As evening approached, Qingyan and Yin dragged their weary bodies back to the boat. Kangxi, seeing them return empty-handed, couldn't help but feel puzzled. What could have happened...?

"Father, we've discovered a very serious problem!" Yin's expression was grave. Kangxi and Consort Tong exchanged a glance. "Little darling, you tell us!"

Qingyan briefly recounted the afternoon's events, adding that the commercial street was in a state of utter filth and chaos. Tulichen was still visiting medical clinics, and seeing that it was getting late, he worried about the safety of Yin and Qingyan staying outside, so he sent guards to escort them back ahead of time.

Emperor Kangxi pondered for a moment before deciding to stop at this station for supplies. This was a last-minute decision, as he hoped to leave no opportunity for the county magistrates to falsify the records. Sure enough, it was highly likely that the county magistrates had cleared the area in advance, leaving him with a very good impression.

"Fourth Prince, is the situation really that bad?" Kangxi knew very well that Yin would never lie to him.

Yin nodded; the situation was much worse than he had imagined.

“Xuan Ye, this place isn’t far from Cao Yin’s!” Consort Tong thought for a moment. This place was under Cao Yin’s jurisdiction, so how could such a problem have arisen?

Cao Yin!

The four of them thought of this person. Qingyan was a little curious about what Cao Yin was like. His direct descendant, Cao Xueqin, was a very famous person.

"Someone must be getting restless. The two in the capital need to be dealt with properly. Wei Dongting will be coming the day after tomorrow, and then we'll know the situation of those two. Cao Yin is probably trying to mislead them!" Wei Dongting submitted a memorial, which included Cao Yin's letter of complaint.

Consort Tong laughed. Back then, apart from Mingzhu and Suo'etu, all of Kangxi's companions were loyal ministers.

Just as dinner was set on the table, Tu Lichen walked in with a gloomy face. The Fourth Princess Consort was astute as ever.

"Your Majesty, this servant suggests you leave as soon as possible and not linger." Following Yin and Qingyan's advice, Tulichen visited nearby clinics. An epidemic had indeed broken out there, and it had not yet completely subsided!

What!

Kangxi and Yinzhen were both stunned. No news had come from Cao Yin's side, which meant that the county magistrate must have kept it a secret.

Yin had planted spies from the Sticky Rod Bureau around Cao Yin, but there wasn't a single piece of information. It must be that the lower levels were hiding something.

"Xuan Ye, leave first, and wait for Wei Dongting at the next stop!" Consort Tong did not want Kangxi to take any risks, otherwise, the families of those concubines would definitely not let Consort Tong off the hook.

"Yes, Tulichen, arrange for trusted people to continue the investigation here. As soon as Wei Dongting arrives, immediately send him to the next stop. Li Dequan, have Fei Yanggu and his two sons come over!" Upon hearing Tulichen's report, Qingyan was the first to notice something amiss and felt somewhat distressed.

"Yes!" Tulichen quickly assigned tasks, as getting Kangxi away as soon as possible was the best course of action.

"Tulichen, arrange for people to visit the pharmacies. I asked Sulan to leave some pills behind!" Kangxi couldn't help but recall that Qingyan's pills had played a significant role during the outbreak of the epidemic.

"Go and get it quickly." Kangxi agreed. "Tulichen, don't reveal anything about the medicine. Watch those people take it before letting them go!"

He was protecting Qingyan, even if it was selfish, because this was Jiangnan, the place where anti-Qing forces were most serious.

If they were to do so, Kangxi would be drawn into danger, and for the sake of the emperor's safety, they would have to compromise.

"Your Majesty, is what Tulichen said true?" Fei Yanggu rushed over after hearing Tulichen's account of the situation. "Qingyan, you found out?"

The imperial physicians always said that Qingyan was a promising talent in medicine.

Qingyan nodded. This time... there's trouble again.

"Turichen, send someone to keep an eye on things. We'll set off immediately. Feiyanggu, immediately inform the guards to be on alert." Kangxi issued several orders, and Feiyanggu dared not delay any longer, leaving the cabin immediately.

"Saituo, you stay here and remember, no matter what noise you make, don't disturb Xiao Guai!" Fei Yanggu didn't want Qing Yan to get too involved in outside affairs.

When the censors noticed that Kangxi had issued an imperial edict to prepare to leave after Qingyan went out, they had keen observation skills and discovered something unusual. They hid in the shadows, ready to strike at any time.

Kangxi then decided that, in Yinzhi's daily life, the focus of attention would be on this, and Qingyan's actions came into everyone's view.

That night, the court officials could not sleep. Many were summoned back from the county town. They went to places frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles, which were distinctly different from the places Qingyan and Yin had visited.

Two courtiers heard rumors of an outbreak in the county and sought out the imperial physicians on board for diagnosis. Some of them had accompanied the army on the expedition and had been cured on the grasslands using the pills given to them by Qingyan.

"Fourth Prince, we don't have much quinine left. Luckily, Father Emperor didn't blockade the sea routes, otherwise... we would definitely be in trouble." Qingyan sighed and took out the rest, except for their own share.

"Don't even think about it. If Father asks, just say you don't have any!" There is quinine in the palace. If Kangxi finds out they bought it in secret, there will definitely be big trouble.

Qingyan pouted. Did he really need to remind her?

"I already said so, and Father also instructed the servants at home that no word should be leaked about the availability of quinine!" Most of the missionaries had been sent back to their home countries by Kangxi, and now very few missionaries were left behind.

"Let's rest. We've already left the county town, so there shouldn't be any problems." Yin had some worries in his heart. Some court officials had gone to the county town, ostensibly to buy things, but he suspected they had gone to some unclean places.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so afraid, and upon their return, they went directly to the imperial physician for diagnosis and treatment.

As dawn broke, some court officials boarded Yin's ship to meet with Emperor Kangxi and discuss the rumors surrounding the epidemic.

"Your Majesty, we have come here hoping that Your Majesty will thoroughly investigate the rumors surrounding this epidemic." As an imperial censor, Li Yu, for the sake of his family's interests, directly hinted to Kangxi that if there was no epidemic, the Fourth Prince and his wife should be severely punished.

Kangxi smiled and Li Dequan quietly informed him that this person was from a branch of the Li family. The Li family had leaked the information in just one night, which showed that they had quite a few tricks up their sleeves.

"What if it's true?" Yin countered. "You saw the pharmacy's diagnostic records, didn't you? Those can be forged too, can they?"

Yin was furious. These censors didn't care about the people's livelihood; instead, they came to make things difficult for them.

Emperor Kangxi didn't say a word, but he saw that the people below had doubts about the authenticity of the epidemic.

"Imperial Physician Yuan, you speak!" Emperor Kangxi looked at Imperial Physician Yuan; his medical skills were the most formidable, therefore, the court officials paid exceptional attention to his words. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)