Chapter 49 As he wished, Zhao Huaixu peeked out the window through the crack, his hand...
The strong smell of blood mixed with the bitter smell of medicine hit them in the face, causing Fang Yilan and Yuan Qingjun to frown.
Twelve bamboo couches were arranged in two rows, and the patients were groaning in pain. Their skin was covered with large, shocking red spots, extending from their legs to their faces.
The old man at the innermost side suddenly convulsed violently, making a strange "ho ho" sound in his throat and vomiting blood in large mouthfuls.
Yuan Qingjun quickly walked to the old man's bedside and reached out to touch his forehead. It felt as hot as a red-hot iron. She then flipped open the patient's eyelids. His pupils had begun to dilate, indicating a critical condition.
"Bring the silver needle!"
Before she finished her words, Fang Yilan had already handed the needle box to her. Yuan Qingjun picked up a fine needle and inserted it into the Taichong acupoint. The old man's convulsions gradually subsided, but his pulse at his wrist remained chaotic.
"Blacksmith Li from the East Wing had the same symptoms. He coughed up blood and died last night." Judge Zuo covered the unpleasant smell with his sleeve, his voice muffled by the fabric. "This morning, seven more were carried in from the city..."
Fang Yilan went to the material storage area and checked each batch of food, medicinal materials and daily necessities delivered, and found nothing unusual.
"The symptoms of this disease have suddenly become so severe..." Yuan Qingjun frowned and said to Yi Lan, "The medicine we used before may no longer be effective. We need to find a solution quickly."
In the center of the main hall, the compassionate eyes of a clay statue of a Bodhisattva take in all the worldly sufferings within the temple, yet Buddhism is unable to save the world.
As corpses were carried out from the east and west wings, the people began to panic, as if death would befall them in the next second.
Someone tore open the strict rules, and a group of people rushed madly towards the temple gate, slamming their hands on the heavy wooden door and shouting at the top of their lungs, "Let us out! We don't want to die here!"
"Let us out!" The woman raised the swaddling clothes above her head. "My child is going to die!"
The eyes of several strong men turned red, and veins bulged on their foreheads. They found a thick log from somewhere, carried it on their shoulders, shouted slogans, and tried their best to bang it against the door.
Fang Yilan swung his spear horizontally, knocking the thick wood away. The bottom of the spear shook heavily on the ground, and the tassel of the spear shook.
"Anyone who dares to step out of this door will be killed without mercy."
A man with a face full of resentment jumped out of the crowd and roared ferociously: "If we die here, even if we become ghosts, we will not let you go!"
Another woman cried out, "You are so cold-blooded and heartless, you will surely be punished by heaven!"
Hearing this group of people insulting Fang Yilan so badly, some sensible people couldn't help but stand up. An old man was so angry that he was shaking all over. He shouted, "The general and his men work so hard every day to take care of us, why did they save you, a bunch of ungrateful ungrateful people!"
A young man jumped up and down, yelling, "You bunch of idiots! She's basically lying to us. She's clearly trying to lock us up here and starve us to death!"
The sharp-nosed and monkey-faced man nodded in agreement: "Perhaps this epidemic was caused by her! She was born out of misfortune. No wonder she's the only one left in your Fang family. Her death is retribution..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a muffled "puff" sound, as if a heavy object had penetrated the flesh. A silver tip suddenly appeared on the man's chest, and bright red blood instantly spread out.
Everyone turned around in astonishment and looked. Zhao Huaixu drew out his sword and the blood mist brought by the sword splashed on the faces of the onlookers.
He said coldly, "Anyone who insults the heroes who have protected the country, the princes, and the generals shall be executed!"
The crimson liquid seeped deep into the cracks of the bluestone slabs, and the fear was like a flood bursting through a dam. Sharp screams rang out one after another, and people scattered in panic, leaving only the cold corpse behind.
The hilt of the sword slipped from Zhao Huaixu's hand and fell to the ground with a clang. He lost his balance and almost fell.
Fang Yilan flashed to his side and supported him. Her palm touched Zhao Huaixu's wrist bone, which hurt her so much that it felt as if it could be broken with a little force.
Only then did she realize that Zhao Huaixu was still terribly thin, with purple veins appearing on his arms under his wide sleeves, and he seemed to be even sicker than before.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" She supported Zhao Huaixu and hurried to the east wing. Her voice was colder than the silver spear in her hand. "You're sick and yet you dare to resort to violence! Have you been taking your medicine properly these days? Lying down and recuperating is better than anything else. You don't need to do any of this..."
Zhao Huaixu seemed to be irritated by Fang Yilan's words. He coughed violently, as if he wanted to cough out his heart and lungs, interrupting her unfinished words: "Alan, please stop saying things that make me angry..."
