Not long after, Shan Cha finished drawing portraits of the seven people, two copies for each person, one set for Mo Mei and the other for Hong Ling; Mo Mei and Hong Ling then left with the soldiers.
Hai Tang was instructed to take out six sets of new clothes for the six people to change into, and their worn clothes were burnt. The six of them were arranged to sit on the horse carriage transporting medicinal herbs, and Yang Mengchen and the others went straight to Tieling Village.
"Who goes there?" Upon seeing the group, the hundreds of soldiers guarding the entrance of the village quickly surrounded them.
Hai Tang shouted loudly, "Princess Chen has arrived, why are you not kneeling to welcome her?"
The soldiers glanced at each other, bewildered. They had heard of the great name of Princess Chen, but why would Princess Chen suddenly come here?
Opening the carriage curtain, Yang Mengchen stepped down from the carriage, and flashed the Holy Ancestor Gold Medal in front of Jian Xin, who was leading the soldiers.
Lv Luo, Shan Cha, and Xiao Guai with Xiao Jin remained close on either side of Yang Mengchen.
Startled by the imposing Xiao Guai and Xiao Jin, Jian Xin and the soldiers turned pale; catching sight of the shining gold medal, they immediately prostrated themselves on the ground.
"This humble one and others pay our respects to Princess Chen, may Princess Chen live for thousands and thousands of years!" It was known to all that the Empress Dowager had bestowed the Holy Ancestor Gold Medal upon Princess Chen.
"Rise." Putting the Holy Ancestor Gold Medal back into her bag, Yang Mengchen told the accompanying Deputy General Cheng Hua, "You must strictly guard every exit of this village; no one is permitted to leave the village until the epidemic is resolved. These soldiers will assist you. If anyone dares to disobey your commands, execute them without mercy!"
Cheng Hua responded reverently, "Your subordinate obeys the command!"
Gently patting Xiao Jin’s head, Yang Mengchen softly said, "Xiao Jin, you stay behind to assist Deputy General Cheng."
’My master, be careful. I will wait for your return.’ Xiao Jin affectionately rubbed Yang Mengchen’s palm.
Ignoring the stunned crowd, Yang Mengchen entered the village with Hai Tang, Shan Cha, Lv Luo, Xiao Guai, and the master-servant duo Yang Cheng’an and Long Ruoshui, along with Ma Kui and his five companions.
Along the way, they could see the sparse villagers, all of them looking haggard and desperate, with cries for help and weeping sounds occasionally piercing the air, tugging at one’s heartstrings.
"Ma Kui, you guys, why have you come back?" Someone recognized Ma Kui and his group, their face filled with shock and anxiety: "Quickly leave, Magistrate Hu has said he will come and set fire to the village soon. If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!"
Ma Kui waved his hand: "Fellow villagers do not worry. With Princess Chen here, Magistrate Hu will not dare to set fire to the village! My fellow villagers, this is Princess Chen, who cultivated the four types of crops, and this is the renowned God of Doctor Yang. Princess Chen and God of Doctor Yang have come specially from the Capital to treat us; we are saved!"
All the people hastily knelt down and kowtowed.
They had heard that the four types of crops would be promoted throughout the country next year, and Princess Chen’s noble character in serving the country and the people was almost universally admired. They all highly respected Princess Chen, but since ancient times smallpox was incurable—could Princess Chen truly heal them?
"Please everyone, rise." Yang Mengchen raised her hand and, seeing the thoughts of the crowd, removed her mask and said with a smile, "The Emperor and Prince Chen learned of everyone’s illness and immediately gathered many medicinal herbs and daily necessities for me to bring here. Seventh Brother and I have some knowledge of the Discrepancy Yellow Art; we will do our utmost to treat everyone. We hope you will cooperate with us so that we can recover soon. Rest assured, we will not leave until you have all recovered. We also hope that no one will leave the village casually, so as not to endanger other innocent people."
"Long live the Emperor for tens of thousands of years! Long live Prince Chen for thousands and thousands of years! Long live Princess Chen for thousands and thousands of years!" The crowd knelt down and kowtowed again, tears streaming down their faces.
After putting her mask back on, Yang Mengchen called out, "May I ask who is the village head?"
"Reporting to Princess Chen, the village head is taking care of the sick. I will go fetch him immediately." A young man said, and then ran off in a hurry.
Yang Mengchen arranged for a dozen male villagers who had not been infected with smallpox to transport the medicinal herbs and supplies from the entrance of the village, while seven or eight uninfected women were tasked with boiling porridge and cooking. After confirming they had immunity, Yang Cheng’an and others started to set up stoves to prepare medical concoctions.
The village head arrived, panting, and before he could even bow, Yang Mengchen had him summon everyone, so that Yang Cheng’an and his group could diagnose their conditions.
After the medicinal herbs and supplies were brought back, Yang Mengchen immediately had Hai Tang and the others, along with the uninfected villagers, thoroughly disinfect and sterilize the few nearby houses, then arranged for the villagers to stay in different houses according to the severity of their illnesses. This made treating the patients more manageable, and then they went house to house for further disinfection.
The village head had already burned the bodies of those who had died previously.
The Capital.
On the third day after Yang Mengchen’s departure, people in the Capital began dying from smallpox, and the number of infections continued to rise, causing widespread panic.
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