Why My Domineering Prince Regretted Filing for Divorce?-Chapter 521 - 440: Stronghold Defense, No Engagement in Battle
It was as if a sudden thunderbolt had exploded overhead.
Shang Ruyi only felt her body had been shattered to pieces, her soul nearly departing, until the cries of astonishment brought her back to her senses.
It was the exclamations of Mu Xian and Shantong’er.
"Great General!?"
"Second Brother!"
With their cries came the sound of their heavy and chaotic footsteps. Although Shang Ruyi’s spirit seemed not yet fully settled, she almost instinctively turned her head and sternly shouted, "Stay outside for me!"
Everyone was stopped by the force of her voice.
And Shang Ruyi, pale-faced and red-eyed, turned to He Wenzhu and asked in a trembling voice, "Doctor, is he really—"
He Wenzhu stood trembling, repeatedly bowing to her in apology, saying, "Forgive my offense, madam. I was obtuse, unable to diagnose last night, as there were no previous symptoms of illness in him. Only the General fell ill, which seemed like a common cold, just with the signs of the cold, but without the pulse of one."
"..."
"And today’s intense battle triggered the General’s symptoms. Just now, when I checked the pulse, the left pulse was larger than the right, floating and full, but weak upon pressing, this, this is exactly—"
At the end, He Wenzhu was left speechless.
Even though he did not say those two words, Shang Ruyi already understood everything in her heart.
Epidemic!
What Yu Wenye had was not a common cold but an epidemic!
But why did he contract the epidemic?
This question, not only coiled around her like a venomous snake at that moment but also stunned those outside, each as if struck by lightning. Song Yu, who had just heard the words ’epidemic symptoms’, quickly covered his mouth and nose, now sweating profusely as he retreated to the door.
Mu Xian, pale-faced, said, "Why would the Great General catch such a disease?"
"..."
"There’s no one sick in the city."
Beside him, Dai Junliang also instinctively covered his mouth and nose but still remained calm, pondered, and said, "Could it be due to—the Capital outside the city."
"Capital!?"
Upon hearing these two words, everyone in the room was taken aback.
He Wenzhu’s eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Exactly, with the hot weather and the accumulation of bodies like mountains outside the city, this situation indeed fosters the spread of an epidemic."
"..."
"Moreover, the wind has been blowing from the southwest lately."
Dai Junliang said, "That’s why last night, the Great General inquired about the number of wells in the city and insisted that the city’s water must be taken from upstream, it seems the Great General had been long prepared."
"But this doesn’t make sense either,"
He Wenzhu frowned, his white brows furrowed, and said solemnly, "Those bodies have been piled up for several days, yet the General just arrived. Why is there no epidemic in the city, but the General has fallen ill?"
"Yes, why is that?"
"The General himself..."
The crowd spoke in confusion, but Shang Ruyi couldn’t hear a single word. She held the shivering, burning body in her arms with great effort, trying to help him sit leaning against the bed. Yu Wenye’s face was grey, his breath fiery, chest heaving violently as if on the brink of shattering.
After a while of gasping, he raised his head to glance at Shang Ruyi.
But he said nothing, turning his head to look around—as at this moment, under his gaze, everyone had become mere blurred outlines.
He took a few deep breaths, finally gathering a bit of strength.
He said, "Dai Junliang."
Dai Junliang instantly stepped forward, but before he could take a few more steps, Shang Ruyi’s gaze immediately fixed on him, halting his footsteps beside the folding screen. He could only lower his head and say, "What are the Great General’s orders?"
Yu Wenye gasped for a half-day and then said, "Close the city gates tightly, dig deep trenches, defend the city solidly, do not engage in battle..."
Due to his weak breath, he spoke these sixteen words haltingly, yet solemnly—especially the last eight words felt like they were carved with a knife, intending to engrave each word into everyone’s heart, for them to remember well.
Defend the city solidly, do not engage in battle!
Dai Junliang immediately said, "Understood, General."
Song Yu, who had already retreated to the door, changed his expression upon hearing Yu Wenye’s words and immediately said, "Great General, such cowardly orders avoiding battle, we cannot obey!"
Yu Wenye’s chest heaved a few more times violently.
But having finished those sixteen words, he no longer had the strength to say anything more.
He merely lifted his head, looking at Shang Ruyi.
His face was grey, his usually cold and steady eyes that brought reassurance now only flickered with a faint light, as if he wanted to say something to her but couldn’t utter even a single word.
But Shang Ruyi understood.
Originally panic-stricken, terrified, heartbroken, sorrowful, the flood of emotions upon hearing He Wenzhu’s diagnosis almost made her weep, but strangely, not a single tear fell at this moment. Not only no tears, but those emotions accumulated in her chest, instead suppressed her distressing heartbeat gradually.
She became more and more calm, more and more awake.
She suddenly raised her head and gave a signal to Wo Xue, who had been quietly standing in the corner of the room without speaking.
Seeing this, Wo Xue nodded and turned to leave.
Beside her, Mu Xian and Shantong’er were already red-eyed with anger, turning to glare at Song Yu, who was speaking wildly, wishing to tear him to shreds, while Dai Junliang, turning to face Song Yu, though somewhat out of breath, still respectfully said, "Lord Song, why not obey the Great General’s orders?"
Song Yu dared not move into the inner chamber, merely pointing with his hand toward the silhouette behind the screen, saying, "Look at the state he’s in, can’t even speak clearly, how can he command troops in battle?"
"..."
"If we follow his command now, we’d suffer great losses!"
Dai Junliang took a deep breath and said, "But this morning, when Lord Song went out to fight, didn’t we suffer losses under Xue Xian?"
Mentioning his defeat in battle, Song Yu’s expression grew even darker.
But unlike Mu Xian, who was merely Yu Wenye’s Deputy General, and Shantong’er, merely Yu Wenye’s personal soldier, Dai Junliang was the Assistant General of Fufeng, he could not be treated the same way as those two. Hence, Song Yu sneered, saying, "This morning’s battle, had you all cooperated with this lord, would we have feared not defeating Xue Xian?"
"..."
"Ultimately, it was the Great General’s order last night that was mistaken!"
Upon hearing such words, Cheng Qiao, silent all along, could no longer suppress his anger, turned to him, and shouted, "That’s nonsense!"
Shantong’er was even red-eyed with rage: "If you speak nonsense again, I won’t spare you!"
Seeing the crowd furious, Song Yu suddenly sneered and said, "I forgot, there are still you two. Why aren’t you taking action and tying them up for me!"
