Chapter 76 Rainy Night (1)
Pang Shi couldn't help but show a nervous expression.
Doctor Xie said, "The patient's wound is red and swollen, showing signs of suppuration."
Everyone in the room was shocked. Pang Shi exclaimed, "How is this possible?! Second Master used Baiyao when he was injured, and he also used some simple medicine along the way. How could it have become infected?"
Doctor Xie said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the gentleman is currently running a low-grade fever."
Pang Shi disregarded the potential offense and immediately stepped forward to cover the crown prince's forehead. The slightly hot skin under his palm made his heart sink; the prince really did have a fever.
Doctor Xie said, "In fact, it should have been burning for some time, but the master may not have noticed."
Pang Shi's face was ashen, and he said in a deep voice, "Second Master and I were injured together, and I have four wounds that are fine, so why is it that Second Master's only wound is festering?"
Doctor Xie said, "Everyone's constitution is different, so the results will be different as well."
A storm seemed to be brewing in Pang Shi's eyes: "Is the knife poisoned?"
Doctor Xie was taken aback: "What?"
Pang Shi hissed, "I'm asking you if your second master has been poisoned?"
Doctor Xie then understood: "It's alright, there are no signs of poisoning, it's just that it's festering. We need to scrape off the dead tissue, squeeze out the pus, and then apply medicine so that the wound can heal."
These chilling words brought a sigh of relief to both Pang Shi and the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince said, "In that case, please have the doctor treat my wound."
Doctor Xie said, "Since the gentleman has a fever, he also needs to take herbal medicine. Only by doing both can the condition be more stable."
If it weren't for a last resort, Pang Shi would never have wanted the Crown Prince to take medicine outside the palace. Who knew if these doctors who suddenly appeared out of nowhere would tamper with the medicine? He didn't know anything about medicine, and Wan Quan wasn't around. He had become a nervous wreck and dared not trust anyone easily.
However, the prince has a fever and his wounds have become infected, and now he absolutely needs medicine.
When Doctor Zhang saw that the Crown Prince had chosen Doctor Xie to treat him, he was disappointed, but it was also normal. Doctor Xie was indeed the best doctor in the entire Biyang County. He was always overshadowed and had no temper left.
He thought he could leave since it was none of his business, but Pang Shi wouldn't let him go.
He never trusted Dr. Xie to prescribe the medicine alone, so he insisted that Dr. Zhang also supervise the process.
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang had no choice but to prescribe medicine for the prince together, and then they prepared the medicine in front of them. Magistrate Meng had someone bring a medicine stove from the kitchen, and Doctor Xie personally decocted the medicine in the room, not leaving for even a moment.
After the medicine was decocted, Pang Shi drank a bowl first, and only after half an hour, seeing that there were no problems, did he serve the crown prince the medicine.
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang were beginning to sense that this second master's identity was not simple; he was probably more than just the son of some high-ranking official.
Being a participant in drug trials is a privilege and procedure reserved for individuals with certain special statuses.
The two exchanged a glance, and although they were so excited that they could hardly control their trembling bodies, they wisely kept quiet.
Fortunately, the prince started sweating less than an hour after drinking the medicine, and his fever subsided.
Pang Shi was overjoyed. Doctors Xie and Zhang also began to remove the rotten flesh from the prince's wound, squeeze out the pus from the wound, and then used sheep intestines to sew up the prince's wound.
Hot water was kept flowing in and out of the room until the wound was finally treated an hour later, at 8 p.m.
After experiencing excruciating pain from having his flesh cut out, the prince was pale, but the dull pain in his chest had finally subsided, turning into a superficial pain. His fever had also gone down, and he seemed to be in much better spirits.
Dr. Xie said, "The wound has been cleaned, but to prevent the high fever from recurring, the diet should be mainly light."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Magistrate Meng arranged the banquet, and the grand feast that Mama Mao had prepared in advance was replaced with light and nourishing porridge and side dishes. After the meal, the Crown Prince was already exhausted and was helped to lie down and rest by Pang Shi.
