Hongye looked at him with a disappointed expression.
The maids and servants lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
Seeing Hongye like this, Gu Jinghui found it somewhat amusing.
The young wife's personal maidservant took the concept of "borrowing power from a powerful figure" to its extreme.
He stopped and stood outside the crowd, watching what they were doing.
Hongye then said, "Hongmian, you tell me, let's see if you've remembered it clearly this time."
A clever little maidservant stepped forward, picked up the medicinal herbs from the straw mat, and began to speak, though she stuttered a bit.
Gu Jinghui was getting a little anxious.
It took him a long time to finish speaking.
The red leaves nodded.
Lord Gu hesitated for only a moment before saying, "As he says."
Lord Gu frowned.
Lord Gu shook his head.
The old woman paced around outside the house in annoyance for a long time before finally saying, "He sent people to check on the residences of several princes."
Qin Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
The old woman initially gritted her teeth and said that when she came to resist, she would be tortured. In the middle of the night, Gu Shisi woke up Fan Piaoxiu.
Fan Piao nodded, knowing that the old woman would probably be busy for a while.
"Master, this old woman has confessed some things, but..."
Qin Yuan asked, "Is there any news about Gu Jinghui?"
The driver needs to stay away for a few days to prevent catching the disease.
Qin Yuan said, "That's exactly what Yuan'er is worried about. Gu Jinghui and this old woman ran away. If smallpox spreads in the mansion, what a terrible thing that would be."
Gu Shiba nodded and left.
Qin Yuan immediately assured him, "My lord, you are worried. I will certainly take good care of the household. It is I who have caused you worry, but..."
The old woman said in a warm voice, "Why have you come back? Why did I die? What do you know? You know nothing!"
Next up is the one.
"Seventy or eighty percent..." Lord Gu pondered, "In the northern frontier, nearly twenty percent of the population died due to a smallpox outbreak."
Lord Gu was taken aback and looked at Qin Yuan in surprise.
People who contracted the epidemic were able to be buried before they died.
Hongye said proudly to Qin Yuan, "Madam, we have already learned them all."
Qin Yuan continued, "Li Langzhong has a good reputation, but he's incompetent. I said that if it's chickenpox, it can heal on its own with medicine, and for mild cases, a prescription and some decoction should be enough to get through it. But if it's smallpox, it's hard to say..."
Da Dong died in Yuhang County, without even seeing Li Langzhong's face.
Qin Yuan frowned and said, "This is a prescription brought by Doctor Li from Renhetang. He said it can prevent smallpox."
Fan Piao, a scholar who had been asleep for a long time, quickly got dressed and got up, saying, "Speak."
"Just what?"
The Dingbei Marquis's residence was small, and there were many masters. There were quite a few empty courtyards outside the residence, and Qin Yuan had not yet ordered anyone to clean them up to specifically house the sick people.
You can collect my body if you want, but we could only build a cenotaph next to Li Langzhong's grave.
Gu Shiba hesitated and glanced at Lord Gu.
The old woman: "..."
In later years, the epidemic in Yuhang County killed more than 20% of the population; many villages were completely wiped out.
Qin Yuan said solemnly, "Gu Jinghui was brought back from the northern frontier by my husband. If smallpox spread from the Dingbei Marquis's residence, we will be implicated."
After they had all left, Gu Jinghui walked up to them and asked, "How did you come up with these ideas?"
Lord Gu said, "You know, he only cares about taking care of the bad mansion first. Gu Jinghui and this old woman want to see him alive or dead."
If there was a mistake, Hongye would immediately stop and correct it.
Before finishing his dinner hastily, Lord Gu said, "He should rest early. You should sleep in the study in the inner courtyard tonight."
The two entered the main room one after the other. After sitting down in the inner room, Lord Gu asked, "Can that prescription really prevent it?"
Qin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've got it."
Lord Gu asked hurriedly.
Gu Shisi continued, "Gu Jinghui was angered by the Eighth Madam and cursed for a while. He then sent the two of you to throw things outside the Eighth Madam's courtyard. You realized that this was the right thing to do, so you became more cautious. When you saw Gu Jinghui packing his valuables and running away, you followed him out as well."
Lord Gu summoned Gu Shiba and instructed him, "Take down the name card and find the magistrate who came to the mansion today. Tell him that the missing Gu Jinghui and the old woman may have contracted smallpox in the mansion."
That's not a matter of asking eight questions and finding the answer.
Qin Yuan said, "The spices you blend can prevent problems before they occur, but they are especially useful for other people's use."
Qin Yuan nodded.
The old woman raised her eyebrows in annoyance and said, "These spies guarding the gates saw Fan Piaoxiu sneaking out of the mansion. Are we going to follow them?"
Lord Gu said, "Let's talk outside."
If this matter is reported to the Prefectural Governor's Office, Lord Gu will only be punished, which is better than suppressing the matter and causing a scene.
Hongye said, "Alright, have you finished speaking? Have you remembered the weight of what Madam said?"
The old woman asked, "Where is Gu Jinghui?"
Lord Gu nodded: "Li Langzhong is quite talented."
Gu Shishi said: "The superior is capable."
"Eighth Brother just returned and spotted this old woman in the distance on the side street. Fourteenth Brother hasn't taken any men to arrest her yet."
I know my first wife is intelligent; I never imagined you could think so far ahead.
"This old woman said that the dead old woman was Gu Jinghui's person. You were recruited to take care of Sister Yu earlier, so you know quite a bit. At that time, the two children were only one year old. Pang Hai and Gu Jinghui lived separately and mentioned their parents and relatives a lot."
Lord Gu excitedly grasped Qin Yuan's hand and asked, "Yuan'er, how did he come up with this idea?"
Gu Jinghui memorized the recitations one by one.
When Gu Shisi led his men to interrogate the old woman, they wrapped her head tightly in an apron soaked in medicinal liquid.
“Go,” Lord Gu said with a stern face, “Report the truth, or you must conceal it.”
"However... this matter should be reported to the Prefectural Governor of the Capital."
Qin Yuan said, "The prescription that Doctor Li brought said he wasn't 70-80% sure of success."
Gu Jinghui was taken aback and asked, "Is it that Renhetang again?"
Gu Shisi stammered, "Lord Marquis?"
If you ran away, why did you run back?
Qin Yuan said, "At first you thought it was chickenpox, so you did care. Anyone who has had chickenpox will get it again. But when the magistrates came and asked about it one by one, and the behavior of those two old women became suspicious, you stopped worrying. But after hearing what Da Hong said, you didn't believe it at all. Before your mother could even ask the imperial physician to examine you, you hadn't even sent someone to ask Dr. Li of Renhe Hall for a solution when Dr. Li sent you a prescription."
Qin Yuan said, "That's right. When the manor buys the medicinal herbs later, you should distribute them according to the prescription. The sewing room should suspend all sewing work and rush to make bibs. Soak them in the medicinal solution before covering your mouth and nose. Each person should have three bibs to change into."
Lord Gu sighed.
Why run away then?
While Gu Shisi and his men searched the side streets and alleys without finding the woman, the coachman outside the mansion discovered her under Gu Ba Ye's carriage.
Gu Shisi said, "You know that Gu Jinghui escaped last night. He was seen during the day, but you saw that the situation was good. He escaped while the old woman on night watch was drinking."
The coachman had done a small favor and received a reward of seventy taels of silver. Before he could even feel happy, he was taken to a separate courtyard for accommodation.
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