Jin Anazi didn’t argue with her: “Lin Leyun, let me ask you, if someone you care about was innocent, completely blameless, yet died tragically because of others, would you seek revenge?”
Lin Ting stopped trying to persuade Jin Anazi.
If something happened to Li Jingqiu or Tao Zhu because of others, she would definitely make the perpetrator pay double.
Jin Anazi still had matters to attend to and didn’t have time to talk further with Lin Ting so he said:
“I’ll take my leave now.”
She grabbed him and warned, “When you’re gathering information, try to avoid East Street. Don’t go in there—it’s really dangerous.”
“Didn’t you tell me that a few days ago?”
Lin Ting snorted, “I did tell you, but I’m afraid you’ll forget. You rely on your martial arts skills and go everywhere recklessly. You need to understand that no illness will spare you just because you’re skilled.”
Behind the mask, Jin Anazi’s expression remained blank as he asked:
“Do you think I’m like you? Has anyone ever told you that you can be quite nagging sometimes?”
Lin Ting: “……”
Her good intentions were completely wasted.
Fine, let him do as he pleases.
They parted ways outside the palace gates.
Lin Ting took a detour back to the Lin residence, choosing the North Long Street, which was the farthest from East Street.
Halfway there, she overheard passersby saying that the Imperial Guards had announced the plague and had swiftly sealed off East Street just two quarters of an hour ago.
From today onward, except for the Imperial Guards, no unauthorized personnel were allowed to enter or leave East Street.
Lin Ting understood the Imperial Guards had confirmed it was the plague and immediately implemented quarantine measures.
Never mind, it’s best to hurry back home.
After today, she wouldn’t go out again until the plague was over.
At that moment, chaos erupted ahead.
Instinct told Lin Ting that something was wrong-she needed to escape, to leave North Long Street as quickly as possible.
She immediately turned around and started running.
Others were running behind her, shouting as they ran, warning everyone:
“Run! There’s someone who escaped from East Street! He’s infected! His face is rotting! He’ll spread it to us!”
Lin Ting cursed her bad luck.
She had deliberately avoided East Street to return home, yet she still encountered someone who had escaped from there.
Lin Ting ran with all her might, but just as she was about to exit North Long Street, she was stopped by the Imperial Guards who had received the news.
She couldn’t leave.
Because someone infected had escaped from East Street into North Long Street, they weren’t sure if anyone in the street had come into contact with him, so they had to seal off this area as well, waiting for further instructions from their superiors.
Knowing she couldn’t leave, Lin Ting grabbed some disinfectant from a chaotic pharmacy, didn’t forget to leave silver, and then dissolved the medicine in water, soaking a cloth to make a makeshift mask, firmly covering her nose and mouth.
Better than nothing.
The Imperial Guards stationed at the street corners also wore cloth masks soaked in medicinal water.
They had received these masks from the Northern Garrison before coming on duty, which were better than her homemade one.
Lin Ting crouched in a corner near the Imperial Guards, making sure no one had a chance to touch her.
Actually, Lin Ting had initially made more than one “mask” and tried to give them to the panicked passersby, but they ignored her, only wanting to find connections to leave North Long Street and avoid being quarantined by the Imperial Guards.
As Lin Ting crouched until her legs went numb, she heard a familiar voice, and her heart stirred slightly.
She instinctively looked up.
Leading the troops was Duan Ling.
He wasn’t wearing a mask, holding a spring-autumn saber in his hand, his crimson official robe as red as blood.
His expression was gentle, yet he seemed unfazed by the chaos in North Long Street.
Without a hint of sympathy for the cries and wails, he simply said, “Those who disobey the Imperial Guard’s orders will be killed. Those who attempt to escape will be killed…”
His words abruptly stopped as Duan Ling caught sight of Lin Ting crouched in the corner, her arms wrapped around her knees, tilting her head to look at him.
Even though Lin Ting’s face was partially covered with a patchwork of handkerchiefs, he recognized her immediately.
Duan Ling’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened.
Emperor Jiade believed that since the infected could not be cured and would eventually die, allowing them to live a few more days would only spread the disease to others.
It was better to gather the infected and secretly execute them, claiming they had succumbed to the illness, thus sending them on their way early.
In other words, once diagnosed with the disease, death was inevitable.
The Imperial Guards didn’t understand why Duan Ling had paused, nor did they notice him looking at the person in the corner.
After a brief moment of confusion, one of them asked, “Sir?”
Duan Ling didn’t respond.
Instead, he stepped past the guards blocking the street and walked straight toward Lin Ting, calmly asking, “Why are you here?”
Lin Ting stood up, seeing no reason to hide anything and said: “I was detained while passing through.”
“Did you come into contact with anyone from East Street?”
Lin Ting shook her head and replied:
“No. By the way, Ling Yun went to the East Palace with me. Has she returned safely to the residence?”
Duan Ling lowered his gaze to meet hers and asked again:
“She has returned. Weren’t you with her when you went to the East Palace? Why didn’t you return with her?”
She didn’t elaborate and simply said: “There were some urgent matters I needed to attend to, so I didn’t take the carriage back.”
Duan Ling said, “You won’t be able to leave for now. You’ll need to stay on North Long Street for three days. During this time, anyone showing signs of fever or bodily decay will be deemed to have contracted the plague. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
Lin Ting felt that fate was playing a cruel joke on her.
She had advised others to be careful, yet here she was, the one being quarantined.
