Xizhou epidemic
As the saying goes, after a great disaster, there's bound to be a great epidemic. Yet, this year, Xizhou has been blessed with good weather and abundant harvests, yet for unknown reasons, an epidemic has broken out. Initially limited to a few villages on the outskirts of the city, it has since spread to the city proper, afflicting an increasing number of citizens, yet the source remains unknown. Faced with the onslaught of the epidemic, the Marquis of Jingxi, stationed in Xizhou, is at a loss as to what to do. The Duke of Anguo and his wife, who had originally been planning to travel to Shenghuang, have also remained in Xizhou to offer assistance.
Xiao Luochen, due to his status, was unable to show up in public, so he sent someone to monitor the city's every move and relay information via carrier pigeons. Su Musong was helping out in the city, and initially he could find time to travel back and forth between Qingzhu Village and Xizhou City, but later he could no longer do so.
The number of sick people in the city increased rapidly. Often, a single case of illness would spread to the entire neighborhood within days. Changsun Qinan, acting on this, ordered that the sick be separated from the uninfected and treated in a centralized location. Even so, the number of patients continued to rise. Panic spread throughout the city. The people watched helplessly as their friends, relatives, and neighbors, who had been fine the day before, suddenly began coughing up blood, festering, and dying within a day or two. They packed up their belongings and fled the city.
Marquis Jingxi was worried that these fleeing people would bring the disease to other places, and he was also afraid that Hanyun and Qingning would learn of the situation in the city and take the opportunity to attack Xizhou, causing immeasurable consequences. He had no choice but to order the city gates to be closed, completely cutting off contact with the outside world.
Ning Zhen successfully completed the mission of the alliance. When he returned to Qingzhu Village, he saw Xiao Luochen who was frowning because of the epidemic in Xizhou. Su Musong had not been to Qingzhu Village for half a month, and the carrier pigeons had not been there for three days. He didn't know what the situation in the city was like.
After listening to Xiao Luochen's description of the epidemic in the city, Ning Zhen's face was heavy. This scene was the worst he had ever seen.
"It's probably the plague."
"Plague? There were rats in the city before, but I've never heard of plague. Why is it happening this year?"
"They weren't rats from the city, but from the grasslands. Qingning was hit by a severe drought this year, so rats from the north probably migrated south. Plus, the previous battle outside Xizhou City must have bred a lot of mosquitoes and fleas from the decaying corpses."
“How can we prevent and control it?”
Xiao Luochen had never seen the plague before. Seeing that Ning Zhen could recognize the disease, he thought that he also knew how to prevent and treat it. However, Ning Zhen just shook his head and said helplessly.
"There's no cure for the Qingning plague. If it breaks out, we can only let it rage on. Whether we survive depends entirely on fate.
After hearing Ning Zhen's answer, Xiao Luochen became even more anxious, so he didn't care about the danger of his identity being exposed and prepared to go to Xizhou City alone. Ning Zhen was worried and insisted on going with him, so Xiao Luochen had no choice but to agree.
When Xiao Luochen arrived at Xizhou City, he realized that the situation was worse than he had expected. The food and vegetables in the city were almost exhausted. Although food had been transferred from neighboring towns, it would take some time. Secondly, the war had just ended and military rations had been supplied before. The food that could be transferred now was really a drop in the bucket for Xizhou.
Soldiers patrolled the streets of the city to prevent looting and murder. The corpses in the city piled up like mountains and could not be buried at all. The stench filled the streets and alleys for a long time. The Marquis of Jingxi and his wife, who were the backbone of the city, also contracted the plague. The people in the city were in panic and morale was low. The entire Xizhou City seemed to be shrouded in the haze of doomsday.
Xiao Luochen told the Duke of Anguo and his wife that the epidemic was probably plague, and Changsun Qinan then remembered the prevention and treatment methods he had seen in medical books.
First, all corpses in the city were burned. Second, those who had not contracted the disease were prohibited from moving between neighborhoods. Everyone outside was required to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose. The city's inhabitants were ordered to kill rats, burn mugwort leaves, boil white vinegar in large pots, and wash all clothing and bedding with soapnut pulp. Daily bathing and washing were required. If anyone was found to be infected, special soldiers would take the patient to a centralized treatment center to prevent them from infecting others.
After half a month, the number of people infected with the disease in the city gradually decreased and the situation stabilized, but Marquis Jingxi and his wife died of the disease.
Xun Molin lost both his parents within a matter of days, a devastating blow. His once bright eyes dimmed, losing their former sparkle. But the fifty thousand people of Xizhou City still awaited his responsibility to stabilize the situation and eradicate the epidemic. Thus, he forced himself to stay spirited. After personally cremating his parents' remains, he quickly returned to the commander's residence to take charge.
