County Magistrate's Office.

Zhu Datou sat in the seat of honor inside the house, drinking wine. Not far away sat a singing girl, playing the pipa. Her fair hands were like scallions, and the way she plucked the strings seemed to be stirring people's hearts.

Zhu Datou stared blankly, when he heard a servant come to report.

"Sir, Master Zhao has arrived."

Setting down his wine glass, Zhu Datou said, "Let him in."

When Master Zhao entered, the pipa music stopped abruptly. Zhu Datou waved his hand, and the singer withdrew.

After bowing to Zhu Datou, Zhao Shiye said, "Sir, the eunuch has been sent away."

"Is everything taken care of?" Zhu Datou asked.

Zhao, the clerk, answered truthfully, "Everything has been taken care of."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhu Datou smashed the cup on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"His Majesty rewarded those doctors with my money. Does he really think I'm a sucker?!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Datou was furious. The day before yesterday, he received an imperial edict that said a lot of things, specifically naming him, the county magistrate, for his poor performance and fining him more than a thousand taels of silver as a warning to others.

Zhu Datou has always been a shrew, and now that he has lost so much silver, he is determined to make up for it.

He said, “Go and tell the remaining four villages that they have contracted the plague and that the court has spent too much money on them. From today onwards, taxes will be increased by 20%.”

When Zhu Datou said this, he didn't consider the lives of the villagers at all. Zhao Shiye's lips twitched, but he was secretly pleased.

Master Zhao said, "I'm afraid that won't work!"

Why?

"His Majesty has decreed that female physician Lu Qiqi be granted the title of Lady of Kangle Township. The five villages now afflicted by the plague have become the Lady of Kangle Township's fiefdom."

Zhu Datou gritted his teeth and said, "Is this really true?"

Without looking at Zhu Datou's face, Master Zhao lowered his head and said, "The imperial edict delivered today is absolutely true."

Zhu Datou was so angry that his face turned red. Not only had more than a thousand taels of silver gone, but there was no way he could ever get it back.

Before Lu Qiqi was given the title of village head, he had the support of Madam Hao, the only daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong, so he couldn't act arbitrarily. Now, it's even more impossible for him.

Seeing Zhao Shiye's hunched back, he felt it was bad luck and said, "Go away, go away, you go down too."

After Master Zhao left, Zhu Datou summoned a servant and said, "Go and fetch Aunt Zhang. Be quick, or I'll break her legs!"

The servants, having received the order, dared not linger for a moment and hurried off to inform Aunt Zhang.

...

Of the five villages that were infected with the plague, one was burned to the ground and the villagers of the remaining four villages were still recovering from their illnesses and needed to take medicine and recuperate, so they could not do heavy physical work.

A major problem is now facing Lu Qiqi.

Li Changlong and Zhou Yi's earlier joy for Lu Qiqi instantly sank to the bottom.

It was almost noon when Lu Qiqi asked, "Second Brother, where are Doctor Luo and Doctor Huang?"

When they received the imperial decree, they didn't see Doctor Luo, and now it's almost noon, and the two of them still haven't returned.

Li Changlong looked confused, clearly unaware.

Zhou Yi said, "Doctor Luo left early this morning, saying he was going up the mountain to dig up some medicinal herbs. Doctor Huang went to find him."

"Is no one going with him?" Li Changlong asked.

"That can't be right. Those less experienced doctors are practically begging to serve Doctor Luo and want to become his apprentices. Why didn't they go up the mountain with him to collect herbs today?"

Lu Qiqi also found it strange.

Zhou Yi said, "They all followed us to the foot of the mountain, but Doctor Luo chased them all back."

Lu Qiqi's lips curled up, as if the scene from that time was replaying in her mind. "That is indeed Dr. Luo's style."

After lunch, Dr. Huang and Dr. Luo still hadn't returned, and Lu Qiqi didn't have time to worry about it. She just told Zhou Yi to go down the mountain to look for them.

"Second Brother, let's go find Brother Lu. I want to ask him some questions."

Lu Qiqi and Li Changlong arrived at Lu Da's house, but the door was tightly closed. Li Changlong knocked and called out, but there was no response.

He said, "Not in the house."

Lu Da wasn't home, and Zhao Xiaodong, who was always by his side, was probably not there either.

Just as the two were about to return, they heard a surprised sound.

"Miss Lu, what brings you here?"

Lu Qiqi looked up and saw Zhao Xiaodong and Lu Da. Zhao Xiaodong was holding something tied with a lotus leaf, and it looked like he had just returned from outside the village.

She said, "I came here because I have some things I want to ask you."

"Then hurry up and come inside."

After Zhao Xiaodong finished speaking, Lu Da took out his key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open to enter.

As Zhao Xiaodong unfolded the lotus leaf in his hand, he said, "Today, my elder brother and I went to the yamen and bought some chicken to make appetizers. If Miss Lu and Brother Long don't mind, please sit down and eat with us."

Li Changlong and Lu Qiqi had eaten lunch before coming out, as they had things to discuss with the two of them and didn't want to waste any more time.

Just as he was about to refuse, Lu Qiqi said, "How can good food be without good wine? Second brother, I have a jar of good wine in my room. Go and get it, and we'll have a good drink together."

Lu Da then laughed, “I didn’t expect Miss Lu to be such a connoisseur of wine. Xiao Dong, go and get my collection of wine. Today I’m going to have a good drink with my benefactor.”

The benefactor Lu Da was referring to was naturally Lu Qiqi. If it weren't for Lu Qiqi making him tie a rope and go into the water, he would have been buried in the yellow earth by now.

Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Brother Lu has also helped me a lot. If you hadn't risked your life to spread the news that the government refused to deliver medicine, we would probably still be trapped in Tianlong Village. We wouldn't need to thank each other then."

"Why!"

Li Changlong helped get the bowls, Zhao Xiaodong took out the wine, and then filled the bowls for all four people.

Remembering that Lu Da and Zhao Xiaodong had gone to the yamen that day, Lu Qiqi asked, "Brother Lu, what was the matter with you going to the yamen?"

Lu Da lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhao Xiaodong spoke first, "Six Fingers and the other two, along with Brother Lian, have all been sent to the government office, and the government office has made its judgment today."

Zhao Liuzhi, Zhao Wuba, and Zhao Wujiu instigated the villagers to flee and were sentenced to three years of forced labor.

Brother Lian releasing Zhao Liuzhi and the other two was not a big deal in itself, but it implicated villagers who died, resulting in a six-month sentence of forced labor.

Lu Da looked at the wine in the bowl, and after a long while, he raised the bowl and said, "Miss Lu, I would like to use this wine to thank you for saving the villagers, and also to express my deep apologies for the mistakes the villagers made against you."

After saying this, Lu Da drank it all in one gulp.

Since Lu Da was so generous, Lu Qiqi naturally couldn't refuse to drink, so she picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The liquor wasn't purified, so even if it was strong, it would have limited effects. However, Lu Qiqi didn't plan to drink any more. Her alcohol tolerance was average, and her drinking manners were just so-so. She'd better not make a fool of herself.

Seeing Lu Qiqi's generosity, Lu Da gave her a thumbs up and praised her, "Miss Lu is a heroine among women, please fill your cup again."

Lu Qiqi said frankly, "No, I have something to discuss with you today, so I won't drink any more to avoid delaying things."

"What is it?"

Lu Qiqi went straight to the point, saying, "Tianxin Village looks very prosperous. It shouldn't be possible to build such a large ancestral hall just by farming. There must be other businesses involved."

I came to ask what the situation was like in the five villages that were infected with the plague before the disease broke out.