Chapter 118: A Turn for the Better

Shi Guang never dreamed that one day, his elegant master would be unceremoniously kicked out, and the one who kicked him out was Prime Minister Pan, who was also elegant and of noble character. He was even chased out with a broom in hand.

The reason was that he had called Miss Yue "Qingqing" in front of Prime Minister Pan.

"What are you laughing at?!" Qi Si'an raised his eyes angrily and met Shi Guang, who was smiling with a "sorrowful" expression. Standing outside the tent, he listened to Pan Haiyun and Lin Shuzhi making sounds of disbelief after learning about the plague situation. You see, everyone thought that everything had been settled, and all they needed to do was to organize the common people to resume farming and start dealing with the population migration problem of the remaining twelve cities in the northern border.

Unexpectedly, the most feared plague broke out at this time.

Pan Haiyun made a prompt decision to seal off the entire Western City District. After saying that, he lifted the curtain and was about to go and talk to the common people. At this time, it was especially important not to cause a panic. But Pan Haiyun didn't expect that when he faced these common people again, he would feel so powerless. Because an old man leaned on a walking stick and asked him, "Prime Minister Pan, is there a plague?"

The most terrifying thing is neither lying nor having the lie exposed, but that the other party knows very well in their heart, and there is no chance to even tell a white lie.

Pan Haiyun's gaze was solemn. The old man looked a bit timid, but he still struggled to speak, "Actually, it was the same in our place. People died without us realizing it. Some of the people who escaped couldn't survive the life of fleeing in the desert either."

Pan Haiyun: "Uncle, where are you from originally?"

The old man hesitated. People like them who had left their hometowns were most afraid of being labeled as outsiders and being alienated from the collective they had好不容易 integrated into again. But when he met Prime Minister Pan's calm gaze, he still said, "Suhaicheng, six mountain ranges away from here."

Suhaicheng, a city that had completely lost its vitality.

Pan Haiyun looked at the common people who suddenly became restless. He coughed softly, "Don't panic, everyone. Uncle, tell me in detail what kind of people those who didn't make it here and those who died in Suhaicheng were like?"

"…Their skin was blue-purple and had white spots," the old man's eyes revealed a trace of panic. "Even the living people were like the dead. Then they died for no apparent reason… At first, the living people's skin would be like fish scales. After the fish scales fell off, there would be snowflake-like white spots. When the whole body was covered with white spots… From a certain part of the body, blue-purple color would appear…"

Pan Yueqing stood behind Pan Haiyun. If they knew how the living people got sick, at least it would save Li Zhe from making all those deductions.

Pan Haiyun said in a solemn voice, "From now on, medical officers will be sent to examine everyone's health."

"No way! All the medical officers you have are men. How can men examine the bodies of us women? If this gets out, how can we live?!" A young woman stood up in the crowd and raised an objection. In the Northern Qi, great importance was attached to the chastity and reputation of women. As soon as she spoke, both the old and the young around her expressed their reluctance.

"I…" Pan Yueqing was about to speak, but Qi Si'an raised his hand to stop her. He took a step forward, "It doesn't matter. I'll ask the maids by my side to examine you."

"Maids?" Pan Yueqing blinked. There were definitely no females in yesterday's huge procession!

Qi Si'an smiled faintly, "Don't worry."

Meanwhile, Li Zhe was facing the corpses in the huge pit. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes. He could cut off a piece of meat from the corpses and make it into poison. If Pan Yueqing deceived him in the future, he would…

Just as he raised his knife and reached out his hand, a pair of strong hands grabbed him. He looked up and saw a completely unfamiliar person standing in front of him with a smile. The two tufts of his small mustache twitched, and the words he said were full of mockery, "Did you study medicine to kill people?"

It was Yang Lin, who had been missing for a while.

Li Zhe lowered his eyes and said coldly, "Who are you?"

"Just passing by," Yang Lin let out a sigh when he saw Li Zhe's indifferent look. "Anyway, I'm not here for you." He let go of Li Zhe's hand and casually pushed him back onto the original stool. Turning his head and hearing the dense sound of horses' hooves, he smiled, "Huh? Both the people I want to see and those I don't want to see are here."

"Yang Lin?" Pan Yueqing was the first to notice Yang Lin, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips. "Why are you here?"

"What are you doing here?" At the same time as Pan Yueqing, there was also Qi Si'an's icy voice.

"Prime Minister Pan," Yang Lin slightly cupped his hands towards Pan Haiyun. Then he raised his eyes and smiled kindly at Pan Yueqing, "I thought something important was happening here, so I came." Turning his head, he almost immediately put away his smile and said sternly to Qi Si'an, "Anyway, I'm not here for you."

"…"

"Mr. Yang, it's great that you're here!" As soon as Pan Haiyun spoke, it was clear that he knew Yang Lin, and not only did he know him, but he also knew that Yang Lin was excellent in the art of poisoning. When it came to treating illnesses and saving lives, perhaps Li Zhe, the future imperial physician, could still compete with Yang Lin. But when it came to the plague and poisoning, no one in the world could match Yang Lin.

Yang Lin was straightforward. Without discussing any conditions, he said, "I've seen it. I saw this kind of plague in the Rongdi territory before. Leave it to me." He looked at Pan Yueqing again, "You go with your father to check if there are any common people who have dug wells privately in their homes. Try not to use this water anymore."

Then he stopped Qi Si'an, who was about to leave, "The Empress is very worried about you. She said that it was the first time you left the palace since you were a child and you didn't go to bid farewell to her."

Qi Si'an turned his back to Yang Lin and clenched his fists tightly. He tried to calm his tone, "Please tell the Empress that I won't go to bid farewell in the future either. I hope the Empress is in good health and doesn't worry about me."

Yang Lin opened his mouth and let out a dejected sigh, "Why are you doing this?"

"Since you're good at divination, Mr. Yang, why don't you calculate why I'm doing this?" Qi Si'an turned his head and took a deep look at Yang Lin. "Since you said that my difficult situation is a losing game and you're working for the Prince of Fu, there's no need to be hypocritical."

"Sixteen years ago, it was you who judged my fate with a single word and casually talked about my life and death… Now I'm abandoned by everyone. Who are you showing your guilt to?" Qi Si'an sneered, "I've lived past the age of sixteen. I'll also live to be twenty-six, thirty-six… a hundred and sixteen…"

Yang Lin looked at the proud figure of the young man and smiled bitterly. He originally wanted to persuade him again, but in the end, it turned into a long sigh. He was a bit helpless. He hadn't miscalculated. "The Purple Star will fade, the immortal will descend to the mortal world, there will be life and death tribulations, and it will be difficult to stay in the mortal world." At that time, he was so panicked that he calculated it more than ten times before he dared to report it. But he didn't expect that Qi Si'an would meet his benefactor, nor did he expect that the price of changing his fate would be for the young man to personally expose all the illusions in his life.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Qi Si'an said coldly, "If not, I'll leave."