Chapter 53: Plague

Holding Jiang You'an's sachet in his arms, Li Zhengfu strolled over with his hands clasped behind his back. The moment he caught sight of Jiang You'an, a spring breeze seemed to brush his face, but suddenly, a swarm of bees came buzzing towards him.

Before he could even react, he was completely surrounded, and he let out a loud shriek while clutching his head.

Li Lianzhu thought to herself that something was terribly wrong. She looked at Jiang You'an, a flash of hatred cutting through the depths of her eyes.

She had no time to keep targeting Jiang You'an and hurriedly called for people to rescue Li Zhengfu.

Li Zhengfu thrashed about wildly with his hands and feet. His face had already been stung several times, and crying out in agonizing pain, he could no longer bear it, so he leaped directly into the nearby lake.

With that, the poisonous bees dispersed, and the young ladies gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Feigning complete ignorance, Jiang You'an stood close to Lu Yunyao, the two of them giggling together.

Li Zhengfu looked like a drowned rat, and since he didn't know how to swim, he thrashed about in the water, shouting, "Rescue this prince at once! Are you all dead?!"

Finding it utterly humiliating, Li Lianzhu ordered her servants to pull Li Zhengfu out of the water immediately, and then turned to the crowd, announcing that the banquet would end for the day.

After everyone had left, Li Zhengfu was fished out. Soaked to the bone and with several swollen welts rising on his face, he looked both comical and pathetic.

He pulled the pouch out from his chest, hurled it onto the ground, and roared at Li Lianzhu, "Look what a fine mess you've made!"

Li Lianzhu was furious herself. A few days prior, Li Zhengfu had told her that he saw Jiang You'an and Lu Xuanheng going to a tavern together. Displeased by the thought, she had deliberately orchestrated this gathering simply to play a trick on Jiang You'an, hoping to humiliate her and ruin her looks. Who could have known that Li Zhengfu would meddle and ruin all her plans, while also bringing shame upon the Prince's Estate?

"The pouch I gave Jiang You'an—how on earth did it end up on you? If you weren't blinded by lust and blindly picking up things that didn't belong to you, you wouldn't have fallen into her trap. How do you even have the face to yell at me?"

Li Zhengfu touched the swollen welts on his face with his fingers, wincing in pain. He slanted a look at Li Lianzhu and sneered, "Is this rotten trick all you could come up with after pondering for days? If you truly can't handle her, your brother will step in for you."

Li Lianzhu let out a cold huff. "Fine. Didn't you take a fancy to her anyway? Then simply take her as your concubine. After all, with so many concubines in your courtyard, one more won't make a difference."

Li Zhengfu actually pondered this for a moment, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. "Why not?"

...

Back at the Lu residence, Jiang You'an and Lu Yunyao had just returned from outside. Chatting as they walked, they happened to run into Lu Xuanheng.

The moment Jiang You'an caught sight of him, she remembered how she had nearly fallen victim to Li Lianzhu's schemes back at the Prince's Estate—all because of Lu Xuanheng.

And yet, Lu Xuanheng had actually claimed that the Princess was gentle and virtuous and would surely tolerate her. If she had genuinely become Lu Xuanheng's concubine, wouldn't she have been skinned alive?

Men like him only cared about their own pleasure, completely indifferent to whether others lived or died. Weren't all these troubles caused by him?

Her irritation toward Lu Xuanheng grew even stronger now. She rolled her eyes at him and walked straight past.

Lu Xuanheng was completely baffled. Watching her huffy retreating figure, he asked Lu Yunyao, "Did something happen when you went to the banquet today? Why is she pulling such a long face?"

Sighing, Lu Yunyao replied, "Sister You'an is naturally in a bad mood. Today, several people gossiped about her betrothal to Young Master Su, saying that Young Master Su is blind and that Sister You'an is marrying above her station. It must be very painful for her."

She was giving him a cold shoulder just because of that?

Lu Xuanheng's mood soured as well.

After Lu Yunyao left, he went straight to the Longevity Hall to find Jiang You'an.

Jiang You'an was already simmering with anger. Seeing Lu Xuanheng arrive uninvited only fueled her rage further.

"Who told you to come in? Why do you always barge into other people's rooms?"

