Qi Huan carefully recalled and shared her memories of epidemic prevention experiences with him.
The young girl's voice was as clear and crisp as an oriole's song, falling upon his ears and settling in his heart.
Li Shuchen wrote down what she said, then gently smoothed her slightly disheveled black hair. "Go back into the space now," he said.
"Alright."
After Qi Huan disappeared, he got up and changed his clothes. Footsteps gradually approached from afar. Just as he opened the door, he came face to face with Yan Wu, who was about to knock.
By now, daylight had fully broken outside.
He had rarely slept in so late.
Li Shuchen concealed the warmth in his eyes and brows, resuming his usual coolness as he instructed Yan Wu, "Prepare some water."
Yan Wu nodded in acknowledgment and quickly brought a basin of water for washing his face, along with a cup of water for rinsing his mouth.
Li Shuchen took them, then shut the door in Yan Wu's face with a bang. He placed the basin on the wooden stand and called Qi Huan out.
After she finished washing her face, he simply washed his own face using her face-washing water. Then, they shared the same cup of water to briefly brush their teeth.
Once they finished washing up, Qi Huan instinctively retreated back into the space.
Li Shuchen strode to the dining room, dismissed everyone, and had Yan Wu stand guard outside. Only then did he summon Qi Huan to share breakfast with him.
Qi Huan took a careful look and was relieved to see there was no plain noodle soup.
She finished a bowl of mung bean porridge, then ate more than half a basket of xiaolongbao, contentedly licking her lips.
When she had eaten and drunk her fill, Li Shuchen pointed at her lips, but she suddenly vanished before his eyes.
He rose with a slight sense of disappointment and turned to seek out Mo Wangshan.
"Last night, an immortal entered my dream and bestowed upon this prince a room full of divine instruments that can prevent epidemics. Send someone to collect them and distribute them. Additionally, the common people must be taught how to use them."
Mo Wangshan stroked his chin, thinking to himself: The sons of dragons and phoenixes are indeed different - even in their dreams they meet immortals who bestow divine instruments.
Unlike him, whose dreams were only filled with little temptresses. His spring dreams left no trace, nothing at all.
Lost in these thoughts, he arrived at Li Shuchen's room.
Just then, Yan Wu came walking up, carrying a large package.
"Your Highness, I returned too late last night. Seeing your lights were out, I didn't deliver this. Where would you like me to put it?"
"On the bed."
"Very well."
Yan Wu lowered his head, smirking mischievously. Was His Highness planning to sleep while hugging Lady Qi's clothes?
Seeing his lewd smile, Li Shuchen frowned and banished him to clean the latrines.
Then, Li Shuchen opened the package, took out masks and alcohol spray, and demonstrated their use to Mo Wangshan.
After Mo Wangshan learned how to use them, Li Shuchen tasked him with allocating and distributing the supplies.
Once finished with these matters, Li Shuchen rode on horseback to the Wu residence, with Yan Qinghe following closely behind.
After Wu Liangxin was charged with crimes, all his property was confiscated, including his several villas. Now, they had all been converted into temporary shelters for plague victims.
This plague came on fiercely. Although Li Shuchen wore a mask, he did not rashly enter. Instead, he waited at the gatehouse for someone to call Seventeen Yan.
Yan Qinghe stood guard at the entrance. When he saw Seventeen Yan in the distance, he tossed him a mask and reminded him to put it on, then gave him a thorough spray with the alcohol disinfectant.
Not even a hair was spared.
After finishing, he stepped aside. "You can go in now."
After entering, Seventeen Yan cupped his hands in salute to Li Shuchen. "Your Highness."
"How is the situation?"
"Not very optimistic. Most people have persistent high fevers, and with the hot weather, they can't hold on for long. I am incompetent and have not yet formulated an effective prescription."
After a moment of silence, Li Shuchen untied the bundle on the tea table and took out several medical books.
