After the group left Taiyuan Fucheng, they headed south.

After walking for three quarters of an hour, we saw a village in the distance.

The woman did not lead them into the village, but walked around the edge and walked towards the forest behind the village.

"Why don't you enter the village?" the accompanying general said warily.

"Aren't you going to see patients?" Along the way, the woman saw that they showed no ill intentions, and her expression relaxed a little. She explained in a calm tone: "This pimple plague spreads very quickly, and we don't dare to kill anyone.

If they stay in the village, they can only find another place to settle."

She raised her finger and pointed at the vague outline in the woods, and said, "Everyone has been placed in the Earth Temple behind the village."

At this time, the stars receded and the moonlight was dim. Everyone looked at the weak torchlight and could only vaguely see some outlines.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, we arrived at the Tutu Temple.

When they came to a thick old tree, the woman raised her hand to stop him, saying that she could not go any further.

She groped for a while on the thick tree on the right, and finally found a hemp rope. She grabbed it and pulled it twice, and then a clear copper bell rang.

The originally dark Tutu Temple soon turned on the lights, and there was movement and stillness.

"Everyone here is infected with the pimple plague. Except for me, almost no one can come in and out easily. You'd better wear your cloth towel."

Just after Yin Chengyu and his party put on their cloth towels, they saw a young man slowly coming out holding a lantern.

The man's face was also covered with a cloth. He did not come close. He stopped two or three steps away. Due to the darkness of the night and the dim light of the fire, he did not notice anything strange about Yin Chengyu and his entourage.

Thinking that someone from the village was coming, he controlled his voice and asked, "Doctor Wen, have you obtained the medicinal materials?"

"Yes, I got it." Wen Ling did not mention the accident that happened in the city. She took the medicine basket and placed it on the ground in front of her, and asked, "How is everyone's situation?"

The man coughed twice and sighed: "Five more have died. The bodies have been burned and the ashes have been scattered behind the temple. The medicinal materials have been exhausted in the past two days and there is no decoction. Everyone's condition has become serious again. There are

More than a dozen people vomited blood today and have already moved to the other side."

Wen Ling frowned slightly and said: "These two baskets of medicinal materials should be enough for the time being. I will ask someone to fry the medicine tomorrow morning. Is it better to continue drinking the medicine?"

"I know." The man responded, and then said: "I heard from the old Zhao family today that her son had heard during the day that the government had transported food to provide disaster relief, but he didn't know what was going on in the city now.

It would be great if the government really comes to provide disaster relief, but I'm afraid that those of us who are sick will be arrested and burned to death..." He sighed again as he spoke. Because of his cough, his voice was deep, which fell on people's hearts.

Heavy? Heavy.

Wen Ling subconsciously glanced sideways at Yin Chengyu and others, and reassured: "No?, I heard that the person who came to provide relief this time was the prince of the dynasty. The prince was kind-hearted and had a reputation as a virtuous man. I didn't hear that he had given an order.

Arrests……"

The man sighed twice, obviously not looking forward to it.

After the two said a few more words, Wen Ling left with another group of people.

After they walked away, the man stepped forward, picked up the medicine basket, and returned to the Earth Temple.

Wen Ling took Yin Chengyu and his party back to the village.

On the way here, she already knew Yin Chengyu's identity, but she didn't feel panic at this time, but her expression still showed suspicion and distrust: "His Royal Highness has seen it, how are you going to deal with them?"

?”

Although her voice was calm, there were waves in her eyes: "I accidentally discovered this place when I was collecting medicine in the mountains, so I stayed here. Most of these patients escaped from Taiyuan Fucheng and surrounding counties and towns. Some

Some of them contracted the disease from the beginning, and some were infected by others later. They didn't want to hurt others, but they couldn't accept being burned to death calmly, so they gathered in this abandoned village to survive. Later, the victims

More and more, word of mouth spread, relatives and friends who were infected were sent here. In order to prevent more people from contracting the disease, these patients were placed in the Tutu Temple, where the symptoms were mild.

Some? Taking care of the seriously ill? And those who are not infected? The family members are hiding in the village, looking for food and herbs, and they have to be on guard against searches by officers and soldiers at any time."

She recounted the hardships of these victims: "Unfortunately, my medical skills are limited, and I can only prescribe some prescriptions to treat common diseases. Although drinking them every day can delay the symptoms, it cannot cure them."

People died of illness almost every day, because there were too many people who died and there was no time to find a place to bury them, so they had to burn them and scatter their ashes behind the mountain god temple. Now there is a thick layer of white ash behind the earth temple."

When telling this, she was very calm from beginning to end, and there was no anger in her words. Only her slightly trembling fingers revealed her inner emotions.

It's not that they are fearless, but now they have nothing to rely on. The only thing they can rely on is the conscience of the superiors in front of them.

If they could show some compassion, they might be able to let these patients live.

Yin Chengyu saw her hidden nervousness and said in a calm tone: "You can't take care of these patients on your own, so send them to a hospital."

"When the officers and soldiers searched for the patients at the beginning, they also said they would send them to a prison. But later, all the patients in the prison were burned to death, and no one dared to go there anymore." Wen Ling dug his fingers into the palm of his hand, but

She did not flinch. Her words were direct and sharp: "Will His Royal Highness also burn them to death?"

