Man-eating birds 3
"This is absolutely unacceptable!" Sun Rang stepped forward, his expression serious, his anger directed straight at Prime Minister Jiang.
Jiang Yangze spoke gently, but his words were heavy: "This is the only plan that can slow down the epidemic in Yidu. Otherwise, if it spreads to the palace and infects nobles, will you, Lord Sun, take responsibility?"
Sun Rang refused to budge an inch, asking, "Then aren't the lives of ordinary people also lives?"
Lin Shuo frowned and tried to smooth things over, "Prime Minister Jiang, setting up tents outside the city and sending all the infected people there seems feasible, but it's tantamount to sending them to their deaths. How can the people cooperate?"
Jiang Yangze: "It's not difficult. Just post a notice that anyone who conceals something will have their entire family executed, and then kill a chicken as a warning. Naturally, no one will dare to conceal anything."
"Absurd! How can the law of exterminating nine generations of a family be applied like this!" Sun Rang was furious and panting heavily. If this weren't the imperial court, he probably would have attacked.
Lin Shuo shook his head. "That's too harsh. It might provoke public criticism."
“Prince Rong, Lord Sun, I know you both care about the people, but this is sacrificing the small for the greater good. This epidemic is dangerous, and if we don’t take swift and decisive measures, it could spread and shake the foundation of the country.”
Lin Shuo quickly stopped Sun Rang, his face darkening. He turned to the throne and asked curtly, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Xiao Congzhi was leaning against the throne, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly distracted. Upon hearing the question, he slowly sat up and looked at the assembled officials. "What are you all arguing about?"
Jiang Xiang bowed and said, “Your Majesty, I just proposed a plan on how to prevent the epidemic. Since this epidemic is difficult to prevent, we should let the sick people go outside the city on their own, set up tents there, and prepare what they need. Since there is no cure for this disease, this can also be considered as taking care of the patients in their last few days. Prince Rong is worried that the people will not cooperate, so I thought we could use the law of exterminating nine generations of their families as a deterrent. Now that the New Year is approaching, this epidemic must be contained, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Xiao Congzhi narrowed his eyes. Jiang Xiang was indeed a cunning old fox; he dared to utter such an absurd plan so brazenly, packaging it as if Xiao Congzhi should applaud and wholeheartedly agree. No wonder Sun Rang was furious; this plan was tantamount to sending the people to their deaths—couldn't they at least die at home?
Lin Shuo was clever enough to pass the matter on to him… Xiao Congzhi sighed inwardly; there was no one in the court who could give him peace of mind.
"I think... this is a poor solution; the best solution is to find a cure."
Jiang Yangze thought to himself, "Isn't this obvious?" But he didn't show it on his face and still said respectfully, "Your Majesty is right, but we really have no clue how to treat this."
"I do have some knowledge of this, why don't you find someone so I can take their pulse?"
As soon as the words were spoken, a whole row of people knelt in the court, shouting, "Absolutely not!"
Xiao Congzhi tapped his fingers slowly on the armrest of the throne. He silently looked at his civil and military officials, and hesitated for a moment before speaking. He could explain himself either way, but he was afraid of arousing Jiang Xiang's suspicion.
suddenly----
"Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!! Something terrible has happened!" Ge Yun rushed out of the back hall in a flurry of activity.
Xiao Congzhi said sternly, "How can there be noise in the imperial court?"
“Your Majesty…” Ge Yun struggled to catch his breath, “Consort Chang of Changlin Palace has contracted the plague. The Empress Dowager had dinner with her last night and is now also running a fever.”
Xiao Congzhi suddenly stood up and saw that Prime Minister Jiang had also stood up and looked over in astonishment. All the officials also raised their heads, their faces showing surprise.
Xiao Congzhi took a deep breath. "Lead the way quickly, I need to see the Empress Dowager."
Lin Shuo hurriedly shouted, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! Please take care of your health!"
Xiao Congzhi paused, looking at Jiang Yangze, "What did Prime Minister Jiang say?"
Jiang Yangze walked unsteadily, clearly flustered. He paused for a moment after hearing the question before saying, "What Prince Rong said is absolutely right. Your Majesty should not take such a risk. I will go." After saying that, he told Ge Yun to lead the way.
