My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

The torrential rain lasted all night. It wasn't until the next day, when the storm had subsided, that Ji Yunshuang led a group of soldiers out of the cellar.

Only a few stone walls remain standing beneath the ruins of the Taoist temple, while some lower-lying areas have long since become a vast ocean.

The soldier Lu Yinheng sent out to scout the way returned quickly and reported, "Sir, we're afraid we'll have to change course. The road ahead is completely flooded. There are also several landslides, and the road is blocked by rocks that have rolled down from the mountain. I didn't go any further."

Ji Yunshuang glanced around and frowned, saying, "Take the things with you, let's take a detour!"

Besides the medicine they brought from Ningxing Prefecture, they also brought the box of books they found in the cellar last night, and a piece of leather that Lu Yinheng later discovered.

Lu Yinheng found this leather in a stone box.

The stone box was mixed in with the stone walls, and from the outside, no one would notice that the stone was a specially made mechanism with a leather bag inside.

The strange thing is that there's nothing on the leather.

However, Ji Yunshuang carefully compared them and found that although there was nothing on it, its material was the same as that used for the scroll.

Moreover, judging from the marks on it, it should be from the same time period.

She suspected that some special method was needed to see the contents. So she took the leather cover with her books, intending to study it later.

Several horses were injured, and with the heavy rain causing widespread flooding, Ji Yunshuang and her group's journey was severely hampered.

When they arrived in Jingyang City, they were half the scheduled time.

Meanwhile, the plague had spread from the army, and half of the city's inhabitants in Jingyang had been infected.

To make matters worse, Jingzhou is now not only plagued by the plague, but also suffering from floods in many places.

The people were living in dire straits, but King Xuan, the ruler of the entire Jingzhou, did not issue a single effective measure.

No one offered disaster relief, and no one cared about the people afflicted with the plague. All the officials in Jingzhou who heard the news fled with their families long ago.

Jingzhou is now in complete chaos.

At this moment, the people King Xuan had sent out were reporting back to him about the situation outside. Upon learning what had happened, King Xuan nearly fainted from anger.

"Your Highness..." Lin Chu hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Your Highness, perhaps... we should also take refuge for a while!"

This plague is truly extraordinary. All the doctors we sent were helpless and have now all contracted the plague... We simply cannot cure this plague.

Your Highness, your health is of utmost importance; you must not risk your life by following me.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" King Xuan roared, kicking the chair in front of him away. His eyes were bloodshot as he said, "Didn't Ningxing Prefecture also have a plague before? Wasn't the plague in Ningxing Prefecture brought under control? How could they possibly control it?"

“That’s because the Ji family has a miracle drug!” Lin Chu said with his head down. “Didn’t the young master send back a message before? I heard that the plague in Ningxing Prefecture was brought under control entirely thanks to the efforts of the Ji family.”

"I showed the pills the Crown Prince sent back to the doctors, hoping they could analyze the ingredients and replicate them. But the pills that Lady Ji brought out are simply impossible for any doctor to make."

They couldn't even analyze what medicinal herbs were used in the product, let alone produce it.

At the mention of Fu Weiyi, Prince Xuan's face darkened further. He had held high hopes for Fu Weiyi before he went to Ningxing Prefecture.

However, in the end, he was still disappointed.

Now, not only have they failed to win over the Ji family to their side as planned, but they have also completely lost contact with them a few days ago.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Still no news from him?"

Lin Chu said, "Not yet."

King Xuan's face darkened. "Don't worry about him for now. Send men to Ningxing Prefecture immediately to arrest Ji Shi."

Lin Chu suddenly felt a terrible headache.

How could the Ji family be so easy to capture?

Judging from all the information gathered, Ji is clearly a person with both exceptional martial arts skills and a sharp mind.

Many of their top fighters have lost their ability to move.

He tried to persuade him, "Your Highness, with the manpower we have left... I'm afraid we're not capable of capturing the Ji family. Besides, you should still have a few people around you to protect you! Although the heir sent back some pills, we still need to be prepared for any eventuality, shouldn't we?"

When King Xuan heard that they couldn't even gather enough experts to capture the Ji family, he couldn't bear it any longer and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Upon seeing King Xuan vomit blood, Lin Chu was greatly alarmed. He rushed forward to support the king and shouted outside, "Doctor! Quickly, call a doctor!"

At this time, the two were talking in the study and did not have any servants to attend to them.

The servants outside, hearing Lin Chu's shouts, panicked and hurriedly went to fetch a doctor.

The Prince's residence has a physician who is specifically assigned to treat the Prince. However, a few days ago, a plague broke out in the military camp. In order to control the plague, the Prince also sent out the physician who was specifically assigned to treat him.

However, even the physicians sent by the prefecture were unable to control the plague. In fact, the physicians themselves fell ill.

Now, only one apprentice remains in the household.

The servants hurriedly brought the apprentice over, who was in a flurry of activity, but King Xuan showed no improvement.

At this moment, King Xuan felt utterly hopeless.

Half of his troops, whom he had painstakingly built up over many years, had now contracted the plague. If he couldn't control the plague, his entire army would be wiped out.

And now, no way to control the plague has been found. Even sending a few skilled warriors to capture the Ji family is impossible, as there aren't enough men available.

He, a dignified prince, has actually fallen to such a state!

Lin Chu asked anxiously, "Has Your Highness also contracted the plague? Should we give Your Highness some plague-curing pills?"

The young doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Your Highness's symptoms are not those of the plague."

Lin Chu asked, "What happened? Why hasn't the prince gotten better yet?"

The young doctor bit his lip, somewhat embarrassed, "Your Highness is... is..."

"What is it? Why are you stammering?" Lin Chu said urgently, "Speak quickly, don't delay things."

"Your Highness has suffered a stroke!" the young doctor said through gritted teeth. "A stroke caused by a heart condition!"

Upon hearing that King Xuan had suffered a stroke, Lin Chu was struck dumb, as if by lightning.

At this moment, King Xuan, who was already vomiting blood due to anxiety and excessive stimulation, suffered even more after hearing that he had suffered a stroke. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

……

The scene immediately erupted into chaos once again.

After King Xuan fell ill, the servants in the palace panicked. Although the head steward repeatedly emphasized that King Xuan was only slightly unwell and had not contracted the plague, no one believed him.