Mu Jingrui was about to return home after the morning court session when a servant with a badge from the Prime Minister's Mansion came to greet him hurriedly.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"What's up?"
"The eldest lady asked me to bring a message to the prince. There is something important to discuss. We will meet at Zuixian Tower."
Mu Jingrui frowned, feeling vaguely uneasy.
He came to Zuixianlou and pushed open the door of the private room. Only Shangguan Wanning was there, and the table was filled with exquisite pastries.
"I know you must have just had a quick breakfast. Come sit down and taste it to see if it tastes good."
Shangguan Wanning walked up to him attentively, took Mu Jingrui's arm, sat down, and picked up a piece of cake for him and fed it to his mouth.
“I learned this specifically from the master chef in the kitchen.”
Mu Jingrui ate it carelessly, his deep eyes always staying on Shangguan Wanning.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Didn't you say you had something important to tell me?"
Shangguan Wanning felt a little guilty and sat back on the stool.
"What do you mean? Can't I come to you if I'm fine?"
Mu Jingrui laughed secretly. This little girl has learned to retreat in order to advance.
"Of course not." Mu Jingrui held Shangguan Wanning's hand and said with a smile, "I actually hope that you can ask me out when you are free, which means that you are thinking about me. Since you are free, let's eat."
"I……"
Shangguan Wanning was interrupted by Mu Jingrui when she wanted to say something. She looked at the cunning light in the corner of Mu Jingrui's eyes and became a little angry.
She pinched Mu Jingrui's arm hard.
"It hurts." Mu Jingrui pulled Shangguan Wan Ning into his arms, "How dare you pinch even your future husband?"
"Hmph, if I go and pinch someone else, would you be happy with that?"
Shangguan Wanning leaned on Mu Jingrui's chest, her mind already filled with a myriad of thoughts.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Mu Jingrui could see melancholy in Shangguan Wanning's hesitant eyes.
Shangguan Wanning came out of Mu Jingrui's arms, stared into his eyes for a long time, and slowly kissed his lips.
Mu Jingrui responded gently. He wished Shangguan Wanning was already his wife, then...
"Jingrui, I want to... postpone our wedding."
Mu Jingrui was mentally prepared, but when he heard these words from Shangguan Wanning's mouth, he still felt angry and uneasy.
"Why?"
"I want to go to a concentration camp..."
"Why can't you give the acupuncture techniques to Li Qiao and Zhou Shan, or... to other imperial physicians? Do you really have to go?"
"Master...you are not allowed to do that."
Shangguan Wanning told Lu Xiangzi what he had said, and lowered her head in sadness. "Jingrui, I know I am sorry for you this time. But... Master has done me a favor, and what's more... Master's orders are hard to disobey. I believe Master must have his reasons for doing this."
Mu Jingrui couldn't help but fall into silence.
"Jing Rui, give me some time, I will definitely come back and marry you, okay?"
Looking at Shangguan Wanning's cautious eyes, Mu Jingrui felt distressed.
"Ning'er, you haven't let me down. I understand your desire to help others. I just feel sorry for you. I'm afraid you'll faint from exhaustion when you get to the concentration camp. Who will take care of you then?"
"I promise you, I will treat myself well. When I come back, we will get married right away."
Mu Jingrui smiled bitterly and stroked Shangguan Wanning's face helplessly.
He knew that no matter what he said, he could not change Shangguan Wanning's decision.
He didn't want her to be unhappy, so he could only obey her.
Shangguan Wanning replied to Xiao Yujue, which surprised Xiao Yujue.
Soon, Shangguan Wanning prepared everything and went to the concentration camp with three imperial doctors assigned by Xiao Yujue.
"My lady, are you really not going to take me with you? If I am not with you, who will serve you?"
Grape pulled Shangguan Wanning, who was about to get on the carriage, hoping that she would change her mind.
"Silly girl, that place is not a good place, what are you going to do there? I can take care of myself. You stay at home and take care of my mother for me. Be obedient, stop crying, and wait for me to come back."
Shangguan Wanning knew very well what she would face next, and she didn’t want Grape to suffer with her.
Mu Jingrui accompanied him all the way until they left the capital, and then they waved goodbye.
Shangguan Wanning arrived at the concentration camp and the number of patients far exceeded her expectations.
She soon put all her energy into treating the patient. She originally thought that she could cure the patient by following the method in Lu Xiangzi's notebook, but later she found that it was only a temporary relief.
More and more people were sent to concentration camps every day, which made Shangguan Wanning feel more stressed.
Late at night, Shangguan Wan Ning was just about to go to bed when Li Qiao called out from outside her tent, "Miss, are you asleep?"
"What's the matter?" Shangguan Wanning put on her clothes and went out.
"Come with me, I'll show you something."
Shangguan Wanning's heart sank when she saw that Li Qiao looked unhappy.
She followed Li Qiao to Doctor Wang's tent, and the scene before her almost made her vomit.
There was a dead body lying on the ground, its stomach cut open and covered in blood. Doctor Wang was washing his bloody hands.
Seeing Shangguan Wanning’s pale face, Zhou Shan hurriedly covered the body with a cloth.
"What happened?"
"My Lady, since the time of lighting the lamps today, some patients have died. You have been giving them acupuncture, so we did not report it to you."
"We have never been able to find the cause of these patients' symptoms. So, I discussed with Doctor Zhou and Doctor Li... to perform an autopsy. I suspect that they are not sick, but poisoned."
Shangguan Wanning was stunned.
"Poisoned?"
"That's right. Just now, I cut open the stomachs of three dead people, and their internal organs had turned black and started to melt."
Shangguan Wanning was a little bit unbelievable. She suppressed her discomfort and lifted the white cloth to take a look. The situation was even more disgusting than she had imagined.
"There is one more thing. Doesn't the princess find it strange?"
"Doctor Wang, are you referring to the fact that there are so many people who have fallen ill this time, but there is no sign of contagion?"
Doctor Wang looked at Shangguan Wanning and nodded in appreciation.
"But...if it's poisoning, the area is quite large. Who has the ability to poison so many people, and do it quietly? What kind of poison was used? What's the purpose?"
Zhou Shan’s words made everyone fall into deep thought.
"Princess, next... I'm afraid a large number of people will die from the poisoning. It will cause panic in the concentration camp. We have to think of a countermeasure..."
"Doctor Wang, what can you do?"
"I think we should not let the patients in the concentration camp know that someone has died for the time being. Just tell them that these people have recovered. This will give them hope and give us more time to develop an antidote."
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