The plague in the capital struck with great force but also receded quickly.
All the court officials highly praised Prince Yan, Song Yinghuai, for his well - organized and swift actions in quelling the plague and the results he achieved. They all submitted memorials to the emperor, requesting rewards for all the meritorious officials in this event.
Of course, the Crown Prince's faction also wanted a share of the credit.
However, Emperor Guangwu had received Song Chengyuan's letter of apology and was in a fit of rage. Not to mention getting a share of the credit, he even wished he could recall Song Chengyuan and strangle him with his own hands.
Today, the imperial edict was quickly sent to Qixia Temple, ordering the main people involved in quelling the plague to return.
One reason was to reward them according to their merits, and the other was to welcome the Tartar envoys who would arrive the day after tomorrow.
The person who came to deliver the edict was Lord Lu, the commander of the Jinyiwei.
The Jinyiwei had been greatly assisted by Song Yinghuai when they were most oppressed by the Eastern Depot. So, when Lord Lu saw Song Yinghuai, he greeted him with a beaming smile.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. You've made great contributions. The emperor has sent me to summon Your Highness back to receive the rewards."
"Thank you for making this trip, Lord Lu. I'll assemble the troops and return immediately."
Song Yinghuai scanned around with his sharp eyes. Everyone was ready to go, except for Caiyu and Sheng Jiangli.
He frowned tightly and asked coldly, "Where are General Sheng and that Xiaosi?"
Han Fen rushed over in a hurry, looking a bit anxious. "Xiaosi seems to be unwell and can't move. General Sheng stayed to take care of him. He told us to go first."
Unwell?
Worry welled up in Song Yinghuai's heart. He wanted to go and check in person, but Lord Lu stopped him. "Your Highness, the emperor wants to see you tonight to hear the detailed process of quelling the plague. There will be a banquet for all the court officials tomorrow night to reward the meritorious ones."
"Fourth brother, let's go back first." Xu Buyue said to Song Yinghuai. "The emperor wants us to go ahead with the Crown Prince. We can't disobey the imperial order. Xiaosi is in good hands with General Sheng. Don't worry."
Song Yinghuai suppressed the anxiety in his heart.
It was precisely because Caiyu was with Sheng Jiangli that he was worried.
The two of them had been getting too close recently, while Caiyu and he had been growing apart for too long.
He had a bad premonition, feeling that he was about to lose Caiyu.
However, the imperial edict was urgent. And there was still Song Chengyuan waiting to pounce on any mistake. One wrong step could lead to a complete failure.
Helplessly, he gritted his teeth secretly, hiding the storm in his eyes, and led the main force to leave first.
The crowded people on Qixia Mountain gradually dispersed, leaving only some seriously ill patients who still needed to recuperate.
Sheng Jiangli came in with a bowl of medicinal soup. Seeing Caiyu curled up under the quilt, he sat down beside the bed. "Sherr girl, the medicine is ready. Get up and drink some."
Caiyu huddled under the quilt and didn't dare to stick out her head. Her voice came out muffled. "…Okay. Put it on the table. I'll drink it later."
"Come out. I'll watch you drink it." Sheng Jiangli was a stubborn person and refused to leave.
He was smart and observant.
Caiyu had been fine yesterday, but suddenly she fell seriously ill. He had asked Imperial Physician Liu to boil the medicine and sent it into the room. But when he went to collect the bowl later, he couldn't smell any trace of the medicine on Caiyu.
Sheng Jiangli suspected that Caiyu had secretly poured the medicine away.
Thinking of this, a flash of anger crossed his handsome face.
If she was unhappy, she could say it. If necessary, she could even throw a tantrum at him. But she mustn't joke about her own health!
"Come out quickly." Sheng Jiangli pushed the bulging quilt. "If you don't come out, I'll lift the quilt and force you to drink the medicine myself."
As if he was about to act, Caiyu raised her voice from under the quilt and protested, "Don't! I'm not dressed!"
Sheng Jiangli had grown up playing with her and could tell when she was lying.
Sheng Jiangli gave a mischievous smile and didn't withdraw his hand. Instead, he tugged at the quilt and laughed, "That's even better! I didn't get a good look in front of the Crown Prince last time. Now that it's just me, hurry up and come out for me to have a look!"
