Chapter 536 How could something that could save my life be like this—
After what seemed like an eternity, the bowl of medicine was finally finished.
Wu Huanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called out, "Lord Su."
The female doctor glanced back at them, but didn't rush over. Instead, she took something out and made a cut on the patient's wrist, then helped the patient lie down before getting up and walking towards them. Although the surroundings were filled with a stench, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted towards them as she approached.
She bowed to Wu Huanzhi and said, "Lord Wu."
Wu Huanzhi said, "This is Madam Yuwen. Madam, this is Su Qinglan, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau."
Shang Ruyi looked at her and nodded.
Su Qinglan lived up to her name, possessing a pair of gentle eyes. Although she had single eyelids and her eyes drooped slightly at the corners, they conveyed a sense of compassion. When she spoke, her voice was exceptionally gentle: "Greetings, Young Madam."
Wu Huanzhi then said, "If the young mistress wants to ask about things here, then please tell me, Lord Su. I have other matters to attend to outside, so I will keep you company for a while longer."
After saying that, he gave Shang Ruyi a strange look, sighed, and turned to leave.
Shang Ruyi didn't ask any more questions. She just watched his back disappear into the distance before turning back to look at Su Qinglan. The other woman's gentle eyes were looking at her with a hint of inquiry. When they met, they both felt a strange emotion.
After a moment of silence, Su Qinglan asked, "I wonder if the young mistress has any questions? If not—I still have medicine sitting on the stove over there."
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "I'll help you."
"...?"
Su Qinglan opened her eyes wide, revealing a look of surprise, but when she saw that Shang Ruyi didn't mind stepping into the mud full of horse manure and urine with her embroidered shoes, and didn't even mind the seriously ill patients around her, she understood what was going on.
So he said, "Thank you for your trouble."
After saying that, he led Shang Ruyi and Wo Xue to the other side of the stable.
As they walked, Shang Ruyi kept observing her. Su Qinglan was not tall and was thin. Although she wore a veil that covered half of her face, it was still clear that she was pretty. She was only twenty years old. It was not surprising that she was either still unmarried or married at that age, but it was rare to see her sitting in the position of chief physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
As if sensing Shang Ruyi's gaze, Su Qinglan said as she walked, "Does the young mistress think that I, a woman, am not worthy of being a female physician?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "No, I'm a woman too, how could I look down on other women?"
"..."
"I was just a little surprised; I didn't expect there to be a female physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau."
Su Qinglan smiled faintly and said, "My mother was a physician during Emperor Wen's reign."
"oh?"
"When Empress Du was still alive, there were many female officials in the court, and my mother was one of them. Later, when the late emperor moved the capital to Luoyang, many physicians from Daxing City were taken away, but my mother did not leave. Later still, after she passed away, I studied diligently and inherited her mantle, and also took up the position of chief physician. However, I was unable to serve the late emperor."
"..."
"As for the people in the Daxing Imperial Palace, some came and some left, leaving only me as the only female official."
"I see."
As they spoke, they arrived at the stable, where several stoves were lined up, each with a medicine pot sitting on it, simmering gently over a low flame. The aroma of the medicine filled the air, but it was quickly drowned out by the surrounding stench.
Just as Su Qinglan put down the empty medicine bowl in her hand, the medicine on two stoves was ready to be decocted.
Seeing that Su Qinglan was a bit overwhelmed, Shang Ruyi was about to step forward when Wo Xue behind her took a step forward and said softly, "Young Madam, let me help."
After saying that, he and Su Qinglan picked up the medicine pot and filled a clean bowl with the medicinal soup. Then they emptied the dregs. Su Qinglan took out two paper packets from the bundle next to her, opened them, put the medicine inside into the medicine pot, added water, and put it back on the stove to decoct.
Then, he added firewood to the two stoves next to him.
Seeing her busy figure, and noticing that there was no one else around except for the patients, Shang Ruyi asked, "Don't you have any help?"
Su Qinglan didn't even look up, and only said, "The people outside... they think there's still hope, so they're all outside."
"And what about you?"
"I?"
After Su Qinglan finished adding firewood, she wiped the sweat from her forehead before looking up at Shang Ruyi. Her eyes crinkled slightly as she smiled and said, "There are patients here too."
