Chapter 174 [VIP]
"good."
Yin Xiyan's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke softly.
Ten years have passed since we last met; it's not easy for anyone to survive.
He didn't want to talk about it, and Yin Xiyan didn't ask.
No matter what, he is her brother, and that's enough.
She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears, and carefully placed the imperial edict by her bedside, saying happily, "We'll handle it together."
Shen Xu's lips curved into a tiny smile.
He could no longer remember what he was like when he was still in Blackwater Fortress. He could only continue to imitate Gu Zhizhuo's sweet talk and coaxing manner.
His long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he smiled sweetly and innocently: "Sister, I need to go to Qingzhou on a proper mission."
Shen Xu emphasized the last four words and handed over the transfer order: "Leave after the tenth of September, and come back soon."
Those who dare to cause trouble, those who outwardly comply but inwardly defy, and those who line their own pockets—just chop them all up. Anyway, the imperial examinations are next year; if we appoint a few more successful candidates, we can fill the vacancies.
A round trip won't take much time.
Xie Yingchen was alright in other aspects, but he wasn't ruthless enough and was unwilling to go on a killing spree.
In fact, regardless of whether they are guilty or not, drag them out and kill a batch of them. As long as enough blood is shed, I guarantee that no one will dare to show their face again.
Shen Xu raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of ruthlessness. The next moment, he remembered that his sister was still there, so he immediately lowered his long eyelashes and said gently, "Sister, you can stay here for now. When I come back, we'll buy a house together."
Yin Xiyan looked at his pinky finger and smiled gently: "Okay."
“Returning to Mother”.
Ting Lian tapped lightly on the window a few times, then skillfully opened it halfway and said cheerfully, "I made some sugar cakes, I brought them for you to try..."
Halfway through her sentence, Ting Lian was startled to realize that there were other people in the room.
He was Gui Niang's younger brother; she had met him once and still recognized him.
Gui Niang is recuperating and may not know that when her brother came last time, he was surrounded by a large group of people, all of whom were armed and had sharp eyes. They were clearly not ordinary people.
Just like now, when Gui Niang's younger brother looked up at her, Ting Lian felt as if she were being stared at by a venomous snake. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she was terrified, not daring to look him in the eye.
Why did I arrive at such an inopportune time! Ting Lian was extremely annoyed, and her words, which she hadn't finished speaking, became somewhat hesitant.
"Brother Xian, peel an apple for me."
As soon as Lady Gui spoke, Shen Xu obediently got up to get the apple.
With that gaze no longer fixed on her, Ting Lian breathed a sigh of relief, her expression becoming much more natural as she handed over a bamboo basket.
"Sugar cakes".
A layer of oil paper was laid at the bottom of the bamboo basket, and six golden-brown fried sugar cakes were placed on top.
The two lived close by, and whenever Tinglian got any food, he would bring some to her.
Yin Xiyan was the same before she fell ill.
Whether the other person is inside or not, just open the window and place it on the small table by the window.
Tinglian put down her bamboo basket and said, "It's filled with red bean paste."
Thank you.
“We don’t need to thank each other.” Ting Lian’s every move exuded natural charm. “Gui Niang, I’m going to Taiqing Temple in a little while. I’ll bring you back a good luck charm. I’ve heard that the good luck charms from Taiqing Temple are quite effective.”
Are you going now?
Yin Xiyan glanced at the sky. It was already past 11 PM. If she went back and forth, she might miss the closing time of the city gates.
Speaking of this, Ting Lian's delicate eyebrows and eyes lit up. She leaned on the windowsill and said with great interest, "When I was singing earlier, I heard the guests say that a ray of light suddenly appeared at Taiqing Temple at noon, covering the entire mountain."
"The glow of dawn?"
Ting Lian nodded repeatedly, a glint of light in her eyes, and said excitedly, "Some people are guessing that there might be a true immortal in Taiqing Temple who is about to ascend to heaven. I'll go take a look. Maybe offering incense and asking for a peace charm will be more effective than usual."
Shen Xu was peeling an apple with a dagger when he heard this, and his hand paused for a moment.
