It only took five days to send all the heroic spirits and female relatives of Xingluo County back home.
In Longyuan City, Ren Ning and Lei Er rarely had free time and were shopping after dinner.
The streets are busy with cars and people coming and going.
"Why don't you stay at home for a few days?" Ren Ning asked.
Among the fifteen coffins that came back this time, Lei Er's eldest brother Lei Yi was also among them. He had just sent the coffins home, but he ran out within half a day.
Lei Er bought a bunch of roadside snacks and was eating them with gusto.
He didn't even raise his head, "It's boring to be at home. I'm crying all the time. I feel upset, so I might as well go out and stay with my brothers."
Ren Ning nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
"Where are you, Lao Ren?" Lei Er asked back: "The team will go to Yingchuan County tomorrow. Since it's not far away, why don't you go back to the ancestral home of your Ren family to have a look?"
"Why?" Ren Ning smiled.
"I grew up in the imperial capital, and this is the first time I have set foot on the land of Xingluo. I am completely unfamiliar with the people here. I guess no one will recognize me when I go there, so I won't go there to join in the fun."
He wasn't going to go back to Ren's ancestral home to join in the fun, but outsiders eagerly came over.
Across the street, the third prince Chen Xiuzhu was riding a tall horse and waved to Ren Ning and Ren Ning with a cheerful face.
Lei Er's tone was strange and he lowered his voice.
"It's been so long since the Qingming Festival, but the third prince hasn't returned to the imperial capital yet, and he's often 'accidentally bumped into' us in the past few days. He's not afraid of the imperial capital's taboo either."
After all, he is the commander, so Ren Ning knows better.
"During the Qingming Festival, the royal family sent a total of three princes back to pay homage to their ancestors. Later, they learned that there was an epidemic in Yunzhong County next door, and the other two princes returned to the imperial capital early. Chen Xiuzhu stayed to appease people."
"To appease people's hearts? Hehe." Lei Er smiled disdainfully, "In this Longyuan City? Shouldn't we go to Yunzhong County?"
At this time, Chen Xiuzhu's bodyguard had already walked over, "Commander Ren, Second Young Master Lei, my Highness invites you two to go to the restaurant to have a drink and listen to music."
Ren Ning frowned.
In the past few days, he had refused several times on the grounds of his responsibilities. The two of them looked up at the sky and felt that they could no longer refuse, so they walked over.
After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them entered a restaurant not far away together.
The restaurant is luxuriously decorated, and there is even a beautiful dancer twisting her waist on the stage, which is a bit like the bar of later generations. However, the dancer does not show so much, and there is no deafening background dance music blasting the street.
The three of them went to the private seats on the second floor and sat down separately for the guests of honor.
There was no electronic music, the door was closed, and the lounge was quiet.
The shopkeeper recognized Chen Xiuzhu and hurriedly bowed his head and came over to greet him personally.
After serving the wine and fruit plate, Chen Xiuzhu spoke.
He asked the same question as Lei Er.
"Cousin Ren has come back from the Western Frontier all the way. He has been running around to see the spirits for the past few days. It's been a hard work. But don't forget to go back to the Ren family's ancestral temple to offer incense."
Ren Ning and Lei Er looked at each other.
Most of the noble families in the imperial capital are related by marriage, so it is not surprising that Chen Xiuzhu calls Ren Ning his cousin.
But Chen Xiuzhu must also know the details of Ren Ning. He is an illegitimate son, and there is no genealogy of Ren Ning's family yet. He is in a high position and still calls him so affectionately, which inevitably makes people think too much.
"The emperor's destiny is greater than heaven, and the family is just a trivial matter in comparison. When his responsibilities are over, if there is still time, Ren Ning will definitely go back to the ancestral temple to visit."
Lei Er nodded while stuffing peanuts into his mouth.
"What Lao Ren said is that there is no rush in offering incense and so on. Of course sending the spirit is the most important thing. Less than half a day after I sent my brother's coffin back to my hometown, I hurried out to help."
