Chapter 24
"Where is Father?"
Yue Qingning hurriedly grabbed Qingzhu. Qingzhu was frightened by her expression and stuttered when she spoke.
"Someone has been sent out earlier to ask the master to come back. I'm afraid he's almost home now."
Yue Qingning rushed out of the door in a hurry, leading Sun Bo and several servants in the family to the gate.
Fortunately, it’s not too late!
There was no one at the door and my father had not returned yet.
She waved to the two servants to close the door, and even the bolt fell down.
"Uncle Sun! Go and tie up all the horses in the stable. Pay special attention to the one that Que Ming rode back. Rinse it thoroughly with water and keep the water in one place so it doesn't leak out."
After receiving the order, Sun Bo quickly turned around and left. Yue Qingning suddenly remembered something and called him.
"From today onwards, everyone in the hospital must cover their faces with cloth to prevent infection."
After hearing what the eldest lady said, Uncle Sun immediately went to do it.
She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard the sound of a carriage approaching from afar and slowly stopping in front of the door.
Yue Qingning didn't dare to gamble, and slowly stepped back, covering half of his face.
"Why is the door closed? Someone come here!"
It was the voice of Uncle Zhang who had followed his father out. Qingning stopped three steps away from the door and tried to calm himself down.
"Uncle Zhang, it was my order."
"Miss? Why?"
Old Zhang was about to push open a crack to look inside, but Yue Qingning quickly stopped him.
"Don't open the door! This matter is of great importance. Uncle Zhang, please tell my father to come over."
After a while, the voice at the door changed.
"Qingning? What happened? Didn't they say Qingzhe was injured?"
Hearing his father's voice, Yue Qingning felt a lump in his nose, but luckily he blocked it with his hands so he couldn't hear it.
She was well aware of the horror of the epidemic. If she failed to control the symptoms in time, she might not survive more than seven days.
Now it is not just Qingzhe's life or death, the lives of everyone in the mansion are hanging on a thread. If they are not careful, the entire Yue family will perish today.
She swallowed the bitterness in her heart and called out softly.
"Father, we have to make decisions in an emergency. You must listen carefully to what Qingning says next."
Minister Yue on the opposite side paused when he heard this and was about to say the word "nonsense".
"Qingzhe was injured by his fellow monk Luo Chen. Perhaps he contracted the disease from the whip he used to whip the horse plague."
“…”
Minister Yue was stunned. He had just mentioned the local horse plague at the morning court and asked the emperor to send someone to investigate.
Now it seems like retribution, the epidemic thousands of miles away has happened to my own child by coincidence.
It took him a long time to find his voice, and there was a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.
"Who said that?"
The daughter opposite replied calmly.
"The doctor from Tongjitang and Sister Teng both came to see me, and they both said there's a nine out of ten chance of it happening."
Minister Yue lost his balance and almost bumped into the door. It was Lao Zhang who supported him and prevented him from hitting his head.
The doctor's one-sided statement might not be credible, but the Teng family had earlier responded to his request and went to Liangzhou, where the epidemic was raging. There, the father and daughter had seen the symptoms of horse plague with their own eyes, so it was impossible for them not to be able to tell the difference!
But... why? Why target a ten-year-old?
Yue Qingning listened to the heavy breathing behind the door, and felt unbearable pain in his heart, but now he had no time to be distracted by the father-son relationship.
"Father, please report this to the palace quickly and have His Majesty send someone to investigate whether this is an epidemic. We must also find Luo Chen as soon as possible. He must know whether the item he has contains the plague!"
"We must catch him quickly and not let him show off outside! If it's really an epidemic, he might have it too. The capital is crowded with people, so it will spread even faster!"
Minister Yue took a few quick breaths.
"Then you..."
"We'll be fine!"
Qingning finally put down his hand and forced a smile towards his father who was standing on the other side of the door.
"We'll be fine."
She didn't even notice the blood stain on her face.
Minister Yue's heart almost split in two when he saw the bloody pale smile on his daughter's face, but she was right. If the epidemic spread, the entire capital would be deeply affected, and it might even spread to the palace.
What if His Majesty also contracts the plague...
He leaned his head against the door, took a deep breath, and slapped the door with his hand weakly.
“Bang…bang…bang.”
Yue Qingning only heard three heavy knocks on the door, each one heavier than the last, rumbling in the empty courtyard.
