The grain supply in Nanchang was almost gone, and several grain shops had brought out all their best supplies. Just as they were anxiously wondering what to do next, the grain that Liu Huan had purchased arrived.
As truckloads of grain were brought into the city, the patients in the camps outside the city and the people in the city who secretly opened the gates to take a look were overjoyed, exclaiming, "The grain has arrived! Lots of grain!"
The more experienced family members would say, "Don't talk, or you might catch a disease."
The carriage had been going on for quite some time, and the patient outside the city asked curiously, "Why are there so many?"
The soldiers stationed there explained, "These are medicinal herbs, which are free for everyone to use."
Everyone was shocked, "This...this is from the imperial court?"
The officers shook their heads. "No, these were all bought by the county magistrate's wife herself."
Some people scoffed, "He's paying for it himself; I think it's embezzled money."
The officers and soldiers explained unhappily, "Don't talk nonsense. The magistrate's wife used to be a merchant. These are all her private properties. If anyone embezzled the money, it would be used for the benefit of the people."
The person next to him chimed in, "That's right, the magistrate's wife is wonderful. If it weren't for her, we'd probably be dead by now."
The man lowered his head in shame, "I misunderstood."
Just when everyone thought it was finally over, another group of people arrived, followed by a long line of horse-drawn carriages.
"How much did the magistrate's wife actually buy?"
The situation with the officers and soldiers is also uncertain.
Some of the more seriously ill couldn't help but watch out of curiosity, only to see the leader, dressed in military uniform, dismount at the city gate.
After the token was produced in full view of everyone, and a moment of complete silence followed, everyone finally believed that the imperial envoy from the capital had arrived with the imperial physician.
Overjoyed, everyone wept and knelt down to thank the Emperor and the Magistrate's wife.
The soldiers guarding the city gate quickly opened the gate, and someone rushed to report that officials from the yamen had arrived at the gate to greet them.
Several imperial physicians, sitting in their carriages, looked at the deserted streets with heavy hearts, thinking that everyone in the city had died.
Su Yi was unable to get up. The county magistrate led everyone out to greet him. Qi Mu did not see Su Yi and thought he was dead. He almost cried in public.
After lighting incense to welcome the imperial edict, Qi Mu asked, "Where is Lord Su?"
Changbai explained, "Lord Su is seriously ill and unable to get up. Please forgive him."
Qi Mu was relieved and said, "What crime have we committed? Take us to see him."
Inside the room, Su Yi seemed to have reached his limit; he had lost a lot of weight and looked as weak as if he were about to die at any moment.
He was among the first to get infected, and he was directing operations on-site day and night for those few days. Coupled with his injuries, he probably wouldn't have made it this far if he hadn't been in good physical condition.
With a bit of strength left, he held Liu Huan's hand tightly, his dim eyes filled with reluctance.
"Huanhuan, I'm afraid I'll have to leave before you."
Liu Huan's tears streamed down her face like raindrops, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Su Yi wanted to raise his hand to wipe her tears but didn't have the strength. "I seem to always make you cry. I wasn't like this when we were little."
"I've let you down in this life, and you probably don't want to meet me again in the next life either. It's better if we don't meet, because I'm not good enough for someone as wonderful as you."
It wasn't just Liu Huan who couldn't get over that incident; Su Yi himself was also struggling with it.
He could never forgive himself for being so cold to Liu Huan after their marriage, even after he had lost his memory.
She also cannot forgive herself for not being by Liu Huan's side when Liu Huan had two children.
For these two reasons, even when Su's mother arranged a blind date for Liu Huan, he didn't dare to stop her.
The person I carefully nurtured and raised, I don't know when it started, but fate played a cruel joke on them, causing them to drift further and further apart.
"Huanhuan~" Su Yi's tone was filled with longing and tenderness, and even more so with reluctance.
"Take good care of yourself and the child after I'm gone. Chu Xuan is a good person. If... you should marry him."
From silently shedding tears at the beginning to hugging Su Yi and wailing, Liu Huan no longer cared about her own grievances, only praying that God would let Su Yi live.
Qi Mu, who had just arrived outside, heard the heart-wrenching cries and kicked open the door. The Imperial Physician Yan immediately stepped forward, opened his medicine box, took out silver needles, and began to insert them all over Su Yi's body.
He put another pill into his mouth before carefully taking his pulse.
Liu Huan slumped to the ground, watching the imperial physicians methodically perform the emergency treatment. She dared not breathe, her heart pounding in her throat.
She only began to shed tears when she heard the familiar cough of the man on the bed, accompanied by a smile.
Qi Mu watched as Su Yi's face went from ashen to rosy, and he was glad that he hadn't arrived too late.
