After falsely claiming to be pregnant, the whole court came to claim it

"Does Your Majesty have anything else to say?" Liu Linxi asked.

"No." The dark guard said.

Liu Linxi asked again: "Did His Majesty tell you this edict?"

The secret guard hurriedly said: "Commander Lu conveyed it on his behalf, and his subordinates have never entered the palace, so they cannot see His Majesty."

That's right, since the outbreak of the epidemic, Liu Linxi had people seal off the palace, people outside couldn't get in, and people inside couldn't get out. Naturally, it was impossible for the hidden guard to see Li Yan with his own eyes.As a result, Liu Linxi felt even less at ease.

"Your Majesty knows that I need to give you acupuncture every day to detoxify you, so how could you rashly call me back to the palace?" Chu Yunfeng also noticed something strange, and said, "This oral order doesn't seem to come from His Majesty."

"Pretending to be His Majesty's decree is a serious crime." Liu Linxi said, "Lu Yuzheng wouldn't have the guts."

"Lu Yuzheng doesn't know it, and it's hard to guarantee that others won't either." Chu Yunfeng said.

In the entire palace, apart from Li Yan, the only person who dared to falsely pass on oral instructions was probably the Queen Mother.But why did the queen mother pass Chu Yunfeng into the palace?And it skipped Li Yan.Liu Linxi thought over and over again, and the only explanation seemed to be that Li Yan could not pass on this oral instruction.

"Isn't there no one in the palace all the time? The epidemic should not spread to the palace, right?" Liu Linxi asked.

"As far as I know, His Majesty summoned several adults from the household department in the imperial study." Chu Yunfeng said.

After Chu Yunfeng mentioned it, Liu Linxi also remembered it.People from the household department have entered the palace, which means that the epidemic disease outside the palace has no chance of spreading to the palace. Even if the people who enter the palace are not infected with silver thread Gu, there is no guarantee that they will not bring Gu insects into the palace... …

"General Liu is worried about His Majesty..." Chu Yunfeng said.

"I should be thinking too much." Although Liu Linxi said so, he was still restless.Li Yan's verbal instruction today is too abnormal, and now is an extraordinary period, he can't stop thinking wildly.

Chu Yunfeng opened the mouth and said: "General Liu, come back to the palace with me. If there is something in the palace that prevents me from getting out, it will delay the injection for you, so the best way is for you to go back to the palace with me."

"But..." Liu Linxi still hesitated.

Chu Yunfeng said: "Now there is a cure for the silver thread Gu, the epidemic outside will gradually subside from today, and you don't have to do it yourself. Besides... I have never told you, because the toxicity in your body has not been resolved, So that silver thread Gu will hide from you."

Liu Linxi guessed a little bit about this, because Chu Yunfeng never seemed to be worried about his contact with people infected with the epidemic.

Since Liu Linxi will not be infected with the silver thread Gu, then he will not pose a threat to the people in the palace when he returns to the palace.

"Okay, I'll follow you back to the palace." Liu Linxi said.

After making a decision, Liu Linxi took another look at Liu Xiangwan, and explained some things to Yu Xingzhi. After everything was ready, he returned to the palace with Chu Yunfeng.

The palace now looks quite deserted, the number of guards on duty has also decreased a lot, and the entire palace wall seems empty.After entering the palace, Liu Linxi and Chu Yunfeng went to the bathroom to take a shower and changed into clean clothes, then hurried to Li Yan's bedroom.

Eunuch Su was already waiting at the door, and he didn't seem surprised to see the two come back, and greeted them into the hall with a smile on his face.The outer hall was brightly lit, Li Yan was sitting in front of the desk writing something, when he heard the sound of footsteps, he looked up and met Liu Linxi's eyes, with a hint of surprise floating in his eyes.

"Finally back." Li Yan said.

When Liu Linxi saw Li Yan sitting there with all his beard and tail, the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, but he was still a little puzzled.

Seeing his expression, Li Yan did not explain, and turned to Chu Yunfeng and said: "Mr. Chu has contributed a lot to finding a solution to this epidemic so quickly. I don't know what to reward you. How about Think about it for yourself, is there anything you want to ask for?"