How could she not know her father's heart?
His wife and children were all in the house, but he could not come in and stay with them. In addition to being a husband and a father, he was also a minister of the Great Sheng Dynasty. So he had no choice but to put aside his personal feelings and stand on the side of the people and the monarch.
The heavy wooden door finally blocked out the echo, and the sound of carriage wheels rolling over stone slabs could be heard again from the other side of the door.
Yue Qingning breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this voice.
At this moment, I breathed a sigh of relief, but tears rolled down my face uncontrollably.
This brief meeting didn't know if it would be the last.
——
Outside the imperial city.
Minister Yue's carriage had just left Xuanwu Gate and now turned back.
The gatekeeper was about to ask something when the person in the carriage opened the window.
Minister Yue's face turned pale at this moment, and he spoke as if he had lost his soul.
"I have something important to report to Your Majesty. This is of great importance! Please let me in immediately."
Such a panicky look was obviously due to an urgent matter, not to mention that the visitor was the Minister of Revenue, so the gate guards did not dare to stop him and let him pass immediately.
After saying thank you, Minister Yue put down his hand, his palms were already covered in cold sweat.
He didn't know if he had anything on him when he entered the palace. If he accidentally got something on him, he couldn't bring it to His Majesty.
Although Qingning closed the door without delay, no one knew where the thing in Luo Sanzi's hand was, and no one knew how long his family had been away.
If this is really a plague, one in ten people in the capital will probably be infected.
Imperial Physician Teng has been researching a cure for the plague since his return. I wonder if he's found a cure yet? If even he's helpless, no one else can save Kyoto.
You don't know the suffering until you experience it yourself! The horse plague, originally from Liangzhou, has appeared in Kyoto. It's as if God is deliberately punishing those who pretend not to see it. The plague is right in their bodies, so they can finally open their eyes and take a look.
When the carriage reached the inner palace, Minister Yue hurried all the way to the door of the imperial study.
The young eunuch in front of the door looked from afar and saw a man in a purple robe walking quickly towards him, and the hem of his robe seemed to be blowing in the wind under his feet.
He stepped forward and finally saw the person clearly.
"Lord Yue? Didn't you just get back?"
Yue Zhizheng was sweating profusely. Seeing him approaching, he stopped and stood in the middle of the yard, shouting.
"Don't come near me! I might be sick. Don't come near me!"
The young eunuch was frightened by his shout and stopped where he was. Although they were about five or six feet apart, he could still see from a distance that his face was turning pale and he looked anxious.
The young eunuch knew that this must be a big deal, so he asked loudly.
"Lord Yue, what can I do for you? His Majesty is in the Imperial Study right now. I'll go in and tell him what you want!"
“…”
The purple-robed man standing opposite him lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking, and did not answer.
The young eunuch was about to move closer when he saw Minister Yue suddenly kneel down, his back straight like a pine or cypress rooted among the blue bricks.
"Your Majesty! A horse plague has been reported in the capital! My entire Yue family has been isolated in the palace, and their lives are unknown! Your Majesty, please send someone to investigate immediately."
When the young eunuch heard the word "horse plague", she froze in place.
Having been with Your Majesty for a long time, I have some knowledge of the important affairs of the court.
Earlier, Minister Yue had requested His Majesty to send people to Liangzhou to investigate local epidemics, but he never expected... How could this horse plague fall upon their Yue family?
It is said that horse plague is extremely terrible. People who are infected will quickly faint and develop a high fever. After three or four days, the high fever will subside and they will seem to be getting better, but they will not live for more than three days.
If a person is infected with horse plague, he will die within seven days.
Thinking of this, the young eunuch quickly covered his face and stepped back.
"Don't move, sir! I'll report this to His Majesty!"
The bright sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the main hall stood majestically under the sunlight, revealing the overwhelming supreme majesty and power of the emperor in its solemnity. Yue Zhizheng felt as if cold sweat was steaming on his body as if it were a piece of ice.
This time, such a big commotion has occurred. Your Majesty can no longer turn a blind eye...
Before he could think about it, a bright yellow figure appeared at the door of the imperial study.
The man waved away the young eunuch who was about to say more and walked towards Yue Zhizheng who was kneeling on the ground.
"Your Majesty, be careful! I don't know if I'm carrying any disease. Please don't come near me!"
Upon hearing this, the bright yellow figure stopped ten steps away.
