Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

When Xue Ren entered the palace, it was already dusk.

Instead of following the usual procedure for requesting an audience with the Imperial Medical Academy, he directly presented the official document issued by the Imperial Medical Academy.

They forcibly opened the palace gates at Donghua Gate.

The commander of the Imperial Guards at the gate recognized him, hesitated for a moment, and his gaze lingered on his face for a split second.

Xue Ren looked unwell; his lips were pale and his forehead was sweaty, as if he had run all the way here.

The commander stepped aside to make way.

Xue Ren hurried along, passing through three palace walls, and was stopped outside the Imperial Study.

The chief eunuch Liu An stood at the door, holding a lamp in his hand, smiling as he blocked the way.

"Judge Xue, His Majesty is in the middle of a meeting and should not be disturbed unless it is urgent."

"Urgent matter."

Xue Ren's tone was stiff.

How urgent?

"If there is a delay of one hour, ten thousand people may die in Kyoto."

Liu An's smile froze.

This is...no small matter!

They can't afford to waste any more time.

Liu An turned around, pushed open the door to the imperial study, and ran inside in a few quick steps.

The Imperial Study was brightly lit.

The candlelight illuminated the map on the entire wall, making it visible in every detail.

Xiao Ye sat behind the dragon desk, holding a folded document in his hand, his brows furrowed.

King Xiao Jue of Qi sat on a round stool at the lower end of the table, a folding fan resting on his lap, and was speaking in a low voice.

Both of them looked towards the doorway at the same time.

"Physician Xue?"

Xiao Ye put down the folding book and leaned back in his chair.

"Why aren't you in the Imperial Hospital? What are you doing in the Imperial Study?"

Xue Ren stepped forward two steps, bowed, and clasped his hands in greeting.

"I have urgent business to report."

"In the past two weeks, a large number of patients with cough have appeared in Kyoto and several surrounding prefectures, and their symptoms are highly consistent."

"First comes a persistent dry cough, followed by a low-grade fever and night sweats. After three to five days, there is blood in the sputum. In severe cases, breathing becomes difficult and the face turns ashen."

"Today, I personally went to the local charitable clinic to investigate. I saw forty-seven patients in one day, and their symptoms were exactly the same. This confirms that the disease is highly contagious and is probably not an ordinary cough."

He paused, raised his head, and looked directly into the emperor's eyes behind the dragon desk.

It used a word that no one wanted to hear.

"I judge that this is an epidemic."

The Imperial Study fell silent.

Xiao Ye frowned slightly.

He showed no anger or panic on his face, but his eyes grew deep and somber.

Epidemics are a major disaster!

Bad luck!

Xiao Ye's eyes turned cold.

Are you sure?

Xue Ren remained resolute.

"Your Majesty, I'm certain!"

"I have practiced medicine for thirty years, and twenty years ago I helped quell an epidemic in Huainan."

"The pulse and symptoms of this patient are very similar to those of the Huainan epidemic."

Xiao Ye frowned and asked, "How many people died in the battle in Huainan?"

Xue Ren remained silent for a moment.

"According to official records, there were more than 37,000 people."

Such rhetoric was clear to everyone present.

The actual number is far more than that.

That year, all the coffin shops in Huainan Prefecture were sold out. Later, there wasn't even enough time to make coffins, so they could only bury the deceased wrapped in straw mats.

Xiao Jue stood up and looked at his elder brother seriously.

"Your Majesty, what I am about to say is related to this."

Xiao Ye looked at him.

Xiao Jue stood up, took out a secret report from his sleeve, and handed it to the imperial desk with both hands.

"The Overwatch Council found that Miao Gu master in the west of the capital. It seems they conducted a city-wide search, and he couldn't escape."

Xiao Ye took the secret report and unfolded it.

Xiao Jue frowned slightly, his voice becoming more serious than before.

"But when they found him, he was already dead. The cause of death was a severe cough."

