"Be good, don't cry. Don't be afraid, mom is back." Jian Ning carried Sanniu to the west room and pushed the door open. "Grandpa Cai locked the door and won't let anyone in. Grandpa Cai is inside with my second sister."
"Is that Madam Jian back?" Cai Bo heard Jian Ning's voice and walked over to say through the door, "The Second Miss has smallpox. This disease is very dangerous. I am too old to die. Let me accompany the Second Miss to endure it. Madam Jian and the Third Miss should stay away."
Jian Ning's nose felt sore, "Uncle Cai, I'm a female doctor. I can cure this disease. Open the door quickly!"
The door creaked open. Cai Bo covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and mumbled, "I've only heard of people escaping death and surviving, but I've never heard of this disease being curable. Do you really believe what Madam Jian just said?"
Jian Ning had put a child-friendly mask on Sanniu and told her to wait outside and not come in. She noticed that Uncle Cai's forehead was a little red, so she reached out and touched his forehead. "Uncle Cai, besides you and Jiajia, how many other people in the house have been infected?"
"There are two more people from the kitchen. I told them to stay in the servants' room in the backyard. Don't move around. I'll arrange for people to deliver food and drinks as usual. The same goes for this side."
Jian Ning nodded. "I'll treat you and Jiajia first, and then I'll see them. I'll have them move over here. All those infected in the mansion will be concentrated in the west room here so that we can treat them all together and avoid passing them on to others."
Erniu inherited Ding Youtian's physical fitness and was easily affected by the slightest disturbance. After not seeing her for a day, she lay there like a flower that had lost water and was about to wither, which made Jian Ning's heart ache.
"Jia Jia, wake up, mother is back, wake up quickly." Jian Ning picked her up and called her softly.
"Mom~" She opened her eyes and saw Jian Ning crying, "I dreamed of mom. I dreamed that grandma gritted her teeth and pinched me hard, wuwu... Mom, why did you let grandma pinch you all the time? I don't like the mom from before. I don't want grandma to pinch me, wuwu..."
She was crying inside, and Sanniu, who was outside the house, also started crying loudly when she heard it. The crying of the two children broke Jane Ning's heart.
"No, no, no, I was useless before. From now on, I won't let anyone bully me, and I won't let anyone bully my sweet baby. Don't cry, don't cry. I promise I won't. No one can bully us anymore. Don't worry, okay?"
With tears in her eyes, Jian Ning took out a handkerchief, carefully wiped the tears from her face, and coaxed her softly.
"Where's Sister A'man? Did Mother find Sister A'man?"
"We'll find it. Uncle Huo and Dad are already looking for it. I think we'll find it soon! I'll give you an injection now. When you're well and Sister Man comes back, you can play together again. I'll be gentle, so just bear with it, okay?"
Erniu pouted, looking like she was about to cry again. She didn't know if it was because she heard that Ah Man hadn't been found yet or because she was afraid of the injection, but she managed to hold back her tears and nodded, "Mom, I want to be as brave as my sister and Ah Man. I won't cry, I'll get the injection."
She said she didn't want to cry, but tears kept streaming down her face.
Outside, Sanniu was still crying, prompting Baimei to imitate her and cry even louder than Sanniu. Not only was her voice hoarse, but it was also extremely harsh, like a funeral wailing. Jian Ning was annoyed and shouted angrily, "Baimei! If you make another sound, I'll pluck all your hair out and roast you and feed you to Brother Qiu. Do you believe it?"
When Baimei heard this, the tuft of white hair on his head instantly exploded.
"Ah!" Perhaps out of unwillingness, or perhaps out of anger, it let out a fierce cry, spread its wings, stumbled out from the corridor and flew onto the roof.
Jian Ning injected drugs into Erniu and the others, and then called all the servants in the Huo Mansion to the flower hall. After checking them one by one, he learned that there was an old woman in the mansion who had contracted smallpox when she was young and was the only survivor in the village.
She took the old woman to the kitchen to boil medicine and taught her carefully. She told her to be responsible only for boiling medicine for everyone every day, and then for delivering medicine, food and drinks to Erniu and the others.
After finishing her work, she took Sanniu back to the east room of the villa to rest. She was obviously very tired, but she couldn't fall asleep while lying on the bed thinking about Ah Man. She didn't know when she fell asleep, and when she woke up, it was already dawn.
After quickly washing up, Jian Ning went to see Erniu and several other patients first. She then instructed the people in the Huo Mansion to stay indoors and not go out. If they needed to buy anything, they should wait until she came back.
After she finished her explanation, she drove the carriage to the nearby Taifu Mansion. The first thing the Taifu and Old Madam Huo asked about when they saw her was Ah Man. Old Madam Huo wiped her tears and said, "In the past, I just couldn't get over this hurdle in my heart. I never had a single warm word for that child, but now she's gone, my heart aches!"
The tutor patted her on the shoulder, shook his head and sighed.
"A'man is a good child. I believe that God will not treat her badly. She will definitely return safely!" Jian Ning handed the prepared medicine to the maidservant beside Old Madam Huo and explained the usage and dosage, as well as the decoction of the herbs. Then he said to the Taifu and Old Madam Huo, "Fortunately, no one in the mansion has been infected. Don't go out for the time being. I still need to visit my mother, and then go to the medical office. If there is anything, send someone to Huo Jincheng's mansion to find me. If I'm not here, leave a message and I will come over as soon as I know."
When she was about to leave, the tutor stopped her.
"Wait, let me go with you to the hospital. They might not believe you if you go there as a young woman. I'll go with you and wait a moment. I'll go change my clothes and come back."
Although the Grand Tutor had no real power, he was still quite prestigious in the court. People were more easily convinced by his introduction, especially when the Imperial Physician learned that Jian Ning was the female doctor who took over Xiao Shi's care, and was also the legitimate daughter of Prince Pingnan. It was a wonderful way to say it.
He told Jian Ning, "Even if you hadn't come, I was about to send someone to General Huo's residence to see if you were there. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent someone to say that Madam Jian's medical skills were unparalleled, and she must have a way to cure the smallpox."
"Your Highness requested that Madam Jian take full charge of the Medical Department. I didn't expect that Madam Jian would come here on her own. I truly admire her. She is worthy of being the eldest daughter of the Pingnan Palace!"
All the officials in the court knew that the legitimate daughter of Prince Pingnan had been missing since she was young. Although they knew that her surname should be Duan, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince called her Madam Jian, and everyone called her that too.
With the prince's instruction and the authorization of the imperial physician, Jian Ning's actions became much more convenient. She led the officials of the medical department to work day and night for more than half a month to fight the epidemic in the capital. During this period, she also had to travel back and forth between Heze County and other counties around the capital where the epidemic had occurred. She rode Qiu Ge back and forth every day, and gradually everyone got used to it.
Many scholars who were going to Beijing to take the imperial examination fell ill due to the smallpox epidemic, so the emperor ordered a one-month postponement. A total of more than a thousand people died from the smallpox epidemic in the capital. If it were not for Jian Ning, the number would have been tens of thousands.
Ma Fuquan and his party were also blocked on the way due to the smallpox epidemic. After the epidemic was lifted and the road was restored, he escorted Ma Xiaomai and Ma Xiaodou to the capital. At the same time, Jian Ning also took Qiu Ge to Heze County to meet Ding Youtian, and then followed the signposts left by Huo Jincheng to continue north to find A'man.
At the same time, the King of Pingnan led his army back from the north and was approaching the capital.
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