To divorce his wife, the top scholar preferred being cuckolded to wearing a red hat.

Song Ning looked at the items the prince brought out, his mouth opening and closing, but finally he lowered his hands, ready to confess everything: "Miss Zhu asked me to do this. She said that Miss Su's relationship with the prince is not simple, and with today's result, you will definitely side with Miss Su. So she asked me to prepare some tricks in the medicine, so that she won't win, and we will have to act according to her wishes from now on."

She gave me some medicinal powder and told me to add it to my herbal decoction. As a pharmacist, I naturally understood the consequences of tampering with the medicine at this time. I didn't want to do it, but then someone found me and threatened my life, saying that if I didn't do it, he had the ability to make sure I died in Qingzhou and never be able to return.

I'm still young and have already secured a position as a pharmacist in the Imperial Medical Academy, with a bright future ahead of me. I didn't want to lose it all, so, almost against my will, I agreed to his request. I had barely begun when Miss Qingyu discovered me and locked me up. "Your Highness, everything I've said is true; I dare not utter a single lie."

"What did that person look like? Did you see his face?"

Song Ning shook his head: "He was wearing a mask, and his voice was deliberately altered."

"As a pharmacist in the Imperial Medical Academy, you almost made a mistake and committed a serious crime on such an important occasion. Effective immediately, you are stripped of your title as a pharmacist in the Imperial Medical Academy. As for the matter of you poisoning someone, it will be investigated again. After Qingzhou is unsealed, I will have someone escort you back to the capital."

Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Song Ning's body went limp and she sat down on the ground.

It's over. His family used all their connections to get him into the Imperial Hospital, but it was ruined because of his wrong choice.

……

Su Mingyue and Xiao Zhan arrived at the village they had visited before. After two days away, most of the villagers had recovered, and the village was no longer as lifeless as before.

When they saw them coming, the villagers were very happy, saying that they were gods who had come to save them.

However, several elderly people could not be saved due to their physical limitations and passed away yesterday.

For the villagers, this was the least they could hope for.

In the following days, good news came one after another from various places. The gist of it was that after drinking the medicine prescribed, the epidemic was basically under control, the number of new cases per day was decreasing, and those who were previously infected were slowly recovering.

When Zhu Sha woke up and learned that Su Mingyue had saved her, she was somewhat dazed.

"Did she come to laugh at me? She wasn't infected, but I was, and I even fainted because of it. When she saved me yesterday, wasn't she very proud that she had won and that the prince would never see me again?" Zhu Sha said these words with a sorrowful expression.

She had finally gotten this chance to stand before Prince Zhan, but before she could show off her skills, Su Mingyue snatched it away.

The epidemic in Qingzhou City is now under control, and everyone is praising Su Mingyue as the reincarnation of Guanyin, sent by Heaven to save Qingzhou City.

Jinxiu felt a pang of pity seeing her young mistress's dejected expression: "Miss, she didn't come to laugh at you or say anything bad about you yesterday. She just told you to get some rest."

"No, I haven't lost. I've found the source of the virus. I'm going to see the Prince and tell him the results. I need to tell him to control the source. If the source isn't controlled, the epidemic might come again."

"The Prince and Miss Su left early this morning, and we don't know where they went. Miss, we can't find him now." Jinxiu turned her face away, unable to bear it.

“We’re going to Willow Village right now.” Zhu Sha stood up. “Even if he’s not here, I’m going. I want to prove to the Prince that although my prescriptions aren’t as good as Su Mingyue’s, I’m still capable and I haven’t acted recklessly like I have in Qingzhou City.”

At that moment, a figure entered her tent. Jinxiu looked at the person and was about to tell him to leave when the person raised his hand, and Jinxiu fainted.

Zhu Sha stepped back in fright, frowning, "Who are you?"

"Miss Zhu Sha, am I here to help you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you like Prince Zhan and have long admired him. If we cooperate, he could be yours."

"What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to him. The situation in Qingzhou City is gradually stabilizing, and his princess has made great contributions. As long as they return, the Emperor will be overjoyed and will surely arrange their marriage as soon as possible. Is this the ending you want to see?"

Zhu Sha bit her lip.

……

After Zhu Sha's fever subsided, she went to Willow Village.

When she arrived, the situation in Willow Village was much better than she had imagined.

She also saw Prince Zhan there; he was looking around.

Su Mingyue stood beside him. The two of them looked like a perfect match, a golden couple.

Su Mingyue was able to stand by Prince Zhan's side because of her status. If she were an orphan like herself, would the prince still want her?

"Your Highness," she called out to Xiao Zhan, "I have something to tell you."

Su Mingyue glanced at her, then told Xiao Zhan to look ahead, leaving Xiao Zhan behind.

"Miss Zhu, you had a fever yesterday, how come you came today? Are you feeling better?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I feel much better after taking Miss Su's medicine yesterday. In terms of medical skills, Miss Su is indeed far superior to me, and I feel ashamed."

"It's commendable that you've done so much for the people of Qingzhou. What do you wish to say to me?"

“When I came to Willow Village last time, I found the source. The virus was hidden in the mountain rats. If the mountain rats are not eliminated, the disease may return. I came here to tell the prince about this.”

"I already know about this matter, and that's why I came here today."

Zhu Sha felt a sense of loss; he already knew.

"Now that Your Highness knows, this illness will surely pass quickly."

"Yes, it'll be over soon. Miss Zhu has just recovered, so please rest well. I still need to go to the village to take another look." Xiao Zhan nodded to Zhu Sha, then turned and left.

Zhu Sha looked at his retreating figure, feeling like crying.

He was talking to me just now, but he never looked at me.

In his eyes, he was so inferior to Su Mingyue that he didn't even want to give her a second glance.

She clenched her fist slightly, took a deep breath, and caught up with him: "Your Highness, is it almost time to lift the lockdown on Qingzhou City?"

"It's not possible yet. We need to see how the infection situation of the remaining patients is. If it gets better and better, the day of lifting the lockdown will be soon."

"After the lockdown is lifted, the prince and Miss Su will get married, right?"

Xiao Zhan stopped in his tracks, recalling what Mingyue had told him yesterday.

"Miss Zhu, do we know each other before?"

With the person right in front of her, Zhu Sha became nervous. She clutched the hem of her clothes and said, "Your Highness, do you not remember that three years ago in the snow, you saved a woman covered in blood and even had someone bring me a cloak? If Your Highness hadn't saved me in that snow, I would be dead."

Xiao Zhan didn't remember the woman in front of him, but he remembered the snow three years ago.