Although it was only mentioned briefly in historical records, Chen Zhaoci had seen a detailed record in a medical book. He didn't know which doctor wrote the book, but according to that doctor, he had gone deep into the hardest-hit areas of the epidemic and recorded some of the symptoms of severe illness. Chen Zhaoci had read it and found that the plague was actually quite similar to this one. Both were caused by drinking unclean water, which initially caused vomiting and diarrhea, followed by persistent high fever. Due to dehydration, people quickly lost their lives.
All Chen Zhaoci can do now is treat patients according to their symptoms. There are no specific drugs, so he can only try different decoctions one by one. Some people's symptoms have been relieved, while others have not improved. The only thing that makes Chen Zhaoci happy is that the symptoms have not worsened, which proves that Chen Zhaoci's idea is correct and the treatment direction is accurate.
While Chen Zhaoci was thinking about these things, he heard the words of the ladies. He kept comforting them, telling them not to be afraid, that the people in the ancestral hall were getting better and better and would soon be able to recover and go home to live their lives. He said that the Great Liang was not in the chaotic times of war now, and that the emperor was a wise ruler. Would he just watch his people lose their lives because of illness?
Chen Zhaoci was actually very grateful to these women for risking their lives to help with chores. They not only watched over the medicine pot, but also did many other things, such as cleaning, washing the bed sheets, and making their own protective suits. These protective suits were made by Chen Zhaoci from a special kind of white cloth. Since there was no way to make disposable ones, they could only wear them for a day, then take them off, boil them in the decoction of Andrographis paniculata, and finally soak them in the bleach that Xu Di had made. After rinsing them clean and drying them, they would wear them again. Therefore, after wearing the protective suits several times, they turned a little yellow.
Chen Zhaoci hadn't brought much with him this time, fearing it wouldn't be enough. Several people were taking care of the patients inside, and their clothes had to be changed if they got soiled with vomit. The amount they consumed today was quite considerable. Chen Zhaoci had already sent a letter to Zheng Boyuan, asking him to make some more and send it over.
Zheng Boyuan did not return to Miaozhou, but stayed in the tent at the entrance of the village. He had already assigned the guards he brought to hide outside the village. These people were divided into two shifts, one shift every half day, to be responsible for the village's security.
The steward had already prepared the meal, giving each person a large bowl containing rice and several stir-fried vegetables. The steward was someone personally trained by Xu Di, and he was very methodical and efficient. He had been busy running around since coming from the capital with Chen Zhaoci. Now, he and Zheng Boyuan each held a large bowl, ate a couple of bites, and drank a sip of vegetable and egg soup. Finally, they felt comfortable and couldn't help but sigh.
Zheng Boyuan ate a few bites and asked the person in charge, "Have you only discovered the epidemic in this one village these past few days?"
The steward nodded, swallowed the food in his mouth, and said, "That's right. Madam said that the epidemic prevention measures in those villages are very effective. It's also because those villages are relatively small, and it's always easier to discuss things when there are fewer people."
Zheng Boyuan knew that he had personally led people to do the work in the areas around Miaozhou that were more severely affected by the disaster. In the end, it was the less severely affected areas that experienced the epidemic. He thought it was because Magistrate Li had not done his job and had not treated it as an important matter.
Thinking of Magistrate Li, Zheng Boyuan asked the steward if Magistrate Li had come by.
The steward curled his lip and said, "Magistrate Li is coming? My goodness, if Magistrate Li really cared about this matter, do you think such a situation would have occurred under his jurisdiction? Not only did he not come, but I heard from the constable brother who went back to the county office this afternoon to ask for quicklime that he was chased out by the clerk. The brother said that the clerk looked at him like he was some kind of trash, and wished he would never enter the county office."
Zheng Boyuan frowned. Such a serious incident had occurred in his jurisdiction, and the county magistrate, as the local official, was not even present. Zheng Boyuan felt that this was somewhat unreasonable, but he did not think about it any other way.
Little did they know that in the middle of the night, a group of people quietly crept up to the vicinity of Zhoujia Village. If it weren't for the brothers there being alert, those people might have fired rockets into the village, and the village, which was infected with the plague, would have been engulfed in flames.
Zheng Boyuan was half asleep when he heard the report and broke out in a cold sweat, instantly waking up.
If I hadn't brought anyone with me, could the steward with his few guards and a bunch of useless yamen runners have stopped that gang of desperados from burning and killing us?
According to the guard who reported to Zheng Boyuan, the group was a group of well-known assassins in the martial arts world. They were all highly skilled in martial arts and were known for their money-grubbing attitude. They would do anything as long as they were paid enough. It took forty guards, and about ten of them were injured, before they were finally able to subdue the group.
Zheng Boyuan hurried over there. Among the guards were those skilled in interrogation, who had already obtained the results. They said that someone had offered a thousand taels of silver to buy the lives of everyone in Zhoujia Village. They knew that a plague had broken out in the village, so they took the job very readily. However, they did not expect to run into such a tough opponent.
This organization was notorious, and Zheng Boyuan had naturally heard of it. He couldn't have imagined that he would one day have a direct conflict with this organization under such circumstances.
This was a matter that Zheng Boyuan was not capable of handling. He sent someone to Miaozhou to deliver a letter to Wu Muyue, asking for advice, and also sent someone to Yun'an County to deliver a letter to Magistrate Li, asking him to come over as soon as possible.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