"Copying would be too slow. I'll read it to you first. When you hear something useful for this plague, tell me to stop, and I'll fold the page. Afterward, I'll copy it for you."
"...Your Highness, I can read."
Li Shuchen handed him the medical books.
After glancing at them for a few moments, he said, "Your Highness, these books are full of errors!"
It definitely wasn't his problem; it was entirely the books' fault.
Every character looked like a character, yet unlike any character he knew.
Seventeen Yan's eyes blurred as he looked, his temples throbbing.
Seeing his aggrieved expression, Li Shuchen took back the medical books. He first used the table of contents to locate the needed information, then began to read aloud quickly.
Though the text was dry and dull, his clear, crisp voice made it particularly pleasing to hear.
Qi Huan sat in her space, enjoying the air conditioning and munching on an apple, listening in rapture.
By the time the sun set in the west, the medical books were bulging with folded pages. Li Shuchen put them away, planning to transcribe them after returning.
On the way back, Yan Qinghe rubbed his stomach and complained, "Shuchen, I'm starving to death. You've finally finished. I called you for lunch, but you didn't even pause. You might not be hungry, but I am."
Hearing this, Li Shuchen's raised horsewhip suddenly stopped. He lowered his gaze to look at his robe, which concealed a small pendant, and inside the pendant was hidden his dear Huan. Yet he had been so busy he'd forgotten.
In the short two days since the plague broke out, people were constantly dying, then being cremated.
The sound of weeping in the city never ceased, from dawn to dusk.
Perhaps in the vast sea of humanity, they were just inconspicuous individuals, but to their families, they were living, breathing people - blood relatives and beloved ones.
They were also subjects of Li Country, the foundation of this dynasty. The rulers were nourished by them and should rightfully protect them.
He just wanted to move quickly, even more quickly, to contain this terrible plague and restore peace to Yunzhou City.
Missing one meal wasn't much to him, but thinking that Huan had gone hungry because of him immediately filled him with guilt and regret.
Li Shuchen pressed his lips tightly together, spurred his horse on faster, and hurried back to the government office. His first words upon dismounting were: "Serve the meal."
Behind him, Yan Qinghe scratched his head with glee, thinking to himself: Shuchen is truly my good brother!
He had just casually mentioned being hungry, and Li Shuchen had rushed back anxiously, immediately ordering food to be served. If this wasn't showing care for him, what was?
Upon returning from the Wu residence, they each went to bathe and change clothes.
After quickly washing up, Yan Qinghe watched with shining eyes as the servants brought in plate after plate of delicacies, swallowing hard.
His gaze was sincere and filled with emotion as he looked directly at Li Shuchen, who had just emerged from the bathroom, and urged, "Shuchen, come quickly and eat."
Li Shuchen gave him a cool glance. "Go back to your room to eat."
"Why?!"
"I want to eat alone."
"You want to eat by yourself?"
Yan Qinghe instantly became angry, but was dragged away by the guards Li Shuchen had called.
His furious shouts still echoed in the evening breeze: "I don't have a brother like you!"
Li Shuchen twitched his ears, and after making sure no one was nearby, he immediately called out, "Qi Huan, come and eat."
"I don't want to eat. I need to use the restroom."
During the day, she had dozed off unintentionally amidst the sound of people reading aloud. Shortly after waking up, she was lulled back to sleep by the same sounds, drifting in and out of slumber throughout the day. She hadn't drunk much water or eaten any snacks, so it wasn't until now that she felt the need.
Li Shuchen, however, assumed she had been holding it in for a long time, and the guilt in his eyes grew more intense. In the courtyard where he lived, only Yan Wu and Yan Qinghe resided in the side rooms at the front. Occasionally, a few servants would come by to deliver meals and clean.
Now, as it was dinner time and no one was around, he quickly led Qi Huan to the outhouse. After she went inside, he stood guard at the entrance until she came out.
Afterwards, having finished dinner and bathed, a single lamp flickered dimly in the room. He had some things he wanted to discuss with her.
