Chapter 535 Still No Money
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
But the next moment, she felt her breathing become obstructed, and then she remembered that she had put on a veil the moment she stepped out of the Duke's mansion. Normally, her breathing and movements were fine, but she could feel a little discomfort when she took a deep breath.
She reached out and tugged at the rope by her ear, then slowly stepped down from the carriage.
After the battle was over, a strong smell of medicine made him cough. The people around him also covered their mouths and coughed softly. After they caught their breath, they looked up and looked ahead.
Before us lies Chang Le Fang.
The entire market was shrouded in smoke. Even before officially entering, one could see several people, completely covered and veiled, holding paper rolls filled with herbs such as mugwort and sandalwood, which they lit and waved around the streets to burn. The strong smell of herbs spread again. The market was surrounded by wooden fences starting from the base of the city wall. The fences circled the market, leaving only a path at the entrance. The sharp spikes of the wooden fences protruded menacingly from the smoke, giving it an extremely dangerous feel, as if stepping further would be like entering a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.
Soldiers stood guard on both sides of the entrance, armed with swords.
Upon seeing Shang Ruyi, they bowed respectfully without saying much. Shang Ruyi simply nodded and then led Tu She'er and Wo Xue inside.
The smoke inside the workshop was thicker and more pungent than outside.
The three of them felt as if they had stepped into some kind of fairyland filled with mist—but what kind of fairyland was this? After taking a few more steps and seeing the scene before them, all three of them gasped in shock.
The long street was already packed with patients!
Chang Le Fang is the market town closest to the South Gate. Unlike other markets town in the inner city, this market town is mostly used as a resting place for merchants and travelers who have just entered the city and have little money. The market town is very simple to build. There are only a few inns and a few houses in front. The area behind the city wall is a horse market for buying, selling and renting horses and carriages. Therefore, it is very convenient to clear the market town, but accommodating patients is a big problem.
The few inns that were available were already packed with people, and the rest had to stay on the street.
So they temporarily erected long awnings on both sides of the street, with straw mats laid out under them, where most of the patients received treatment. Although the weather wasn't too cold and sitting on the straw mats wasn't too uncomfortable, it had just rained two days prior, and the mud on the street hadn't dried completely, soaking the mats. The patients sitting on them, already dressed in tattered clothes with disheveled hair, were covered in mud and looked even more disheveled.
Even so, no one complained, because the people here were too exhausted to complain. They were all coughing incessantly, and some had even started to vomit. Someone hurriedly brought over charcoal ash to cover the filth. Just as they cleaned it up, someone else vomited on the other side.
In an instant, the stench and helpless sighs filled the entire Chang Le Fang.
The doctors were also extremely busy.
As soon as Shang Ruyi walked over, three people hurriedly came forward to greet her and bowed.
"Greetings, young mistress."
These three men were all middle-aged men in their thirties or forties. The leader was the oldest and slightly overweight. After some conversation, it was learned that his name was Wu Huanzhi and he was a medical supervisor sent to Chang Le Fang by the Imperial Medical Bureau. The two behind him were the chief physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
However, Yuwen Ye said yesterday that there should be three physicians in Chang Le Fang.
But Shang Ruyi didn't ask any more questions. She only exchanged a few pleasantries with them. Wu Huanzhi also said very politely, "We just learned that the young mistress was coming to Chang Le Fang today. We apologize for not welcoming you sooner."
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "You flatter me."
As she spoke, she looked around again and asked, "Lord Wu, how is the situation today?"
Wu Huanzhi said, "I heard that several more wards in the western city have been found to have patients, and the general has already sent people to collect them. Twenty-one more patients were brought in from outside the city early this morning."
"What about the situation in the neighborhood?"
"Alas, another seventeen patients died last night."
"……oh."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
In fact, it is normal for people to die once the plague spreads, but when she heard that seventeen more had died, she couldn't help but feel bitter.
This was only the second day.
After walking through several more streets, the situation was similar. On each street, there were doctors from various clinics in the city. Some were helping with diagnosis, while others were burning paper tubes filled with mugwort and other medicines to fumigate the area. The patients were all lying on the ground, constantly groaning and moaning, filling the entire market with an atmosphere of decay.
Even though she knew she was there to help, Shang Ruyi herself was almost overwhelmed by the aura around her, feeling somewhat lost and helpless.
However, it was not time to be helpless yet. Shang Ruyi subconsciously wanted to take a deep breath, but she stopped immediately and turned to Wu Huanzhi, saying, "Lord Wu, please take care of this matter. Don't worry about other things. Save as many people as you can."
Wu Huanzhi and the two physicians behind him exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of surprise.
What Yuwen Yuan said outside the Taiji Hall that day, not only do they know, but now probably most of the world knows. Not only do they know, but who can't understand the profound meaning in his words?
