Chapter 529 Yuwen Ye, what should you choose?!
The night passed amidst the raging storm.
Although they had gone to bed late the night before, Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi got up at just past Chenshi (7-9 AM). After washing up, they had just sat down to eat when someone came to report—
Young Master Pei came to visit.
This surprised them somewhat.
After all, with the plague raging in the city, normally the sons of these officials and wealthy families—unless they have important responsibilities like Yuwen Qian and Yuwen Ye and need to go out on business—almost keep their doors and windows tightly shut, wishing they could even seal the cracks in the doors. How could they allow their family members to go out and about?
However, it wasn't too unexpected.
After all, Pei Xu should have already told him everything that happened in the Taiji Hall yesterday. Given Pei Xu's tendency to get involved in anything and to be busy all the time, the fact that he only came to visit this morning shows that he has already restrained himself considerably.
Maybe he didn't sleep well last night.
So Yuwen Ye had someone bring him in. When he saw that familiar figure, who was said to be dashing but was actually more like a slacker, swaying as he walked in, the worries that had plagued him all night, even in his dreams, were suddenly blown away by a gentle breeze he brought.
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Young Master Pei has arrived."
Pei Xingyuan was dressed in a green long robe, and with his already tall and slender figure, he had a rather elegant and graceful appearance, like a bamboo shoot. However, the playful expression on his face completely dispelled that elegance.
He then bowed respectfully to Shang Ruyi and said, "I apologize for disturbing you."
After saying this, without waiting for Shang Ruyi to return the greeting, he turned to Yuwen Ye and said, "Fengchen, great news!"
Yuwen Ye frowned impatiently and said in a deep voice, "You say 'joy' at this time? Are you complaining that Uncle Pei's stick isn't thick enough to beat you?"
Pei Xingyuan immediately came to his senses and hurriedly said, "I misspoke, please forgive me. I will punish myself with a bowl of rice."
After saying that, he swaggered over and sat down in front of them. Just then, Tu She'er ladled out a bowl of porridge, but before she could put it in front of Yuwen Ye, he took it from her.
Upon seeing him like this, Shang Ruyi and Tu She'er couldn't help but laugh.
Although Yuwen Ye still had a stern face, a hint of a smile appeared in the corner of his eyes. He finally sighed, sat down, and said, "You really don't hold back at all."
Pei Xingyuan was indeed not polite at all. He slurped a mouthful along the rim of the bowl. The hot porridge was cooked until it was soft and tender. The warm porridge water released a rich aroma of rice in his mouth. After swallowing it, even his internal organs felt warm. He sighed comfortably.
Then he said, "Why should I be so polite with you?"
"..."
"I'm not the kind of person who pretends to be serious. I'm a true gentleman, naturally elegant and unrestrained!"
Shang Ruyi was taking another bowl of porridge from Tu She'er when she heard his words, which seemed to have a hidden meaning. She looked up at him and saw Pei Xingyuan smiling at her, saying, "Your cousin is just a hypocrite."
Shang Ruyi's eyes widened: "My brother?"
"yes,"
Pei Xingyuan took another sip of porridge and then said, "I went to the Shen family's place first thing this morning. I heard that Uncle Shen had been released, and as a junior, I had to go and see him."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "My uncle—"
Pei Xingyuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, although Uncle Shen was injured, he is in good spirits. The doctor said that he will be full of energy again after a month of rest."
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief.
Actually, after the events at the Taiji Hall ended yesterday, she had been thinking of visiting her uncle at the Shen family, but then the plague broke out, so it was impossible for her to go. Now that Pei Xingyuan said that Shen Shiyan was alright, she could finally put her mind at ease.
Yuwen Ye also said, "That's good."
Pei Xingyuan continued, "Then, I found Fu Ming and asked him to come with me. He's always been very concerned about his little sister."
Yuwen Ye's eyes darkened slightly.
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Then he—"
Pei Xingyuan snorted and said, "But he just said that you were busy with important matters all day yesterday and must be exhausted. Even if you rested at night, you probably wouldn't be able to sleep. So he won't come to bother you today, and he also told me not to come, so as not to disturb your rest. Humph, hypocrite."