Xie Yingchen seemed to be saying that Miss Gu is still living in Taiqing Temple.
He lowered his eyes silently and continued peeling the apple.
He had a feeling that the glow was either something someone was playing a trick on, or it was related to her.
Let the Eastern Depot investigate and they'll find out.
Such strange events have occurred in the capital region. In order to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to incite civil unrest, the Eastern Depot must keep a close eye on things.
However, the Eastern Depot did not discover anything unusual. The rosy glow appeared without warning, enveloping the entire mountain of Taiqing Temple in a light mist.
"It is a meritorious deed."
Wuweizi looked up at the sky and muttered to himself.
Gu Zhizhuo gradually weakened and declined, relying solely on Wuweizi's pills and silver needles to keep going. For the past two days, Wuweizi had also been looking worried, but now, he finally showed his first smile.
"Zhuo'er's life is not meant to end."
"Master, is this really merit?" Qingping exclaimed in surprise, his mustache twitching as he clicked his tongue in amazement. "With such abundant merit, what extraordinary thing has my unlucky junior sister done this time?"
"Save people."
Wuweizi smiled and lowered the arm that had been holding the whisk.
"It saves not just one person, but the merit of saving tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions... people."
Wuweizi pondered for a moment, then calculated with his fingers and understood.
He said, "It's Qingzhou."
Qingping thought to himself, "Qingzhou...could it be an epidemic?"
Even now, there are still young Taoist priests in Taiqing Temple helping the imperial court make pills. During the most urgent period, even the master went to help for a few days.
The epidemic in Qingzhou was very severe.
Qingping heard that adults might be able to survive, but children, if they contracted the disease, would have no chance of survival.
The epidemic spread from Wujiang Prefecture in Qingzhou.
Wujiang Prefecture was also the epicenter of this earthquake.
After the landslide, many died or were injured. Most of the survivors fled far away to find a way to survive. But some had no choice but to accept their fate, gathering up the ruins and continuing their lives.
When Zhang Zinan and his group returned from Yihe County, they saw a town that was mostly empty.
Their house had completely collapsed on the day of the earthquake, and it was still littered with rubble. After giving his daughter, Hu Niu, to his wife, Zhang Zinan went over and moved the bricks and stones one by one.
Hearing the noise, a neighbor peeked out from behind a tattered curtain: "Hey, what brings you back?"
She was extremely thin, her clothes were tattered, her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered with patches of mud and water.
"Auntie."
"Life outside must be tough too, right?"
"Yes," Kong forced a smile. "We traveled all the way to Yanzhou, where the government gave us some grain and silver and sent us back. The imperial court forbade us to wander around and told us to return to our hometown, saying that Qingzhou would be exempt from taxes for three years."
"Oh, that's wonderful, thank God." Aunt Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing how hard Zhang Zinan was working to move the stones, she said, "I'll ask my husband to come and help."
"Aunt Zhao!"
A woman hurried over and called out anxiously, "Are your daughter and Yinzi Qian'er playing with the Wang family's boy?"
“The Wang family’s son has contracted the plague and has a fever.”
What! ?
Aunt Zhao turned pale with fright and called into the house, "Girl, girl! Silver!"
Seeing that no one answered, she hurriedly went to the street to look for him, almost tripping over the pebbles on the ground in her panic, and stumbling as she ran.
Why.
The daughter-in-law sighed repeatedly, only then noticing Kong Shi: "Oh, Zhang family girl, you're back?!"
She was a kind-hearted person and quickly reminded them, "You've come back at a really bad time. There's a plague going on in our town. You have to keep a close eye on your Tiger Girl and don't let her go out. Quite a few children have died. Old Mrs. Zheng's two grandchildren have both fallen ill. There are so many new graves on the mountain; we can hardly fit them all."
"Old Lady Zheng?" Kong pressed. "I remember her son and daughter-in-law were crushed to death."
"Yes, yes. Both her sons and two daughters-in-law are dead. Her husband's leg was broken, and he died within two days. Only a pair of grandchildren were left. Even when Granny Zheng was begging for food everywhere, she made sure to feed her grandchildren first. I never expected that she would catch the virus too. Last night, I heard Granny Zheng crying all night. She was crying so terribly, as if both of her children were going to die."
