As dawn was about to break, Jingren Hall gradually filled with a stream of people. The civil and military officials fell silent upon entering the hall, dutifully taking their positions and forming neat rows.

The current emperor detested idle chatter and gossip in the court.

As the Crown Princess walked in casually from the rear and took her place at the head of the officials, Ji Yu also arrived with her guards. The officials bowed their heads, not daring to look up, and chanted in unison, “Long live Your Majesty! Long live, long live, long live!”

Ji Yu sat on the dragon throne and nodded. “Rise, my esteemed ministers.”

It was another day of listening to the same old arguments. Ji Yu boredly fiddled with the agarwood in her hand.

The first to step forward was the Minister of Rites, who spoke with thinly veiled sarcasm, accusing the Grand Commandant’s daughter of disregarding propriety and leading his own daughter astray for pleasure. The Grand Commandant was amused and immediately cursed, “Your daughter is no saint either! They went out together, but when something goes wrong, you blame it on my family? How shameless!”

A few days earlier, the Minister of Rites’ daughter and the Grand Commandant’s daughter had gotten into a fight at a brothel over a young man. As the daughter of a civil official, the Minister of Rites’ daughter was no match for the Grand Commandant’s daughter, who came from a military family. Not only was her face beaten to a pulp, but her arm was also broken.

Naturally, the Minister of Rites could not swallow this insult, so the first thing he did at court was to demand justice for his daughter.

However, no matter how eloquently the civil official spoke, he was no match for the thunderous voice of the military official. Each shout of “shameless” made the Minister of Rites’ blood pressure spike, nearly causing him to faint on the spot.

Ji Yu watched the drama unfold with her chin propped in her hand, her mind echoing with the words “shameless,” which pounded painfully in her ears. Finally, just as the Minister of Rites was about to collapse, she spoke up to summarize and resolve the matter.

After this incident, another followed, and then another. The beautiful morning hours were drained of all joy by these disputes. Ji Yu’s gaze swept over the Crown Princess, who stood as stiffly as a statue, and she sighed softly. When would she be able to pass the throne to the Crown Princess?

Just as the court session was about to conclude, Minister Shen finally stepped forward. “I have a matter to report, Your Majesty.”

“The Jiangnan water transport project is nearly complete. Previously narrow and shallow areas are now navigable for boats; numerous dangerous shoals and hidden reefs have been cleared, eliminating the risk of capsizing for passing vessels; the newly built docks are sturdy and practical, allowing efficient loading and unloading of goods. Trade along the coast is poised to flourish. However—”

Minister Shen slowly knelt. “I am deeply concerned. A sudden pandemic has broken out in Jiangnan. I implore Your Majesty to swiftly implement relief measures.”

Ji Yu and Ji Zhaoyi were both startled. Ji Zhaohé was still in Jiangnan!

Ji Yu said, “What strategies do you propose, Minister? Speak quickly!”

Minister Shen replied, “I request that Your Majesty urgently allocate sufficient silver, grain, and medicinal supplies to be sent to Jiangnan. Summon renowned physicians to go there. The pandemic is spreading relentlessly. I request to go to Jiangnan to oversee the overall situation.”

Ji Yu responded promptly, “Approved. Minister, quickly take personnel and go. If the relief efforts are successful, you will be heavily rewarded upon your return.”

After the court session, Ji Yu immediately dispatched a team of secret guards to Jiangnan to escort the Third Princess back to the capital overnight. The Imperial Consort wore a worried expression, sighing from time to time. “I never should have allowed her to go. With her temperament, she’s probably just been playing around there.”

Ji Yu patted his hand. “Don’t worry. Minister Shen’s own son is also there. She is equally concerned and will surely handle it well.”

Tears welled up in the Imperial Consort’s eyes. “Your Majesty, the pandemic is highly contagious. If she were to be infected, given Yu’er’s delicate health, she might not survive! Moreover, the fortune-teller once said that Yu’er would not live past…”

“Enough,” Ji Yu interrupted him. She was also worried and anxious, but at this moment, there was nothing to do but wait. Ji Yue was her most beloved daughter, and she did not want her to suffer this ordeal.

As for the fortune-teller’s words, they could not be entirely believed.

…

“Is the medicine ready?” Ji Zhaohé urged.

Jiang Deming replied, “Almost, almost. The servants will bring it up shortly. But Your Highness… you are of noble status—you must not personally deliver the medicine! Let Fu Jiu handle this.”

Fu Jiu nodded. “Your Highness, I have taken care of the master’s daily needs since childhood. I won’t make any mistakes.”

The story of Shen Qingtang’s illness began three days earlier.

The night before, the two had been causing too much commotion in the room and decided not to go out. The next day, they went to nearby Fengming Mountain and spent the day there. On their way back at sunset, they encountered several young boys begging on the streets of the city. Shen Qingtang couldn’t bear it and personally got out of the carriage to give them some silver. On the third day, he developed a high fever.

Ji Zhaohé was all too familiar with these symptoms: fever, cough, and headache. As a modern person, she could recite this progression by heart, especially since she was a medical student.

So, Ji Zhaohé urgently arranged for Shen Qingtang to be isolated in the east wing. Aside from delivering meals, no one was allowed to enter. She also instructed Qingque to investigate the situation in the city and inform the local magistrate to arrange for the isolation of those exhibiting coughs and fevers.

