Chapter 33

The air was damp and smelled of excrement. A carriage sped through the streets and alleys. In this eerie atmosphere, a person was suddenly pushed out of the carriage. The person rolled several times on the ground with a thud. At that moment, dozens of carriages were repeating this action, running on the country roads and official roads.

All of these people who were abandoned shared one characteristic: their faces were bruised, their lips were parted to reveal foreign objects and blood in their mouths, and their chests were bulging as if they would explode at the slightest touch.

By the time the early-rising villagers discovered it, panic had already ensued. Qingyun had just opened the door to go out when she saw Mu Helian standing outside with a heavy expression. She didn't know how long she had been waiting. Qingyun was somewhat surprised by this and had a bad feeling in her heart. After all, it was never a simple matter that could make this person come to find her so early.

"Don't go to the sand dunes today," the other person said as soon as they entered.

"What exactly happened?" She hasn't done anything that would get her beheaded a hundred times recently, so no one should be trying to get revenge on her.

Mu Helian took the water Qingyun handed her and gulped it down several times before stopping. Then she spoke, "You're right, a plague has broken out."

"What?!" Qingyun, who was digging through the potatoes in the pit, looked up at her upon hearing this.

“Several people have died, including some of the most notorious ones.” Mu Helian stroked the rough side of her teacup, pondering as she spoke. “Although their symptoms seem very similar, I think…” She didn’t finish her sentence, instead looking at Qingyun.

Qingyun was still in shock and hadn't recovered when she noticed the other person's gaze. She realized with a start, "But I don't know the specifics of the situation."

Seeing this, Mu Helian said frankly, "I think it's like they've been retaliated against, but I don't know who it is." To be honest, her family started out as itinerant doctors, and Mu Helian also knew a little about medicine. When she examined the corpses this morning, the symptoms were very strange. They looked like they had died from an infection, but there was a faint stench emanating from their mouths, which didn't seem like the smell of a corpse. They had only been dead for a few hours.

That's why it feels so eerie.

Upon hearing this, Qingyun focused his attention on the group's bad breath. Could it be poisoning from some kind of substance? Further questioning revealed that the entire city of Muyun was now gripped by panic and fear, with residents voluntarily staying home.

For Qingyun, this seemed like a good thing, but she sensed something was amiss. A guess popped into her mind, and she quickly finished eating the braised potatoes. Mu Helian, seeing her like this, realized that she must have thought of something, and hurriedly pulled Qingyun aside to ask her about her plans.

Qingyun frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "I suspect it might be Song Chaoyun."

"Song Chaoyun? Why? What does this have to do with her? Relatively speaking, this isn't a good thing for her." Countless questions were raised, and seeing that Mu Helian hadn't reacted yet, Qingyun patiently explained to her.

That is, Song Chaoyun did not use the gentle approach she recommended, but directly used this most radical method, which can shock everyone and make everyone spontaneously prevent the epidemic. However, there is a problem, which is the way the plague spreads - water. People are not going out now, but they still use water to drink.

"This method has its advantages and disadvantages. I need to confirm whether she did it first." Although Qingyun thought this way, she had no evidence and still needed to find the person in question to verify.

"How can you be so sure it was her? What if it was Lord Song who did it?" Mu Helian asked hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Qingyun glanced at her and said, "It's simple, that's just her style." She likes to solve problems in the most direct and brutal way.

That does fit her persona.

Randomly, Qingyun smiled again, "But aren't I going to verify this now?"

But when he saw that Mu Helian still looked preoccupied, he asked her and learned that Lin Wanjun was now showing early symptoms. She had developed many small red rashes and brown spots all over her body. If it was true, then Qingyun's conclusion would be overturned.

Although Qingyun wasn't as worried as Mu Helian, she kept wondering if Lin Wanjun was telling the truth. After all, she didn't know the full extent of her relationship with Song Chaohua. What if she was just putting on an act for Song Chaohua? After thinking it over, she decided it was better to just ask the person involved.

"You just went to the ward and you still dare to come here so brazenly. What if you've already been infected?" Qingyun was just teasing Mu Helian, but Mu Helian took it to heart and immediately took a few steps back, retreating several meters away.

"You're right, don't contact me yet."

Qingyun was amused by her reaction, and left after saying that he would wait for her to come back. It was better not to let Mu Helian get involved in this messy questioning that could lead to her death.

Inside the main hall, Song Chaoyun rubbed her temples. A eunuch entered carrying a bowl of ginseng soup and whispered, "Your Highness, the imperial physician says you should get more rest." Hearing this, Qingyun also noticed the dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she must have not slept all night.

Song Chaoyun left Qingyun to the side, and only after everything was settled did she lazily raise her eyes and ask what was wrong.

