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In Yangzhou city, the doors of every household were closed, and the once bustling streets were deserted.

Occasionally, patrolling officers and soldiers would pass by in a line.

The entire city of Yangzhou was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.

There was an elegant and secluded palace in the east of the city, which was surrounded by soldiers in three circles inside and outside.

The Yangzhou prefect was so anxious that he was sweating all over. The crown prince and two princes were assassinated in the city of Yangzhou.

Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was fine, His Royal Highness the Third Prince was seriously injured. The doctor had not come out yet, and the prefect paced back and forth without stopping for a moment.

"Tell me what's going on." The prefect spread his hands and sighed.

The advisor who came with the prefect was named Feng Yue. He exclaimed, grabbed the prefect, and told him to sit down. "This assassination has nothing to do with us, so why are you panicking? The Crown Prince's status is special, and he often faces assassinations. This is unavoidable. I don't think he will take his anger out on you or me. We should just do our best to help the Crown Prince catch this assassin."

"I hope so." The prefect sighed.

As he spoke, the tightly closed door was pushed open, and basins of blood were brought out by maids. The doctor then left the room and bowed to the two masters, reporting, "Don't worry, my Lords. The Third Prince is fine now. He just needs to rest well."

As soon as the doctor finished speaking, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time and walked past the doctor into the house.

The Third Prince Xiao Junqi was lying on the couch, pale and unconscious, his clothes half undressed, the wound on his right shoulder was wrapped in layers of white cloth, faintly oozing dark red.

The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince both stood by the bed, one calm and the other silent, neither of them spoke.

The prefect looked sideways at the Third Prince lying motionless, and stammered, "Your Highness, these..."

Just as he said this, he heard hurried footsteps approaching the door. Cheng Xi bowed to all the nobles one by one, and hesitated to speak.

It's not appropriate to mention the Crown Princess's affairs in front of so many people, right?

Xiao Junbai glanced at him and saw that his face looked bad and worried. He frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

Cheng Xi leaned close to His Highness's ear and whispered to him everything that had happened with the Crown Princess.

Xiao Junbai's expression did not change, his dark eyes became even deeper, and he did not speak for a long time.

The people on the side looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.

If Qi Qinghe was present, she would definitely jump up and shout at her, and she would know that Xiao Junbai gave her the house with ulterior motives and only wanted to take care of her.

It's a pity she's not here.

At this moment, Qi Qinghe was guarding Li Niang's room and refused to leave. She temporarily exchanged bedrooms with Juan Niang from the same courtyard. Juan Niang was more than happy to do so and slipped away quickly.

The epidemic that came from Yangzhou City first caused people to develop small red spots like rashes, then high fever and drowsiness. If the fever did not subside after two days and two nights, the person would convulse and die.

The gates of Yangzhou were closed, and it was too late to enter the city to seek medical treatment. Qi Qinghe gritted his teeth and pawned the silver jewelry he had bought for less than a month, and then invited two doctors to surround Li Niang and treat her.

"Miss, it's not that I can't treat her, it's that I really can't." "Who said that? I've tried all kinds of fever-reducing prescriptions, but her fever still won't go away. Miss, even if you lock us up here, we can't cure her."

The two doctors had worried expressions on their faces, repeatedly shaking their heads and trying to persuade Qi Qinghe. "So many good doctors in Yangzhou City can't help, so what can I do? In my opinion, if the young lady really cares about her, it would be better to prepare for her funeral as soon as possible."

Qi Qinghe sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Li Niang. Li Niang's face was flushed red, and her thin face was wrinkled, as if she was restless in her sleep. She closed her eyes and opened them again, "Thank you very much for taking the trouble to come here."

She slowly stood up, stuffed some change into the two doctors' pockets, forced a smile, and sent them out. She watched them walk away before returning to the house.

The not very spacious bedroom was filled with the bitter smell of medicine. Two porcelain bowls were placed on the small table beside the bed. Under the porcelain bowls was the fever-reducing prescription that the doctor had just written.

She picked up the medicine, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, handed it to Li Niang's mouth, and slowly put it down, again and again, until the whole bowl of medicine was empty.

Qi Qinghe put down the bowl casually and held Li Niang's slender wrist. The woman's delicate fingers and palms were already covered with calluses. They felt rough to the touch, obviously because she had done a lot of work.

She slowly let go and tucked the corner of the quilt for Li Niang. Her heavy eyelids could no longer bear it, and she fell asleep on the edge of the bed.

She didn't know how long it had been, but she seemed to feel someone pushing her in a daze, and someone was always calling her in her ears, which gave her a headache.

Qi Qinghe woke up with a start, sat up straight, and looked blankly at the person approaching in front of him. In an instant, he recognized that it was A Niang.

She grabbed A Niang's hand that was patting her shoulder and asked softly, "Why are you here, A Niang?"

Qi Xu helped her daughter to stand steadily, and the mother and daughter sat down at the table.

Qi Xu took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her daughter's forehead. "There are so many people at home, why do you have to come in person? What if you..."

Qi Xu stopped talking halfway through her words.

Qi Qinghe understood that her mother was worried about her. "Don't worry, mother, I'm fine." She had been sick very few times since she was a child.

"Let's eat first." Qi Xu knew that she couldn't persuade her, so she sighed and spread out the food boxes and bowls one by one.

