Outside the scarlet gate with golden nails, Huanan He saw more than ten eunuchs carrying wooden barrels back and forth. They were delivering hot water to Jingyang Palace to spray water on the stone steps, corridors, doorposts, and other places of the inner and outer palaces for disinfection.

Huanan He rushed towards but was stopped by the guard at the gate, who raised fist salute.

"Your Highness, forgive me. Please stop here."

After the accident in Jingyang Palace, the gatekeepers had been replaced by Honour Guards of the Imperial Court. They wrapped most of the faces below the nose with a white cloth to isolate the virus in the palace, revealing only a pair of bright eyes.

Huanan He ignored the guard and looked at the inner palace, trying to suppress his eagerness. He said carelessly, "Oh, is His Majesty there? I... I have urgent business with His Majesty."

"There is a bad disease in Jingyang Palace suddenly, which is infectious..."

The feminine and gentle voice came unhurriedly from behind Huanan He.

The comer was Yue Xilou, Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Depot.

The guard was stunned and hurriedly bowed, "I pay respects to Lord Yue."

Yue Xilou ignored them but fixed his gaze on Huanan He's cool and thin face. Then Yue Xilou smiled at him faintly, "Your Highness, I pay my respects. Your Highness, His Majesty is accompanying Her Grace inside now. He won't leave for a moment."

Huanan He frowned and turned around. He refused to look at Yue Xilou again.

The eunuch was handsome with as sharp eyes as an eagle vulture, like a sinister hook. With the first glance at the other party, it always gives people a very uncomfortable experience.

At this moment, his lip-smacking and shallow smile was like an ominous owl, showing roguery, right?

"Well, I will come here another day..."

Huanan He replied perfunctorily. With cold light in his eyes, he only thought about the words Yue Xilou just said.

Hearing that His Majesty did not fear pox and still stayed in Jingyang Palace to accompany Lady Yun, Huanan He had a complex feeling and felt restless. With bitterness, distress, and grief in his chest, he felt unspeakably sorrowful.

In the meaningful sight of Yue Xilou, the silver-haired man walked away.

Behind him, the eunuch commanded his men on both sides with a tone as dark as water.

"Come on. Close the palace door quickly, and no one else is allowed to enter."

Huanan He walked under the fiery sun.

He walked slowly without expression.

He had a hard time controlling himself not to think back to that dream.

The delicate figure in the dream was flying freely in his memory at this moment. She looked back again and again under the yellow trees, and gently called him, "Darling..."

So far, when he repeatedly depicted her face in his mind, Huanan He no longer had the tension and trepidation that he had before.

Instead of living in self-blame and apologizing for the Emperor all day long for this not-so-absurd dream, Huanan He also became more interested and desperate to find out why he repeated such strange dreams so frequently.

Passing through the gate of divine prowess, the military officer and the two medical officers guarding the gate were chatting lively.

"Lord Liu and Lord He, why are you so hurried? Look at your sweat!"

"Well, don't mention it. The master of Jingyang Palace suddenly has smallpox, and the silver root that could stop acne and itching was not in stock in the medicine storehouse, so we are asked to look for the medicine outside the Palace..."

The medical officer surnamed Liu sighed, and his slightly old face was worried and tired.

The military officer was surprised and continued to ask, "Well, you two look tired, so do you find that?"

Liu shook his hand in embarrassment and said somewhat urgently, "It's not easy, is it? The silver root is the root of silver grass in spring, which wilts in autumn and is dug in winter as medicine. It is also weird that summer is not the season of epidemics at all, but the imperial harem is suffering from smallpox. So where do we go to find the silver root that only can be found in winter?"

At the side, Medical Officer He answered and complained, "You don't know that smallpox is usually acute, and the patient has a high fever and rash. In two or three days, those rashes will become acne blisters. At that time, the patient will suffer from pain and itching, and it is inevitable to scratch with her hands. And once the blisters are broken, they will leave scars in the future.”

After hearing this, the military officer shook his fist and was quite worried about the two medical officers, "That master is the love of His Majesty. If she is disfigured..."

"We will be bound to die!"

Medical Officer He preemptively revealed the answer. When he sighed, his tone was sad, all of which made people move.

"Do you have any medicinal herbs to replace the silver root?"

Huanan He quickly stepped forward and asked worriedly.

"I pay respects to Your Highness."

"I pay respects to Your Highness."

The medical officers and the military officer saluted Huanan He.

Huanan He waved his palm, only looking at the two medical officers with concern.

Medical Officer He stood upright and said firmly, "We can use the nigrum fruit, take the juice and apply it to the acne, which can also cure itching. However, most of the solanum nigrum grow between the stone crevices of the cliffs and are hard to obtain."