But since things had come to this, she would face whatever came her way.
Being temporarily isolated and unable to return to the Lin residence didn’t necessarily mean she would contract the disease.
Duan Ling looked at Lin Ting for a long while before suddenly asking, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Lin Ting glanced at his face, noticing he wasn’t wearing a mask so she said: “Be careful. Wear a mask when you go out.”
The Imperial Guards, like doctors, were constantly exposed to the infected, putting them at high risk.
“Is that all?”
She thought for a moment and added:
“Also, please tell my mother and Tao Zhu that I’m fine and will return in three days.”
He pressed further, “Nothing else?”
Lin Ting pondered again: “Give the infected more indigo root to drink. It might help them hold on until you find a cure for the plague.”
The original text didn’t mention how the plague eventually disappeared, but since it did, there must have been a treatment found.
Though it might take some time.
Duan Ling’s expression shifted slightly as he softly repeated her last words, his tone ambiguous:
“Help them hold on until we find a cure for the plague?”
Lin Ting sensed something off in his tone and was about to ask what was wrong when an Imperial Guard approached him.
Many people were trapped on North Long Street today, including noble youths, ladies from prestigious families, and officials on leave.
They were clamoring to leave, and Duan Ling needed to handle the situation.
Before Duan Ling could speak, the noble youths had already made their way to him, as this was one of the street exits.
Several well-dressed men tried to cross the street but were stopped by the Imperial Guards with their embroidered spring knifes.
One of the men strode forward, pushing aside the Imperial Guards, and shouted angrily, “My father is the Minister of Personnel! Who dares to stop me!?”
Duan Ling smiled faintly and spoke softly, “The Minister of Personnel, huh? That’s quite a high-ranking official.”
The Imperial Guards exchanged glances and then, almost in unison, looked back at Duan Ling.
The man, assuming Duan Ling was someone in charge, demanded, “That’s right! Now hurry up and let me pass.”
Duan Ling replied calmly, “Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
The man, furious, snapped, “Who do you think you are, daring to disregard the Minister of Personnel?”
Duan Ling replied nonchalantly, “I’m Duan Ling, the Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guards. If you manage to leave North Long Street without getting sick, you’re welcome to have your father file a complaint against me in court.”
The man grew even angrier.
The Minister of Personnel held a second-rank position, while the Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guards was only a fourth-rank official.
How dare this man show such blatant disrespect to the Minister of Personnel?
No, he had to leave North Long Street today.
Staying here for three days, even if he wasn’t sick now, he might catch the disease.
The man was certain the Imperial Guards wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him.
He grabbed a knife from one of the guards nearby and swung it wildly as he tried to charge out.
The lower-ranking Imperial Guards indeed didn’t dare stop him or harm him.
But just as the man was about to break through the blockade,
a cold arrow struck the back of his knee.
He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
“Who dares hurt me? Do you have a death wish? My father will make you pay for this!”
The man struggled to his feet, still determined to leave.
Duan Ling nocked another arrow, aiming steadily at the back of the man’s head.
His fingers on the bowstring were firm. “Anyone who tries to escape will be killed. That first arrow was a warning. Are you sure you want to keep going?”
The man still didn’t believe it.
He turned and glared at Duan Ling. “How dare you! This is outright murder!”
“You’re welcome to test me.”
Duan Ling’s fingers on the bowstring twitched slightly, and the man froze.
In the end, he didn’t dare take another step forward.
He collapsed to the ground, and his servants rushed over to help him back.
The man’s pants were soaked-he had been so frightened that he lost control of his bladder.
After this incident, the other young nobles who had been considering escape quickly settled down.
Lin Ting stood in the corner, trying to remain unnoticed.
Soon, she was escorted by the Imperial Guards to an inn on North Long Street, where she was given a relatively clean room.
By evening, she had eaten two portions of the rations provided by the guards-she was so hungry that she asked for an extra serving, and fortunately, they obliged.
For her own safety, Lin Ting stayed in her room and rarely ventured out.
She lay on the bed, bored and restless.
To be honest, being quarantined made her uneasy.
After all, this wasn’t just any illness-it was the plague.
One careless moment, and she could easily catch it.
Lin Ting lay down for a while, then sat up, then lay back down again.
She couldn’t sit still, nor could she relax.
She was on the third floor of the inn, and the silence around her made time drag on unbearably slow.
Each day felt like a year.
Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Lin Ting put on her shoes, left her bed, and pushed open the window to gaze at the empty street and the starless night sky.
Suddenly, there was a knock at her door.
Lin Ting remained vigilant, not rushing to open it.
She tiptoed to the center of the room, clutching a vial of sedative, and called out, “Who is it?”
“Duan Ling.”
Lin Ting immediately put away the sedative and hurried to open the door.
“Officer Duan?”
To prevent anyone from escaping the locked- down streets at night, the Imperial Guards were stationed day and night at East Street and North Long Street.
She had overheard them mention it when she picked up her evening meal.
Opening the door, she found Duan Ling standing outside.
He still wore the medicated mask that reduced the risk of plague infection, but his clothes had been changed-no longer the Feiyu uniform, but civilian attire.
Lin Ting was delighted to see anyone at this point and asked: “Are you patrolling this inn?”
“Yes.”
“Will you leave after your patrol?”
Duan Ling raised his eyes and replied:
“Would you like me to come in and stay with you? Tonight, the whole night…”