Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Can you do it too?

A thick fog has fallen on the river today, nearly obscuring the entire surface. Visibility is limited to a few meters. For safety reasons, the boat will dock at the ferry for a few days until the fog clears before setting sail again.

When Xinyi heard the news, she was still sulking alone. Her new clothes were soaked by someone, and she felt really uncomfortable.

After the three of them had finished their tea, they decided to take a walk around. She walked ahead of them, leaning on her crutches, looking very angry.

At this time of year, and especially since the streets were near the ferry, there weren't many people on the road early in the morning. Watching Xinyi walk further and further away, Qi Yushi suddenly spoke in the silence, "Why didn't you ask me about last night? Why did you save me?"

Of course it was because she believed in him.

But... she also trusted her father. Lin Zhen's eyes darkened and he said, "Didn't you save me too, Master?"

Qi Yushi's hand on the wheelchair paused for a moment, and then he chuckled.

When I reached the corner, I saw Xinyi slow down and then stop behind a group of people.

Lin Zhen and Qi Yushi looked at each other and followed together.

Xinyi squeezed through the crowd and saw a mother and daughter lying against the wall in tattered clothes, surrounded by people.

"Who is so cruel as to drive out such a young child along with her mother?"

"Does the child have a rash?"

The crowd started talking at once. After listening to what they said, Xinyi's eyes wandered over the body of the child who was about three or four months old. She saw small purple and black spots on her exposed arms and neck.

"...Could it be that he's been poisoned?" Xinyi stroked her chin and muttered to herself.

"Poisoned?!"

The words she casually muttered to herself caused the people around her to take two steps back and disperse.

Taking advantage of the gaps in the crowd, Lin Zhen and Qi Yushi were able to get closer. He slowly turned his wheelchair and stopped beside the mother and daughter. He frowned slightly, gathered his sleeves, and touched the girl's forehead with the back of his fingers, and then touched the woman's forehead.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Xinyi knew Qi Yu best. Seeing his solemn expression, she knew that the situation was not good and asked hurriedly.

Qi Yushi pulled open the girl's sleeve and took her pulse. After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Stay away. It could be an epidemic."

His voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for everyone around him to hear clearly. In an instant, the crowd that had been gathered tightly together suddenly scattered.

Epidemic is a highly contagious disease that can take lives at any time.

The Great Zhou Dynasty stipulated that all patients suffering from epidemic diseases should be handed over to the government offices and placed in epidemic prevention centers for diagnosis and treatment.

“Eh——”

Xinyi wanted to ask everyone about the location of the government office, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the people around her hurriedly turned around and left.

Lin Zhen caught up with him and stopped a man, "Excuse me, where is the government office?"

Seeing that the man in front of him seemed determined to achieve his goal, the man had to hurriedly point Lin Zhen in the direction in order to escape.

When Lin Zhen turned back, the woman had gradually woken up. She looked at the man in front of her as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw, and quickly knelt down and said, "Sir... Sir... Save my son... Save her..."

Qi Yushi's azure sleeves were tightly grasped by the woman's filthy hands. He didn't pull his hands away, but patiently said to her, "People from the government office will be here soon. They will send you to the epidemic prevention center for treatment."

"No, no! We don't want to go to the epidemic center! We escaped from there! There are dead bodies everywhere!!" The woman's hand that was pulling her sleeve suddenly trembled violently, and her eyes were full of panic.

Qi Yushi raised her eyes and glanced in the direction of Lin Zhen and Xin Yi. This woman was obviously lying. If the epidemic was so serious, those people would not have been so completely unaware.

*

After handing the mother and daughter over to the people from the yamen, Xinyi said she wanted to change her clothes and returned to the boat early, while Lin Zhen and Qi Yushi walked slowly behind her.

Lin Zhen kept his head down all the way. Finally, when they reached the ferry, Qi Yushi was the first to ask, "What's wrong?"

Lin Zhen lowered his eyelashes and said calmly, "Perhaps, she did not lie. It's just that the epidemic prevention center she mentioned is not the epidemic prevention center here."

The mother and daughter were dressed in tattered clothes and had unkempt hair. Judging from the reactions of passers-by, it seemed as if they were seeing them for the first time.

"Perhaps... they are exiled here." Qi Yushi gently stroked his fingertips and suddenly looked at Lin Zhen, "Would you like to go with me to the epidemic prevention center?"

Lin Zhen frowned slightly. "The epidemic area is under the supervision of the government office. How can we get there?"

Qi Yushi leaned back in his chair and said with a slow smile, "At least, I am also a prefect."

Lin Zhen recalled that he had introduced her to her when she mistakenly thought he was eavesdropping.

Lin Zhen nodded.

After the two went to the government office to explain their purpose, the other party only gave them a key. At first they didn't know what it meant, but after they arrived at the place, they understood everything.