"If these children are gone, Granny Zheng will probably go with them."
"Hey. I'm going to deliver food to my husband. Your Tiger Girl needs to be extra careful."
The daughter-in-law, carrying a bamboo basket, hurried away.
The government hired able-bodied young men from the town to repair the wall, and they were given four steamed buns a day. Her husband wanted to save the steamed buns for her and the children, and asked her to bring some wild vegetable cakes over every day to soothe their stomachs.
"Brother Nan."
Mrs. Kong hurriedly returned home, recounted what had just happened, and then asked, "Could it be the same illness as Tiger Girl?"
“It’s definitely true.” Zhang Zinan wiped his sweat and said in a deep voice, “Miss Gu said that the plague was brought out by us from Qingzhou.”
"My child."
A heart-wrenching cry suddenly rang out. Kong recognized the voice as that of Granny Zheng from the end of the alley. She was crying her heart out, filled with grief and despair.
"Is something wrong with her child?"
Kong said in a trembling voice.
She felt the same despair as everyone else; if it hadn't been for Miss Gu's rescue, their Tiger Girl would definitely be gone too.
"Oh, right, I still have some medicine here!"
When they left, Miss Gu divided the extra pills into several packets and gave one packet to each of them, saying that if they encountered anyone with a seasonal illness on the road, they should share them with them.
Along the way, Zhang Zinan had run out of the packet of pills, but the Kong family still had some.
She took the pills out of her bundle and said, "I'll be right back. You keep an eye on Tiger Girl."
Kong rushed out in a hurry, panting heavily.
Turning the corner of the alley, we indeed saw Granny Zheng. She stopped wailing and only sobbed softly. With a numb expression, she put the firewood into a basin and carried the basin into the house.
She walked with a faltering gait, her back conveying a lifeless, hopeless demeanor.
"Grandma Zheng."
Kong had a bad feeling and shouted it out.
Old Lady Zheng didn't stop, so Madam Kong had to catch up with her as fast as she could.
In her eyes, Kong Shi saw only emptiness and lifelessness.
Mrs. Kong glanced at the firewood in the basin, her heart skipped a beat, and she asked cautiously, "Grandma Zheng, how is your child?"
Her question only made things worse; once she asked, Granny Zheng burst into tears, crying, "I'm useless! I can't even raise two children. I'm so useless!"
"They're gone?"
Mrs. Kong was startled and followed Granny Zheng into the house.
"Don't come in. You still have Tiger Girl at home. Don't let her get infected too."
"fine."
As Miss Gu once said, once you've had it, you'll never have it again.
Half of Granny Zheng's house collapsed, but she managed to prop up half of it with wood and tarpaulin to keep out the wind and rain.
Lifting the curtain, Madam Kong immediately saw the two lifeless children lying on the couch. Madam Kong thought of her own daughter, Tiger Girl, who had also been lying in her arms, barely clinging to life.
Mrs. Kong quickly went over and touched the foreheads of the two children.
It's hot!
Still alive!
The two children's mouths were covered in blood, as if they had just vomited blood. Their breathing was extremely weak, almost imperceptible, but they were indeed still alive.
Kong took the pills out of her bosom and shouted, "Quickly, go get some water, there's still hope for your child."
ah?
“My daughter, Tiger Girl, also caught the plague a while ago. Miss Gu gave us some medicine, and she got better after taking it. Hurry up. Even if you don’t believe it, you should still give it a try.”
Old Lady Zheng's mind went blank, buzzing. When Kong told her to pour water, she went to pour water.
Soon, the water was poured over, and Kong had already fed the pills into the mouths of the two children, one for each of them.
They were so ill that they couldn't even swallow, so Kong could only give them some more water, hold one of them in her arms, and desperately rub their throats.
Finally, the boy's throat moved, and he swallowed the pill. Kong put him down and went to massage the girl with Granny Zheng.
She held the pill in her mouth, but there was no reaction for a long time.
