Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

Liu Rusi's medical kit has been restocked, and the walking team has arrived, which means that Dr. Ma is here! And she can start learning Chinese medicine again!

"Where is Doctor Ma? Can we ask him to come to the yard?" Liu Rusi asked excitedly.

Chu Shiyu shook his head apologetically and said, "Recently, some people have fallen ill in Hemiao Town, southwest of Xingzhou City, near Zhangjiazhuangzi. In order to prevent the spread of the disease, I asked Doctor Ma and some local doctors to treat them."

Liu Rusi immediately became serious and asked earnestly: "When did the news come out? What are the symptoms of the patients?"

Chu Shiyu hesitated for a while before deciding to tell her: "According to the news reported last night, some people have swelling under their jaws and necks that hurt when touched; a few seriously ill patients have chills, high fever, chest pain, coughing, and coughing up bloody sputum."

"That could be the plague..." Liu Rusi said in a serious voice.

Most people may not have any idea about plague, but if you mention its alias, the Black Death, many people will be terrified. This disease has taken away the lives of tens of millions of people! We must not let this disease spread!

Seeing her serious expression, Chu Shiyu said gently, "Don't worry. I have sent people to seal off the town where the patient appeared, and also sent a doctor to treat him. It won't get serious."

Liu Rusi's expression eased a little, but she still frowned and said, "I am also a doctor, let me go too, I can help."

However, Chu Shiyu said bluntly in a gentle voice: "You are very good at treating external injuries, but you can neither diagnose pulses nor prescribe medicine."

"I can do more than just treating illnesses! At least I can help Doctor Ma and learn his medical skills." Although Liu Rusi is only a half-baked medical student, she has a sense of responsibility as a doctor, and it is difficult for her to sit idly by and watch a possible epidemic break out.

"I won't let you go."

Chu Shiyu's tone was gentle but his attitude was firm. Although he decided to relax his supervision of her yesterday, the epidemic was really dangerous and he could not relax.

Liu Rusi paused, then looked at Chu Shiyu with a firm gaze and said, "I want to go."

Chu Shiyu didn't say anything, but his attitude was still obviously tough. The two of them remained silent, staring at each other for a long time, and neither of them showed any intention of giving in.

"If you insist on restricting my will like this, then I will do everything in my power to get rid of you. You can imprison me, but I have a lifetime to try!"

Liu Rusi raised her chin in a proud gesture, her back straight and her eyes determined, as if she was about to join a battle.

Her will seemed to be materialized through her eyes. Chu Shiyu's eyes rarely wavered and he avoided her sight. He definitely didn't want the relationship between them to become a confrontation...

But the epidemic is really dangerous. In the past, countless doctors have died of the disease during the epidemic! Do you want to gamble her safety for her heart?

"In fact, the epidemic is also caused by people being infected with death energy. I know how to reduce the spread and I will protect myself as much as possible!" Liu Rusi turned serious and said, she still has to raise her son to grow up! Naturally, she will follow her heart while protecting herself.

Chu Shiyu lowered his eyes and thought for a long time before saying, "I can let you go, but you can't come into contact with people who are infected."

Looking at Chu Shiyu's expression, Liu Rusi knew that this was the limit of his concessions, so she nodded and accepted the condition. If the time came and she really needed it, she would try for it then.

And just as she said, she was not going to die. She did not immediately go to Hemiao Town where the epidemic broke out, but took Caiyun, Xuefei and all the maids in the yamen with her to make a batch of cotton masks.

Chu Shiyu didn't want to just stand there and watch, but he really didn't know how to sew, so he could only ask depressedly: "What's the use of these?"

"Many infectious diseases can be transmitted through droplets produced by coughing and sneezing. Covering your mouth and nose can reduce the chance of infection." Liu Rusi's needle and thread were flying.

There is no meltblown cloth in this era, so we can only make thicker cotton masks. The protective effect is far different from that of medical masks, but it is better than no protection at all.

