value
Across a mountain in the south of Sulou County is the Panax notoginseng cultivation area. The houses located next to the terraced fields were originally used for farmers to rest during the busy farming season, but now they have become a place where the expelled people can barely stay.
After climbing over the low hill, the vast terraced fields unfolded before Mingyu's eyes. The heavy breathing passed through the thick cloth, and Mingyu could only feel suffocated.
There were not enough rooms for hundreds of people to stay in, and the edges of the houses were filled with people sitting slumped over.
Under the sunlight, they moved slowly, occupying the only small piece of land under their feet, as if they were seeking a self-deceptive sense of security, or as if they were quietly waiting for death to come.
As they approached, sobs and sighs filled Mingyu's ears.
The old man looked at them with dead eyes, then moved aside a little to let them pass.
“…Thank you.” Mingyu thanked him in a low voice and continued to walk inside with Yu Tongan.
There were obviously quite a few people around the house, but it was unusually quiet, and everyone seemed to be suppressing their voices.
Or rather, there is no strength to struggle.
Mingyu looked into the room through the door and windows.
It was afternoon, and dust was falling under the sunlight. The people inside were lying all over the ground. There was only a narrow passage that could barely allow people to pass through. The only difference between the people inside and the dead was that they were still breathing.
Mingyu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He took a deep breath, but a rotten smell came from his nose.
“…I’ll go in and take a look.”
Just after taking half a step, Mingyu felt his arm being pulled. He looked up and saw Yu Tongan gently reminding him, "Be careful." Then he walked past Mingyu and went in first.
Mingyu looked at Yu Tongan's back, calmed down, and followed him in.
The patients on the ground were wrapped tightly. Yu Tongan jumped up from a corner of the quilt, wanting to let Mingyu see the patient's condition clearly.
"What are you doing!?" The girl at the door quickly put down the basin in her hand and walked quickly towards Yu Tongan.
There wasn't much room in the house, so the two men awkwardly moved back a little to make room for the girl.
The girl carefully tucked the quilt around the patient, then turned around, hands on her hips, glared at them angrily, and asked coldly, "Who are you? How dare you pull someone else's quilt?"
"I know some medical skills. I want to see what his condition is and see if I can help." Mingyu took the initiative to step forward and answer.
"Doctor?" The girl was startled. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes, but it quickly faded. "I know all the doctors in the city, but I've never seen you."
"We are from out of town."
"Outside the city?!" the girl raised her voice and moved closer to the fish anxiously. "Is anyone here to help us?"
Looking at the tiredness in the girl's eyes, Mingyu suddenly realized that she was someone sent by officials from other places.
Mingyu's throat tightened when he realized this, and he couldn't speak for a moment. He felt like he was almost unable to breathe.
She was not a local official, she was just a fugitive who came here just to see if voodoo was at work.
“…Only us.” Mingyu’s voice was hoarse.
Following Mingyu's words, the hope in the girl's eyes dimmed. She stepped back a little and forced a smile, the weariness on her face no longer concealed. "Ah, so that's it."
After saying that, he lowered his head. When the girl raised her head again, her mood had returned to dead calm.
"Thank you so much for coming here at this time. The city lord will be very happy too."
"Where is the city lord now?" Yu Tongan asked.
The girl looked back at the unconscious patient, sighed, and pointed outside.
"Let's go outside and talk."
"Let me check on the patient's condition first." Mingyu glanced at the girl. The girl hesitated for a moment, nodded, and just told him to be careful. She took Yu Tongan out first.
The two of them didn't go far, they were just outside the door, and Mingyu could hear them even from inside the door.
"The city lord is taking those who can move to the mountains to see if they can find some food." The girl's voice was hollow, calmly stating the facts. "No one has had enough to eat in a long time."
Mingyu could feel her calves tense. The answer was right in front of her. She didn't know why she felt nervous, so she slowly lifted the quilt and moved closer.
"Others say that we are rejected by the gods. Perhaps that's true, so." The girl looked at Yu Tongan and said, "Leave here quickly before you get sick."
The patient's lips were purple, and for some unknown reason there was an abnormal purple spot on his neck, which occupied a large area.
The needle from Mingyu drew some blood, which slowly flowed out and began to coagulate shortly after being exposed to the air. It was exactly the same as the blood that appeared after the prince's death.
Yu Tongan comforted the girl: "Don't be discouraged, girl. The gods will definitely bless you."
"Really? You better hurry up..."
"Yu Tongan." Mingyu was about to come out and accidentally interrupted the girl. "He's the same as Xiaoya's father."
…
It has been determined whether it was voodoo or epidemic in Sulou County, but the problem has not yet been resolved.
Mingyu felt a little powerless when he saw the sick people everywhere.
What exactly can she do?
