Farewell Flower Festival

Before Xu Ming led his troops to Jiangzhou, some people in the army fell ill. Most of the soldiers fell ill overnight, as if they had an epidemic. Two of the three military doctors who accompanied them fell ill, and the cause of the illness for the third one could not be found. They could only isolate the sick soldiers and then find a way to treat them.

The urgent report was sent back to the capital. At the morning court the next day, Mu Tianyuan solicited opinions from all officials. Prime Minister Shang suggested that Xu Hao take people to escort the imperial physician over. Shangshu Liu expressed his opposition, thinking that Xu Ming was incompetent. He recommended another person, Liu Lei's orphan, Liu Hua, and praised him for his bravery and ability to take on such an important task.

After weighing the pros and cons, Mu Tianyuan asked Xu Hao and Liu Hua to bring people to escort the imperial physician to treat the patient.

A few days later, urgent news came from the north that soldiers in the army were strangely falling ill for unknown reasons.

After Mu Tianyuan summoned Prime Minister Shang into the palace, he immediately summoned Mu Tianchen into the palace.

Before dawn the next day, Mu Tianchen led his troops to set off. There was a carriage in the team, escorted by two Tianwu guards.

There was a carriage at the city gate. Chao Yan and Mu Tianling were waiting beside the carriage. Mu Tianchen came over and saw the two of them. He knew that they were concerned about King Xiaoyao's safety, so he assured them not to worry, as Han Luo, the eldest son of the Han family, would be accompanying them.

Chao Yan walked to Han Luo's carriage, bowed solemnly and said, "I'll leave everything to you, young master."

Han Luo's usual calm and indifferent voice came from the carriage, "Life and death are determined by fate. If you can't save her, the princess doesn't have to blame anyone.

After the team left the city, the sky was just beginning to turn pale.

Mu Tianling comforted Chaoyan that everything would be fine. He gathered her cloak and asked her to get on the carriage first to avoid catching a cold.

In the next few days, Chao Yan kept a close eye on the news coming back from the border.

On the other side, after Xu Ming and Liu Hua escorted the imperial physician to the camp, the soldiers' conditions improved.

It was an adventure. Before, Xu Ru and Liu Lei went to the southwestern border to investigate the matter of Prince Ning. When they passed through Jiangzhou, they rescued a boat of hostages hijacked by pirates, among whom was an old doctor.

In order to repay the two people for saving his life, the old doctor gave Xu Ru a medical book he wrote. Later, Xu Ru learned some medical skills from the book and was able to treat minor illnesses like headaches and fevers. She remembered that there was a chapter in the book that was specifically about treating epidemics, but she did not bring the book with her, so she planned to go to Jiangzhou ahead to find the old doctor.

Although there were rampant pirates in Jiangzhou, her elder brother unfortunately fell ill, so she was determined to go there even at the risk of her life.

Unexpectedly, just as she was on the road, she saw someone riding a donkey leisurely walking towards her on the path ahead. When she looked closely, it was the old doctor.

After hearing her explanation of the situation, the old doctor was willing to help. After following her to the camp, he only took one look at the sick soldiers and gave a diagnosis, saying that it was not an epidemic but a poison.

The old doctor wrote a prescription and said that if you drink it morning, noon and night for three days, you will feel better.

After taking the medicine for three consecutive days, Xu Ming and his soldiers' conditions indeed improved.

Among the imperial physicians who came, a middle-aged one recognized the old doctor and was greatly surprised.

The old doctor was none other than He Zizhong, the famous doctor of the Imperial Hospital. He resigned from his post and retired 20 years ago, and his whereabouts are unknown.

When the other imperial doctors heard of Master He's great name, they all showed him awe.

Mr. He is a rare genius that can only be found once in a century. Since Mr. He retired, no one in the Imperial Hospital has been able to bear the title of a master.

