Chapter 39 Chapter 39 I felt my heartbeat quicken a little.
The next morning, a simple carriage drove out of Qingliang Villa and slowly into Jiankang City.
Yuan Fuxue lifted the carriage curtain with her bare hands and looked at the tragic scene outside.
The long streets were filled with corpses, the bluestone walls were covered with all kinds of dark bloodstains, and the puddles were still filled with scarlet. It was clear how terrifying the city was last night.
There were cracks on the doors of the people's homes, and a few ragged people were numbly wrapping corpses in straw mats and dragging them to the end of the alley where they were piled up.
Yuan Fuxue frowned, thinking, "The rainstorm has just subsided, and the heat is scorching. If the corpses are left piled up without being burned, there will be a plague."
The carriage finally stopped at the Yuan family's main garden on the bank of Qingxi River.
The waiting doorman quickly placed the horse stool.
Yuan Fuxue lifted his robe and stepped out of the carriage, entering the Yuan family garden. Despite being guarded by palace soldiers, the garden was still in a state of disarray. Rockeries had collapsed, flowers and trees had been broken, and servants were busy cleaning up the mess. Upon seeing him arrive, everyone stopped what they were doing and greeted him in unison, "Good day, Sanlang Jun."
"Where's my second sister?"
The butler who had been waiting beside Yuan Fuxue hesitated and stammered when he heard this.
Yuan Fuxue's eyes darkened as he walked straight into a hexagonal pavilion. After dismissing his attendants, he raised his chin slightly and tapped his fingertips on the stone table. "Go ahead."
The butler saluted with his arms crossed, and after a long pause, he replied, "My dear, my lady left for the Jinwu Guards before daybreak this morning."
"Why are you going to the Jinwu Guard for no reason?" Yuan Fuxue glanced at the cold sweat on the butler's temples and asked, "Did something happen?"
The housekeeper said nothing and pretended not to know.
"That's fine." Yuan Fuxue stood up suddenly, the jade pendant on her waist jingling. "Then I'll cash in the dowry my mother left me and use it to build a porridge shed and to house the corpses on the street."
As soon as these words came out, the housekeeper's face changed drastically, and he quickly spoke out to stop them, "My dear, please think twice! That is the dowry that the Minister of Agriculture carefully prepared for you!"
The Grand Minister of Agriculture had begun preparing this San Langjun's dowry five years ago. It contained precious South China Sea coral bracelets, East China Sea night-shining pearl necklaces, and all sorts of rare items. It was specially prepared for the matchmaking banquet after the autumn hunt. If she were to use it, the Grand Minister of Agriculture would probably skin her alive.
The housekeeper was ashamed, his mind torn between his conscience and his desires. "Madam... Madam, due to poor supervision and allowing your subordinates to embezzle disaster relief funds, today... today she went to the Jinwu Guard to stand trial..." Seeing Yuan Fuxue's expression suddenly change, he hurriedly added, "Madam has opened her private treasury to make up for the missing 30% of the money... But as for the rest of the money that others embezzled... I don't know..."
Yuan Fuxue's expression was stern; how could she not sense something fishy in the housekeeper's words? Her second sister must have embezzled some of the money, and the people below her exploited it, leaving only a fraction left in the hands of the refugees?
He began to mentally calculate the casualties of the previous night: the innocent civilians who perished in Jiankang City, the orphans and the weak who died of disease and starvation in the refugee district.
The more he thought about it, the whiter Yuan Fuxue's knuckles became.
"Take 10% of my dowry," he ordered in a deep voice as they walked, "and buy quicklime, wormwood, firewood, and salt..."
The butler paid close attention to what Yuan Fuxue said, and the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong. When he heard that he was going to risk his life to personally deal with the corpses on the street and go to the refugee market to investigate the situation, the butler even wanted to bang his head against the wall and die on the spot.
She trembled as she tried to stop Yuan Fuxue, saying earnestly, "My dear, if you act this way, you're really putting me on the fire! If the Minister of Agriculture found out, he'd really skin me alive!"
