Ten thousand taels of gold, fifty thousand bushels of grain, five thousand bolts of cloth...

If Xiao Liu hadn't said he wasn't interested in jewelry, Gu Yuchen would have given him several boxes of it!

The capital is about to deliver a big surprise to the northern deserts, while the Jiangnan region is still recuperating.

Qi Chengjun has been in the epidemic zone for several months. In the epidemic zone, more and more people are dying, and even two imperial physicians have fallen ill.

The people initially saw hope, but later lost it. Some even broke down Qi Chengjun's door to share his fate and breathe with him.

Looking at Qi Chengjun, who was surrounded by the crowd and looked helpless, the sick people grinned and said, "Imperial Envoy Qi, doesn't it feel good to wait to die?"

Qi Chengjun remained silent, for now he had no choice but to accept the fact that he too would fall ill.

It would be impossible to say that Qi Chengjun had no temper at all, but since they were in an epidemic area where civilians made up the majority of the population, he didn't want to risk having the troops outside called in.

Bloody suppression was never his first choice, but that doesn't mean he was a weak and kind person at heart.

As Qi Chengjun looked at the man in front of him, who was laughing wildly and smugly because his plan had succeeded, the gentleness on his face was gradually replaced by murderous intent.

The man thought Qi Chengjun was too frightened by the plague to stand up straight: "Look, even the imperial envoy is scared by the plague. He's kept us here, saying he'll find a way to cure us, but you've all seen it, so much time has passed, how many people have actually recovered?"

The others remained silent, clearly agreeing with the man's statement.

His voice grew louder and louder as he spoke, and he became more and more agitated. His face, which had been pale due to the epidemic, turned rosy, and the dark circles under his eyes grew darker.

He pointed at Qi Chengjun, about to speak, when a flash of sword light appeared, and blood splattered before his eyes. The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, instinctively clutching it and making a hoarse sound.

His trachea was cut, and the man couldn't breathe at all. His face turned purplish-red, and the next moment, he collapsed. The disbelief in his eyes had not yet faded.

Qi Chengjun acted swiftly, giving him no further chance to sow discord.

Dying from an epidemic is one thing, being killed by someone is another.

At this moment, the people in Qi Chengjun's room felt as if they had been choked, not daring to even breathe, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, struggling to even stand, let alone scream.

They regretted it; they regretted following this man to cause trouble for Imperial Envoy Qi.

Who would have thought that this imperial envoy, who had been with them for more than two months, would kill so swiftly?

Qi Chengjun sheathed his sword, his eyes sharp: "I forgot to tell you, my ancestors followed the founding emperor in conquering the world. If you want to die now, just say so, and I can grant your wish immediately."

The crowd fell silent, everyone fearing that they might live even a moment longer; no one wanted to die now…

Qi Chengjun killed the man decisively, intending to make an example of him.

Qi Chengjun had already sensed the unrest among the people. Although today's events were unexpected, they had completely subdued them.

"The imperial physicians are still preparing the medicine. If you want to give up, I will make the imperial physicians leave immediately."

Upon hearing this, the men could no longer contain themselves and knelt down with a thud: "Your Honor, Your Honor, we don't want to die! Please forgive us!"

Even more remarkably, the sick person kept slapping himself repeatedly, secretly regretting why he had joined in the commotion.

Qi Qinchai is right. The imperial physicians are still around, and they might still have hope of curing the disease.

This commotion led to Qi Qinchai getting infected. If Qi Qinchai is cured, that will be fine; if not, the imperial physicians will certainly not care about them anymore.

Everyone had the same thought at that moment. They looked at each other in bewilderment, quickly left Qi Chengjun's room, knelt outside and kept pleading, their voices growing louder and louder, alarming the people in the entire epidemic zone.

Everyone who could stand up knelt on the ground, begging Qi Chenglang not to abandon them.

The imperial physicians, who were well-protected, rushed over, but Qi Chengjun stopped them: "From today onwards, all matters, big and small, will be handled by Imperial Physician Li."

He directed people to move everything out of the room and burn it, and then sprinkled quicklime and other substances in the room. Like the other sick people, he began a long wait.

When news of His Highness's discovery of two new types of grains reached Jiangzhou, good news finally came from the epidemic area: Physician Li and others had finally concocted a medicine that could cure infected patients.

At this point, Qi Chengjun had started to have a fever and was somewhat delirious.

In his occasional moments of lucidity, he would think that the Emperor would likely show more favor to the Duke of Qi's family, considering his presence in Jiangzhou.

Outsiders only thought that the Duke of Qi's mansion was extremely powerful, but they never thought that the Duke of Qi himself was suffering from a strange illness and often couldn't remember who the person in front of him was.

Although Qi Chenglang was still there, he felt even more foolish when they met last time. What should he do if His Highness Prince Wen grew up and had other ideas in the future?

Qi Chengjun felt more and more that the Duke of Qi's mansion was probably doomed.

Physician Li and the others forced Qi Chengjun to swallow the medicine. Qi Chengjun felt not only a bitter taste in his mouth, but also a bitter taste in his heart.

Physician Li cared for Qi Chengjun day and night for two days, and his fever finally subsided. His face was still pale, but the bruises under his eyes and the rashes on his body had disappeared.

"Imperial Physician Li?" Qi Chengjun raised his arm and looked at it, his voice hoarse and devoid of any emotion. "Have I finally made it through?"

Physician Li wept with joy: "Your Highness, you've made it through! The people in our epidemic area have also made it through."

Apart from Qi Chengjun, the other people who were less infected have already recovered and are helping to prepare medicine and do other things within their capabilities.

Once all the people in the epidemic area have been cured, they can leave completely.

They stayed in the epidemic area for several months.

Of the several thousand people who died, how many are still alive today?

How many bodies have been burned on that hill behind Zhuangzi? The surrounding weeds no longer grow...

Qi Chengjun was helped to sit up by Physician Li. He looked out through the door at the sky, which was cloudless.

The hearts of the sick people were completely relieved.

At that moment, Qi Chengjun felt that the burden on his shoulders had lightened considerably.

"By the way, Your Highness, while you were unconscious for the past two days, news came from outside that His Highness Prince Wen has found two new types of grains. The seeds have been presented to the Emperor, and Minister Su will begin cultivating them, striving to make it public so that all prefectures can obtain the seeds."

The phrase "Hearing the news of the king, the new grain, presented to the emperor" put Qi Chengjun's heart at ease.

Your Highness, you must always maintain this childlike heart. Only in this way will your foolish younger brother not "go astray"...