"..."
"Look, I'm here now, and you've all gotten up early too."
Shang Ruyi and Yuwen Ye exchanged another glance, and they both couldn't help but laugh.
Yuwen Ye said impatiently, "Then what are you doing here so early in the morning? Just to steal our food?"
"Hey, don't put it so harshly!"
Pei Xingyuan slammed his fist on the table and said, "You promised me a banquet to welcome me back from outside the city, but now I haven't even had a drink of wine, and I'm being gossiped about for eating a bowl of your porridge."
Shang Ruyi's eyes were squinting with laughter from him.
Yuwen Ye knew this man was unserious, and if he continued to joke around like this, they might not be able to get anything done today. So he put on a stern face and said, "What exactly do you want from here? Explain yourself!"
Pei Xingyuan quickly straightened his posture and then smiled, "That's right, I heard about what happened yesterday, so I came to ask. With so many wards and markets in the West City, including Chang Le Ward, what are you planning to do?"
The moment this was mentioned, the atmosphere, which had been pleasant from his teasing, suddenly turned heavy.
Shang Ruyi's brow furrowed slightly.
Pei Xingyuan continued, "Last night, I sent my servants to search for medicine throughout the city. They visited several clinics, but found that they didn't have any medicine to cure the disease. Some clinics said they had just received some stock a few days ago, but not much, and it was all bought up by the people who have been crowding into the clinics these past two days. Such a large city as Daxing has run out of medicine!"
Shang Ruyi's brows furrowed even more.
She murmured, "Just as I thought."
Pei Xingyuan had sharp ears, and upon hearing those two words, he immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "As expected what?"
Shang Ruyi sighed and then told him roughly what had happened before: someone was scavenging medicinal herbs in the city, Yuwen Ye fell ill during the battle of Fufeng, and she sent Tu She'er and the others out of Tongguan to buy medicine, which finally saved his life.
Pei Xingyuan's eyes widened in surprise.
He immediately turned to look at Yuwen Ye: "Then now—"
Yuwen Ye calmly said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"..."
"According to Ruyi's guess, the plague that has spread into the city this time should be the same corpse plague that previously spread in Xiaolin River. Since that prescription can cure me, it can naturally cure the others in the city as well."
Pei Xingyuan was overjoyed upon hearing this, his mouth almost stretched to his ears, and he laughed, "That's good!"
As he spoke, he smiled and said to Shang Ruyi, "As expected of my sister-in-law, you are so shrewd and insightful. It is as if Fengchen is blessed with a virtuous wife!"
His words praised both Shang Ruyi and Yuwen Ye, demonstrating his tact and tact.
Normally, this would have made Shang Ruyi laugh out loud.
At this moment, although she felt a little relieved, the words she had just spoken reminded her of the matter that weighed heavily on her mind once again. She said with a heavy heart, "Young Master Pei, I dare not accept such words."
"..."
"At least for now, I have absolutely no confidence."
Pei Xingyuan was taken aback: "Why?"
Shang Ruyi looked up at him, then at Yuwen Ye, and said, "The main ingredients in the medicine for treating this plague are talc, atractylodes, and magnolia bark, supplemented with atractylodes macrocephala, phellodendron bark, and a few other herbs. If I'm not mistaken, the major medical clinics and pharmacies in the city should still have these ingredients in stock. Even if they don't, these herbs only play a supporting role; omitting them will only reduce the potency of the medicine, not affect its effectiveness."
Pei Xingyuan said, "So you mean the key is the first three medicinal herbs?"
Shang Ruyi nodded heavily and continued, "I asked Tu She'er and Jiang Kesheng to buy medicine before. They didn't find the herbs until they left Tongguan. But because of the time constraints and the fact that the place where they bought the herbs was close to Luoyang, they were worried about the danger. So they bought some and rushed back."
"..."
"I currently have three kinds of medicinal herbs, totaling five hundred catties."
