Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 175

With the official leading them, it didn’t take long for Ling Rui and Ling Fu to reach the outskirts of the city.

The dead body the official had mentioned was now covered with a white cloth, and a coroner was squatting beside it, seemingly having already conducted an initial examination.

“Your Highness.”

Seeing Ling Rui approach, Coroner Wang stood up and gave him a simple bow. “You’ve arrived.”

“What happened?”

Ling Rui moved closer to the white cloth, reaching out to lift it, but the coroner stopped him.

“Your Highness, the corpse looks quite frightening, you’d better not look at it.”

“It’s fine, I’ll take a look.”

As Ling Rui spoke, he went ahead and uncovered the white cloth.

When the cloth was lifted, it revealed the terrifying appearance of the corpse.

Even though Ling Rui had mentally prepared himself, his body still shuddered instinctively at the sight of the corpse.

“Little Seven, don’t be scared.”

Ling Fu, who also saw the corpse, pulled his younger brother closer.

He was a little scared himself, but he still positioned himself in front of his brother, shielding him.

“Someone, take the corpse away. Don’t leave it here to frighten people.”

Ling Fu ordered some men to remove the body, so it wouldn’t continue to cause fear.

“Lord, you might want to call more people.”

Coroner Wang sighed and reminded him, “Some onlookers mentioned seeing other bodies in different places.”

Ling Rui: “…”

Ling Rui was momentarily stunned. He gently moved aside his older brother who was blocking him, and asked Wang, “There are other bodies like this?”

“According to reports, yes.”

When Coroner Wang finished speaking, Ling Rui’s mind buzzed, nearly overwhelmed.

If there were many such bodies, it might be the situation that his teacher had once lectured about.

A plague.

There were still bystanders around, so Ling Rui didn’t voice his suspicion.

He instructed his men to bring back all the bodies. But before sending them, he ordered them to fully cover themselves from head to toe before handling the bodies.

The men currently moving the body were also instructed by Ling Rui to cover themselves thoroughly.

Once the bodies were taken back, Ling Rui followed closely behind.

On the way back, Ling Rui walked next to Coroner Wang and quietly asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Uncle Wang, do you think this corpse… might have died from an illness?”

“Your Highness, are you suggesting the person was sick when they died?”

“It’s just a suspicion.”

Ling Rui wasn’t an expert, so he couldn’t determine whether the corpse had died from an illness or not.

That’s why he directed the question to Coroner Wang.

Coroner Wang paused for a few seconds before replying, “I can’t confirm yet. Once we return to the yamen, I’ll conduct a detailed examination and report back to you.”

“Alright.”

Coroner Wang conducted the autopsy after returning to the yamen, without letting Ling Rui observe.

He performed the examination alone in the morgue.

Once he finished, he came out, deliberately maintaining some distance from Ling Rui.

“Your Highness, there is indeed something unusual about this corpse. The person was indeed sick before they died.”

As soon as Ling Rui heard that the person had been sick, his face tensed up.

He didn’t move closer to Coroner Wang or the corpse; instead, he clenched his fists and forced himself to stay calm.

“Uncle Wang, can you determine yet if the illness was contagious?”

Coroner Wang remained silent.

Other bodies from different places had also been brought in.

After examining them, Coroner Wang found that the symptoms appeared similar. It was highly likely that the illness was contagious.

“Your Highness.”

As the coroner who had handled the most bodies, Coroner Wang now deeply regretted not keeping the prince further away from the bodies in the first place. He stood still, urging the prince who was a short distance away, “Your health is most important. Please leave quickly.”

“I will handle these bodies properly.”

According to ancient texts, those who died from severe diseases needed to have their bodies cremated.

All these bodies needed to be burned.

And Coroner Wang wasn’t just saying that; he immediately began preparations for the cremation. But instead of simply setting the bodies on fire, he staged a controlled “fire accident” in front of Ling Rui.

The fire only affected the hall where the corpses were stored, leaving the rest of the yamen untouched.

After the bodies were burned, Ling Rui handed Wang a list of additional precautions.

They would need to boil water for sterilization, and properly dispose of the ashes once the cremation was complete.

In short, Ling Rui made all the arrangements in an orderly manner, and Coroner Wang executed them efficiently.

Time passed, day by day.

All the bodies that had appeared were “accidentally” burned by Ling Rui and Coroner Wang.

In addition to burning the bodies, Coroner Wang remained fully covered while carefully examining each one before cremation, trying to identify the exact illness.

Coroner Wang worked hard.

But behind his back, Ling Rui wrote a letter to Shui Shui.

Given the current situation, he needed Shui Shui!

Ling Rui reached out for Shui Shui, but he knocked his older brother, Ling Fu, unconscious and sent him back to the capital.

The area wasn’t safe, and Ling Rui felt it was inappropriate for his older brother to stay.

Ling Fu was completely caught off guard when he was knocked out.

After knocking his brother out, Ling Rui turned to look at Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou.

When Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou caught his gaze, they both took a step back.

“Little Seven, you’re not planning to send us away too, are you?”

“I am.”

Ling Rui replied honestly, “I want you to take my older brother back.”