However, the city’s medical supplies were limited, and the number of infected people was overwhelming. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment was slow and complex. Within just a few days, the infected were everywhere, spreading through every alley in the city. The once bustling streets were now filled with sorrow.

For a moment, Ji Zhaohé considered escaping. She told herself this was just a book, and she was merely an observer. There was no need to get involved in these matters—it would be exhausting and thankless. Once she left, everything she did would be meaningless.

She just wanted to laze around, survive until she could go home.

But as she stood on the desolate street, watching one stretcher after another carrying bodies, her heart suddenly felt hollow.

The medical resources here were too poor. A common cold could take a life, let alone such a fierce pandemic. Even though Jiangnan had many wealthy people, medicinal herbs were scarce and expensive. Moreover, the people here didn’t even know which medicines could truly cure the disease.

Ji Zhaohé hardened her heart, forcing herself not to interfere. If she got involved, she would inevitably expose herself. As a member of the royal family, if she did something inappropriate and was discovered not to be the original host, the consequences would be unimaginable. What awaited her would not be the praise of the people but the suspicion of the royal family—the emperor’s most beloved daughter had been possessed.

But Shen Qingtang was also infected. After taking a dose of medicine, his condition worsened. Although she knew that treatment had a process and symptoms often peaked in the middle phase, hearing Rabbit’s heart-wrenching coughs from outside the door still made her deeply uncomfortable.

Even when Shen Qingtang was angry, his voice wasn’t as loud as these coughs. If he didn’t survive and died, Minister Shen would still rebel, the original female lead would still succeed in seizing the throne, and she would still meet her end.

Thinking of her fate in the book, Ji Zhaohé broke out in goosebumps.

“Jiang Deming, prepare the medicine according to the formula I mentioned: ephedra 9 grams, roasted licorice 6 grams, apricot kernel 9 grams, skullcap root 6 grams…”

While waiting for the medicine, Ji Zhaohé declined the chair brought by a servant and squatted outside the door, resting her chin in her hands and staring at the ground, Shen Qingtang’s coughs echoing in her ears.

It was just a matter of dying early or dying late. Perhaps if she died, she would transmigrate back. She comforted herself.

Ji Zhaohé hung her head, her voice muffled. “Jiang Deming, take the formula I just mentioned to the county magistrate. Have them brew it quickly and distribute it to the infected.”

The moral dilemma she faced now was very similar to what she had encountered during her internship. In class, she had resisted her teacher’s “PUA” by insisting she would never step forward to help in an emergency after work. But in reality, whenever she encountered one, she ran faster than anyone else. It was hard to say whether it was a conditioned reflex from training or her own bizarre conscience acting up.

If only the salary were higher…

But now, with her status, she had power and money. Doing something wouldn’t hurt. She could treat it as volunteer work before enjoying her transmigrated life.

It was just that after saving others, she would be killed…

Ji Zhaohé suddenly remembered a viral short video she had seen: “I woke up to find the world’s medical standards had regressed a thousand years, but mine remained the same. Before surgery, department directors gathered to analyze the emergency patient’s scans with grave expressions. Then I, an intern, stepped out from the corner and pinpointed the surgical site with precision. The room fell into dead silence, followed by cheers echoing through the hospital. The directors exclaimed that I was a once-in-a-century medical genius, vying to have me in their departments. The hospital director immediately rushed over to promote me to vice director, begging me to stay and lead them to glory.”

Under the video, comments flooded in: “Seems like a hallucination from eating too much cheap takeout,” “How much did you drink to dream like this?” “Seems like a fantasy after being hit by a disgruntled patient’s family,” “Seems like a hallucination from pulling an all-nighter and nearly dying…”

Now, it felt like others were joking, while she was looking in the mirror.

Was it still too late to run away with the money…?

Or perhaps a master would descend from the heavens, enlighten her, unblock her meridians, and flood her brain with medical knowledge beyond her control.

Or maybe a deity, unable to bear the suffering of the people, would possess her and guide her actions.

Honestly, when she used to read novels, these ideas seemed plausible. But now, facing it herself, she realized how absurd it was—it treated the most intelligent and scheming characters in novels like fools. Even a dog wouldn’t believe these excuses.

If only this were a cultivation world…

Ji Zhaohé squatted by the door, lost in wild fantasies, until the medicine was finally ready. Just as she was about to take it inside, Jiang Deming stopped her.

Jiang Deming pleaded earnestly, while Fu Jiu watched her with eager eyes.

For a moment, Ji Zhaohé wanted to blurt out that she had lived through a very, very severe pandemic and had antibodies! But then she remembered she was in a new body, one that hadn’t been vaccinated. In the end, she stepped aside to let Fu Jiu enter.

Although this was a rare opportunity to perform a deeply moving scene of marital devotion—looking at Shen Qingtang with tearful eyes and declaring, “If you die, I won’t remain in this world alone”—her own life was still the priority. Shen Qingtang wouldn’t want her to go in either. If she got infected, he would surely blame himself to death.

She was doing this for his sake. He was the type to bottle things up, which could easily make him sick.

How were protective suits made again? She should have the servants make one ASAP. If not, she could just wrap herself up tightly—though the weather was too hot, and it would be stifling.

Heavens! Earth! How did she end up back in her old profession?! Didn’t she swear that in her next life, she’d rather be a dog than study medicine?!