After Prime Minister Jiang left, Xiao Congzhi lowered his eyes to look at the officials who were kneeling, and after a long silence, he said lightly, "You may all leave."
After everyone had left, Xiao Congzhi walked down the imperial steps, stepped over the gate, looked up at the gray sky, and murmured, "Is this the storm brewing, Imperial Uncle?"
Lin Shuo and Sun Rang, who were standing at the corner not far from the door, took two steps forward, lowered their heads, and remained silent.
Xiao Congzhi withdrew his gaze from the distance, looked at the two of them, and said, "Prime Minister Jiang will not mention that clumsy plan again."
Sun Rang: "Yes, otherwise he would have had to send the Empress Dowager outside the city."
Lin Shuo nudged Sun Rang's shoulder discreetly, signaling him to be careful what he said.
Xiao Congzhi chuckled softly, "I still need to go see the Empress Dowager."
"This... Your Majesty."
Xiao Congzhi raised a hand. "It's just outside, nothing will happen. Besides, I have some thoughts on this illness."
Sun Rang hurriedly raised his head and asked, "Does Your Majesty have any leads?"
"These are just speculations, but it's likely a man-made disaster."
"Man-made disaster..."
"The Empress Dowager's illness this time is probably unrelated to the Prime Minister."
Sun Rang's face was grave. "In this capital city of Yi, besides Prime Minister Jiang, who else would want to cause trouble?"
After a moment's thought, Lin Shuo had an idea. He tugged at Sun Rang's sleeve and instructed, "You go out of the palace first."
Sun Rang looked puzzled.
"I will go with His Majesty to see the Empress Dowager."
The Changning Palace, where the Empress Dowager resided, was filled with a depressing silence. The maids and eunuchs kept their heads down, afraid that their breathing might anger the Prime Minister. They didn't even dare to cover their mouths and noses, and walked around the room in fear. The imperial physicians also dared not speak loudly, and all talked in hushed tones in the outer room.
When Xiao Congzhi arrived, he spotted Xie Mowen in the guard team at Changning Palace. He tried to suppress his smile and was about to walk into the palace when Lin Shuo hurriedly stopped him.
Xiao Congzhi raised his eyebrows, "So that's why you wanted to come along."
"How could I possibly allow Your Majesty to enter?"
Xiao Congzhi stopped walking and said with a smile, "In Yidu City, most of those infected are people who care for the sick. Just one glance should be fine."
Lin Shuo lowered his voice, "The emperor's health is of utmost importance; no amount of caution is too much."
"Hmm." Xiao Congzhi didn't necessarily want to go in, so he stood outside the door, watching the busy people inside, and said, "Chang Jieyu must have been fine last night, otherwise she wouldn't have had dinner with the Empress Dowager. She developed a fever this morning, and the Empress Dowager was unwell this morning. It's a bit too fast for her to develop a fever around noon."
Lin Shuo admired His Majesty for grasping the ins and outs of the epidemic and all its details so quickly after only one day back in Yidu, and even for recognizing that it was caused by human error. With a touch of shame, he asked, "Does Your Majesty mean that the Empress Dowager was probably not infected by Consort Chang?"
"Hmm." Xiao Congzhi beckoned to the head eunuch serving in the Empress Dowager's palace. "Where did the Empress Dowager and Consort Chang go yesterday?"
The head eunuch of Changning Palace was Ge Yun's brother, but he was much better-natured than Ge Yun. At least he would show some genuine respect when he saw the emperor. "Your Majesty, the mistress did not go out yesterday. She only enjoyed the flowers with Consort Chang in the small garden of Changning Palace in the evening."
Xiao Congzhi sighed and looked at Lin Shuo, "Uncle, it seems that I will have to cross this threshold today."
Lin Shuo sighed and resignedly followed.
After they went inside, Xie Mowen's eyes darted around, and he also stealthily moved his feet...
There is a small garden in Changning Palace where seasonal flowers bloom all year round. Over time, it has become difficult to tell whether this is the Empress Dowager's personal preference or a means for her to display her nobility.
"Red plum blossoms bloom against the snow, what a sight..." Lin Shuo shook his head, stopping himself from saying the rest of the sentence, and only chuckled softly. Such a scene could not be seen in the Emperor's Zichen Palace, nor could it be found in the Imperial Garden.
