Chapter 55 Flying Smoke Order
My senior brother had mentioned that a storm was brewing in Yangcheng, and before leaving, he asked his apprentice where he would practice medicine after completing his apprenticeship.
Having learned from his senior brother that Yangcheng was dangerous, Fang Mu hesitated to tell his two junior disciples about it.
But today, Miss Shang's behavior reminded him of his senior brother.
For doctors, deep mountains and forests are not considered dangerous, at least they recognize herbs and plants and can save themselves if necessary.
However, given the hesitation Yang Cheng felt from his senior brother and Miss Shang, the only thing he could think of was...
"Is war about to break out?"
Shang Yuji paused for a moment: "Yes. Swords and blades have no eyes; unexpected things can happen at any time on the battlefield."
Fang Mu didn't ask where she got the information, and put away his relaxed expression: "Thank you for informing me, young lady."
Suddenly appearing out of nowhere, Xiao Mu shouted, "Master, I'm willing to go!"
Little Stone peeked out from behind him: "I'd like to too."
Xiao Mu: "Doctors should have a benevolent heart and help the world; they should not be afraid of danger and avoid it!"
Xiao Shi added, "There are many wounded on the battlefield, so we can improve our medical skills."
The two looked on expectantly, hoping their master would grant their request.
"Alas, your minds are made up, what more can this old man say?"
"Thank you, Master!" the two replied happily.
Fang Mu knew his two young apprentices well; once the war broke out in Yangcheng, even if they were far away, they would rush to Yangcheng upon hearing the news.
It would be better to just tell them directly and ask them to prepare what they need for their trip to Yangcheng in advance.
Having grown accustomed to a leisurely life, the master, unlike his daring and imaginative apprentice, has become hesitant and cautious.
Seeing that they had finished their discussion, Shang Yuji asked, "Elder Fang, does the medical community have any prescriptions that can cure all poisons?"
Fang Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Yes, there is, but it depends on what kind of poison we need."
"What if it's the rare and poisonous red grass of the grassland?"
.
“Your sister isn’t sick, she’s been poisoned. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the rare red grass on your grasslands.”
The military doctor, who had lived in Yangcheng for a long time, had some understanding of the medicinal and toxic substances on the grassland.
However, he had only heard the elders mention the red grass, a rare poison of the grasslands, but had never seen it with his own eyes.
"The symptoms are often drowsiness, fatigue, and weakness. There are no outward signs of illness, but the body is gradually depleted. The poisoned person becomes thinner and thinner, and the longer they stay awake, the shorter their waking hours become. Because the poisoned person often dies in their dreams, bleeding from all seven orifices, their death is gruesome and is also known as the Seven Dreams."
The girl on the bed was pale, her already thin body so thin that you could see the bones beneath her skin, yet she had a smile on her lips, as if she were having a sweet dream.
Rakar, covered in wounds from trying to secretly bring his older sister to Yangcheng, pleaded, "Medical doctor, please, save my sister, please..."
"This is beyond my ability, it's really..."
The military doctor didn't finish his sentence.
The boy knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction of General Lin: "General Lin of Da'an, I will do anything to save my sister, even if it means serving you like a cow or a horse!"
His forehead was cut open, and blood was flowing freely, yet he was still pleading.
The adjutant turned his face away, unable to bear to look any longer.
Lin Quan reached out and pressed down on Rakar's shoulder, stopping him from kowtowing: "Listen to what the army doctor has to say first."
Rakar stiffly turned his head, forcing back the tears welling in his eyes.
"There is a miraculous medicine in the martial arts world called Jiebaicao, which can cure the poisons of a thousand kinds of herbs and plants. As for the prescription, it is in the hands of the two sages of the Apricot Grove in Xuanhu Valley."
"The two saints of medicine?" Rakar murmured repeatedly.
"Yan Qing and Fang Mu, it's a pity that these two doctors live in seclusion and few people know their whereabouts."
Rakar's eyes dimmed, and Lin Quan tapped him on the head: "What's there to be discouraged about? Isn't there still hope?"
"But he said those two doctors are hard to find..."
“Who says you have to see a doctor? I know someone who has the herbal remedy.”
Lin Quan rubbed his temples, his head throbbing, and seeing Rakar's bewildered and miserable state, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath.
"But you really owe me a huge favor."
The owner of the antidote is none other than the eldest princess of the capital.
He had only heard of it; it was a sacred antidote that his subordinates had painstakingly found for the princess.
How could he possibly ask His Highness for something so valuable?
.
"Your Highness, an urgent message has arrived from Yangzhou."
Taking a rare moment of leisure from her busy schedule, Zhou Chaoyun, who was brewing tea in the pavilion, looked up. Although work during her rest was annoying, the source of the letter always made her concerned.
Only two people in Yangzhou would send her letters.
Yining, who was sent to open the new goods branch in Yangzhou, and the mysterious Shang Yuji.
Gongsun Ming continued brewing tea, while Cui Shu stood up, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, and took the letter.
Qi Nian is currently in the suburbs settling the victims of the snow disaster and is not in the courtyard today.
At this gathering around the stove for tea, the person who stood out was Yi'an, whose skin was darker than everyone else's.
Upon receiving the rather large bundle, Cui Shu initially thought it was an external object used to conceal envelopes. However, the bundle was so heavy that he almost lost his grip.
As Zhou Chaoyun reached out and took the bundle from Cui Shu, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
So heavy?
Open the bundle, remove the seal, and inside there is a hidden wooden box with a secret key, revealing a thick stack of letters inside.
Most of the urgent deliveries sent via mechanically constructed wooden crates were confidential matters, and Gongsun Ming dismissed the servants in the courtyard as soon as he opened the crates.