The treatment of this plague is a future struggle for the crown prince position!
But right now, Shang Ruyi is telling them not to worry about "other things," which clearly means she wants them to prioritize saving lives.
Could it be that the Second Young Master Yuwen and this young mistress are not going to compete for it?
So, that's why they let people run wild in the neighborhood?
Although the others were surprised, since Shang Ruyi had already spoken, they didn't say anything more and agreed. Wu Huanzhi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Since the young mistress says so, there are some things I don't know how to say—"
At this moment, Shang Ruyi glanced around again and asked, "Are all the patients on these streets?"
Wu Huanzhi stopped.
Sensing a flicker in his gaze, Shang Ruyi immediately realized something: "No?"
Wu Huanzhi hesitated for a moment before saying, "There are some more, in the stables over there."
"stable?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi frowned. It was already very uncomfortable for people to sleep outdoors, so how could they put the patient in the stable?
So he said, "How can you put a patient in the stable?!"
Wu Huanzhi said bitterly, "Young Madam, we don't have enough manpower. Besides, this plague is different from other diseases. Those who have been infected for more than half a month are almost beyond saving; the chances of saving elderly patients are also very slim."
The other two doctors chimed in, "We're doing this for the sake of the patients here."
"Yes, we just want to save more people."
Hearing them say that, Shang Ruyi was speechless. After a moment of silence, she said, "Then, please take me to see it."
Wu Huanzhi then instructed the two physicians to attend to their duties, while he led her into the ward.
After passing through several long streets and a passageway, they were getting closer to the city wall. The smoky fog ahead was even thicker, and the strong smell of medicine was mixed with an indescribable stench. Even though everyone was wearing veils, they frowned from the stench, and Tusheer couldn't help but gag.
This flavor was not unfamiliar to Shang Ruyi.
The smell was the same in the Taiyuan military camp before, it almost made Tushe'er faint. I didn't expect that after so long, she still hasn't improved. Shang Ruyi gave a wry smile and said, "Forget it, She'er, you can stay outside and don't go."
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er quickly wiped his mouth and said, "I'm fine, I want to follow Xiao—woo-wa!"
But before she could finish speaking, she retched again. Wo Xue quickly helped her up and patted her back. Shang Ruyi sighed and said, "If you go over like this and actually throw up, it will only cause trouble for others."
"ah……"
“Staying outside to help out is the same. Everyone in Chang Le Fang is a patient.”
Hearing her say that, Tu She'er felt really ashamed and could only stay behind to help the doctor on the other side take care of the patients, while Shang Ruyi took Wo Xue and followed Wu Huanzhi to continue walking forward.
As you walk down the passageway, a bright and open space suddenly appears before you.
Ahead was a large open space, but it was muddy and even mixed with horse manure and urine that had not been cleaned up, making it extremely smelly. Opposite the open space was at the foot of the city wall, where several rows of tall stables were neatly built. The horses had long been taken away, and some patients had been moved there. Others could only stay away from the muddy and manure-filled areas and lean against the eaves that could barely keep them out of the wind and rain.
They didn't even have straw mats.
These people were clearly more seriously ill than those outside. Some had fallen into a coma, while others, though conscious, lay limply on the ground like emptied, tattered sacks. Their gray eyes remained unblinking as they watched people walk in, long since devoid of life.
The air was not only filled with a stench, but also with a heavy, deathly atmosphere.
Seeing this, Wu Huanzhi sighed and said, "Besides those who were already infected before—the patients here were the first to contract the plague. Now, they are truly terminally ill and difficult to cure."
"..."
"Young Madam, we need treatment, but we also need to save lives."
"..."
"The people here are so sick that they can't even drink the medicinal soup distributed outside, let alone—"
At this point, his eyes flickered, and just like when Shang Ruyi interrupted his prophecy, he hesitated and said with a hint of unease, "I don't have any money yet."
"..."
Shang Ruyi raised an eyebrow slightly.
But she remained silent, staring fixedly at the desolate scene before her.
Just then, a slender figure suddenly came into view.
A person dressed in a gray-green robe with tightly bound sleeves and a veil covering their face was carrying a bowl of medicine to the eaves. They were helping a patient up to feed the medicine, but the patient was clearly unable to take the medicine properly. As soon as the medicine was fed, the patient coughed violently, spraying the medicine all over the person.
Shang Ruyi's heart tightened upon seeing this.
But the man wasn't angry. He simply wiped his robe and said softly, "Don't rush, drink slowly."
That voice—it belonged to a woman!
Shang Ruyi opened her eyes wide and watched as she patiently fed the patient the medicine bit by bit. The patient kept trembling and coughing, and the medicine mixed with saliva dripped onto her hands, but she did not care at all. Looking at her robes, they were clearly the robes of the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau, only slightly different from the robes of the other two men!
This was actually a female physician!
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