Ren Ning wiped the sweat silently in his heart.
He replaced the wine with tea and chatted for a few more words before asking: "Your Highness, if everything goes well, our team will head to Yunzhong County in four or five days. I wonder what the epidemic situation is there?"
Before Chen Xiuzhu opened his mouth, Lei Er had already taken over the conversation.
"Old Ren, do you want to ask His Highness about this?" He ate the food on the table like a cloud, "I think Yunzhong County should be fine by now."
"Look at Xingluo here, the people are eating and playing, but they don't seem to know there is any epidemic. It's fair to say that the people are not afraid if they don't know."
"The Third Highness should be aware of the situation. Therefore, Yunzhong County should be fine soon."
Chen Xiuzhu was speechless and could only mumble a few words to fool him.
Neither said the situation is getting better nor that it is not getting better.
Ren Ning is the security commander and is responsible for the entire team. He doesn't dare to fool around like this.
He stared at Chen Xiuzhu with a keen eye, "Your Highness, our ancestors said that there will be great epidemics after major disasters, or during lean times, people will eat randomly to fill their stomachs and they will easily contract epidemic diseases."
"There have been no major disasters in Yunzhong County in recent years. Three months ago was around the time of the Chinese New Year. How could an epidemic occur?"
"This..." Chen Xiuzhu smiled bitterly and spread his hands, "Father has ordered the imperial doctors to come over to investigate the origin. But the most important thing at the moment is to treat the people and control the epidemic. Let's put everything else aside first."
Lei Er next to him spoke again: "Then our team will be able to enter Yunzhong County in a few days. I finally took a vacation, and I still want to have fun everywhere, so don't get stuck here and never complete the mission."
Chen Xiuzhu had a headache and glared at this guy who was eating and drinking angrily, "Second Master Lei, don't worry, you will definitely be able to get in."
As for whether it can come out, it's hard to say.
The three of them chatted east and west for a long time. Seeing that it was getting late, Ren Ning took Lei Er away on the pretext of going back to the prefect's mansion to check on the team's situation.
In the restaurant, Chen Xiuzhu stood by the window sill, watching Ren Ning and the two slowly walk away.
"Your Highness, this illegitimate son of the Ren family is too ignorant of current affairs."
"Yes." Chen Xiuzhu nodded and changed his tone: "Have you found out what that thing called a telescope looks like?"
The guard shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, Lord Lieutenant, had someone look through the entire fleet, but nothing strange was seen. Presumably, this kind of treasure should be carried with him."
"There wasn't anything particularly obvious about him just now."
The guard hesitated for a moment, "Except for the two short knives on his waist, I don't see anything unusual about him."
"Two daggers?"
"There are two of them. One of them is murderous even when it is sheathed. The other one..." The guard looked at the gorgeous sword on Chen Xiuzhu's waist and said no more.
After adjusting his clothes, Chen Xiuzhu said: "Go and check carefully. We must find out what is going on with this telescope."
Ren Ning doesn't know this.
The next day, he left Lei Er to take care of the female relatives and ashes of Yunzhong County. He and Ma Dali led the team to Yingchuan County in the southeast.
Five days later, Ren Ning and a soldier finished delivering the last altar of ashes, and they were preparing to drive back to the capital of Yingchuan.
He glanced at it accidentally and suddenly frowned.
On the front left is an ordinary village. The cry in the village is shocking, and some people have hung up white flags and are doing white things.
Under the golden finger, the crowd wearing sackcloth and mourning was filled with red.
Ren Ning's heart was beating fast.
He stared closely at a middle-aged man who had just turned from yellow to red, watching his red value slowly rise from 1 to 30. The door frame around him also began to slowly turn red when he touched it.
A young neighbor's child ran over, leaned against the door frame and looked inside curiously.
Not long after, his color began to change from yellow to red, and the value slowly increased.
Epidemic!
I don't know where it has spread to Hotukawa County, and even further.