Qiao Ziming returned late yesterday and was unaware of Xie Xuan's solo duel with a group of talented scholars from Jinzhou at the Fan Hua Lou.
He only found out about this after seeing the dense crowd at the city gate and having Awang inquire about it.
After hearing the whole story, Qiao Ziming understood that Su Muxi had arranged for Xie Xuan to do it.
After all, nobody wants to go to Fukang County to die. If Xie Xuan didn't have that prescription, he wouldn't have been able to fool so many people.
The Emperor clearly ordered him and Su Muxi to work together to manage the plague in Fukang County, but Su Muxi had Xie Xuan do so many things, keeping it all from him!
He had been hoping that Liu Guanghan would bring his men over to help him save face, but he never expected that he would lose even the last bit of face he had left!
The bailiff trembled as he said, “Your Highness, please calm down. Last night, after you left, the Prefect and Lord Wang suddenly felt unwell. The Prefect was afraid that they had contracted the plague, so he ordered all the officials to stay at home until they recovered.”
As for manpower and supplies, the prefect said that with only one night, it was impossible to gather that much. He told the three of us to bring this cartload of grain first, and that he would send more people to deliver the grain to Fukang County later, once the prefect recovered.
After hearing the constable's words, Qiao Ziming could no longer contain his anger and roared, "Get out!"
Without hesitation, the yamen runners quickly pushed the cartload of grain away.
Xie Xuan laughed and said, "It seems they never intended to go to Fukang County with the young master in the first place! But the young master is really something, even a little bit of meat is still meat, and three constables can be of great help!"
Qiao Ziming turned around, grabbed Xie Xuan by the collar, and whispered through gritted teeth, "Xie Xuan, don't be so smug! Do you know what kind of people you've brought in?! If anything happens to these people in Fukang County, none of us will be safe! Including your father!"
Before Xie Xuan could speak, Su Muxi walked over and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I am absolutely certain that I will not let anything happen to these people regarding the epidemic in Fukang County."
At this point, Su Muxi paused, then bowed slightly to Qiao Ziming, "It was my fault in this matter. I concealed something from you, Your Highness, and I argued with you a lot along the way without communicating with you. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Qiao Ziming slowly released Xie Xuan's hand and stared blankly at Su Muxi.
Throughout the journey, Su Muxi never gave him a kind look.
He thought that doing something so shameful would make Su Muxi dislike him even more, but he never expected that Su Muxi would take the initiative to apologize to him.
Seeing this, Xie Xuan said angrily, "Your Highness, what wrong have you done in this matter! The heir of the Marquis of Anyang has been enjoying the company of beautiful women all the way, and has not paid any attention to important matters."
Moreover, in my opinion, the heir of the Marquis of Anyang looks down on women from the bottom of his heart and never thought that the princess could do anything for the plague in Fukang County!
If the Princess Consort had revealed the plan to the Marquis of Anyang's heir beforehand, the self-righteous heir would likely not only be of no help but also hinder the important matter!
Qiao Ziming felt a surge of anger, but he had to admit that Xie Xuan was right.
He didn't think Su Muxi could do anything about the plague in Fukang County; at most, he thought Su Muxi could contribute to the treatment of the disease.
After all, a county is struck by an epidemic, and medical skills alone cannot solve the problem.
In addition to providing the people with enough food and medicine, a large number of people are needed to help.
Now that the city gates of Fukang County are closed, it is likely that most of the constables have been infected with the plague and are of no help. That is why he thought of transferring some constables and soldiers from Jinzhou City to go to Fukang County with him.
I never expected that Liu Guanghan, who promised so readily yesterday, would suddenly change his mind today!
But Su Muxi resolved all the issues he had in mind in one go through Xie Xuan.
Most of the people lured here by Xie Xuan were young masters from Jinzhou City.
When a young master travels, he inevitably needs to make many preparations.
They would bring one or two servants with them, or even dozens.
These servants number at least three hundred.
As for medicinal herbs and food, it seems they brought quite a lot.
After all, these young masters wouldn't compromise their own comfort.
If we need food or medicine, we can just get it from these young masters.
Most importantly, if there was any need in Fukang County, these young masters only needed to send a letter home, and their families would find a way to solve the problem.
Therefore, Su Muxi's idea was truly brilliant!
But that makes him seem like a self-righteous fool…
Unexpectedly, Su Muxi said softly, "Young Master Xie, the fact that the Marquis of Anyang spoke to you in a low voice just now is enough to show that the Marquis of Anyang still cares about the overall situation."
If Qiao Ziming had shouted loudly just now, it would have aroused the suspicion of those young masters who came. If they suddenly changed their minds and didn't go, the trip to Fukang County would be fraught with difficulties, and there might even be danger to their lives.
After speaking with Xie Xuan, Su Muxi looked at Qiao Ziming.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned us both to Fukang County to address the plague. It concerns the safety of the entire city's inhabitants. Whatever grudges we may have held in the past, I hope we can set them aside for now. Would Your Highness be willing to join me in resolving the plague in Fukang County?"
Qiao Ziming's peach blossom eyes flickered slightly.
This was the first time Su Muxi had spoken to him like this, making him feel incredibly comfortable, as if he were floating on air.
Without hesitation, Qiao Ziming immediately nodded and agreed, "Okay, I will work with you to solve the plague in Fukang County!"
Su Muxi smiled and nodded to Qiao Ziming. Seeing Xie Xuan frowning beside her, she quickly added, "Of course, there's also Young Master Xie. If it weren't for Young Master Xie's help, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly this time."
Hearing this, Xie Xuan felt relieved.
Seeing that the two men were no longer at odds, Su Muxi was about to get into the carriage when she saw Chang Zhong standing not far away, looking at them meaningfully.
After thinking for a moment, Su Muxi said to Qiao Ziming, "Young Master, may we go into the carriage and discuss this in detail?"
Originally, I wasn't planning to tell Qiao Ziming about the situation in Fukang County, but now it seems I have to make things clear to him to prevent him from causing trouble later.
Qiao Ziming was surprised by the series of surprises and nodded with a smile, like a silly boy.
He completely forgot about his previous intention to leave Su Muxi hanging.
She glanced smugly at Xie Xuan, but then heard Su Muxi say, "Young Master Xie, why don't you join us too?"
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