"In that case, how about I recruit some women and make more?" Chu Shiyu suggested.

Liu Rusi was stunned. She always deliberately avoided borrowing Chu Shiyu's power, and it seemed to have become a habit. However, it was really inappropriate to be so fussy about details in the face of the epidemic!

"Good! We need to make more masks. Masks need to be replaced and disinfected frequently. It is best to change one every hour. If you have been in contact with a patient, you need to change it immediately. Doctors should prepare at least ten masks each."

Seeing her serious attitude, Chu Shiyu was somewhat comforted. At least she was not going to fight rashly.

Chu Shiyu immediately arranged for his subordinates to recruit women. Liu Rusi led the women to make dozens of them first to ensure that they would be useful to himself and the doctors.

But a mask alone is not enough, so she led people to start making a burqa, which is a large piece of cloth covering the neck to below the knees with ropes tied behind the back. While sewing, she told Chu Shiyu the function of the burqa.

"The droplets carrying the dead air will adhere to clothing, but clothes cannot be changed and washed all the time, so you can wear a gown when you are in contact with the patient, and change the gown immediately after leaving to reduce the chance of bringing the dead air outside."

Chu Shiyu nodded and asked someone to write down the pattern of the burqa and also prepare to have the women produce it in large quantities.

It was already noon when the first batch of masks and gowns were produced. While eating lunch, Liu Rusi was thinking about what other protective measures could be taken.

"Let's prepare some more veils." Liu Rusi put down her chopsticks, and before Chu Shiyu could speak, she added, "It should reduce the risk of droplets getting into the eyes. It's best for each person to prepare two and disinfect and replace them every day. You have to wear one too."

Although Chu Shiyu hasn't said he would go with them, it would be strange if he didn't go with them, and Liu Rusi has already gotten used to it...

Having taken all the protective measures she could think of, Liu Rusi prepared to set off for Hemiao Town, but when she stood in front of the carriage, a small problem arose.

"Mom, please take Haohao with you..." Little Qin Hao leaned on her and acted coquettishly.

"No, you are a child and your resistance is weaker than that of adults. You are more likely to get sick. Haohao and Sister Caiyun stay here together and wait for mother to come back, okay?" Liu Rusi said gently but firmly.

Little Qin Hao also understood his mother, and knew that it was impossible to do so, so he pouted and nodded reluctantly. But Caiyun said "Ah" in disappointment and asked: "Why didn't you take me with you..."

"I can only feel at ease if you stay to take care of Haohao." Liu Rusi said with a smile.

Feeling her trust, Caiyun's unhappiness immediately turned into warmth, and she nodded repeatedly, "I will take good care of Xiao Haohao! Don't worry, Sister Si!"

After comforting the two people, Liu Rusi was about to step into the carriage when she realized that the problem had not been solved yet. More than a dozen old women and maids including Meihong, Zhuqing and Xuefei were also going to get on the carriage, as if they were going to set off together.

Liu Rusi immediately turned to look at the main culprit—Chu Shiyu, frowned and asked, "Why did you bring these girls with you?"

"If you go to the epidemic area, you must have someone to take care of you. Bring some maids with you, and someone will help you with whatever you need to do." Chu Shiyu's tone was irrefutable.

It would be good to have someone who can be used directly, but these teenage girls are just older children in Liu Rusi's eyes...

After all, people are close to each other. Liu Rusi said after a moment's hesitation: "Let Xuefei, Meihong and Zhuqing stay. Let them take care of Qin Hao together. Also, let Caiyun not fall behind in her studies."

Chu Shiyu nodded, thinking that it was no big deal to lose three maids. Meihong and Zhuqing both left with shame on their faces. They wanted to follow the lady, but they were also afraid of the epidemic...

But Yang Xuefei hunched her shoulders, stepped forward timidly, and stammered, "I... want to go."

