Chapter 581 Do you know where I'm going?

Just as Yuwen Ye had predicted, Yuwen Yuan did not react much to the letter that Princess Qiancheng had suddenly sent. After all, he had not yet accomplished his great task, and the plague in Daxing City had not been completely eradicated. In addition, news came from Taiyuan that the previous plague was just a misunderstanding and that Yuwen Cheng had only caught a cold and was misdiagnosed as having the plague. This made Yuwen Yuan temporarily feel relieved about the situation in Taiyuan.

However, Shang Ruyi had a vague feeling that Yuwen Yuan was not completely unaware of the tricks they were playing behind the scenes.

Because Yuwen Yuan sent someone to Taiyuan to deliver a message, instructing Yuwen Cheng to hold Taiyuan City and immediately close the city gates should any enemy situation arise, while waiting for a response from Daxing City, the messenger also reprimanded Huang Gongyi.

They felt deeply apologetic towards Huang Gongyi for this matter.

But in the end, the matter was settled. In the following two or three days, the patients in Chang Le Fang recovered one after another and began to be released in batches. In the end, only the last two hundred or so people remained in the ward.

Most of them were elderly people with the most serious illnesses who were personally cared for by Su Qinglan.

Under normal circumstances, such a group of elderly people would hardly survive the epidemic, but this time, they all miraculously survived. So, on the fifth day, when Chang Le Fang presented the last list and was about to release these people from Chang Le Fang, the people of the entire Da Xing City were thrilled.

Soon, it was afternoon.

All the remaining patients gathered at the entrance. From a distance, the crowd was dense, with countless eyes shining with anticipation, even more dazzling than the sun overhead. And in front of them, just like at Mingde Gate, a row of long tables had been set up, and almost all the medical officers of the Imperial Medical Bureau had come out and gathered here.

Once they have diagnosed and confirmed that a patient has recovered, they can leave Chang Le Fang completely.

This immediately drew crowds from other wards and markets throughout the city, who craned their necks to watch the scene. As a result, the Left and Right Guards had to send out men to patrol the area and prevent the crowds from crowding and causing trouble.

And so, under the watchful eyes of many, the patients in Chang Le Fang came out one by one.

At the very front of the line was an elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane.

His children were already standing at the door, craning their necks to look inside. When they saw their father come out, their eyes immediately welled up with tears, but they dared not utter a sound. They just watched him walk to the first person at the long table and slowly sit down.

Sitting behind the table was Wu Huanzhi.

Looking at these elderly people, Wu Huanzhi's face showed a hint of guilt, but there was no point in saying anything more at this time. He simply asked the old man to extend his wrist, carefully took his pulse, and nodded, saying, "Old man, your illness has been completely cured."

The old man thanked them repeatedly, stood up, and walked over to several other physicians. After taking their pulses, he confirmed that they had all recovered.

The last one in line was Su Qinglan.

She left Chang Le Fang early in the morning and went home to tidy up and wash herself. She changed into a light yellow long gown and combed her hair neatly. Compared to her serious but somewhat disheveled appearance when she was taking care of patients in Chang Le Fang, she looked beautiful and dignified. Although she was not particularly beautiful, she was still a sight to behold.

As soon as she saw the old man approaching, she smiled and said, "Sir, please extend your hand."

The old man immediately stretched out his hand. After Su Qinglan carefully took his pulse, she said to him, "Old man, the plague in your body has been completely cured, but your spleen and stomach are still a little weak."

After saying that, he took out a packet of medicine from the bundle behind him and handed it to the old man, saying softly, "Take this medicine home and boil it in water to drink. You should get better in just half a month. But you will still need to take good care of yourself afterward."

The old man stared blankly at Su Qinglan, momentarily speechless.

Only after Su Qinglan smiled and stuffed the medicine packet into his hand did the old man slowly stand up, leaning on his cane. Just as he was about to turn and leave, and his children had already come over to help him, the old man suddenly turned around and knelt down in front of Su Qinglan: "Thank you, Doctor Su, you are a bodhisattva!"

His children were startled, but they immediately understood and knelt down as well.

This startled Su Qinglan, who quickly came out from behind the table, helped them to their feet, and offered a few words of comfort. The family then left, expressing their deepest gratitude.

The people who witnessed this scene all praised the young and beautiful physician, especially since she was a woman.

On the long street, a carriage slowly drove up and stopped by the roadside. Shang Ruyi's eyes were filled with smiles when she saw this scene.

She said softly, "Dr. Su is such a good person."

After a long silence, a deep voice beside me responded softly, "Mm."

Sitting next to her was naturally Yuwen Ye.

