When County Magistrate Zhou was about to invite Mr. Zhao to the town for lunch, he saw a rider on a flying horse arriving with urgent news from the capital!

After reading the urgent report, Zhao Hao's expression changed drastically. He decisively and deeply apologized for standing up County Magistrate Zhou. He then boarded a raft at Chixi, not far from the town, and went downstream to the mouth of Chixi, 20 miles away, where he boarded the Science which was moored there.

The Science immediately weighed anchor and headed north. Before departure, Zhao Hao issued several orders in succession. One was to the two deans of Jiangnan Hospital and Medical College, ordering them to immediately hand over their work to their deputies, carry equipment and medicines according to the highest standards, and take a boat to Chongming to wait for their rendezvous.

The second was to order someone to inform the little princess and Zhang Xiaojing in Hangzhou that he had to return to the capital first due to an emergency, and would send someone to pick them up to the capital after Li Mingyue passed the critical period.

Third, he ordered someone to send a message to Mrs. Xiao in Chaozhou, telling her that her brothers and sisters in Beijing were seriously ill, and asked her to contact Jin Ke immediately and have the Taiwan Garrison escort her north.

As the orders were passed down one after another, Zhao Hao did not feel relaxed. Instead, he fell into a kind of conflicting emotion, unable to extricate himself.

Seeing him lying on the long sofa, staring at the ceiling, motionless and silent for a long time, Qiaoqiao felt distressed, but she didn't know how to comfort Zhao Hao, so she could only ask Sister Ma to accompany him.

"I can't do it either. I was just kicked out." Ma Xianglan smiled bitterly and said, "Your husband just wants to be alone and doesn't want to see anyone."

"Isn't he your husband?" Qiaoqiao gently poked Sister Ma with her finger, thought for a moment, and decided to use the method she was best at - warming the heart first and the stomach, and using delicious food to comfort Zhao Hao, who had fallen into a low point for some reason.

"I'll go too." Ma Xianglan read the urgent report and thought of how Zhao Hao had been following the news in Beijing. Although she didn't quite understand, she could vaguely guess that he must be making a difficult decision, and it was an unprecedentedly difficult one. It would be good for him to be alone at this time.

The two of them went to the back kitchen, and Qiaoqiao prepared to make the newly learned "Meat Dumplings" for Zhao Hao to eat. In the past few years, whenever she followed Zhao Hao to a place, she would ask the chef to cook the local specialties. If Zhao Hao liked it, she would seriously learn how to make it so that she could constantly enrich her own menu.

It is said that Fanshan meat dumpling came from Fuzhou, and some say it came from Pucheng, but who cares. Anyway, the crystal clear dough is wrapped with fat and tender pork leg meat. Every bite of it can bring a warm and happy feeling, making people feel soothed from the heart.

However, when she was chopping the pork leg into puree, Qiaoqiao felt nauseous. She dropped the knife and ran outside the cabin to retch.

Ma Xianglan, who was rolling out dough, dropped her rolling pin and followed her out, patting her on the back. After Qiaoqiao calmed down, she helped her back to the room, sat her down, and poured her a glass of water.

Qiaoqiao drank two sips of water and finally suppressed her nausea. She said in confusion, "Strange, I don't get seasick?"

"Silly girl, you probably have it too." Ma Xianglan looked at Qiaoqiao with envy, but she was happy from the bottom of her heart.

"No way?" Qiaoqiao was stunned for a moment, her little head buzzing. "I've been very careful..."

"Hurry up and invite Doctor Tan over." Ma Xianglan instructed Hanxun, "Also tell the kitchen that Madam Fang can't cook. Let them cook for themselves."

"I'll be fine after a rest." Qiaoqiao remembered.

"Don't be silly, listen to me," Ma Xianglan held her down, patted Qiaoqiao's belly gently and said with a smile: "This little thing can warm your husband's heart better than a bowl of meat swallows."

"He's not your husband yet..." Qiaoqiao muttered embarrassedly, feeling both shy and happy.

~~

Sure enough, when Zhao Hao heard the gynecologist say Qiaoqiao was also pregnant, he immediately jumped up from his Ge You-like state, and was so happy that he didn't know what to do.

"Okay, great! You should take a good rest. Come and sit over here and talk." Young Master Zhao hurriedly helped Qiaoqiao sit down on the sofa and said, "I think you should not go north with me because of the bumpy sea. You should also go to Hangzhou to recuperate together with Mingyue and Xiaojing to take care of each other. Oh, and we should also quickly bring mother-in-law to Hangzhou. At a time like this, no one can be better than your own mother."

"No, I'm not that delicate. What should I do if I don't eat with you?" Qiaoqiao quickly shook her head.

"Hey, there's a chef on the ship, I won't starve." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "It's settled!"

"But I was worried about the way you behaved just now." Qiaoqiao couldn't help but say.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine now." Zhao Hao rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "I'm going to be a father, I can't be happy enough!"

"Really?" Qiaoqiao felt relieved.

"Of course, it's realer than real gold!" Zhao Hao gave her a smile showing eight teeth.

Sure enough, from Wenzhou to Hangzhou, Zhao Hao smiled all the way back, ate and drank as he pleased, and even squeezed juice himself to relieve Qiaoqiao's morning sickness.