Caiyu let out a cry and stuck her head out from under the quilt, glaring at him angrily. "If you keep joking around, I'll teach you a lesson!"
Sheng Jiangli laughed heartily. Looking at her energetic expression, there was no sign of illness at all.
The stone in his heart immediately fell. Looking at the cute Caiyu, he mocked, "Why don't you want to go down the mountain? What kind of tricks are you up to?"
A look of guilt flashed across Caiyu's face.
Sheng Jiangli had guessed right.
Yesterday, Qingqing had secretly taken out the survivor named Zhang Jian, who had been ordered by the Crown Prince to poison.
Since Song Yinghuai intended to suppress this matter and the epidemic had been quelled, Zhang Jian was no longer useful. He was just casually guarded in the back mountain as a warning to the Crown Prince.
Qingqing easily sneaked in and fed him a fake - death pill.
Zhang Jian immediately "died" and was taken to the mass grave with the plague - stricken people on the mountain who had died of the disease.
At this moment, the unconscious Zhang Jian was hidden in the interlayer at the bottom of Caiyu's carriage, ready to be taken down the mountain.
Caiyu was eager to expose Song Chengyuan's evil deeds to the public.
She hadn't witnessed what happened in Chengde Hall and didn't know that the unjust case of the Lan family was involved in deeper and more complicated relationships.
She didn't understand why Song Yinghuai suddenly decided to let Song Chengyuan go this time.
This was such a good opportunity. Maybe Song Yinghuai didn't seize it because the emperor had punished him last time, making him afraid of offending the emperor again. After all, no one could afford to offend the emperor twice in a row.
But she must seize it.
She would expose Song Chengyuan's crimes tomorrow.
As long as Song Yinghuai and Sheng Jiangli weren't implicated, she was willing to share the weal and woe with the Lan family, no matter whether they lived or died!
"I'm not up to any tricks." Caiyu lied. "I just don't want to travel with the prince. Brother Ali, let's set off tonight and go down the mountain overnight!"
Sheng Jiangli sighed and stared at her helplessly.
She must be up to something.
Caiyu never did anything without a purpose. She just didn't want him to know.
However, Caiyu's words about not wanting to travel with Song Yinghuai made Sheng Jiangli unexpectedly happy.
Well.
As long as she was okay, let her have her little tricks!
What kind of tricks could a little girl come up with? Could she turn the world upside down?
If necessary, he would clean up the mess. If he couldn't, there was still Song Yinghuai!
Sheng Jiangli's mood immediately brightened. "Okay, okay. We'll go down the mountain overnight. Don't complain about being tired. If you sleep in the carriage all night and wake up with a sore back, don't cry."
That night, with a bright moon and sparse stars, Caiyu's carriage set off down the mountain.
It was half a day later than Song Yinghuai.
The carriage arrived at the Prince Yan's Mansion at dawn the next day.
Qingqing was waiting in the mansion.
After Sheng Jiangli returned to Luoyanju, the two of them worked together to get Zhang Jian out of the bottom of the carriage. They stuffed him through the dog - hole and then placed him in the wood - shed, waiting for the emperor's banquet to reward the meritorious officials tonight.
"Where's the prince?" Caiyu asked, feeling extremely nervous.
Qingqing wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Don't worry. The prince didn't return to the mansion at all. He went straight to the imperial city. The emperor wants to hear the detailed process of quelling the plague from him and also wants to see the list of meritorious officials first to allocate the rewards in advance. So, the prince won't return to the mansion today."
That was good.
If Song Yinghuai was in the mansion, it might be difficult to hide a person.
But then Caiyu frowned again. "The reward banquet will be held in the imperial city. How can I get Zhang Jian in?"
Qingqing touched the Vermilion Bird Token in her bosom and calmly said, "I have a way... You just go into the palace by yourself."
Although Caiyu was a bit curious about how Qingqing had a way, Qingqing had always been full of ideas. Maybe she was going to pester Sheng Jiangli to sneak the person in!
Caiyu was only concerned about the matter of the Lan family at tonight's banquet and didn't have the time to analyze the mystery.
Success or failure depended on this one move!
Her heart was pounding so fast that she felt flustered and out of breath.
She absent - mindedly covered her chest, not knowing where this panic came from.
Clearly, hope was just around the corner, wasn't it?