A four-year-old medical prodigy descended to the mortal realm, and the entire capital sought her tre

"An Chang and the steward went to another county to collect rent." Zhao Jinzhong hadn't seen An Chang for quite some time.

"Brother, let's go see Grandma. We haven't seen her for a long time, and I miss her."

"Alright, we'll go in a couple of days. First, we'll go back to the clinic and see Fu Da and Qian Lai."

With that, the brother and sister rode in a carriage straight to the Ling Shu Hall.

After Zhao Jinzhong left, the Crown Prince lost interest in continuing his studies.

He asked the Grand Tutor for leave and went directly to the Imperial Study.

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Eunuch Qin, who was guarding outside the Imperial Study, immediately bowed upon seeing the Crown Prince.

"Father-in-law, is Father Emperor in his study?"

"Your Highness, the Emperor has just been discussing important matters with his ministers and appears quite worried. Perhaps you could come at another time?"

The Crown Prince thought for a moment, and since he had already come, if his father was unwell, it would be his duty as a son to offer some words of comfort.

"I'll go in and pay my respects to my father."

Having served the Emperor for over twenty years, how could Eunuch Qin not see that the Crown Prince's appearance at this moment meant he had important matters to report to the Emperor?

With a smile and a bow, he gestured for him to enter and said very respectfully, "Your Highness, please come in."

The Crown Prince entered the Imperial Study and saw the Emperor sitting behind his desk, one hand propped up on the table, his forehead resting on it.

His eyes were tightly closed, and his brows were furrowed.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty!" The Crown Prince bowed and kowtowed.

Upon hearing the sound, the emperor slowly opened his eyes, his vision somewhat blurred from being closed for so long.

He looked ahead carefully for a while before he could see clearly. "Oh, it's Lin'er! Come on, get up!"

The Crown Prince's full name is An Chenglin. Since he became the Crown Prince, he has rarely been called by his name.

"Shouldn't you be listening to the Grand Tutor's lecture at this time? What brings you here? What brings you here?"

As the emperor spoke, he forced himself to stand up and slowly walked toward the crown prince, looking so worried that he seemed powerless.

"Father, I am feeling a little unwell today. After asking the Grand Tutor for leave, I missed you very much, so I came to see you."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, the Emperor's anxiety and anger subsided considerably, and his gaze softened.

He carefully examined the prince's physical condition and found that there was nothing seriously wrong.

Moreover, if the crown prince were truly unwell, and the imperial physician were to arrive at the palace, a eunuch would have already reported it.

However, none of these symptoms indicate that the Crown Prince was not actually unwell.

"You're almost at the age to marry, why are you pulling this stunt? Tell me, what brings you to see Father?"

The crown prince understood that his father was calling him naive.

"Your subject is not lying. Your subject has indeed been feeling unwell recently, but I have just recovered."

"Your subject has come to the Imperial Study and heard that Your Majesty is worried about state affairs today. Your subject also wants to share Your Majesty's burden."

At this point, the Emperor sighed deeply.

The Crown Prince has grown up and it's time for him to get involved in some thorny state affairs.

"Lin'er, an epidemic has broken out in Jing County, ten miles outside the capital. The situation is very serious!"

The prince was startled. "An epidemic? What kind of epidemic?"

Sirius.

The crown prince was so frightened that he unconsciously took two steps back.

"Jing County is so close to the capital. If the epidemic spreads to the capital, wouldn't the people of the capital be in great trouble?"

The Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with unconcealed sorrow as he looked at the Crown Prince.

"As you can see, court officials have reported that some sick people have entered the capital."

The crown prince's eyes widened. "What?!"

In his view, the outbreak of disease throughout the city was more terrifying than losing his soul.

The Crown Prince forced himself to calm down. After a moment's thought, he asked the Emperor,

"Father, how should the Imperial Hospital respond? How should the guards inside and outside the city be arranged?"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's question, the Emperor suddenly felt gratified.