Although she spoke softly, Shang Ruyi felt a slight sinking feeling in her heart.
After saying that, his eyes slowly drooped, revealing a sad expression: "Unfortunately, I still can't save them."
"..."
Seeing her dejected appearance, Shang Ruyi immediately understood that the more than thirty people who died yesterday, plus the seventeen who died last night, were probably all carried out from here.
Doctors are compassionate; how could they not be heartbroken to see patients die one by one and be powerless to help?
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "If we can't save him, it's not your fault."
"..."
"It's the fault of this epidemic."
Upon hearing this, Su Qinglan raised her eyes again, a grateful smile appearing in them.
Shang Ruyi also looked at her with even greater respect—it was not easy for a woman to be an official, and it was even harder to stand out. Su Qinglan was able to persevere, and during this epidemic, she stepped forward to guard this place, which showed that she was resilient and virtuous.
She lives up to her name.
However, while sighing, Shang Ruyi noticed the bundle Su Qinglan had placed aside, which contained five or six paper packets, presumably all filled with medicine. She picked up a palm-leaf fan from the side to cool the brewed medicine so that the patient could drink it later, and then asked, "Where did this medicine come from?"
She didn't give the medicine she stockpiled to these people.
Su Qinglan also glanced back at her bundle and said, "I have all sorts of medicines stored away at home. This time, I heard that it was impossible to buy medicines that could cure this epidemic in the city, so I took them all out."
"oh……"
As they spoke, the herbal soup in the bowl had cooled down considerably and was ready to be consumed.
Seeing that the medicine in another stove was almost ready, Shang Ruyi said, "You stay here and do your work. Leave the task of giving the patients their medicine to me."
After saying that, he picked up the bowl and prepared to go out.
Su Qinglan thought it was already very strange that this general's wife, a second-rank noblewoman, dared to come to Chang Le Fang, which was full of patients, but she did not expect that she would actually do it herself and take care of those seriously ill patients.
For a moment, the feelings of confusion and doubt in my heart intensified.
But at this point, she couldn't say much. She could only call out to Shang Ruyi, hesitate for a moment, and then say, "Then I'll trouble you, young mistress. However, I've already given some of them a round of medicine. When you go over, young mistress, just look at their hands. I've drawn a line on them, so they don't need to take any more medicine."
Shang Ruyi then realized what she meant by taking something out and scratching someone's hand.
She also felt a growing respect for Su Qinglan. She hadn't expected that Su Qinglan's concern for the patients was not only driven by a doctor's sense of responsibility and compassion, but also by a genuine desire to heal them, which was why she was so meticulous.
So he nodded: "Okay."
After saying that, she took the bowl and left the stable. She walked to the eaves in front of the house. The stench was so strong that it was hard to open one's eyes. Shang Ruyi knew that this was not a long-term solution and that she had to find someone to clean the place immediately. But for now, she had to feed the people the medicine first. So she gritted her teeth and endured it, looking at each patient one by one. Finally, she saw that there were no marks on the wrists of a patient who was as thin as a rake.
She knelt down and gently patted the withered old man who was lying on his side facing the wall.
"Grandpa, it's time to take your medicine."
The man let out a low, dry groan, then slowly turned around.
Upon seeing the person's face, Shang Ruyi's eyes widened in astonishment: "It's you?!"
"..."
The man was on his deathbed, his cloudy eyes barely moving. He stared blankly at Shang Ruyi for a long time before, as if finally seeing her figure in his eyes, his cracked lips moved slightly, and he silently said, "Yuwen... Young Madam..."
"It's me,"
As Shang Ruyi spoke, she helped the old man, who was lying on the ground covered in mud and barely breathing, to sit up. She said softly, "Old Jiang, have you caught the disease too?"
This old man was none other than Jiang Yu, whom she had met before at Dayan Temple!
I never expected to meet him here again, and I never expected that this once energetic and optimistic old man would be so ill.
Upon seeing Shang Ruyi, he seemed to become a little more lively, but he lacked the strength to move or speak. Shang Ruyi didn't say much, but hurriedly said, "Drink your medicine first; you'll feel better after taking it."
As he spoke, he brought the bowl to his lips.
