The arrogant imperial concubine arrives, the favorite of the regent

At the same time that Yun Mujiu received the letter, Ye Xiaohan in the western border of Zhongyue also received a message from the Hanying Guard.

The Han Ying Guard discovered that the First and Second Princes of the Eastern Ocean had appeared in the northern part of Zhongyue, and then the Eastern Ocean army disappeared again, seemingly heading towards the battlefield on the western border of Zhongyue.

Ye Xiaohan said calmly, as if he had expected it, "As expected, it's Zhong Yue again."

Wei Song continued, "Your Highness is truly astute; the Japanese have indeed all appeared in our border regions."

Ye Xiaohan showed no fear and said coldly, "If war breaks out in the East, I will not let it go easily."

Ling Xingmu and his subordinates were all amazed and grateful to have the Night King around. They felt a great sense of security and accomplishment, and their fighting spirit and passion were soaring.

A few days later, the Western barbarian army, which had been lying low, suddenly showed signs of withdrawal and attempted to set up camp in the rear.

At that time, some internal turmoil arose within the Western Barbarians, but it was quickly quelled, and the outside world had no way of knowing what had happened inside.

Meanwhile, a major incident occurred at Zhongyue's military camp: many soldiers in the imperial army suddenly began to experience serious health problems.

Upon hearing this, Commander-in-Chief Night King quickly realized something was amiss and ordered Du Ziheng to lead the military doctors to investigate thoroughly. At the same time, he dispatched troops to isolate all the patients.

Wearing the mask given to him by Yun Mujiu, Du Ziheng stood far ahead and reported to Ye Xiaohan.

"Your Highness, there is a suspected outbreak of epidemic in our army."

Ye Xiaohan's thick, sword-like eyebrows shot up, and he immediately ordered: "Seal off the entire army, primarily to isolate the sick. Also, thoroughly investigate the source of the epidemic."

His intuition told him that this epidemic was not simple.

Du Ziheng and his men agreed. Everyone knew how serious the situation was when an epidemic suddenly broke out in the army at the crucial moment of the final battle.

Because if things were to proceed normally, they should be fully preparing for the next battle, not suddenly thrown into a panicked frantic rush to deal with the epidemic.

Ye Xiaohan acted swiftly, summoning the highest-ranking generals for a meeting. Of course, he didn't have any expectations of the imperial army generals, nor did he anticipate any action from them, as long as they didn't interfere with his and the Jinxiang Guard's operations.

To put it bluntly, several court generals, including the Marquis of Xixiang, were considered trash in the eyes of the Night King.

One military order after another was issued, and Ye Xiaohan, as the commander-in-chief, personally handled all the major matters, tracking and following up on all the important procedures.

However, viruses are difficult to control. Even though the military had taken relevant measures in advance under the Night King's guidance, the epidemic still inevitably began to spread step by step!

However, thanks to the Night King's timely discovery and effective guidance, the spread of the epidemic was much slower than normal, and the number of casualties had not yet reached an alarming level.

Historically, whenever an epidemic breaks out, a large number of people are infected in a short period of time, and the number of deaths increases dramatically every day. For example, in the battle between the Western Barbarians and the Southern Tai decades ago, an epidemic broke out in the Western Barbarian army, and tens of thousands of soldiers died in just over ten days. The epidemic ended abruptly with the death of 300,000 Western Barbarian soldiers.

His Highness the Night King personally led the investigation, but...

but…

but…

He contracted the virus. At first, he only had some headaches and fatigue, and then he developed a fever.

He appeased Wei Song and his confidants, ordered the government to block all news about him, and announced that he would go into seclusion to cultivate before the war with the Western Barbarians, while also guiding the army in dealing with the epidemic.

A large number of personal guards were stationed near the Night King's main tent, and countless Shadow Guards patrolled in the shadows.

Du Ziheng was already in a state of utter chaos. When he learned that Xiao Han had contracted the virus, heaven knows he almost collapsed to his knees. The Prince was the most important person in his heart!

