Liu Zhijing walked over and waved his body: "Xiaguan has seen the king of Anjun, the princess of the county." ”

"Liu Hanlin, please take a seat." Shen Shu smiled slightly, "Everyone is a relative, so there is no need to be polite." ”

"Now the lower officials are doing errands for the imperial court, and they only talk about national rites, not family rites." Liu Zhijing stood solemnly, "In front of the prince, there is no reason for the lower officials to sit. ”

Shen Shuwei raised his hand, and on the first day of junior high school, he had already moved a small pestle and put it behind Liu Zhijing: "Since they are all on errands for the imperial court, Liu Hanlin naturally has a reason to sit. Please, but what's the matter? ”

Liu Zhijing sat down at this time: "The lower official wants to ask the princess of the county, is there enough of these medicinal materials purchased now?" "Along the way, they not only bought medicinal herbs, but also got a lot of strange things like lime, even more than medicine.

"It's not in the northwest yet, so everything is uncertain." Fortunately, Dingbei Hou has commanded the northwest for many years, and the prestige of the northwest is very high, even at this time, it can be banned, and everyone hopes for the "miracle doctor" from the capital, and the people's hearts are still stable, so the speed of the epidemic is not too fast.

"Then these things—" Liu Zhijing pointed to the carts loaded with lime and the like, "Since the medicinal materials may not be enough, these are ......"

Taohua sighed slightly: "This epidemic is extremely tricky, not only to treat the disease, but also to kill the source of the epidemic. However, if everything is as I deduce, this epidemic is just a matter of doing everything to the fate of God. Without penicillin, she couldn't guarantee how many people would be saved. Without bleaching □□ or formalin, she couldn't guarantee that she would be able to completely kill the Bacillus anthracis spores so that they wouldn't come out again. In fact, it can be said that she has no means and confidence to win in this epidemic treatment.

Liu Zhijing was stunned: "Don't be too humble to the princess, the people in the northwest are counting on the princess." The princess is in Lantian and Luonan counties—"

Taohua interrupted him: "Lantian Luonan is malaria, and it is completely two epidemics in the northwest, and it cannot be compared. "Malaria is troublesome, but she can get the right medicine, and killing mosquitoes can fundamentally kill its transmission channels. And anthrax - the medicine she needs - she can't make it at all! Don't say that the production yield of local penicillin is small, and the sanitary conditions cannot be guaranteed, even if it can be made a little bit, how to inject it? Even if she even got a syringe, the patients in the Northwest would probably have died by then.

Liu Zhijing was stunned: "What does the princess mean—does it mean that this epidemic in the northwest can't be cured?" ”

Momoka didn't answer immediately. In fact, she has a deep sense of powerlessness in the past few days, and the more she misses the drugs and treatment equipment in the past, the more she feels that the situation in front of her is tricky. However, on the surface, she can't show it yet, otherwise everyone in her entourage will probably be panicked, especially those who were transferred from the capital to the northwest to fight the epidemic, if they knew that the epidemic could not be cured, they would probably have no heart to work immediately.

Liu Zhijing saw that she didn't answer, but felt that his back was cold, his heart sank, and he smiled reluctantly: "Don't laugh, princess, this is a major matter of human life." If the epidemic cannot be cured, how can the emperor explain it in front of him? "If you call the emperor and say that you can be cured, but you don't complete the task when you turn back, you will be punished!

"I have already mentioned to the emperor that this epidemic is afraid that the doctors will be restrained, so they can only do their best. The emperor is a reasonable person, so he naturally understands. Taohua saw that Liu Zhijing's face was wrong, and sighed lightly, "The epidemic is a natural disaster, do your best, obey the destiny of heaven, that's it." As long as you and I have a clear conscience, that's it. ”

Now, she can only comfort herself with these words, otherwise she will not be able to sleep at night.

Liu Zhijing's face was a little pale and he got up and retreated, and when he walked back to his fire, he only felt that his legs were a little weak - the opportunity that Jiang Yanhua said in the letter turned out to be like this!

I thought that Jiang's medical skills were outstanding, and it was just hard to follow the epidemic treatment, but the credit was secure. It was because of this "steady" credit that he was willing to put down his body to touch the light of his wife's family, and even threw aside the integrity he had insisted on for many years.