He wore a long, light green robe with a cluster of Buddha's belly bamboo embroidered at the hem, making him look somewhat different from his usual handsome self. After more than ten days of hard work, he had lost weight, and this outfit made him look less like a military general and more elegant and graceful.

However, the gaze in those cold, stern eyes was more composed than before, and the sharpness hidden in their deep pupils had become even more acute.

His gaze softened slightly when he saw Su Qinglan.

He said, "What you said before, Pei Xingyuan and her—"

"kindness."

Shang Ruyi nodded, then sighed regretfully, "But it seems that it's all in the past now."

"..."

She only told Yuwen Ye about this afterward. If she had known earlier that Lei Yu was already engaged, it might not have been a bad thing to explain some misunderstandings to Su Qinglan earlier. But now it seems that it was too late.

Thinking of this, she sighed softly: "That's how fate is between people, it's hard to explain."

"..."

Yuwen Ye remained silent, only watching for a while as Su Qinglan cared for the patient with such tenderness and care. A rare sense of regret welled up within him. To be honest, before meeting Shang Ruyi, he had indeed shown little interest in love and had no particular expectations or interest in matters of romance. Now, fate had seemingly ordained this marriage for him, a blessing from heaven. Looking back at his sworn brothers, he had missed out on several good opportunities for love, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

It was right there beside me, seemingly within reach, yet I missed it.

Fate is indeed something that cannot be explained.

Life is like a drifting duckweed in a raging torrent; who we will meet and who we will become entangled with is something no one but fate can predict.

Thinking of this, he turned his gaze back to the woman beside him, who was staring intently at Su Qinglan through the car window, worrying about other people's marriages. Thinking of her words and their own marriage, which had not started smoothly and was even like a tragic fate, he felt a sense of relief and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He said, "Yes."

Shang Ruyi, however, was completely oblivious to the subtle thoughts swirling in the mind of the person beside her. She was focused on looking ahead, and after a while, she turned around and asked Yuwen Ye, "Are you really not going down?"

Yuwen Ye gently shook his head.

Shang Ruyi said, "But this time, it was your decision that saved so many people. No matter what, they should know that you are the one who saved them."

"..."

"Although--"

Yuwen Ye calmly interrupted her: "I know."

But after he finished speaking, he didn't say another word.

Looking into his somewhat cold eyes, Shang Ruyi stopped talking.

She knew perfectly well that their elaborate scheme to lure out the mastermind was a Pyrrhic victory, a lose-lose situation. From the beginning, they knew they were profiting from defeat. Now it seemed they had indeed gained the benefits, and Yu Mingyue had surfaced, but for Yuwen Ye, this fight against the plague was a complete failure.

Others may not know, but Shang Ruyi understands all too well the quiet, unspoken competitive spirit in Yuwen Ye's heart.

Especially when facing Yuwen Qian.

He understood even more clearly that behind this victory or defeat lay what he cared about most—Yuwen Yuan's generous reward.

The plague is over.

In fact, after the last batch of patients left Yanzuofang, the gates of Daxing Palace had already been opened, and everything inside and outside was bustling with activity. Civil and military officials were coming and going in Chengqing Hall like a flowing stream. Even last night, the highly respected veteran official Ji Hong, who had served three dynasties, came to visit and talked with Yuwen Yuan until late at night.

During this time, no one entered Yuwen Yuan's study, but everyone knew what they were talking about.

All these events, big and small, were telling them that something earth-shattering was about to happen—

Abdicate!

The first major event that Shang Ruyi knew of that would change her destiny was just around the corner!

Once Chu Chengfei abdicates and Yuwen Yuan ascends the throne, it's self-evident what kind of "generous reward" he will give to the more outstanding of his two sons. For Yuwen Ye, this change in status and that step up or down represents the most important choice in his future life.

He couldn't possibly be indifferent.

Therefore, the "failure" he is facing is something he is unwilling to confront and even less willing to linger on.

He pursed his lips, looked up at the sky outside the window. The setting sun had begun to slant down, casting longer and longer shadows of the people walking ahead, almost reaching their carriages.

Shang Ruyi glanced back at him and saw the complex emotions in his eyes. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You have other things to do today, right?"

Yuwen Ye looked at her and said, "Mm."

Shang Ruyi lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "In that case, you go first—I want to go down and take a look. I still have some things I want to say to Su Qinglan and—"

Before she could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye suddenly asked, "Aren't you coming with me?"

Shang Ruyi shook her head.

Yuwen Ye suddenly frowned and stared intently into her eyes: "Do you know where I'm going?"

Shang Ruyi nodded.