The marquis's wife was lying on a single bed. She had never slept on a bed off the ground. Compared with this tent and bed, the wound on her shoulder seemed insignificant. The young and haggard doctor undressed her and cleaned the blood and dirt around the arrow.
At the moment the arrow was pulled out, the Marquis's wife could no longer resist and bent her body.
She curled up into a ball like a shrimp that couldn't control itself.
Prince Chen Rui was carried away by Feng Ling before Zhou Yuanhe could take action.
After treating the wound, Madam Hou was covered in sweat. She looked up and gasped.
Zhou Yuanhe warned: "Don't eat irritating foods during this period. I will change the bandages until the wound is completely healed. You can't touch water. If you want to take a shower, just wipe it with a wet towel."
The Marquis's wife said "hmm" softly, and after a while she asked, "Doctor, have you sewed up my wound?"
Zhou Yuanhe gave Mrs. Hou a local anesthesia, but Mrs. Hou didn't know whether it was due to her physical condition or other reasons, the normal dosage did not make her shoulder numb. She just didn't say anything until Zhou Yuanhe pulled out the arrow.
However, after the arrow is removed, the wound must be cleaned and sutured immediately, leaving no time for anesthesia.
The Marquis's wife managed to get through it entirely through her own willpower.
Zhou Yuanhe nodded: "Yes."
Madam Hou took a few deep breaths and almost squeezed out a question from between her teeth: "Doctor Chen, is this possible?"
Zhou Yuanhe knew what she was asking, and nodded, "Yes, you can use catgut and silk thread."
This was probably the first time Zhou Yuanhe had seen anesthesia have little effect, and a patient who could hold on to pull out the arrow and suture it. He therefore had a little more respect for Madam Hou: "But your sanitary conditions and surgical facilities are not up to standard. Even if you make the thread, it is unlikely that you can save his life by suturing. And your needles are not good."
The Marquis's wife had a splitting headache and felt as if her whole body was falling apart, but she still said, "Thank you, doctor. It's better to have a solution than to have no solution at all."
Zhou Yuanhe nodded: "Your current problem is low productivity. Most people trade with each other, and the value of currency is unstable. Even if you think of many things, you can't promote them. It's hard to make progress in medical development."
There was no medical knowledge at that time, and doctors could only prescribe medicine based on experience. Sometimes, even if the patient recovered, the doctor did not know which medicine cured the patient. The next time he encountered a patient with similar symptoms, he could only prescribe all the medicines again.
Few people are cured, but many die.
Most of the patients have minor illnesses that can be cured on their own without treatment.
Although Zhou Yuanhe is a Western medicine doctor, he is not unfamiliar with Chinese medicine.
Both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine need a large number of cases, or human lives, to fill the road to development.
Western medicine did not have a system or all kinds of cutting-edge equipment from the beginning. When it first started performing surgery, it could sell tickets, with the doctor performing the surgery on the stage and a bunch of spectators watching from the audience.
There was once an operation in which three people died. The surgeon cut off two fingers of his assistant because his hands moved "too fast", causing the assistant to die from excessive blood loss. The patient's genitals were cut off and he died of infection. An audience member in the audience was so frightened that he had a heart attack and died on the spot.
An operation with a 300% mortality rate is ridiculous, but it can also be considered a necessary step in the development of medicine.
Any treatment is better than no treatment.
In the era of cold weapons, many soldiers did not die on the battlefield, but died after the war due to infected wounds or excessive bleeding.
Being able to suture and stop bleeding, even if the technology and conditions are not in place, it is always better to have a way.
Zhou Yuanhe said: "I will give the suture needles I use to your craftsman and ask him to imitate them."
Madam Hou struggled to stand up and thanked Zhou Yuanhe: "Thank you, doctor."
Zhou Yuanhe glanced at her, turned and walked out of the tent.
The marquis's wife finally fell into a deep sleep.
But she did not sleep well. In her dreams, the "private persons" who bribed the soldiers for her and sent her out of the palace would always appear before her eyes.
Or maybe it was the soldiers who died from arrows while escorting her and the prince out of the palace.
Her nose was still thick with the smell of blood.
It can't be dissipated no matter what.
She had never seen a dead person before she got married. Even when her father and brother wanted to deal with slaves, they would have them dragged away.
After she got married, she entered the palace and, like Marquis Chen, never left Linzi City again. The palace maids around her were all her sisters.
These sisters were all her father's children, but their mother was a slave, so they could not become noble ladies like her.
But they grew up together and their relationship was no worse than that of real sisters. Even if they made mistakes, she would not bear to punish them, let alone kill them.
Life and death are particularly easy to talk about in the mouths of nobles and aristocrats, but many of them have never killed anyone with their own hands, or even seen anyone die with their own eyes.