Who knew that giving up the principle in exchange for the sentence "do your best and obey the destiny of heaven", Liu Zhijing only felt that the temples on both sides were jumping suddenly, as if a swarm of bees were crowded and wanted to rush out, and each tail had a stinger, which made him have a splitting headache.

Since the beginning of his promotion, he has been self-conscious and poor and unswerving, and although his career has not been smooth for several years, neither his boss nor his colleagues can find any stain on him. With this reputation, as long as he can stand out in the future, no one will be able to restrain him, and he can be an unassailable lonely minister, so as to be famous for centuries.

However, in the past year, he first invited himself to go to Luonan in Lantian to prepare for farming, and was ridiculed by his colleagues, and now he has taken the channel of his fiancée and come to the northwest.

The former doesn't hurt. The country attaches great importance to farming, and the monarch still wants to say that agriculture is the foundation, let alone the scholars.

But the latter is terrible. At that time, as soon as the news that he was coming to the northwest came out, some people pointed fingers behind his back, saying that he was following his wife and sister to make credit.

At that time, he listened to these words and felt very uncomfortable, but Jiang Yanhua was very sure in the letter, and he also felt that Jiang would definitely succeed, and if he didn't take such a low-hanging fruit, it would be a ruin of the opportunity. The so-called "God gives the Buddha to take it, but suffers the blame", since God has sent this opportunity to his eyes, it means that his choice is correct.

However, at this moment, those thoughts at the beginning were like a man's back in retrospect - what God gave Fu to take the blame for, God obviously played a big joke with him!

Since he was invited to the northwest, but in the end, the epidemic has not been cured, Liu Zhijing can almost imagine how the few colleagues in the Hanlin Academy who have always looked at him unpleasantly will crooked their mouths and sneer: People who have always been high and tall have so easily pulled down their faces, and they are just a bamboo basket to draw water......

Liu Zhijing felt that cold sweat was slowly oozing out on his back: he gave up the cold image he had created for himself for more than ten years, but in exchange for failure. No matter how hard he tries since then, there is a big stain on his resume, and it will never be cleaned off with the failure of the epidemic control in the northwest.

All of this stems from Jiang Yanhua's letter. Obviously her sister, she didn't even know whether the epidemic in the northwest could be cured or not, so she recklessly wrote to him and tricked him into this trap! How can there be such a foolish person in the world!

No, in fact, he is the one who is really confused. Why did I misidentify someone in the first place, and I made a marriage contract! If you find out that you recognized the wrong person at that time, it's still too late to think of an excuse to regret the marriage, after all, it was just a change of Geng post at that time.

But that's not necessarily the right thing to do. After all, there are two people in the Jiang family who are officials in the court, and two concubines in the harem, and now there is a princess of the county. However, this mistake is wrong, and it is wrong to go to the northwest today......

Liu Zhijing's head was chaotic. There was a strong smell of medicine wafting from the car behind him, bitter and astringent.

He was a person who didn't like to drink medicine, and he didn't like the smell of herbs the most, but these days he pinched his nose and was busy with these herbs, and at this moment, even his body seemed to be soaked in this smell of medicine and could no longer be washed.

Liu Zhijing suddenly bent down and retched, only to feel that this bitter breath lingered on the tip of his nose, as if it had penetrated into his internal organs.

He was still quite eye-catching in the convoy, and suddenly he retched, and immediately someone reported to Taohua: "Princess, Liu Hanlin seems to be unwell." ”

"I'll take a look." Taohua felt that she was probably scared of others, but she also felt that Liu Zhijing was a kind-hearted person, but the scholar probably hadn't experienced this, and when she heard that the epidemic could not be cured, she couldn't stand it immediately.

