Chapter 2 Bloodletting

"My little brother has a high fever. Bleeding is the best way now." Sang Yu didn't even raise his head, and concentrated on squeezing Sang Xinghao's fingers.

Young children are different from adults. Even if they prick their fingers, not much blood will flow out. They have to squeeze hard to draw out more blood.

The barefoot doctor once told Sang Yu that bloodletting therapy is particularly effective in treating high fever.

If it is a basic low fever, it will be effective immediately. If it is a high fever, it will be effective even after four or five hours.

But pay attention to disinfection, otherwise it is easy to get infected.

But in an emergency, we have to make decisions based on our circumstances.

The conditions are poor now and Sang Xinghao's condition is serious, so he doesn't care whether he gets infected or not. Even if he does, he has to be alive to have a chance of getting infected.

Sang Xingjia listened to Sang Yu's words, full of doubts. He wondered why he had never heard of such a treatment method.

In the past, when people caught a cold, doctors would prescribe decoctions that would take more than half a month to heal. Does this method really work?

Sang Yu didn't care what he was thinking. She squeezed the flesh around Sang Xinghao's fingers until it turned white and barely squeezed out five or six drops of blood. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She has done her best, and whether he lives or dies now depends on fate.

She picked up another branch and gave herself a bloodletting treatment. She immediately felt that the dizziness in her head had subsided a lot. This method was indeed effective!

This busy work seems time-consuming, but in fact only three or two minutes have passed.

People who were sitting, lying or sleeping in their clothes gradually gathered together and stood in the order arranged by the servants.

Sang Xingjia glanced at Sang Xinghao, who was still unconscious, then looked at the officer who was about to come over. He gritted his teeth and squatted down: "Little sister, please help me get on my back."

After days of going hungry and suffering from the friction of the wooden shackles and iron chains on his body, he, a weak scholar, had long lost all his strength.

It’s difficult for him to walk on his own on normal days, and now he has to carry someone on his back. I’m afraid he won’t be able to hold on for much longer.

Both Sang Xingjia and Sang Yu were very clear about this, but if they were asked to abandon Sang Xinghao, obviously no one could do it.

Sang Yu knew that now was not the time to refuse, so he didn't waste any time and cooperated with Sang Xingjia to help Sang Xinghao onto his back and let him carry him.

The three of them finally joined the team before the cursing and whipping officers came over.

As soon as she joined the team, Sang Yu heard a woman's concerned voice coming from the front: "Yu'er, Jia'er, Hao'er, what's wrong?"

She looked up and saw a familiar face.

She was a woman with a face covered in black and gray, but even so, her former graceful charm could still be vaguely seen. She was the original owner's mother, Xie Qiujin.

"Mom, my little brother has a very high fever. He couldn't be woken up even when I called him this morning."

It was not Sang Yu who spoke. She wanted to keep the matter secret so as not to increase her mother's worry, but she did not stop Sang Xingjia.

"Ah? My Hao'er!" Xie Qiujin exclaimed and struggled to look at Sang Xinghao on his back.

"Mom, I'm fine. I was just sleepy. It's not as serious as my eldest brother said." Sang Yu hurriedly supported her and secretly winked at Sang Xingjia.

Sang Xingjia then realized that he had said the wrong thing. He laughed dryly and agreed, "Yes, yes, little sister is right, I was wrong."

Xie Qiujin was still a little worried: "Really?"

Sang Yu nodded and changed the subject: "Are Dad and Grandma okay?"

When they rest at night, the officers don't care about them. Logically, the family should stay together.

But the old lady of the Sang family, Sang Yu's grandmother, was also in the exile group. She was very old, now over fifty years old, and could not withstand the constant travel.

Exile in ancient times was not an aimless outing. One had to travel at least fifty miles every day. This was why the officials urged everyone to gather and set off early.

The old lady had four sons and two daughters, and her two daughters married early and were not implicated.

The four sons could not bear to see their old mother suffer, so they agreed to take turns to take care of her.

Yesterday it was Sang Yongjing and Xie Qiujin's turn to take care of the children.

Speaking of her mother-in-law, Xie Qiujin showed a look of pity, shook her head and sighed: "My mother-in-law's eyesight is not good."

Even those young and strong women could hardly hold on, let alone those who were over fifty years old.

As soon as he left the capital, Sang Yongjing took out his own hidden money to bribe the escorting officers, not for anything else, but just to ask the officers to remove the wooden shackle from his mother.

Unfortunately, there is a seal on the wooden yoke. If the person in charge of picking them up finds something wrong with the seal when they arrive at their destination, he will probably not let them off easily.

The risk was too great, and the officers were unwilling to take the risk of losing their heads, and if the job was not done, they would not get their money back.

After walking for more than twenty days, the old lady of the Sang family was getting worse day by day, and she was afraid that she would not live to see Lingnan.

“…”

After these words were spoken, all three of them fell silent.

Not to mention the old lady, even for them, it was unknown whether they could reach Lingnan alive.

Although they were not exiled to a bitter and cold place like Ningguta, the journey to Lingnan alone would cost the lives of most of the people in the team.

Sang Yongjing had just handed his mother over to his eldest brother's care, so of course he couldn't avoid some ridicule, but he had long been accustomed to it and didn't take it to heart at all.

As he approached, he saw the person Sang Xingjia was carrying and was immediately startled: "What happened to Hao'er?"

This time Sang Xingjia learned his lesson and kept silent, letting Sang Yu speak.

"Dad, I'm fine, I'm just very tired."

This statement might fool Xie Qiujin, but it couldn't fool Sang Yongjing. He roughly guessed what Sang Xinghao was thinking and couldn't help but sigh.

"Alas, when will this day end?"

The prisoners were lined up in a long line, and the escorting officers were standing guard around them, cracking their whips.

If anyone walked slowly, they would be whipped severely.

Sang Yu followed the team, walking with a numb expression.

She learned from the original owner's memory that such an agonizing hike would require one to reach the zenith before getting a chance to breathe.

The officers don't care about the prisoners' life or death. As long as you can still walk, you have to follow the team.

When the sun was at its zenith, they happened to walk into a canyon.

At the officers' command, the prisoners sat down on the ground one after another, trying to seize the opportunity to rest and recover their strength.

The officers left three or five people to guard the place, while the others found a place sheltered from the wind and started to make a fire. They were going to prepare for lunch.

The people of the Daying Dynasty only ate two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

But they were police officers. These prisoners only had one meal a day, and it was all moldy coarse flour bread.

Even these coarse flour cakes depended on the mood of the officers. If you angered them, you wouldn't even be able to eat the last meal.

Don’t eat? If you don’t eat, you’ll be hungry.

After going hungry for four or five meals, even the most pampered young man would gratefully take the steamed bun and stuff it into his mouth like a vicious dog, for fear that it would be snatched away by others.