Su Musong watched Xun Molin riding away in a hurry, thinking of how he was chattering and jumping around him just two months ago, but now he was calmly handling his parents' funeral affairs, and commanding the city's epidemic prevention and control and border military affairs in an orderly manner. He felt a little sad in his heart. It seemed that God had never been gentle to people like them, and always forced them to grow up in an instant. Thinking of how Xiao Luochen was like this back then, he couldn't help but feel sad again.
Xiao Luochen keenly noticed the change in Su Musong's mood
"Musong, what's wrong with you?"
"fine."
Su Musong said this, but he opened his arms and hugged Xiao Luochen tightly, resting his head on Xiao Luochen's shoulder, and just hugged him quietly without saying a word.
Xiao Luochen had no choice but to stand there. Passersby looked at him sideways. Ning Zhen, who was following behind him, couldn't stand it and walked forward to push Su Musong away from Xiao Luochen.
"Are you a dog-skin plaster? You're clinging to me and won't let go."
Su Musong didn't react for a moment and didn't know how he had offended Ning Zhen, but Xiao Luochen understood Ning Zhen's thoughts very well.
Xiao Luochen thought that he had made everything clear before Ning Zhen left for the alliance meeting, but after Ning Zhen came back this time, Xiao Luochen clearly felt that he had other concerns. Even Xiao Buyi said that he had been acting strangely since he came back, and from time to time he would stare into the distance in a daze. Xiao Luochen also asked the people who went with him, but they all said that everything went well and there was nothing unusual.
"Xiao Zhen, in your opinion, how long will it take to completely eradicate the plague in the city?"
"I can't say for sure. If the current situation continues, it will probably return to its previous state in half a month."
Xiao Luochen had asked the question deliberately to ease the awkwardness, and he didn't expect Ning Zhen to really give a definite answer, but after hearing him say that he would be able to recover in half a month, he felt a little relieved.
On behalf of Xun Molin, the three men inspected the medical ward where the patients were being treated. They reported that, aside from a dozen or so seriously ill and unconscious, most of the others with milder symptoms had recovered. Fearing the possibility of contracting the epidemic, the three men did not enter the ward. From their perch on the courtyard wall, they secretly observed for a while. Seeing that everything was in good order and nothing unusual was visible, they knew the reports from below were true.
The three were about to leave when they were spotted by a patrolling captain.
"Who's sneaking around over there?"
Su Musong jumped down from the wall, and the other two followed suit.
"It's me. We received orders from the prince to secretly patrol the city."
Seeing that it was Su Musong, the captain retracted his spear. Although his military rank was not high, he also knew that the Anguo family was helping to control the epidemic in Xizhou City.
"So it's Master Su. I apologize for any offense. Please forgive me."
"How could that be? You performed your duties faithfully and you should be commended."
"Thank you for your understanding, Young Master Su. I still have to patrol the city, so I won't bother you any more."
The captain clasped his fists and said goodbye. When he passed by Xiao Luochen and Ning Zhen, he paused, looked them up and down, took a few steps, and looked back again, as if confirming something, and then hurried away.
"Mu Song, do you think this captain looks familiar?"
"Does he look familiar? He seems no different from any other soldier."
Xiao Luochen tried hard to recall, but he really couldn't remember where he had seen this face.
"His accent does have a slight Yongjing twang. If you want to confirm, just ask Mo Lin to check his household registration."
"That's not necessary. Perhaps I remembered it wrongly."
Su Musong and Xiao Luochen quickly forgot about this little thing, but Ning Zhen took it to heart. However, he was just a bandit, and if he didn't follow Su Musong and Xiao Luochen, he would never see Xun Molin. Moreover, even if he had the opportunity to meet Xun Molin alone, he really had no position or reason to ask Xun Molin to check the household registration of a captain, so he had to avoid Xiao Luochen and find Su Musong.
Su Musong looked at Ning Zhen with a frown on his face, and felt a little uneasy in his heart.
"Don't you feel something is wrong?"
Ning Zhen said this out of the blue, and Su Musong was confused for a moment.
"What are you talking about?"
"The captain from that day. The chief said he looked familiar."
"But Luo Chen said he remembered it wrongly."
"The leader has hardly ever left Chixia Mountain in these years. The few times he did, I followed him closely. I've never seen this person before."
Su Musong immediately understood what Ning Zhen meant. This captain was most likely someone who knew Xiao Luochen in the past! Many people in Yongjing City knew Xiao Luochen, and Su Musong's heart suddenly sounded alarm bells. Although Xiao Luochen's identity would eventually be revealed to the world, it couldn't be now.
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