you won't blame me!"

"That's excellent." Xie Wenling was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of several guards rushing over.

The guard, holding a sealed wooden box, reported in a flustered manner: "Your Highness! Someone from the Prince's residence has come, saying that there is a secret letter from Uncle Li, and you must open it yourself!"

The Prince of Zhennan frowned, took the wooden box, broke the seal, and pulled out the letter inside.

The further he read, the darker his expression grew. Finally, he clenched the letter tightly, his knuckles turning white, and anger surged in his eyes: "Fine! Fine, fine court! They actually want to use my son as a scapegoat!"

Xie Wenling stood aside and saw his expression change suddenly. Just as he was about to ask a question, he heard the Prince of Zhennan suddenly look up, his eyes looking like he wanted to devour someone.

He slammed the letter to the ground.

In his letter, Li Bo said that the court had long wanted to get rid of him and wanted to manipulate the heir apparent to find out about the Zhennan Prince's Mansion in order to defeat him.

Now that the crown prince is in danger, they have no room to retreat.

Li Bo told him he could either capture Xie Wenling as a hostage or kill him as a sacrifice to the flag, and then immediately send troops to the capital to catch them off guard, where there was still a chance of victory.

Regarding the former, Li Bo did not believe that the imperial court would compromise for the sake of Xie Wenling.

So he recommended the latter, to cut off his head and hang it on the battle flag to boost morale.

Even the cleverest Xie Wenling could never have imagined that so many messy things would happen during the short time he was away from the capital.

Before he could even guess, the Prince of Zhennan barked a command at the guards behind him: "Men! Seize Xie Wenling for me!"

The guards immediately surrounded him, drawing their swords, their cold glints pointing directly at Xie Wenling.

Xie Wenling was surprised by the sudden reversal of the situation, but he did not lose his composure.

He had long anticipated that the Prince of Zhennan was fickle, but he never expected that a secret letter from Uncle Li would completely ignite his murderous intent.

"Your Highness, I don't know what happened, but it's most likely a trap!" He retreated while trying to calm the Prince of Zhennan down. "The news from the capital may not be true. If you make a move now, you'll really fall into someone else's trap!"

But the Prince of Zhennan wouldn't listen to his advice at that moment: "Enough nonsense! Take him down!"

The guards rushed forward, their blades aimed straight at his face.

Without further hesitation, Xie Wenling drew his long sword from his waist. With a flash of light, the first guard who rushed forward fell to the ground, his blood splattering on the stone pavement, a shocking sight.

Seeing this, the other guards launched an even fiercer attack.

Xie Wenling parried with his forehand and then struck again with his backhand. His swordsmanship was fierce and ruthless, aiming straight for vital points. In a short while, another person fell to the ground.

Standing to the side, the Prince of Zhennan watched Xie Wenling's skills and felt a sense of apprehension.

Although he saw Xie Wenling's sword, and knew that scholars in the capital would learn the Six Arts of a Gentleman, he thought it was just decoration and boasting, but he didn't expect it to be true.

Xie Wenling appears unassuming, like a strategist, but when he takes action, he is ruthless and decisive, clearly having been trained in martial arts.

In addition, he didn't actually have many guards around him...

The Prince of Zhennan was a little flustered, but he still gritted his teeth and shouted, "All of you, charge! No retreating!"

Xie Wenling also knew that fighting against multiple opponents would be disadvantageous in a prolonged battle, and that the area was still far from his own troops, so it was not advisable to linger in the fight.

He feinted, forcing back the guards in front of him, then turned and retreated, his figure flashing through the woods and quickly disappearing without a trace.

The Prince of Zhennan stomped his feet in anger and roared at his guards, "Chase them!"

The guards immediately gave chase, but Xie Wenling's entourage, who were not far away to begin with, had already joined them.

"My lord, what should we do?" the attendant asked anxiously, looking at the bloodstains on his body.

Xie Wenling wiped the blood off his sword and immediately issued an order: "The Prince of Zhennan has been bewitched. We can't stay here any longer. Immediately issue the order for everyone to evacuate Huaqu City and set up camp outside the south gate of Qiuhe City."

The Prince of Zhennan stood by the river, looking in the direction Xie Wenling had retreated, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He turned abruptly and shouted at the guards behind him, "Immediately dispatch three thousand elite troops to wipe out Xie Wenling's men outside Qiuhe City Gate! Then issue the order to assemble all the garrisons in the fiefdom. We're going to attack the capital now! The court wants to harm me, and I'll make them pay a bloody price!"

Although the guards felt this was inappropriate, they dared not disobey and could only bow and accept the order, hurriedly going to mobilize troops.

Before long, the sound of orderly hooves rang out outside Huaqu City, with banners waving and swords flashing, creating a tense atmosphere.

Meanwhile, outside Qiuhe City, Xie Wenling frowned deeply as he saw dust billowing in the distance.

He still doesn't understand why the Prince of Zhennan suddenly turned against him and even wanted to kill him.