Chapter 1459: What did you say? (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"No!"

Seeing the questioning look in the eyes of the physician, Dong Dao realized he had been too hasty in refusing, and softened his tone, trying to cover up his mistake: "What I mean is that there isn't enough time. There are only fifteen physicians in Fengluo. The epidemic area is far away, and there are too many variables on the way. What if something happens to us during this time... If I may say something you may not like to hear, it's not a big deal if we, being mere mortals, perish, but this strange disease has spread throughout Fengluo City..."

The expressions of the crowd were solemn and ashen.

I dare not imagine what kind of hell it was.

Dong Dao sighed, “The people are the most important and the country is the most important. I am grateful to the lord for recognizing and employing me. If it weren’t for her, there would be no old bones like Dong Xingdao in this world, and where would we be today? No matter what the cost, I cannot let this epidemic ravage Kang Kingdom.”

Everyone who heard it was deeply moved.

Those who were more sentimental began to have tears welling up in their eyes.

The medical professionals who volunteered to go to the epidemic area were even more excited.

"Dong Xingdao, what are you saying? As if we haven't received any favors from our lord? As subjects, we are loyal to our ruler; as doctors, we relieve the people's pain! This is our duty! You, Dong Xingdao, are willing to risk your life, but we are afraid of death?"

If she were afraid of death, she wouldn't have volunteered to go to the epidemic area. Then she changed the subject: "Your concerns are not unreasonable. Right now, we are short of manpower and can't do without anyone... But, if news from the epidemic area can get out, why is no one sending out specific case records?"

If there are detailed medical records, they can also be used as a reference.

Dong Dao vaguely asked, "Perhaps they're afraid the disease will spread?"

If one examines Dong Dao's words carefully, this excuse doesn't really hold water. However, the Medical Bureau isn't like the scheming court where intrigue is rampant. Under Shen Tang's deliberate guidance, the department has a strong academic atmosphere, and the physicians there devote most of their energy to studying medicine and deciphering the sacred texts of medicine; they don't have many ulterior motives. The most cunning person in the Medical Bureau is Dong Dao.

This idea was ultimately born out of a desire to develop medical expertise.

As the Imperial Physician, he had to represent the Medical Bureau in demanding various preferential treatments and benefits from the Royal Court so that physicians could concentrate on studying medicine.

Therefore, the fourteen people readily accepted this lame excuse.

Even if they have doubts, they keep them to themselves.

They believed that Dong Dao would not harm the doctors at the Medical Department or Wang Ting, and that even if he had concealed something, it was out of necessity.

After this meeting, the Medical Department became even busier.

The qualified physicians of the Medical School lined up in shifts, racing against time to find a solution. The Medical School's books were vast, and even searching day and night only revealed a fraction of their contents. Dong Dao then assigned homework to the students under the guise of a quiz, requiring them to also search the Medical Academy's library for the books copied from the Medical School over the past ten years. Qi Miao was also summoned back by Dong Dao from outside.

"teacher."

Qi Miao was startled when she came in.

Teacher Dong Dao was extremely self-disciplined; when had she ever seen his room so messy? It looked like a library with its bookshelves overturned.

"Junqiao, you've come at just the right time."

Dong Dao's voice came from the corner.

Seeing him climb out from several piles of books taller than a person, still clutching a book with annotations in his hand, Qi Miao hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, asking in confusion, "Teacher, have you been robbed?"

Dong Dao patted the dust off his clothes: "I'd rather we'd been robbed... cough cough cough, let's go outside to talk, it's too dusty here! You're meticulous, there are some things I need you to do here."

Qi Miao cupped her hands and said, "Please give your instructions, teacher."

After hearing the details of the mission, Qi Miao blinked blankly.

She thought the teacher had urgently summoned her back for some important matter, but to her surprise, he immediately asked Qi Miao to communicate with the Ministry of Revenue to ask for money to buy firewood and coal, and also asked her to find someone to post notices in the streets and alleys, and send people to the surrounding areas of Fengluo to communicate about drinking hot water.

Dong Dao coughed and said, "This matter is not easy to handle."

Qi Miao: "This disciple knows it will be difficult."

The request from Dong Dao was a huge burden for the Ministry of Revenue; it was an enormous sum, far exceeding even a tenth of the amount allocated for winter disaster relief in previous years. Furthermore, with temperatures so high that everyone was wearing summer clothes, who would burn coal? Did they expect the entire country to burn coal?

In the years since the founding of the nation, the Kang Kingdom's court has sent people everywhere to search and unexpectedly discovered several open-pit coal mines that are easy to mine. In order to increase production and prevent coal from becoming an expensive commodity, the coal currently sold on the market is of relatively low quality, with a strong odor and a lot of smoke.

Every year during the coldest part of winter, the royal court would provide coal subsidies, allowing most ordinary people to manage to keep warm for a while. Coupled with the promotion of earthen kang beds and the opening of logging in various mountainous areas, the number of deaths and injuries during the winter months decreased by half each year. The royal court would also instruct the Ministry of Revenue to stockpile winter supplies in advance, ensuring that these supplies would gradually enter the market during winter and maintain stable prices.

