The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 351 Epidemic

"Why are you still so flustered?" Granny Cao whispered a reminder from the side, carefully observing Shen Shuhua's expression.

Shen Shuhua thought something had happened to the Emperor, and she was so distracted that her chopsticks fell onto the table.

Granny Cao glared at the little palace maid and scolded her for talking about such things while the Empress was eating.

I finally managed to persuade her to eat, and she had only been eating for a short while.

"what happened?"

Shen Shuhua asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Eunuch Li Defu brought news that an epidemic has broken out outside the palace, and the palace has also begun to take precautions against the epidemic. Her Majesty the Empress has ordered that the masters of each palace should not leave their respective palaces unless necessary."

"Eunuch Li Defu said that the Emperor's condition is currently normal, so you don't need to worry. He will come to Yuehua Palace to report to you as soon as there is any situation."

Shen Shuhua sighed, her composure finally settling down.

It's good that the Emperor is alright.

"Go tell Eunuch Li that I know," she said calmly.

"Granny Cao, send someone to close the palace gates. From today onwards, leaving the palace is prohibited unless absolutely necessary."

After giving her instructions, she lowered her gaze. "How is Wanyue outside the palace? Are Cao'er and the others alright?"

Granny Cao nodded. "Your Highness, please rest assured. Princess Wanyue sent word yesterday that everything is fine outside the palace and that you should take good care of yourself."

Shen Shuhua nodded, glancing at the food on the table. "Go and fetch another pair of clean chopsticks. I'm going to have my meal."

Upon hearing this, Granny Cao's face lit up with joy. It had been more than half a month, and this was the first time that Her Highness had taken the initiative to ask for a meal. She didn't know why Her Highness suddenly wanted to eat.

She happily brought Shen Shuhua another clean pair of chopsticks.

Shen Shuhua took the chopsticks, lowered her head and pondered for a while, then looked up again, her eyes filled with an unprecedented clarity.

There was no trace of sorrow on her face.

She ate the most she had eaten in days. If it weren't for the fact that she had been hungry for so long and Granny Cao didn't allow her to eat too much at once, she could have eaten another half bowl of rice.

After finishing her meal, she glared at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Since the Prime Minister began overseeing the country, the Empress has also started to interfere in the affairs of the inner palace. Even though the position of managing the inner palace is still in the hands of Consort Chun, people in the palace have begun to seek out the Empress for matters, rendering Consort Chun virtually powerless.

People in the palace are used to fawning on the powerful and bullying the weak. The emperor has been in a coma for more than half a month now, and it is still unknown whether he will survive.

The prime minister was in charge of the country, and the empress had three sons.

They naturally wanted to take this opportunity to curry favor with the Empress.

In Chengqian Palace, Du Yuqing looked down at the kneeling head of the Imperial Household Department's chief eunuch, "Eunuch Huang, now that the gates of all the palaces in the inner palace are closed, we still need you to take good care of the delivery of the necessary items to each palace."

"These are all our duties, and we will certainly do our best to make you satisfied."

The Empress sneered, "By the way, there are few people in Yuehua Palace. There is currently a war on the border and an epidemic outside the palace. The national treasury is tight, so we should save wherever we can."

Having spent many years in the palace, Eunuch Huang naturally understood the Empress's meaning.

The Empress and the Imperial Concubine have always been at odds, and now the Prime Minister controls the court while the Empress is in charge of the harem.

He certainly wouldn't offend the Empress.

After Eunuch Huang left, Du Yuqing went to the side hall, where Qiu Xin had been waiting for her for a long time.

"What is the current situation of the epidemic outside the palace?"

Qiu Xin glanced at the Empress, her tone remaining perfectly calm, "An epidemic has broken out in the outskirts of the capital; the capital city probably won't last more than a few days."

Upon hearing this, Du Yuqing frowned. "Aren't you afraid the epidemic will get out of control?"

"Don't worry, everything is under Lord Du's control."

"Did you bring me what I asked you to find?"

Qiu Xin took out a tightly wrapped jar and placed it on the table next to her. "Your Majesty, please be careful. The epidemic is extremely contagious. As long as you come into contact with even a little bit of something that an infected person has been in contact with, you will definitely get infected."

"Don't worry, I understand."

"Granny Du, find a way to secretly send this thing to Yuehua Palace."

"Remember, don't be so stupid this time and get caught again."

"This servant will certainly do it well."

Du Yuqing glared viciously at the departing Granny Du.

She never imagined that she would be tricked by Shen Shuhua last time.

The potted peony that Granny Du sent over had indeed been destroyed, but she never expected that the vile woman would actually have someone make a peony.

She was so convincing that she even fooled herself.

It remains to be seen whether she will be able to save her life this time.

Three days later, people in the capital city also gradually became infected with the epidemic.

Prime Minister Du was so busy dealing with the epidemic that he barely had time to breathe.

But if you look closely, you can see a triumphant smile behind his worried face.

Early in the morning, Du Yuqing was having breakfast when Du Mama happily ran in.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something has happened to the Imperial Concubine."

A hint of a smile flashed in Du Yuqing's eyes, then she pretended to be angry and scolded, "The Imperial Concubine is in trouble, and you're so happy. If people see this, they'll think I'm the one who caused this trouble."

Du Mama was taken aback. She glanced at the Empress and put away her smile. "Your Majesty, news came from Yuehua Palace early this morning that the Noble Consort has suddenly fallen ill."

"The imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital have already gone there. Judging from the symptoms, it's most likely that he has contracted the plague."

"Your Majesty, would you like to go and take a look?"

"What's the rush? I'll go check on her after I finish my breakfast." Du Yuqing was in a rare good mood when she heard that Shen Shuhua had contracted the plague, and she ate quite a bit of breakfast.

When she arrived, Consort Chun was there.

She glanced at her coldly and said, "Oh, it's rare to see Consort Chun up so early."

Consort Chun lowered her head and said, "Now that I have taken on the responsibility of managing the inner palace, it is only right that I come to visit Her Highness the Noble Consort, who is seriously ill."

The Empress snorted coldly and turned to ask the imperial physician, "How is it? What's wrong with the Imperial Concubine?"

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has contracted the plague, and her condition is quite serious."

Du Yuqing was overjoyed, but said with concern, "Does the imperial physician have any treatment methods? His Majesty is most fond of Consort Gui, you must treat her well."

Upon hearing this, the imperial physician bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I dare not conceal the truth. The current epidemic is raging, and there is currently no effective treatment."

"Your Majesty, I can only try my best based on past cases."

"Give it your all? I want the Imperial Hospital to do everything in its power to treat the Consort. If anything goes wrong with her, I will not let it go lightly."

Haha, I wonder how you'll get out of that near-death experience this time, Shen Shuhua.

Consort Chun looked coldly at the Empress, not missing the emotions in her eyes.

Du Yuqing is as hypocritical as ever.

"From today onwards, no one in Yuehua Palace shall leave the palace. All necessities shall be sent in by others."

"No one, not even a fly, is allowed to come out of here."

“Consort Chun, you heard it too. Consort Gui has contracted the plague. Don’t just stand here. Go back to the palace and stay there. Don’t wander around the inner palace unless there’s something wrong.”

"With me watching over the harem, nothing will go wrong."