When Ye Zhen arrived, the old lady was furious.
She said calmly, "Grandmother, you are unwell and need to rest well, so please do not leave the manor."
Mentioning this made the old lady feel a lump in her throat.
Ye Zhenfeng used her illness as an excuse to close the mansion.
All that time she spent being kind to Ye Zhen and the children was wasted; she's an ungrateful wretch.
The plan had already begun, and she was too lazy to play along with Ye Zhen any longer. She put on a stern face and said, "I am perfectly healthy. I have no illness whatsoever."
She countered Ye Zhen's question, "But what are you up to? Why did you suddenly seal off the mansion and even prevent Grandmother from going out?"
And why are you wearing a face towel at home? Has something serious happened at your residence?
If that's the case, you must not hide it, lest it cause even greater trouble.
The old lady wanted to bring up the matter of those children.
The old nanny Chun beside her understood and pretended to be frightened, saying, "This old servant heard that the young mistress's two younger sisters and her personal maid suddenly developed a high fever that wouldn't go down, and they also developed rashes all over their bodies."
The courtyard where they were placed was also isolated from others, and now their residence is sealed off. Could it be that they have contracted an epidemic?
"High fever? Rash? This sounds a lot like smallpox?"
The old lady looked horrified. "Then you should send them away in time. Wouldn't the Feng family be making the whole family die with them?"
They are your sisters and maids. I know you are reluctant to part with them, but there are more than a hundred lives in this manor.
"Ye Zhen, don't be foolish! Smallpox is no joke. How can you disregard the lives of others for your own selfish reasons?"
The old lady intended to incite the servants' dissatisfaction with Ye Zhen.
Granny Chun chimed in, "No wonder the young mistress herself is wearing a face mask; she's worried about getting infected, but she's keeping it from us."
Ye Zhen was now certain that the old lady was involved in this matter.
Because from beginning to end, she never let anyone reveal the specific situation of Chaolu and the other two. Even the investigation of other patients was done secretly by Wanxing and her confidants. How did Granny Chun find out?
Unless she was a participant.
Ye Zhen found it hard to understand why the old lady would let the children contract smallpox just for the sake of managing the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion.
Did she know the severity of smallpox, or the potential consequences it might cause?
If the Marquis's mansion is gone, what's the point of her fighting for the power to manage the household?
Having been a lady of the Marquis's household for half her life, and an old lady for many years, she shouldn't be so stupid.
Ye Zhen even suspected that Chao Lu and the others did not have smallpox.
She approached the old lady and said, "Zhaolu and the other two are indeed not feeling well, but I closed the mansion because my grandmother is ill."
As they spoke, Ye Zhen walked up to the old lady and reached out his hand, saying, "I'll help Grandmother back to rest."
The old lady stepped back, saying, "I don't need your help, I'm perfectly fine."
However, there was little sign of avoidance or panic on his face.
Ye Zhen continued to approach, then pretended to remove her face mask. She could clearly see that the old lady was dissatisfied, but not much fear of smallpox.
Granny Chun is the same.
Are they not afraid of smallpox?
Absolutely impossible!
Unless she didn't know it was smallpox.
Was the physician lying to her on the old lady's orders?
wrong.
In my previous life, about a month later, a smallpox outbreak did occur in Dayuan, spreading to the capital. It was said that Ye Wantang proposed the inoculation technique and led the experiment, which resolved the disaster.
For this, he received an imperial reward and was deeply grateful to the people.
The symptoms of the three children were exactly as described by the old women from their previous lives.
That means the old lady was unaware of it.
The old lady orchestrated today's situation, unaware that the illness was smallpox; she was being used.
Is it Fu Jiang, Ye Wantang, or someone else?
Unaware that Ye Zhen had seen through her scheme, the old lady said to Granny Chun, "Go and see if those three children really have smallpox."
He then said to the rest of the servants, “You all need to be clear-headed, smallpox can kill people.”
Ye Zhen couldn't bear to send her people away, so she brought the whole mansion to accompany her. As the old lady of the Marquis's mansion, how could I watch her act so recklessly?
But you also need to stand up for yourselves and go with Granny Chun to drive out the source of the disease.”
The other servants panicked when they heard the old lady suspect smallpox.
Although they hadn't experienced it themselves, they had all heard about it. Some of them wavered and asked, "Young Madam, is it really smallpox that they contracted?"
If so, they would risk offending the young mistress to save their lives.
Ye Zhen looked at the group of people and nodded, "The physician did indeed have this suspicion, but I have no way of knowing when they were infected."
They have been staying at their residence these days, and many of you have had contact with them. Whether you have been infected or not is unknown.
Sending them away is not difficult, but if more people in the household continue to be infected, can we guarantee that they will not be infected by people outside the household while we are sending people out of the household, and can we guarantee that they will not be detected by people outside the household?
If news of smallpox in the Marquis's residence were to spread, the entire residence would be sealed off from the outside, or the entire family would be sent away from the capital.
Even if you go out today, the authorities will catch you and bring you back in time.
At that point, we will have lost the initiative, and our fate will be completely in the hands of others.
If they stay in the manor, Ye Zhen is 50% confident that he can keep everyone alive. With the addition of the manor doctor, the chances of success will be even greater.
The servants looked at each other in bewilderment.
People are terrified of smallpox, just as Ye Zhen said. Once they know that the Marquis's mansion has smallpox, they will probably ask the government to control them, regardless of whether they are infected or not, in order to prevent the spread to others.
The government and the imperial court might care about the masters of the noble household, but they might not care about the servants.
If they get infected, they're doomed. Those who aren't infected will be quarantined, and in order to prevent future problems, they might even be disposed of together.
But for them, staying meant certain death.
Ye Zhen saw the expressions on everyone's faces. "The physician of the prefecture has experienced smallpox and has devoted half his life to studying it. I have had enough medicinal herbs prepared and asked him to do his best to save the patient."
If anyone feels unwell during this process, please inform us immediately and we will move to that courtyard together.
On ordinary days, I try to minimize movement in my room and boil my clothes and personal items in hot water.
The medicinal herbs will be delivered shortly, and the kitchen will be brewing a heat-clearing and detoxifying herbal drink daily. Everyone will receive the medicine in batches as a preventative measure. I will remain at the residence with everyone.
Her voice was calm, without a trace of panic, which reassured many people.
Then, her voice turned cold and deep, “But if anyone dares to cause trouble or leave the manor without permission, they will be killed without mercy!”
The old lady was unwilling to accept that she hadn't achieved the result she wanted, so she gave Chun Mama a meaningful look.
Granny Chun immediately pointed at Ye Zhen and shouted, "If the family physician could cure smallpox, he wouldn't just be a family physician! Young mistress, all you're saying is trying to get everyone to die with you..."
Before she could finish speaking, her body was flipped over and slammed heavily to the ground. One of her arms was twisted behind her back and completely severed, with only the skin and flesh connecting it. Her palm quickly turned black, but not a drop of blood came out.
Granny Chun realized what was happening and let out a blood-curdling scream.
The servants also turned pale.
Ye Zhen knocked her down with a wooden stick and broke one of her arms.
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