Shen Shu frowned slightly, but he didn't stop him: "It's probably because I'm tired on the road and my diet is a little rough." If he really can't stand it, he will arrange for him to go back to the capital, and when he gets busy at the border, he is afraid that he will be even more wronged, and if he falls ill, it will not be good. ”

Taohua didn't think deeply, nodded and said, "What you said is true." However, I don't think his face looks like he has any serious illness, he is probably worried about the epidemic, and he is worried about eating while eating, which is naturally not suitable for the stomach and intestines. Saying that, he also taught Shen Shu by the way, "The prince should also take caution!" ”

Shen Shu smiled and nodded, and as soon as Taohua turned around, he ordered: "Go and look at Liu Hanlin, if he has any intention of retreating, send him back." ”

Maybe he was too suspicious, but the disappointment that Taohua, the future brother-in-law, revealed at that moment was not as sympathetic to the people in the northwest who were affected by the epidemic as Taohua thought.

"What does the prince mean-" Chu Yi has been with him for more than ten years, and you can understand what he means with one look," Liu Hanlin ......, "Don't want to go to the northwest?" As soon as I heard that the princess was not sure of the epidemic, she wanted to be a deserter?

"The princess is always too merciful." Don't look at Taohua like a thorny rose when she is in trouble, even the Queen Mother can threaten quietly, but she is actually too soft in her heart. Maybe it's really the heart of the doctor's parents, the Jiang family from Mrs. Jiang to Jiang Xi to Taohua are actually such soft people.

The corners of Shen Shu's mouth unconsciously floated a smile: "In the end, it is the future brother-in-law of the princess, you don't have to be too ugly." "If Liu Zhijing hadn't been married to Taohua's sister, the deserter would have to be beheaded!

Taohua didn't know Shen Shu's arrangement, but after diagnosing Liu Zhijing's pulse, she was also a little puzzled: "What do you think?" "This pulse is not the appearance of a damaged stomach, although it is a little tired, but Liu Zhijing's physical condition should be fine, is it really frightened?

"Although this epidemic is difficult to treat, as long as it is properly prevented, it will not be easily infected." People who don't understand medicine can easily have polarized misconceptions, one is that doctors should be able to treat any disease, and it is not a matter at all, and the other will exaggerate the horror of the disease and scare themselves.

Liu Zhijing barely squeezed out a smile: "Xiaguan is not afraid of the epidemic. "It's not that I'm not afraid, it's just that the most fearful thing is not the epidemic.

"That's good." Taohua nodded and withdrew the hand on his wrist, "You rest for a day, I'll ask the maid to make you some soup porridge." You can rest assured, the emperor already knows that the epidemic is difficult to treat, and he will not condemn him. ”

Liu Zhijing watched Taohua walk out, his hands clenched tightly into fists. Of course, she is already the princess of the county, as long as the emperor does not condemn her, she will have nothing. But he came all the way to the northwest, and he didn't just want to be punished! Moreover, if the emperor does not condemn her, it may not necessarily blame others, after all, this epidemic is still under the banner of the imperial court, and the princess of the county is just going back to her uncle's house with the king of Anjun to visit relatives, and by the way, the epidemic is treated.

How is it good now? Liu Zhijing was lying in the corner of the carriage, so smoked by the strange smell around him that he wanted to vomit even more. There are all kinds of smells of medicinal herbs, and there are other strange things that give off complex smells that are indescribable. Coupled with the bumps in the carriage, it was not as comfortable as walking on his own.

However, if he came down and walked by himself, it proved that he was not really sick. So when you go to the northwest, what excuse should you use not to treat the epidemic?

The convoy arrived at nightfall to the nearest town. This town has a name called Thirty Miles, and from this name it can be determined that tomorrow if you walk another thirty miles, you will be able to reach the border pass.

"Lord Wang, Brother Yin is here!" Dieyi happily reported outside the door.

This town was originally pitifully small, but because it was on the main road to the border pass, most of the people who came and went had to rest here, and it gradually prospered over the years. It's just that supplies are limited, and the town still looks shabby. Shen Shu and his entourage chartered the best inn in the town, but in fact, it was just some low small houses, and when Yin Zhongxing's horse arrived in front of the inn, even the movement could be heard in the house.

"My subordinates greet the prince." Yin Zhongxing's hair was full of fine loess, obviously he ran over to eat the land against the wind all the way, "I don't know if the princess has time, there are some changes in the epidemic situation in the northwest, and I must report to the princess!" ”

He said this with a bit of embarrassment. As a guard in the outer courtyard, it is really rare to ask to see a female dependent.

