27 Chapter 27

◎Foot-and-mouth disease?◎

The sky is clear and the clouds are light.

Wu Rigen walked out of the tent representing the identity of the great shaman. He was already tall and thin, and now his cheeks were sunken, and his body was emaciated. His eyes were sunken deeper in his eye sockets, and his steps were a little unsteady.

Though clearly a living being, he possessed a somewhat eerie, ghostly aura. The shaman apprentice at the side bowed his head in obedience, his posture submissive, his hands trembling within his sleeves, afraid to meet the gaze of the moody Great Shaman.

"Where's Qiqige?" He spoke after a while, his voice hoarse and low.

"Master Qiqige, she, she..." The shaman apprentice observed his expression, afraid of angering Wu Rigen, and squeezed out each word, "She will be back from Silver Moon Valley in the next two days."

Wu Rigen looked up, but there were no stars in the sky for divination. He was silent for a long time before he said, "She has been so involved with the witch that she has become infected with an ominous aura... That witch and her new companions are all people with ominous auras."

In his eyes, the clear sky had turned dark and was uncontrollably crumbling.

"When the sky falls, all life will be devastated," he said. "She must be stopped. Has the letter been delivered?"

Li Hengqing clutched the letter, unable to extract much useful information from the long, incomprehensible text. He ultimately concluded, "Wurigen said he regrets being the wedding emcee. We, the sinister Central Plains women, will eventually cause trouble. We've even corrupted his beloved little daughter. It's not too late to stop now."

Ren Wenliu swallowed the last piece of braised beef with reluctance and was about to yawn when he heard this and swallowed back his breath: "Isn't it a good thing to poke a hole in this sky?"

The two smiled at each other.

*

The Yunzhou area is close to the Northern Di, where the emperor is far away and the people's customs are much more open than those in the capital, which has emphasized moral principles and education in the past decade.

After Li Hengqing finished the things he had originally arranged, he still had an hour of free time, so he simply took a walk in the city with Ren Wenliu and finally sat down in a teahouse.

The business of this shop was very good, so they had no choice but to find a seat in the corner, order some tea and snacks, and lean lazily against the wall to listen to the storyteller tell stories.

First, he told a few legendary stories about talented scholars and beautiful women, but they were all clichés, and the other people in the store looked drowsy. Some even started booing him, saying, "Old Song, it's always the same old, cheesy stories about scholars and generals. We're all tired of them. Tell us something new!"

The storyteller smiled apologetically, his eyes rolling. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he slammed the gavel: "Since you guests don't want to hear it, I won't tell you any more. Today, I'm going to tell you about something new. It's not about a hero, but about a renowned heroine!"

Hearing this, Li Hengqing raised his eyes slightly and looked at the storyteller. The others also became more cheerful after seeing this. The person who was arguing continued: "How can a woman be a hero?"

"You don't know that," the storyteller took over, immediately speaking in a pretentious tone. "The person we're talking about today isn't some figure from the ancient history of the past dynasty, but from our neighboring Beidi. He's also a very noble person, none other than our own Highness Shunyang!"

Li Hengqing's eyelids twitched.

"...Speaking of our Princess Shunyang, she's a blessed star sent down from heaven! Upon her arrival in Northern Di, she encountered a once-in-a-century snowstorm. The barbarian Khan was helpless, but it was the great shaman who observed the celestial phenomena at night and said that a thousand human sacrifices were needed to appease the Snow God's wrath!"

There was a collective gasp in the hall.

"At this critical moment, our princess stepped forward, burning incense and praying for seven days and seven nights, moving the heavens. Overnight, a sacred shed that could withstand the wind and snow grew on the grassland, saving all the cattle and sheep!"

"What do you call this? This is called a benevolent heart that moves the heavens."

The storyteller spitted furiously, packaging all of Li Hengqing's actions as miraculous magic and auspicious signs. With stories like "turning stone into salt" and "scattering beans to create soldiers," everyone in the room was stunned.

Ren Wenliu frowned and couldn't help but grumble to Li Hengqing in a low voice, "Your Highness, this... this is too outrageous. You've turned all your hard work into something supernatural."

Li Hengqing simply held up his teacup and took a sip. Although the storyteller's tales were somewhat artistically processed and exaggerated, most of the events were true.

Could word of mouth be so accurate? She wasn't sure.

The storyteller finished his round and was taking a break when Li Hengqing took out a few copper coins from his purse and beckoned the waiter over: "My daughter liked this story very much. Here is the tip."

He grabbed a few more copper coins and said, "This is a reward for you."

The waiter smiled and nodded repeatedly, listening to Li Hengqing say: "Can you ask someone to write down the rest of the stories of this prince? I think her family will like it after hearing it, but it is inconvenient for her to go out, you see..."

The new copper coin was heavy. The waiter bit it with his teeth and said he would inform the storyteller. He added, "Are you two new guests in Yunzhou City?"

Li Hengqing responded casually and asked, "Why do you say that?"