"The grassroots dare not take credit, Your Majesty is being serious." Chu Yunfeng said.

"If you can't think about it for a while, go back and think about it slowly. I can wait for you to think it over before rewarding you." Li Yan said.

Chu Yunfeng cupped his hands and said, "Thank you Your Majesty, I've already thought about it."

"Oh? What is it?" Li Yan asked.

"I beg Your Majesty to reward the minister with an imperial decree to avoid death." Chu Yunfeng said.

"Why, Mr. Chu is planning to do something to deceive the emperor?" Li Yan laughed.

Chu Yunfeng didn't answer, just bowed and waited.

Li Yan thought for a while and said: "Okay, I will reward you, but it can be said that if you commit something in the future that is harmful to the country and not suitable for the people, this imperial decree will not be counted."

"Yes." Chu Yunfeng said.

Li Yandang wrote an imperial decree with a pen, and then stamped it on the back.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chu Yunfeng took the imperial edict with both hands, and retreated.

Liu Linxi looked at Chu Yunfeng suspiciously, and saw that the other party passed by before she went out, and glanced at him with a look of uncertainty.

Now only Liu Linxi and Li Yan are left in the hall.

Li Yan got up from the desk, and looked at Liu Linxi through the desk, his eyes were so revealing that Liu Linxi's breathing was a little messed up.

"If you don't come back, you will decide not to come back. If I didn't play a trick to scare you today, would I have to wait until everything is over before returning to the palace?" Li Yan asked.

Liu Linxi frowned and said, "You deliberately sent this oral order to trick me into coming back?"

"If I order directly, will you come back?" Li Yan asked.

"I..." Liu Linxi thought for a while, but didn't know how to answer for a while.

"Liu Linxi, you really don't take me seriously." Li Yan looked at Liu Linxi slightly, and said with a bit of coldness in his tone: "If you seal the palace gate with one sentence, if I refute you , in the eyes of others, your behavior is considered disrespectful. You expected that I would take care of you, so you are so bold and presumptuous."

"Minister..." Liu Linxi looked at Li Yan, and was caught by his question for a moment. He couldn't tell whether Li Yan was angry with me or what, so he quickly knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Li Yan didn't expect Liu Linxi to kneel down suddenly, walked around the desk quickly, pulled Liu Linxi up by the lapel, and said, "Are you trying to piss me off? Do you know that I've been in the palace these few days?" How did you live? Now I can’t even say a few words about you?”

"Your Majesty is right, it's my fault." Liu Linxi said.

"Where did you go wrong?" Li Yan asked.

Liu Linxi was pulled forward by Li Yan's clothes, and the two of them were so close that Liu Linxi could feel Li Yan's breath.He swallowed his saliva distractedly, and said, "I shouldn't...shouldn't...offend Your Majesty."

"What else?" Li Yan asked insistently.

"Shouldn't... self-assertion, daring..." Liu Linxi said: "Shouldn't call out the patrol battalion, and trap hundreds of forbidden troops outside the palace, minister..."

Li Yan was already full of evil spirits, but when he heard Liu Linxi's words, he became even more "annoyed", hooked the back of Liu Linxi's neck with one hand, and kissed Liu Linxi very roughly.Liu Linxi was startled by him, and subconsciously wanted to push him away, but Li Yan intensified, simply supported Liu Linxi's legs and lifted him up, walked to the desk a few steps, and put him on the desk.

Liu Linxi subconsciously put his hand on the desk, accidentally stained with ink, and the ink splashed onto the paper beside him.

Seeing this, Li Yan pressed his hand, and with the other hand he wrapped him in his arms, and continued to deepen the kiss...

After a long time, Liu Linxi was almost out of breath, and Li Yan let him go, but still pressed him against the desk, tightly trapping him in his arms.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Li Yan asked him.

"The fault is..." Liu Linxi's breathing was messy, and his mind was even more chaotic than his breathing, "I don't know..."

Li Yan panted heavily, leaning against his forehead and said: "I couldn't sleep one night, so I went to the Buddhist hall to copy the scriptures, and kept copying until it was almost dawn, and fell asleep on the low table unconsciously... ...I had a nightmare, dreaming that you were infected with the disease..."

