Suspected plague
It was Xie Zhuo's voice.
Fu Zhi Qiao paused for a moment, then ignored him and continued walking forward.
"Who is he?" Xie Zhuo strode up to her, raised his voice, stared intently at her, and asked again, his tone revealing a hint of anger.
Feeling inexplicably guilty under Xie Zhuo's direct gaze.
Did he see him talking to Zhao Jun? Judging from his expression, he must have seen it, otherwise he wouldn't be so angry.
Fu Zhi Qiao quickly realized something was wrong! Why was she feeling guilty?
She immediately withdrew her wandering gaze. So what if he saw it? It didn't matter anyway. There was no way she and he could be together anymore. It was better for everyone to be honest about it sooner rather than later.
Just as she was about to speak, her wrist was suddenly pulled sharply, forcing Fu Zhi Qiao to lean against the wall.
Xie Zhuo noticed the several changes in her expression. He stepped forward and completely blocked her path, asking in a deep voice, "A Qiao, answer me, who is that man?"
Xie Zhuo certainly recognized the person she was talking to: Zhao Junhui, the highly sought-after third-place scholar in the capital.
At this moment, he wasn't asking about Zhao Junhui's identity, but rather about the relationship between Zhao Junhui and Fu Zhiqiao.
Fu Zhi Qiao was very annoyed by his actions and retorted sarcastically, "Are you angry? Why are you angry? What right do you have to be angry? Just mind your own business and don't interfere in my affairs!"
Taking advantage of Xie Zhuo's momentary daze, she forcefully shook off his hand and quickly left.
When Xie Zhuo returned to his residence that evening, he sat in a chair, his mind filled with images from the day.
What is her relationship with Zhao Junhui? When did they meet? Why did she smile at him so brightly?
As a fellow man, Xie Zhuo could tell at a glance that Zhao Jun's gaze towards Fu Zhi Qiao was clearly unusual. He suppressed the bitterness in his heart and said, "Go, I want to know every detail of Zhao Jun's life."
Zhao Junhui's information was quickly delivered to Xie Zhuo's desk.
Zhao Junhui, a native of Yuzhou, passed the imperial examination in the 25th year of the Great Wei Dynasty. His Majesty personally selected him as the third-ranked scholar and appointed him as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy...
The Zhao family was a scholarly family, but Zhao Junhui was from a collateral branch and was not valued by the family until he passed the imperial examination and became a government official in the capital, at which point he gained status in the Zhao family.
He passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) at the age of nineteen. Looking at his resume, he was truly a man of great talent and a pillar of the nation.
Xie Zhuo stared intently at the words "Yuzhou," as both Zhao Junhui and Fu Zhiqiao were from Yuzhou.
Did she know Zhao Junhui before she met him?
Xie Zhuo felt extremely frustrated. He instructed Wang Qianxin: "Find out Zhao Junhui's experiences in Yuzhou, especially those related to the Fu family. Don't miss any clues."
Wang Qianxin dared not ask any more questions and went down after receiving the order.
*
The disaster victims were gradually being properly resettled, new dikes were being planned and rebuilt, and grain prices in the city had dropped by half... Xie Zhuo dispatched some soldiers to build houses for the people. Just as Qin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, bad news came from the imperial physician.
The first suspected case of the plague was discovered in a farmhouse less than three miles outside the city.
The man's name was She Hong. During the day, he went to the mountain to chop firewood. After dinner, he suddenly developed a high fever. At first, he thought it was just ordinary typhoid fever. After staying up all night, he went to the city the next day to get some medicine to take back home.
After taking the medicine for two days without improvement, he felt increasingly unwell. His wife went out to fetch a doctor for him, and when she returned, she found him lying on the ground unconscious with a burning fever.
She Hong's family had no choice but to bring him to the clinic for help. Doctor Gao thought he had just caught a cold, but his symptoms were just a bit more severe, so he didn't take it too seriously.
Until the second, third, and fourth cases of high fever and coma... in just two days, he received dozens of cases of persistent high fever.
This is far too suspicious.
The imperial physician Gao became suspicious and summoned all the medical supervisors and chief physicians, as well as local doctors from Qingzhou, to examine the patients. In the end, they concluded that the disease was suspected to be plague.
"A white, powdery tongue coating, a bright red tongue, a rapid and forceful pulse, persistent high fever, and difficulty breathing—this is likely a symptom of an epidemic disease!"
Suspected plague!
These four words struck everyone's heart like a muffled thunderclap.
In Qin Zhao's study, after hearing the diagnosis from Imperial Physician Gao, everyone present gasped in shock.
Plague? The kind that can infect an entire family if one person gets sick?
Qin Zhao's throat tightened, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Imperial Physician Gao, has it been diagnosed? Could there be a mistake?"
After a moment of silence, Physician Gao replied, "It's not confirmed yet, but it's pretty close."
Qin Zhao paced back and forth anxiously, "What should I do? What should I do!"
Zhao Jun returned to Qin Zhao's side and asked Imperial Physician Gao for more details, "Imperial Physician Gao, when can we get a diagnosis?"
"We need to observe for another two days. At the latest, by 9:00 AM the day after tomorrow, the medical supervisors have already placed all the suspected patients in the medical ward. We can get the results after another day and night of observation."
"Is there any way to treat this?" Qin Zhao pressed.
Imperial Physician Gao shook his head. The plague spreads extremely quickly and is incurable. "If it is confirmed to be the plague, then it will be troublesome. If it is not handled properly, it will spread to the entire Jiangnan region, and then I'm afraid the capital will also be affected."