The simple-minded Qiaoqiao felt relieved and focused all her attention on the little life in her belly.

~~

The Science stopped at the pier outside Wulin Gate. Zhao Hao personally saw Qiaoqiao off the ship. Li Mingyue and Zhang Xiaojing also rushed to meet him after hearing the news.

Li Mingyue was in good condition and wanted to go back to Beijing with Zhao Hao. But Dr. Tan on the ship said that it was better to stay still than to move during the first three months of pregnancy, and long-distance travel was absolutely prohibited.

It was not until Zhao Hao agreed that if she got Doctor Tan's permission, she could go with her mother when the princess's ship passed through Hangzhou that the little princess agreed gloomily.

Zhao Hao only stayed at the dock for two hours. After repeatedly instructing his three wives to take care of each other, he hurried back to the boat with a heart full of concern, left Hangzhou and continued to head north.

As soon as he left their sight, the smile on Zhao Hao's face gradually disappeared involuntarily.

This made Secretary Ma even more certain that he was hiding something huge in his heart.

Seeing Sister Ma's worried look, Zhao Hao gently held her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'm just a little hesitant. I always feel that whatever I do is wrong."

"It sounds just like when I was young, before I met my husband." Sister Ma also held Zhao Hao's hand and said softly, "Every path in front of me is so disgusting. They all seem to be the same, because they are all dead ends."

In order to help Zhao Hao get over it quickly, Ma Xianglan even rarely mentioned her past which she had been reluctant to talk about.

"Then how did you survive?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.

"One day, it suddenly occurred to me. If no matter what I do, it's wrong, doesn't that mean no matter what I do, it's wrong?" Sister Ma smiled brightly and said, "Then I won't think too much about it. I'll just find a way that doesn't look too difficult."

"So? When you went to Wei Ji Xian to play the piano, you thought I was easier to deal with?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"You were only fourteen years old at that time, I thought, what bad intentions could a child have?" Sister Ma chuckled and said, "With my skills, it would be easy for me to catch you, right?"

"Great, great, I always thought I was the one who got you, but it turns out you tricked me!" Zhao Hao reached out to tickle her, and Ma Xianglan panted and dodged, begging for mercy:

"Anyway, your husband has not suffered any loss. If it weren't for me, how could you have married so many wives?"

"Thank you!" Zhao Hao pretended to be angry and glared at her. The two laughed and made noises for a while before gradually calming down. They hugged each other and looked at the boundary between the river and the sea in the distance. The yellow and green water were clearly distinguished.

Mr. Zhao understood what Sister Ma meant - if the choice was too difficult, then there was no need to worry too much, because no matter how you chose, there would be no correct answer...

Thinking about it this way, there is really no need for me to worry too much, at least not now, because I will be worried again when I get to Beijing anyway.

Ma Xianglan quietly lay in Zhao Hao's arms, listening to his heartbeat, and knew that his heart was not so chaotic anymore...

~~

When the ship arrived in Chongming, Zhao Hao got off the Science and transferred to the Pingjiang to continue the journey.

The two old gentlemen, Li Lunming and Li Shizhen, were already waiting for him on the boat.

"What are you doing?" Li Lunming said bluntly as soon as they met: "The medical school has just prepared to launch a second phase clinical trial of cowpox! Now that we are both gone, we have to put it on hold!"

"Yes, it's such a waste of time." Li Shizhen sighed, "Preliminary experiments have proven that vaccination against cowpox is indeed much safer than vaccination against human pox. If the experiments are completed earlier, we can vaccinate the entire Jiangnan region, which will save so many lives."

"You two have wronged me so much. My wives are still pregnant, but they were called to the capital as well?" Zhao Hao said with a wry smile, "To tell you the truth, this is the Queen's decree, summoning you two to see the Emperor immediately!"

"Is that so..." The two doctors' resentment immediately subsided. In the eyes of people in this era, the emperor's life must be more precious than that of ordinary people, and even the doctors who are like parents are no exception.

"What disease does the emperor have? Those useless people in the Imperial Hospital can't even cure it?" Li Shizhen asked curiously.

"At first they said it was rickets, then they said it was a stroke." Zhao Hao spread his hands and said, "Who knows?"

"He is indeed a good-for-nothing." Li Lunming nodded, wiping his beard. Suddenly, he thought of something and said, "The other day, I heard that Ma Mingju from Wuxi and Gong Yanxian from Jiangxi were suddenly invited to the capital by Lord Gao. This is probably related to this matter, right?"

"Who knows?" Zhao Hao shook his head. He didn't want to tell the two genius doctors about the troubles in the court.

"Yeah, who cares? Let's just treat the patient." Li Shizhen nodded, grabbed Zhao Hao's left hand, and said with shining eyes: "You are here now. Can you talk about Vaccinology?"

"Is it really possible to attenuate and inactivate the microbes that cause infectious diseases, turning them from germs into vaccines to prevent diseases?" Li Lunming also became excited and grabbed Zhao Hao's other hand, as if he was afraid that he would run away.

"We still have more than ten days on the road, there's no need to rush, right?" Zhao Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He really didn't dare to talk to them in too much detail. Because his understanding of medicine was just popular science, the more he talked, the more mistakes he would make, and he might even lead them astray.