Chapter 67. I'm a little annoyed.
"Send this much over for now. Make a note of the other missing herbs and buy them elsewhere."
"Make sure you have all the food you need. If you want to be healthy, what you eat is very important, and you can't miss anything!"
"Send as many face towels as you can make as you can. Also, let everyone take a break so they don't hurt their eyes."
The entire Prince's mansion was in complete chaos, with people rushing around so fast they were practically invisible.
Ever since she heard the news of the plague in Black Stone Gully, the princess was so anxious that she couldn't sit still. She made arrangements for this and then felt that she had forgotten that, keeping herself so busy that she was dizzy and her mind was pounding.
After noting down the medicinal herbs that still needed to be restocked, Liu Jixue turned her head and saw the princess rubbing her temples with her eyes closed, her head swaying unsteadily, looking somewhat unsteady on her feet. She quickly stepped forward to help her sit down, saying, "The things are almost ready. Please sit down and rest. Don't tire yourself out and make the princess worry about you."
"Yes, yes, you're right. Aman already has so much going on; I can't let her worry anymore." The princess nodded, patting her chest to calm herself down. Then, remembering something, she looked towards the courtyard gate. "Where's Azhuo? Has he returned?"
"Mother!" Baili Xunzhou strode in from outside the courtyard, his cloak billowing behind him. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his forehead, and damp strands of hair clung to his temples, indicating that he had rushed all the way. Before he even got close, he asked anxiously, "Is everything prepared?"
"Is it all there? Is it all there?" The princess answered halfway, glancing anxiously at Liu Jixue. She was afraid that if she had missed one or two things, it would cause even more serious consequences for Black Stone Gully.
In all her years as a princess, she had never lost her composure like this.
Liu Jixue squeezed the princess's hand and said firmly, "It's all ready. Huichuntang has three resident doctors and six apprentices. In addition, four other medical clinics have sent eight resident doctors and twelve apprentices. Including myself, there are a total of twelve doctors going to Heishigou. That should be enough for now."
"Alright, give the order and set off immediately."
Liu Jixue nodded and led the others to make preparations.
Bai Lixun took two steps forward, leaned down and put his arm around his mother's shoulder, softening his voice to comfort her, and also to comfort himself, "Mother, please wait at home. I'll go check on her. She'll be alright."
Upon first hearing the news, Baili Xunzhou felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, and the scenery before his eyes became distorted and blurred. He forced himself to calm down, thinking that as long as he hadn't heard news of Feng Mian's illness, she was still safe, and the most important thing right now was to ensure her continued safety.
He knew it was impossible to pick her up alone, and she wouldn't agree to it either. The only solution was to resolve the epidemic as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, he wasn't a doctor and didn't understand medicine. At this moment, all he could do was to send her more supplies as quickly as possible so that she would have everything she needed and enough resources to protect herself.
Baili Xunzhou was extremely anxious, wishing he could grow wings and fly to Feng Mian's side. He even thought that if the □□ Linju could really transform into a spirit-connected Qilin and ride the clouds and break through the wind, that would be wonderful.
He rode ahead of the supply convoy, leaving it hundreds of meters behind. Only when he saw the checkpoint set up by the Swift Feather Camp soldiers did he rein in his horse and slow down. Before he even got close, he couldn't wait to dismount.
Before the two guards could even salute him, he interrupted them with a barrage of questions: "What's the situation inside? Where is the princess? Is she safe and sound?"
He felt as if he were walking on clouds, a sense of unease washing over him. Standing there, a jumble of thoughts surged uncontrollably within him. She had been prone to illness since she first arrived in the northern frontier, her health already weak. He had heard that the people of Yujia Village had gone south but then turned back, and only went there after hearing about the border trade. They must have had contact with her. Could it be...?
The sun wasn't particularly strong, but it gave him a momentary feeling of dizziness, as if he had been exposed to the sun for a long time.
“Reporting to Your Highness,” a guard hurriedly reported, “we just changed shifts half an hour ago. The situation is currently under control. The infected patients are temporarily housed in Yujia Village, and those who have had contact with the people in Yujia Village are also isolated according to the degree of contact. If the princess is alright, she should personally bring people to collect the supplies later.”
Bai Lixunzhou's heart sank suddenly, and he vaguely heard his own voice, suddenly hoarse, say, "She's been in contact with..."
The guard quickly explained, "We only exchanged a few words at close range and there was no physical contact. The physician said there should be no major problems. As long as there is no fever today, we can consider ourselves safe."
Every moment of waiting felt like torture. When he faintly heard the sound of a carriage in the distance, he suddenly looked up, but the road ahead was still empty.
However, it was the convoy transporting supplies that caught up with them.
In his panic, he forgot to discern the direction from which the sound came.
Bai Lixun stood there, stunned, as if even his heartbeat had stopped.
Just then, a small shadow appeared at the end of the road, gradually becoming clearer and larger—it was a horse-drawn carriage speeding towards them!
He held his breath, watching as the carriage came to a stop a dozen meters away. The first to jump down was a strange maidservant. Baili Xunzhou's heart sank. Then he saw her turn and reach into the carriage. A familiar, fair hand landed on hers.
Feng Mian bent down and walked out.
Bai Lixun's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and he finally felt the ground beneath his feet.
Feng Mian was dressed in simple cloth, her face covered with a veil, revealing only a pair of clear eyes. Even from such a distance, she could see the anxiety on Baili Xunzhou's face. If it weren't for the guards stopping him, judging from his posture, it really looked like he was about to rush towards her at any moment.
