Chapter 222: Chapter 221: Accident"It looks good."
He Ying examined it for a while before Sang Yan finally took it off and placed it in the large suitcase, continuing to pack.
She kept packing until the evening.
There were too many things.
The courtyard was filled.
Gao Wenliang had also brought many local specialties.
Imperial Doctor Liu was no exception, having gathered many nourishing ingredients.
On the night before their departure,
Gao Wenliang hosted a farewell banquet.
The banquet was grand.
Imperial Doctor Liu, Imperial Doctor Liang, and some local officials were all present.
He Ying and Sang Yan attended too.
He Ying talked with them about medical developments and local governance.
Sang Yan added a few timely comments.
Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
By the time they returned, it was very late.
After washing up, the two lay down in bed.
He Ying, having drunk some wine, was gradually becoming sleepy.
Sang Yan tossed and turned, unable to feel sleepy at all.
It was quiet at night.
Her hearing was very sharp, constantly feeling that it was particularly noisy outside.
Annoying.
She covered her ears with both hands and irritably turned over.
No sooner had she closed her eyes than a large hand pulled her into an embrace.
"Why aren’t you sleeping? We need to set off tomorrow."
He Ying, with his eyes closed, gently asked, his large hand lightly patting Sang Yan’s shoulder as if lulling a child to sleep.
Now Sang Yan was completely unable to sleep.
She simply opened her eyes and looked at the canopy of the bed, her tone resigned, "Don’t you think it’s noisy outside?"
Their courtyard was far from the marketplace, but during the day, they could still hear some hawking sounds, only quieting down completely at night.
Yet tonight, it was even livelier than during the day.
Very noisy.
Hearing her say this, He Ying propped up his upper body with one hand and listened carefully for a while before shaking his head, "I hear nothing."
He didn’t hear the noisy sounds that Sang Yan mentioned.
"Nothing?"
Sang Yan was startled, closed her eyes again and listened intently for a while, and indeed, there was no sound.
Done for.
Could she be experiencing auditory hallucinations?
Sang Yan fell into deep self-doubt, unaware of the man’s ambiguous smile in front of her.
He Ying extended a finger, lifting a strand of Sang Yan’s hair, his smile cryptic, "Is Ah Yan kept awake by the noise, or is there something she wants to do but feels uneasy mentioning to me?"
Sang Yan: "???"
She lifted her eyelids and saw a familiar gleam in the man’s eyes.
Tsk, what was this flirt thinking? S~ea??h the N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
They still had to travel tomorrow!
"Nothing. Not that. Just suddenly sleepy. Going to sleep."
She felt secretly annoyed, curled up under the blanket, and rolled neatly into the very inside of the big bed, wrapping herself up like a shrimp.
Seeing her adorable appearance, He Ying wanted to laugh but held back.
If it weren’t for having to set off early tomorrow, he might well have taken the time to be affectionate with her.
Women have needs too.
He understood and was more than willing to attend to her.
"Ah Yan, are you sure you don’t want to?"
He lay down and pulled the curled-up Sang Yan back into his arms again.
Sang Yan struggled symbolically, then obediently closed her eyes.
"I don’t want to. Let’s sleep well."
She smelled his pleasant scent and gradually fell asleep.
He Ying saw she was asleep and closed his eyes to sleep as well.
He didn’t know how long he had slept.
Suddenly, a hurried knocking came from outside.
"Emperor, Emperor, there’s been an incident—"
Pei Muyang’s voice came, sounding extremely anxious, stumbling over his words.
"What happened?"
Sang Yan mumbled hazily, instinctively snuggling closer to him.
"It’s nothing, I’ll go check."
He Ying covered her with a blanket, put on his coat, and went to the outer room.
As soon as he opened the door—
Pei Muyang fell to his knees with a "thump": "Emperor, a major disaster has occurred! The city’s people have suddenly contracted a strange disease, with high fevers and vomiting blood. The death toll has already exceeded a hundred."
He Ying, hearing this, looked stern: "When did this happen? Why are you only telling me now?"
It couldn’t be possible that over a hundred had died all at once without any prior signs?
Pei Muyang explained with a pained expression: "I’m not sure. It seems that some citizens came to the State Mansion last night causing a disturbance, and Mr. Gao thought it was just a common cold and fever, so he sent them away. Unexpectedly, more incidents occurred this morning."
After listening to Pei Muyang, He Ying’s face tightened as he issued an order: "Summon Imperial Doctor Xuan Liu and Imperial Doctor Liang."
"Yes."
Pei Muyang hurried away.
He Ying returned to the room to dress.
Sang Yan had already woken up and had heard everything Pei Muyang had just said.
High fever, vomiting blood, over a hundred dead?
Everything had been calm in Quanzhou these days, how could such a huge incident suddenly arise?
Could it be... man-made?
Or perhaps... He Hongzhao?
Suddenly, a thought struck Sang Yan: on the night of Chinese Valentine’s Day, she and He Ying were in a flower boat at a dock where they saw many fishermen and dock workers looking sickly...
"Xinyuan—"
While dressing, Sang Yan urgently said, "Do you remember the dock we passed by on the flower boat on Chinese Valentine’s Day? The people there already looked ill. You even suggested that Mr. Gao send them some silver coins and herbs?"
He Ying, reminded by her, recalled: "Yes. I remember. What about it?"
Sang Yan looked serious: "Have someone go there immediately to investigate thoroughly. I suspect that’s where the disease started. Also, He Hongzhao might still be hiding there!"
He Ying, understanding her halfway through, saw the point.
"Alright. I’ll have someone check it."
He finished dressing and started heading out.
It was nearly dawn.
Sang Yan followed him outside, glanced at the pale dawn light, and heard the noisy voices: "It’s very noisy outside. It sounds the same as the noises I heard last night."
He Ying had guessed what the noise was: "I’ll go outside and check."
"I’ll come with you."
She ran after him, tightly grasping his hand.
Considering Pei Muyang’s report—over a hundred dead, citizens causing unrest, and thinking of He Hongzhao, it was likely that someone had orchestrated this.
If it really was He Hongzhao?
She worriedly reminded him: "That disease is probably contagious. You should keep your distance."
He Ying, seeing her anxiety, felt a pang of distress: "I’m sorry to make you worry again. With this happening, we probably can’t return to the capital."
Sang Yan nodded: "Yes. I understand. We face this together."
"Greetings to the Emperor and Empress—"
Imperial Doctor Liu and Imperial Doctor Liang hurried over, bowing in quick succession.
They must have been woken up urgently, as their clothes were still not properly worn.
Seeing He Ying and Sang Yan about to leave, Pei Muyang, pale with fear, disregarded etiquette and quickly stood in front of them: "Emperor, Empress, the situation is unclear, and the citizens are causing severe disturbances. You can’t go out."
Liang Xin agreed: "Yes, Emperor. Mr. Pei is right."
Imperial Doctor Liu, after hearing about the citizens’ symptoms from Pei Muyang, looked even more worried: "Yes. The disease is unknown, and if it’s an epidemic, it’s too dangerous for you to go!"
He Ying knew the dangers but felt the need to go anyway: "I am aware of the risks, no need to say more."
He looked at Pei Muyang blocking his way and frowned: "Move aside!"
Pei Muyang immediately knelt down: "Please reconsider, Emperor."
"Emperor, please reconsider!"
Imperial Doctor Liang and Imperial Doctor Liu also knelt before He Ying, refusing to let him pass.