The Huang family returned to the inn and quickly fetched water to help the examinees wash up and prepare easily digestible food.
After eating, I went to bed early.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Qianci groggily pulled something out of the covers.
He casually flung it out, and it slammed against the wall with a creak, waking Huang Shi.
"What's wrong, old man? What was that noise just now?"
"I don't know either. I just felt an itch on my leg and wanted to scratch it. I grabbed something and then threw it away."
Huang quickly lit a lamp and looked in the direction from which the sound had come.
They found a large rat on the ground, which had been thrown around and was in a daze.
Getting a mouse into your house can be a big deal or a small deal.
Quickly check the things in the room to see if they have been gnawed by rats, and whether the old man and you are injured.
I opened the door and called the waiter to come up and get rid of the rat. I also got some rat poison and swept it around the room.
Feeling uneasy, I knocked on the doors of the other people and asked them to check their belongings carefully, especially things like exam baskets.
Fortunately, Zhao Qingyan was always careful. After carefully checking her father and brother's exam baskets, she took them to her room and casually tossed them into her spatial storage.
What she was most worried about was experiencing the same kind of exhaustion as Xu Ruonan—not only was it disgusting, but it was also incredibly troublesome.
If it is not discovered in time, it may affect one's entire career in the imperial examinations.
The Zhao family carefully checked the room but found nothing strange, so they lay down to rest again.
I had just fallen asleep when I heard someone scream, followed by a chaotic thumping and clattering.
It really disturbs my peaceful sleep.
He turned over and went back to sleep. After seeing the family off into the examination hall, he returned to the inn.
While chatting with the waiter, Huang learned that rats had appeared not only in his own room the previous night.
This has never happened before; the rat poison was sold out in just one morning.
Huang and Zhao Qingyan were very sensitive, after all, they had just experienced an earthquake and a snake pit, and now they had rats, which was really upsetting.
Zhao Qingyan roughly understood why rats were rampant everywhere, and she also had some concerns.
Snakes are the natural enemy of rats.
There weren't so many rats in the city before, probably because the snakes that were exterminated were eliminated. Now that the snake dens have been taken down, the rats are running rampant.
But how can I put it?
This is a world with low productivity, so there's no way to talk about the food chain.
From Zhao Qingyan's perspective in the future, she felt that Lord Duan's decision was correct; so many snakes, large and small, the vast majority of which were highly venomous.
If not by burning, how should they be disposed of? Are they just going to rely on a small number of snake catchers to eliminate them?
If one is not careful, the snake catcher will die. There is no way to catch and release all the snakes, as it has become a large-scale operation.
To put it bluntly, there might be more snakes in that snake den than in the entire city. Who would dare release them? That would be like an old man hanging himself.
The risks posed by this rat infestation are considerable, with plague being one of them.
People in Lingnan, in particular, have a habit of eating field mice.
When Zhao Qingyan voiced her concerns, Madam Huang pondered for a moment and decided that she still needed to go see the prefect.
"Sir, rats carry many diseases, and those viruses can be transmitted to humans."
For example, if a person eats food that has been gnawed by a rat, or if someone catches and eats a rat, they may contract the disease, which is highly contagious.
Common symptoms include high fever, cough, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, widespread bleeding, ecchymosis, cyanosis, and necrosis of the skin. After death, the body turns blackish-purple, hence the name Black Death.
We earnestly request that Your Excellency mobilize all the people to kill the rats and refrain from eating them, and to dispose of them safely…
Huang spoke with genuine sincerity.
She didn't dare let Zhao Qingyan stand up for herself; too much intelligence can be a double-edged sword. It was best to keep a low profile in front of these officials.
Lord Duan frowned as he pondered.
"What might happen if we don't handle it the way you suggested?"
"Epidemic." The two words from Madam Huang startled Lord Duan so much that he slumped back into his chair.
He scratched his head in a very unladylike manner.
"This is truly, truly..." Lord Duan didn't finish his sentence.
Lord Duan was no longer in the mood to ask Madam Huang. Everything Madam Huang said could be verified, especially since there were so many doctors in the pharmacy; a simple inquiry would suffice.
The fact that Mrs. Huang came to offer this reminder only shows that she is an old lady with some knowledge and a kind heart.
Plague is quite sensitive to disinfectants. After returning to the inn, we changed Huang's bed sheets and blankets, and sprayed disinfectant inside and outside the rooms of all the guests.
As for the entire inn, to be honest, Zhao Qingyan said she couldn't manage it all.
The Huang family is now also very worried.
"Sweetie, you said your grandpa was crawled on by a mouse last night, is that okay?"
Zhao Qingyan was also unsure.
"It shouldn't be. Grandma, you checked Grandpa, right? Does he have any wounds? Did he take a bath this morning?"
"There are definitely no wounds. He took a shower this morning and also cut and burned his hair."
Huang quickly replied.
"Even so, there should be no problem. We are only speculating now, not certain. Don't worry too much, Grandma."
Zhao Qingyan comforted her.
Unable to sit still, Zhao Qingyan knocked on Yunyou's door.
"Ancestor, come with me into the space and see if there are any treatments for the plague in the books I bought before."
Yunyou smiled faintly, "Amitabha, benefactor, you are kind."
This caused Zhao Qingyan to roll her eyes. The grandmother and granddaughter disappeared together right under Huang's nose.
Even though Huang had witnessed Zhao Qingyan disappear into thin air, she still felt her heart pound every time she saw her; it was just too outrageous.
She always felt that her granddaughter wasn't human, but rather a fairy descended from heaven.
Which mortal could possess a magic bag to hold people? Which mortal could travel through a thousand years and have their soul return to its rightful place? Only a fairy could do that.
When Zhao Qingyan came out of the space, Huang Shi was staring wide-eyed at the motionless figure in front of her.
Only after seeing Zhao Qingyan come out did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Regarding Yunyou's ability to freely enter Zhao Qingyan's space, I have already explained it to Madam Huang.
Huang also awkwardly accepted Yunyou as his "ancestor".
No matter what, ancestors are ancestors, and they still need to be respected.
Huang blinked her dry eyes and asked, "Have you found a good method?"
Zhao Qingyan nodded and found a treatment method in a book called "The Plague Compilation".
Zhao Qingyan came out to tell Huang that she had found a solution, so that Huang wouldn't worry.
After taking the brush and ink from the room, Zhao Qingyan flashed back into the space.
Yunyou took up his pen and copied the prescription in detail. Zhao Qingyan took it outside the space to dry it and then carefully folded it.
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