As Qi Shan's daughter, Qi Miao was devoted to medicine but not oblivious to these intricacies. Excessive coal consumption leading to soaring winter prices would have far-reaching consequences. She needed to get to the bottom of it, at least to know why her teacher was doing this.

Dong Dao was momentarily stunned when he heard Qi Miao's concern about coal prices.

He really hadn't thought of that.

But even if I thought of it, I couldn't care less.

Summer is the season when all sorts of evil influences and lewd practices thrive. If a strange disease breaks out during this time, it will spread much faster and be far more severe than in autumn and winter. If someone loses their life this summer, what are a bunch of dead people worried about when coal prices soar in winter?

Dong Dao explained, "It's for epidemic prevention."

Qi Miao exclaimed in alarm, "When and where did this plague break out?"

Dong Dao vaguely skipped this part and pulled Shen Tang to vouch for him, saying that the Lord said all actions should be based on the medical department, and some things that were difficult to explain could be concealed: "After several days of research and speculation, I have found that this disease is easily transmitted through the mouth, so the drinking water must be boiled."

For more than ten years, Wang Ting has been advocating drinking boiled water.

However, as I said before—

Ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh.

After more than a decade of public education and outreach, ordinary people have come to understand that most of their illnesses are related to drinking untreated water; however, they simply don't have the means to drink boiled or cooled boiled water every day. Poor families even have to pool their resources to cook, several households sharing a single pot to save firewood, let alone access to drinking water.

Over the years, Wang Ting has tried everything to increase the frequency of boiled water consumption in every household, but it's still not something that can be done whenever people want; many families still rely mainly on tap water. Dong Dao doesn't know when the enemy will release the plague, so he can only do his best to prevent it.

Boiling water can eliminate most evil influences, lewdness, and filth.

It is likely that the source of the epidemic is no exception.

Every household was reluctant to burn [the offerings], nor did they have the means to do so, so the royal court had to foot the bill. Dong Dao knew that his impromptu idea was putting the finances in a difficult position, further straining the already meager national treasury. Although the emperor had ordered that everything be prioritized for the medical department, Dong Dao was still worried that the officials of the Ministry of Revenue would make things difficult for him and not be diligent in following the procedures. Having Qi Miao handle things was different; no one would want to offend Qi Shan.

Qi Miao's face was always useful in front of Xun Zhen.

"I see, I understand, I will go and do it now."

When Qi Miao came out of the Ministry of Revenue, she was preoccupied with worries.

This trip went so smoothly!

When did the Ministry of Revenue, which has always been stingy, become so generous?

She sensed an impending storm; her intuition told her that something big was about to happen. Qi Miao immediately began overseeing the announcements, personally promoting them everywhere for several days. Not only was there undercurrents in Fengluo, but also in other parts of Kangguo.

All the registered physicians in the royal court received a unified order from the Medical Bureau and were dispatched to different regions to stand by at any time. Some unregistered, unaffiliated physicians, having heard rumors from somewhere, also came to inquire. They were all worried about the same thing—this was a sign that the enemy was about to wage war and invade Kang Kingdom! Otherwise, why would so many physicians be mobilized to stand by? It must be a critical moment of life and death!

Having received word of this, the unaffiliated physicians hesitated for a short while before packing their medical kits and heading to various military prefectures to report for duty.

They had no other intentions.

All I know is that Kangguo's situation will plummet without doctors.

Which of those who could become physicians hadn't experienced the dark years of war and chaos in the northwestern kingdoms? Those difficult years of practicing medicine and struggling to make a living would make them cry themselves to sleep.

Compared to other countries, they hoped that Kangguo could survive.

Upon learning the reason, some people shook their heads helplessly.

"With your skills, where can't you find a foothold?" Knowing that the enemy is about to invade Kangguo, why don't you run away? Aren't you stupid?

The untrained healer said, “We healers are not as well-established or numerous as the scholars and warriors. After many years of development, our healer lineage has only grown to a little over a hundred people. With so few people, we need to rely on a powerful figure to take root and flourish… Lord Shen has provided us with a place to stand. In this time of crisis, how can we easily withdraw and protect ourselves? That would be inhuman! It would also go against the benevolence of a healer.”

They remain unregistered and independent simply because they don't want to be constrained, not because they have any grievances against Kangguo. Some have even left Kangguo's protective umbrella only to find themselves caught in a torrential downpour outside.

The contrast makes Kangguo all the more precious.

Those who heard this were filled with awe and respect: "Sir, you are truly righteous!"

The atmosphere within Kangguo was tense. Some people thought the enemy was about to invade and were actively preparing for war. Others, unaware of the truth, were torn between regretting the extravagant act of burning coal in the summer and writing articles criticizing the current decadent lifestyle. The rest, who knew the truth, were so busy they were spinning like tops. Ning Yan, in particular, was always on official business, whether she was awake or asleep.

For nearly a month, I have been getting less than an hour of sleep each day.

Even the most steadfast literary minds cannot withstand such pressure.