The so-called epidemic house was nothing more than a dilapidated courtyard with weeds growing outside the wall, the door plaque so blurred that it could not be identified, and only a crooked lock hanging on the gate.

Lin Zhen stepped forward to open the lock and was about to go in when Qi Yushi stopped him.

He pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and motioned Lin Zhen to lower her head. The latter was stunned for a moment, then understood what he meant. She did not do as he said, but asked, "What about you?"

"I recognize the epidemic they have. I've had it once." Qi Yushi said in a relaxed tone. He continued to wave at Lin Zhen, and she leaned closer to him.

As a faint fragrance approached, he tied the towel behind Lin Zhen's head with neither too much nor too little force, and said with a smile, "That's enough."

The furnishings in the yard looked like a medical clinic, but many of the utensils were so dilapidated that they were unrecognizable.

The mother and daughter were thrown on a straw mat with some dry and hard biscuits beside them.

This obviously means leaving them to fend for themselves.

The herbs in the cupboard were still usable, so Qi Yushi pointed out a few and asked Lin Zhen to boil them.

After she finished boiling the medicine, she brought the bowl to the two people on the straw mat, but Qi Yushi stopped her and said, "This is for you to drink."

"Me?" She frowned slightly.

"Yes, this is a preventative medicine. While it can't completely stop the spread of the disease, it does have some effect. Don't let me fail to cure them and end up getting yourself into trouble."

As if realizing his wording wasn't quite right, he coughed lightly and continued, "There should be some atractylodes and mugwort leaves here. Find some and light them up in the yard."

"good."

Lin Zhen agreed and did as he was told. When the smoke began to rise, Lin Zhen coughed a few times, walked back to Qi Yushi, and asked seriously, "Anything else?"

Qi Yushi stared at her intently, and suddenly realized that Lin Zhen at this moment was very different from what he had seen before. Perhaps even she herself didn't realize how different she looked when she let down her guard...

"Also... let's stop and rest for a while."

Lin Zhen nodded, followed his arrangements, sat at a distance, and only came forward to help when he needed help.

Throughout the whole day, Qi Yushi was responsible for feeding the patient medicine, taking the patient's pulse, and feeding the patient. She only helped to decoct and serve the medicine.

Because the epidemic place was some distance away from the ferry, and in order to prevent the mother and daughter's symptoms from worsening at night, they stayed in the yard.

Qi Yushi washed his hands with herbs, looked at the dry biscuits soaking in the bowl, and handed them to Lin Zhen after a while. "I'm afraid I'm going to wrong you."

Lin Zhen took it neatly, glanced at the mother and daughter who were sleeping peacefully in the corner, and said sincerely: "Young Master, your medical skills are exquisite. It must be their good fortune to meet you."

Qi Yushi looked at her gravely and half-repeatedly, "Meeting me is a blessing?"

Lin Zhen didn't doubt it and nodded: "Of course."

Qi Yushi smiled slowly. It was a different smile from his usual faint smile, but it was a smile that came from the bottom of his heart, making him look more gentle and elegant.

"When did you ever get sick from an epidemic?"

As far as Lin Zhen knew, there had been no news of any epidemic in the Zhou Dynasty in the past two years.

Qi Yushi was silent for a long time. Epidemics were, after all, extremely dangerous diseases, and many people probably didn't want to recall them. Just when Lin Zhen thought he wouldn't answer, he whispered, "Five years ago, at the border of Qizhou, corpses were scattered all over the ground after a great battle. Soon after, an epidemic broke out."

Lin Zhen's fingertips holding the bowl gradually curled up. The Battle of Qizhou five years ago was caused by the capital sending troops to suppress the rebellion after Prince Chen was convicted of treason.

"I've consumed so many different herbs that I even lost my sense of taste at one point. However, I managed to survive." His face showed no sign of pain, but rather a relaxed expression with a hint of a smile. "Perhaps it's just my good fortune."

He even teased her.

Lin Zhen's eyes were blank for a long time, and he said calmly: "It must be painful, scary, and helpless..."

This time Qi Yushi did not reply. After a long silence, he looked up at the night sky and said, "I never thought that in such weather, I could still see the Changgeng Star in the sky."

There was silence beside him. When he turned his head, he saw Lin Zhen sleeping against the wall.

The night wind blew by, and the handkerchief on her face fell off. Qi Yushi reached out to catch it, and Lin Zhen's body fell down, and the handkerchief fell into his hand.

Qi Yushi gently placed her on his lap, took off his cloak and covered Lin Zhen with it.

Her long hair was neatly tied in a jade crown. Even in her sleep, her brows were still slightly furrowed. The moonlight lightly outlined her profile. At this moment, she looked like a sleeping goddess in a painting.

Clear, cold and beautiful, yet unattainable.

Qi Yushi looked at the woman in his arms with a solemn gaze and whispered softly, "So, you can do it too?"