Her body temperature was dropping steadily, and her breathing was becoming weaker and weaker.
Kong gritted his teeth, dug the pill out of her mouth, mixed it with water, pried open her mouth again, and poured it in.
Seeing her granddaughter's lips turn white from holding her breath, and the medicine leaking from between her tightly clenched teeth, unable to be fed a single drop, Granny Zheng wiped away her tears and said in despair, "Let it go, let her go in peace."
She will accompany the two children on their journey to the underworld, and she won't let them be afraid.
"grandmother……"
A very faint sound rang out.
Grandma Zheng was startled. She found that it was her grandson calling her in a daze. When she touched his face, it was warm and he no longer looked like he had been on the verge of death.
Kong said happily, "I told you, the pills worked. My daughter, Hu Niu, was saved by Miss Gu."
"it works!"
With gritted teeth and a determined heart, Granny Zheng pried open the girl's mouth and teeth, and Kong helped to force the medicine down her throat in one gulp.
The Kong family did not leave.
They waited from dusk until midnight, and then until the first rays of dawn appeared. Then, one of them was forced to swallow a pill, and this time, they were able to swallow it.
Another hour passed, and the sun shone brightly on the earth. The two children opened their eyes one after the other.
"grandmother."
"Hungry."
Grandma Zheng burst into tears, releasing all her emotions at that moment.
She cried uncontrollably, grabbed Kong's hand, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Lan, you are our family's savior."
Of the eight members of their family, five are gone. She had already decided that once the two children breathed their last, she would go with them, so that they could keep each other company on the road to the underworld.
"No, no."
Kong quickly helped her up and said, "These pills were given to me by Miss Gu. It was Miss Gu who saved them."
"Miss Gu?"
Granny Zheng didn't know who that was.
"It's Miss Gu from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the capital. At that time, many of us were on the verge of death, and Miss Gu snatched us from the jaws of death and saved us all! This medicine was also made by Miss Gu herself."
When Gu Zhizhuo was mentioned, Kong's eyes lit up and his voice was full of admiration and respect.
They had no way to survive, but Miss Gu gave them a way out.
"Miss Gu, Miss Gu."
Granny Zheng kept repeating the name to herself, memorizing it firmly. She had saved their family's lives, and she could finally raise her two children properly.
Granny Zheng was both happy and crying.
Kong gave the two children some water and asked if they had anything to eat, even rice porridge.
Granny Zheng realized what was happening and quickly poured a small handful of rice out of the locked cabinet.
She wiped away her tears with her tattered sleeve and said sincerely, "I must set up a longevity tablet for Miss Gu, so that when the two children grow up, they can worship it every day."
Kong nodded repeatedly. On her way back, every time she saw a Taoist temple, the whole family would go in and kowtow, praying for Miss Gu's safety and longevity.
Once the house is tidied up, she also wants to set up a longevity tablet.
After the two children ate some rice porridge, their spirits improved. Worried about Hu Niu, Kong Shi decided to head back first. Granny Zheng went with her; she wanted to first offer incense to Miss Gu at the small Taoist temple on the street corner, and then gather some food for the two children.
As I turned out of the alley, a cacophony of noise exploded in my ears.
Seeing them approach, an auntie she knew quickly said, "Granny Zheng, is your child still alive? An official from the capital has sent medicine to us; I heard it's for treating this epidemic."
Kong was overjoyed: "It must have been sent by the imperial court on behalf of Miss Gu. When we left, Miss Gu said that she would deliver the medicine to various parts of Qingzhou as soon as possible."
On her way back, she also saw government officials distributing medicine.
Wujiang Prefecture is too far away, but it's finally our turn.
She said, "This medicine is very effective. If any of your children are sick, go and get some."
Granny Zheng beamed with joy and quickly replied, "Yes, yes. My child has taken the medicine and is back to life."
"Miss Gu is truly a goddess!"
Everyone knew that Granny Zheng's two grandsons were both seriously ill and near death.
Seeing her so happy now, could it be that she has really been saved?
The epidemic was extremely severe; every household had sick children, and children were dying every day.
Can this medicine really save their child?
A note from the author:
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