All the extravagance and luxury belonged to the Jiang family. The ruler was no longer a ruler, and the country was no longer a country. How dare the common people speak ill of them?
Xiao Congzhi didn't care about the few red plum blossoms. As soon as he entered the small garden, he became serious and took every step with extra caution.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from among the branches. Before anyone could look over, two black-feathered birds, about the size of a palm, with scarlet eyes, flew out from among the clusters of red plum blossoms.
Xiao Congzhi reacted extremely quickly, suddenly unfolding his black iron folding fan and slashing it through the air. A strong wind howled, and two black-feathered birds fell with broken feathers.
Lin Shuo was shocked and walked up to Xiao Congzhi. "Your Majesty, what is this?"
"Steward Ge, don't go over there!" Xiao Congzhi shouted sternly, then turned to Lin Shuo, "Besides human-to-human transmission, this epidemic must have other routes. The palace is heavily guarded, even rats are hard to find, but birds are free in the sky."
"You mean, those two birds in front of us..."
“Last evening, the Empress Dowager and Consort Chang were admiring the flowers here when they encountered this bird, which is why they fell ill.” Xiao Congzhi paused and then said, “Of course, this is just my speculation, but it is unusual to see birds in winter, so it is good to be careful.”
Lin Shuo was already nine-tenths convinced, and clutching his chest, he felt a lingering fear.
Steward Ge asked anxiously, "Then what should we do now?"
Xiao Congzhi calmed down, staring at the direction where the bird had landed, remaining silent for a long time…
Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, another black-feathered bird flew out from the camellia bushes beside Xiao Congzhi. It was much larger than the previous one and flew straight at Xiao Congzhi.
Xiao Congzhi, who had already relaxed his mind and was lost in thought, didn't react in time. By the time he raised his folding fan, it was too late, and he could only barely dodge the fatal blow.
But the next moment, he was tackled to the ground, followed by a muffled groan.
"Xie Mowen? Xie Mowen!" Xiao Congzhi quickly got up, hugged Xie Mowen who was on top of him, and looked him over carefully.
Xie Mowen could still laugh, but his face was pale and his forehead was covered with large beads of sweat. A piece of flesh had been bitten off his right arm by the black-feathered bird, and it was bleeding profusely.
The black-feathered bird that was gnawing on meat had already been swatted down by Xie Mowen and was now lifeless.
Xiao Congzhi's hands trembled slightly, he completely lost his composure, couldn't think of anything, and even looked at Lin Shuo for help.
Everything happened too fast, and Lin Shuo didn't have time to react. When he met Xiao Congzhi's gaze, he realized that he needed to calm down and think of a solution. He called out in a trembling voice, "Thank you... thank you for protecting me, guards. Quickly... quickly summon the imperial physician."
Steward Ge was stunned. Upon hearing the order, he hurriedly went to call for help.
After Steward Ge had gone far away, Lin Shuo finally understood what had happened and rushed over to pull Xiao Congzhi away, saying, "Your Majesty, you should stay away from here."
Xiao Congzhi held Xie Mowen tightly in his arms, refusing to let go no matter how much Lin Shuo pulled.
Xie Mowen laboriously raised his uninjured left hand, patted Xiao Congzhi's back, and whispered, "Don't worry, Shaocheng will arrive at Buzuigui Winery tomorrow."
Lin Shuo didn't understand the words, but he saw Xiao Congzhi gradually calm down, his breathing slowed, and his trembling stopped. He tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, should Guard Xie..."
Xiao Congzhi scooped Xie Mowen up in his arms, glanced coldly at Lin Shuo, and said indifferently, "Return to Zichen Palace."
This was naturally extremely inappropriate, but facing the emperor in this state, Lin Shuo didn't dare utter a single word of "no."
But Xiao Congzhi was actually able to think. He initially lost control because there was no cure for the disease. He could neither use the Qilin blood nor contact Yun Shaocheng directly, so he panicked for a moment.
"Follow that..." Xie Mowen, still holding on, asked, "Is this appropriate?"
Xiao Congzhi smiled gently at her, "I know what I'm doing."
Upon hearing this, Xie Mowen fainted with relief.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com