Marry my elder sister? Fine! I'll give you the letter of annulment and marry someone else.

Zixuan and Hongfeng were quickly brought up, and when questioned, they tried to play dumb.

Song Zhi couldn't help it, so he kicked them down and grabbed one of them by the throat with one hand.

"Tell me quickly, who on earth did you let come into contact with those drug residues!"

She was not worried that the two people would touch the medicine residue and get infected. Given their life-saving nature, they would definitely protect themselves.

The two men fell to the ground in pain due to suffocation, and soon their faces turned red and their eyes bulged out.

Realizing that Song Zhi was truly determined to kill him, the two men slapped Song Zhi's arms and spoke with difficulty, "I...I'll tell you."

A hint of busyness flashed in Song Zhi's eyes, and he pushed the two away.

After regaining their freedom, the two coughed and greedily breathed in the fresh air.

"My patience is limited."

Song Zhi spat out a few words coldly.

The two men shuddered and said quickly, "It was Emperor Tianqi who asked us to come. He said that if we succeed, our family will be re-ennobled and appointed as prime ministers, and we will also be..."

"Just say dregs!"

The two of them quickly got straight to the point, not daring to disobey in the slightest. "We didn't let anyone else have access to it. Once it was cooked, we gave it directly to the people at the quarry. There's a dense population there, so it would spread throughout Lecheng without us having to do much trouble."

Song Zhi clenched his fists, "That's the entire city's population, how could you have the heart to do that to them!"

The capital was originally chosen to be Lecheng because it was the largest city among the seventy-two cities except for the capital. There were millions of indigenous residents alone, not to mention the many newcomers she brought into the city.

The lives of so many people are so insignificant in their eyes that they are not as important as being granted titles of nobility or appointed as prime ministers.

Some people are really not worthy of being human.

Song Zhi resisted the urge to tear the two men into pieces and continued to ask, "Where did the drug residue come from?"

The two dared not hide anything. "The medicinal residue was also given by the Emperor Tianqi. This was an epidemic that broke out after the flood more than ten years ago. Almost no one could cure it. Fortunately, the late Empress appeared and turned the tide to eliminate the epidemic. They used this recipe of herbs at the time. These herbs were touched by those infected with the epidemic. They have been sealed and stored in the Imperial Hospital until now. They have been trying to make an antidote. When the Emperor Tianqi remembered it, he... gave it to us."

The two men's voices grew weaker as they spoke. "He said there's nothing wrong with these herbs, and they won't be found. Besides, the late queen passed away a long time ago, and there's no one in the world who can cure this epidemic. So, we can just do it without worry."

"Snapped!"

Xiao Tao couldn't help but slapped each of them. "You treated the lives of so many people as a joke just to satisfy your own selfish desires. It's truly despicable."

Song Zhi tried his best to suppress his anger, "Drag them away and throw them into the dungeon. After this is over, I will think carefully about how to deal with them."

"Sister-in-law, please don't. We know we were wrong. We know we were wrong. We didn't mean to harm you. We were so confused because we were instructed by Emperor Tianqi. Please let us go."

The two men were so frightened that they burst into tears, and their faces were pale when they were dragged away.

"The person who handed the knife is certainly the culprit, but the person who used the knife is not innocent either. After all, the choice of whether to kill or not is in your hands, isn't it?"

After saying this coldly, Song Zhi was too lazy to look at them anymore.

When I turned around, I found that Doctor Jiang's eyes were red and filled with tears.

"God must be giving me a chance to atone for my sins."

His fingers trembled. "Last time, I failed to save the lives of tens of thousands of people, causing so many of them to die tragically. I truly am unworthy of being a doctor. This time, I will never let that happen again."

He took a deep breath and said, "Girl, if I can cure this epidemic and resolve my worries this time, I will become the head of your Imperial Hospital and train countless apprentices for you."

The old man no longer looked as cheerful as before, but became calm and composed, as if he had become a different person.

He took off the wine gourd from his body and handed it to Song Zhi, "Keep it for me first. I have the opportunity to atone for my sins. I no longer need to numb myself with wine."

Song Zhi was about to say something, but he was interrupted by him raising his hand.

"You don't have to say anything. If I succeed, I will tell you everything."

He stumbled back to his yard with the herbs and ordered people to bring in countless herbs for him to try.

Song Zhi's face was full of solemnity. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have kept them here."

Mu Nanqi walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "If you don't leave them here, they won't give up this plan. If you don't leave them here, they'll find a way to spread the plague among the people. By the time we realize it, the plague will have already broken out throughout the city. That would be truly terrifying."

She held her hand tightly and said, "Everything is under control now. Don't worry. Doctor Jiang will definitely find a way."

Song Zhi nodded thoughtfully and decided to go to the quarry to take a look.

The quarrying work has stopped and everyone is surrounded by soldiers in the tents where they live.

They didn't know what was going on and sat together, either confused or nervous.

After Song Zhi passed by, these people immediately stood up and tried to move closer, but were stopped from a distance by the soldiers who raised their spears.

They became even more terrified. After kneeling and bowing, they asked, "Your Majesty, what have we done wrong? Why are you imprisoning us here?"

Song Zhi was afraid that telling them they might be infected with the epidemic would cause panic, so he lied and said, "There are spies here. The emperor is investigating one by one. Don't worry, as long as you are not spies, you will be fine. You don't have to work for the next two days, and your wages will still be paid."

When they heard that they could get paid without working, everyone smiled happily.

"Okay, okay, then, Madam Empress, please take your time to investigate. We are not in a hurry."

After Song Zhi calmed them down, he went to the other side where more than 500 women were.

After several days of quarrying, they were all in a very miserable state. Some of them had blisters on their hands, while others had blisters that had scabs over.

They were covered in dust and looked exhausted.

When they saw Song Zhi, they subconsciously stood up defensively.

Song Zhi, however, did not move closer. Instead, he stood not far away and said, "How ridiculous! You have become useless, do you know that? Your two masters personally fed you a summer-heat soup laced with epidemic heat."

"What epidemic?! That's just a simple summer soup. Don't try to sow discord. The Master and the others wouldn't do that to us."

Song Zhi didn't comment and said directly: "Yeah, yeah, I won't do that to you. Then you just wait and see if you get sick."

After saying this, she left there.

Not all the people there were infected with the epidemic, but these more than 500 women were actually exposed to the medicinal soup.

These people will definitely die.

She would not be so sanctimonious as to save these people, even if it meant using medicine to prolong their lives as much as possible.

The reason I came to say these words to them was just to sow the seeds of hatred in them.