Jun Huailang was shaken awake by Jinbao.
He only felt that he had slept deeply and heavily. He had worked until very late the previous night and had fallen asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
Yet after falling asleep, it was as though he had been trapped in a dark, heavy dream and simply could not wake up.
Jinbao had a great deal of difficulty getting him awake.
Jun Huailang woke in a daze, his vision blurry. He could only vaguely make out someone in front of him calling his name anxiously.
“Your Highness, please wake up! I’ve already sent someone to fetch a physician. He’ll be here soon!” Jinbao said anxiously.
Jun Huailang regained a little more awareness.
“What’s wrong with me?” he asked with a frown.
He braced one hand against the bed and placed the other against his forehead. But his palm was just as hot as his forehead, making it impossible to tell how high his temperature was.
Jinbao was so anxious that tears were already threatening to fall.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. It’s just a little fever,” Jinbao said, his voice trembling slightly as he brought him a cup of hot tea.
Jun Huailang frowned at him.
“Just a fever?” he asked. “Then why are you panicking?”
Jinbao trembled, his eyes red-rimmed, and dared not answer.
What if this really is an epidemic…? If it really is an epidemic, what are they going to do?
An epidemic did not care who a person was. Whether one was a member of the imperial family or a powerful noble, once infected, there might be no cure.
Back then, how many officials sent south to control the floods had died from epidemics?
And if Jinling truly had an epidemic this time, there was no known source and no explanation for it. A strange disease like this was even more terrifying than an epidemic caused by the dead.
Whenever something like this happened, people would say it was a sign that Heaven wanted to destroy the dynasty!
Jun Huailang stared at Jinbao’s expression.
After a moment, he paused.
“Why do you look like this?” he slowly asked. “Has an epidemic broken out?”
Jinbao hurriedly said, “No! His Highness merely has a fever. You’ve probably been exhausted these past few days and caught a chill…”
But his voice was clearly choked with emotion.
Jun Huailang forced himself to sit up.
“Leave,” he said.
Jinbao was confused.
“I said leave. Didn’t you hear me?” Jun Huailang said.
Jinbao had never seen him so stern before and was startled. He hurriedly stumbled backward several steps.
“From now on, no one is allowed to come near me to serve me. That is an order.”
Jun Huailang struggled to sit upright and spoke hoarsely.
“If you need to give me anything, stand there and wait. Remember?”
Jinbao froze, finally understanding what Jun Huailang meant.
Jun Huailang had determined that he had contracted the epidemic.
That was why he was issuing such a strict order—to prevent the disease from spreading to anyone else.
Tears slipped down Jinbao’s cheeks.
“This servant has only one worthless life! What does it matter?” Jinbao choked out as he knelt and bowed his head. “His Highness has a fever. How can you possibly be left without anyone to attend to you?”
“Don’t say another word.”
Jun Huailang pressed a hand against his forehead, enduring the dizziness brought on by the high fever.
“Did someone come to report something? Go and bring them in immediately. As for the physician, don’t let him come inside. Have him wait outside.”
Jinbao knelt on the floor.
“And put up a screen where you’re standing now,” Jun Huailang continued. “From now on, no one is allowed to take even half a step past the screen.”
Jinbao could only cry.
If someone had deliberately wanted to harm the Heir—to kill him or injure him—there would at least be ways to deal with them.
But an epidemic like this left people completely helpless.
Not to mention Jinbao—even if his master were here, what could he possibly do?
And judging from the current situation, the Heir was among the first people to become infected. With epidemics, even when a cure was eventually found, those infected first often couldn’t survive long enough to see it.
If Heaven truly did not want Great Yong to have peace and insisted on sending down disaster, then why couldn’t it open its eyes and let a good person like His Highness live in peace?
Jinbao could not stop crying.
Then he heard Jun Huailang’s voice.
“Jinbao.”
His voice was hoarse and exhausted, weak and threadlike, barely reaching Jinbao’s ears.
“Carry out my orders,” he said. “I don’t have the energy for this. I can’t afford to argue or waste time.”
Jinbao wiped away his tears, choked out an acknowledgment, and ran outside.
Not long afterward, the screen was put up.
Jun Huailang awkwardly and slowly pulled open the bed curtains.
Ever since he was born, he had always had a large number of servants attending to him. He had never personally handled such trivial tasks.
But now, when the bed curtains were pulled open, there was no one there.
The sunlight gradually brightening outside the window was blocked by a single screen.
Jun Huailang fell into thought.
According to the official records from his previous life, the epidemic had been caused by the disaster, unrest, and famine that had left Jinling littered with corpses, which in turn triggered the disease.
But in this life, he had been extremely careful and had never allowed such circumstances to develop.
Even on the day the embankment burst, when people had died in the disaster, he had immediately ordered Magistrate Shen to have people collect and bury the bodies.
Epidemics were generally caused by decomposing corpses.
So how could one have appeared early, when everything was still peaceful?
If this were left to the people to interpret, they would surely say that Heaven had sent down a calamity to destroy Great Yong.
But Jun Huailang knew that none of the strange things happening in Jiangnan could possibly have come from Heaven.
They had to be man-made.
Therefore, this sudden epidemic must have been caused by people as well.
He endured the dizziness of his fever and began recalling the fragments of information from the historical records of his previous life.
According to the records, those infected by this disease would develop persistent fevers that were difficult to bring down.