“That’s enough!”
Yuan Fuxue shouted, "If you stop me again, I will really burn the Yuan family to death."
"I may be a young man, but I'm also from the Yuan family of Runan." He flicked his sleeves, his face cold. "If our Yuan family is not willing to repent this time, do you know what the consequences will be?"
"Resettling refugees was supposed to be a virtuous act, but now it's led to such a tragedy." Yuan Fuxue glanced at the housekeeper coldly. "You've served in the Yuan Mansion for many years. Don't you see clearly? If the people lose their hearts, the whole house will collapse."
Yuan Fuxue couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes. "If you still want to work in the Yuan Mansion, do as I say. If you dare to interfere again, I will tell mother that the day she returns home, it will be your turn to pack up and leave."
The butler didn't dare to say a word and immediately bowed and went back to do his work.
This Sanlangjun possessed a face as cold and pure as jade, and a temperament as frosty and snowy as ice. Once he made up his mind, he would persevere to the end, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind. He was also a man of his word, and once he had made up his mind, no amount of resistance would be enough.
The mugwort, quicklime, firewood, etc. mentioned by Yuan Fuxue all have their own uses.
Quicklime was used to isolate the clothing and excrement of plague patients. In addition, lime was sprinkled on the ground to remove filth and disinfect.
Mugwort is used indoors for fumigation to ward off evil spirits and epidemics. The Book of Zhou states that the Jian clan was in charge of removing termites, using gongxie to attack them and fumigating them with wild grass, indicating that fumigation with mugwort has a long history.
Firewood and salt were used to boil drinking water for the common people. Firewood was expensive, and ordinary people were reluctant to use more in winter, let alone in the scorching summer sun. Furthermore, the "Prescriptions for Emergencies" states that soaking food in salt water can kill pestilential toxins.
Yuan Fuxue had been studying under Wang Shuhe for a long time. Although it was his first time dealing with matters such as the plague, his arrangements were thorough and well organized.
The housekeeper worked quickly. In just one hour, he had gathered some mugwort, firewood and quicklime, and even used the salt stored in the kitchen for emergency use.
Of course, these were far from enough. But they were the only temporary solution, and the best approach was to appease some of the unpopular people first.
Yuan Fuxue got on the carriage without hesitation.
The wheels rolled over the bluestone road.
"You guys need to move quickly and don't delay."
A very familiar voice came from outside the carriage.
Yuan Fuxue's fingertips subconsciously stroked the edge of the small table, and her heart was inexplicably pulled by this voice.
He lifted a corner of the curtain slightly and happened to see the side profile of the person on the horse.
With just one glance, Yuan Fuxue immediately recognized the person who saved him last night.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat.
It happened that at this moment the carriage was stuck at the entrance of the alley and could not move forward or backward.
Yuan Fuxue unconsciously touched his chest and stared at the man's tall and handsome back in a daze.
Xie Tingyu naturally didn't miss the obvious gaze that lingered on her. She pulled the reins and turned to meet those cold eyes. Recognizing the man in the carriage as Yuan Wangshu's third brother, she saluted with her arms crossed, "Master Yuan."
"……you……"
Yuan Fuxue felt a slight heat in the tips of his ears and felt a little uneasy. For some reason, he always felt uneasy when looking into the eyes of this person.
He glanced over and saw that Xie Tingyu was followed by more than ten ox carts, also loaded with mugwort, quicklime, and firewood. He had only been staring at her face, but now he saw clearly that she was dressed in a purple gauze Taoist robe and a golden lotus crown tied around her hair, the attire of a Taoist.
“What are you doing…?”
Xie Tingyu said, "Oh," and said, "I'm going to the refugee market." Suddenly, as if remembering something, she rode closer, her eyes inquiring, "I heard that Master Yuan is a doctor?"
This was not something Xie Tingyu heard from somewhere.
