Farewell Flower Festival

When the army was still more than ten miles away from the capital, someone hurriedly came on horseback.

The visitor was a soldier guarding the city. He reported to Mu Tianchen that a plague had broken out in the city. The city gates were now closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

Mu Tianchen was stunned when he heard this. He looked towards the direction of the imperial city with a frown, worried about the safety of his mother and Wen Xue.

Shen He and Shen Cheng were also surprised to hear the news and were worried about Chao Yan's safety.

Shen Cheng anxiously inquired about the situation in Prince Ling's mansion. The soldier didn't know much either. He only knew that the streets were full of patrolling officers and soldiers, all with their mouths and noses covered with white cloth. The situation was not optimistic.

Mu Tianchen ordered the army to set up camp on the spot. He planned to go with his guard Lu Ping to investigate the situation. Shen Cheng also wanted to go with him. Shen He asked him to stay and persuaded Mu Tianchen to stay as well. He would take two people with him to see if they could enter the city first.

After Shen He and his men left with the soldier, Shen Cheng walked back and forth anxiously in front of Mu Tianchen, muttering to himself, "May the Buddha bless Chao Yan and she must be safe." Suddenly he thought of something and immediately ran towards the carriage that Han Luo was riding in. As soon as he reached the carriage, he told Han Luo the news of the sudden plague in the city and asked him if he had any way to cure the disease.

Han Luo's calm and indifferent voice came from the carriage:

"My Lord, do you think I'm a deity who can cure all diseases?"

Shen Cheng was speechless for a moment, and then said anxiously, "Your medical skills are so great, there must be a way." Seeing that Han Luo no longer responded, Shen Cheng was so anxious that he wanted to rush into the carriage and ask him in person, but the other party had saved his life before, so he couldn't be too unreasonable. If he offended him, it would be difficult to deal with.

Here, Shen He led his men and followed the soldier to the outside of the city gate. They saw that the guards on the city tower had white cloth tied on their faces to cover their mouths and noses. It seemed that the situation in the city was very serious.

Seeing someone coming, the guards on the city wall shouted at the person to leave before they could even see who it was. After the soldier leading the way reported Shen He's identity, a guard went to inform, and then Governor Yuan came over.

Governor Yuan first apologized to Shen He, saying that no one was allowed to enter or leave now, and hoped that he would forgive him.

Shen He asked about the situation in the palace and asked if the emperor was okay. Governor Yuan replied that he didn't know the situation in the palace, and assured him that only a few servants in Prince Ling's mansion were sick and had been sent out of the mansion for isolation. Princess Ling was not sick and everything was fine.

Shen He asked about the situation in Prince An's mansion. Governor Yuan said that Princess An was also fine and asked the Third Prince not to worry. He also asked if Han Luo had come back together, saying that the doctors in the Imperial Hospital were helpless and maybe Han Luo could find a way. Shen He asked Governor Yuan to send a patient out for Han Luo to see the symptoms. Governor Yuan was worried that the soldiers in the barracks would be infected, so it was better for Han Luo to go into the city to see it himself.

Shen He asked one of his men to go back and tell Han Luo.

When Han Luo's carriage came over, Governor Yuan greeted him. Han Luo pushed aside the curtain and showed his face. After confirming that it was Han Luo, Governor Yuan ordered the city gate to open and let Shen He pass. Shen He rushed in on his horse. The soldiers who opened the city gate had no time to stop him. Shen He rushed into the city and headed towards Prince Ling's mansion.

Governor Yuan asked two of his men to go and take a look, and then he personally led the way and took Han Luo to see the patient.

Shen He hurried to the gate of Prince Ling's mansion, and saw that the door was closed. He ran over and knocked on the door. After the door was opened, he immediately asked about Chao Yan's safety. The servant who opened the door said that she had gone to the palace. Shen He saw that the servant didn't know much about the situation, so he asked if Mu Tianling was in the mansion. The servant replied that he had also gone to the palace. At this time, Eunuch Wu came over and invited Shen He to the hall to talk.