Xu Ming deliberately had the news spread that the soldiers in the army had suddenly fallen ill due to unfamiliar climate and were preparing to retreat.

When the news reached the bandit leader, he indeed let down his guard.

Xu Ming led his men to launch a surprise attack at night, catching the bandits off guard and capturing the bandit leader alive.

After the good news was reported back to the capital, Mu Tianyuan was very happy.

On the other side, good news came back from the north.

After Mu Tianchen led his troops there, the northern barbarians withdrew on their own initiative when they saw that they could not gain any advantage.

In addition, under Han Luo's treatment, the sick soldiers gradually recovered, and Shen Cheng even came back after a stroll in front of the gates of hell.

Mu Tianling did not dare to tell Chao Yan about this. After Shen Cheng got better, he mentioned it to her tactfully, and then he slept in the study for the next two days.

After Xu Ming brought the leader of the water bandits back to Beijing, Mu Tianyuan rewarded them according to their merits. Xu Ming was the chief contributor, and Xu Hao and Liu Hua also captured numerous bandits and were all rewarded generously.

In addition, Liu Sui summoned Xu Ru to the palace alone to reward her, and asked her if she had a husband she liked. Seeing that Xu Ru was a little embarrassed, he knew that she didn't have anyone she liked yet, and said that when she found someone she liked in the future, he would ask the emperor to grant her a marriage.

Xu Ru said that she didn't want to get married. Liu Sui smiled and asked her why. She said that if she got married, there would be more rules and it would be better to be alone. Liu Sui said that if her husband's family set rules for her in the future, she would make the decisions for her.

After leaving the palace, Xu Ru returned home.

Mr. He has also come to the capital and is now living in the general's mansion.

After Xu Ru returned to her residence, she took out the medical book from the box and prepared to go to He Lao to learn medical skills. When she arrived at He Lao's residence, she found that he was not there. She asked the housekeeper if he had gone out. The housekeeper didn't see anyone go out either. He then asked someone to ask the gatekeeper, and the servant replied that he didn't see anyone go out either. The housekeeper then asked someone to look for him in the house, but he was not found.

Xu Ru said that the person must have gone out, and asked him to tell her when he came back. The housekeeper agreed.

When Mu Tianling was returning from the Jiuxingsi, his carriage was stopped by an old man on the road.

The old man came to the side of the carriage and was smelling something. He was about to lift the curtain, but was blocked by Qian Feng. The old man withdrew his hand and asked with a smile, "Did your young master eat some exotic flowers and herbs? Why does he smell so good?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Tianling, who was sitting in the carriage, raised his sleeve and sniffed, but there was no fragrance. He pulled aside the curtain on the window and looked out, only to see an old man with a childlike face and white hair.

Those bright eyes glanced towards Mu Tianling.

"Not everyone can eat these exotic flowers and plants. Your son is truly blessed with a long life." After saying this, the old man walked away with a smile.

Qianfeng looked back at the old man's back, wondering where this old man came from.

"Let's go." Mu Tianling ordered.

The carriage continued to move forward.

In the evening, the old man returned to the general's mansion.

The housekeeper went to report to Xu Ru, saying that Mr. He had returned, but he seemed drunk and fell asleep as soon as he returned to the room.

Xu Ru didn't go over to disturb her.

In the evening, Mu Tianling mentioned to Chaoyan about meeting a strange old man on the road. Chaoyan then told him the story of a beautiful woman named Fragrant Concubine, saying that this beauty was born with a unique fragrance that could attract butterflies. She asked Mu Tianling to try it another day to see if he could attract butterflies.

He smiled and said that there were no butterflies outside in such a cold day. Chaoyan leaned into his arms and sniffed. Mu Tianling teased her if she was born in the year of the puppy. Chaoyan turned her head to him and changed the subject, asking if the old man was the old doctor He who treated the soldiers in Jiangzhou before. Mu Tianling said that he would go to the general's mansion to ask tomorrow.