Emperor Yuanhe frowned and asked, "Where is the imperial physician?"
"They are...waiting in the front hall."
Emperor Yuanhe disregarded everything else, waved his hand, and hurriedly left Zhaoyang Palace with a cold look in his eyes.
Because of the plague, the other concubines were still in a state of panic. Now that Emperor Yuanhe had also left, Xia Yunshang had no choice but to speak up: "All of you should return to your respective palaces. Before things become clear, no concubine may leave the palace without being summoned, and the palace maids and eunuchs under your command are not allowed to enter or leave without permission."
Upon hearing this, the concubines, still in a state of panic, quickly curtsied and left.
Even the usually arrogant Consort Xian did not cause any trouble.
The outbreak of plague in the palace was not publicized, firstly because it was during the New Year festival, with tomorrow being the first day of the Lunar New Year, a time of celebration for all people. If a plague broke out at this time, it would likely cause panic among the populace.
Secondly, apart from the deceased palace maid, no other infected individuals appeared in the palace. In Emperor Yuanhe's view, the situation had not yet developed to the point of being out of control.
However, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital held a different opinion, arguing that the spread of the plague was not immediate and that the palace maid's symptoms before her death had not been identified.
In this kind of weather, it is easiest to catch a cold. If the plague is confused with a cold and is not contained in time, once it breaks out, it will be like a flood or a ferocious beast, and it will be difficult to control at that time.
Another unknown is whether the plague has spread in the capital. If not, it is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. If it has already spread in the city and they are unaware of it, then endless hell awaits them.
The imperial physicians explained the pros and cons of the matter to Emperor Yuanhe in great detail. Emperor Yuanhe frowned and urgently summoned his court officials to the palace to discuss the matter all night.
The palace is destined to be anything but peaceful tonight.
Meanwhile, in a villa on the outskirts of Beijing, Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan were quite content.
Inside the courtyard, Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing, along with two others, were playing Pai Gow. Neither Su Wanyan nor Yu Nanqing had ever played Pai Gow before; Wang Zhang explained the rules to them, and they learned after two rounds.
They had to stay up all night to welcome the New Year. Su Wanyan, Yu Nanqing, and Wang Zhang, along with a maid from the mansion, played round after round of drinking games in the room.
Just as they were having a great time, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Your Highness, Your Majesty."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Wanyan looked up at Yu Nanqing.
The group tacitly stopped what they were doing, and the maid who had been fighting with them stood up, curtsied, and respectfully left the room.
Wang Zhang also stood up at this moment: "This old servant will go and bring some refreshments for the Prince and the Empress."
Snacks for staying up late on New Year's Eve were placed inside the house.
Su Wanyan smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Master Wang."
After the two left, the guard who had reported the incident entered and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, Your Majesty, news has come from the palace that a palace maid has died suddenly from the plague, and the Emperor is currently investigating the matter."
After the guard finished speaking, Yu Nanqing and Su Wanyan showed no surprise. They exchanged a glance as if they already knew, and then Yu Nanqing said, "Understood."
Upon hearing this, the guard bowed respectfully and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
“It seems to be working.” Su Wanyan looked at Yu Nanqing: “The effects of the medicine will gradually appear tomorrow, and they will be quite strong, lasting at most seven days. If you want to do something, do it within these seven days, when the palace is at its weakest.”
"Mm." Yu Nanqing's expression was serious as he stepped forward and hugged Su Wanyan. "Thank you for your hard work."
"I didn't do anything." Su Wanyan chuckled and nudged Yu Nanqing. "Since you have things to do, you should go to bed early tonight. Who knows what countermeasures Emperor Yuanhe will take tomorrow?"
"Yan'er, go to sleep first. I have some things to do."
"What's up?"
"It can't be explained in a sentence or two. Once things are settled, I will definitely tell Yan'er the whole story in great detail."
"Alright then." Hearing this, Su Wanyan didn't ask any more questions: "Then be careful."
Yu Nanqing smiled, pulled Su Wanyan into the bedroom, and removed the hairpin from her hair: "Don't worry, Yan'er, I would never put myself in danger."
In his contest with Yu Nanyi, he was determined to succeed and not fail.
Su Wanyan brushed his hand away: "If you have something to do, then go ahead and do it. I can do these things myself."
"No rush. We were waiting until late at night anyway, so a moment more or less won't make a difference."
In the palace.
After discussion, Emperor Yuanhe decided that the New Year celebrations would proceed as scheduled.
The sudden cancellation of a celebration that everyone has been preparing for a long time will only cause resentment among the people.
During this period, Emperor Yuanhe ordered that patrols in all parts of the capital be strengthened and that any people found to have symptoms similar to those of the plague be isolated in a timely manner.
The palace maid who contracted the plague had all her belongings destroyed.
In addition, every corner of the palace needs to be cleaned and sprinkled with lime for disinfection.
Although some ministers disagreed, Emperor Yuanhe had made up his mind, and those ministers had no choice but to comply.
In truth, Emperor Yuanhe was also in turmoil. Now, he clung to a sliver of hope that this plague was just a scare without any real danger. He didn't believe it would be such a coincidence that everything would happen at the same time.
In any case, getting through this year-end period is of utmost importance.
However, things often don't go as planned.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Beijing was still peaceful and harmonious.
Whether it was the opening of the altar for blessings in the palace or the worship of the people, everything went very smoothly.
The people of the capital were also filled with joy.
However, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, people in Beijing suddenly fell ill one after another at home.
What started as a few isolated houses catching a cold quickly spread to the entire capital within just two hours, causing people to cough incessantly and feel weak all over.
Without exception, long queues formed outside pharmacies throughout the city, and recently, due to the large number of sick people, medicine has become extremely difficult to obtain.
The incident happened suddenly and suddenly. When the leader of the city defense reported the matter to Emperor Yuanhe, Emperor Yuanhe was inspecting the Six Arts with his ministers in a separate palace.
When Emperor Yuanhe heard that a large number of people in the capital were dying from illness, his spirits plummeted.
His worst fears came true. He composed himself, hurriedly left the banquet hall, and urgently summoned all the ministers to the Imperial Study to discuss countermeasures.
The situation was even worse than the patrol report had suggested.
By the afternoon, people were seen on the streets, some of whom were so weak that they had fainted and collapsed.
And there are also faint signs that it may spread.
At this point, Emperor Yuanhe dared not hesitate any longer and immediately ordered the city gates to be closed to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
The city defense, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the various departments of the Jingzhao Prefecture joined forces to drive all the people still in the streets back home, and also dispatched the Imperial Guards to prevent unrest caused by panic among the people.
In addition, extra people were assigned to clean the streets of the city and spread quicklime to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
All celebrations in the capital were cancelled on the spot, all banquets in the palace were treated equally, and all palaces were sealed off, with no one allowed to enter or leave without authorization.
"The situation is urgent. I hope all my ministers will work together to overcome this crisis!"
The ministers who were discussing matters in the Imperial Study immediately knelt down and bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, we will certainly do our duty and fulfill our responsibilities to relieve your worries."
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