Chapter 58: Thinking of the Marquis
Wen Ning was startled, her face flushed slightly, "Mammy, you can't say that."
Upon hearing this, the nanny smiled knowingly, "I only said this behind closed doors. The Marquis was raised by my breast, and I just thought he was this chubby when he was little. There are indeed some similarities between our eyebrows and eyes."
"This world is so big, it's normal to have similar eyebrows and eyes."
Wen Ning said this nonchalantly, but suddenly a sense of emptiness filled her heart.
Xibao must have taken after that person.
…
For two consecutive months, Xie Jinglan was very busy.
He really missed her, but he couldn't spare the time to see her.
Wen Ning also missed him, but she had no time to spare these days.
After a long drought, heavy rain fell in the border town, and the weather in April became increasingly humid and hot.
In the past few days, many people have come to see her for treatment, all with symptoms of fever, chills, and sore throat.
She prescribed a prescription to dispel the wind evil, but the conditions of those people seemed to have no effect and there was no improvement at all.
A few days ago, the village head's nephew couldn't bear it anymore, so he went to the Miaoyitang in the city and spent a lot of money to buy the doctor's prescription. But after taking it for a few days, not only did his condition not improve, but he developed symptoms of throat ulcers.
She took the medicine residue from Miaoyitang and studied it carefully, and found that only ephedra was added.
There is nothing wrong with the recipe itself, but why doesn’t it work?
That morning, Ji Xianglan came hurriedly with a pale face. As soon as she entered the room, she said in a hoarse voice, "Xi Bao Niang, my son Dongsheng has had a fever for three days. He had a sore throat the day before yesterday, and now he has a rash today. Please help me take a look!"
Wen Ning put down the mortar in his hand and hurriedly followed Sister Xianglan to the east end of the village.
As I entered the house, a scent of herbs mixed with sweat hit me in the face.
The child curled up on the kang, talking nonsense.
She put on a veil and examined the child carefully.
Fever, red blisters in the throat which have broken and become purulent, rashes all over the body, and symptoms similar to those of pox.
"I haven't been feeling well these past two days," Ji Xianglan patted her forehead. "My fingertips are cold and my head is dizzy. Can you help me feel my pulse later? Maybe I got caught in the wind while watching over the child at night."
Wen Ning's heart sank. "Sister-in-law, did your Dongsheng go to your nephew's house before he fell ill?"
"It was only two days after he was gone that he became ill. Xi Bao Niang, how could he have caught this cold?"
Ji Xianglan regretted, "I should have known not to take my Dongsheng with me."
Wen Ning touched Sister Xianglan's wrist and found the same pulse as her son Dongsheng's at the beginning.
"After your little baby fell ill, who took care of him closely? Who else in the village said they were not feeling well?" Her voice was a little tense, but she tried to keep it steady.
Ji Xianglan counted them off on her fingers. "My husband has been out on business these past few days. I was the one who looked after him the past few days, but I was too tired to continue the last two days. His brother stayed by his side for two nights. He complained of a headache yesterday, and there are also people in the village..."
The names popped out of his mouth one by one, stirring up circles of chills in Wen Ning's heart.
A common cold will not infect the whole family one after another, and will not cause sores in the throat or rashes on the body.
The disease struck one family, and then the neighbors followed. In addition, there was a long drought and heavy rain a few days ago, and the humidity and heat mixed together. I am afraid it is a sign of an epidemic.
She carefully analyzed Dongsheng's symptoms and vaguely remembered that the medical book recorded a plague called "red-throat pox". It only mentioned a few words, but it clearly stated that there was no cure.
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she felt a chill down her spine.
She felt that this matter could not be delayed, not at all.
She didn't dare to think anymore, so she grabbed the medicine box and said to Ji Xianglan, "Sister-in-law, I'll give the child an injection to reduce his fever first. You put on a towel and go to each house to ask. If anyone has a fever or chill, tell them to close their doors first and stop visiting people."
Seeing that her brows were twisted into a knot, Ji Xianglan did not dare to delay and grabbed the veil and walked out.
After giving Dongsheng an acupuncture, Wen Ning went back to wash her hands and changed into clean clothes.
She asked Nanny and Xibao to stay in the yard for a while.
Then he took out a small bunch of dried atractylodes and mugwort from the bottom of the medicine box and placed it in the ceramic stove by the window.
Close the door, leaving only a small gap for ventilation, so that fumigation can prevent epidemics.
After all, Xibao is still young and the nanny is old. If something goes wrong... she needs to take precautions.
After giving instructions to the nanny, Wen Ning hurried to Xianfeng Courtyard.
If what she thought was correct, she had to let the Marquis be prepared.
…
The sound of horse hooves rang out as Xie Jinglan turned the corner in the afterglow of the setting sun. He immediately saw a figure standing on the stone steps.
When I see the person I think about day and night, the only sound I can hear is my own heartbeat like a drum.
He dismounted and strode towards her. Just as he was about to speak, his brows furrowed. "Why did you lose weight?"
"Hasn't the Marquis also lost weight?" Wen Ning saw that his face was also thin under the black armor.
"The armor has been worn for a whole day and it must be heavy. Let me take it off for you, sir."
Her palms were sweating all the way, and when she saw him, she felt relieved even before she said anything.
When they entered the inner room, Qing Feng had already prepared a soft stool and cloth for removing armor.
Xie Jinglan sat down and untied his wrist guard, while she stood behind him and unfastened the buckle at the back of his neck.
After taking off his armor, Wen Ning picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck.
The man thought about her every day, how could he miss such a good opportunity.
He turned around and hugged her in his arms, holding her slightly cold hand, lowered his head and put his fingertips on his lips, and his warm breath was filled with the bitter scent of atractylodes and mugwort.
"Have you just touched the medicine furnace?" He held her fingertips in his mouth, and the sound leaked out between his teeth.
"I smoked some atractylodes and mugwort at home," she shrank into his arms, her voice muffled, "and it has some smell."
"Why?" Xie Jinglan raised his hand and gently pinched her chin, forcing her to face him.
Wen Ning struggled slightly, raised her head and said seriously, "I have something to tell the Marquis."
Seeing her serious expression, Xie Jinglan loosened his grip on her arm, but didn't let go completely. He just lowered his head and looked at her, "Go ahead."
Wen Ning then told Xie Jinglan in detail about the situation in several farms.
"I'm afraid there's an epidemic in the city, so I'm going to talk to the Marquis. You should also be prepared."
"Do you know what kind of epidemic it is?" Xie Jinglan also felt that this matter was unusual.
"It's red-throat pox." She frowned slightly. "It starts out like a cold. Three days later, red blisters appear in the throat, which burst and ooze pus. Three days later, a rash breaks out all over the body, and transparent pox sores appear on top of the rashes. When the pox starts to ooze blood, no medicine will be effective."
"Then Ning'er, what do you think I can do?"
She looked up at him, the sparkling glint in her peach-blossom eyes disappearing, leaving only a clear, mirror-like seriousness. "If the army is infected with the disease, the consequences will be disastrous. Even the last line of defense will collapse. My Lord, you might as well prepare some herbs to clear away heat and detoxify. If it really is that disease, then we won't be so flustered when the time comes."
She paused, then continued, "I really hope I'm mistaken. If I am, these herbs will be useful when autumn arrives and the cold weather hits. They won't be wasted.
However, don't tell the people it's because of the plague. If they knew, they might grab the medicine and flee the city. Then, the people would be in chaos, which would be more difficult to deal with than the plague itself."
Xie Jinglan was stunned as he listened to her detailed instructions about the medicinal herbs, and a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.
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