"At this time, I can't promise you anything." Yin Chengyu looked at her and did not hide his intention. He told the truth: "The imperial physician and the convened doctors are already trying their best to find a cure. But as a doctor, you

, you should also know that this epidemic is not an ordinary epidemic. If it is not controlled properly, the consequences will be unimaginable. Now I can only promise you that all patients sent to the hospital will be treated as much as possible. Until the last moment,

I will not give up any one person easily."

Wen Ling pondered for a long time and then said solemnly: "I understand."

"Now Gu Zheng is recruiting doctors from all over the world to find a cure for pimple plague. If Dr. Wen is willing, he can also contribute." Yin Chengyu said: "As for these patients, they must be transferred to the hospital as soon as possible to prevent the disease.

More and more people are infected with pimple plague."

"I will help persuade them." After Wen Ling figured it out, he no longer hesitated.

"Then we have Doctor Lao Wen." Yin Chengyu nodded and led the accompanying generals to stay behind to help Wen Ling transfer the patient.

When Yin Chengyu returned to Fucheng again, there was only a light night on the horizon, and the east had already turned white.

With Wen Ling's help, the first batch of patients were persuaded to enter the hospital, which gradually eliminated the shadow left by Zhou Weishan. More patients would voluntarily live in the hospital in the future.

At present, no treatment has been developed, so we can only isolate the infected people as much as possible to prevent the pimple plague from spreading further.

Yin Chengyu breathed out slowly, and under Xue Shu's service, he widened his outer robe and changed into light casual clothes.

Probably because the shock he received today was too severe, he didn't feel sleepy, so he simply sat down on the Arhat bed by the window and slowly made tea. With the scent of tea, he slowly relaxed his tense emotions.

.

Xue Shu stood beside him.

He lowered his head, half of his face was hidden in shadow, and his thick black eyelashes blocked his vision, making it difficult to see clearly.

Yin Chengyu heated the tea cup, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and then looked at Xue Shu.

"You said before that you had suffered from a great epidemic and had stayed in Jining..." He slowly turned the green jade ring on his finger and said in a chatty tone: "I suddenly remembered that I

In the 14th year of Longfeng's reign, I went to Yutai County, Jining Prefecture to provide disaster relief. At that time... were you also in Yutai?"

His movement of turning the jade ring was very slow, but his gaze on Xue Shu became sharper, with probing and probing words: "Have you ever seen a lonely man in Yutai?"

Although it is a question, it is with 70% to 80% certainty.

Looking at Xue Shu's words and deeds these days, we can see that he has indeed suffered from a great epidemic.

Recall that when he was in Tianjin Wei, Xue Shu once said that his ancestral home was Shaanxi, and he later settled in Jining Prefecture, but he did not mention where he was in Jining.

Although floods occur every year in Shandong, epidemic diseases are also accompanied from time to time. It may be called a major epidemic, but only one occurred in Yutai County in the 14th year of Longfeng.

After contacting Xue Shu's unusual attitude towards him, Yin Chengyu made a guess in his mind, and deliberately found an opportunity to test him when he was very tired after a night of running around.

There isn't much expression on Xue Shu's face.

He had been mentally prepared since Yin Chengyu tried to question him again and again. At this time, Yin Chengyu revealed the secret that he tried so hard to hide, and he did not see too many emotional fluctuations.

He raised his eyes and stared at Yin Chengyu, and said in a deep voice: "If I tell the truth, will there be a reward?"

Yin Chengyu frowned slightly, raised his hand and grabbed his collar, forcing him to bend down: "What else do you want? A reward?"

With gleaming eyes, he slowly raised the hand wearing the emerald jade ring, and at an extremely slow speed, took off the jade ring on his index finger.

The rich green made his fingers look as white as green onion.

Xue Shu froze, his breathing stagnant for a moment.

"Do you like this jade ring?"

Yin Chengyu held the jade ring between his thumb and index finger and waved it in front of his eyes.

Then, without waiting for Xue Shu's reply, he opened the lapel of his clothes, stuffed the jade ring from his collar, and chuckled: "I'll reward you."

The cold jade ring rolled down against his skin, causing Xue Shu to tremble uncontrollably for a moment.

"not enough."

He said something hoarsely, and in Yin Chengyu's surprised eyes, he grasped his wrist hard, lowered his head, put the finger that he had worn a jade ring into his mouth, and bit down hard -

Yin Chengyu frowned in pain, and just as he was about to scold him, he saw that he had already let go of his mouth, raised his head and stared at him, licked his lips, and looked wildly.

And the bitten finger left a circle of deep red tooth marks at the base of the finger.

Yin Chengyu's skin is white, and the bright red color is more eye-catching.

"Are you born in the year of the dog?" Yin Chengyu's face was full of displeasure, and he looked at the water stains on his fingers with some disgust. He handed the bitten hand to him and said coldly: "

Why don't you wipe it clean?"

Xue Shu lowered his head and did not retort. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands.

"Wait a minute." Yin Chengyu stopped him, took out another handkerchief and threw it to him: "Use this to wipe it."
To be continued...