After leaving Taiyuan City, the group headed south.

After walking for three quarters of an hour, we saw a village in the distance.

However, the woman did not lead them into the village, but walked around it and went into the forest behind the village.

"Why don't you go into the village?" the general who was accompanying the guard asked vigilantly.

"Aren't you here to see patients?" As they walked along, the woman saw that they had no ill intentions, and her expression relaxed a little. She explained in a calm tone, "This scabies spreads very quickly. We dare not leave people in the village, so we can only find another place to put them."

She raised her hand and pointed to the vague outlines emerging from the woods. She said, "The people have been settled in the land temple behind the village."

At this time, the stars had faded, the moonlight was dim, and people could only vaguely see some outlines in the faint light of torches.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, they finally arrived near the land temple.

When they reached a sturdy old tree, the woman raised her hand to stop them, saying they could not go any further.

She fumbled around the sturdy tree on the right for a while, found a hemp rope in the dark, grabbed it and pulled it twice, and then the crisp sound of a copper bell rang out.

Soon the lights in the originally dark earth temple were lit up, and there was movement.

"This place is full of patients with eczema. Apart from me, no one is allowed to come in or out easily. You'd better wear the cloth."

Just after Yin Chengyu and his group put on their towels, a young man came out slowly holding a lantern.

The man also had a cloth covering his face. He did not approach them, but stood still two or three steps away. Because of the night and the dim firelight, he did not notice anything unusual about Yin Chengyu and his group. He just thought that they were villagers, so he controlled his voice and asked, "Doctor Wen, did you get the herbs?"

"Yes, I got it." Wen Ling did not mention the accident that happened in the capital. She took the medicine basket and placed it on the ground in front of her, and asked, "How is everyone doing?"

The man coughed twice and sighed, "Five more people died. Their bodies have been burned and their ashes are scattered behind the temple. We have run out of medicine these past two days. There is no soup, and everyone's condition has become serious again. More than a dozen people vomited blood today and have passed away."

Wen Ling frowned slightly and said, "These two baskets of herbs should be enough for the time being. Let's have someone boil the herbs tomorrow morning. We still have to continue drinking the soup."

"I know." The man responded, and then said, "Today I heard from the old Zhao family that her son heard during the day that the government had transported food to relieve the disaster. I don't know what the situation is in the city now. It would be great if the government really came to provide disaster relief. I'm afraid they will catch all of us who are sick and burn us to death..." He sighed again. Because of coughing, his voice was heavy, and it fell on people's hearts.

Wen Ling subconsciously glanced at Yin Chengyu and the others and said soothingly, "No, I heard that the one who came to provide disaster relief this time was the crown prince. The crown prince is kind-hearted and well-known. I didn't hear that he ordered the arrest of anyone..."

The man sighed twice, obviously not expecting much from this.

After the two exchanged a few more words, Wen Ling led the group away again.

After they walked away, the man stepped forward, picked up the medicine basket, and returned to the land temple.

Wen Ling brought Yin Chengyu and his party back to the village.

On the way here, she already knew Yin Chengyu's identity, but she was not panicked at this moment, but her expression was still full of suspicion and distrust: "Your Highness the Crown Prince has already seen it, how are you going to deal with them?"

Although her voice was calm, her eyes were full of turmoil: "I was collecting herbs in the mountains when I accidentally discovered this place, so I stayed here. Most of these patients escaped from Taiyuan Prefecture and surrounding counties and towns. Some were infected at the beginning, and some were infected later. They didn't want to implicate others, but they couldn't accept being burned to death, so they gathered in this abandoned village and struggled to survive. Later, more and more disaster victims came, and word of mouth spread. Friends and relatives who were infected were also sent here. In order to prevent more people from contracting the pimple plague. These patients were placed in the land temple, and those with milder symptoms took care of the seriously ill. The family members who were not infected hid in the village, looking for food and herbs everywhere, and had to be on guard against searches by soldiers at any time."

She recounted the hardships of the disaster victims: "Unfortunately, my medical skills are limited, and I can only prescribe some prescriptions for treating common epidemic diseases. Drinking them every day can delay the symptoms, but it cannot cure them. People die of illness almost every day in the land temple. Because there are too many deaths, there is no time to find a place to bury them, so they can only be burned and the ashes are scattered behind the mountain temple. Now there is a thick layer of white ash behind the land temple."