When Zhou Chaoyun saw that the letter was written in Shang Yuji's handwriting, she wondered what had happened that made her write so many letters.
She picked up the top sheet of paper and began to read it, her expression growing increasingly grim as she went down the page.
Those in the pavilion noticed the princess's somber aura and immediately abandoned their leisurely activities of watching the snow and brewing tea.
After the princess put down the letter, Gongsun Ming asked first, "Your Highness? Are we aware of what was stated in the letter?"
Zhou Chaoyun nodded, handed over the letters he had read to them, and let them examine them themselves. Then he took out the unread letters from the box and read them carefully.
I thought the previous letter had already left me at a loss, but the next letter was just as devastating.
Nanyang suffers severe drought, Pingchang is plagued by locusts, and Luoling is hit by an earthquake...
Each sheet of paper was filled with writing, and even though feasible protective measures were written at the end, the heavy sorrow that followed made Zhou Chaoyun dare not turn the page any further.
"How could this be?" Gongsun Ming looked troubled and incredulous.
Within just two years, Da'an suffered numerous disasters and was on the verge of collapse.
The severe drought and locust plague affected the food supply in both regions. Without food, people either turned to banditry, became displaced, or resorted to cannibalism, all of which led to social unrest.
If an earthquake is not handled properly, it may cause the people to suspect that it is divine punishment sent down by the heavens to warn the emperor of misrule, which could lead to instability among the people...
Moreover, disaster relief is never an easy task; it involves a wide range of issues, and a single action can have far-reaching consequences.
The flood in Jingzhou was brought under control thanks to early warnings, the dedication of the government, the cooperation of the entire city's residents, and the support of various forces.
Even so, the losses incurred and the subsequent recovery remain challenges.
What about Nanyang, Pingchang, and Luoling?
Who can be sure that, in the face of disaster, the opportunist is honest, the greedy are self-disciplined, and the selfish are generous?
Without a strong and visionary leadership organization, and without followers who obey orders without question, when disaster strikes, they will scatter like birds and beasts.
Even the fact that Li Wanjing, the governor of Jingzhou, was supported by the people was the result of his more than ten years of hard work in the Jingzhou government!
Furthermore, the Jingzhou matter avoided the court's wrangling, but what about the next three places?
But there is an urgent matter at hand: in the second month of winter, Princess Chang is to personally lead an expedition to Yangcheng...
One difficult problem after another looms ahead, causing endless headaches.
Most importantly, none of them dared to doubt the authenticity of the letter. In everyone's eyes, that Miss Shang was no different from a reclusive master.
Her precognitive abilities were so terrifying that even when she wrote stories to attribute the credit to some fictitious master…
They already knew that the expert she was referring to was herself.
Otherwise, why would these "wise men" have given her all these prophecies?
Because from the very beginning, she was the mastermind.
Seeing the bitter faces of his colleagues, Yi'an felt a great uproar in his heart.
This was the first time she had directly confronted a major legend within the Princess's residence—
The merchant girl can be described as a demigod.
The letter in my hand foreshadowed the disaster; it wasn't fabricated, but a fact.
She had informed both the Jingzhou floods of the past and the current snowstorm in Kyoto in advance in the same way...
What a brilliant method!
The three advisors whispered among themselves about how to break the deadlock, while Zhou Chaoyun picked up the last letter.
The first three letters all warned of impending natural disasters, which made her dare not have any illusions about the last one, as it would most likely be bad news.
Hmm? Not a new natural or man-made disaster?
Zhou Chaoyun lowered her eyes, looking down in confusion.
The letter contained a concise and clear... short story?
The protagonist is the second daughter who is not favored. Her family suddenly suffers a great upheaval, with those in charge dying or disappearing. Therefore, she is entrusted with a critical mission, turns the tide, and manages various situations to eventually revive the family and become a great merchant.
At the end of the letter, it was mentioned, seemingly casually:
"The only choice is the one where there is no other choice."
"..." Zhou Chaoyun stared at this sentence for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing.
It was a blatant test.
She had no idea that the little story that was urgently sent along with the omens of disaster in the three places was merely a simple tale of two women's comeback.
The second daughter... unfortunately, if you consider the royal family as a family, she is the second child.
It's more accurate to say that she was the one who was not valued, rather than the second daughter who was not favored.
As for the brief content of a hundred words, to put it another way, it asks:
Should I become a second woman?
Those in charge, those who are destined for the throne, are made to "accidentally" lose their ability to compete.
Of these options, death is the most appropriate.
What audacity!
How is this any different from asking her if she wants to rebel?
Zhou Chaoyun put away the letter and naturally immersed himself in the three's disaster relief plan.
Cui Shu fanned himself, seemingly unaware that His Highness had not shown them a letter, and continued to explain his plan:
"The Prefect of Nanyang is incompetent and weak. We can send someone of higher rank to seize power from him. Before long, we can sideline the Prefect and organize disaster relief..."
And so, the pavilion, originally intended for leisurely snow viewing, became the new meeting place.
Just as the group was discussing who the suitable candidate was, another person rushed anxiously from outside the courtyard.
The man raised the object in his hands, panting heavily, and said, "Your Highness, it is a Flying Smoke Token from Yangzhou."
Different messages have different focuses.
The mechanism was tightly sealed in a wooden box, while the flying smoke signaled a severe illness.
Those who use the Flying Smoke Order can go fast, even if it wears out several horses, it's not a big deal.
As soon as the letter was handed to Zhou Chaoyun, the three people in the pavilion turned their gazes toward it.
It was a letter from Yining.
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