Chapter 199 Past Events

Twenty-five years ago, Jiangzhou suffered a once-in-a-century flood that submerged most villages and towns and destroyed countless houses.

After the disaster, the ground was covered with ruins, the fields were destroyed, and people and animals died.

The victims who managed to survive were waiting for rescue in the flooded water.

When the Emperor of Dai was on his southern tour and reached a neighboring state, the former Crown Prince immediately led his troops to Jiangzhou to provide rescue and disaster relief.

At that time, the prefect of Jiangzhou was infected with malaria and was bedridden. After the late crown prince arrived in Jiangzhou, the person who welcomed him and accompanied him was Ji Peizheng, the then magistrate of Jiangzhou, his father.

His father accompanied the former crown prince on a tour of various counties in Jiangzhou, raising, allocating and distributing supplies, building temporary shelters for disaster victims, and treating the injured and sick.

When he was on patrol in Mo County, a smallpox outbreak occurred in the city. In order to prevent the disease from spreading, the former crown prince ordered the city to be sealed off and summoned all the doctors in the city to treat the patients with all their strength.

However, due to bad weather and insufficient supply of medicinal materials, the pox spread rapidly and was difficult to contain.

Seventy percent of officials and civilians fell ill.

The former crown prince and his father were no exception.

Upon hearing the news, the late emperor was extremely anxious and sent an imperial physician to Mo County to treat the patients. However, the late crown prince, his father, and a group of officials died one after another before the imperial physician arrived.

The people of Mo County were in great chaos, and some were waiting for an opportunity to escape.

If the soldiers brought by the late prince had not defended the city gates and walls, the smallpox would have spread to other places.

Even so, the officials who were originally responsible for transporting disaster relief supplies and rushing to Jiangzhou were afraid and would rather give up their official hats than set foot in Jiangzhou.

As the victims were suffering, the little-known Fourth Prince stepped forward and petitioned the late Emperor, expressing his willingness to go to Jiangzhou in person to provide disaster relief and fight the epidemic.

The government and the public were shocked.

The late emperor took a new liking to him and assigned him all the doctors of the Imperial Hospital and the Third Battalion of the Capital, and ordered the neighboring prefectures and counties of Jiangzhou to fully cooperate.

After the Fourth Prince led his troops into Jiangzhou, he handed over the disaster relief task to his subordinates.

He took his medical officers, confidants and medicinal materials to Mo County, risked his life to enter the city, and led the way in treating the patients.

Three months later, no one in Mo County had an outbreak of acne.

Three months later, Fang opened the city gate and walked out of Mo County with the survivors.

After this battle, the Fourth Prince became famous.

Soon after returning to Beijing, he was canonized as the crown prince by the late emperor.

The following year, the previous emperor passed away and the prince succeeded to the throne and became the current emperor.

Ji Changqing and his elder brother were born shortly after their father's death. He had no memory of the flood that year. All he knew about were hearsay stories about how the former crown prince and his father contracted illness while helping with disaster relief, and the heroic deeds of the current emperor.

He felt sorry for the late crown prince and his father, and was also shocked by the current emperor.

——The emperor has never been infected with smallpox, but he dared to go to Mo County to fight the epidemic. His courage is truly admirable.

Until now, I heard that Master Feng Qingsui had already mastered the method of preventing smallpox infection two years before the flood in Jiangzhou.

He didn't know when Master Feng Qingsui and the current emperor met, but judging from the current emperor's life trajectory - after returning from Mo County, he was named prince, moved into the Eastern Palace, ascended the throne the following year, and got married after three years of mourning - it was very likely before the Jiangzhou flood.

If I had learned the method of preventing smallpox from Master Feng Qingsui early in the morning and had been vaccinated against cowpox, I would naturally not be afraid of entering Mo County.

even--

He couldn't help but wonder, could the smallpox in Mo County be spread by humans?

Although the Imperial Medical Office traced the source of the disaster after it was discovered that before the smallpox outbreak in Mo County, there was a village in the deep mountains of Xinzhou, adjacent to Jiangzhou, where all the residents were infected with smallpox and died.

It is speculated that someone may have passed through that village and brought the disease to Mo County, where it broke out.

However, it is not uncommon for those in power to disregard human lives in order to fight for power and profit.

Today, you are the biggest beneficiary of the Jiangzhou flood.

He couldn't help but feel suspicious.

In particular, Master Feng Qingsui once "betrayed" the current emperor.

Why betray?

Could it be that the current emperor used smallpox to get rid of the crown prince and ascended to power by stepping on the corpses of the crown prince and the people?

Otherwise, with her kindness, she would have informed the emperor about the cowpox vaccination.

Given the emperor's affection for her, he will definitely promote cowpox vaccination to benefit the people.

But the emperor did nothing.

The current emperor appointed him as the imperial envoy and asked him to lead the Third Battalion of the Capital, which he once led, to Hezhou to provide disaster relief and quell the rebellion. Was it really just to secretly kill the prince?

He opened his mouth, wanting Feng Qingsui to ask him another question.

Before the words came out, I understood.

Master Feng Qingsui has already answered this question.

Twenty-seven years ago was not only the time when she discovered the method to prevent acne, but also the time when she and Jin Shang met.

——If the cowpox vaccination was not related to the epidemic in Mo County that year, why would she have concealed it for so many years?

Any doctor who makes such an important discovery will make it public as soon as possible.

Instead of hiding it, he didn't even dare to speak directly to his beloved disciple.

The epidemic in Mo County was caused by the current emperor.

Feng Qingsui was also surprised that his master had concealed the recipe for preventing smallpox. Now, seeing Ji Changqing silent for a long time, he suddenly remembered that his father seemed to have died of an epidemic while helping with disaster relief before he was born.

"Did your father contract smallpox back then?"

She asked in astonishment.

Ji Changqing nodded.

That was... twenty-five years ago.

Feng Qingsui suddenly understood why he was silent.

If the method of preventing smallpox had been made public earlier, his father might have been vaccinated against cowpox and would not have died from the epidemic.

However, it takes a long process for a prescription to be made public, promoted, and accepted by the world.

The master was an unknown female doctor, so if she told him about it, no one would believe her, and it wouldn't reach Ji Changqing's father's ears...

Wait, the master is unknown, but the emperor is a prince after all, so his reports can reach the emperor.

Could it be that the master didn’t know the emperor at that time?

She frowned.

Even if there was no opportunity before, is there no opportunity now?

The master is dedicated to curing illnesses and saving lives, and would never hide a prescription that could save countless lives just because of a disagreement with the emperor.

There is only one possibility.

The emperor himself was unwilling to implement it.

Why?

She didn't know much about the emperor. She only heard in the teahouse that he seemed to be very insignificant at first. It was after the death of the previous crown prince that he was appreciated by the previous emperor for his outstanding disaster relief work. The emperor then appointed him as the crown prince, bypassing his two brothers.

This disaster relief...what disaster is it for?

Her eyes suddenly opened wide.

Could it be the flood in Jiangzhou?

Could it be...

Her heart sank.

"Second Master, why don't we take Mother with us? She won't have to stay alone in the house."

She asked calmly.

Ji Changqing came back to his senses and looked at her intently.

"Let her stay in the mansion."

He said lightly.

"The capital is always safer than Hezhou."

My mother is just a woman, with neither her natal family to rely on nor her husband's family to look after. The emperor has no need to be wary of her, especially...if he dies in Hezhou.

Feng Qingsui blinked.

This time, while providing disaster relief and suppressing rebellion, could it be that the imperial envoy will become a rebel?

"Second Master."

She called softly.

"As long as you help me protect my master, I will stand by your side."