After saying goodbye to the old man, Su Huaiyue and Wei Che walked quickly towards the county government office.
Along the way, both of them were silent, each immersed in their own thoughts.
After returning to the county government office, Su Huaiyue and Wei Che went straight to see Lord Li.
Lord Li saw the two of them rushing over with serious expressions, and his heart tightened: "You two are in such a hurry, but what happened?"
Su Huaiyue spoke first, recounting everything she had learned about the high prices of medicinal herbs on Chang Street. Her expression was serious, and her tone was filled with anger: "Sir Li, we discovered on Chang Street that the prices of medicinal herbs are now ridiculously high, more than ten times higher than in Dongzhou."
Upon hearing this, Lord Li frowned, his expression growing increasingly worried. He paced slowly, pondering for a moment before saying, "It seems there's a lot of water behind this. This force is so rampant, even as the plague rages, they're still thinking of making a fortune. It's truly despicable!"
Wei Che then added: "Also, when we were in Dongzhou, those medicinal herbs that were bought back at high prices seemed to be secretly manipulated by a force that was driving the development of the plague in the southwest."
"Sir Li, we currently have no evidence and don't know who to suspect," Wei Che said. "That's why I've come to ask you, Sir. Do you have any ideas?"
Lord Li paced back and forth in his study, pondering for a long time before saying, "This matter is indeed of great significance. To have known about the outbreak of the plague in advance and to have stockpiled medicinal herbs on a large scale despite the court's blockade of information, this person must have close connections within the court."
Lord Li frowned slightly, a hint of caution in his eyes, and continued, "I'm not sure, but as far as I know, the medicinal materials business in the southwest has always been related to several large chambers of commerce. Behind these chambers of commerce, there are more or less shadows of court officials."
Su Huaiyue's heart moved, and he asked, "Master Li, do you think that these chambers of commerce may have noticed the imperial court's blockade of the plague and made arrangements in advance, stockpiling medicinal materials and driving up prices?"
Lord Li nodded slightly and said, "That's possible. However, these chambers of commerce are always cautious in their actions, and it's not easy to catch them. Moreover, their interests are intertwined and complex, and even a small move can affect the entire system."
Su Huaiyue was well aware of the urgency of the current situation. The government would naturally investigate the case, but the most important thing for her now was to develop an antidote first.
She briefly spoke to Lord Li, then left Wei Che and Lord Li behind and hurried back to the East Courtyard.
Su Huaiyue sat at the long table, recalling the symptoms of the people he saw on the street today. He asked a few more people, and the symptoms were all similar, nothing more than pain all over the body and high fever.
A new prescription suddenly emerged in her mind.
However, just as she was concentrating, Wei Che suddenly came in with a panicked look and said anxiously: "Oh no, grandma is in pain all over her body and has a fever, go and see her!"
Su Huaiyue's heart tightened, and she immediately put down the herbs in her hand, quickly put on a mask and gloves, and trotted after Wei Che to Madam Wei's room.
She looked serious and decisively asked everyone in the room to leave as soon as she entered, then walked carefully to Madam Wei's bedside.
Su Huaiyue carefully examined Madam Wei's symptoms, from her pulse to her complexion, from her breathing to her temperature, not missing a single detail. As the examination progressed, her brow furrowed more and more, and she gradually came to a conclusion.
She confirmed helplessly and heavily that Madam Wei was infected with the plague.
Finally, Su Huaiyue slowly pushed open the door, and everyone seemed to see the dawn of hope and surrounded her.
Wei Yunrou was the first to rush forward, holding Su Huaiyue's hand, and asked anxiously with tears in her eyes, "Sister-in-law, how is Grandma? Is she... is she okay?"
Wei Che, who followed closely behind, also looked anxious, staring at Su Huaiyue, waiting for her answer.
Su Huaiyue looked at the worried and fearful eyes of the crowd, and her heart softened. She said with a firm gaze but a hint of comfort, "Don't worry too much. Madam Wei has been infected with the plague. But don't worry, everyone. I have developed a new prescription. I have done a lot of experiments before, and it should be effective."
Wei Yunrou also said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what can I do? As long as I can help grandma, I will do anything."
Su Huaiyue thought for a moment, looked at Wei Che and said, "Wei Che, go and boil the medicine right now. Follow the method I taught you before and put it outside the door after it's done." She thought to herself that he was the only male in the Wei family and his physical fitness was relatively good. Even if he got infected, he should be able to withstand it, so it would be more appropriate for him to do these jobs.
Wei Che nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, I'll go right away."
After saying that, he hurried towards the place where the medicine was being boiled.
Su Huaiyue turned around and said to Wei Yunrou, "Yunrou, go prepare some clean cloths, hot water, and herbs for disinfection. I want to thoroughly disinfect my grandmother's room."
Wei Yunrou quickly responded: "Okay, sister-in-law, I'll go right away."
After saying that, he left quickly.
For the next day and night, Su Huaiyue and Wei Che hardly slept a wink.
After Wei Che boiled the medicine, he placed it outside the door as Su Huaiyue instructed, and then returned to guard outside the room.
The two of them sat quietly at the door, not daring to take their eyes off the door for a moment, as if they would miss some important moment if they looked away.
Wei Che stood up from time to time and put his ear to the door, trying to hear the movement inside. Every time he heard the slightest sound, his heart would suddenly tighten.
Although Su Huaiyue appeared calm on the surface, her clenched hands revealed her inner nervousness.
Time passed slowly in this torment, and every minute and every second seemed as long as a year.
Finally, after a day and a night of difficult waiting, Madam Wei's weak voice came from the room: "Huai Yue..."
Su Huaiyue and Wei Che immediately stood up, gently pushed open the door and walked into the room.
Madam Wei slowly opened her eyes, a hint of weakness in her eyes, but when she saw Su Huaiyue, she managed to squeeze out a smile: "Huaiyue, thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, my life was saved."
The heavy stone in Su Huaiyue's heart finally fell to the ground. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she smiled with relief. She walked to the bedside, held Madam Wei's hand, and said, "Grandma, don't say that. This is what I should do. As long as you are okay, it's fine. You don't know how worried we were about you this whole day and night."
Madam Wei patted Su Huaiyue's hand gently and said, "Good boy, I am satisfied that you have this heart."
Wei Che also walked into the room and saw that his grandmother had woken up. His eyes were full of joy: "Grandma, you finally woke up. We were so scared."
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