After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

As Lu Huai had Ji Wanwan dragged into the dungeon, Lu Zhiyuan and Imperial Physician Jiang were already on their carriage heading to the city gate. With each bumpy ride, Liu Ying began her incessant accusations, from Xie Chaoyun leaving with her dowry, to Old Madam Lu seizing Fangfei Garden, to Old Madam Lu's nightmares, and Ji Wanwan taking the opportunity to send them to a dark, damp guest room. She recounted each and every incident until her throat was dry.

If it weren't for Lu Zhiyuan's earnest persuasion, Xie Chaoyun would have definitely stormed back to the Marquis's mansion in a fit of rage.

When they were still several hundred meters from the city gate, the officers from the Commandant's Office blocked the carriage.

"Are Physician Jiang and Miss Lu sitting in the carriage?"

The coachman said warily, "It is indeed my young master and Miss Lu Zhiyuan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family. And you are, sir..."

"Commander's Office, Ma Mingyuan!" The man bowed and said, "I am Commander Ma's nephew. My uncle asked me to wait here. To make a long story short, an epidemic has broken out in the city, just like outside. Lord Xie and my uncle have already gone to the epidemic area. Please ask Physician Jiang and Miss to go there as soon as possible."

Imperial Physician Jiang parted the curtain: "Is it the same as outside the city? What's the situation outside the city?"

“Some people have fallen ill, some have died, and some are trying to break through the city gates.” Ma Mingyuan sighed. “The garrison has already gone there, and archers have been added to all four city gates. If they get out of control, they are very likely to shoot and kill civilians.”

Xie Chaoyun grew anxious: "How many people are outside the city gate?"

Ma Mingyuan scratched his head: "Four city gates, more than two thousand people, all from nearby villages. There are men and women, old and young, they look quite pitiful."

Lu Zhiyuan poked her head out: "Please lead the way, sir, we can talk as we walk."

Ma Mingyuan had heard the name Lu Zhiyuan from Commandant Ma and knew she was a little girl, but he hadn't expected her to be so young. He couldn't help but point and say, "You're the Lu Zhiyuan, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family that my uncle told me about?"

"Yes!" Lu Zhiyuan nodded. "Please lead the way, sir!"

Ma Mingyuan snapped out of his daze and urged everyone to mount their horses. The epidemic had not broken out in the main urban area, but rather in the backstreets and alleys where the lower classes lived. Just as they had guessed, the people of Southern Chu had distributed the grain to the poor in the city.

Firstly, poor people only care about the price when buying grain; they don't care about the quality of the grain or whether it's from the government. They just want to be full.

Secondly, the poorer the area, the higher the population density, and the faster the epidemic spreads.

Thirdly, poor people have no money and won't go to the doctor for a minor headache or fever. By the time they can't hold on any longer, they are already terminally ill and on the verge of death.

This is also why the people of Southern Chu transported the stolen grain to various villages around the capital. After thinking for a long time with her eyes closed, Lu Zhiyuan lifted the curtain and asked Ma Mingyuan, "Besides the four city gates, where else can we leave and enter the city? I mean, secretly, so that the people besieging the city won't find out."

Ma Mingyuan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "To leave the city, you have to go through the city gate; otherwise, you have to jump off the city tower."

Lu Zhiyuan knew he was hiding something, so she leaned against the window and pretended to talk to herself, saying, "There's something I've been thinking about for a long time but can't figure out. There must be quite a few villages around the capital, right?"

Ma Mingyuan nodded: "There are at least forty or fifty of them, big and small, near and far."

Seeing that Ma Mingyuan had taken the bait, Lu Zhiyuan continued, "Each village has at least a hundred people."

“More than that!” Ma Mingyuan shook his head: “The larger villages have about two hundred households. If each household has three people, that’s about six hundred people. Let’s add and subtract, and say about five hundred people. The smaller villages have about a hundred people.”

Physician Jiang leaned closer: "This larger village only has five or six hundred people?"

"Doctor Jiang, you may not know this, but with years of war, every village and household has to send people out. The villages outside the city alone have been merged several times. Otherwise, when the elderly die and the women remarry with their children, such large villages would soon become ghost villages with no one living there. Madam Lu, oh no, now she should be called Madam Xie. Madam Xie has been to the border. It is said that there are many such ghost villages there, nine out of ten houses are empty, and the rest are just old people waiting to die. It's very miserable."

Physician Jiang had been to the border as an accompanying military doctor, but he had always stayed in the military tent and was unaware of the situation in the surrounding villages. Hearing Ma Mingyuan say this, he turned to look at Xie Chaoyun.

Xie Chaoyun nodded slightly.

Physician Jiang had an indescribable feeling.

Lu Zhiyuan continued, her little head bobbing up and down with the swaying of the carriage.

"How did so many villagers gather at the city gate?"

“I know the answer to that question. My uncle told me that there are spies from the Southern Chu people in every village. They are the ones who lead these villagers to the city gate.”

"What's the purpose? To save these villagers?" Lu Zhiyuan counted on her fingers: "Would the spies from Southern Chu be that kind?"

Ma Mingyuan waved his hand: "Of course not! The people from Nan Chu are definitely here to cause trouble. My uncle said they are hiding among those villagers."

Lu Zhiyuan blinked her big eyes: "So many villages, so many villagers, they couldn't have come on foot. Lord Ma also said that there are men and women, old and young, and quite a few sick people among them. The soldiers guarding the city did not see any horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts or donkey carts."

Ma Mingyuan slapped his thigh: "I understand, they were sent to the vicinity of the city gate by the Southern Chu people."

Lu Zhiyuan tilted her head and smiled, "Lord Ma is really amazing. You've hit the nail on the head right away. There were strange people in the city before. Weren't they scary? Yes, they were scary, even scarier than monsters. Because monsters only appear in storybooks, but strange people are all around us, our relatives, friends, and neighbors. But what's truly terrifying isn't those strange people, it's the people of Southern Chu who create strange people using strange insects."

"What you mean, Miss, is..."

"The epidemic must be cured, the people must be saved, and the people of Nanchu must be arrested." Lu Zhiyuan looked up and stared directly into Ma Mingyuan's eyes: "They are the root of this city's problems."

Ma Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a chill run down the back of his neck. He finally understood why his uncle treated Lu Zhiyuan differently.

“I’ll answer the question you asked earlier again.” Ma Mingyuan took a deep breath: “I know a place that leads out of the city, but it’s a bit cramped.”

A few years ago, a torrential rain caused part of the city wall to collapse. One section, because of its remote location, had a smaller collapse and was not taken seriously by the officials of the Ministry of Works. Within six months, that place became a gathering place for beggars, and stray dogs often roamed around the hole.

The Emperor, traveling incognito, on a whim, took the less-traveled West Gate. As he passed through that area, he was stopped by a group of beggars. Enraged, the Emperor ordered all the beggars executed. Only thanks to the intercession of Lu Zhiyuan's second uncle, Xie Yubai, were the beggars spared.

During the cleanup, Commander Ma discovered the "dog hole." To prevent anyone with malicious intent from entering through it, he hired several skilled craftsmen to build a hidden door in that spot, which, from the outside, looked exactly like the city wall.

Physician Jiang asked in confusion, "If we're going to repair it, why not use bricks or stones?"