The fresh grass on the windowsill of the Zen room had wilted a lot, and its originally green leaves drooped listlessly.
Fang Yilan helped him lie down, and suddenly noticed that there was a red spot on the collar of his clothes, which was already spreading upwards.
His pupils shrank suddenly, but he didn't show it on his face.
Zhao Huaixu noticed her strangeness and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fang Yilan feigned anger: "It's nothing, I just noticed that your chest is so thin that you can even see the shape of your ribs. From now on, you have to eat at least two bowls of rice for each meal. Do you hear me?"
Zhao Huaixu smiled lightly, holding her hand and placing it against his face: "If A-Lan dine with me, I should be able to eat more."
"Can you eat while looking at me?" Fang Yilan didn't jump up and down to break free. Instead, she leaned over and traced his eyebrows and eyes, saying seriously, "Okay, as long as I have time, I will come to supervise you. I have something important to discuss with Qingjun. You should rest well first, and I will come to see you later."
"good."
Zhao Huaixu was so shrewd that he wouldn't be easily fooled by her perfunctory answer. After Fang Yilan left, he immediately ordered Anying: "Go get the bronze mirror..."
The bronze mirror reflected a haggard and thin face, which was a little sunken and had a sallow color that made it look sick. The red spots winding up the neck looked like hideous bloodstains and were particularly glaring.
Zhao Huaixu suddenly chuckled, and a sweet and fishy taste surged in his throat.
When the secret guard broke in, he saw the bronze mirror broken into pieces on the ground, reflecting fragmented light, and there were spots of blood on the sleeves.
Zhao Huaixu opened his mouth to speak, but was shocked to find that his voice had become extremely hoarse, as rough and unpleasant as sandpaper rubbing against the surface. "Bring me some pen and ink. From now on, you are not allowed to enter without my permission."
...
Yuan Qingjun examined the prescription. She tried various methods but could not find the root cause of the disease: "Forsythia, honeysuckle, patchouli, rhodiola...what else should I add..."
Fang Yilan's eyes darkened as she said, "Zhao Huaixu's condition has worsened, and red spots have appeared."
Yuan Qingjun's face darkened. "I prepared this prescription according to the records in ancient books, but now it seems that it is incomplete. It must be missing a few key herbs."
She listed several herbs that might be useful on a piece of paper and handed it to Fang Yilan: "These herbs may be able to alleviate the condition, but we are not sure whether they will be effective at the moment."
There are seven or eight kinds of medicinal herbs listed on the prescription. There is no other way now, I can only try them all. I just don’t know if the bodies of these patients can hold on for that long.
Patients were sent in batches, and many officers and soldiers were infected. Even Xiao Yue was infected, but Xiao Yue had a good foundation and his condition was not too serious.
Zhuang Gu strode quickly, throwing Xiao Yue onto the bamboo couch and mocking him mercilessly, "You kid, you've been attacked even for guarding a city wall. You must not have been exercising regularly lately, have you?"
Xiao Yue's face flushed with anger. He struggled to sit up, but gave up because he felt unwell. "That's because someone in our team's wife and children are sick. I've been so busy these past few days that I accidentally got into trouble. I'm as strong as an ox. This minor illness will heal on its own in a few days."
Xunyun took the envelope sent from Shangjing and gave it to Fang Yilan, saying calmly, "That's amazing." It was unclear whether he was praising him or insulting him.
Shuxue swept the floor slowly and without even raising her head: "Please lift your feet. You're blocking my way."
Xiao Yue was like a boiling kettle, yelling, "You guys!"
Fang Yilan watched them bickering with interest, then suddenly thought of something and went straight to find Yuan Qingjun.
"Sister Qingjun, have you noticed that no one who drank the pot of medicine you brewed on your first day here got sick? Xiao Yue has been busy at the city gate. Logically, he has fewer opportunities to come into contact with patients than those of us who work with them every day, but he fell ill. On the other hand, none of us who deal with patients every day have gotten sick."
"If it's a difference in physique, Shuxue doesn't know martial arts, and her physique can't compare to Xiao Yue's, but she hasn't been sick either. Is there some difference between that medicine and the others?"
Yuan Qingjun rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought: "It's indeed strange that you say that. Fortunately, I always keep a portion of the residue from each pot of medicine. I'll go see what's going on!"
Yuan Qingjun opened the drawer where the medicinal residue was stored, squatted down, and carefully searched and compared them, but did not find any difference in the proportions of the medicinal materials.
Her brows furrowed, unable to figure out what was wrong. She wrinkled her nose again, and suddenly smelled something: "Not right."