"You've done a great job." Yu Tong'an frowned as he looked at the crowd outside the house, "But the good thing is that it's been confirmed, so there's room for further discussion."
discuss?
"If it's a plague, there's no room for negotiation?"
"Yes." Yu Tongan admitted frankly, "If it was just a plague, I would just help spread the news, leave food, and then we would all return to Huanzhou before we get sick."
Yu Tongan looked at Mingyu: "So it's good that you can confirm it."
"It's hard for me to be happy about this." Mingyu lowered his head and avoided Yu Tongan's sight.
"But you can do your best to save these people. Now we have the same goal."
Mingyu was silent for a while, and finally said nothing more. He just asked, "How to save him?"
There is no medicine or food, what can we do even if we have a ready-made prescription?
Just now they gave all the medicines and food they brought to the girl and asked her to take them to the doctor here, but it was a drop in the bucket. Even if the medicine in the yard was included, it was far from enough.
"This also requires a handwritten letter from the city lord."
"Handwritten letter?"
"Well, I'm just a businessman. Don't I need a reason to do things?"
Mingyu understood that Sulou County was a voodoo, which was why it was profitable for the group behind Yu Tongan. They had to make sure that this would have an impact on the emperor before they were willing to divide up the resources in their hands.
And all this needs to be done without the emperor finding out that it was the Yu family who pushed all this, so there needs to be a reasonable reason.
The reason was the city lord's letter for help.
"Who are you going to write to?"
Mingyu looked towards the distant hilltops and saw scattered figures walking towards this side. It seemed that the sun was setting and the people who had gone out to look for food were starting to come back. However, many of them came back empty-handed, and it seemed that they had not gained much.
"Sun Jingmin, the governor of Sun County."
Mingyu took two steps forward, paused, and frowned.
"I remember that County Magistrate Sun wasn't that close to here." Adding the time for negotiation, preparation, and transportation...
"How many people do you think know about Sulou County?" Yu Tongan spread out his hands, placing them in front of Mingyu. "It's not a small number, but none of them are willing to take action."
"So it's a good thing you were able to confirm that it was voodoo and that the palace was causing trouble. Otherwise, this illness in Sulou County would be of no value at all."
value?
Mingyu wanted to ask, "Is this the time to measure value with human lives?" But she couldn't. Yu Tongan and the man behind him were the only ones risking their lives to save Sulou Jun.
The so-called emperor is actually the perpetrator.
…
"Then I'll leave it to you." The man looked only in his thirties or forties, but most of his hair was white. The fabric outlined his skinny body, and his drooping hands revealed his fatigue.
Wang Cailing, the girl who persuaded them to leave, took the uneven wild vegetables and went to the kitchen to work.
"I heard from Cai Ling, thank you for coming to help at this time."
The city lord shook off the dust on his sleeves, lowered his head and bent down to express his gratitude. Yu Tongan pushed hard against the other's shoulder.
"The City Lord has tried very hard." Yu Tong'an, without beating around the bush, asked directly, "There is a way to save Sulou County, but it requires your cooperation. I wonder if you are willing to cooperate."
The city lord straightened up, his eyes slightly widening.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. What's important is this." Yu Tongan took out a letter with the seal of County Magistrate Sun on it, "I can speak for you."
The letter only contained two sentences, simply greeting the Lord of Sulou County.
But it was stamped with the seal of the county magistrate.
The city lord stretched out his hand. His hand, which had never done any heavy work, was covered in dust and his nails were full of dirt. A closer look revealed that many parts of his hand were worn out and had not yet fully healed.
The envelope trembled slightly and was finally handed back to Yu Tongan.
"What can I do for you?"
"First, I need you to write a letter to the county governor, explaining the current situation in Sulou County. Secondly, is there any way to bypass the city to deliver food?"
"Okay, I can write it right away." The city lord clenched his fists, looking excited. He walked back and forth anxiously, thinking about how to deliver the food.
"Oh, right, there's a river. Water is diverted from the city, but if you follow it, you can get directly to the terraced fields." The city lord looked at Yu Tongan, "Is there anything else I can do?"
Yu Tongan looked at Mingyu, and the city lord also looked at her following Yu Tongan's gaze.
Mingyu pondered for a moment, then asked, "How did you deal with the bodies? What's the situation east of Sunan County? Are all the people who left the city here?"
The city lord smiled bitterly: "I can answer these questions together."
"The people left behind in the city are afraid of contracting the disease and are unwilling to help, and we don't have the energy to deal with the bodies." The city lord said, and a thought came to his mind, and tears welled up in his already red eyes. "There is a temple to the east of Sunan County. People usually go there to worship. Many people say that we have offended the gods."
"So we finally decided to place the dead there, hoping that the gods would forgive their sins."
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