Pang Shi asked Magistrate Meng, "Is anyone on guard outside the courtyard tonight?"
Magistrate Meng said, "All the yamen runners have been called back to guard the three gates of the mansion. They will be able to alert us if there is any disturbance."
Pang Shi asked, "How many people are there?"
Magistrate Meng opened his mouth, and after a long while, he answered, "Eleven people."
Pang Shi's eyes widened suddenly: "How many people?"
Magistrate Meng sighed, "General, please forgive us. Biyang County is financially strapped and has always been understaffed. Even with just these eleven people, we often can't pay their salaries..."
Pang Shi frowned and said, "According to the laws of the Great Wu Dynasty, each county should have a patrol inspector who leads 150 militiamen to patrol and maintain order in peacetime and serve as guards in wartime. Why doesn't Biyang County have one?"
Magistrate Meng was speechless.
The yamen officials couldn't even gather enough people, so where would they get the money and food to support more than a hundred laborers?
Pang Shi's facial muscles twitched; he felt a surge of anger welling up inside him, but had nowhere to vent it.
The saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" applies here. The fact that Biyang County didn't have an inspectorate is definitely not his fault, but rather that it has never existed.
With only ten yamen runners guarding the three gates, and only three people at each gate, what use are they if they can only serve as a warning and there is an assassin?
Pang Shi sighed, and could only pray that nothing would happen tonight and that Wan Quan would be able to bring the Qingzhou Guard troops over tomorrow.
Magistrate Meng originally intended to let Pang Shi sleep in the east wing where Meng Guanqi lived, but when he heard that there were only ten yamen runners guarding the door, how could Pang Shi dare to sleep anywhere else?
He took the quilt and lay down on the footstool in front of the prince's bed.
Magistrate Meng, fearing that the Crown Prince's condition might relapse, kept the two doctors on duty and had them sleep in the outer room of the main house.
He probably wouldn't have much time to sleep tonight. Chief Constable Shi and the county yamen's constables were gathered outside the courtyard wall. There were too few people, and he was afraid that something might happen that he wouldn't hear.
These ten constables were under the command of Constable Shi.
When Magistrate Meng summoned him back from his office just before he was about to leave and quietly told him that he was to protect His Highness the Crown Prince, he was completely stunned. Was Biyang County a place His Highness the Crown Prince would come to?
His gaze toward Magistrate Meng had changed from initial disdain to deep respect. This naive magistrate, who was willing to spend his own money to save the refugees, not only brought unprecedented disaster relief funds and grain to Biyang County, but now he had even invited His Highness the Crown Prince to the county office. Indeed, officials from the capital were different; they had real power!
Chief Constable Shi didn't have time to ponder why His Highness the Crown Prince had quietly moved into Magistrate Meng's house, nor did he notice that none of the Crown Prince's guards were there. Magistrate Meng had told him to guard the door, so he obediently did so, faithfully patrolling to ensure that not even a single mouse got in.
Magistrate Meng was dozing off against the headboard when he heard the sound of the night watchman striking the gong. It was the second gong, the second watch of the night.
He was startled by a rustling sound coming from the roof and sat up abruptly, only then realizing that it was raining.
At first, there was a light drizzle, which gradually turned into a moderate rain, and the temperature suddenly dropped a lot. He thought of the yamen runners who were guarding outside the door. They had been on guard for half the night, and they didn't even have raincoats on them.
Thinking of this, he immediately got up and looked for Steward Zhao: "Find out the raincoats in the house and give them to Shi Yi and the others. It's only the second watch of the night, and we don't know how long this rain will last."
Steward Zhao immediately found all the raincoats in the house from the workshop. Magistrate Meng held an umbrella and went with him to the back door. When the back door opened, they saw three yamen runners huddled under the small eaves of the back door, shivering from the cold and soaked by the rain.
