My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

"No rudeness!"

After Master Cai spoke, Zhou Yan immediately reprimanded him.

He didn't care whether it was rewarding merit or settling scores afterward; he only wanted the people in the city under his care to survive.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yan quickly glared at Master Cai.

Seeing this, Master Cai sheepishly retreated.

He was so anxious that he was only focused on standing up for Zhou Yan that he completely forgot he was facing the renowned Prince Jing.

King Jing's ruthlessness is known throughout the country. If he were to hold a grudge against Zhou Yan for his offense, his sin would be grave.

Just as Master Cai was anxiously trying to figure out how to smooth things over, he heard Xie Jinghan's deep voice.

"No need to worry," Xie Jinghan said calmly. "In the matter of the Yongcheng plague, Lord Zhou has done nothing wrong."

“If it weren’t for Lord Zhou’s heroic efforts in sealing off Yongcheng, the plague would have already spread to Jiangnan and even reached the capital.” Xie Jinghan looked at Zhou Yan and said each word with utmost sincerity, “In my heart, Lord Zhou is a hero.”

"Therefore, I will certainly report the whole story to His Majesty. His Majesty is a wise ruler, and Lord Zhou's actions will surely be praised by His Majesty."

It was rare for Xie Jinghan to talk so much to someone; he truly admired Zhou Yan.

If it weren't for Zhou Yan, Da Li would probably have fallen into an abyss of no return, just as Wen Yitong had said.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinghan's eyes grew even colder.

Wen Yitong is someone we absolutely cannot let go of easily.

If she could foresee this, could she also foresee the many natural and man-made disasters that would follow?

Xie Jinghan had many thoughts in his mind, but at this critical juncture, it was not a good time to discuss this matter.

So, he arrived at the post station led by Zhou Yan.

The streets of Yongcheng were deserted at this moment, with hardly anyone in sight.

"Where are those people who came to the city from the countryside?" Xie Jinghan asked, glancing at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan quickly replied, "They've almost all been settled in Caishikou. There's a large open space there, and I've sent people to set up tents for them. All their food is being provided by the government."

"If we do this, how much silver will the government's treasury have left?" Xie Jinghan frowned. "Yongcheng is wealthy, but it can't support the food consumption of so many people."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan smiled helplessly: "There's very little left, even the granaries are almost empty."

Master Cai, who was standing aside, quickly continued after hearing the conversation between the two: “Yongcheng only allows people to enter but not leave. In just a few days, tens of thousands of people have entered the city. If each person eats one or two grains of rice a day, it will consume several thousand kilograms. Add to that the consumption of the people in the city... it is a huge number.”

"Fortunately, it was during a good harvest a few years ago, and the granaries were full of grain, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to wait for Your Highness to arrive." Master Cai sighed. "You have no idea how fiercely the wealthy families in the city have been making trouble these past few days."

The powerful families in Yongcheng tried every means to leave the city. They had money, and once they left, it would be easy to find a doctor to treat them. But they never thought that they would bring the plague out with them.

The reason Zhou Yan locked down the city was to prevent the plague from spreading to people in other places; naturally, he couldn't just stand by and watch it happen.

Because of this matter, Zhou Yan had several conflicts with them.

Just yesterday, a group of assassins came to Zhou Yan's residence. Fortunately, he was prepared and had never slacked off in his martial arts over the years, which is why he survived.

Wen Shuyao listened from the side, understanding the situation perfectly.

It's likely that what happened in Wen Yitong's dream was because the powerful families in Yongcheng killed Zhou Yan and fled Yongcheng, which led to the spread of the plague to various places and caused that disaster.

Fortunately, Wen Yitong blurted it out by some strange twist of fate, otherwise...

The consequences will be disastrous!

Thinking of this, Wen Shuyao tugged at Xie Jinghan's sleeve.

“Your Highness, with you here, those aristocratic families should not dare to be too presumptuous, but…” Wen Shuyao lowered her voice, “we must also prevent some people from resorting to desperate measures.”

When she spoke to Xie Jinghan, Zhou Yan and Master Cai consciously stepped back a few paces to avoid overhearing the couple's conversation.

After Wen Shuyao finished speaking, Xie Jinghan looked at the two of them.

Master Cai's heart skipped a beat, wondering if Prince Jing had changed his mind.

Many thoughts raced through his mind, but in the end, he didn't speak.

Xie Jinghan's gaze lingered on Zhou Yan, and he asked, "Of all these powerful families, which one is the most difficult to deal with?"

Before Zhou Yan could react, Master Cai's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "It's the Wei family!"

Under Zhou Yan's angry glare, Master Cai pretended not to see it and said in an agitated voice: "The Wei family is very arrogant because they have a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue in their family. The assassin who tried to kill you last night was sent by them."

“The head of the Wei family is greedy for life and afraid of death, and his children are even more so. In the first few days of the city lockdown, their family was the most disruptive.”

When Zhou Yan saw that Master Cai had said all of this at once, he sighed inwardly and echoed, "Indeed, the Wei family is the most difficult to deal with."

"After the Wei family produced a Vice Minister of Revenue, they married their daughter to a prestigious family in Jiangnan. In Yongcheng, the Wei family had the highest reputation."

“And they are the most difficult to deal with.” Zhou Yan added, “A few days ago, they tried to drive up the price of artemisia annua, but I sent people to suppress it. I’m afraid that’s why they want to get rid of me.”

As Xie Jinghan listened to the whole story, his eyes grew even colder.

He whispered a few words in Si Qing's ear, and Si Qing, having received the instructions, gleamed even brighter: "I'll do it right away!"

Leading a group to intimidate others is what he excels at.

After Zhou Yan watched as Si Qing inquired about the location of the Wei family, he led away most of the Imperial Guards and personal guards.

He vaguely guessed Xie Jinghan's intention in doing this—Yongcheng was in a state of panic, and even with Xie Jinghan's prestige, it wouldn't last long. Only by making an example of him could the restless aristocratic families be deterred.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yan exchanged a glance with Master Cai.

Neither of them spoke up to stop it; it was time for the Wei family to be dealt with.

When they arrived at the post station, Granny Qi had already led people to tidy up the entire station.

She first welcomed Wen Shuyao in, and then carefully fumigated Wen Shuyao's body with mugwort.

"Director Zhou said that mugwort is the most effective way to prevent plagues," said Granny Qi while fumigating the wound. "When Your Highness returns from going out, you must have the servants fumigate the wound thoroughly."

At this point, Granny Qi shook her head again: "No, I'll do it myself. I don't trust them with such an important task."