"The poison in my body has not been completely removed, so I won't be infected." Liu Linxi comforted.

"But I'm still scared... That day I was really scared, scared and angry at the same time." Li Yan said, "I thought to myself, why is Liu Linxi so cruel, leaving me in the palace, if you and I have If a person is infected with the disease, can't he see each other until he dies?"

As Li Yan spoke, he bent over and buried his head in Liu Linxi's shoulder, and Liu Linxi reached out and patted him on the back.

Li Yan muffled: "Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm afraid." Liu Linxi said: "At that time, I didn't know if I would catch the disease. When I was serving the porridge at the porridge shed, I saw those people who were infected, and I was terribly afraid. I was afraid that I would catch the disease. , I'm also afraid that you will get infected..."

Li Yan raised his head to meet his eyes, Liu Linxi looked at Li Yan with clear eyes, and said: "But I am also afraid that once the epidemic is out of control, what will happen to the entire capital? This is the capital of the banquet, and you It is the emperor of the banquet... I am very afraid of the epidemic, but I want to guard all this for you."

What Liu Linxi said was calm and breezy, but it seemed to weigh a thousand catties in Li Yan's ears.

Li Yan had never seen Liu Linxi go through life and death on the battlefield before, but at this moment, Li Yan felt that Liu Linxi had just climbed out of the sea of ​​corpses and blood with a long knife... He just wanted to force this The man said a few soft words, but Liu Linxi took out a heart and put it in front of him. The heart was red and hot, and Li Yan felt joyful and helpless when he took it in his hand.

"Are you still blaming me?" Liu Linxi asked tentatively.

"How could I blame you?" Li Yan said softly: "It's just that I'm too scared. Promise me that you won't do this again in the future. I will defend my country, but if you can't be good, what should I do?" What to do?"

Li Yan was angry just now as if he was going crazy, but now he is wronged like a big child.Liu Linxi hugged him, her heart was so soft that she took the initiative to lean over and kiss the corner of Li Yan's mouth, and said, "From now on, it won't be like this."

The two stayed tenderly for a while, Li Yan didn't do anything to Liu Linxi, they still had a lot to deal with right now, and it wasn't time to be presumptuous.When Li Yan carried him off the desk, he was still a little scared, thinking that he was a little "rough" just now, fortunately Liu Linxi was not hurt.

"Have you been hungry outside these few days?" Li Yan pulled Liu Linxi to look around and said, "I'm hungry and thin."

"That's not the case, but it's true that I don't eat well, so I look forward to going back to the palace to eat something good." Liu Linxi said.

Li Yan had already ordered the dining room, and after a while, the dining room delivered dinner, all of which Liu Linxi liked to eat.Li Yan personally arranged the dishes for him, sat on the side and watched him eat with a smile on his face, feeling satisfied and at ease.

"You've been in the palace for the past few days, haven't you been eating well?" Liu Linxi asked while eating.

"It's still a job." Li Yan said, "It's better than you running around outside."

Liu Linxi knew that Li Yan had to deal with things in the palace in the past few days.In addition to matters related to the epidemic, how to deal with the aftermath is a big problem, and the problems that have arisen in the various ministries during this epidemic, how to pursue them, he has to think repeatedly.

"When the epidemic first appeared, the medical office reported it to the yamen, but they kept suppressing it, so they delayed it until later." Liu Linxi said: "Although it is time to employ people, it is better not to be too harsh, But if you want to prevent this from happening again in the future, you have to do something."

Li Yan took a pigeon egg for him, and said: "Well, I have already added this item to the regulations of the Ministry of Punishment. If similar things happen in the future, whether it is directly related to the Yamen or other departments, Once the news is received, no matter what the reason is for concealing it, you will be punished."

"Well, this is the best way, lest they feel that it's not their business, and avoid trouble." Liu Linxi said.

Li Yan suddenly remembered something, and asked, "By the way, how is Second Young Master Liu?"

"The Gu worms have been completely eliminated, but the body has suffered some injuries, so it needs to rest for a while." Liu Linxi said.

"I'll send a few people to take care of it." Li Yan said.

