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"Thank you for your hard work." Bei Zhenting had a faint smile on his face. He reached out and touched Luo Yao's head, then walked over.

Humph! My hair is messed up! So annoying! Luo Yao quickly fixed his hair and ran over to give Bei Zhenting a couple of punches.

"I told you not to touch my hair!"

Bei Zhenting didn't care about Luo Yao's little movements behind him. He caught his fist, held his hand, and directed the guards to transport the vegetables.

"All vegetables have been delivered to canteens in the blocked areas and will be distributed to the people tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guards began to pack vegetables and food and transport them into the city one by one.

The afterglow of the setting sun was just right, the distant horizon was visible at a glance, and the large expanse of fiery clouds reflected it, making the sky a fiery red.

After the last truckload of vegetables was delivered into the city, Luo Yao and Bei Zhenting were ready to return to the palace.

Huyan County is a county town on the border of Xizhou. The Yong'an Palace of Xizhou is located on the westernmost side of Huyan County on the northwest border. It can be said to be the northwest gateway of Dacheng and the stabilizer of Dacheng.

After lifting the curtain and looking for a while, Luo Yao found the street empty and there was nothing to see. Bored, he retreated back into the carriage and sat down.

Bei Zhenting was reading the memorial seriously, frowning and squinting his eyes. Luo Yao stared at him for a while, but felt it was boring, so he picked up the pear cake on the table and started to eat it.

After chewing for a while, he didn't know what he was thinking about. He mumbled and counted, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Bei Zhenting looked at him and asked softly.

"My Lord, is it time for you to take your medicine?"

"Ah."

"You took the medicine, but there's only one pill left. Since we came back, Divine Doctor Ye has been busy in the disaster area. The smallpox can't be cured in a short time, and I don't know how your research on the antidote is going. When can the emperor bring the antidote?!" Luo Yao looked entangled, "He won't refuse to give me the antidote, will he?"

Seeing the gloom in Luo Yao's eyes, Bei Zhenting put down the memorial, held Luo Yao's hand, and held it tightly with his five fingers together.

"The situation in the northwest is critical. The emperor will not fail to see the situation clearly. There is no need to worry."

As the sun sets and the last batch of vegetables are delivered into the city, the city gates slowly close, blocking out the last golden glow of the setting sun.

A small alley in East City was very dark.

The sun had long forgotten this poor alley where most of the population had fled because of smallpox.

Li Xian, wearing a veil, came out carrying a grayish-white wooden barrel and rested for a while at the entrance of the alley.

The fire clouds dissipated a lot and the color became much darker, a deep blue with a purple-red glow, which looked extremely enchanting from a distance.

Li Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead, patted off the white ash on his body, took a look at the strange blue and purple, and left with the empty bucket.

There were no civilians on the street except for a few hurried soldiers dressed similarly to Li Xian.

As Li Xian was walking, he met a soldier who stopped to wipe his sweat at a fork in the road. The soldier saw him and walked towards him. The two men talked at a distance.

"Brother Li, have you walked through all the alleys?" Soldier.

Li Xian nodded.

"Thanks to Brother Li for your help these days, please take the bucket back to me!"

Li Xian was not polite and directly handed the bucket of burnt lime to the soldier and left.

The evening breeze was howling. Even though it was spring, the northwest nights were still chilly. Li Xian walked while doing the chest expansion exercises taught by Luo Yao. He did it twice, moved his sore shoulders, twisted his neck, and stretched.

"I'm so tired...little..." He muttered to himself and then fell silent. Li Xian paused slightly, his ears moved between his hair, and he continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

In the distance, the person who quickly dodged and hid in the alley was covered in cold sweat.

A person landed silently beside that person.

"We were discovered again today. We all kept our distance. If we were any further away, we would have lost them..."

"I don't think he noticed us today. Let's keep following him."

The two men exchanged glances and quietly stuck their heads out, but the people on the street had already disappeared.

The two men ran out in a hurry and ran to where Li Xian had just stood. They looked around and both had discouraged faces.