The disease was also highly contagious. Anyone who came into contact with an infected person had a fifty percent chance of becoming infected.
The epidemic had begun at the end of July and lasted for more than a month. The capital had sent many renowned physicians, yet even they had been helpless.
It wasn’t until autumn arrived in Jiangnan that the epidemic inexplicably disappeared.
Afterward, Jiangnan never experienced such a strange disease again.
But it wasn’t even July yet.
Patients who developed high fevers would die from the heat within half a month at most, and within seven days at the least.
In his previous life, Jinling had endured the epidemic for an entire month and suffered enormous casualties, with countless people dying.
If things dragged on until that time in this life as well, then setting aside whether Jun Huailang himself would still be alive, the entire city of Jinling would likely become a city of the dead.
Just then, the official entered.
“Your Highness?”
His voice trembled slightly.
He had just heard the eunuch say that the Heir had also developed a fever that morning.
This was not the season when people were prone to catching colds. Given the circumstances, there was an overwhelming possibility that this nobleman had also been infected.
The situation, which had already been serious, had now become even more difficult to deal with.
Hearing his voice, Jun Huailang gave a quiet hum.
“How is the situation now?” he asked.
The official hurriedly replied, “Quite a few of the physicians and workers have developed fevers. They haven’t recovered after several days. Instead, the illness has begun spreading…”
“It was only these past two days that the officials below realized something was wrong. We found physicians to examine them, and only then did we come to report to Your Highness. We delayed the matter and truly deserve death…”
He was taking the blame upon himself.
But Jun Huailang said, “It has nothing to do with you. I only want to know this: since the disease is contagious, where are all those who have developed fevers now?”
After all, people falling ill with fevers was an entirely ordinary occurrence.
Unless there was widespread transmission, it would be difficult for officials to notice anything unusual.
That was precisely why epidemics often struck so violently and were so difficult to prevent or control. By the time they were discovered, it was usually already too late.
Now, they could only find a way to control the outbreak and make up for what had already happened.
The official hurriedly said, “They’ve already been gathered in one place.”
Jun Huailang gave a quiet hum.
“Report to Magistrate Shen. Prepare their daily meals and medicine. Make absolutely sure they have everything they need each day and keep them reassured. Otherwise, if any of the sick escape from the quarantine area, the epidemic will spread further.”
The official hurriedly committed every word to memory.
Jun Huailang continued, “And as for the medicine and physicians, have them prescribe the most ordinary heat-clearing and detoxifying formula. It should at least be of some use.”
After all, according to the historical records from his previous life, that most ordinary heat-clearing medicine was indeed the only treatment that had shown some effect during the epidemic.
Even though it could not cure the disease, it could at least delay death for some time.
The official hurriedly acknowledged the order.
Jun Huailang paused before continuing.
“Continue reporting the situation to me every day. Tell my father that the epidemic must first be contained, and the people reassured. Then send an urgent report to Chang’an immediately.”
“And search everywhere for physicians. No matter what, as long as there is even the slightest possibility of finding a cure, don’t give up.”
The official acknowledged again.
“There’s nothing else…”
“As for the soldiers guarding the quarantine area, make sure they stay away from the patients,” Jun Huailang said. “Keep as much distance as possible. If they absolutely must approach them, make sure to cover as much of their bodies as possible and avoid direct contact.”
He didn’t know whether this method would actually work.
But there was nothing else they could do for now.
After all, the disease spread between living people. It certainly couldn’t spread to inanimate objects, could it?
They could only give it a try.
The official acknowledged the order.
Jun Huailang said, “That’s all. Make sure every word reaches the others.”
The official hesitated before speaking.
“…Then, Your Highness, what about you?”
Jun Huailang looked toward the screen.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Just have someone deliver my meals and medicine as usual every day.”
The official hesitated before cautiously suggesting, “Your Highness, you should still let the physician outside come in and examine you. What if you haven’t contracted the epidemic and have merely caught a chill?”
Jun Huailang gave a quiet laugh.
“Can a physician tell whether it’s an epidemic or merely a cold?” he said. “If it’s only a cold, it will resolve on its own. There’s no need to worry.”
He paused.
His mind was now a complete blur.
After arranging the important matters, there was only one person left in his thoughts.
“…Wait.”
Just as the official was about to leave, Jun Huailang suddenly spoke.
The official immediately stopped.
“If someone set out for Shandong on the day the imperial edict was received…” Jun Huailang asked. “Where should they have reached today?”
The official didn’t know why he was asking, but after carefully calculating, he answered, “If they traveled in haste, they might already have arrived today.”
Jun Huailang paused.
A moment later, he gave a quiet hum.
“No one is allowed to spread word of my illness,” he said. “Especially if anyone tries to send a letter out. Stop them.”
The official was puzzled.
“But…”
Jun Huailang withdrew his gaze and quietly looked at the thin strands of sunlight filtering in beneath the screen.
“Don’t ask any more questions. Just do as I say.”
His mind was filled entirely with Xue Yan.
Yet he didn’t want to see him at all.
Because he knew that his orders could stop everyone else.
But they could never stop Xue Yan.
No matter how capable he was, even if he could reach Heaven or descend into the depths of the earth, he was still made of flesh and blood.
He could not withstand a raging epidemic like this.
Even after being reborn, Jun Huailang had no confidence that he could control this epidemic.
He only knew that he could stake everything on one desperate attempt.
But there was one condition.
He wanted Xue Yan to be safe and sound.