He picked up the medicine residue from the next few days, put it under his nose and sniffed it gently, his eyes lit up: "This pot does have a different smell."
"But I followed the prescription and didn't add anything else."
Fang Yilan also picked up the medicinal residue and smelled it. Although she didn't understand pharmacology, she could smell a strange smell mixed in the first pot of medicinal residue, and it was very familiar.
"Did you leave when you were brewing the medicine? Could someone have added something to the medicine while you were away?"
"No one else was there at the time..." Yuan Qingjun recalled, then suddenly realized, "But I did leave for a while. At that time, Jiaoyue suddenly cried out, and I went out to take a look at it. I shouldn't have been away for long."
"Jiaoyue?" Fang Yilan couldn't imagine how this matter could be related to Jiaoyue. He then said, "Right now, we should investigate what this extra thing might be."
Yuan Qingjun nodded in agreement, and called together several experienced doctors. They sat together, flipping through medical books, and repeatedly checking and smelling the medicinal residue while discussing the matter.
Fang Yilan took the list of herbs compiled by Yuan Qingjun and went to various drug stores in the city without stopping, asking the shopkeepers if they had the herbs on the list.
However, due to the rampant epidemic, the demand for medicinal materials increased greatly, and the stocks of many pharmacies were exhausted. Fang Yilan had no choice but to take experienced herbal farmers deep into the mountains to search for them.
After running around outside for several days, Zhao Huaixu's secret guard returned to the temple and found Fang Yilan with a worried look on his face, kneeling on one knee.
"General Fang, please go and try to persuade His Highness. He refuses to eat or take medicine. He remains silent all day, lying quietly. It's truly worrying."
"I'll go take a look."
When Fang Yilan brought the medicine, Zhao Huaixu was lying on the bed with his back to the door. The quilt was pulled up high and almost buried him completely. Even so, several spots of skin were vaguely exposed, and large patches of red spots had spread to his cheeks.
Fang Yilan walked to the bedside and said softly, "Get up and drink the medicine."
Zhao Huaixu acted as if he didn't hear anything and continued to lie with his back to her, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.
Fang Yilan sighed helplessly, slightly lifted his quilt, reached out to grab his hand, but her fingertips touched something strange. Zhao Huaixu's hand was wrapped in thick gauze.
"How did your hand get hurt? Can't you take the medicine?" Fang Yilan deliberately slowed down her tone and coaxed him in a low voice: "Can I feed you? If you don't want to take the medicine, how can the illness be cured?"
The eyes that loved to stare at her the most. Never raised their eyes again for a moment, "Don't touch me..." Zhao Huaixu panted and shrank back, his back against the cold wall, "It will be transmitted..."
Fang Yilan knew that he was feeling unwell, so she scooped a spoonful of medicine and fed it to his mouth, but Zhao Huaixu stubbornly turned his head away, closed his lips tightly, and refused to drink the medicine.
Brown stains of medicine slowly flowed down the corners of his lips.
Fang Yilan placed the medicine heavily on the wooden table beside the bed, pinched his chin, and forced him to look at her: "It's just a few red spots, so what?"
Zhao Huaixu turned sideways and took out the pen and ink on the wooden table, and wrote in a sloppy handwriting: General, don't worry about me. Huaixu is too ill. It would be bad if I pass it on to you. After you leave, I will take the medicine obediently.
Fang Yilan looked at him coldly: "As you wish."
With a loud bang, the door closed, leaving the room in solitude.
…
The atmosphere in Tongbei Temple has been so cold these days that people dare not speak loudly.
Fang Yilan was standing in the front yard looking at the tightly closed window frame, his thoughts drifting away.
Zhou Ting'an walked over quickly, panting slightly, followed by several doctors. "General Fang, these are the doctors from my Zhou family. They are extremely skilled. I invited them from Shangjing, hoping they can help."
Fang Yilan bowed his hands and thanked him sincerely, "Sir Zhou, I thank you on behalf of the people of Wenbin."
"General Fang, you're too polite."
After not seeing her for a few days, Fang Yilan seemed to have grown thinner. Zhou Ting'an hesitated for a moment, then spoke out to comfort her, "You...must take care of yourself and don't worry too much."
Fang Yilan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled: "Yes, I will."
The petals of the apricot tree in the courtyard were falling on the shoulders of Zhou Ting'an, who was wearing a jade crown and brocade robe. His eyes were full of love that could not be concealed. He and Fang Yilan stood side by side, like an immortal couple in a painting.
Zhao Huaixu peeked out the window through the crack, and the ink pen in his hand was twisted off, with the splinters of wood piercing his flesh.
"What a perfect match." He muttered to himself.
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