Just say a word and someone will help them do things.
The marquis's wife was awakened from a nightmare. The pain and fear gave her a splitting headache.
"Mom!" Just when she woke up, Chen Rui ran in from outside the tent. He had changed into the clothes worn by the "immortal" at some point, revealing his thin arms and legs, with his hair tied up, like a little girl.
The Marquis's wife could only force herself to sit up and smile at the child.
But she felt a huge pressure in her heart, not knowing whether those "temple servants" were still alive.
The soldiers were dead, and she could only continue to take care of their families.
But she hoped that the "temple servants" could survive and give her a chance to repay their kindness.
·
Ye Zhou waited from noon until dark, and finally the palace gate was opened from the inside.
The moment he opened the door, what he saw was not the majestic palace he had imagined. It might have been considered luxurious in that era, but it could not be compared with the Forbidden City in Beijing, or even the royal palace.
When he looked inside, he could only see a row of bungalows, connected by paths made of stone slabs.
The most majestic building is just a hall supported by dozens of pillars.
At this time, the palaces were littered with corpses.
Chen Yan was covered in blood, his leather armor was soaked with the blood of the enemy, and the soldiers behind him were no less so.
Now the only people left in the palace were the palace maids and eunuchs hiding in the corners, shivering.
"Immortal." Chen Yan walked quickly to Ye Zhou, feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed. "The palace is in a mess now, why don't you go to an inn first? Shangpinju is the largest inn in Linzi, and all the wealthy merchants and nobles stay there. Whether it's furnishings or anything else, it's no worse than the palace."
Ye Zhou did not agree, but said: "I just need a piece of land."
Chen Yan said quickly, "Yes, yes, yes. The Lord has given instructions. I will have someone take you to the land you want. It must be a good place."
Ye Zhou still has to do business. Chen Hou is probably busy with domestic affairs during this period, so Ye Zhou is not in a hurry.
Anyway, Lord Chen doesn't have the guts to default on his debt. Before that, Ye Zhou can fleece the powerful and wealthy and when he has fleeced them enough, he can open the supermarket to allow ordinary people to buy.
Chen Yan asked a pair of personal soldiers to escort Ye Zhou and the others over. As for Madam Hou...
Chen Yan: "Madam must be inseparable from doctors now. Most of the palaces are uninhabitable, and it is not a good idea to ask doctors to stay in the palace."
As he spoke, Chen Yan took out a jade pendant from his bosom and said, "This is the pendant that Wu Hou wore in the past. Please accept it, Immortal."
Ye Zhou glanced at Cao'er, and Cao'er immediately stepped forward and took the jade.
Ye Zhou: "Then I will take the Marquis' wife away. What about the Crown Prince?"
Chen Yan whispered, "It's better for the prince to be with his mother."
It is unknown how many members of the royal family and aristocratic families participated in this rebellion. No matter how good-tempered Lord Chen is, he can no longer swallow his anger. Otherwise, if others take a step forward, he will take a step back, and one day he will have nowhere to retreat.
No matter what, he cannot back down this time, even if the people in the royal family are all his blood relatives, he must take action.
Ye Zhou nodded slightly: "You have worked hard."
Chen Yan quickly said: "No, no, no, it's not hard, it's the immortal who is working hard, the immortal who is working hard."
Ye Zhou waved his hand gently: "You guys go ahead and get busy."
Ye Zhou knew that if he didn't leave, Chen Yan would not be able to turn around first, so after he said this, he asked the soldier to wait.
He and Zou Ming rode on horses, while the marquis and her son rode in a carriage.
The Marquis' wife couldn't move yet, so Chen Shu had to carry her to the carriage.
Although Mrs. Hou didn't say anything, Zhou Yuanhe still felt that for women of this era, being hugged by a man who was not a relative would probably be unacceptable.
Chen Rui followed beside his mother. He didn't actually need anyone to hold his hand. He took every step very well and steadily.
Ye Zhou would observe Chen Rui intentionally or unintentionally——
Zou Ming also noticed Ye Zhou's gaze. He rode his horse beside Ye Zhou and asked softly, "Do you like it?"
I don't know whether he was asking him whether he liked Chen Rui or the child.
Ye Zhou smiled and said, "I'm just curious, is he imitating adults, or does he already know what adults are like?"
Zou Ming said calmly: "I've seen it so many times that even if I don't understand it, I've learned it."
Ye Zhou heard the hidden meaning behind this sentence: "Were you also a little adult when you were a child?"
Zou Ming shook his head: "It's not that I'm sensible, I just understand the rules of survival."
Children have strong learning abilities. Just like animals, they can identify the pros and cons of a thing for themselves.
Even the most ignorant children know who to ask for help when they get into trouble and who to look for when they need help. They don’t need to understand the principles behind it all, nor do they need to think; they only need to rely on instinct.