Pei Xingyuan's eyes lit up: "That's quite a lot."
Yuwen Ye said, "Although she has a lot of medicinal herbs, there are as many as two thousand patients in the city—currently in Chang Le Fang."
Pei Xingyuan's face also darkened: "So many?!"
Shang Ruyi nodded and said, "I calculated it last night. The medicine Feng Chen used before, one dose contained about seven or eight qian of those three medicines, three doses a day, and it took more than twenty days for him to fully recover."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye frowned.
If that's the case, then a typical patient would need nearly five kilograms of medicine to be fully cured.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 confirmed patients gathered in Chang Le Fang, which means that nearly 10,000 kilograms of medicine are needed!
In other words, Shang Ruyi's stock of medicine is less than one-tenth of what she needs!
Pei Xingyuan said, "So, does that mean you can only treat a maximum of 10% of those two thousand-plus patients?"
Shang Ruyi said, "But it's not absolute."
"Oh? Is there any other way?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Previously, when we were using medicine in Fufeng, firstly, there was only one patient, Fengchen, and secondly, She'er brought enough medicine, so we didn't hesitate to use it. But with such a large number of patients, the dosage naturally needs to be reduced. He used eight qian of medicine per person, so for these patients, five qian per person should be enough; three doses a day can also be changed to two doses a day."
"..."
"Moreover, we gave him the medicine for more than 20 days before, and the last few days of medicine were given in case his condition relapsed, just in case. In fact, he could have stopped taking the medicine for at least five days."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye glared at her.
Although he never showed any fear or bitterness when taking medicine, bitterness is bitterness, and whose tongue can't taste it? Moreover, the three doses of medicine a day made him lose his appetite, and in the last few days he almost couldn't eat at all.
Unexpectedly, it was this young woman—
Upon being glared at, Shang Ruyi immediately lowered her head guiltily and quickly added, "So, all things considered—"
Pei Xingyuan immediately said, "I need about three thousand catties of medicine."
Upon hearing this, both Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi were somewhat surprised, especially Shang Ruyi. She was able to explain because she had been calculating this matter all night, but she didn't expect that Pei Xingyuan would actually give her the number as soon as she mentioned it.
And it was correct.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect: "Young Master Pei, you're amazing!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Xingyuan became smug again, shaking his head and waving his hand: "It's no big deal. I can easily calculate even more."
Seeing his smug expression, Yuwen Ye turned his head away helplessly, pretending not to see it. Pei Xingyuan, on the other hand, knew that they were discussing important matters. After showing off for a while, he immediately restrained himself and said seriously, "But even so, it's still not enough."
Shang Ruyi nodded as well.
We're still short by more than two thousand kilograms.
This time, even Pei Xingyuan frowned.
Although he was usually unserious, which was just his personality, he knew the importance of these important matters. In particular, what they were talking about might just be a few numbers, but when it came to other people, it could mean the life or death of hundreds or thousands of people. If even one person was missing, that person would not survive.
This is the bloody truth!
He murmured, "Is there really no other way?"
At this moment, Shang Ruyi looked at him, then at Yuwen Ye, and said, "Actually, there is another way."
"...!?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ye immediately looked at her with some surprise, seemingly wondering why she spoke so hesitantly and so late at night. Pei Xingyuan, however, didn't react and only asked urgently, "Is there any way?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at Yuwen Ye before saying softly, "These are extraordinary times, so the medication we use cannot be compared to normal times. The medicine that Feng Chen took before was naturally the best, but now there are too many patients and the dosage is insufficient. The only solution is to use some other medicines with similar effects as substitutes."
Pei Xingyuan's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Is that okay?"
Shang Ruyi said, "For example, Amomum villosum and Magnolia officinalis have similar medicinal effects, as do the roots and leaves of Plantago asiatica and Talcum. If there is a real shortage, we can only find these herbs to make up for it."
"..."
"In this way, we can at least triple the number of medicines we have available!"
"...!"