After leaving Yuan Garden last night, she first returned to Wuyi Lane to confirm that Xie Garden was safe and thankfully unmolested by any thugs. She then headed to the Wang family residence in Langya. Upon entering, she found Wang Lanzhi had removed his armor and changed into a wide-sleeved skirt. The wound on his left arm was properly bandaged. Wang Qiwu, on the other hand, had already slept soundly, completely undisturbed.
After discussing it, the two men felt that they could not wait for the imperial court's order before taking any action. They had to take the initiative to investigate the situation in the refugee market to prevent any further refugee riots.
The final result of the discussion was that Xie Tingyu would go to the refugee market first, and Wang Lanzhi would be responsible for coordinating the disposal of corpses in the city and reporting a series of post-disaster matters truthfully to Huan Zheying.
Xie Tingyu only rested for an hour last night and then got up to change his clothes.
She first ordered her staff to search the city for doctors, promising them generous rewards. However, the riots the previous night were so horrific that the doctors, upon hearing they were being sent to the refugee camp, all declined, saying, "I've got a life to earn, but I can't spend it." In the end, only a white-haired old woman, a doctor, reluctantly agreed.
People seek benefits and avoid harm, and Xie Tingyu had long anticipated this situation. He simply returned to the Wang family residence to find Wang Lanzhi to drink and relieve his boredom. Wang Lanzhi, injured, replaced his drink with tea. It was only dawn, and after a few cups of warm wine, Xie Tingyu talked about his unexpected encounter with Yuan Fuxue the previous night. Wang Lanzhi casually mentioned that he could practice medicine.
She nudged Xie Tingyu with her elbow. "Since you saved his life, why don't you use this opportunity to speak up? He should definitely return the favor." She leaned closer. "Besides, if Brother Yuan Wangshu helps you, she'll be pissed to death."
Look, I ran into him as soon as I went out.
Xie Tingyu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the scene behind Yuan Fuxue's carriage, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, "Master Yuan, is he going out for something too?"
Yuan Fuxue nodded, "I heard there's a fear of an epidemic in the refugee camp. Since I'm knowledgeable in medicine, I'll go there."
Alas, this is really God’s will.
Xie Tingyu's smile deepened, and she pointed to the loaded ox cart behind her. "What a coincidence! I want to go too. There are all kinds of people here..." She paused deliberately, "It would be inconvenient for you to go alone, sir. How about I escort you?"
"good."
This answer came out of his mouth without thinking. Not only was Xie Tingyu stunned, but even Yuan Fuxue himself felt a little out of control.
It would have been polite for me to refuse a few times, why did you have to do it so bluntly?
Yuan Fuxue coughed lightly to cover up, "Then why are you wearing this Taoist robe?"
Xie Tingyu brushed her Taoist robe and said, "This was given to me personally by His Majesty not long ago." She smiled slyly, "Of course I wear it for a purpose. You'll find out later."
Yuan Fuxue didn't understand why, but he didn't ask any more questions. The two of them went together, with Xie Tingyu riding beside them. He only needed to lift the corner of the curtain to see Xie Tingyu's silhouette.
The continuous rain stopped last night. This morning, the morning light penetrated the gaps in the clouds and shone obliquely on the earth. The fine gold flakes gilded the pedestrians hurrying through the streets.
This light also shines on Xie Tingyu.
She seemed to be covered with a layer of golden glow, which complemented her purple gauze Taoist robe. Even the auspicious crane pattern on her front was flowing with splendor, and her long eyelashes were dyed with gold.
When she saved him last night, she was bathed in moonlight, and today she seemed to be immersed in the warm morning light.
Yuan Fuxue suddenly lowered the curtains and placed his hand on his chest. He blinked and felt his heartbeat quicken even more.
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The author has something to say: I'm so tired, thinking about whether I should update tomorrow...
Holding a small flower, I start to break off the petals. I will update tomorrow, not tomorrow. I will update tomorrow, not tomorrow. I will update tomorrow, not tomorrow. I will update tomorrow, not tomorrow.…………
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