“No wonder no one wants to be regent; it’s not a job for humans…” Ning Yan even felt that fighting a war for ten or fifteen days without sleep would be easier than what she was doing now. She didn’t need to look in a bronze mirror to know that her eyes were dark and her eyelids felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

The same applies to Li Wan and Miao Ne, who assisted Ning Yan.

I haven't been home for twenty days straight.

They knew part of the truth, but they couldn't tell their families—based on the severity of the epidemic as reported by the Medical Department, sending their families out of Fengluo wouldn't be of much use. Fengluo had all the necessary medicines and doctors, and there was still a chance of receiving treatment; if they ran away, they would lose everything.

Li Wan lightly tugged at his stuffy collar and lowered his head to smell it.

Expressionless: "It smells sour and pungent."

There's no time to sleep, let alone take a shower, bathe, or change clothes.

If it weren't for the ability of the Wenxin Wenshi to maintain cleanliness through the power of words, the clothes would have become unbearably smelly after wearing them for more than twenty days, and that would be in the summer!

Miao Ne used her fingers to pry open her eyelids and try to wake herself up.

She seemed a bit listless: "You can't smell it anymore after a while."

He held on for another two or three hours—

Seeing that they were nearing their limit, Ning Yan took pity on them and said, "You're almost done preparing, you can go back and rest for half a day."

The two men were grateful: "Thank you, Your Excellency."

I don't plan to use it for washing up when I get back; I'm going to just cover my head and go to sleep.

With the help of her teacher Luan Xin, Miao Ne settled in the capital. The house she bought wasn't in a prime location, but it was good value for money, and the neighbors were quite friendly. When she returned, two people were standing outside the door.

One of them turned around as if sensing something, his eyes sparkling with surprise.

Cui Xiong practically ran over, bumping into her and embracing her tightly, his voice trembling with sobs: "Ximin!"

Miao Ne: "..."

Struck head-on by a weight of one or two hundred pounds, her eyes rolled back, and she instantly lost consciousness. Terrified, Cui Xiong screamed, "Ximin—!"

In the end, it was his younger brother Cui Mi who steadied the situation, gave Miao Ne some breathing space, and put two candies in her mouth.

Miao Ne, whose lips were pale, slowly woke up, and the feeling of weakness and dizziness subsided: "Are you howling like a ghost trying to summon a spirit?"

Cui Xiong wiped his tears with the back of his hand: "Waaah, don't say that word!"

Miao Ne was too annoyed to even roll her eyes.

"Then why are you crying?"

Cui Xiong choked up and couldn't speak.

Cui Mi pressed his temples: "Let's go inside and talk about it."

Miao Ne drank several bowls of thick porridge until her lips finally returned to normal color, and only then did she have the energy to ask the two brothers how they ended up in Fengluo.

Since the army set out to meet the enemy, the Cui brothers had returned to their father, Cui Zhi, to help stabilize the situation in the southwest. Cui Mi, with his special abilities, could also prevent unforeseen circumstances. Why weren't these two staying obediently in the southwest? Why did they run off to Fengluo? Has something serious happened?

Thinking of Cui Xiong's mournful appearance, Miao Ne put down her chopsticks.

"Am I going to die?"

Miao Ne was just asking jokingly, but Cui Xiong pouted, his lips forming a human-shaped spout, and kept whimpering, "Xi Min, don't say that word, I can't stand it, I really can't stand it..."

Miao Ne: "..."

No way, is she really going to die?

Miao Ne calmly asked, "Was my death heroic?"

One can live a life of insignificance, but one's death must be as weighty as Mount Tai!

Tears streamed down Cui Xiong's face. Cui Mi quickly covered his mouth and begged, "Please, say less."

Miao Ne chuckled and said, "Alright, tell me what happened."

After a brief conversation, Miao Ne learned that the two brothers had secretly run away after leaving a note, rather than being instructed by Cui Zhi or Cui Xiao. Their arrival stemmed from a glimpse of the future that Cui Mi had inadvertently witnessed: "I saw the Queen here with my elder brother, and not only the Queen, but many people in the city are like that. Tracing the source, it seems to be in the capital, Fengluo. So the two of us brothers hurried here."

The two filial sons even forged Cui Zhi's official seal.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to borrow the fastest warhorses from various post stations and travel unimpeded. After entering the city, Cui Mi also tried to find out more details about the future, but he was unlucky and all he saw were trivial disputes or pointless trifles.

After much thought, I decided to meet with Miao Ne first.

Then Miao Ne led them to see Ning Shizhong.

"Non-human appearance?"

"With a blue face and fangs, it was extremely terrifying, and—"

"And what?"

"And though it has no living breath, it can walk like a living person."

Miao Ne couldn't help but think of all the big and small things the medical department had been doing lately, and she clenched her fists to calm herself down.

ヾ(■_■)

My physical copy of "Return the Emperor" hasn't shipped yet, but the Pop Mart Ao Bing vinyl figure, which supposedly wasn't supposed to ship until June, has already been shipped! Ahhhhhh!

P.S.: The weather was really strange. At 11 o'clock, there was a sudden clap of thunder that made the study as bright as day, and then the computer screen went black. I almost missed the update.