Momoka is washing. There is a shortage of water in the northwest, but the doctors are a little clean, and they are so sad that they don't wash it. Before she finished washing, Kikyo came in to report that the Dingbei Hou Mansion had sent someone to report the epidemic to her, so she had to wipe her face with a handkerchief and come out of the inner room: "Escort Yin, how is the epidemic in the northwest?" ”

As soon as Yin Zhongxing raised his eyes, he saw the princess of the county coming out with her hair in her hands, and he was so frightened that he lowered his head to his chest and didn't dare to take a second look: "Say hello to the princess." ”

"Guards Yin don't need to be polite." Taohua was also a little anxious, "What's going on in the northwest?" ”

"Hou Ye dealt with it according to what the princess said in the letter, many of those who had herpes and boils are gradually healing, but the rest of the people are not getting better............" Yin Zhongxing has been busy enough these days, he personally led people to send the patient to the gathering place, so he knows very well what the scene is there, "After the protection according to what the princess said, no more Sergeant Langzhong and others were sick, but there are still people who keep getting sick" It can be said that although Taohua's method has been used in the past few days, the epidemic has not improved much.

Taohua sighed: "That is to say, the source of the epidemic has not been found. ”

"There's even worse...... Yin Zhongxing finally looked up at Taohua, "There is a child in the city who has smallpox......

"Smallpox?" Shen Shu stood up suddenly, "Where did you find smallpox?" Is it Yanzhou City? ”

The three cities of the northwest border pass, the Yanzhou city guarded by the Dingbei Houfu is the most prosperous, the front is the city pass, and it is also the most important place in the northwest, if smallpox is found in the Yanzhou city, it is simply a disaster.

Yin Zhongxing hurriedly said: "It's not Yanzhou City, it's Duzhou City." But it was discovered too late, and more than a dozen people had already been infected. Hou Ye later inspected the gathering place and found that several of them did not have blisters, but smallpox. "It was the child in the family who had pox, and I thought it was anthrax, so I was reluctant to send it to a gathering place outside the city, so I only raised it at home, and used it according to the prescription passed from the capital. When it was discovered that it was smallpox, several family members had been infected, and it was also passed on to neighbors.

Shen Shu slammed his fist on the table: "It's really a disaster!" "This anthrax is troublesome enough, and now smallpox is there, which is an even more terrible disease.

"Master Hou asked me to ask the princess, is there a cure for smallpox? Nowadays, there is not much place, so smallpox patients have to be put in the gathering place. Yin Zhongxing said, glancing at Shen Shu, "The prince never had smallpox when he was young, so ...... Hou Ye meant, if the princess has never had flowers, she should not go to the epidemic area. ”

Taohua couldn't help but close her eyes, and after anthrax, it was smallpox, and it was really a disaster: "I haven't had smallpox, but I still have to go to the epidemic area." Rest assured, smallpox will not be easily transmitted as long as it is properly protected. "Adults are more resistant than children, so they are generally less contagious.

"No way!" Yin Zhongxing said toughly, "Master Hou said, if the princess has never had flowers, she must not go to the epidemic area!" "Smallpox is not a small cough, in case it is really infected-and it is likely to be infected to Shen Shu again, Dingbei Hou will inevitably have selfish intentions, and he must take care of his nephew first.

"I'll talk about this when I get to Yanzhou City." Taohua didn't have the heart to discuss this kind of thing at this time, "Is there any medicine for smallpox in Yanzhou City?" The medicinal materials we brought are not enough, we must buy them again, and urgently report to the capital to dispatch medicines! ”

This night said that it was to rest in the town of Thirty Miles, but in fact, no one could rest at all. Shen Shu arranged for people to buy medicinal herbs everywhere, and also sent people to the capital to deliver letters, while Taohua buried herself in listing prescriptions and protective measures for smallpox, and the lights in the house were still on until late at night.

Liu Zhijing pretended to be sick for a long time, because he had contributed a lot these days, and everyone thought that he was a scholar who was weak and should rest, and no one came to disturb him, so he let him sleep in the inn. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I found that Gu Cong, who was in the same room, had not returned, and there were footsteps coming and going from time to time outside the door, as busy as if it was daylight.