Yue Zhizheng raised his eyes and saw that the emperor, who was usually calm and composed, was now holding his belt with an expression of uncontrollable worry.
"Zhizheng, don't joke with me! Liangzhou is thousands of miles away. How could the disease possibly spread to the capital?"
Yue Zhizheng explained the whole story in a serious tone, then bowed his head and kowtowed to the ground.
"Your Majesty, whether intentional or not, the disease has already reached here! What's most important now is to send someone to my home to see if this is indeed horse plague. I ask Your Majesty to send the imperial physician, Lord Teng, to examine it. He has seen it before in Liangzhou."
"Besides...his daughter Teng Xieji is at home. She has already said that there is a 90% chance of horse plague!"
What else is there to say! They went to Liangzhou together. His Teng family has a profound medical skill that has been passed down from generation to generation. Even Teng Yan's daughter said so...
The emperor stroked his forehead briefly before accepting this fact.
How could this be possible if someone hadn't arranged this? This person wanted everyone in the capital dead!
He waved his hand and said, "Tell Teng Yan to go to the Yue family immediately! Also, call everyone from the Imperial Hospital. I want to ask questions."
Hearing that His Majesty had finally sent someone, Yue Zhizheng took a deep breath and told the second thing.
"Your Majesty, the perpetrator was Luo Chen, the third son of Luo Feng, the Minister of War. He immediately returned home after the incident. He still had the poisoned whip in his hand. I'm afraid the source of the epidemic was the family's sick horse. I request that Your Majesty seal off the Luo household and isolate all those entering and leaving."
When he heard him mention this person, the emperor suddenly paused for a moment.
"What's wrong with you, Luo Feng?"
He spoke as if he knew nothing, but everyone in the court knew that Luo Feng was a disciple of Luo Ge Lao, and Luo Ge Lao was from the prince's faction.
As he became more and more dissatisfied with the Prince's faction, the three million taels of silver had to be allocated from his Ministry of Revenue. By this time, the two factions were so hostile that they could hardly keep up appearances.
The person kneeling on the bluestone slabs then lay on the ground.
"It's true that Luo Feng and I have political differences, but this matter concerns the safety of the capital and your majesty. I dare not speak nonsense! Your majesty, please investigate this matter immediately. If the plague spreads, it will be difficult to control it."
He was right. Even though he hated Lord Luo so much, he would never dare to deceive him with such a thing. Besides, what kind of idiot would use horse plague to scheme?
This plague is not something that can be controlled. Everyone in the capital may be infected.
This thought gave him even more headaches, so the emperor waved and called another person over.
"Go and tell Pei Weijing, the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, to do it immediately!"
Another young eunuch took the order and went to do it, leaving only two people standing in the courtyard under the bright sun.
In broad daylight, a shadow suddenly fell over the emperor's head without any warning. He looked up at the shadow and sighed.
"There has never been a major disaster in the hundred years of our Great Sheng, so people have become complacent..."
Yue Zhizheng also heard His Majesty's sigh, but what he said was actually wrong, at least not to His Majesty.
Your Majesty ascended the throne at the age of twenty-three and ruled for a full thirty years. During this time, he led troops on numerous campaigns with valor rivaling that of a general in battle. He also listened to the frank remonstrations of his subjects. No other emperor in the world could be as eloquent as Your Majesty, able to endure two hours of harsh criticism and still smile.
"With you in this world, I can truly rest assured."
Your Majesty has always been a wise ruler, even comparable to the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor. It is the lifelong honor of many ministers to be able to assist such an emperor!
Unfortunately, since the death of the previous queen, His Majesty has also changed. After the Gong family entered the palace, they became more and more powerful, even the Ling family...
Thinking of this, Yue Zhizhu quickly stopped the idea.
Here, that thing is unthinkable!
After staring blankly for a long time, the emperor came to his senses and looked at the person kneeling on the ground.
"Governing, what about you? What will you do?"
Yue Zhizheng gritted his teeth, as if he had used up all his strength to say this.
"I request to remain in the palace for a few days in isolation. I will not leave until I have confirmed any symptoms of the disease!"
"Your home..."
The emperor knew that no one could feel at ease at this time. If he were timid, he might hide in the palace and not leave. If he were strong-willed, he would ask to go in person to investigate the Luo family who had injured his son.
But his Yue Shangshu...
With the country, the people and the king in your heart, you will finally have a home.
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