The moonlight was dim in the dead of night at the Northwest Camp.
The camp gate slowly opened, and an inconspicuous carriage sped inside.
The carriage stopped in front of a tent. A soldier stepped forward and opened the door. Su Wan jumped out of the carriage and ran into the tent, with Wei Jingzhuo following closely behind.
Inside the tent, a group of Northwest Army generals surrounded the bed, and Wei Jingzhuo's bodyguard, Lin Qingfeng, was also in the tent. When they saw Su Wan rush in, they quickly made way for her.
Zhao Xian lay on the bed, his face flushed, coughing incessantly.
Seeing her arrive, Zhao Xian smiled weakly and said, "I caught a minor illness, cough... Why are you all here?"
Su Wan didn't answer. First, she placed her finger on Zhao Xian's forehead to test his temperature. It was burning hot, almost forty degrees Celsius. She asked the doctor standing by the bed, "How many days has he had this fever? What medicine has he been taking?"
The doctor lowered his head and said, "The General started having a fever the night he arrived at the Northwest Camp. We gave him medicine to dispel the cold, but it hasn't worked. This is the third day."
Wei Jingzhuo sat down on the edge of the bed, took Zhao Xian's hand, and asked Su Wan, "How is it?"
"I need the medicine immediately," Su Wan said, getting up and instructing the people in the tent, "You all need to leave now."
Seeing her serious expression, everyone quickly left the tent. The doctor, who had been at a loss, also left the tent, knowing Su Wan's excellent medical skills.
Su Wan first took out a thermometer and had Zhao Xian place it under his armpit. Then she took out a stethoscope and had Wei Jingzhuo help Zhao Xian sit up, listening to his chest and back. Finally, she took a disposable blood collection kit from the pharmacy, took a blood sample from Zhao Xian's fingertip, and put it into the pharmacy's blood routine analyzer.
Before the blood test results came out, she checked the thermometer; 40 degrees Celsius, which was already considered a high fever. She took a fever-reducing tablet and handed it to Wei Jingzhuo, asking him to give it to Zhao Xian immediately.
She stepped out of the tent, found Lin Qingfeng waiting at the door, and asked, "Why did the General suddenly develop a fever?"
Lin Qingfeng said, "I don't know why, but the General developed a fever the night he arrived at the camp."
"How did you get to the camp?" Su Wan pressed.
“First we walked, then we took a carriage,” Lin Qingfeng said. “After we escaped from Ganxi Valley, the general walked slowly, so I helped him walk. It took about two hours to reach a village, where I hired a carriage to come here.”
Su Wan sighed, speechless.
I blame myself for not thinking things through carefully enough. I only knew that Zhao Xian was out of danger, but I forgot that it had snowed heavily that day. Zhao Xian was already old and frail, and trekking through the snow and ice for two hours was a huge burden. Lin Qingfeng was strong and could handle it, but Zhao Xian couldn't.
As people age, their bodily functions decline and their immunity weakens, making even a common cold a serious condition that can lead to severe infections.
She went to the doctor again and asked, "You've had a fever for three days now, why didn't you tell us?"
The doctor said helplessly, "The general forbids us to talk about it. He said that the Lin family's ambush involved the imperial army, and he doesn't want to distract you at a time like this."
Su Wan sighed, turned around and went back into the tent to check the results of her blood test.
A white blood cell count exceeding the upper limit by a full two times is a typical sign of a bacterial infection.
Fortunately, she arrived in time; otherwise, the general would probably be doomed.
She returned to the tent, took out the necessary equipment for intravenous infusion and antibiotics, skillfully inserted the needle into Zhao Xian's hand, adjusted the drip rate, and hung the IV bag on the shelf beside the bed.
Seeing her pull out a bunch of novel things he'd never seen before, Zhao Xian asked, "What are these things?"
Su Wan reached out and hugged Wei Jingzhuo: "A-Jin, I'll leave the explanation to you."