It was a taboo for slaves to act on their own, but neither Chu Shiyu nor Liu Rusi meant to reprimand her. Liu Rusi just looked at her and asked softly, "You know that the epidemic is dangerous, right? Why do you want to go?"

Yang Xuefei mustered up the courage to look up, letting Liu Rusi see the seriousness in her eyes, and spoke without stuttering: "I was born in Hemiao Town... I can wash clothes and boil water, so I can help."

Hemiao Town is not too far away, about an hour and a half’s drive from Xingzhou City.

After the group arrived at Hemiao Town, Chu Shiyu first arranged for some of the people he brought to camp in an open area outside the town. The town had been blocked and people could only enter but not leave.

Liu Rusi required everyone entering Hemiao Town to wear masks. With Chu Shiyu's leadership and cooperation, naturally no one objected.

Wearing colorful cotton masks - there were not so many white masks at the moment, the group attracted the attention of the residents of the town. Although the town was urgently blocked last night, it currently has no impact on the townspeople, because except that they cannot go out, there are no other restrictions.

A brave town resident stepped forward and asked the servants at the edge, "Why do you have cloth covering your faces?"

The servant also said frankly: "Our Madam Liu said that the epidemic is caused by infection with death air. Covering the mouth and nose with cloth can prevent breathing in death air."

"Epidemic? What epidemic?" The townspeople started chatting with the servants.

Liu Rusi, who heard the conversation, couldn't help but feel strange and turned to ask Chu Shiyu, "Don't the townspeople know there is an epidemic?"

Chu Shiyu looked at her and said, "There are currently seven households confirmed to be sick, with a total of more than a dozen people. The disease is not serious."

It was because it wasn't serious that he allowed her to come. If there were already corpses everywhere, he would forbid her to come even if she would hate him, and then find a way to mend their relationship afterwards.

Liu Rusi didn't know what he was thinking, but she sincerely felt that he had a very good control over the surrounding towns and villages, which meant that the outbreak was discovered as soon as possible.

"Your decisive adoption of epidemic prevention measures is a very wise move. We should be on high alert against infectious diseases." Liu Rusi praised. She is not stingy with praise for the right things.

Chu Shiyu is a person who is not easily surprised by praise or criticism, but her evaluation is an exception. The upward curve of his lips was hidden by the mask, but his eyebrows revealed his joy.

Perhaps it was because she came here with the mentality of preventing the epidemic, things that were already commonplace in this world seemed glaring to Liu Rusi.

"I think we should first deal with public health issues, such as people urinating and defecating in public on the street... Can we find a way to ban it?" Liu Rusi slightly gestured to Chu Shiyu to look at the person peeing against the wall on the street corner...

Chu Shiyu took a quick look and her face immediately darkened. How could she be allowed to see such a filthy thing? She turned around and said to the steward beside her in a deep voice: "According to the regulations during the epidemic, anyone who defecates anywhere will be punished with ten strokes of the cane, starting with that person!"

His men were extremely efficient. As soon as the man at the corner of the street pulled up his trousers, he was dragged into the street by several guards and executed in public!

Amid the cries of pain, the steward announced the implementation of the regulations. The publicity effect was absolutely amazing!

Liu Rusi awkwardly adjusted the mask upwards, hoping that it could cover her face. Isn’t it true that laws do not have retroactive effect?... I’m sorry to the guy who was peeing on the street corner!

The town is not big. When they arrived at the area where the epidemic broke out, Liu Rusi urged everyone to wear veils and expressed concern about public health issues again!

What is better about Bactria than ancient Europe is that most towns have sewage canals, so there is no situation where the streets are full of filth.

But the problem is that this area is the lowest in the town, and most of the sewage from the canals ends up flowing here! The canals that need to be discharged seem to be blocked by something, and the smelly water is filled with debris, and there are many flies and insects flying around!

"Let someone clear the canal quickly! Stagnant water will cause dead air to gather and breed mosquitoes and flies. These small insects are also important factors in spreading diseases." Liu Rusi made another suggestion.