The seriousness of this news has exceeded their imagination. How could it be a plague?
Once the plague spreads, the entire Qingzhou will become a living hell.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one.
At three quarters past Xu hour, Xie Zhuo appeared precisely outside Fu Zhiqiao's door.
After their last unpleasant encounter, Xie Zhuo discovered that Fu Zhi Qiao and Zhao Jun Hui were involved, and he stubbornly refused to come looking for her. Now, upon hearing the news of a suspected plague outside the city, he no longer cared about saving face.
She glanced at the candlelight in the room; it was lit, so she hadn't rested yet.
Xie Zhuo pushed the door hard, but it didn't budge, apparently because it was locked from the inside.
Was the door bolted to protect himself? Thinking of this, his face darkened.
With his robes fluttering, Xie Zhuo swiftly vaulted in through the window, his movements as agile as a cheetah.
"Who?" Fu Zhi Qiao was about to rest when a dark figure burst in, startling her. She was about to call Yin Xing in when someone covered her mouth.
"It's me." Xie Zhuo released his hand from her mouth, then wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing himself tightly against her body to absorb more warmth.
Having already barged in, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.
"Are you crazy?" Fu Zhi Qiao stopped struggling after hearing Xie Zhuo's voice. She had locked the door to show that she didn't welcome him, but who knew that this shameless man would actually fly in through the window.
Seeing that Fu Zhi Qiao was annoyed by him, Xie Zhuo was actually even happier.
Since his engagement, Fu Zhi Qiao had always been polite yet resistant towards him; he hadn't seen this vibrant side of Fu Zhi Qiao in a long time.
Fu Zhi Qiao rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Men and women should not touch each other. Please do not enter or leave my room at will in the future, Your Highness."
Xie Zhuo understood that she meant something and let go of her.
Once freed, Fu Zhiqiao immediately stepped back a few paces and angrily asked, "What urgent matter brings you here today, Your Highness, to break through my window?"
Have you been outside the city recently?
"Never been there, why?"
Xie Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that he hadn't been there.
Fu Zhi Qiao knew he hadn't made himself clear. If something hadn't happened, he wouldn't have suddenly come over to ask her if she had been outside the city.
She continued to stare at him with a questioning look.
Xie Zhuo sighed inwardly, thinking that if she had known earlier, she could have taken precautions sooner, so he told her about the suspected plague being discovered outside the city.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"The results won't be available until the day after tomorrow, but the imperial physician says it's pretty close to the truth." Xie Zhuo told her the precautions, "Remember, don't wander around these next few days, and stay away from people with high fever or difficulty breathing..."
Fu Zhi Qiao blinked, and it took her a long time to process what he said.
If a suspected case has already occurred, then it's highly likely that it's a confirmed case.
Fu Zhiqiao's first thought was to take precautions, to take strict precautions, and to make sure the spread of the plague did not expand further.
"Where was it found? Has the site been cordoned off?"
Upon hearing that the imperial physicians had discovered more than twenty cases of illness, Fu Zhi Qiao could no longer remain calm.
It was too late; the plague had already spread.
"Don't go yet." She grabbed Xie Zhuo's sleeve.
Fu Zhi Qiao told Xie Zhuo to stay where he was, and she immediately went to the outer room to wake up Yin Xing. "Yin Xing, quickly make me two pairs of masks and five-finger gloves. Don't make them my size, make them a little bigger."
Ginkgo was still a little dazed when she was woken up. What was wrong with the girl? Why did she suddenly need to make masks and gloves? It wasn't until she caught a glimpse of the tall figure in the inner room that she understood: the masks and gloves were for the young master.
The winery's rule is that anyone entering the winery must wear an apron and a mask, so Ginkgo is very familiar with the process of making masks and gloves.
Two pieces of silk fabric and two straps are sewn together to make a face mask. Five-finger gloves are a bit more complicated, but once you cut out the shape of the fingers, the sewing part is easy.
Yin Xing's embroidery skills were excellent; Fu Zhi Qiao's personal clothing was all made by her, and she finished them in no time.
Fu Zhiqiao took out a mask and gloves, put them on her face and hands respectively, and demonstrated to Xie Zhuo how to wear them.
"Did you see that clearly? You must wear these two things at all times, especially when you are outside. You must not take them off." Fu Zhiqiao said with a serious face. "The plague can be transmitted through contact. You have your soldiers cover their mouths, noses and hands, and try not to come into contact with patients without protection."
Xie Zhuo had never seen her so serious before, and unconsciously nodded in agreement.
Seeing how nervous she was for him, Xie Zhuo's smile widened.
Meeting his bright eyes, Fu Zhi Qiao realized something. She cleared her throat and said, "Don't misunderstand. I made the mask for you because I didn't want you to get infected. Don't misunderstand."
There is no misunderstanding.
"That's good. When you get back, remember to have people make more, and make sure everyone wears masks and gloves to prevent infection with the plague."
"Okay!" Xie Zhuo didn't ask Fu Zhi Qiao why she knew so much. He only knew that she cared about him, and a warm current finally flowed into his long-cold heart.
With the remaining silk fabric, she had Yinxing and the maids in the house work overnight to make many masks and gloves, and instructed Yu Roulan and the servants in the house not to go out easily, and if they did go out, they must wear masks and gloves.
The servants didn't understand, but they obediently followed orders.
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