After eating the simple dishes and clear porridge, Qi Qinghe suddenly felt relaxed and all the fatigue he had felt before was gone. He took the dishes from A Niang's hand, cleaned them up and put them back into the food box.

At this moment, the person lying motionless on the bed suddenly coughed a few times.

Hearing the sound, Qi Qinghe stretched his neck to look, and in three or two steps he rushed to the bedside to take a closer look.

Qi Xu followed closely behind, only to see her daughter's excited face, "Mother, her fever has subsided."

Li Niang's smooth forehead was no longer as hot as it is today. Although it was still a little hot, it was much better.

Qi Xu also sat down beside the bed and put her hand on Li Niang's forehead. "Isn't it getting better? Don't be too anxious. Things will always turn around."

Qi Qinghe nodded hurriedly and was about to get up when his vision suddenly went dark, his body swayed, and he slumped down on the edge of the bed, unable to speak.

Qi Xu hurriedly helped her sit down and couldn't help but persuade her, "It's been a whole day and a whole night. Why don't you go and rest first? I'll take care of her tonight."

Since discovering that Li Niang was infected with the disease yesterday, Qi Qinghe has been guarding her and has never left.

She smiled and said, "How can I let you take my place? I'm fine, don't worry. Besides, I won't be here all the time. I'll rest, don't worry."

As the mother and daughter pushed and shoved, there was a knock on the door. The closed door was pushed open a crack, and Qi Qingyu poked her head out, looking at her sister teasingly, "Sister, the prince has sent someone, and they are in the front yard now. Do you want to go and take a look?"

The prince sent someone?

Qi Qinghe and A Niang exchanged a glance, and seeing the panic in A Niang's eyes, she soothed her, "Don't worry, mother, I'll just take a look, nothing will happen."

Qi Xu shook her head. Her heart was beating wildly and she insisted on following.

Everyone was in the front yard. Because of the epidemic, they had not been working and were looking for a place to hide. Now they were blocking the front yard and not letting anyone in.

"You say you are the prince's man. What proof do you have? Our boss's daughter is delicate and weak. What if you have evil intentions?" Xia Wan stopped Cheng Xi and refused to give in.

Cheng Xi was in a hurry on his way, accompanied by the prince's dispatched doctors and guards, dozens of people in total, but they were stopped by a group of people who claimed to be the boss's helpers and were not allowed to go in.

He was in a hurry, and in his haste, he hadn't brought any tokens with him. "Someone at home is sick, how can we delay? If something goes wrong, can you afford it?"

Xia Wan was not afraid at all and started cursing.

"What are you arguing about?" Qi Qinghe's clear voice came from the back of the hall, and the helpers consciously made way for her and stopped the quarrel.

"Mother..." Cheng Xi subconsciously called out to the person when she saw him, but when she saw the person's cold eyes, she changed her words awkwardly, "His Highness is worried about the young lady, so he specially sent me to help."

Qi Qinghe's eyes wandered among the group of people, and he said indifferently, "He's recovered now, there's no need for Your Highness to worry."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Cheng Xi quickly stopped her, "Don't worry, young lady. The epidemic is a serious matter. It's better to stay and guard against it. We have come here with great difficulty, and now we have to return empty-handed. Isn't it a pity?"

Xia Wan pushed Cheng Xi away and stood in front of the Dong family, "Our girl asked you to leave, what else did you say?"

If Chengxi and the others left in disgrace, the prince might blame them.

Qi Qinghe pressed Xia Wan down, and instantly understood the hidden meaning. How could she refuse after hearing this? She sneered and said, "Follow me."

This house looks big, but in fact there is not much room to live in. With dozens more people, it will become even more crowded.

Especially the small courtyard where Li Niang lived, which was surrounded by three circles inside and three circles outside.

The doctor Chengxi brought with him was clearly very familiar with the epidemic. "The young lady's fever has subsided, but she is also at her weakest. Please prepare some hot water, towels, and light food. I will write a prescription and you can prescribe it accordingly."

This doctor came from Yangzhou City and had never seen Qi Qinghe, let alone his identity. But seeing Chengxi's respectful look, he became even more humble and called him "Master" like everyone else.

A circle of people surrounded him, all looking at the boss. Qi Qinghe turned sideways uncomfortably to avoid everyone's gaze and called Qin'er to run this trip.

Suddenly, she recalled what her younger sister had said: the prince was so kind to her because he liked her...

She shook her head, put aside such strange thoughts, called all the helpers, and gathered them outside the yard.

"Today is different from the past. The prince's men are also in this house. I hope you will be careful with your words and actions." She turned and looked at the figures moving around in the house. "Of course, if you feel unhappy or depressed, just tell me and I will pay you a monthly salary."

Just as the prince said, he would not let himself go. His residence, the cloth shop, and even this house were all filled with the prince's shadow.

Li Niang fell ill last night, and the prince's men arrived today, so it was hard not to make her suspicious.

Since it is a matter between her and the prince, why involve others?

Qi Qinghe laughed at herself. She was still in this house yesterday, drinking and chatting with a group of helpers who were like family to her, saying that they were all one family, but today she had to let everyone leave.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the helpers looked at each other and had no intention of leaving. They had seen how the boss had taken care of Li Niang in the past two days, and it would not be easy to find such a good boss again.

Not to mention, that's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Even if you have just a little contact with him, you won't have to worry about your life. How could he leave?

"The boss treats us like family. Don't worry, young lady. We will stand by the boss."