"Although you panicked when faced with a situation, you were still able to remain calm and think of a solution. Not bad, Lin'er has made progress."

The Crown Prince was flattered by the Emperor's sudden recognition.

The Emperor continued, "The Imperial Medical Academy is already developing a medicine to alleviate Sirius disease. Strengthen guards at all city gates and strictly check all those entering the city..."

"But isn't Sirius incurable?"

"Therefore, the Imperial Medical Academy can only prescribe medicine to relieve the symptoms. Now, all they can do is pray that this wave of the epidemic will not break out in the capital."

The crown prince soon fell into worry as well, and he suddenly thought of Zhou Ruo.

"Father, do you think Princess Ji'an has a way to deal with Sirius disease?"

"Ji'an?" It took the Emperor a while to recall the name.

"I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. It was that little maid from Zhao Yucheng's household."

This girl knows acupuncture, so she may have some extraordinary medical skills, but Sirius is, after all, a plague, which is highly contagious.

How can she, a child, manage?

Although the Crown Prince inwardly approved of Zhou Ruo's medical methods.

Even the magical spells she used had been accepted and trusted by the Crown Prince.

But as the emperor said, if the epidemic breaks out, tens of thousands of people will fall ill.

Even if she has exceptional medical skills, how could she possibly handle it all by herself...?

It wasn't until Zhou Ruo was mentioned that the Crown Prince remembered what he wanted to say to the Emperor about his visit to the Imperial Study.

"Father, have you ever heard of people's souls being devoured?"

The Crown Prince's question was so sudden and abrupt that the Emperor was caught off guard.

"We were talking about Sirius, why did you suddenly ask about soul absorption?"

You are the crown prince of the Great Qing Dynasty. What do these supernatural tales have to do with you?

Have you been listening to too many audiobooks lately, or have you encountered some strange or unusual people or events? You should stay away from these kinds of things!

"But..." The Emperor's words left the Crown Prince speechless.

The crown prince originally intended to plant a spell in the Eastern Palace that would devour souls, as someone was trying to harm him.

However, since the Emperor was so opposed to the matter of absorbing souls, the Crown Prince did not want to bother him any longer, as the issue of Tianlang was more important.

"Your subject will remember your teachings, Father. Please rest well, Your subject will take his leave now."

The crown prince performed the farewell ceremony and then withdrew.

As the emperor watched the crown prince's retreating figure, he vaguely sensed something was amiss with the prince.

At least his sudden appearance in the Imperial Study today while he was studying was rather strange.

"Qin Tian!" the Emperor called out towards the door.

"Your servant is here!" Eunuch Qin immediately rushed in, bowed, and accepted the order.

"Bring Shen Yuan to me." Shen Yuan was the emperor's secret guard.

Eunuch Qin quickly brought Shen Yuan to the Imperial Study.

The Emperor gave instructions to Shen Yuan.

"I am giving you a task. From now on, you will lie in wait in the Eastern Palace and carefully observe the Crown Prince's daily life."

Shen Yuan didn't quite understand. "Your Majesty, I am foolish and would appreciate your clarification."

"Observe whether the Crown Prince encounters any strange things each day, whether there are any suspicious people around him, and protect the Crown Prince if necessary."

If anything happens, report to me immediately!

Shen Yuan accepted the order.

On the other side, not long after Zhao Jinzhong and Zhou Ruo returned to the Ling Shu Hall, Fu Daqian and his brothers also arrived.

"Young General, what are your orders for summoning us here?"

Fu Da asked Zhao Jinzhong very respectfully and politely, eager to give him more opportunities to serve Zhao Jinzhong and Zhou Ruo.

This was to repay Zhou Ruo for saving Qian Lai, and for the kindness the two showed to Jia Yuntian.

"There's something I need your help with," Zhao Jinzhong said.

"There's an alchemy workshop in the western suburbs outside the city, about the size of seven or eight of our clinics. I need you to find it."