Chapter 200: He could have escaped but didn't; what a pity.
The next day at noon, Lord Chen arrived, beaming with joy, clearly indicating that the case in Qili Village had been solved.
"The clues provided by Dr. Zhou were very useful. Last night I interrogated Wang Ying overnight, and she confessed just before dawn that she was the one who started the fire."
Zhou Mujiao raised an eyebrow and said "Congratulations," then asked, "But Lord Chen, wasn't it said that Wang Ying was seriously injured and bedridden? How did this fire start?"
"Dr. Zhou, you don't know this. This Wang Ying is quite capable and intelligent. The rice had just been harvested, right? She had the village children help her carry the straw, and she braided dozens of long, thin ropes, doused them with kerosene, and stretched them out of the back window. Then she had the children use the ropes to connect each house, one after another. Then she had the children call all their mothers to her house. While everyone was waiting for her to come out in the front yard, she lit the rope in her room, and the fire started and spread from her house to every other house..."
Lord Chen sighed as he finished speaking: "Wang Ying was abducted to Qili Village. The young wives of this generation in the village are all in similar situations to her. Her fire has freed these women, but she herself may not survive. Every family has its rules, and every country has its laws. No matter what grievances Wang Ying suffered, burning a village of men to death is a heinous crime."
Zhou Mujiao remained silent. She recalled the shocked and relieved look on Wang Ying's face when she learned that her inability to have children was not her fault, and a subtle feeling welled up inside her.
Wang Ying was abducted, but she must have already accepted the idea of "marrying a chicken and following the chicken, marrying a dog and following the dog," which is why she was so concerned about whether she could have children. She must have been beaten and scolded by her in-laws a lot because she couldn't have children. When she was beaten badly, she must have wanted to run away at some point, but because Qili Village was located in a remote area and all the men in the village were evil people, she dared not run away, for fear of losing her life.
But if she hadn't set that fire, she could have escaped on her own, but she didn't...
Zhou Mujiao couldn't fathom what Wang Ying was feeling when she made that decision, and even if she could, it wouldn't matter to her.
Will she die?
"meeting."
"Oh." Zhou Mujiao stood up. "I'm all ready, Lord Chen. Let's go to Wuqi Village."
We set off at noon and arrived at Wuqi Village two hours later.
Although Qili Village is twenty li away from the official road, it at least has its own road. However, the road leading to Wuqi Village has long been overgrown with grass, and even the traces of the road can no longer be seen.
"The last time I came here was a year ago, but I was unable to enter the village."
Lord Chen felt a chill run down his spine when he recalled the events of that time.
Three women covered in tumors stood at the village entrance, pouncing on anyone who approached. Who dared to get close, let alone enter the village?
When the doctors arrived, the women made way, but the doctors were frightened away as soon as they saw the tumors on their faces. Lord Chen wanted to search for famous doctors all over the country, but he had neither money nor power. The famous doctors had all been invited away by high-ranking officials and nobles. Where could he find any famous doctors? Even if there were, would they really come to practice medicine and save lives?
Wuqi Village has a very impressive archway, but now it is in a dilapidated state, with weeds growing all over it, some of which have grown to the same height as the archway, making it look very desolate.
“Originally, Wuqi Village produced a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and this memorial archway was donated and built by that Jinshi. The roads in and out of the village were also well-maintained. Ten years ago, this Jinshi retired and returned to his hometown, but he passed away within two years. After his death, the villagers began to suffer from all sorts of strange diseases. Some people had tumors all over their bodies, and some had tooth-like things growing on their bodies and faces... Several a year, several a year, and after ten years, all the men in Wuqi Village who were not sick had run away. Even if the remaining women and elderly were not sick, they were tied down by their children and could not leave even if they wanted to, and there was no place for them to go outside.”
"The last child born in Wuqi Village is already seven years old, but people in the neighborhood have a habit of abandoning their dying, sick, or physically or intellectually disabled children in the village. So there are six or seven children under the age of three in the village. I haven't been here for a year, so I don't know if there have been any new additions..."
Since she was only eighteen and the situation in Wuqi Village was still unclear, Zhou Mujiao let her stay in the city. She took Xi'er and Le'er with her, as well as Princess Jinling who secretly followed behind. Learning from the experience of Qili Village, Zhou Mujiao brought along all the guards she could, plus the six constables and three aunts brought by Lord Chen, making a large group of more than thirty people.
This group of people had trodden the abandoned village road back to its original state as they came in. With such a commotion, Zhou Mujiao thought that the villagers must have already discovered them.
Sure enough, when they finished clearing the weeds under the archway, three women whose faces were not discernible appeared.
One of them had tumors all over her face and hands, another had teeth all over her face, and the third had small pits all over her face. All three of them were unrecognizable and were wearing pale white clothes. When they were suddenly seen at such close range, some of the guards were so frightened that they stumbled and fell.
Princess Jinling screamed.
"Master, Master! Ahhhhhh, it's so scary!"
Princess Jinling forgot all her pride and arrogance at that moment. She rushed to Zhou Mujiao's side, grabbed her medical kit with one hand and Zhou Mujiao's arm with the other, and said, "Master, let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Then why don't you just leave? Why are you dragging her back to the village?
Zhou Mujiao turned her head to look at Jinling and casually reminded her, "This is the road into the village, not the road out. Are you so scared that you've lost your mind?"
"Master, what nonsense are you spouting? I'm a doctor! A doctor who sees a patient and instead turns and runs away, what kind of doctor is that? That's a coward!"
Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "You asked to go in yourself, so don't regret it later. It'll be too late to regret it."
"Yes, I asked to go in myself, and I have no regrets."
“The situation in the village is still unclear. These three are the most frightening on the surface, but they don’t seem to be contagious. However, there may be patients in the village who don’t look scary but are still contagious. If you go in and get infected, you will not only be unable to become a doctor, but you will also be unable to return to the palace—you won’t even be able to return to the capital. So, do you still want to go in?”
Princess Jinling nodded: "I've thought it through very clearly these past few days. I know what I want. I've never lacked gold and silver since I was little, nor have I lacked the love of my parents and elders. My older brothers and sisters always save some of the good food and toys for me. I know they genuinely love me, but I also know that this love is because of my father, not because I deserve it. So, Master, I want to do something so that they won't truly love me because of my father."
Zhou Mujiao nodded and walked towards the women: "Gentlemen, we are doctors. If you are willing, we will stay in the village and do our best to find the cause of your illness and treat you."
Lord Chen was greatly alarmed.
He only asked her to come and take a look, how come they want to stay now?! Zhou Mujiao is the wife of a top scholar, if something happens to her in his jurisdiction, he won't be able to keep his official position, let alone his life!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com