Because of the epidemic, Liu Xiangwan never returned to Liu's mansion, and only asked someone to say hello. Fortunately, Liu's family is safe and sound, so there is no need to worry too much.

Liu Linxi said: "No need, General Yu is taking care of Xiang Wan now, doing everything by himself, and no one else can intervene."

Li Yan raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and there was a meaningful smile on the corner of his mouth.

After Liu Linxi had dinner, Li Yan summoned Chu Yunfeng and Lu Yuzheng.

Now that the epidemic has been suspended, the next thing they have to face is the problem of dealing with the aftermath and finding the source.

"Since this silver silk Gu is not a Gu worm that would exist in the Central Plains, it probably wasn't accidental that it suddenly appeared in the capital?" Li Yan asked Chu Yunfeng.

"This kind of Gu worm is very precious, and the person who raises it shouldn't be so careless as to let the worm sneak into a certain well." Chu Yunfeng said.

Liu Linxi had guessed it before, and hurriedly asked, "Is it artificial?"

"Well." Chu Yunfeng said: "It was only released in the twelfth lunar month. It can be seen that I have a good understanding of the habits of Gu insects. If the weather is hotter, the survival rate of Gu insects will be very low. Now they are thrown into the well in ice and snow. It’s like a fish in water, that’s why it spreads so fast.”

The silver thread Gu was placed in the capital, but it is still in the well.

The intentions of the people who did this are extremely sinister and chilling.

"Since he is well aware of the habits of Gu insects, it means that the person who released the Gu can fully predict the consequences of the matter." Liu Linxi said.

"I'm afraid, this is his original purpose." Lu Yuzheng said.

But who could this person be?

If this person did such a frenzied thing, he would not be an ordinary person.

Such a rare Gu worm cannot be obtained by ordinary people, that is to say, the person who released the Gu must have the means to get the Gu worm, as well as extraordinary courage and an extremely cruel heart.

"I think we can check the people who suppressed the epidemic and refused to report it, maybe there will be gains." Chu Yunfeng said.

"It's possible, but as an official of a big banquet, what good does it do him to engage in such a big battle?" Liu Linxi said: "According to the practice of whoever makes the most money and who is the most suspected, the epidemic in the capital should be dealt with the most. The suspect is the enemy country that is at war with us. So even if our government officials are involved, I am afraid they are only accomplices."

Li Yan nodded and said: "Lu Yuzheng, tomorrow you send people to all the post stations and inns in the capital to check, from half a month ago to now, if there is anyone suspicious."

"Yes, those with suspicious appearance and clothing count, especially the accent." Liu Linxi said.

Fortunately, the capital has been sealed off after the accident, as long as this person is still in the city, it will be a matter of time to find him.

As long as suspicious people are found, they are not far from the truth.But if this person cannot be found, then no matter whether it is the capital city or the banquet, it is difficult to escape disaster for a while.After all, that man was cruel and merciless, and he was hiding in the dark, and he might attack again at any time.

Since he can get silver thread Gu, there is no guarantee that he won't have more terrifying means next time.

"Actually, I thought of another way." Liu Linxi said.

"What?" Li Yan turned to look at him and asked.

Liu Linxi said: "Since this Gu worm is rare, there shouldn't be many places where you can get it in the world, right? If we ask some people in the world for help, we can find out where we can get the Silver Thread Gu. If we follow the vine, we might have a clue." .”

"Leave this matter to me." Chu Yunfeng said: "I should be able to ask someone to find out where the silver thread Gu is raised, but it may take some time."

"It's okay, anyway, this is the last way." Liu Linxi said.

Maybe Lu Yuzheng will be able to find clues soon.

The matter of investigating the source of the silver thread Gu has been temporarily arranged, but the aftermath of the epidemic is also quite difficult.

In the early morning of the second day, the imperial hospital sent a message to the palace, saying that some medicinal materials for dispelling Gu had been used up, and the household department was out of stock.In other words, although they have found a way to get rid of Gu, many people still have no way to get treatment because of the lack of medicinal materials.

"Is there any way to find some medicine to replace it?" Liu Linxi asked Chu Yunfeng.

Chu Yunfeng thought for a while, and said: "You can find it if you look for it, but the medicine will definitely lose its power."

