On 24 August, legate Zhengrui brought a letter to Macartney from Sir Erasmus Gower, who reported that the ships of the embassy had reached Zhoushan as ordered. Macartney replied with instructions for Gower to continue on to Guangzhou, but Zhengrui secretly forwarded the letter to the emperor at Rehe instead of dispatching it to Zhoushan. Several men aboard the "Lion" had died of disease in August, and the squadron stopped in Zhoushan to recuperate. Having received word that the British ships were beset with illness, Qianlong instructed the viceroy of Zhejiang to ensure the British were quarantined at Zhoushan. The court reprimanded Zhengrui regarding his forwarding of Macartney's letter. An imperial edict written by Heshen, a member of the Grand Council and a favourite of the emperor, stipulated that Zhengrui was not to make reports alone without the signatures of Jin Jian and Yiling'a, nor make decisions unilaterally. As was typical of imperial edicts, the letter contained commentary in vermilion ink by the emperor's own hand. Calling Zhengrui "contemptible and ridiculous", Qianlong ordered him to send Macartney's letter to the viceroy of Zhejiang so the British vessels could leave Zhoushan.