She smiled gently and said, "Don't worry."
Fortunately, she had sent people to keep an eye on the villagers of Yujia Village early on, and when they noticed something was wrong, they isolated them on the spot. Even more fortunately, the villagers of Yujia Village did not enter the trade area. When the epidemic first appeared, the trade market was already nearing its end, thus preventing the merchants from both places who had traveled a long way from being implicated; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Baili Xunzhou then realized that his fingertips were still trembling slightly, uncontrollably. He slowly exhaled, suppressing his surging emotions, not wanting to infect her with his worries, and whispered, "Okay, I trust you the most. You'll definitely take good care of yourself, right?"
When he looked at her with a slight frown, his eyes held a soft, fragile hope that she was safe and sound.
For some reason, Feng Mian suddenly felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
She didn't panic when she heard the news of the epidemic. After all, she had been secretly worried ever since she met Village Chief Gu and the others. Now, it was just that the sword hanging over her head had finally fallen. She didn't panic when she was isolated alone in the house. Through the door, she instructed everyone to burn herbs to fumigate the house and brew medicine for prevention. She endured the most hated smell of medicine in the house without feeling a bit aggrieved.
Seeing Baili Xunzhou looking at her so anxiously, she suddenly felt a little vulnerable and could only nod quickly to blink away a tiny bit of moisture from her eyes.
Baili Xunzhou: "Could you come a little closer? It's very open here, and we're only a few meters apart, so nothing will happen."
Feng Mian hesitated for a moment, then reached into her sleeve, pulled out a roll of drawing paper, took a few steps forward, unfolded the paper, and showed it to Baili Xunzhou.
“I have drawn the route along the way to Yujia Village on it. Make a note of it and be sure to send someone to trace and investigate it.”
The source of the epidemic is still unclear, and it is unknown whether there are other patients along the way. It is necessary to burn Atractylodes lancea and Artemisia argyi along the way to drive away the foul air.
A gentle breeze swept away Feng Mian's fever, and Bai Lixunzhou smelled a slightly bitter medicinal scent in the air.
He knew she hated the smell of medicine, and that she must have been having a very difficult time these past few days.
Baili Xunzhou looked past the painting at Feng Mian. Her veil covered the lower half of her face, but it was still vaguely visible that she looked alright and was obviously not trying to deceive him to put his mind at ease.
He stared at Feng Mian for a couple of moments before turning his gaze back to the drawing paper. After glancing at it, he said, "Okay, I've got it."
"So fast?" Feng Mian asked in surprise.
Baili Xunzhou raised an eyebrow, a rare hint of a smile appearing on his face: "Questioning the ability of a young general who has led troops for many years to memorize maps?"
"Not at all." Feng Mian smiled as she rolled up the drawing paper, glancing at the carriage that had been waiting behind him for a long time. "Thank you for making this trip."
Bai Lixunzhou: "That's only right. If there's anything else you need, just tell me."
Seeing that they had paused their conversation, Liu Jixue got out of the car and stepped forward, saying helplessly, "Can we go now?"
"Ah Xue!" Feng Mian happily reached out his hand to Liu Jixue.
The guards removed the roadblocks, and Baili Xunzhou watched as Liu Jixue walked over, took Feng Mian's hand, and even turned around to give him a provocative look.
It seemed to be mocking him for being kept out.
Baili Xunzhou: ...
One carriage after another carrying supplies drove past him, and he could only peek through the gaps to see Feng Mian and Liu Jixue holding hands and talking intimately.
I'm a little annoyed.
In order to minimize the number of people entering the epidemic area, the carriages were driven in by apprentices from the medical clinic, which took quite a while.
After the last carriage drove in, Feng Mian looked at Baili Xunzhou again and said goodbye to him in a soft voice, "I should go now. You and your father and mother must take care of yourselves and also take good care of the people of Yunzhong County."
"good."
Baili Xunzhou nodded and watched Feng Mian's carriage disappear on the road he had come from before he mounted his horse and left.
Inside the post station, Fu Ciyan was isolated in the backyard because he touched the forehead of the feverish child from Yujia Village, and was drinking a prescription-prepared anti-epidemic medicine.
Liu Ying and Wu Liu, who stayed at the post station, were responsible for distributing medicine to the few people quarantined in the backyard. Liu Ying whispered to Wu Liu, "Now even Young Master Fu probably wouldn't say 'Don't take medicine if you're not sick' anymore."
Even through the thin door panel, Fu Ciyan heard the subtle laughter. He slammed the medicine bowl down on the table, feigning anger: "Can things be the same now as before! Humph, you two still have the mind to gossip about me outside. It seems the princess is really too lax in managing her subordinates."
Liu Ying stuck out her tongue and quickly pulled Wu Liu away. Upon entering the front hall, she saw Feng Mian and Liu Jixue enter hand in hand, and greeted them with beaming smiles, "Princess, Miss Liu!"
Seeing how happy the two of them were, Feng Mian knew that everyone who was quarantined at the post station was safe and sound. Reassured, Feng Mian sat down in the hall with Liu Jixue and the other doctors and explained the current situation in Heishuigou.
The village chief's grandson was the first child whose fever wouldn't go down and who started talking nonsense. The imperial physician went to Yu's village immediately and stayed temporarily in a tent set up outside the village.
If Liu Jixue and her group wanted to treat the patients at close range, they could only stay nearby for the time being.
No one objected, and after a short rest, they set off. They also prepared a new herbal decoction based on the patients' symptoms.
With enough manpower and sufficient supplies, everything is clearly developing in a positive direction.
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