After saying that, she slipped out of the tent.
Wei Jingzhuo coughed twice and explained to Zhao Xian, "These are things that only families of renowned doctors have. You asked about this? It's all made of plastic... That little glass rod from earlier? It's called a thermometer, but actually I don't really know much about it... The pills you take? They're called Stewed Fresh... Anji Powder."
This was the first time Zhao Xian had seen Wei Jingzhuo struggle so much to answer. He nodded and said, "So, she really is a descendant of a family of divine physicians? The things of a family of divine physicians are indeed not something that ordinary people can easily see. Jinzhi, you are truly blessed to have such a wife."
Wei Jingzhuo blushed slightly and said, "Grandfather, please rest well. I'll stay here with you."
"This is the pill I'm taking. Why does it sound so much like the name of a restaurant dish... Does stewed chicken powder really reduce fever?"
...
After three days of medication, the general's infection was successfully controlled, and his fever subsided. Su Wan left the doctors oral antibiotics and instructed them to continue caring for Zhao Xian. He and Wei Jingzhuo departed from the Northwest Camp for Xiping Pass.
She and Wei Jingzhuo had more important things to deal with. Even Chu Mingyao's promise to teach her how to ride a horse had to be postponed.
The Northwest Army discovered a secret edict from the Lin family, revealing Emperor Kangping's plans. It turned out the Lin family's sabotage was merely a ploy to disrupt the Northwest Army. Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince, Wei Shao, was mobilizing a large army to attack Youzhou.
The open and covert struggle between the emperor and the Northwest Army finally came to the forefront.
With Xiping Pass as the boundary, once the Fifth Prince's army crosses the pass, the road to Youzhou will be unobstructed. When Wei Jingzhuo arrives, he will be trapped in Youzhou with his army, which is no different from waiting for death.
Wei Jingzhuo's strategy was to first seize Xiping Pass, a strategically important and easily defensible pass, and then defend it. The Fifth Prince's army, heading northwest, would have no choice but to pass through Xiping Pass. Given the pass's strategic importance, 20,000 defenders could withstand an attack from 100,000 troops.
Su Wan knew nothing about military affairs; all she had to do was nod in agreement with any of Wei Jingzhuo's strategies.
To capture Xiping Pass, launching an attack is absolutely not an option.
Firstly, Emperor Kangping had long been wary of the Northwest Army entering the pass, and heavily guarded Xiping Pass. If the Northwest Army were to mobilize its troops, the scouts at Xiping Pass would immediately know. Secondly, Xiping Pass was easy to defend and difficult to attack; even if all the troops from Youzhou were sent there, it probably wouldn't be enough.
Since offense is not an option, we must resort to strategy.
The daughter of the garrison commander of Xiping Pass recently fell ill, but the specific symptoms are unclear.
Now it was Su Wan's turn to show her skills.
She sat in the swaying carriage, carefully examining her male attire in the mirror.
Wei Jingzhuo sat down next to her, dressed in servant's clothes, and carefully held up the eyebrow pencil, saying, "Awan, would you like to add a couple more strokes?"
Su Wan turned her face from side to side, put down the mirror with satisfaction, and turned to Wei Jingzhuo: "No need, I should be fine. But you, you still need to dress up a bit more. You're too good-looking, you'll get caught at the city gate."
She received personal guidance from Chu Mingyao on her makeup this time. Chu Mingyao said that as long as she couldn't recognize her, there wouldn't be any flaws.
Although Wei Jingzhuo disagreed with her going to Xiping Pass to risk her life, she insisted on going anyway.
There's nothing else to it; she knows medicine, which she can use to get close to the garrison commander of Xiping Pass and obtain the intelligence Wei Jingzhuo needs.
She wanted to be able to help, rather than sitting idly in the back while Wei Jingzhuo was on his campaign.
Moreover, she did not go alone this time; Wei Jingzhuo disguised himself as a servant to personally protect her safety.
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