"He's disappeared again. If this continues, when will we be able to find out the details of this kid?"

"I can't get close to this person, and I can't enter the Yong'an Palace. What's the point of finding out?"

"Or..." Man A in black leaned close to Man B's ear and said something.

The work of smallpox vaccination went more and more smoothly, and Ye Qing finally had some free time.

In the evening, in the Yong'an Palace, Ye Qingluo Yaobei Zhenting had a rare dinner together.

The land was turned over in spring, and the Western Zhou Dynasty was blocked, so there were not many vegetables. Apart from spring cabbage, there were various wild vegetables. The vegetables brought to the canteen today included fresh bamboo shoots.

This thing is rare and tastes strange, so some people can't get used to it, but... many people in the palace like to eat it, and of course, the three people eating at the table all like it.

Bei Zhenting and Ye Qing looked very satisfied while eating the home-cooked fried bamboo shoots with bacon.

"The princess will eat it very hard, but the ladies in the dining hall don't even know that this thing can be eaten. Even I don't know that this thing can be eaten besides being used for medicinal purposes."

Bei Zhenting glanced at Luo Yao, who was eating slowly with his head supported and his thoughts wandering, and put a piece of meat in his bowl.

Luo Yao came back to his senses, looked at the meat slices in the bowl, stirred the rice in the bowl a little absentmindedly, and looked up at Ye Qing.

"Doctor Ye, you said two days ago that the prince's antidote had been successfully decomposed and the necessary medicines were ready. So when will the antidote be made?"

Ye Qing's expression was somewhat serious. "It will take some time... This ingredient includes Lusheng and Caorong. These two herbs are sensitive to each other and are key ingredients in the antidote. If the ratio is not controlled properly, not only will it fail to suppress Qianji, but it will also cause toxicity. Therefore, we need to find the right ratio. I have conducted experiments on rats two days ago and I think I can find a ratio, but it still needs further adjustments. In addition, it needs to be tested on humans..."

Luo Yao: "Can you catch up?"

Ye Qing nodded, "Yes, Qin Xi took the medicine half a month ago. I will intensify the treatment in the next month and a half so that I can catch up with the prince's second attack."

"That's good, that's good..." Luo Yao nodded thoughtfully, and then he ate the rice in his bowl. Then he said, "Monkeys are very similar to humans. You can use monkeys to test the medicine later."

As Luo Yao spoke, he reached out to pick up the sweet and sour pork ribs in front of Bei Zhenting.

Ye Qing was still hesitating, thinking about the feasibility of using monkeys to test drugs as Luo Yao said. Bei Zhenting on the side looked at Luo Yao motionlessly.

He has been watching for a long time.

Bei Zhenting's gaze was too scorching, Luo Yao raised his head and their eyes met.

Bei Zhenting's eyes were as dark as a deep pool, with a touch of seriousness, a touch of restraint, and some chaotic and rich emotions. The three were entangled and deep, as if they were a black hole that could suck people in.

It's a bit scary... Luo Yao, who has always been a little timid towards Bei Zhenting, slowly retracted his hand, not knowing why Bei Zhenting suddenly frowned.

"Your Highness?" Luo Yao licked the thick sauce of sweet and sour pork ribs off the chopsticks, bit the chopsticks and looked at Bei Zhenting in confusion.

Bei Zhenting's Adam's apple moved slightly, he lowered his eyes, reached out and brought the entire plate of ribs to Luo Yao, and said concisely:

"eat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Luo Yao was happy, but he did not forget that Bei Zhenting suddenly frowned. He glanced at Bei Zhenting from time to time while chewing.

*Why does it feel like the prince...seems a little happy again?

Luo Yao was just wondering when Li Qingyun walked in.

"Your Highness, Lord Liu is here."

Hearing the County Magistrate was coming, Bei Zhenting frowned, "What is he doing here? He doesn't need to worry about the vaccine and food procurement?!"

"They said there was a letter from the palace," said Li Qingyun.