Chapter 439 The Plague

At noon in August, the sun, like a fireball, hung in the sky above Fufeng City. The scorching temperature felt like an invisible hand pressing down on everyone's heads, almost burning them up.

That's how Shang Ruyi felt at that moment.

She stood by the bed, watching He Wenzhu kneel on the ground, carefully taking Yuwen Ye's pulse by holding his wrist. With each rise and fall of the unconscious man's chest, her heart pounded.

What happened to Yuwen Ye?

But she dared not ask, and she didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that the slightest movement of her would disturb the doctor's pulse diagnosis and give her a despairing result.

The people around seemed to think the same way. Mu Xian, Cheng Qiao, Dai Junliang, and Shan Tong'er, who had just escorted Yuwen Ye back, all stood outside the screen in the inner room, holding their breath and not daring to breathe.

At this moment, a cold voice said, "What, is the General still not awake?"

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned.

Looking back, he saw Song Yu, who had changed out of his armor and bandaged his shoulder wound. He pushed open the door and walked in, his disheveled appearance from when he was desperately fleeing outside the city completely gone. He slowly walked to the side and sat down, then glanced at Yuwen Ye, who was pale and breathing heavily on the bed, and sneered, "It seems that the general has been neglecting his training. After two battles, he can't hold on any longer."

Shang Ruyi's face immediately darkened.

Standing to the side, still covered in dust and not yet having changed her clothes, Shan Tong'er stepped forward angrily, pointing at him and saying, "What did you say? My second brother Yuwen just left the city to save you!"

Song Yu's expression changed, and he realized that he shouldn't argue with a child.

He then sneered, "Do I need his help?"

"you--"

The child was still too young to speak.

Mu Xian, standing to the side, clenched his fists and said with red eyes, "If the General doesn't save you, would Lord Song still be here making sarcastic remarks?"

"..."

"If it weren't for your rash departure from the city, Lord Song, the General wouldn't have had to lead the campaign while ill. Now, the Fufeng army has suffered heavy losses because of you, and the General himself is ill—"

Before he could finish speaking, Song Yu jumped up, pointed at him, and cursed, "You bastard! What do you think you are? And you, how dare you speak to me? As generals, it's inevitable that some will die or be wounded when we go into battle. How dare you slander me based on that!"

"you--"

"Besides, so what if he goes to war while ill? He is a general of the imperial court, and this is his responsibility!"

"..."

"You two are spouting nonsense and disrupting morale. I'd like to ask you: you clearly had the opportunity to kill Xue Xian before, but you didn't. Did you intentionally spare his life?"

"..."

"If you are not intentionally harboring bandits to enhance your own power, then I think you are spies from the Longxi Army!"

After saying that, Song Yu immediately ordered with a dark face: "Men, arrest these two spies!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than two soldiers walked in from outside, reaching out to grab Mu Xian and Shan Tong'er. At this moment, Mu Xian was already furious, his eyes red, but he dared not move. After all, he understood that under military orders, if he made a move, it would be disobeying military orders and he would be executed. But Shan Tong'er had just entered the army and didn't care about such things. She immediately tried to resist.

Song Yu said sternly, "If you dare to lay a hand on me, you will be disobeying military orders, and I will—"

Before he could finish speaking, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, staring intently into his eyes with sharp eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Lord Song, that's enough!"

Caught off guard, Song Yu felt his throat tighten under the sudden, imposing aura, and he didn't finish his sentence.

Before him stood Shang Ruyi.

Her face was grim, her cheeks contorted as she clenched her teeth, seemingly suppressing some emotion. She said in a low voice, "My husband has just returned from the battlefield and is still ill. Please do not disturb him."

When facing her, Song Yu hesitated for a moment.

After all, she is the wife of a general and the young mistress of the Duke's mansion.

He thought for a moment, then sneered, "Madam General, I did not disturb the General. I was merely handling military affairs."

As he spoke, he pointed at Mu Xian and Shan Tong'er: "These two are spies!"

Shang Ruyi said solemnly, "One of them is my husband's deputy general, and the other is my husband's personal guard. They have both fought on the battlefield and risked their lives against Xue Xian. Lord Song says they are spies. Shouldn't you provide some more solid evidence?"

Song Yu said, "I had them arrested precisely for the sake of evidence, didn't I?"

"..."

"Arrest them, interrogate them thoroughly, and we'll have evidence."

Shang Ruyi said, "Isn't this a case of forcing a confession?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yu's face darkened, and he said sternly, "General's wife, I address you as 'madam' out of respect for the General and the Duke, but in the army, the General's wife has no right to speak! Since you've come along, just do your duty and protect the General. You have no right to interfere in other matters!"

"..."

"I am the Grand Commander-in-Chief, and I now have the final say in all matters concerning the army!"

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately clenched her fists.

Just then, from the other side of the screen, a panicked gasp suddenly came from the inner room—

"General!"

Everyone hurriedly turned around, and Shang Ruyi, disregarding the outside, rushed in. She saw Yuwen Ye, who was unconscious, suddenly open his mouth wide and gasp for breath. His face was pale with a bluish-gray tinge, as if someone was choking him, making it impossible for him to breathe.

He Wenzhu seemed to sense something and quickly helped him up by the shoulder, making him turn his upper body to lie on the edge of the bed.

Shang Ruyi was startled: "What are you doing—"

Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly vomited all over the ground with a loud "whoosh".

Shang Ruyi was terrified and rushed over to support him along with He Wenzhu. She could feel Yuwen Ye panting heavily, his feverish body trembling uncontrollably. He barely woke up at this moment, but then he had another violent coughing fit, as if he was coughing up his liver and lungs.

Shang Ruyi hurriedly reached out and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath: "Fengchen, Fengchen, how are you?"

As she spoke, she glanced down at Yuwen Ye's vomit and noticed some faint white turbidity in the filth.

My heart sank immediately.

Almost simultaneously, He Wenzhu on the other side also gasped for breath.

At this moment, Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao were so anxious that their eyes turned red. They shouted "General!" and rushed in, but Shang Ruyi suddenly turned around and shouted sternly, "You all step back!"

The group of people were stunned and stood there in disbelief, wondering why the young mistress had suddenly become so stern.

Shang Ruyi felt her heart pounding like thunder and cold sweat pouring down her face.

When she spoke again, she could barely hear her own voice, only managing a hoarse, instinctive cry: "Doctor, this is—"

He Wenzhu's face turned pale, and he said tremblingly, "Madam, I am terrified."

"..."

"This, this is probably—a plague!"