Judge Yan turned around and looked at Liu Huan, who was crying her eyes out on the ground, and asked, "What's this?"
Qi Mu quickly introduced, "This is Lord Su's wife."
Liu Huan stood up and bowed to the judge, saying, "Thank you for saving my life, Your Honor."
Judge Yan waved at her, "Are you from the Liu family?"
After receiving the affirmation, Judge Yan exclaimed in praise, "So the extraordinary woman the Emperor was talking about is you."
Liu Huan didn't pay attention to the meaningful remark. There were probably quite a few people in the capital who knew her name, whether for good or bad reasons.
Qi Mu, who was standing to the side, asked the question that everyone was concerned about, "Lord Yan, how is Lord Su doing now?"
Lord Yan carefully put away the silver needles before replying, "With me here, there will naturally be no major problems. It's just that you'll be weaker in the future, so just be careful."
Seeing Liu Huan's red and swollen eyes, Qi Mu comforted her, "Sister-in-law, can you rest assured now?"
Liu Huan smiled through her tears and curtsied, saying, "Thank you, sir."
Qi Mu knew immediately that she was unaware of his identity, and smiled indifferently, "No need to thank us, it is because Lord Su's wealth and honor are beyond the reach of fate."
Everyone withdrew outside so that Su Yi could rest properly. Liu Huan didn't want to leave Su Yi at this time, but Chang Bai noticed her concerns and said, "Miss, please go out and entertain the guests. I will stay here and guard the master."
Liu Huan glanced at him, worried, and said, "Tell me immediately if he feels unwell."
Several imperial physicians were standing in the outer hall. Upon seeing the chief physician, they quickly asked, "How are Lord Yan and Lord Su?"
"We arrived in time and there is no major problem. You gentlemen can rest assured."
The county magistrate had prepared a meal and invited all the officials to come. Judge Yan, concerned for the people, wanted to understand the situation first.
"No rush. Who's been in charge of these matters since Lord Su fell ill?"
The officials looked at each other, and finally Chu Xuan, who was standing nearby, said, "It is the magistrate's wife."
The imperial physicians who followed did not believe it and waved their sleeves, saying, "Ridiculous! Even if you want to attribute the credit to her, you don't need such a reason."
"Exactly. How could a woman do something that even a man can't? Giving her all the credit is just asking for trouble."
Upon hearing this, Chu Xuan hurriedly retorted, "No, it's the magistrate's wife who's in charge, and we're assisting her. If it weren't for her, the city would probably be in chaos by now."
A young imperial physician sarcastically remarked, "Once everyone dies, things will be quiet."
Liu Huan looked up at him, "Who said everyone in the city is dead?"
The young imperial physician turned his head and said disdainfully, "Since we entered the city, there hasn't been a single person. What else could these people be but dead?"
The county magistrate explained from the side, "Your Honor has misunderstood. The people are all at home and haven't come out. They're not dead."
The young imperial physician wanted to argue, but was stopped by the chief physician, who said, "Madam, could you please tell me about the situation?"
Judge Yan is indeed worthy of being a judge; he doesn't even bother to directly question things.
It's easy to find out who's handling the affairs by asking; you can't explain things unless you've personally dealt with them.
Liu Huan briefly explained the cause and course of events, the handling process, and the current condition of the patient.
"Currently, there are a total of 5,000 patients outside the city, of whom 1,000 are seriously ill and about 300 have died."
“There are about 10,000 people in the city who are not infected, but about half of the 5,000 people in Heshui Town under Nanchang County are infected and are all receiving treatment outside the city.”
Upon hearing this, Judge Yan and Qi Mu were already convinced that Liu Huan was in charge.
A royal physician noticed that everyone's faces were covered, so he asked, "What are you all wearing on your faces?"
Liu Huan explained, "It's the masks. We've found that the disease is mainly transmitted through the mouth and nose, so wearing masks when we speak can effectively reduce the spread of the disease."
"What a joke! You think you can stop smallpox with a rag? I think you're really getting more and more backward, letting a woman do whatever she wants."
The people in the yamen were very unhappy. Putting everything else aside, Liu Huan's decisions and leadership abilities were obvious to all. However, these were all officials from the capital, and they were not people of low rank like them who could refute him.
Others might be afraid, but Liu Huan wasn't. She looked at the young imperial physician and retorted, "Did I tell you it was smallpox?"
The young imperial physician hadn't expected Liu Huan to argue back, so he blushed and retorted, "What would we be doing here if it weren't for smallpox?"
Seeing that he was getting more and more excited, Judge Yan said unhappily, "Lord Qin, you should be lenient when you can. Madam, please continue."
Liu Huan withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and continued to explain everything about the medication, disinfection, and why the people hadn't come out.