Liu Zhijing was puzzled in his heart, he still couldn't lie down after lying on the bed for a long time, he quietly opened the door and walked outside to look, and sure enough, he saw that someone rode out from time to time in the courtyard outside, it was Shen Shu's guards.

What's going on? Liu Zhijing looked around for Gu Cong but didn't find it, and was hesitating to find someone to ask, when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps on the second floor, a guard strode down the stairs, followed by a young woman dressed as a maid, chasing him and saying straight: "Brother Yin, the prince has never had smallpox, and he can't let him enter the city!" ”

The word smallpox fell into his ears, like a thunderclap, which shocked Liu Zhijing to stand on the spot. I only heard the guard say: "Lord Hou knows about this, so he specially called me to tell the princess and princess that they are not allowed to go to the epidemic area." ”

Liu Zhijing could identify the maid's voice as the cicada clothes that Shen Shu had to use beside him, and his voice was full of eagerness: "But it's not just the epidemic area!" If smallpox spreads, the city of Yanzhou will not be safe! ”

The guard said: "There is no smallpox found in Yanzhou City now. ”

Cicada Yi was so anxious that she stomped her feet: "I haven't found it now, and I may not find it in a few days!" Brother Yin, you also heard it just now, the princess still plans to go to the epidemic area, what if she brings smallpox back? In this case, only if the prince does not enter the city, this is safe! ”

Liu Zhijing stood in the shadows under the stairs, like a piece of wood. The guard was in a hurry to go out, and he didn't see him, but only glanced at Cicada Yi and said, "The prince insists on entering the city, what can I do?" Even the Hou Ye only said that they were not allowed to go to the epidemic area, and did not say that they were not allowed to enter the city. You can rest assured, Lord Hou will never allow the princess to go to the epidemic area. ”

The two went out talking, and Liu Zhijing stood in the dark for a long time before moving his stiff feet back to the room, and threw himself on the bed, only feeling weak. What's going on? Why has the epidemic in Northwest China changed like this, and what kind of smallpox has been added?

Liu Zhijing didn't know about anthrax, but he had seen smallpox. When he was a teenager, there was an epidemic of smallpox in his hometown, and almost all of his two uncles' families of more than ten people died. After hearing about the spread of smallpox, he closed the door even more, relying on a pot of pickles and sorghum rice stored at home and pumpkins grown in the backyard for more than 20 days, narrowly escaping.

After the smallpox passed, the township had funerals, and for a time the coffins were full of roads, and every house was white. Although Liu Zhijing has never been taken care of by his two uncles, since there is a funeral in the family, he has to do his best to do his relatives' heart. After I went, I saw that the few people who survived the two families had all changed their faces, and even one of them was blind in one eye, which was really half like a human and half like a ghost.

In fact, it's not just the Liu family, there are many people in the township who have changed their faces, Liu Zhijing walked on the road in broad daylight, and he actually felt like he was separated from the world. He was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, and this scene is so etched in his mind that he still shuddered when he remembered it, and from then on he regarded smallpox as the most terrible thing ever.

Now that smallpox has appeared in the northwest, Liu Zhijing really doesn't dare to go again. If he heard that Taohua didn't have much to do about anthrax before, he still had the intention of fighting, then now, this kind of thinking is gone. All he was thinking about now was what the cicada Yi had said, and the Jiang family was still planning to go to the epidemic area!

If the Jiang clan wanted to go, how could they, the people sent by the imperial court to treat the epidemic, not go? But he never had smallpox, and went to such places as if he were dying. Don't say that he still has a widowed mother to worship in his family, just say that he himself, the credit can be earned in the future, but this life is lost, and there will be no more.

As soon as the door creaked, Gu Cong walked in with a tired face, saw Liu Zhijing sitting up from the bed, and said casually: "But woke up Brother Liu?" ”

"I just heard movement outside." Liu Zhijing held on to the last glimmer of hope and asked, "I heard that smallpox has appeared again in the epidemic area?" Does the princess of the county have a countermeasure? ”

Gu Cong smiled bitterly: "This is really a disaster. For a disease like smallpox, there is no miracle cure, it is just the same dedication to the destiny of heaven. ”

Liu Zhijing only felt that his heart sank deeply. No, he can't go to the northwest, he has to think of a way to dodge, he has to go back to the capital!