Chu Shiyu immediately signaled the people below to do it. He didn't need her to give any reason. He didn't want her to stay in such a stinking environment! Although he had already asked someone to do it, he also pulled Liu Rusi and asked her to leave the area temporarily.

Liu Rusi did not confront him on this issue. She simply found a relatively clean teahouse and decided to solve all public health problems first before participating in direct epidemic prevention.

The teahouse, which originally had few people, was cleared out immediately, but the owner couldn't help but be happy because the tables in the teahouse were directly filled with Prince Duan's people, and each table ordered the best tea!

There was also hot tea on Chu Shiyu and Liu Rusi's tables, but pens and ink took up most of the space.

Liu Rusi asked: "Has the practice of boiling water for drinking been promoted in Hemiao Town?"

"Not yet. Previously, we were only in Xingzhou City. We are short of manpower to work in the towns and villages... But I sent people to buy a large amount of firewood last night, and we can start distributing boiled water in Hemiao Town today."

"If conditions permit, we should promote this in several surrounding villages as well... It may not be enough to just isolate people from the plague. The biggest concern is that rats will spread everywhere and contaminate water and food."

"Yes, there is enough donations and we have enough manpower now." Chu Shiyu answered while adding words on the paper in front of him.

Regulations during epidemics:

1. It is forbidden to defecate anywhere. Violators will be punished with 10 strokes of the cane. It is forbidden to spit anywhere. Violators will be punished with 5 strokes of the cane. Those caught will be punished immediately.

2. Each household shall clean the ditches in front of the door, and no dirt shall be allowed to accumulate. Swill shall be covered and not exposed. For the first offense, the householder shall be urged to correct the mistake. For the second offense, the householder shall be punished with ten strokes of the cane.

3. The people should love cleanliness, bathe and change clothes frequently. The town has set up a laundry, which can wash clothes for free during epidemics. Women in the town can go there to work and get paid. If there are smelly and unclean things…

Liu Rusi nodded, and after thinking for a long time, she said, "What I'm going to say next may be difficult to enforce, so we can only publicize it..."

Chu Shiyu put down his pen in confusion and asked, "Can you tell me first?"

"Well... first, you have to wash your hands before eating. In addition to paying attention to what you eat and drink, your hands come into contact with many things every day, and you may accidentally be contaminated with death energy. Washing your hands before eating can reduce the risk of disease from eating."

Liu Rusi was a little bit lacking in confidence. In modern times, hygiene concepts are cultivated from childhood, but many people still don't develop good habits. If you want to carry out hygiene education in the feudal era of Daxia, I'm afraid it will be difficult to do it in this lifetime...

After hearing this, Chu Shiyu nodded. It was indeed just propaganda. Even his father, the emperor, could not stare at everyone and ask them to wash their hands before meals.

"Then let's write another publicity notice. Explaining things with reason can always make some people change their ways." Chu Shiyu handed the regulations on the table to the servant beside him, and started writing the 'Disease Prevention Notice'.

Liu Rusi was not the kind of person who would not do something just because she was afraid of difficulty, so she explained all the health knowledge she could remember. Chu Shiyu listened patiently and wrote five pages of paper...

Finally, everything that needed to be said was said and the pot of hot tea was finished. Chu Shiyu called the manager to post the regulations and notices.

At this time, Yang Xuefei, who was waiting on the side, stepped forward and said timidly: "Many townspeople are illiterate... I have a suggestion..."

"Go ahead and say it." Liu Rusi encouraged.

Yang Xuefei was encouraged and expressed her idea: "Why not recruit literate people in the town to copy the regulations, especially the disease prevention notices, and hire them to preach on the streets..."

Liu Rusi's eyes lit up, and she turned to Chu Shiyu and said, "I think it's good, what do you think?"

Chu Shiyu naturally agreed and said, "Okay."