Lu Xuanheng wore an air of perfect entitlement. "I wanted to come in, so I came in."

Furious, Jiang You'an snapped, "You're unreasonable!"

Lu Xuanheng let out a cold snort. "You were wronged outside and came back to vent your anger on me. Exactly who is being unreasonable?"

It seemed he already knew about those rumors. Instead of comforting her, he was actually accusing her of being unreasonable?

Of course—she was his betrothed, so naturally, he would protect her!

Jiang You_an stood up, her face filled with indignation. "Fine, it's all my fault. You can leave now, can't you?"

Lu Xuanheng raised an eyebrow. "What are you upset about? Isn't this entirely your own doing?"

She was the one who had insisted on marrying Su Ming Xiu, so she should have anticipated that people would gossip.

Jiang You'an was so angry she nearly fainted. Wasn't he the one who kept pestering her? If not for that, how would the Princess have noticed, and how would she have grown resentful enough to plot against her? And now it was all her own doing?

"Lu Xuanheng, are you even human?"

Burning with rage, Jiang You'an lunged forward and began beating Lu Xuanheng fiercely.

After taking a few punches, Lu Xuanheng let out a light "tch." Like a cat-catcher effortlessly subduing a kitten, he grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and immobilized her.

Giving her forehead a light flick, he said helplessly, "What are you making a fuss about?"

Unable to move, Jiang You'an could only use her tongue and was about to curse him out when Xiuzhu's voice sounded from outside, reporting an urgent matter.

Releasing Jiang You'an, Lu Xuanheng stepped out of the room.

"What is it?"

"Young Master, an epidemic has broken out among the refugees outside the city! A vast number of people have already fallen ill!"

Shock washed over Lu Xuanheng's face, and he hurriedly rushed out.

Jiang You'an had also overheard Xiuzhu's words. Struck with sudden terror, she completely forgot what she had been angry about just moments before.

By evening, Lu Xuanheng had gathered information and returned home. The entire family was waiting for news, and Madam Zhao asked him, "How is it? Is it truly an epidemic?"

With a solemn expression, Lu Xuanheng replied, "Yes. Over a dozen people have already died in the past few days. At first, they thought it was merely weakness leading to natural deaths, but today it was confirmed as a full-blown epidemic."

Hearing this, everyone drew in sharp breaths. Lu Yunyao said worriedly, "I've heard that epidemics spread like wildfire from person to person. Will we be infected as well?"

Lu Xuanheng comforted them, "There is no need for excessive worry. The disease originated in the refugee camp; they have always stayed outside the city and are now tightly sealed off. The West City Gate has also been completely closed, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving. This epidemic won't reach the inner city anytime soon."

Old Madam Lu sighed, "Even so, we cannot lower our guard. Everyone in our household should minimize going out lately."

As the family gradually dispersed, Lu Xuanheng stayed in the Longevity Hall for a while longer to speak with Old Madam Lu. Upon stepping out of the main room, he encountered Jiang You'an waiting in the corridor.

She stood there unmoving, clearly waiting for him.

"I already said there is no need to worry excessively. Go get a good night's sleep."

Instead, Jiang You'an asked, "Now that an epidemic has broken out, will His Majesty cancel the Longevity Festival?"

Taken aback, Lu Xuanheng pondered carefully for a moment before answering, "To prevent the epidemic from spreading on a massive scale, he likely won't allow the regional princes and ministers to enter the capital anymore. More importantly, with the common people suffering, His Majesty certainly won't celebrate his birthday with grand festivities."

Staring up at the pitch-black canopy of the night sky, Jiang You'an murmured softly, "Someone was planning to enter the capital and launch a rebellion during the Longevity Festival. But with things turning out this way, they won't be able to enter."

Lu Xuanheng's thin lips pressed into a tight line.

Someone plotting a rebellion was something they could discover, so the Prince of Xian's Estate would surely have noticed it as well. With the Longevity Festival imminent and the rebels about to enter the capital, halting them would require a justifiable excuse.

Could this be the true purpose behind Li Zhengfu taking over the refugee camp? To manufacture an epidemic using innocent refugees so that the Emperor would be forced to cancel the Longevity Festival, thereby preventing the rebels from entering the capital to cause chaos?