Pei Xingyuan's eyes brightened even more, and he said happily, "In that case, we can save at least 60% of the patients. That's wonderful!"
The result was still not entirely satisfactory, but at least it was much better than before.
Although Pei Xingyuan was beaming with joy, Shang Ruyi's expression did not lighten much after finding a solution. On the contrary, when she looked up and met Yuwen Ye's deep, all-seeing eyes, her breathing became even heavier.
At this moment, Pei Xingyuan seemed to sense something and said to them, "There's a solution, so why are you two not very happy?"
Shang Ruyi said, "This method also has a problem."
"Oh? What's the problem?"
"The best medicine is the one that is right for the disease; the method I came up with can save more people, but the potency of the medicine is reduced by a lot."
"..."
"A decrease in the drug's potency means—"
Shang Ruyi looked up at Yuwen Ye and said softly, "It will take even longer to heal those people!"
As soon as she said that, the whole room fell silent.
Normally, such quietness wouldn't be uncommon when she was with Yuwen Ye, but with Pei Xingyuan around—this man, who possessed an innate liveliness, even if he didn't speak, just sitting there, he gave people a sense of intimacy and bustle, like the warmth of everyday life.
But now, even he has fallen silent.
A strange, serious expression slowly crept onto his usually playful face, making Shang Ruyi, who was used to his carefree demeanor, feel somewhat unfamiliar with him.
Pei Xingyuan turned to look at Yuwen Ye and said slowly, "I heard that yesterday outside the Taiji Hall, the Grand Chancellor gave orders to both of you brothers."
"..."
"The east city belongs to him, the west city belongs to you."
"..."
"Whoever's district or market is the first to eradicate the plague will be richly rewarded."
Yuwen Ye lowered his eyelids calmly and remained silent for a long time before raising his head and glancing at him indifferently: "How come your information network is still so efficient?"
Pei Xingyuan chuckled and said, "This isn't because I have inside information."
"oh?"
“If you don’t believe me, go out and ask around. In Daxing City now, who doesn’t know that the Grand Chancellor’s great cause is about to be accomplished—” He smiled again and said, “Back then, when I was exiled, I was hoping that my uncle’s success would bring good days to our family. Now it seems that although it was a little off, it was pretty close.”
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi remembered that Pei Xingyuan had indeed said something similar when they saw him off outside Luoyang, but he didn't finish his sentence because there were other people around.
From this perspective, it seems that even back then, they already knew that Yuwen Yuan coveted the throne, which is why they hoped that his ascension to the throne would save their fate during their exile.
Shang Ruyi sighed softly to herself.
Before her eyes appeared again that ethereal figure, Chu Yang, who, though blurred, was still deeply etched in her heart, as if indelible.
During his lifetime, he was always wary of Yuwen Yuan, trying to weaken his military power and even attempting to use marriage to control his son.
In hindsight, he was right.
However, he made even more mistakes...
Shang Ruyi was momentarily lost in thought, and at this moment, Pei Xingyuan continued, "The current situation is even clearer. The future lies between you two brothers. This news is no less surprising than the plague entering the city and the clearing out of the market!"
"..."
This time, Yuwen Ye remained silent.
While Pei Xingyuan's words were somewhat exaggerated, they were not without reason. After all, Daxing City was the capital. Even though Chu Yang moved to the Eastern Capital, abandoning the imperial palace and its people, the people here had experienced Emperor Wen's founding of the country and his ascension to the throne, as well as Chu Yang's accession to the throne. Their sensitivity to the change of imperial power was no less than that of the ministers in the court.
Moreover, this plague, which truly impacted their lives, became Yuwen Yuan's final step toward the throne.
Who wouldn't worry?
However, a more practical problem is now before us—
If the goal is to eradicate the epidemic as quickly as possible, then we should use the limited medicine we have to treat the people we can save. But if we do that, the number of people who die from the plague will be countless!
Conversely, saving more people means that the epidemic will be eradicated later, and the "generous reward" that Yuwen Yuan mentioned will be completely out of his reach!
Yuwen Ye, what should I choose?!
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