As she spoke these words, she remained very calm from beginning to end. There was not even any anger in her words. Only her slightly trembling fingers revealed her inner emotions.

It's not that they are fearless, but now they have no one to rely on. The only thing they can depend on is the conscience of those superiors in front of them.

If they could show some compassion, perhaps they could give these patients a chance to live.

Yin Chengyu saw her hidden nervousness and said calmly, "You can't take care of all these patients by yourself. Send them to the leprosy hospital."

"When the soldiers searched for patients, they said they would send them to the leprosy center. But later, all the patients in the leprosy center were burned to death, and no one dared to go there anymore." Wen Ling's fingers sank into her palm, but she did not retreat. Her words were direct and sharp: "Will His Royal Highness the Crown Prince burn them to death too?"

"At this moment, I cannot promise you anything." Yin Chengyu looked at her and told her the truth without hiding his intentions: "The imperial physician and the doctors summoned are already trying their best to find a cure. But as a doctor, you should also know that this leprosy plague is not an ordinary disease. If it is not properly controlled, the consequences will be unimaginable. I can only promise you now that all the patients sent to the leprosy center will be treated as much as possible. I will not easily abandon any of the people until the last moment."

Wen Ling pondered for a long time before saying, "I understand."

"I am now recruiting doctors from all over the world to find a cure for the pimple plague. If Doctor Wen is willing, he can also help." Yin Chengyu said: "As for these patients, they must be transferred to the leprosy center as soon as possible to prevent more people from being infected with the pimple plague."

"I'll help persuade them." After Wen Ling figured it out, she no longer hesitated.

"Then we have Doctor Lao Wen." Yin Chengyu nodded and led the accompanying officers to stay and help Wen Ling transfer the patients.

When Yin Chengyu returned to the city, there was only a faint night in the sky and it was already dawning in the east.

With Wen Ling's help, the first batch of patients were persuaded to enter the pestilence hospital, gradually eliminating the shadow left by Zhou Weishan. In the future, more patients will voluntarily live in the pestilence hospital.

There is no cure yet, so we can only try to isolate the infected people to prevent the disease from spreading further.

Yin Chengyu let out a breath slowly, loosened his outer robe with the help of Xue Shu, and changed into light casual clothes.

Perhaps because he was too shocked today, he was not sleepy, so he simply sat down on the Luohan bed by the window and slowly made tea. The aroma of tea slowly relaxed his tense mood.

Xue Shu stood beside him.

He lowered his head, with half of his face hidden in shadow, and his dark eyelashes blocking his gaze, making it difficult to see clearly.

Yin Chengyu heated the teacup, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and then looked at Xue Shu.

"You said before that you had also suffered from a great epidemic and had stayed in Jining..." He slowly turned the emerald jade ring on his finger and said in a casual tone: "I suddenly remembered that I went to Yutai County, Jining Prefecture to provide disaster relief in the 14th year of Longfeng. At that time...were you also in Yutai?"

He turned the jade ring very slowly, but his gaze on Xue Shu became sharper and sharper, with an inquiring and testing tone: "Have you ever seen me at Yutai?"

Although it is a doubt, it is about 70% certain.

Judging from Xue Shu's words and actions these days, he has indeed suffered a major epidemic.

Thinking back to when he was in Tianjin Wei, Xue Shu once said that his ancestral home was in Shaanxi, and that he later settled in Jining Prefecture, but he did not mention where in Jining.

Although Shandong suffers from floods every year, and epidemics are also common, the only major epidemic that could be called a major one was the one in Yutai County in the 14th year of the Longfeng reign.

Combined with Xue Shu's unusual attitude towards him, Yin Chengyu began to suspect something and deliberately chose this opportunity when he was exhausted after a night of running around to test him.

There wasn't much expression on Xue Shu's face.

He had been mentally prepared since Yin Chengyu had repeatedly tested and questioned him. Even when Yin Chengyu revealed the secret he had tried so hard to hide, he did not show much emotion.

He raised his eyes and stared at Yin Chengyu, and said in a deep voice: "If I tell the truth, will there be a reward?"

Yin Chengyu frowned slightly, raised his hand and grabbed his collar, forcing him to bend down: "What other reward do you want?"

His eyes sparkled as he slowly raised the hand that was wearing the emerald jade ring and very slowly took off the jade ring on his index finger.

