Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

"Is Your Highness afraid?"

She wouldn't let the other person in if they hesitated even slightly.

Although she already knew the answer in her heart, she still couldn't help but ask.

Shen Sangwan's eyes were firm. "If I were afraid of matters of life and death, I would probably have perished on the battlefield long ago."

"Besides, I trust you."

"Qingque and Shuyi, you two wait outside."

Then, pointing to the two soldiers closest to her, she commanded, "You, and you, take the medicine and come inside with me."

Shuyi was reluctant to let go. "Your Highness, please let me accompany you inside!"

Shen Sangwan glared at him, and Shu Yi weakly gave in.

There weren't many people in the outer courtyard, but the smell of baijiu (Chinese liquor) filled their noses and mouths. Although they were wearing cotton gauze to cover their faces, it was still a bit pungent.

The further you go in, the more you can smell a foul odor.

Human excrement mixed with the stench of animal carcasses.

As you step through a dilapidated door that can no longer be used as a door, you hear a wail.

"My son, don't sleep, look at your mother!"

"My son, please don't scare your mother, okay?"

"What are you howling for?"

"It's not too late to mourn after everyone is completely dead!"

"..."

The closer she got, the more nauseous and disgusted Shen Sangwan felt, her ears filled with a demonic wailing.

Images flashed through her mind, images she desperately wanted to grasp, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see them clearly.

Beyond the last dilapidated window, I discovered many small courtyards inside, the surroundings were messy, and people were lying haphazardly everywhere.

Some were huddled together, groaning and moaning; some were leaning against the mud walls, their plaster peeling off, panting; and some were lying on the ground, resigned to their fate and waiting to die.

"vomit--!"

The two soldiers behind Shen Sangwan couldn't help but gag twice, and then covered their mouths and noses tightly with their hands.

Wen Yuening frowned, and although she couldn't see the other person's expression, she could tell that they must be feeling unwell.

"Who are you?"

An old man was emaciated, leaning on a cane and his body was trembling.

"The people who have come to save you."

I expected them to show joy, but after Shen Sangwan finished speaking, they remained completely unmoved.

After all, four or five doctors had already come and all shook their heads, saying they couldn't cure it, since the prescription from the carefree medical sage had been lost due to improper preservation.

When the old man heard this, he just sighed and shook his head. He coughed a few times and then turned to sit down slowly in a small empty space to the side.

Wen Yuening didn't take their indifference to heart. Instead, she looked around and observed everyone's condition.

"Your Highness, I would like to trouble you to have the soldiers outside come in and divide this place into three areas, and then, as I have instructed, place the patients in different areas."

Shen Sangwan waved to one of the soldiers behind her, and the man understood, turned around and went out to summon the men waiting outside.

“I know you are afraid of seeing hope, only to have your own hands extinguish your will to live.”

"Since I'm so heartbroken, why not give it one last try instead of waiting to die?"

"This is medicine prepared according to an ancient recipe. Is there anyone willing to volunteer to try it?"

Wen Yuening considered that if no one was willing, she would have no choice but to have Shen Sangwan order the soldiers to arrest people and force-feed them the drug.

"I hope you will trust me this time. I have truly come to save you. The food will arrive this afternoon, and I will order people to do everything in their power to cure the plague that has afflicted you."

"This is our female general of Nanjing. She represents the Zhongdu court. If you don't trust the government, do you not trust the Assistant General?"

The officer huddled at the very back, too ashamed to face these people again, even though he had promised to find a doctor to save them.

In the end, however, he gave up and even tried to escape through the secret passage of the government office last night.

"Officer Lin? Are you telling the truth?"

Compared to Shen Sangwan's reputation, Lin Zhen's prestige among the people was far greater at this moment.

Lin Zhen nodded in shame.

"Then...I...I...I want to try the medicine, and I...my son, please, General, save my son and me."

The woman who had been wailing earlier, carrying a seven or eight-year-old child, scrambled toward Shen Sangwan's feet.

The soldiers carrying the medicine boxes that had been prepared earlier stepped forward and opened the first and second layers. Inside were cotton cloths wrapped around hot stones to keep them warm.

The two bowls of herbal soup that were served were still warm.

The woman first held her breath and drank the medicine in one gulp, then prepared to feed the other bowl to the child in her arms.

"Wait a minute, this child can't drink it yet. The medicine was prepared in adult dosage. If the child drinks it, it might have the opposite effect."

The hand holding the medicine bowl paused slightly, momentarily at a loss.

Wen Yuening stepped forward and took the child's pulse.

"His condition has lasted for at least four days. I'm afraid even a miracle worker couldn't help him. Please accept my condolences."

The woman's face turned deathly pale in an instant, as if she had lost her soul.

Wen Yuening took the medicine bowl from her hands and put it back in the food box.

"No... my son... my son... he's fine. He kept calling me 'Mother' last night, he... he..."

The woman mumbled to herself, her eyes becoming vacant, and kept touching the boy's face in her arms.

"Who else?"

"Can we...?"

The two girls, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, spoke softly and had some dirt on their faces, but it was still easy to tell that they were twins.

Wen Yuening smiled and waved to them.

Are there any adult men willing to try the drug?

Wen Yuening asked twice, but no one answered.

At this moment, the remaining thirteen men outside followed the soldiers who had gone out earlier and came in in an orderly fashion.

Shen Sangwan immediately ordered them to carry the two men lying on the ground.

They forcibly pried open her mouth and poured it down her throat.

"Officer Lin, you...you...you're here to kill us, aren't you!"

This scene was witnessed by those around them, who quickly retreated.

His eyes were full of fear.

They felt that the government officials wouldn't even give them a chance to wait for their deaths, and now they were going to force-feed them drugs to kill them.

"Divide into groups of four, into three groups, and re-enclose this area into three zones. Let's speed it up."

"The last general takes orders."

He turned and pointed at the two people from before, "You, and you, watch them, don't let them run around."

"Yes."

Wen Yuening had been observing the changes in the five people after they took the medicine.

Waited for half an hour.

One of the two on the ground was delirious, and the other was pretending to be dead and not responding. The woman was holding her son and muttering to herself, so she had no choice but to turn to the two sisters and ask them.

"How does it feel?"

"If you experience any discomfort, please speak up. After all, this is an ancient remedy from many years ago, and I cannot guarantee that it will be 100% safe."

"I sweated a lot, and my body felt sticky and uncomfortable. My hands were also a little numb."

"I also sweated a lot, but my hands weren't numb. I felt tightness in my chest and had some difficulty breathing."

Wen Yuening took the woman's pulse and asked, "Have you been sick before? Have you taken any medicine?"

The woman shook her head. "My sister and I have been strong and healthy since childhood. We have only caught a cold once, and we have never taken any medicine. We just got through it on our own."

Shen Sangwan guessed it might be a drug allergy, but it didn't seem serious.