Li Minzhi, out of respect and admiration for Shen Yun and the couple Su Xiaoqi, deeply resented the太子's subordinate officials who entered Bazhou Prefecture.
When asked to send people out of the city to greet them, he deliberately led them astray, taking them on a tour of Bazhou Prefecture's streets and alleys for several laps.
This caused Su Jiamei, who had come to meet them, to frown repeatedly.
He stopped Li Zhubu, who was in charge of receiving them, and said, "Are you deliberately taking us in circles?"
Li Zhubu, having received instructions from his superior, had indeed intended to do just that.
He also wanted to show them that there were no longer any cases of plague in Bazhou City, and that these ruthless individuals did not need to stay there for long.
However, the person before him was said to be a confidant of the太子, and his rank was also higher than his own, so he could not afford to offend him.
Li Zhubu said, "I dare not conceal anything from the Prefect, Your Excellency. It is simply that you said you were looking for our Prefect. At this moment, the Prefect is patrolling the prefecture and is not staying in one fixed place.
This humble official has been chasing after him, and that is why we have been going in circles."
Su Jiamei was almost amused to anger.
Li Zhubu truly knew how to speak.
He was directly telling him that he was taking him in circles.
But it was not that he was intentionally leading him, but that their Prefect was leading him.
What could he say?
Su Jiamei's patience was ultimately limited, and he had important matters to attend to, so he could not let them lead him around in circles like this.
"Quickly send someone to ask your Prefect Li to stop. This official has an order from His Highness the太子 to proclaim."
Li Zhubu did not dare to delay upon hearing this and immediately sent someone to inform him.
With the to-and-fro fuss, it took at least two hours.
Su Jiamei finally met Li Minzhi.
He brought the太子's order to arrest civilians who had contracted the plague and fled without permission.
Li Minzhi's expression was somewhat cold. If he had not seen the villagers who had already been cured by Shen Yun earlier, he might have been deceived into sending troops to arrest them.
At this moment, he said calmly, "Prefect Su, you are mistaken. There are no people infected with the plague here; all are healthy civilians."
"How is that possible?" Su Jiamei did not believe him. He had personally witnessed the villagers in those three villages being infected.
One by one, they coughed incessantly, their cheeks flushed with fever, their legs weak and unsteady, unable to even walk...
According to reliable sources, someone had plundered the太子's guards, including Cao Daman, and taken away those infected with the plague.
The direction they were heading was towards Bazhou Prefecture.
However, it was also strange that as they traveled, they had not encountered any infected people as they had before.
Previously, a single tour would reveal infected people all along the way.
This time, it was indeed strange.
Su Jiamei was somewhat perplexed and had no response for him.
Li Minzhi simply ignored him.
He was merely a prefect of the太子's mansion; why should he fear him?
Su Jiamei was left by Li Minzhi on the street.
In any case, his intention was clear: if he wanted to find people or arrest them, he could do it himself; he would not play along with him.
Su Jiamei had never been to Bazhou and was not familiar with the place. After wandering around for a couple of circles, he became a little disoriented.
He inadvertently arrived at a small alley, wanting to find a teahouse to rest.
Seeing a familiar figure not far ahead, he was greatly surprised and spurred his horse forward. Upon clearly seeing the person, he could not help but exclaim, "Xiaoqi, you are here."
Su Xiaoqi had just sent off a group of villagers who had recovered from their illness and was about to return to her residence. Seeing a tea shop, she wanted to buy some tea for Shen Yun.
Unexpectedly, she encountered Su Jiamei.
At the same time, she was also startled.
She had already learned about Su Jiamei's experiences from Shen Yun.
This fellow had also gotten lucky.
After inadvertently saving the太子's life during the Duanwu Festival last time, he had gained the太子's favor.
He used this as an excuse to transfer from the Hanlin Academy to the Eastern Palace, thus getting promoted.
This was why his rank was half a level higher than Shen Yun's.
Now that he had come to Bazhou, thinking of his behavior, Su Xiaoqi immediately became alert to deal with him.
"I was just passing by," Su Xiaoqi said indifferently.
"What a coincidence, Xiaoqi. Last time we met in that mountain village, I wanted to have a chat with you, but I didn't expect there to be a teahouse ahead, so I didn't come up to talk."
Su Jiamei gazed at Su Xiaoqi, trying his best to control his voice to be gentle.
The woman before him had fully bloomed, her skin fair, and she had become even more delicate and radiant.
Indeed, his judgment back then was excellent, he had not been mistaken; once her features developed, she would absolutely be a beauty.
It was just a pity that she had teased him multiple times before, and when he finally took the bait, she suddenly seemed to have changed.
Not only did she stop being intimate with him, but she also yelled at him to fight.
Later, she treated him with coldness at every sight.
Furthermore, their relationship had dropped to freezing point after several confrontations in Mianzhou City.
Counting carefully, besides seeing her a couple of days ago, he had not seen her for quite some time.
He had only heard that her reputation in the capital was growing louder and louder.
She had befriended the Eldest Princess, and was also close to the Old Madam of the Duke of Yu's mansion.
She also had a good relationship with the wife of the Libationer of the Imperial Academy and was friendly with the daughter of Assistant Minister Du of the Ministry of Rites.
His official position had been low before, and he didn't even dare to go and see her.
But he had always been thinking of her in his heart.
As Xi Jianzhi had said, when one likes someone but cannot have them, that is when they like them the most.
This was probably his current situation.
Su Jiamei became a little excited. He wanted to know if, if he possessed her now, would he still have so much attachment to her?
Once this thought emerged, it was difficult to stop.
Su Jiamei's gaze at Su Xiaoqi became somewhat fervent.
Su Xiaoqi was extremely intelligent and could tell from his gaze that he was harboring impure intentions.
She frowned slightly and glared at him.
Su Jiamei seemed to sense something, startled, he held his breath and looked behind Su Xiaoqi.
He found that only a woman dressed as a maid was following her, and no one else behind.
His courage immediately increased, and he tentatively leaned closer to her and whispered, "Xiaoqi, do you remember this day last year?"
Su Xiaoqi said expressionlessly, "I don't remember."
How could she remember what happened between the original host and him?
"You don't remember, but I do. Originally, you were supposed to be my lover, we had agreed, I would take you...
No, I would marry you, but you, but you... betrayed me." Su Jiamei said, patting his chest as if he were deeply hurt by Su Xiaoqi's actions, looking very sad.
Su Xiaoqi felt nothing for him, and she was well aware that the Su Jiamei before her was no longer the same person as before.
Before, he was competitive and lustful, but he was not a thoroughly wicked person.
But now, it was different. He had followed Liang Xinran and committed the act of burning villagers indiscriminately, which was a violation of conscience.
Once a person has no moral restraints and no conscience, they are fundamentally corrupted.
She had nothing more to say to him.
Their fates were sealed as enemies.
Su Jiamei was unaware of Su Xiaoqi's thoughts; he only wanted to seize this limited opportunity to get closer to her.
With this thought in mind, as Su Xiaoqi was holding the tea package together, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Xiaoqi, listen to me..."