The rich green made his fingers look white as scallions.

Xue Shu stared blankly, even his breathing stopped for a moment.

"Do you like this jade ring?"

Yin Chengyu pinched the jade ring between his thumb and index finger and waved it in front of his eyes.

Without waiting for Xue Shu to reply, he unzipped his shirt and stuffed the jade ring into his collar, chuckling softly, "A reward for you."

The cold jade ring rolled against his skin, causing Xue Shu to tremble uncontrollably for a moment.

“Not enough.”

He said hoarsely, and under Yin Chengyu's surprised eyes, he tightly grasped his wrist, lowered his head, took the finger on which he had worn the jade ring into his mouth, and bit it hard——

Yin Chengyu frowned in pain and was about to scold him when he saw that he had loosened his mouth, raised his head and stared at him, licked his lips, and looked at him wantonly.

A circle of deep red teeth marks was left at the base of the bitten finger.

Yin Chengyu's skin was fair, so the bright red was even more noticeable.

"Are you born in the year of the dog?" Yin Chengyu looked unhappy, and looked at the water stains on his fingers with some disdain. He handed the bitten hand to him and said coldly, "Why don't you wipe it clean for me?"

Xue Shu lowered his head and did not refute. He took out a handkerchief from his arms and wanted to wipe his hands.

"Wait." Yin Chengyu stopped him and took out another handkerchief and threw it to him: "Wipe it with this."

He frowned and looked at the handkerchief in Xue Shu's hand with a look of disgust.

Who knows what he used it for.

Xue Shu had no choice but to put away his handkerchief and use the handkerchief he gave him to carefully wipe the water stains on Yubai's fingers.

Only then was Yin Chengyu satisfied. He took back his hand, picked up the tea cup, and glanced at him: "Go ahead."

Xue Shu looked at him for a moment, and finally spoke.

From the first sight at Yutai to the entrance to the palace.

He cut himself open, bleeding profusely, and spread himself out in front of Yin Chengyu.

Yin Chengyu's expression was very strange, neither happy nor angry. He put down the teacup, as if he was meeting this person for the first time. Although he had already guessed it, he still asked, "So... why did you want to enter the palace?"

"For His Highness." The past was mercilessly revealed, and Xue Shu no longer concealed his ambition: "I want to be closer to His Highness."

Yin Chengyu didn't say anything for a long while. He lowered his eyes and gently stroked the tooth mark on his finger. Pointing at the bright red mark, he asked in an indistinguishable tone, "Is this how you repay your benefactor?"

He seemed to be asking Xue Shu, but also seemed to be asking the person in his previous life through Xue Shu.

But Xue Shu at this time was not the Nine Thousand Years Old who had humiliated and toyed with him in his previous life. He looked at the red marks on his snow-white fingers and answered with a strong sense of justice: "The ancients said that the grace of saving a life should be repaid with one's body."

Yin Chengyu, who was originally a little unhappy, was so angry that he laughed.

He softened his expression and regained his calm demeanor. He glanced at Xue Shu calmly and said generously, "Forget it. You have never been to school, you are talking nonsense, and I am too lazy to argue with you."

He filled another cup of tea, waved his hand casually and said, "Go away, don't be lonely here."

Xue Shu, however, refused to move.

He keenly noticed that there was no anger in Yin Chengyu's tone, and there was even a hint of smile on his face.

The desire that was clamoring in his heart was nourished by this secret indulgence and became more vigorous. He looked at Yin Chengyu steadily, demanding an answer: "Have you calmed down, Your Highness?"

He didn't know why His Highness was angry, but he vaguely knew that if His Highness calmed down, perhaps everything would be different.

The expectations in Xue Shu's heart grew like weeds.

Yin Chengyu sneered upon hearing this. He stood up and approached him. His fingertips lightly touched his dry lips and he said in a long tone, "You have a small temper and a good memory. I'm afraid this anger... won't go away for a while."

Xue Shu lowered his eyes to look at his fingertips, and after a while he said harshly: "Then I will wait for His Highness to calm down."

No one said what would happen after the anger subsided.

Yin Chengyu snorted coldly and brushed past him with a wave of his sleeves: "Go away, don't disturb me while I rest."

The author has something to say:

Gou Gou: Once it’s marked, it’s mine.

Your Highness:?