"I don't care about that much anymore, saving lives is the most important thing." Liu Linxi said.

Right now there is no other way but to treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor.

So Chu Yunfeng re-wrote a prescription and asked people to send it out of the palace, so that the imperial physician could continue to help other people infected with Gu get rid of Gu according to the new prescription.

In the end, nearly half of all the people infected with Gu in the capital, except those who had been infected for too long and could not be rescued, survived.However, most of them suffered serious internal injuries. According to the imperial physician's diagnosis, I am afraid that these people will not be able to recover as usual in the next two to three months, and they need constant care.

"After the prescription was changed, the toxicity became less toxic, so it took longer to kill the Gu worms, and the injuries to these people were heavier than expected," Chu Yunfeng said.

"In other words, they will need a lot of medicine to stop bleeding and treat injuries," Liu Linxi said.

"The medicine in the capital is definitely not enough, we can only call some from other places." Li Yan said.

Fortunately, only the capital had an accident, and the rest of the place was safe and sound. With the supply of medicinal materials from the surrounding areas, it should be able to last for a while.

"Although the wound medicine is urgent, but in a few days, I am afraid that new problems will appear." Liu Linxi said: "Thousands of people in the capital have fallen ill, and every patient must be taken care of, which means that the next In one or two months, nearly [-] people in the capital will have to stay at home to recuperate or take care of their loved ones."

As a result, many poor families may have problems eating and drinking.

Li Yan thought for a while, and said to Su Heng: "Chuan Hubu Shangshu will go to the palace."

At this time, I am afraid that the family property of the imperial court will have to be used.

You can't just watch the people starve to death.

Liu Linxi had calculated an account for Li Yan before. There were nearly 1000 households infected with Gu in the capital. If each household gave three buckets of rice a month, then the [-] households would need to give [-] or two hundred stones a month. Two months is [-] shi.This should be the most basic guarantee. As for the part that is not enough, it should be made up by the common people for the time being, and it should not be much worse.

These thousands of shi of grain, the imperial court can still afford.

In the afternoon, Hubu Shangshu and several other officials entered the palace together.

Li Yan summoned them in the imperial study and told them his plan.

Naturally, several officials from the household department did not dare to raise any objections, so they hurriedly responded.

"I am afraid that only food is not enough. Many poor families have no surplus all year round. Now such a transpiration may make things worse. Why not give each family another five taels of silver." Li Yan said: "There are more than 4000 households, and the total is only 2 Ten thousand taels of silver is not too much."

"Your Majesty is sympathetic to the people, and I will try my best to do it well." The Minister of the Household Department said hurriedly.

Li Yan glanced at him, said nothing, and told them to finish it as soon as possible, so as not to delay the livelihood of the people.

After returning to the bedroom, Li Yan felt that something was wrong.

Liu Linxi saw that his brows were deeply furrowed, and asked, "Is it because the people in the household department are crying poor?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were crying for poverty, but this time they gave out thousands of shi grains and 2 taels of silver, and they didn't say a single word of nonsense." Li Yan said: "I remember that the Ministry of Rites was planning my wedding next year. , but mentioned some ordinary ostentation, and didn’t spend a lot of money, someone from the household department refuted it on the grounds that it was too extravagant.”

Hearing this, Liu Linxi raised her eyes to look at Li Yan, thinking that she will get married next year?

I don't know if I'm married to myself...

"Your Majesty thinks they are too generous?" Liu Linxi asked.

"It just feels abnormal." Li Yan said.

Liu Linxi smiled and said: "This is easy to handle. Take this opportunity to check the accounts of the household department to see if they are really poor."

"It makes sense." Li Yan said: "Then I'll leave this job to you. I don't worry about others. You can do it when the epidemic subsides completely."

Liu Linxi was quite surprised when he heard the words, and thought to himself, is Li Yan going to reveal his family fortune to him?

However, checking the account of the account department, it is really difficult to hand over this errand to others.

Among the six parts, no one is likely to come out and offend this person. If it is done well, there will be no rewards, and if it is not done well, it will cause a whole lot of trouble.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty looked around, and Liu Linxi was the only one under him, and no one was afraid of him.