Chapter 183 Epidemic Prevention Department On a summer morning, the sun slanted into the room...

On a summer morning, the sun slants into the room. Although it is not warm, it is still dazzling.

Outside the house, cicadas chirped and birdsong rose and fell. Baozhu stood there with her eyes slightly narrowed and her breath held. The wife was becoming more and more majestic now, and her expression was so calm that she dared not breathe heavily.

Qi Buchen's face was as gloomy as water. He was silent for a long time before he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Where are the two children? Are they injured?"

Baozhu let out a breath, then nervously replied, "Mrs. Pang only found an excuse to see Baozhu, but she didn't get to see the two children. I don't know what happened to them."

"But according to information I heard from the Zhou family's servants, the two children have been put in solitary confinement and haven't appeared in public for a while."

Qi Buchen snorted coldly, "Send someone to the Imperial Hospital to find Fu Yuanpan and ask them to go to the Zhou family to see what infectious disease Baohuan has contracted. Then, according to the epidemic prevention law, remove her and send her to an isolated place for treatment. Just because she was once my personal maid, I can't let her break the rules."

The epidemic prevention method was discussed by Qi Buchen and Fu Cang when the cowpox epidemic was first promoted. Qi Buchen was responsible for coming up with ideas and the overall framework, while Fu Cang was responsible for filling in the details. When the memorial was submitted, it was praised by Emperor Kangxi. Now this area is also under the jurisdiction of Doctor Fu.

"As for the Zhou family's close contacts, have the Imperial Hospital isolate and disinfect them on the spot. If they refuse to cooperate, have the Five Cities Military Command assist."

"But you need to be more careful with the younger children and send them to the quarantine area as well."

Baozhu understood the meaning of the music and agreed immediately. She went out to find Sun Liangping and said something like this. Then she cleared her throat and said seriously, "You go with the Imperial Hospital staff in person, so that Baohuan won't be confused and take advantage of our wife's refusal to cooperate, which will ruin our wife's reputation."

Sun Liangping was also a man of integrity. He immediately patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, auntie. Our family will not let anyone damage Fu Jin's reputation."

After saying this, he left in a hurry and headed straight for the epidemic prevention office of the Imperial Medical Service outside the palace.

Everyone in the Imperial Hospital knew that Court Judge Fu had risen to prominence thanks to his work at Prince Yong's Mansion. Therefore, as soon as Sun Liangping announced his identity, the person who received him was particularly attentive and asked him to sit down, then ran off to report the news.

Upon hearing that it was Eunuch Sun who served as the wife of Prince Yong, Fu Cang came out to greet him personally. Although he was upright in his profession, he was not ignorant of the ways of the world. Sun Liangping was not some nameless eunuch who ran errands, so it was not out of place for him to come out to greet him.

"Why did Eunuch Sun come here in person? If you have something to say, just send someone to tell him." Fu Cang said politely.

Sun Liangping was not arrogant and said with a smile: "My family is not a big shot, so it's normal for me to run errands for the princess."

Fu Cang's expression straightened: "But the princess is not feeling well?" Over the years, he has been the one who has taken care of Qi Buchen's health.

Sun Liangping shook his head. "The princess is in good health. We're here for other reasons." He quickly explained the Zhou family's infection with the epidemic. "...The princess was worried that the people at the epidemic prevention department would be embarrassed and difficult to deal with because of her pride, so she sent us here to go with them."

Fu Cang frowned slightly and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your understanding, Princess. Since it is your kindness, I will not be polite." After saying this, he turned around and ordered the servants in the room, "Go and inform Doctor Chen of this matter. Ask him to prepare according to the rules and go to treat the patient in a moment."

After everyone left, there were only two people left in the room. Fu Cang lowered his voice to express his doubts: "Please, Eunuch Sun, please explain my doubts. Is there any other reason?"

If it was just for an epidemic case, the Princess of Yong was making such a fuss. Based on his understanding of the princess, she shouldn't be such a high-profile person.

Sun Liangping also kept it a secret. It was difficult to tell others about this matter, but in his opinion, Fu Yuanpan knew that they were all the princess's confidants and there was nothing to hide. So he repeated the reason behind it: "...So I have to ask Fu Yuanpan to help smooth things over later."

"Of course, that's no problem." Fu Cang agreed readily, but his doubts were still unresolved. "Forgive me for saying so much, but even if there was such a reason, the princess wouldn't have acted so high-profile, would she?"

You can just ask a doctor to come in the name of the princess, and you can also find an excuse to bring the person out.

Sun Liangping thought about it and felt that this was a good opportunity to get closer, so he said, "The princess didn't say what her intention was, but I have a guess in my mind, I don't know if it's correct."

Fu Cang quickly said, "Please give me some advice, eunuch."

"It's just a guess, Judge Fu, please listen to it and don't take it seriously." Sun Liangping patched it up again before pondering, "I want to ask Judge Fu, how is the implementation of the epidemic prevention law going?"

Fu Cang gave a bitter laugh: "Don't worry about Eunuch Sun laughing at me, Fu Mou has failed the princess's expectations. It can be said that there has been no progress in the implementation so far."

Although it was implemented together with the cowpox vaccination, unlike the vaccination which progressed quite smoothly, the implementation of the epidemic prevention law was full of difficulties. Not to mention the lack of people and money, the most important thing was the resistance from all sides, the infighting within the Imperial Medical Service, the lack of information flow, and the lack of cooperation from people. It can be said that nothing went smoothly.

The quarantine center now only admits poor people who cannot afford medical treatment. The epidemic prevention department has been subsidizing it. If it were not for the Princess of Yong who subsidized it from time to time in the name of donations, it would have ceased to operate long ago.