Although the old man was seriously ill, he realized that there was medicine available, so he instinctively opened his mouth and drank it down. He immediately choked and coughed. Fortunately, Shang Ruyi had the experience of seeing Su Qinglan feed him medicine. She quickly took the bowl away, patted his back to help him catch his breath, and fed him another mouthful when his breathing was more stable.
Little by little, Jiang Yu drank the bowl of medicine.
After taking the medicine, she became more alert, and her eyes became much brighter. Jiang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Shang Ruyi with a slight smile, saying, "Young Madam, what brings you to this filthy place?"
Shang Ruyi smiled bitterly.
How should she respond to that?
He didn't answer, but only asked with concern, "Elder Jiang, how could you—"
Jiang Yu smiled wryly and said, "I was brought here because I contracted the disease."
How long have you had this disease?
"It's been about ten days. I thought it was just a minor cold and didn't pay much attention to it, but later many people around me realized something was wrong, so we all came to the city to seek medical treatment. But there was no medicine in the city."
"..."
“Yesterday, someone brought us all here.”
As he spoke, he said with a worried smile, "I left in such a hurry that I haven't even fed the chickens at home yet."
Normally, upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi would probably have laughed. Everyone thought it was a matter of life and death, yet this old man was still worried about the chickens at home that hadn't been fed. She didn't know if he was too carefree or just unreliable.
However, it seems that only someone like him would do something that makes him unable to give up both the Buddha and the wine and meat.
He then gently comforted him, "Then, Elder Jiang, tell me which village you live in, and I'll have someone come and feed it for you?"
Jiang Yu waved his hand and said, "Alright, although I am confused, I still know what is important. Young mistress, you should focus on the important matters now."
Shang Ruyi smiled again.
Since this old man was so "wise and understanding," she didn't insist. She just glanced around again, then said, "Last time outside Dayan Temple, I remember seeing a young man with you—"
Jiang Yu said, "That's my son."
Where are the others?
"I went out to run errands and have been gone for more than half a month."
"oh."
"He doesn't know I'm sick yet. If I come back and run into this guy—oh dear!"
The last "sigh" was delivered in a affected tone, as if he were helpless, yet also seemed to be trying to find some joy in his suffering. Shang Ruyi immediately comforted him, "Old Jiang, don't worry, he will be cured."
Jiang Yu glanced at her and simply smiled.
Shang Ruyi turned to look at the appalling surroundings and the condition of the patients beside her, and then said, "I will have someone come and clean this place up as soon as possible. Please bear with it for now. No matter what, I will do my best to treat you."
As she spoke, she heard footsteps behind her.
Looking back, it was Su Qinglan.
She came over with a bowl of freshly brewed medicine. When she heard Shang Ruyi's words, her eyes became even stranger, but she didn't say anything. She just found another patient whose wrist hadn't been marked and slowly fed him the medicine.
Shang Ruyi comforted Jiang Yu a couple more times before putting him down and getting up to walk back with Su Qinglan.
This time, however, the atmosphere became somewhat somber.
Shang Ruyi sensed that Su Qinglan seemed to have something to say, but hesitated several times. When the two returned to the stable, two more pots of medicine had just been brewed. Wo Xue quickly washed the empty bowls and poured out the medicine. Shang Ruyi immediately picked up a palm-leaf fan and fanned the medicine to cool it down, just like before.
Su Qinglan also half-squatted down, looked at Shang Ruyi, and said, "I didn't expect that the young mistress is so familiar with these things."
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly: "I took care of a patient with the plague before, so I'm used to it."
"I see,"
Upon hearing this, Su Qinglan glanced at her, then lowered her head and thought for a moment. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she said in a deep voice, "Since the young mistress has taken care of patients with the plague, she should know that no matter how we doctors take care of them or how we burn moxa and fumigate them in this ward, what can truly cure these patients and save their lives is the decoction."
"..."
This time, Shang Ruyi did not respond to her immediately.
Not only did she not respond immediately, she even lowered her head, staring intently at the bowl of dark, murky medicine, as if unwilling to meet the eyes of the person beside her.
After a long while, he finally responded with a heavy "Mmm."
Su Qinglan turned to look at her, and said somewhat urgently, "If that's the case, how can the life-saving thing—"
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