The next day, early morning.
Baoxiang Temple.
"Feng'er, get up. After finishing the fasting meal, we are going back to the royal city."
Tang Yu's voice reached Chu Feng's ears from outside.
"You go first, I'll be back in a moment."
Chu Feng opened his eyes, put on his robe and mask and walked out the door.
When Chu Feng went to the place where Baoxiang Temple had a vegetarian meal, Chu Zhan, Tang Yu, and Chu Linglong were already here. In addition to familiar family members, there were also senior officials of Baoxiang Temple and young monks.
"Brother, come and try this red date and wolfberry rice porridge. It tastes very good."
Chu Linglong pointed to the red date and wolfberry rice porridge on the table and motioned for Chu Feng to sit next to her.
"Well, let me try it."
Chu Feng sat next to Chu Linglong, and Chu Linglong immediately served Chu Feng a bowl of rice porridge with less red dates and more wolfberry.
“It tastes really good.”
Chu Feng took a taste and nodded thoughtfully.
"Master, we came in a hurry this time and didn't prepare anything. These things are just our incense money."
Chu Zhan signaled the butler outside to come in. When the butler came in, he immediately took out a large stack of banknotes, two bottles of elixirs, and some precious medicinal materials.
"Master Yushi, you are so polite, I can't help it."
"Your coming to Baoxiang Temple has already made Baoxiang Temple more prosperous. How dare we ask for your things?"
The young monk waved his hands to refuse, but his eyes were always fixed on the banknotes, elixirs, and precious medicinal materials on the table.
It is said that the six senses of the family are pure, but it seems that this is not necessarily the case.
In fact, it’s not their fault. There are many wealthy people who come to Baoxiang Temple to offer incense and make wishes, as well as dignitaries in the court. These people occasionally talk about some luxurious life, which invisibly impresses the monks of Baoxiang Temple. I also have a yearning for luxurious life.
"Master, please don't refuse. If you don't accept the incense money, our wishes will appear to be insincere."
Chu Zhan motioned to the young monk to accept it.
Although Chu Feng on the side didn't say anything, he didn't think so in his heart.
If you want to appear sincere, do you have to give up all your wealth?
Of course, Chu Feng would not say this.
"Master Yushi, it's hard to refuse such kindness, so we, Baoxiang Temple, will accept it."
The young monk smiled with a smile on his face, and then accepted the banknotes, elixirs, and precious medicinal materials on the table.
After a while, Chu Zhan and his family finished breakfast, then got on the carriage and headed back to the royal city.
On the way, the jade slip around Chu Zhan's waist shone slightly.
"Sir, are you on official business?"
Tang Yu asked.
"I don't know, let me take a look."
Chu Zhan opened the jade slip. When he saw the contents of the jade slip, he frowned without any trace.
"There is news from the court that a plague has appeared in some counties in the south and more than half of the people have died. The king will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss countermeasures. The people in the palace asked me if I can rush back tomorrow."
"Master, if you calculate the time, we should be able to get back to the royal city tonight, and there should be no problem for the church meeting tomorrow."
Tang Yu glanced at the sky outside and then calculated.
"Um."
Chu Zhan nodded and then sent a message back to the people in the palace.
"Dad, the south of the Imperial City of the Tang Dynasty is a trade area. If a large-scale plague occurs, it may have an impact on the national strength of the Tang Dynasty."
A look of worry suddenly appeared on Chu Linglong's face.
Now that she is in love with Tang Chen, she will naturally think about Tang Chen.
"Yes, it is an important area bordering the Southern Song Dynasty and the Western Regions. Trade is prosperous. One-third of the tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty is obtained from there. If there is a problem there, it will indeed be a bit of a pain for the Tang Dynasty. "
Chu Zhan also had a solemn look on his face.
If he was just the lord of Qingcheng who lived in a small corner of the city, he wouldn't think much about it, but now he is a very humane and ministerial official, and he will naturally consider things from the perspective of the Tang Dynasty.
Next, everyone was speechless and continued on their way back to the royal city.
…
And at this time.
Tang Dynasty, southern county town, Shangcheng.
The upper city was a prosperous commercial area in the Tang Dynasty. Originally there should have been many vendors selling and trading, but now there are no vendors.
As for why?
It was entirely because of a plague that suddenly occurred a few days ago.
The plague was so fierce that it claimed the lives of 10,000 people in just two days. It scared many vendors from the Southern Song Dynasty and the Western Regions to leave Shangcheng and return to their original places. Therefore, today's Shangcheng streets are basically full of people. There was no one to be seen, and even many people in the upper city stayed behind closed doors, fearing that they would be infected with the plague.
Upper city, city lord's mansion.
In the past, there was an endless stream of guests in the City Lord's Mansion, but now the entrance to the City Lord's Mansion is very deserted.
Forget it, many of the city lord's servants resigned and left the city lord's mansion.
Regarding this, the housekeeper of the City Lord's Mansion and the City Lord were also very helpless. These servants were just working in the City Lord's Mansion and had not signed a contract of sale. They could only nod their heads and let them leave. If they were forced to stay here, they might be coveted as the City Lord. The person continued to write it down secretly and then reported it to the court.
By then, although the Lord of Shangcheng would not be forced to step down immediately, in the eyes of the imperial court, the Lord would be embarrassed by his important task.
And those servants who stayed in the city lord's mansion also wore thick bamboo hats to prevent themselves from contracting the plague.
"Lord City Lord, the officials who went to the city today still didn't come to the City Lord's Mansion for a meeting."
In the front hall of the city lord's mansion, the housekeeper said softly after seeing an old man with gray hair come in.
This gray-haired old man is none other than the city lord of Shangcheng. His name is Tang Hong. He is a descendant of the royal family. If you really want to count, he can be regarded as a distant relative of Tang Chen, although Tang Chen may have never seen this person. Tang Hong.
"With the plague now, it's normal that they don't dare to come to the city lord's mansion for a meeting."
"If you catch the plague along the way, your life will be lost."
Tang Hong was not angry that his officials did not come to the meeting, and slowly sat down at the head seat with the help of the butler.
The housekeeper also made Tang Hong a cup of ginseng tea at the right time.
"Steward, how many people died in the city today?"
Tang Hong asked in a hoarse voice after taking a sip of ginseng tea.
Since the plague broke out in the upper city, Tang Hong has aged ten years, and his voice is not as loud as before.
"Lord City Lord, according to incomplete statistics, another thousand people died."
The butler replied quietly.
Because many people evacuated the upper city, there were far fewer people dead than when the plague just started, but Tang Hong still frowned.
Although one thousand people cannot be said to be the fragmentation of a thousand families, many families have lost their loved ones.
"Lord City Lord, you have reported the plague here to the court. Hasn't the court said anything yet?"
"Aren't you going to send someone to help?"
After hesitating for a while, the housekeeper asked cautiously.
"That's not possible. The palace has already sent me a message. The king will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss countermeasures."
"I believe that after tomorrow, Wangcheng will send someone down."
After Tang Hong drank the remaining ginseng tea, he said slowly.
At this moment, the servant came outside the front hall, then bowed and said: "Lord City Lord, there is a man outside. He said there is a way to solve the plague that is prevalent in the upper city..."