Fu Cang was also anxious, but he had no good solution in the face of this situation. Although people outside said that he had a strong background, he knew his own family affairs. The two masters of Prince Yong's Mansion admired him, but it was impossible for them to help him even with such a thing.

Besides, he had already benefited enough from the cowpox and epidemic prevention methods, and he didn't have the face to go to Prince Yong's wife again.

Sun Liangping didn't laugh at him. He said sternly, "President Fu, please don't underestimate yourself. The princess did mention this matter briefly, saying that the difficulty in implementing this matter is due to the current situation and has nothing to do with you."

Fu Cang felt better and waved his hand, saying, "Eunuch Sun, please stop comforting me and talk about the princess's intentions."

Sun Liangping nodded. "In fact, we also speculate that the princess made this matter bigger this time, partly because of the Zhou family, and partly to open up the current situation of the epidemic prevention department."

Fu Cang perked up: "I'd like to hear the details."

Sun Liangping didn't keep things in suspense: "Since the implementation of the epidemic prevention law, apart from other factors, the lack of cooperation from each household is a major reason. I wonder if what we say is right?"

Fu Cang nodded in agreement: "Not bad."

"So at a time like this, as the princess said, we need a role model. What role model is more suitable than someone close to the princess?" Sun Liangping asked back.

Fu Cang pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "So, not only should this matter be done in a high-profile manner, but it should also be known to everyone?"

Sun Liangping smiled without saying anything.

Fu Cang frowned again: "But there is a problem. The news that Madam Zhou is suffering from the epidemic is false. If this gets out accidentally, will it..."

Sun Liangping, however, let out a half-smile. "Whether it's an epidemic or not, shouldn't the Imperial Medical Bureau's diagnosis be the standard? Even if some epidemics don't have serious symptoms, as long as they're contagious, they can be treated with epidemic prevention measures, right?"

Fu Cang nodded slowly, then stood up and said, "Please wait here for a moment, Eunuch Sun, and then go down to see how they are preparing."

"Please judge as you wish."

Soon, a team of Imperial Hospital staff, dressed strictly in accordance with the epidemic prevention regulations, filed out and headed towards the Zhou family.

By mid-afternoon, the news had spread throughout several blocks near the alley where Zhou's family lived.

"Have you heard? A family in Liuzhi Lane committed a crime, and the whole family was arrested by the government!"

"...Where did you hear this news? He was infected with an epidemic and was taken to the Imperial Hospital for treatment. How could he be arrested by the government?"

"Ah? Is that true? I heard that the house is surrounded by soldiers! Do they need soldiers to treat a disease?"

"You probably don't know this. I heard it's a new method developed by the Imperial Hospital. It's for isolation, disinfection, and prevention of infection, just like smallpox."

"Smallpox?! That family got smallpox?!" Someone said in horror, "I...I...what should I do? I went to that street yesterday!"

The people around were collectively speechless.

"...You really are...Who said I had smallpox? I was saying that the Imperial Hospital's treatment method is similar to smallpox."

"Oh, oh, I see... Then what kind of illness is it that's causing such a big fuss?"

"I heard it was dysentery."

"Dysentery..." The onlookers immediately looked disapproving.

It’s not that dysentery is easy to cure at this time, but compared with smallpox, dysentery is indeed not as contagious, and its transmission route is clear, so even at this time, it will not cause large-scale infection.

Someone grumbled, "The Imperial Hospital is just looking for trouble."

"That's right, just tell people to stay at home and don't go out." Someone agreed.

"Do you think this family has offended someone, and they're using their connections to target him?"

"I can't say for sure."

"Bullshit! Do you know who is sick?"

The others looked at each other in confusion: "I heard that family's surname is Zhou?"

The sneering person tutted, "That's right, his surname is Zhou. He's a guard in Prince Yong's palace! The one who's sick is his wife. She used to be Prince Yong's wife's personal maid, and now she's the housekeeper of Prince Yong's palace!"

The whole room was in uproar, with people discussing: "Is it true?"

"That's impossible. If he really was that person, wouldn't it be enough to just ask the imperial physician to come and treat him? But he was even allowed to be taken away by the imperial physician, and the mansion was surrounded?"

"You know nothing! Imperial physicians treat nobles, how could they come to treat a maid?! I heard that this time, Princess Yong had to send her personal eunuch to the Imperial Hospital to find someone, and only then did the imperial physician agree to treat her."

What he said was so certain that no one dared to question it. Suddenly, the crowd was in an uproar, and all kinds of envious remarks were made.

After everyone's excitement had almost subsided, a weak voice said, "That's not right. I heard that the Imperial Hospital's Epidemic Prevention Department took Mrs. Zhou away this time. It seems that they will come to treat anyone with an epidemic. I have a relative who has tuberculosis. His family is now penniless, and the Epidemic Prevention Department also came to take him in for treatment."

The crowd was silent for a moment, then became noisy again.

"How is that possible? I think you are hysterical."

"That's right, there's a place that provides free medical treatment? Even Bodhisattvas aren't that kind!"

After a burst of laughter, a different voice emerged.

"However, I seem to have heard of this Epidemic Prevention Department..."

"I also... I seem to have heard that they treated some patients with epidemic diseases, but they were all from poor families. Some people also said that the Imperial Hospital used them to test drugs."

"That's impossible... With Madam Zhou's status, can she be tested on drugs?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, and after dispersing, they all went to inquire about the news of the Epidemic Prevention Office.

For a time, the publicity personnel arranged by the Epidemic Prevention Department received many people asking questions.