Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 871 - 869_1

Chapter 871: Chapter 869_1

"Didn’t Shangguan Xuanyi and his wife leave any pills for the princess during their visit? That’s unusual, isn’t it? The princess is pregnant, and there’s an old saying that giving birth is like walking on the edge of the Ghost Gate. She should have some pills ready, right?"

Could this person be any more shameless?!

Gong Qinghua was so furious that he felt like kicking him! Was he suggesting that he watched the emperor fall into a coma and didn’t give him the pill even though he had one?

The Nangong Emperor, lying on the bed, moved his eyeballs again. He knew well that Gong Qinghua’s words were meant to sow discord. But they made him suspicious, because if he died this time, the Crown Prince would be the emperor, making him the biggest beneficiary.

The Nangong Emperor even wondered if the beautiful woman was a setup by the Crown Prince. Considering the Crown Prince’s good relationship with Minze Country, helping the Crown Prince ascend to the throne and making Shangguan Wanru the emperor wouldn’t be impossible. But the moment this thought rose, he immediately denied it. The Crown Prince wouldn’t dare.

"What do you mean by that, second imperial brother? The last time the emperor fell ill, didn’t the princess take out the pill without any hesitation? Who knew then that she had a pill? Didn’t she volunteer it herself? Such a precious pill is not just some cabbage you can pick up off the street. Can you take it out whenever you want? The fact that they gave one is already the height of righteousness!"

"Crown Prince, don’t get so excited, if there isn’t one, then there isn’t. I was just asking that’s all. Why are you so agitated? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re guilty!" Gong Qinghua casually said.

"How can I not be angry? You deliberately insinuate that the princess and I have the pill but aren’t saving the emperor. Your intention to sow discord is simply deplorable!" Gong Zixuan couldn’t help but grow angry, raising his voice considerably.

"Crown Prince, you’ve misunderstood, I didn’t mean it that way at all. There’s no need for you to be so sensitive. If you don’t want to hear it, I won’t say it. Since that woman is from Minze Country, I should go settle the score with Shangguan Xuanyi! Who knows, maybe I can get a pill and save the emperor." Gong Qinghua left after sowing the seeds of doubt, maintaining a calm demeanor throughout the whole process.

The Nangong Emperor’s wound was hurting badly, and the squabbles of his two sons infuriated him. He decided to continue pretending to be unconscious, whilst pondering over the truth of Gong Qinghua’s words.

People can be strange at times. Even, knowing that someone is trying to sow discord, suspicion still creeps in. Once a seed of doubt is planted, it will sprout like grass nourished by spring rain at the hint of an incident, uncontrollable, immune to fire, and will revive at the slightest breeze!

After leaving the emperor’s palace, Gong Qinghua finally released the pent-up frustration in his heart.

Since last year when the Crown Princess saved the emperor with her pill, he had been feeling frustrated due to his temporary power and hasty decisions raising the emperor’s suspicions. The grain issue raised recently further added to this pressure. Now he could finally exhale!

There was nothing but good news today, and Gong Qinghua was significantly relaxed as he briskly left the imperial palace.

...

On Zhan’er Island, not only did Xiao’er suddenly feel itchy, but the rest of the soldiers and generals who landed on the island also felt a bit itchy like they were bitten by fleas.

And indeed, when Xiao’er returned to her room, she found a flea on her!

It was disgusting to the extreme.

Others also found fleas on themselves.

A prisoner wondered, "I’ve been living here for nearly three months and I’ve never been bitten by a flea. How come they showed up once you arrived?"

"Could it be that someone among you is too lazy to bathe and now has fleas on them?!" A prisoner joked after being informed he wouldn’t be executed.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xuanyi’s eyes darkened.

Xiao’er contemplated. She didn’t see any cats or dogs, and she didn’t see a single rat last night. Why would there be fleas?

Even if someone wasn’t hygienic and had fleas, it wouldn’t be possible for so many people to be bitten! That doesn’t make sense! Could one person have so many fleas on their body?

The Plague! The word suddenly came to Xiao’er.

Simultaneously, Xiao’er quickly associated this with Japanese emissaries who once tried to infect her country with the smallpox virus.

"Brother Shangguan, I suspect it’s the plague."

The fleas weren’t present a few days ago, but they seemed to appear out of thin air today.

"The plague? Can it be transmitted by fleas?"

"Yes!" Xiao’er confirmed.

"This is something the Japanese people love to do! How come the people of Nangong Nation are doing it too?"

"The Japanese also sent people this time, who knows if they released them!" General Di spoke up, having rushed over with soldiers after successfully taking Zhan’er Island.

"Or do the Japanese and Nangong Nation have some sort of collusion? I remember seeing the Japanese and Nangong Second Prince talking happily at a banquet." Xiao’er thought back to the scene she witnessed that day.

"No wonder, having both the radioactive stones and the plague, Nangong Nation’s gift is indeed a heavy one!" Shangguan Xuanyi snorted coldly.

"’Not retaliating after being insulted’ is against etiquette! Brother Shangguan, we can’t ignore this sickness. What if we enter Nangong Nation’s palace and ask the imperial doctor to treat us? What do you think?"

"No! I’ll arrange for someone else to do it. You should take your medicine immediately! Don’t always treat your own life so carelessly!" Shangguan Xuanyi instantly rejected her proposal after hearing Xiao’er’s words.

He saw no need for her to take unnecessary risks.

Xiao’er was at a loss with his excessive caution, "Brother Shangguan, you know I have the pill and wouldn’t be afraid of the plague! Only if we do it ourselves will they be taken by surprise and have no chance to refuse! After all, it’s happening in their country! Our status will make them wary. "

"Now that the Nangong Emperor is gravely ill, the Nangong Second Prince has been trying to put the blame on our Minze Nation, hasn’t he? We might as well take this opportunity to play them at their own game! We’ll show them that we won’t be pushed around easily! What do you think? Let’s set off for Nangong Nation now. I estimate that by the time we get there, it’ll be perfect timing for the symptoms to set in!"

"I just don’t want you to suffer like this! It’s not worth risking your life for the sake of making calculations against others." Shangguan Xuanyi shook his head.

"Right now, we can’t confirm if it is indeed the plague! Let’s hurry to Nangong Nation. If it really is the plague, just eat the pill then! Otherwise, if my guess is wrong, it would be a waste of a pill, right?"

In the end, she planned to go to Nangong Country with her illness in order to scare the people there.

Knowing that Xiao’er was determined to do this, Shangguan Xuanyi nodded reluctantly, "If you truly start to feel unwell, you must take the pill immediately!"

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