"Although it is not smallpox, it is highly contagious. Even with efforts to control it, many people are still getting infected one after another."
After understanding the situation, Judge Yan led everyone to have a simple meal and then prepared to go outside the city to visit the patients.
Before leaving, the Imperial Physician asked for a mask to wear, but the young physician refused, saying, "I won't wear it. I want to see if she's really as powerful as she says, or if she's just making things up."
Judge Yan did not refuse; in order to better understand the situation, Judge Yan invited Liu Huan to go with him.
Today, people were buying grain on one of the streets, and the lines drawn outside the government office were filled with people queuing up.
Everyone was wearing masks and carrying containers of food, and no one spoke to anyone.
Judge Yan asked, "Why are there only a few people?"
Liu Huan explained, "To avoid people gathering and spreading the infection, only one street of people comes to buy food each day, which is also to reduce the spread of the virus."
When the people saw Liu Huan come out, they greeted her quietly, "Madam!"
Liu Huan greeted them from a distance and then said that a royal physician had arrived from the capital and that everyone would soon be back to normal. Everyone was very happy to hear this.
The group started to get chaotic as they got excited. Liu Huan kindly reminded everyone, "Everyone should keep their distance and not get too close. Even if you can be cured, you'll still feel uncomfortable if you get infected."
Everyone listened to Liu Huan and stood in line obediently.
Upon arriving outside the city gate, rows of tents stretched for a long distance.
Soldiers guarded the outside, and each row of tents had a different cloth flag outside.
Green, yellow, and red.
"Green represents people who have just been infected and are not too serious, yellow represents patients who have been infected for a long time and are slightly more serious, red represents patients who are very serious and may die at any time, and there is a small black one over there, which is where the body of a dying patient is prepared for the final moments."
Judge Yan was shocked the whole way. He never expected that such a weak woman could think of so much and handle things so well. He never thought of such a thorough approach.
"Let's go check out the black tent first."
There were only two people inside, and both of them were people Liu Huan knew.
The person lying on the ground in funeral clothes is the village chief of Heshui Village, and the one kneeling and crying is the village chief's wife. There is also paper money next to them, so it seems they are just waiting for the person to pass away.
When the village chief's wife saw Liu Huan enter, she knelt down in front of her and begged, "Madam, please save my husband. We were wrong back then. Please forgive us this time. Please save him."
Liu Huan sighed and comforted her, "Please step aside. These are imperial physicians from the capital. Let them take a look and you'll know."
Judge Yan knelt down, took the pulse, administered acupuncture, and gave the patient a final look at the pupils before shaking his head. "I am powerless to help."
Upon hearing this, the village chief's wife fainted from exhaustion. A royal physician stepped forward and administered acupuncture before she recovered.
After Judge Yan said "Please accept my condolences," the village chief, who had been lying on the ground for a long time, gradually stopped breathing. The soldiers quickly took sacks, put the man in them, and carried him away.
He helped the village chief's wife up from the ground and said, "Come with us, everything is ready over there."
What is it? What was buried?
As soon as the group left, soldiers carrying simple water sprayers immediately began disinfecting the area, which impressed everyone present.
I went to see the people in the red tents. Many of them were lying there looking sickly, and some even looked like they were about to die.
After examining the patient, Judge Yan returned to consult with the resident physician about the symptoms and medication, and then summoned several imperial physicians to devise a new prescription.
"Let's use this medicine for now. Boil a large pot and feed it to those who are not seriously ill. For those who are seriously ill, add this medicine and do it quickly."
The medicine was brewed quickly. After it was ready, the soldiers carried it to the tent and fed each person a bowl. Several imperial physicians then divided the work to bleed the people. The imperial physicians were too busy to handle the thousand seriously ill patients, so they gathered all the doctors in the city together. It took them a whole day and night to finish bleeding all the patients.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Liu Huan returned to the yamen early to visit Su Yi. When she went in, Su Yi was still sleeping.
She felt incredibly relaxed, took off her robe and shoes, got into bed, and quickly drifted off to sleep next to Su Yi's hand.
When Su Yi woke up, it was just getting light outside. He tried to move his arms but couldn't break free, and then he realized that someone was beside him.
Turning his head and seeing the familiar top of his head made him feel unreal, as if he were in a dream.
She pinched herself and realized it wasn't true; she was delighted but also a little cautious.
He slowly withdrew his hand, gently embraced Liu Huan, closed his eyes again, and fell asleep, his face filled with satisfaction and relief.
Liu Huan was awakened by hunger. She was exhausted from not getting enough rest for more than ten days and was under great mental stress because of Su Yi's illness. She slept for a whole day and night.
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