Eunuch Wu talked about two strange things that happened this morning.

One thing was that when Amber and Jade were waiting outside the door to help the two people get up, they heard Chaoyan's scream from inside the room. When they rushed in, they saw that Chaoyan seemed to be very frightened. Mu Tianling also looked very bad, so he asked the two to go down first.

After the two came out, Qian Feng came over with another letter. As soon as the doorman opened the door, a strange old man came over to deliver a letter, saying that he must give it to Mu Tianling to read.

This is the second strange thing.

After reading the letter, Mu Tianling asked someone to prepare a carriage and took Chao Yan into the palace without even having breakfast.

Now the palace gates are closed and no one can enter.

Shen He asked about the situation in Prince Rui's Mansion, and Eunuch Wu said that Mu Tianqi had also entered the palace.

Outside Kunning Palace, there were two groups of people guarding, one was the Tianwu Guards led by Han Lie, and the other was the palace guards led by Zhou Li.

Everyone inside has gathered.

Mu Tianyuan stood in front of Liu Sui and did not allow anyone to approach.

Mu Tianling protected Chao Yan and kept an eye on the direction of Mu Tianqi and the old man.

The old man's dry and hoarse voice was exactly the same as the one heard in the Lantern House before. He was sitting on a chair nearby with a monkey squatting on his shoulder. It was none other than the strange old man who had performed with monkeys in the ghost market before. He opened a shop called the Lantern House. His business was very mysterious, and he liked to test drugs on humans.

The sudden outbreak of plague in the city was also the other party's work.

"Your Majesty, think carefully, which is more important, human life or the throne?"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the little green snake wrapped around Liu Sui's wrist raised its head and spit out its tongue at Liu Sui. Mu Tianyuan was so scared that his face turned pale. He asked the old man to let Liu Sui go quickly, and he could still spare his life. He then turned his eyes to Mu Tianqi, his eyes full of anger and disappointment, and asked: "Second brother, have you forgotten what our father told us before he died!"

Mu Tianqi said: "My royal brother, just issue an imperial decree to let mother come back and treat her well in the future, and I will never return to the capital again."

"No!" Mu Tianyuan flatly refused, "That is my father's will, I will never disobey it."

The old man said, "Your Highness, have you become soft-hearted? Now that it has come to this, there is no turning back."

"Shut up!" Mu Tianyuan was furious. When the old man's gloomy eyes looked over, the little green snake quickly swam into Liu Sui's sleeve and wrapped around her neck in the blink of an eye. Mu Tianyuan's attitude immediately softened, and he told him not to be impulsive and to speak slowly.

The old man said, "The Empress is pregnant, the Emperor must be careful with his words, otherwise two lives will be lost." Mu Tianyuan did not dare to act rashly. The old man continued, "The Emperor should abdicate the throne to the Second Prince and take the Empress to enjoy a peaceful life. They will no longer have to worry about state affairs. Isn't that the best of both worlds?" The old man's gaze shifted to Mu Tianling and Chao Yan. A small red flame snake was wrapped around Chao Yan's wrist, and it looked like a pair with the small green snake.

"Have you considered it, Your Highness?"

Mu Tianling said: "Let him go first."

The old man moved his hand, and the little red flame snake let go of Chao Yan's wrist and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Mu Tianyuan asked the old man to release Liu Sui quickly. The old man asked him to write an abdication edict first. Mu Tianyuan hesitated for a moment, and the old man laughed and said that human life was indeed not as important as the throne. He raised his hand, and the little green snake raised its head and made an attacking gesture. Mu Tianyuan hurriedly said that he would write it, but Liu Sui asked him not to. If he dared to write it, she would divorce him and would not be the queen anymore.

During the stalemate, a man pushed the door open and walked in.

Seeing the person coming in, the old man looked slightly surprised, and then his eyes became extremely gloomy.