"I also thought about it all the way back to the Palace. We can also combine phemeranthus with mint leaves and apply the juice to the acne blisters. This can cure herpes. As for smallpox, we can only have a try in an emergency."

With a pause, the medical officers frowned and bowed to Huanan He, "Your Highness, forgive us. We will rush to the Imperial Hospital for the reply. See you."

—

In Jingyang Palace.

In the Main Hall, the maids came and went, busily wiping everything within sight with a puddle dipped in hot water.

Gu Yunxi hid in the layers of tightly packed curtain tent, and tightly wrapped her body with a satin quilt with silver strings.

Thanks to the power of the mysterious powder, she had smallpox and fever.

Just now a few highly respected imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital consulted, but they could not find out the clues.

Gu Yunxi was cold, slightly shivering, and stuffy-headed. She was desperately covering her mouth with one hand to avoid laughing.

Outside the bedroom, Huanan Xin's anxious question came in from time to time, "Darling, darling, how are you feeling? Don't fear. I'm here. I won't leave you!"

"His Majesty, I'm ill. I will die..."

Even if she was bored with the Emperor's comforting words, Gu Yunxi still had to respond to him delicately.

"I won't let you die. I will find people to cure you—"

"His Majesty, don't enter!"

"His Majesty, you can't enter—"

There was a noise outside the curtain. It turned out that Huanan Xin was anxious. After talking with Gu Yunxi, he wanted to break into the bedroom regardless of others' exhortation but was desperately held by several imperial physicians.

Smallpox was a plague, which was easily infectious. No one dared to let a monarch of a country take risks.

"Get out. Go—"

Huanan Xin kicked and punched, breaking free from the binding force around his body.

Half an hour ago, he excitedly pushed down the delicate woman at the end of the embroidered curtain.

Just when he wanted to spend the night with her, he found that she had contracted smallpox, which once again disturbed their good deeds.

The Emperor, who found no way to vent his anger, naturally wanted to punish the imperial physicians.

At the end of the embroidery curtain, Gu Yunxi was still pretending, and the coquetry voice was soft and sweet, "Your Majesty, don't come in. You are the imperial throne. Don't indulge in love all day long. If I really infect you, I am not sure how many people will scold me as an ominous person."

"How dare they! Darling, I look at you and leave immediately, okay?"

"Mm-hmm, no. Your Majesty, you should also obey me at this time."

Inside the bed curtain, Gu Yunxi pinched her nose and hummed a few times. Then she immediately buried her head into the thick and soft quilt, afraid that she laughed wildly without focusing.

Huanan Xin sighed and looked down. He then saw those imperial physicians kneeling and keeping silent, who were trembling.

Gradually he calmed down and abandoned his wish to visit his favorite concubine.

"All right, dear. Have a good rest. I'll obey you and come here another day."

As soon as the Emperor came out of the Main Hall, Yue Xilou followed close behind, slightly stooping like a pug with a wagging tail and praying for mercy, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Huanan Xin couldn't help but frown. He looked gloomy and reprimanded Yue Xilou, "I'm not in the mood. Tell me later. You don't have to follow me."

Yue Xilou opened his eyes in shock, and he immediately stopped. Keeping the posture of a slight bow, he didn't move for a long time.

…

The night was as bright as it could be, and the moonlight was shattered, shining the gardens of the Ninth Prince's Mansion.

The copper stove with vines and branches was burning with Chenshui Incense and the wisps of green smoke were as thin as silk threads, which rose into the air.

Huanan He tossed and turned on the two-person wide canopy bed, still thinking about the "nigrum fruit" he heard in the daytime, unable to sleep peacefully.

Speaking of cliffs, he first thought of Yufeng Mountain on the outskirts of the capital, which was always the royal hunting ground of Da Yi.

After Huanan He returned to the capital, he participated in a royal Autumn Hunting Convention.

However, at that time, the Emperor was afraid that his uncle would be hurt and sent many Honour Guards to protect him. Finally, Huanan He came happily and but returned unhappily.

He clearly remembered that there was indeed a cliff on Yufeng Mountain.

In the stone crevice of the cliff, there should be a solanum nigrum, right?

Suddenly, Huanan He became energetic. He was completely unaware that at this time, he was so excited because of an impulsive thought that he was running with excitement and a layer of delicate sweat secreted on his back.

He got up and put on his dark blue shirt and trousers, the deep purple belt. Then he walked out of the room with thin-soled boots.

Huanan He opened the leopard cage in the front yard and summoned Heifeng.

The leopard raised the two pointed ears and kept flicking its tail around its owner. It rubbed its owner's legs with the furry leopard head lovingly.

Huanan He smiled, patted its back, and handed the bamboo basket in his hand,

"Heifeng, hold on to it. Tonight, I will take you to visit Yufeng Mountain, okay?"