According to nearby residents, this person moved into the house about two weeks ago. He had been coughing incessantly, day and night, until he was too weak to even speak. He eventually died coughing up blood.

"The body was discovered three days ago. The neighbors smelled a foul odor and reported it to the authorities. During the autopsy, the coroner found a large amount of dried black bloodstains around the deceased's mouth and nose, and the lungs may have been completely rotten."

Xiao Ye finished reading the secret report and slowly placed it on the table.

"You mean, this epidemic might have been brought in by this Miao person?"

Xiao Jue nodded in analysis.

"A Gu master from Miao territory has entered the capital, carrying Gu poison with the intention of harming His Majesty."

"He failed to obtain the poison, but the plague he carried had already spread."

"The Miao region is rife with miasma, poisonous insects, and epidemics. Gu masters deal with these things year-round, so it's not surprising that they carry some kind of virus."

"He may have endured it for half a month before dying, but how could the people of Kyoto withstand that?"

The air in the imperial study felt heavy.

Xiao Ye slowly stood up, walked around the dragon desk, and went to the window.

Outside the window, the palace was shrouded in darkness, with a few palace lanterns flickering in the distance.

Beyond the palace walls lie the eaves of millions of Kyoto residents.

Under those eaves, countless people are coughing right now.

He remembered the great plague that struck the capital region at the end of the previous dynasty.

The imperial court's response was slow, and 120,000 people died within three months.

Popular uprisings and widespread displacement occurred, and the foundation of the dynasty began to crumble from that plague, never to recover.

"How's the investigation into the Marquis of Chengen's residence going?"

Xiao Jue clicked his tongue slightly.

"Prime Minister Gu is still investigating..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his dissatisfaction was already very clear.

The old fox, unwilling to offend anyone, deliberately delayed.

Xiao Ye understood, but now was not the time to pursue this matter.

He turned around and looked at Xue Ren.

"Xue Ren, how do you plan to deal with the epidemic?"

Xue Ren raised his head, took out the white masks from his sleeve, and held them above his head with both hands.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you and all the palace attendants wear this item."

"This item is called a face mask. It is made of multiple layers of special cotton and lined with a layer of medicinal herbs. It can block droplets and prevent the virus from entering the body."

Liu An took the mask from Xue Ren and carefully presented it to Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye picked one up and looked through it.

The items are very well made.

Four layers of cotton yarn are stacked together, with the edges sewn neatly, and there is a thin cloth strip on each side for tying behind the ears.

The middle layer contains fine powdered herbs, and you can smell a faint scent of mugwort when you get close.

"Where did it come from?"

Xue Ren hesitated for a moment.

He initially wanted to gloss over the matter, but then he thought that being secretive at this time would only arouse suspicion.

"It was made in the textile workshop of the eldest daughter of the Gu family."

"Miss Gu had the foresight to open a charity clinic in the south of the city, where she learned epidemic prevention techniques and provided medical care specifically for the poor."

"We have stockpiled quite a few of these masks."

Xiao Ye's fingers stopped.

"Family-oriented?"

He put the mask back on the table, his gaze becoming deep.

"Gu Debai's daughter?"

"Exactly."

Xiao Ye and Xiao Jue both fell silent.

This name has been appearing a bit too frequently lately.

After a moment, Xiao Jue spoke first, his tone carrying a subtle meaning.

He slowly sat back down on the stool, carefully considering his words.

"Your Majesty, that girl from the Gu family recently opened a charity hall in the south of the capital."

"I stockpiled tens of thousands of kilograms of anti-epidemic medicine a few days ago, which cost me over ten thousand taels of silver."

"They also hired all the poor people on the street to form an epidemic prevention team."

"In the backyard of her ancestral hall, isolation dormitories have been set up according to the standards for epidemic prevention and control, and have undergone repeated training."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye's brows twitched slightly.

Was this girl prepared all along?