Physician Jiang nodded vigorously beside him. They both understood that Liu Hongji’s words just now were not mere threats. Once Li Shimin died from the epidemic, the two of them would immediately lose their heads. Therefore, no matter how slim the hope, they had to try.

Li Shimin carefully recalled and frowned, saying, “I have been in the military camp these past two days and have not gone elsewhere. As for things I’ve touched… there was nothing unusual.”

His answer left Physicians Jiang and Qi deflated. Unable to find the source meant not knowing the cause of this epidemic, truly leaving them with no way to proceed. It was also strange – according to medical texts, every large-scale epidemic transmission had warning signs beforehand, but this time there were no signs at all. It suddenly erupted, truly puzzling. They hoped Du Ruhui’s side could discover something.

Physician Jiang barely steadied himself and said, “I will go down to research a prescription. Before that, except for those who have taken the preventive medicine, please temporarily avoid contact with others, Your Majesty, to prevent transmission.” He was extremely careful and cautious with his latter words to avoid accidentally displeasing Li Shimin.

Fortunately, Li Shimin was not an unreasonable person and nodded, “I understand. You may go.”

After the two left the tent, Liu Hongji comforted, “Your Majesty is blessed by heaven and is the true Son of Heaven. I believe this epidemic is merely a small trial for Your Majesty and will soon pass.”

Li Shimin said hoarsely, “At this point, Sir, are you still trying to deceive me?”

Liu Hongji was silent for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, “I am not deceiving Your Majesty. Your Majesty is a person chosen by heaven’s mandate. I believe that no matter how difficult and arduous the path ahead, Your Majesty will ultimately overcome it!”

Li Shimin wanted to laugh, but the muscles in his face seemed petrified. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move them, so he gave up. “I want to be alone for a while. Sir, please leave first.”

Liu Hongji also knew that Li Shimin’s mind was extremely chaotic at the moment, so he nodded and withdrew. After only he remained in the tent, Li Shimin leaned back against the chair and gazed forlornly at the tent roof. The epidemic… He had fought for half his life, endured the merciless blades and swords on battlefields, endured Li Yuan’s coldness and Li Jiancheng’s schemes. After ascending to the throne, he wholeheartedly wanted to create a powerful golden age of the Great Tang, but now he was afflicted by an epidemic. How ironic.

Scene after scene from the past flashed before his eyes, finally settling on a slender figure. Yunyi… Before leaving Chang’an, he had promised Yunyi that he would definitely return safely. Now it seemed… he would likely break his word.

“I’m sorry, Yunyi… I’m sorry!”

With this low murmur, Li Shimin painfully closed his eyes. He had once thought he would never fear anything in this life, but it turned out he was wrong. He feared not being able to lead this empire to its peak, feared never seeing Yunyi and Wugou again who were wholeheartedly waiting for his return, feared not being able to save those soldiers who had followed him to Luoyang, causing them to perish here. Every soldier had parents, wives, and children at home eagerly waiting for their return. Every soldier who died meant destroying a family’s hope. Now, over ten thousand soldiers had already died, and with the epidemic’s transmission and spread, how many would ultimately die remained unknown!

Li Shimin felt an unprecedented sense of defeat. Most tragically, he who had countless times led his soldiers to resolve crises and turn defeat into victory was now completely helpless.

After Liu Hongji left the tent, he immediately found Du Ruhui to discuss. When the latter learned that Li Shimin had also contracted the epidemic, he was shocked and pale. After barely calming down, he said, “How is His Majesty now?”

“Currently just fever, no major problems for now. The physicians are already trying to find a solution.” Having answered thus, Liu Hongji turned and said, “Is there any lead on the source?”

Hearing this, Du Ruhui immediately sighed, “No, I carefully questioned those sick soldiers. Their range of movement these past days has been limited to within the military camp, and the things they’ve contacted are no different from usual. I really can’t think of where this source might be.”

Liu Hongji frowned tightly, “His Majesty is the same, but since this is epidemic transmission, there must be an initial starting point.” After a pause, he said, “Do the soldiers know about the epidemic?”

“I feared it would shake military morale, so I didn’t say anything temporarily. I originally wanted His Majesty to address this matter, but I didn’t expect even His Majesty to…” He sighed, “Just in that short while, several more soldiers showed fever symptoms, including soldiers previously wounded in siege battles. Moreover, more and more soldiers are discussing this matter. I’m afraid it can’t be concealed much longer.”

Liu Hongji’s eyes darkened without speaking. If Li Shimin hadn’t fallen ill, with his usual prestige in the army, perhaps he could still suppress the matter. But now… sigh, things were becoming increasingly troublesome.

“Let’s conceal it as long as possible. As long as His Majesty is fine, this matter can ultimately be endured. I just fear…” Liu Hongji didn’t continue his latter words, but how could Du Ruhui not understand? He sighed deeply without speaking.

After a moment of silence, Liu Hongji’s heart suddenly stirred, “You just said that even soldiers previously wounded in siege battles contracted the epidemic. Are there many?”

“Very many, almost all of them showed fever symptoms, and several even developed blisters. I’ve managed to isolate them, but the epidemic is developing very quickly.”

“Blisters…” Liu Hongji thoughtfully repeated, then said, “This means they contracted the epidemic early on. They were very likely the first batch to contract the epidemic!” As he spoke, he said, “Come, let’s go question them. Perhaps we can find the source!”

Du Ruhui immediately nodded and led Liu Hongji to the tent where that group of soldiers was isolated. Upon entering, they saw dozens of soldiers lying in rows on simple beds, most unconscious, with the occasional few who were awake emitting low groans.

“Sir, look here.” Following the direction of Du Ruhui’s pointing finger, Liu Hongji saw two men lying at the very back with soybean-sized blisters on their faces. Probably due to itching, the two men occasionally scratched with their hands, and one person’s face had already been scratched open in several places, with pus mixed with blood flowing out, looking somewhat horrifying.

As soon as they saw Liu Hongji arrive, the two men quickly propped themselves up and said urgently, “Sir Liu, what illness do we have exactly? Will we recover?”

Liu Hongji walked to them and comforted, “The physicians said you were only infected with a cold. They are already prescribing medicine. After drinking the medicine, you’ll get better. Don’t worry too much.”

Hearing this, the two men were somewhat reassured, but still had some doubts. One of them said, “I’ve had colds before, but never had blisters on my face. Sir Liu, is it really just a cold?”