The waiter said, "It's not about clothing... Gentlemen, you might not know this, but this is a storybook that's been popular in Yunzhou City for a few days now. It's very fashionable! If you're interested, I can run some errands to the bookstore for you."

Half an incense stick later, the printed storybook fell into Li Hengqing's hands. She flipped through it casually and found that although the storybook was absurd, the writing was extremely regular and the words were elegant... It didn't seem like it was written by an ordinary poor scholar.

The emperor's chief eunuch hadn't even left Yunzhou City yet. Who was so anxious to set her up?

The answer is obvious.

Dusk was about to fall, and it was inevitable that they would have to rest in Yunzhou City for another night. Li Hengqing tucked the storybook into his arms and walked through the inn lobby. He heard the rustling sound of two little girls flipping through pages in the corner, whispering to each other, "... Look, I can't even understand the words here. It's no use saving up money to buy it..."

"But do I want to hear it? It would be great if Her Highness Shunyang were here. She could use her magic to make us literate, just like the big brother next door."

“…”

Li Hengqing paused. Rumors could bring disaster, but on the other hand, they might not be such a bad thing.

*

The ice field is covered with snow and wind for years.

The chieftains of the Sand Fox tribe share the same name for generations. This Sand Fox stood in the snow, his hands behind his back. The snow fell heavily on his shoulders and head, and then he waved to let it fall. He turned back to the house and slowly unfolded the letter. Papermaking techniques vary from place to place, but the paper in his hand, with its fine texture and smooth milky white color, was clearly a product of the Nansheng Imperial Palace.

"My prince was fully opposed to the dumping of goods by that evil woman Canglang, but he was no match for her magic and suffered a loss. When the emperor found out, he was about to settle accounts with that evil woman." A man beside him spoke slowly and his posture was humble, but not overly flattering.

——If Li Hengqing were here, he would be able to recognize that this person is Hu Shan.

A whistle sounded in the distance, and the coal car made a loud squeaking sound as it ran over the rails. The black smoke from incomplete combustion rose straight into the sky and then dispersed into the gray sky.

Before Hu Shan could finish his words, he began to cough violently. Sha Hu glanced at him coldly, his face haggard and pale, his body shimmering beneath the heavy iron armor, each step making a thud.

"I can help your Highness." Sha Hu was silent for a long time, then took out a small medicine bottle from his body. "But after the task is completed, you must capture that woman alive and hand her over to me."

"Same as before?"

“Same as before.”

*

Just as the spring breeze turned the grass green, a panicked cry was heard near Silver Moon Valley.

The lamb had been languishing for several days, refusing to nurse, drooling profusely, and groaning in pain. With no other options, the owner, no matter how reluctant to seek medical attention, had to call in a veterinary team.

"Yes, it's aphthous plague!" The new veterinarian carefully checked and felt something was wrong when he saw the ulcers on the lamb's hooves. He opened the lamb's mouth and a look of horror immediately appeared on his face - the lamb's mouth and tongue were covered with shiny blisters the size of rice grains!

He said in a panic, "Curse, it's a curse..."

The herdsman and his family were also frightened by him. They were at a loss and almost cried: "What should we do..."

"Hurry up and report it!"

After listening to her subordinate's report in the adobe hut, Tana raised her eyelids and ordered someone to check the files. As expected, this herder family, including the veterinarian, were newly arrived as refugees.

"Confine these people and don't cause panic," she said quickly. "...As for the plague, we'll handle it the same way we handled the lazy man's disease last time. I'll take care of that with the princess."

In fact, as Li Hengqing's team approached Silver Moon Valley, his brain system sounded the alarm again: [Foot-and-mouth disease detected. Initial control has been achieved, but nearly 100 patients remain.]

Sick animals can be dealt with, but it is not so easy for Li Hengqing to easily abandon humans of the same species.

She asked: [Is there any way?]

The vaccines and treatments the system offered were astronomically expensive, nearly emptying her points reserves. Li Hengqing hesitated, but ultimately closed the points panel.

To be fair, the improvement in living standards brought about by the development of productivity was enormous. Even ordinary people today had a much better standard of living than the average noble—at least the nobles definitely didn't have cell phones or internet access, and their entertainment options were barren compared to modern times. After a few years, her memories of the past were already a bit hazy.

Whether it is brucellosis or foot-and-mouth disease, under the conditions of backward productivity, they will only become natural disasters that cannot be reversed by human power. If they are allowed to develop, I am afraid the mortality rate of children suffering from the disease will not be low.

Wu Rigen is not dead yet. Who knows if he will use this incident as an excuse to make trouble, saying that natural disasters will eventually come and punish her, an ominous woman from the Central Plains?

Tana gave her a brief report on the current epidemic prevention situation. She spoke calmly, but was also very frightened.

Li Hengqing: "Let's check if anyone who has had contact with these sick animals has ever exported them."

The account book was concise and clear. Some time ago, someone from Yunzhou held a wedding banquet and specifically requested a batch of live livestock from Silver Moon Valley.

Her face changed.