Qi Jin was not just injured. In the second half of the night, her whole body became hot. When Ye Zhen took her pulse, she was really shocked. This pulse was too similar to that of the little boy. Could it be that Imperial Physician Qi got infected when she went on a medical visit to their village?
“Master, Imperial Physician Qi’s illness is exactly the same as the flu mentioned in
《Qi Medical Classics》,” Ye Zhen said in a low voice.
There was a record in the 《Qi Medical Classics》about influenza, which was the plague disease Qi Yanling encountered in the past. According to the records, this was an epidemic typhoid fever, which was not only highly contagious but also spread very quickly. Contact with people or with contaminated items would help spread the virus to other people. The symptoms — a sudden onset of high fever, body pain, fatigue, and difficulty in breathing.
Huangfu Chen nodded solemnly. “The symptoms are the same.”
“I went to check the medicines in stock, but there is no medicine that can cure this type of typhoid fever. All the herbs sent by the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard are gone,” Ye Zhen said in a trice. “If we don’t think of a way to control the infection of this disease, I’m afraid… I’m afraid something more terrible will happen.”
The most terrifying thing at this time was not the dam burst, but the plague!
Huangfu Chen said in a deep voice, “Be careful, I will go to the Prefectural Magistrate.”
The prefectural magistrate of Huaijiang was surnamed Zheng. When he went to the dam to find his aunt, he did not see him. Later, he heard that Lord Zheng, fearing that the dam would burst and endanger him, had already hidden in the city.
The medical bureau was near the prefectural magistrate’s official residence, and Huangfu Chen was at the gates in no time. However, a couple of officials and soldiers outside the gates stopped him. Hearing that he was going to see Lord Zheng, they were quick to say their master was not there.
“Your Lord Zheng is not here, where did he go?” Huangfu Chen asked coldly, “Now that Huaijiang City is suffering a disaster, shouldn’t he come out to preside over the overall situation instead of hiding from everyone?”
“Hey, who are you? How dare you talk about the prefectural magistrate?” The pair of officials and soldiers pointed at Huangfu Chen and reprimanded him. “Get out, get out, this is not a place you can enter at will.”
On his way back from rescuing his aunt, all Huangfu Chen had seen chaos and more chaos. The soldiers only cared about themselves and even chastised those who had entered the city for refuge. This whole scenario had already infuriated him. Now that he couldn’t see the man who was at the helm of the affairs, he couldn’t hold back the rage in his heart.
“Move away!” Huangfu Chen said coldly when a couple of officials and soldiers came over to push him away. In a blink of the eye, they had been thoroughly beaten up.
He kicked open the gate, and the sound it made alarmed all those inside.
“Who! Who dares to break into the official residence of…” A steward in a straight robe walked out.
Huangfu Chen looked at him coldly and demanded, “Where is Zheng Yuhua?”
“You… Who are you?” The steward wasn’t blind like the pair of officials and soldiers earlier. Seeing Huangfu Chen, and hearing him call out the prefectural magistrate’s name, he’d guessed that he wasn’t somebody one would want to offend.
“Call Zheng Yuhua out.” Huangfu Chen said coldly.
This master is itching for a fight and it’s the prefectural magistrate who he wants to scold? But he stood his ground. “Why do you want to see his lordship?”
“What do you think is important now?” Huangfu Chen asked indifferently, “The Huaijiang River dam has collapsed and there is a flood in Huaijiang City… What is Zheng Yuhua doing?”
“Then do you think this official should listen to you?” Zheng Yuhua, who was hiding behind, finally couldn’t help but walk out and glared at Huangfu Chen angrily.
Huangfu Chen wasn’t here to teach Zheng Yuhua how to do things. “It doesn’t matter whether you listen to me or not, but now that the Huaijiang River is flooding, if someone deceives and refuses to report it to the Imperial Court, it will be someone else’s business that will cause disaster in the future. Zheng Yuhua, let me ask you, where did the medicinal supplies from the Huaijiang Medical Bureau go? Every year, the Imperial Court sends at least several hundred kilograms of medicinal herbs, so why hasn’t the medical bureau’s medicine store seen it?”