Magistrate Meng quickly put the raincoats on them: "Thank you all for your hard work. After we finish our duties tomorrow, I will give you all two days off in rotation."
The three yamen runners were overjoyed and quickly took the raincoats and put them on. The yamen was small, and each of them had to do the work of two or three people. They hadn't had a break in a long time, and getting two days off was more exciting than receiving an extra month's salary.
Shi Yi hurried over in the rain and was taken aback when he saw Magistrate Meng and Steward Zhao distributing raincoats: "Sir, why are you out here?"
Seeing that his clothes were completely soaked from the rain, Magistrate Meng felt a little guilty: "Shi Yi, here's some—"
Before he could finish speaking, Chief Constable Shi lunged forward, knocking Magistrate Meng and Steward Zhao to the ground, yelling, "Get down!"
With two sharp clangs, two arrows were found stuck in the spot where Magistrate Meng and Steward Zhao had been standing.
Constable Shi quickly stood up, drew his broadsword, and began to frantically strike at the arrows that seemed to be shooting from nowhere, shouting, "Guards! Assassins! Draw your swords and fight them!"
The three constables, who had just put on their raincoats, were terrified. They belatedly drew their swords, and with a few "thuds," two of them were hit by arrows and immediately fell to the ground.
While deflecting the arrows, Constable Shi retreated towards the door, shouting, "Sir, come in quickly and close the door!"
After a volley of arrows, the sound of horses' hooves came from the back gate, and an unknown number of cavalrymen arrived!
But they were left with only four people. Magistrate Meng and Steward Zhao were too weak to fight back against the rain of arrows, so they could only retreat back inside the gate to find cover.
Magistrate Meng and Steward Zhao were in a great hurry. They didn't even have time to pull the yamen runners who had been shot in the door. In just a few breaths, the two yamen runners lying on the ground were riddled with arrows.
Officer Shi and the remaining constables, no longer caring about the two fallen men, hurriedly pushed and shoved them back into the backyard, blocking the door tightly.
Magistrate Meng turned pale with shock. How could there be so many arrows? How many people had come from outside?
Steward Zhao shouted, "Help! Help! There's an assassin!"
Pang Shi, who was sleeping in front of the prince's bed, was startled and grabbed the knife beside him, rushing to the door.
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang were also awakened. An assassin? How could there be an assassin?
The courtyard was in complete chaos. The back gate was being pounded on loudly. Head Constable Shi and the remaining constable were standing behind the gate, desperately trying to hold it open. Steward Zhao ran to the front yard to inform Liu and the other women. Magistrate Meng rushed to the main house and pounded on the door, saying anxiously, "Your Highness! The assassins are coming! The constables can't hold them off any longer. Please make plans as soon as possible."
No matter what, we must ensure that Pang Shi protects the Crown Prince as he leaves.
The door opened from the inside, and Pang Shi, holding a lamp, followed by the Crown Prince, walked out of the room together.
Magistrate Meng said urgently, "Someone is already ramming the back gate. It won't hold for long. General Pang, please lead His Highness out through the front gate."
The Crown Prince asked, "How many yamen runners are guarding the front gate?"
Magistrate Meng seemed to have lost all his strength: "Three."
The crown prince laughed bitterly, "So where else can I escape to?"
Magistrate Meng's lips trembled, his face turned deathly pale, and he didn't know how to answer.
The banging on the back door grew louder, and someone outside shouted, "Listen up, you rebels inside! You're surrounded! Surrender now and you might get a whole corpse!"
Traitors?! The expressions of everyone in the courtyard changed drastically.
The Crown Prince sneered, "Is it the troops from Luzhou who have arrived? What a brilliant scheme! Treat me as a rebel and kill me, take my body away, kill everyone who saw me, and then report me missing. Who will know that I ever came to Biyang County?"
Hearing no movement from inside the courtyard, the man shouted again, "Open the door properly, or you won't escape!"
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