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

Commander Lin said, "However, those who went to Ningxing Prefecture to inquire heard some strange rumors."

Emperor Gong of Zhou asked, "What rumors?"

The visitor glanced cautiously at Emperor Zhou Gong, then quickly lowered his head and said, "I heard that the plague was not a natural disaster, but a man-made one!"

It is said that if those infected with that plague do not take the medicine given by the Ji family, their internal organs will be eaten away by worms. Moreover, these people will not die immediately. Outwardly, they will appear like humans.

Killing these insectoids is extremely dangerous. After leaving their original host, the insects quickly seek out new ones, and if you're not careful, your body can be parasitized by them.

"This is utter nonsense!" Minister Yan said, twitching his beard. "Where in the world is there such a plague? This must be a lie fabricated by the Ji family to frighten people."

Emperor Zhou Gong did not speak, but his face was extremely ugly. He was clearly disgusted by Commander Lin's description.

He also didn't quite believe the information that Commander Lin had inquired about.

"Where did you get this news? I've never heard of such an evil plague in all my life!"

Commander Lin said, "I heard it from the common people. At first, I didn't believe the news either... but later I asked people who came from Ningxing Prefecture, and they said the news was not false."

It is said that many common people witnessed it firsthand, seeing Ji Shi leading his soldiers to kill the insects. They said they saw the insects fall from people's heads, and Ji Shi and his soldiers killed them. Then they burned them…”

Actually, he had received this news more than just a day or two ago.

However, because it was too bizarre, he himself did not believe it, which is why he did not report the news to Emperor Gong of Zhou.

He then tried other methods to find out the authenticity of the information.

Only after concealing his identity and meeting with several groups of merchants from Ningxing Prefecture, who told him the same thing, did he dare to report the information to Emperor Zhou Gong.

Emperor Gong of Zhou rubbed his temples and said, "You just said that this plague is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one. What's that all about?"

Commander Lin said, "It is said that this plague was caused by a witch, and the culprit is the witch. Now the residents of Ningxing Prefecture all hate witches."

Minister Yan slammed his fist on the table again and roared, "This must be a conspiracy by the Ji family! The witch is a person with great supernatural powers who can predict the future. How dare she frame the witch and ruin her reputation?"

Emperor Zhou Gong's expression was as cold as ice, but he still did not express any opinion on the witch and the plague.

He looked at Chief Minister Song and asked, "What does Minister Song think?"

The chief minister frowned. "If this news is circulating widely among the people, it probably isn't false."

Minister Yan was very dissatisfied with Chief Minister Song's words. "Most people just follow the crowd and believe whatever they hear. What can you trust about what they say? A few years ago, there were rumors that Xiaoshan was haunted. They were quite detailed. What happened in the end?"

In the end, it was nothing more than the woman being bullied by her in-laws, feeling resentful, staging her death, and then pretending to be a ghost to scare them. And then there were the villagers who saw her being bullied by her in-laws but didn't step in to help her.

If the Ji family could bribe a few commoners to spread the story convincingly, the rest of the people would believe the earlier accounts and think it was true.

The chief minister said, "The plague cannot be faked, and many people are suffering from it. It cannot be accomplished by bribing a few people."

Minister Yan choked for a moment, but quickly added, "How come no other doctor can make the medicine for the plague, but only the Ji family can? If you ask me, this plague is probably inseparable from the Ji family."

“Ordinary people, even if they know the symptoms of the plague, would not know what caused it. The claim that the plague was caused by man-made disaster and by the witch must have been a message spread by the Ji family.”

"In my opinion, this plague was probably caused by the Ji family. They ended up blaming the witch to enhance their prestige among the people!"

Although there was no evidence for this and it was mostly Yan Shangshu's conjecture, Emperor Gong of Zhou thought the statement was quite reasonable.

Or perhaps, this statement is not reasonable.

Rather, he was inclined to accept this answer.

He refused to believe that there could be a woman in the world who was so outstanding in every way.

Rather than making him believe that there really is such an outstanding woman in the world, it's better to make him believe that it's all a conspiracy by the other party.

He said, "Send people to continue the investigation! If you can't find any clues, you can try looking in the direction that Minister Yan mentioned. Perhaps you'll find something unexpected."

Everyone present was shrewd and immediately understood what Emperor Zhou Gong meant.

Commander Lin respectfully acknowledged the order and then slowly withdrew from the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Minister Yan, however, was still immersed in the news he had just heard, and continued to berate Ji Yunshuang. Normally, Emperor Zhou Gong would have been impatient to listen to such things.

But today, he doesn't feel annoyed at all.

On the contrary, he found Minister Yan's words to be very much to his liking.

*

Just as Emperor Gong of Zhou had predicted, Prince Rui in Ningcheng also received the message from Jingyang City.

However, compared to the information received by Emperor Gong of Zhou, Prince Rui naturally received more and more comprehensive information.

He not only knew what Ji Yunshuang said and what happened at the banquet, but also who Ji Yunshuang captured at the banquet, and even what she planned to do next.

Upon learning that Ji Yunshuang had actually captured a general of the Qi army and forced General Yao to sign an unequal treaty, Xie Liang was both excited and proud, saying, "As expected of my disciple! Well done!"

Besides his disciple, who else could make the general of Qi sign an unequal treaty?

Who could achieve such a feat?

She is truly unprecedented and unparalleled!

Prince Rui smiled broadly and praised, "Truly a heroine among women! Your teacher has taught a fine student!"

The war between the Great Zhou and the State of Qi has dragged on for far too long; it's time for it to end.

It would be best if it could end in a complete victory for the Zhou dynasty.

As for who won the battle and what Ji Yunshuang said at the banquet, none of that matters.

The most important thing now is to defeat the Qi army.

As for whether Ji Yunshuang had other intentions, he didn't consider that for the time being.

Although Xie Liang hadn't taught Ji Yunshuang for more than a few days, he accepted Prince Rui's praise without hesitation. Ji Yunshuang captured the Qi general as if he had captured him himself.

However, he didn't get carried away with his joy.

Especially at times like these, we must be extra cautious.

Now that both King Duan and King Xuan are gone, and the Qi army has been subdued by them, the ruler in the capital will probably not be able to sit still any longer and will take action against them.

He asked, "What are your plans next, Your Highness?"

After a moment of contemplation, Prince Rui said, "Take a troop of soldiers to Jingzhou and cooperate fully with them to bring the Qi army stationed there under control."