Ye Xiaohan told Du Ziheng to be careful and keep his distance from him.

He lay on the bed, his cheeks slightly flushed, but his dignified expression remained undiminished.

"My constitution is very good, and I will recover soon."

"Yes." Du Ziheng stood in the outer room, separated from the inner room by a curtain, his voice slightly choked.

"You must not leak my information, especially not to the imperial army or the Western barbarian army."

If these people knew about his health condition, they would surely cause a major uproar. The imperial army would seize the opportunity to fight amongst themselves and usurp power, and the Western barbarian army would take the chance to make a comeback. At that time, the situation of Zhongyue's millions of people would be extremely precarious.

Wei Song, Du Ziheng, Yang Wu, Ling Xingmu, and several Han Yingwei felt a pang of sorrow. Even at this critical moment, the prince was still thinking of the overall situation, the army, and the people.

Du Ziheng knelt down with a thud, choking back tears, and said, "Your Highness, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault for being incompetent. I couldn't find the source of the epidemic, nor could I diagnose what disease it was. Even when researching treatments, I only used the most rudimentary method of elimination and constant experimentation!" He had studied medicine for decades, yet he couldn't play a significant role at the most crucial moment. Now, he didn't even know what medication could alleviate the symptoms.

"Ziheng, this is not your fault." Ye Xiaohan's calm voice came again. "I believe in you."

"Furthermore, you still have me, and I will always be with you."

Ling Xingmu was ordered to go out and monitor the situation of the court generals led by Xixiang Marquis, leaving only Night King's confidants inside the room.

The group went outside and began to discuss the matter in hushed tones.

Du Ziheng wept continuously, and Wei Song's eyes also reddened.

"The prince single-handedly supported the army, led troops into battle, and fought for a long time. He must be exhausted both physically and mentally. Yet now he has been infected with the disease by those bastards in the court."

“We have all seen how hard Your Highness has worked.” Du Ziheng sniffed and said, “Your Highness transformed into the Underworld Lord and did so many great things for Zhong Yue, which must have taken a toll on his energy. Moreover, Your Highness has had some abnormalities since his youth, and his body and mind change every time there is a blood moon.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Song recalled the many important things he had accomplished this year with Ye Xiaohan and Youming Jiuzhong, who both had dual identities. Finally, he remembered the situation where Youming Jiuzhong was ambushed in the deep mountains outside the city by the Emperor and various assassin organizations in conjunction with the traitor Mushi.

At that time, Youming Jiuchong must have returned to the Underworld Palace injured.

However, Youming Jiuzhong did not allow anyone to examine his pulse or examine him, nor did he tell his subordinates about his physical condition.

Wei Song, Wei Bai, and Du Ziheng were extremely worried. Just considering that their prince transformed into a complete underworld lord even though it wasn't the night of the blood moon, their prince must have experienced some abnormality and physical depletion.

At this moment, Wei Song and Du Ziheng guessed that the prince's weakened state was likely due to his continuous battles, the recent physical strain caused by his dual personality, and his recent clashes with several groups of Western warriors and martial gods. These multiple factors combined to cause the prince to become physically exhausted and unfortunately catch a cold.

The situation in Zhongyue's army is becoming increasingly critical, with new infections and deaths occurring daily.

In just three days, two thousand people have died and the number of infected people has reached five thousand.

Domestically, in addition to the uncontrollable epidemic, there was also a group of restless imperial confidants in the court and army who wanted to cause trouble.

Externally, there is the menacing Western barbarian army, as well as the restless Northern Han, Southern Tai, and Eastern Empires.

Wei Song frowned: "What should we do! I'm afraid we're preparing for war." More importantly, he didn't want anything to happen to the prince!

Du Ziheng frowned: "I have a plan, but we must keep it from the Prince for now."

Wei Song was almost in tears: "Quickly, tell me a way!"

Du Ziheng's face darkened, and he said firmly, "Summon the Princess Consort to the army!"