Faced with Qingyun's conjecture, Song Chaoyun readily admitted it. Now it was Qingyun's turn to crash. She never intended to use dozens of lives to achieve this effect.

“You’re too naive,” Song Chaoyun interrupted Qingyun’s argument while she was drinking tea.

Qingyun was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and retorted, "But we can't use more than a dozen lives as a springboard, can we? Are the methods I suggested not feasible?"

Upon hearing this, Song Chaoyun stopped sipping her tea, glared at him, then slowly put down her teacup and said calmly, "This is the fastest and most effective method."

"Why?"

Song Chaoyun said, "I have my reasons for doing this."

After saying that, she turned her gaze to Qingyun, "What right do you have to stand here and tell me I did something wrong?"

Qingyun was speechless for a long while before replying, "I'm not qualified. I just want to know, is this really the right thing to do?"

They can't just leave themselves without an explanation.

She thought that after spending these days together and the other person's kindness, they could become friends. Could it be that her unconditional trust in him had given her such a misconception?

Song Chaoyun said, "Qingyun, it's not about whether something is right or wrong, it's about your own understanding." If she thinks it's right to exchange a few lives for the lives of all fools, then it's right; if she thinks it's wrong, then she doesn't agree with this approach.

This is similar to the trolley problem. Qingyun's true intention is to find a way to rescue everyone. However, Song Chaoyun can't wait. She knows how ignorant and foolish the people here are. Only by shaking their core interests can she change them.

If Qingyun disagrees with her approach, she will stick to her own reasoning no matter how much she argues.

This is Song Chaoyun's impression of the original owner. Qingyun, a soul from another world who transmigrated from the 21st century, simply wanted to know right from wrong. Now she understands that this is a cannibalistic era.

The air was unusually quiet, save for the whirring sound of the maid pulling the fan blades. The two remained silent for a long time until Qingyun stood up, cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, and smiled, saying, "It was my rudeness." Song Chaoyun, seeing her like this, simply played with the tassel in her hand.

Qingyun didn't want to argue about this anymore. The deed was done, and as Song Chaoyun said, everyone has different ideas. It wouldn't be easy for her to get the other party to stop doing such things.

She had just straightened up to take her leave when she looked up and saw Song Chaohua walk in again. He seemed to have noticed the atmosphere in the room as well, raising an eyebrow slightly in surprise. However, he didn't say anything and sat down first.

Seeing this, Qingyun quickly bowed to her. She hadn't forgotten what happened last time. Meeting her gaze, she saw a hint of schadenfreude in it. Then Song Chaohua slowly spoke, "What? You haven't finished talking yet?"

Just as Song Chaoyun was about to look up and speak, she heard Qingyun hurriedly say that she was about to leave. As she turned to leave, she bent over and slowly backed away, her head facing the two of them. Suddenly, she felt herself bump into something and turned around to find that it was Song Junwu.

Seeing this, she took the opportunity to look them up and down twice, and suddenly realized that these three people gathering together must mean they had something important to discuss, most likely related to the plague. Thinking this, she knew she couldn't leave easily now, so she quickly knelt down and begged for their forgiveness.

As if he had expected Qingyun to be there, Song Junwu was somewhat surprised that she was leaving. But now that he saw her suddenly kneeling on the ground as if facing a formidable enemy, he seemed to understand as if they were telepathically connected. He then told Qingyun to kneel there as punishment.

The others present saw through the situation but didn't say anything. Once everyone was seated, they started talking about the real business. Qingyun listened on her knees for a long time and realized that Song Junwu was also involved. This wasn't surprising, as the two of them were like conjoined twins. Song Chaoyun needed the commander's help to do this kind of thing.

Song Junwu came to report on the public's reaction. Qingyun then remembered that she hadn't just come to argue; her purpose was to point out the drawbacks of the plan. Thinking this, she mustered her courage and said, "It's not enough for everyone to just stay indoors. They will still go to the puddles to fetch water. The most important thing is to control that."

Song Chaoyun, looking exhausted, rested her head on her hand. Upon hearing this, she glanced at Song Chaoyun but didn't interrupt her, gesturing for her to continue. Of the three, only Song Chaohua expressed some dissatisfaction.

It's impossible to have someone watch over those who go to fetch water all the time, and even so, many people will still do it secretly. To solve the root cause, we must make the villagers regard the water as a plague and cut off their thoughts of it from the root.

Qingyun also mentioned hygiene. Having lived here for so long, sometimes when she gets close to someone, besides smelling their body odor, she can even spot lice on their head if she's particularly observant. Lin Wanjun, having come from a wealthy family, is used to meticulously grooming herself; the others are even more so, often taking milk baths.

As for the others, they were all too unhygienic, throwing human and animal urine all over the streets. When the weather got hot, the smell was so strong that it was comparable to that of 19th-century Britain and Germany. Over time, this would easily make people sick.