Before Zou Ming learned to read, he already knew clearly that the only things he could rely on were his fists and the knife in his hand.
But he was too young at that time, and even if he had the courage and determination to kill, he did not have the strength to compete with an adult man.
When he was caught, he knew clearly that these people would not give him a chance to grow up.
What's valuable on that kid?
Only organs.
The lower class people really sell themselves. They are lucky if they can get money by sleeping with someone. Most of the time, they are dragged away and locked up like pigs to be slaughtered. They can still survive, but they will never have enough food and they have no freedom.
When the upper class needs their bodies, they will be taken away, disemboweled, and their internal organs will be put into other people's bodies to prolong their lives.
And the original owners of these places would only be thrown into tunnels, and no one would even cover them with a handful of soil.
That was supposed to be his future.
Zou Ming has no parents, or ever had one, otherwise it would not explain why he did not die when he was a baby.
Ever since he could remember, he had been living in the slums, and what he saw and heard were struggles that showed loss of humanity and dignity. People in the slums would fight over a piece of biscuit with green hair on it.
Spouses are sometimes also pimps and prostitutes, and their children are also their merchandise.
He was lucky. An old prostitute took a fancy to him and wanted him to take care of her in her old age, so she adopted him and gave him a place to live and shelter from the wind and rain.
But the prostitute was too old, and he didn't even have time to develop any feelings for her before she passed away soon.
She didn't have much savings, and left nothing to Zou Ming except a shabby tin house.
From then on, Zou Ming became a lonely ghost in the slums. There were some things he never told Ye Zhou. He could only keep them to himself to feel at ease.
His food source is very simple: killing people.
Those upper-class people would occasionally come to the slums. Perhaps they had had enough of the monotony of the upper-class people in the base, so they came to the slums to seek excitement.
In the slums, they are the emperors. Everyone scrambles to please them, hoping to be favored by them and taken away from this dirty hell on earth. The upper class will actually choose concubines like the emperor.
No matter if it's a man or a woman, as long as they look good enough and make them feel fresh, they will mercifully let them stay overnight.
Having sex with the lower-class people they looked down upon during the day in dirty, cramped little houses.
Zou Ming would choose the men who looked the weakest, whose bodies had long been hollowed out by alcohol and sex. Zou Ming would hide in a dark corner and wait for the men to come out.
He had forgotten what it felt like the first time he killed someone.
Perhaps a greater feeling than fear is excitement.
If he killed this man, he could fill his stomach and keep the tin house that the woman left for him.
Sometimes, Zou Ming felt that the prostitute who had hardly spoken to him was his mother - although she adopted him for the purpose of taking care of him in his old age, wasn't that the case with some biological parents?
For them, children are just a tool for survival and a means of support in their old age.
Young Zou Ming did not believe that there was any love without ulterior motive in this world.
He lived an extremely savage life, relying entirely on instinct to survive, but he was only a half-grown child after all, and he was always wandering around the slums. Even though no one knew that he had killed those upper-class people who died in the slums, there were still a few pairs of eyes staring at him.
The reason is very simple. After all, he is a healthy man. Even if he has nothing, he still has the most original capital.
He could not remember the details of that day. He only remembered that he ran for a long time. The weather was extremely hot. The only sounds in his ears were his own breathing and heartbeat. He was holding a knife in his hand and running around in the slums like a rat.
But he was still caught, and the moment he was caught, the knife in his hand was snatched away by the man.
At the moment he was rescued, he didn't even realize what was happening.
A bag of biscuits saved his life and bought him from the human trafficker.
Zou Ming didn't even know whether his life was precious or cheap.
Although he couldn't remember the details of that day, he remembered the man's arms. He must have looked ugly at that time. There was no place to take a shower in the slum because of the shortage of water resources. There was not enough water to drink, let alone take a shower.
He must be dirty and unkempt, not even having a pair of shoes that fit him.
But the man didn't show any disgust. He just held him in his arms, picked him up and walked out.
Zou Ming did not struggle. Perhaps he knew that the man was here to save him, or perhaps he sensed that the man would not hurt him. He grabbed the man's sleeves tightly, tearing the white cuffs black.
He could smell the other person's body, a faint fragrance that Zou Ming had never smelled before. He just felt that there was no better smell in the world.
In the man's arms, he heard the man sigh: "It's actually like this, no wonder I was asked before if anyone would buy a cookie for it."
Zou Ming didn't understand and was a little confused, but he soon heard the man say, "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
It's okay.
I don’t know why, but with just three words, he was miraculously comforted.
He was clearly struggling in the hands of the human traffickers the moment before, and the next moment he fell asleep in the arms of the man he met for the first time.
When he woke up again, he was no longer the little mouse in the slums who had not eaten his last meal.
