Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

On the night he returned to the palace from the Shen family, Xiao Yuanyi presented the prescription to Emperor Jing.

But he never mentioned the Shen family at all, only saying that the prescription was developed by the talented people he made friends with, and it was very effective against the current epidemic.

When Emperor Jing heard this, his frown instantly relaxed and an expression of ecstasy appeared on his face.

He immediately gave orders, ordering people to requisition all available medicinal materials from all the pharmacies in the capital, and boil them into decoctions overnight.

As soon as the order was issued, the entire capital city suddenly fell into a bustle of activity.

The yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture and the soldiers of the camp outside the capital took action and collected medicinal herbs from house to house.

Although the shop owners of those drug stores were somewhat reluctant, they had no choice but to cooperate with the emperor's order.

After a night of intense preparations, a medicine shed was built next to the porridge shed where the court distributed porridge when the sun just rose in the morning of the next day.

Huge iron pots were neatly arranged, with blazing fires burning underneath and steaming hot medicine boiling in the pots.

However, at first people were skeptical about these sudden medicines and were hesitant to try them.

After all, this epidemic has lasted for a long time and no effective medicine has appeared. Now a so-called miracle recipe suddenly appears, which makes people wonder whether the court wants to abandon these poor people and deliberately use poison to murder them.

The stalemate lasted for a long time, until noon, when a man who was a little braver finally stepped forward, picked up a bowl of medicine and drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone's eyes followed him closely. After he finished drinking, he sat quietly aside and fell asleep not long after.

By the afternoon, the man's ever-increasing sores had stopped spreading, and the old wounds began to heal.

Seeing this scene, the crowd burst into cheers.

No one cared about anything else anymore and rushed to the medicine shed like a swarm of bees, scrambling to grab the medicine.

For a moment, the scene was in chaos, with crying, shouting, and quarreling sounds one after another.

Fortunately, the soldiers responsible for distributing the medicine worked hard to maintain order. In addition, the capital's reserves of Chinese medicinal materials were still sufficient, and all the pots used for cooking porridge left behind by families when they distributed porridge were requisitioned to make medicine. This gradually stabilized the situation.

Dozens of large pots were boiling medicine day and night, supplying it to the refugees outside the city.

Even those who were suffering from the plague in the city, after hearing that there was medicine outside the city, came out of the city with their families to line up to receive it.

This epidemic, which started in Changye and raged for nearly half a year, has finally come to an end.

However, Shen Chengwu, who went out to investigate the source of the epidemic, has not returned to Beijing yet.

……

That morning, sunlight streamed into the house through the window lattice. Shen Chuning had just finished breakfast.

Birui hurriedly walked into Ningfengzhai holding several thick stacks of account books.

"Miss, this is the account of the various businesses under your name during your absence from Beijing. Please take a look." Birui respectfully placed the account book on the table and said softly.

Shen Chuning raised her head slightly, her eyes fell on her, then looked at a chair placed below her, smiled and said, "Come, sit down and talk first."

Birui couldn't help but look nervous when she heard this. She subconsciously pinched the handkerchief in her hands and quickly shook her head and replied, "Miss, this is probably not appropriate. I'd better stand here and wait for your orders."

Seeing this, Shen Chuning's smile widened, and she said jokingly, "Hey, why are you so reserved in front of me? You know, you're a well-known steward outside!"

When Birui heard this, she panicked and immediately knelt on the ground, saying in a panic: "Miss, I know I was wrong, please punish me."

Shen Chuning frowned slightly, staring at Bi Rui who was kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Oh? Since you know you are wrong, then tell me, what exactly did you do wrong?"

Birui lowered her head, her body trembling slightly, and she stammered, "This servant... This servant... shouldn't... shouldn't be so... ostentatious... "

Her voice became lower and lower, until it was almost inaudible.

The smile on Shen Chuning's pretty face became brighter and brighter.

She stretched out her hand, made a gesture of support, and said softly to Birui, "In today's world, it's not easy for women to live. If you don't show a little toughness in public, you will be bullied."

Birui looked at Shen Chuning with suspicion, wondering in her heart how she should respond at this moment.

Shen Chuning noticed Birui's confusion and glanced at her calmly. Then she said slowly, "Just sit down when I told you to. You can look at the account book anytime. I want to talk to you about something else today."

Hearing this, Birui's originally anxious heart settled down a little, but she still sat down slowly with some trepidation and asked timidly, "I wonder what you want to tell me, young lady?"

Shen Chuning slowly picked up the exquisite teacup on the table, took a sip of the fragrant tea in the cup, and then said, "Mr. Ze came to see me the day before yesterday."

As soon as the words fell, a trace of panic flashed across Birui's face, but she quickly returned to normal.

She only heard her say with a hint of reproach in her tone, "Jiang Ping is such a wretch! He's so rude! How could he be so rash as to come and pay his respects to you, young lady?"

Shen Chuning smiled slightly and explained, "Actually, he didn't come to see me directly. He currently works at the Hanlin Academy with my great uncle, and he returned home with my great uncle the day before yesterday. He just said he had something to ask of me, so my great uncle sent someone to summon me to his study, and that's where I was able to meet him. It's funny, Mr. Zhe has helped me write so many storybooks, and I only met him for the first time the day before yesterday."

"Does he have a request for the young lady? Could it be that he doesn't want to write the storybooks again? I know that she now holds an official position, so I have specially relaxed the conditions to only write two books a year. Why is he unwilling to write even these two books?"

Birui was seen complaining angrily while suddenly standing up from her seat. She looked so aggressive that it seemed as if she would rush out to ask someone for an explanation at any time.

Shen Chuning, who had been sitting quietly by the side, was stunned at first when she saw Birui's excited reaction. Then she could no longer suppress the smile in her heart and burst out laughing.

At this moment, Shen Chuning opened her red lips and slowly said, "Jiang Ping said... he wants to marry you."