Zheng Yuhua’s face took a drastic turn. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“Several villages outside the city are flooded, and two of them are suspected of being plagued by typhoid fever. If you want to see all the people in the city die of the plague, then you should continue to conceal the whereabouts of the medicinal supplies. Even if you are not infected by the plague, then just wait for the emperor to chop your head off and do the same to your entire clan!” Huangfu Chen said lightly.
Zheng Yuhua sucked in a breath. “You… What did you say? Plague? Where did the plague come from in the city?”
Huangfu Chen was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. “I’ll ask you again, where are those herbs?”
“The matter of the medicinal supplies has nothing to do with this official. There was not much left of those medicines when they were delivered to Huaijiang…,” Zheng Yuhua said in a panic. He remembered that Imperial Physician Qi had told him a few days ago that someone outside the city was feverish, and about the possibility of contagion. He didn’t take it to heart at the time, but now it seemed that it was all true.
“Who is responsible for transporting the medicinal supplies to Huaijiang?” Huangfu Chen sighed. There were people who were no better than animals and even dared to embezzle medicinal supplies that would save people.
Zheng Yuhua said, “It used to be Qiao Zebai. He was Ye Xiang’s student and was implicated by him(YX)… but he’s already dead. Now, this official is not sure, who is delivering the medicinal supplies, but it should have been with Ye Xiang before. It’s the only possibility, otherwise who’d dare … do this.”
It’s not that he didn’t want to fight against these people. In the past, the other party had Ye Xiang’s support. No matter how many memorials(reports) he’d made to complain, in the end, it was like a stone sinking into the sea. Over time, he was naturally disheartened. He just didn’t expect that Qiao Zebai’s people would be this bold. The new emperor ascended the throne and the entire Ye family was wiped out. Yet, they dared to continue to embezzle the medicinal supplies of the Imperial Court. Perhaps even the disaster silver would not be delivered to Huaijiang.
“Huaijiang reports the plague to the imperial court every year. Since there were no medicinal supplies to cure it, how was the plague stopped?” Huangfu Chen asked, he didn’t expect this matter to be related to Ye Yisong. It seems that before Mo Rongzhan usurped the throne, the country of Jin was really completely controlled by Ye Yisong, and the corruption of court officials must run really deep..
The steward next to him said immediately, “There has never been a plague in Huaijiang, but some people deliberately killed a few people and then forced our elders to go to the court.”
Huangfu Chen suppressed the anger swirling in his heart. “Is it related to Ye Yisong again?”
Zheng Yuhua flushed. “Let’s not talk about it now, I don’t know your name, is the plague thing true?”
“Huangfu Chen,” Huangfu Chen said his name softly.
“——” Zheng Yuhua and his subordinate (steward) were taken aback, Huangfu? Huangfu Chen?
Huangfu Chen frowned and asked, “There are not enough medicinal supplies in the storehouse of the medical bureau, can you arrange medicines from other places?”
Zheng Yuhua said, “I have sent an expedited letter to the imperial court. Water from afar quenches not fire*. I just hope that the medicine in the city’s pharmacy will not be soaked by water.”
[*远水救不了近火 yuǎn shuǐ jiù bu liǎo jìn huǒ – lit. water from afar quenches not fire; fig. urgent need; a slow remedy does not address the current emergency.
“Then borrow medicine from them in the name of the Imperial Court!” Huangfu Chen instructed immediately.
“This official would listen to Mr. Huangfu,” Zheng Yuhua replied. He did not doubt that Huangfu Chen could represent the court, but he felt that it would be right to listen to him.
Huangfu Chen gave out a few more instructions, then left the prefectural magistrate’s residence and returned to the medical bureau.
♚♚♚