He could remember the first time he took a shower, the first time he had a full stomach, and the first time he put on clean new clothes, all with a man.
The man also gave him a name - Zou Ming.
Although the blonde girl would always target him and try to drive him away, overall he was happy.
People in the supermarket were all very nice to him. They looked at him not as if he were a child but more like an old friend.
Men would sometimes find time to ask him about fighting techniques, and he would often say, "So this is what it's like to have talent."
He thought the man was praising him, so the man taught him during the day and he would secretly get up at night to practice.
But at that time, he never thought that the man would leave him.
·
"Maybe." Ye Zhou didn't think much about it and said, "Let's go."
Led by their personal soldiers, they came to an open space - actually, it wasn't an open space, because there were still ruins here, and from the charred wood next to it, it could be seen that there had been a fire here, and the fire must have been quite big.
The guard explained, "This was once the residence of a wealthy merchant. Before the king went to war, a fire broke out here."
"Don't worry, Immortal. No one has died because of this. It is not a haunted house."
Ye Zhou nodded. He was not superstitious - although he did calculate an auspicious day when he opened his business.
But can things related to money be considered superstition?
Even if it was really a haunted house, he didn't care, not to mention that the other party would never have the courage to lie to him.
The geographical location here is very good. It is located on a street next to the royal palace. Even if Ye Zhou does not know the structure of the residents here, he knows that those who can build houses next to the royal palace are not ordinary people. They must be rich or noble. Moreover, although Linzi is a royal city, it is a royal city in the Warring States Period after all, and its prosperity is very limited.
Only the area next to the palace has a smooth road.
"That's it." Ye Zhou turned over and lowered his chin. He subconsciously handed the reins to Zou Ming and asked Zou Ming to tie up the horse.
Ye Zhou also reminded Zou Ming: "Feed them some good beans."
Zou Ming: “I know.”
Ye Zhou didn't think there was anything wrong with his relationship with Zou Ming.
Sometimes Zou Ming would just glance at him and he would know what Zou Ming was thinking. Similarly, sometimes Zou Ming had already gotten things done before he said anything.
This may be the tacit understanding between good friends!
He had never had a friend like Zou Ming before, let alone a friend with such a good relationship, so he felt it was novel and cherished the relationship at the same time.
Whether it is family, friendship or love, a person's life has a destiny.
Some people are lucky and can get it easily, while some people are unlucky and may never encounter it in their entire life.
"Just deal with these uncleaned walls and don't worry about anything else." Ye Zhou said to Wu Yan and the others.
Wu Yan: “Yes.”
The employees quickly got to work.
Thanks to the handy tools, it took less than two hours to clean up.
Because it was already dark, Ye Zhou could only let them wear lighting helmets while they worked. He was afraid that they would not be able to see clearly and hit their legs with a hammer.
Because of this light, the people nearby came out quietly and hid in the corners to look at them.
The "neighbors" on both sides also opened their windows.
But no one spoke, and there was no human sound except the sound of the employees knocking on the stone wall.
After the large obstacles were cleared, Ye Zhou took out a model-sized supermarket. He pressed a button and placed the supermarket in the middle of the open space.
Ye Zhou was not afraid of being seen by the common people - no matter how dumb the common people were, after seeing this extraordinary building and the goods sold inside, they would not think that this supermarket was ordinary.
It is destined to be extraordinary, and they also have protective shields and various weapons, as well as the "backing" of Chen Hou, the monarch of the Chen State, so it is okay to be a little blatant.
The supermarket was back to normal half an hour later.
Cao'er let out a low cry: "Finally you're back."
She has already regarded the supermarket as her home.
The children also rushed to the supermarket impatiently.
Their toys and dolls are still in there! I haven’t watched cartoons in days!
Because there was no place to put the tents, the employees had to go to the warehouse to rest, and Ye Zhou and Zou Ming slept in the lounge together.
·
"What the hell is that thing!" The man hiding in the corner was shaking with fear. He didn't know why he ran out to see. At this moment, he just wanted to kill himself who had run out before!
He leaned against the wall, swallowed his saliva continuously, and stared with wide eyes at the square house not far away.
There was a soft light inside, but it was definitely not firelight! Firelight would never be so steady.
Just like... just like the light coming from above those people's heads before this house appeared!
Monster! It must be a monster!
The man covered his mouth. He didn't dare to shout, but he didn't dare to shout out loud. He could only slowly back away against the wall.
He wants to go home immediately!
There are monsters here!
The people on this street couldn't sleep the whole night. They were not afraid that the king would come back. After all, they followed the bandits, and even if they did, they could not bear to leave the place where they had lived for generations.
But they are afraid of monsters.
No one slept well or at all the night before.
Only Ye Zhou and his group who returned to the supermarket slept particularly soundly.
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