“Just have the guards do it. We’re staying.”

“Yeah, we’re staying.”

Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou were unwilling to leave. Their eyes were full of suspicion as they watched Ling Rui, as if to say, “It won’t be so easy to knock us out.”

Unlike Ling Fu, they wouldn’t go down so easily.

“I wouldn’t feel safe without you escorting my brother.”

Ling Rui tried to convince them, “Just take him back for me.”

Ling Rui’s persuasion was persuasive, but in the end, only one of them was convinced to leave.

That was Jiang Yan.

Ling Rui sent him and Ling Fu off in a carriage back to the capital, while he stood at the gate waving.

“Goodbye, Jiang Jiang! Take good care of my brother on the road!”

“Goodbye, Little Seven! I will come back!”

Ling Rui wasn’t sure if he heard Jiang Yan’s last sentence as he squinted his eyes with a smile.

Shortly after Jiang Yan left, Shui Shui arrived.

Shui Shui came alone, without an escort.

When Ling Rui saw him, he was stunned.

“You came all this way by yourself?!”

“Yes.”

Shui Shui, carrying a medical kit, had the same calm expression on his delicate face as he had when they were younger.

Without taking a break, Shui Shui headed straight to the courtyard that Ling Rui had set aside.

This courtyard was full of patients.

The condition of the patients after death was identical to that of the first corpse Ling Rui had found.

“Shui Shui, they’re contagious… Be careful.”

“I know.”

Even now, Shui Shui wasn’t one to speak much.

Though he appeared cold, Ling Rui knew Shui Shui was very patient with him.

“Don’t follow me. I’ll go in by myself.”

Before entering, Shui Shui stopped Ling Rui.

Ling Rui obediently listened and didn’t go in.

There was no one else at the entrance, so Ling Rui stood for a while, then sat down on the doorstep.

His face was covered with a scarf, making it hard for him to rest his chin on his hands.

Instead, he leaned against the doorframe, quietly waiting for Shui Shui.

As he waited, Chen Zhou, standing behind him, suddenly spoke, “Little Seven, you’ve been here for a while. Don’t you want to return to the capital?”

“With Shui Shui here, things will get better. I can stay and help him handle this.”

Ever since the suspected plague appeared, Chen Zhou had been trying to persuade him to leave every day.

Ling Rui shook his head, giving the same answer as always.

“Now that Shui Shui is here, I have even less reason to leave.”

With Shui Shui around, Ling Rui felt safe.

“If you don’t leave soon, His Majesty will come and take you away.”

“Even if he comes for me, I won’t go.”

Until the issue here was resolved, Ling Rui wouldn’t feel at ease.

The two continued talking, and after some time, Shui Shui came out of the courtyard.

When Ling Rui saw him, his eyes lit up.

“Shui Shui!”

He ran a few steps forward, intending to take Shui Shui’s medical kit.

Shui Shui didn’t let him take it.

The two maintained some distance, and after Shui Shui finished cleaning up, they finally spoke.

“This illness is indeed contagious,” Shui Shui said. “It’s common for plagues to arise after disasters. There was a natural disaster near Yanzhou Prefecture, but the court handled it promptly.”

Since the government had acted quickly, it couldn’t be a plague caused by the disaster.

“It’s likely man-made.”

Although Shui Shui said it was “likely,” his expression suggested he was almost certain it was man-made.

“Who could be so vicious?”

Ling Rui frowned, his handsome face filled with frustration. “We haven’t made any enemies!”

During his older brother’s time in office, relations with neighboring countries had been well maintained.

Ling Rui couldn’t think of anyone who would be so cruel as to target the people of Qi Dynasty.

If Ling Rui couldn’t figure it out, Shui Shui wasn’t concerned about it either.

Shui Shui wasn’t focused on identifying the enemy; he was thinking about how to make a cure.

“We don’t have enough medicinal ingredients.”

Shui Shui listed the needed ingredients, handing the first list to Ling Rui. “With these, we can save the seriously ill patients. But some of the ingredients aren’t native to Qi.”

Shui Shui gave the first list to Ling Rui and started writing a second one.

In the second list, he substituted alternative ingredients for those that couldn’t be found immediately: “This list can help save the mildly ill patients.”

“You take care of the patients first; I’ll handle the ingredients!”

Ling Rui held the first list, his expression serious as he looked at the countries where the required medicines were found.

“Qi, Chu…”

He stared at the names, then went back to his study and started writing letters.

He needed to reach out for help!

After reaching out to his friends, a sudden idea struck him like a lightbulb.

Over the past few years, he had received several letters from his Big Boss.

His Big Boss was still out there.

If his Big Boss was still around, Uncle Lian Qing might also be with him.

If they were both there, the white-haired villain who separated them might still be alive.

Clutching his pen, Ling Rui seized the opportunity to reach out to both his Big Boss and Uncle Lian Qing. He even had notices sent far and wide, offering a reward for anyone who could provide their whereabouts!

Unbeknownst to him, his notices for his Big Boss and Uncle Lian Qing somehow got misprinted and ended up being posted as wanted notices.