Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

After countless hardships, the Fourth Prince finally gathered the funds and joyfully set out on his journey back to the city. However, as he caught sight of the familiar city gate from afar, his heart suddenly clicked, as if a foreboding omen had overtaken him. The gate, which should have been open to welcome him back, was now tightly shut, like an insurmountable barrier before him.

The Fourth Prince frowned and rode quickly to the city gate, scanning his surroundings anxiously, trying to understand what had happened. Why was the gate closed? Had something happened in the city? Just as his confusion filled his mind, he suddenly noticed a group of anxious refugees gathered below the gate.

The Fourth Prince dismounted and quickly approached the refugees, inquiring about their situation. Upon further questioning, he learned that a terrible plague had broken out in the city. To prevent its spread, General Chen Duhu had issued an order to seal off the entire city, strictly prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

Zhu Qi, who was standing aside, had been staring at the Fourth Prince. Seeing his serious expression, she couldn't help but stepped forward and said, "Fourth Prince, what should we do in this situation? Should we go into the city or go back home? A plague has broken out in the city. If we accidentally get infected, the consequences will be disastrous!" Her words were full of worry and uneasiness.

After hearing Zhu Qi's words, the Fourth Prince fell into deep thought. His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze gravely pondering the current situation and the strategy for responding. After a moment, he slowly turned and, with a serious expression, instructed Zhu Qi, "Find an open area with a water source and easy-to-reach rocks. Set up camp there. Set up everyone here, and no one is allowed to move without my order!"

Upon hearing the Fourth Prince's plan, Zhu Qi, standing by, could no longer suppress his doubts and hurriedly asked, "Fourth Prince, now that we are stationed outside the city, what should we do with the money and grain inside the city?"

The Fourth Prince looked somewhat displeased, but he still managed to answer patiently, "Send a carrier pigeon to Baili Xi, telling him to arrange for the transportation of money and grain into the city and hand it over to Lord Chen. Lord Chen will distribute it according to actual needs to ensure that the people in the city have basic living needs."

After hearing the Fourth Prince's instructions, Zhu Qi immediately bowed and began to arrange the relevant matters. The Fourth Prince paused for a moment, then said to another guard beside him, "Take this token and bring enough money to purchase a batch of herbs to treat the plague. Be sure to ship them all here as soon as possible."

The guard took the token, nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, sir!" Then he quickly left to do his work.

At this moment, only the Fourth Prince was left standing alone on his horse. He stared silently at the city gate, his eyes empty and lost, as if his thoughts had drifted far away. No one knew what he was thinking...

Li Ruoyue stood in the crowd and shouted loudly: "Everyone listen to me! We will set up a large iron pot at every intersection to boil the herbs. After it is boiled, please everyone go to the medicine barrel and soak it well." Her voice was crisp and loud, and it spread throughout the venue.

However, as the movement began, problems arose. The refugees were ragged, unkempt, and covered in dirt and dust, looking filthy. Seeing this, some officers and soldiers quickly approached and led the refugees to the water's edge, carefully washing them with clean water. Although the refugees were somewhat reluctant, they eventually cooperated with the officers and soldiers' patient persuasion and completed the washing.

Afterward, someone led the washed refugees to the medicine barrels and helped them enter one by one to soak and bathe. Li Ruoyue also specifically instructed, "Please wash yourselves thoroughly before taking the medicinal bath." For women and children, she carefully arranged a more secluded area for them to use separately to protect their privacy.

While the primary purpose of this collective medicinal bath was to treat illness, it did involve gender differences. Even in such extraordinary circumstances, the ethical and moral standards of this world could not be ignored. Therefore, everything proceeded in an orderly manner, ensuring the efficacy of the medicinal herbs while maintaining social order and good morals.

The following are the meticulous arrangements for those refugees who were not infected with the disease. Once all arrangements were completed, staff led the refugees to pre-planned key locations, where each person received a bowl of steaming hot medicinal soup and was supervised to drink it immediately. After consuming the medicinal soup, the refugees were then led in an orderly manner to different resettlement sites for rest.

Each resettlement site was assigned a dedicated person to guard and care for the refugees. Although the new food distributed by the government was of limited variety and lacked flavor, it at least ensured that every refugee had enough to eat. While these refugees were currently in good health and free of illness, there was no guarantee they wouldn't become troublesome after a day of well-fed food. Therefore, each refugee was assigned relatively simple tasks within their capabilities.

For example, some refugees were tasked with assisting soldiers in maintaining order among the newly arrived refugees; others were tasked with preparing medicine and boiling mugwort water to prevent the spread of possible epidemics; and still others were responsible for cleaning the city and repairing any remaining public facilities. This not only improved the city's appearance and appearance, but also gave the refugees something to do, preventing them from becoming idle and causing trouble.

However, the sick refugees troubled Li Ruoyue immensely. Due to their sheer numbers, she had to gather all the patients together. Even so, the number of sick remained so overwhelming that she had to divide them into smaller settlements. Ultimately, the sick were sent to the wilderness or mountains, away from the crowds. Li Ruoyue and Doctor Qian stayed at the largest settlement, located halfway up a mountain.

Every day, Li Ruoyue and Imperial Physician Qian would prepare medications according to the prescribed ingredients and dosages, personally administering medication and acupuncture to seriously ill patients, attempting various methods to heal them. Sadly, despite their best efforts, some patients still closed their eyes forever, never to awaken.

Li Ruoyue stared at the patients slowly dying, her brow furrowed in worry. She turned to look at Doctor Qian, who also had a heavy expression on his face. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I have another prescription, but I'm not sure if it will work..." Doctor Qian nodded helplessly and sighed, "At this point, we can only try our best. Let's give it a try." With that, the two of them plunged back into another round of intense treatment.

Li Ruoyue carefully handed the precious prescription she had obtained in Medicine King Valley to Doctor Qian. When Doctor Qian took the prescription and examined it carefully, his eyes instantly widened as big as copper bells, and his mouth opened involuntarily, as if he was shocked by what he saw.

"This... How is this possible! How can there be such an exquisite prescription in the world!" Doctor Qian was shaking all over because of extreme excitement. Even his originally neat beard was trembling with the shaking of his body.

Li Ruoyue, standing nearby, saw how excited Doctor Qian was and couldn't help but feel a little worried, fearing he might get into an accident from his excessive excitement. So, she quickly reached out and gently patted Doctor Qian's shoulder, saying, "Doctor Qian, please calm down. Tell me, will this prescription actually work?"

However, Doctor Qian was already so excited that he was incoherent and had no time to pay attention to Li Ruoyue's questions. He just clutched the prescription tightly and asked anxiously, "Little girl, please tell me, where did you get this magical prescription? Tell me the truth!"

Seeing Doctor Qian's persistence, Li Ruoyue sighed helplessly and patiently explained, "This prescription was actually discovered by my master by chance during his travels. He passed by a village ravaged by plague, where a Taoist priest was tirelessly treating the sick villagers. My master, with a heart of righteousness, felt compassion for those suffering from the disease and generously gave him this prescription. Doctor Qian, please speak frankly now. In your opinion, can this prescription cure the current illness?"

After listening to Li Ruoyue's story, Doctor Qian still couldn't hide his excitement. He trembled and replied, "Yes! Of course it can be cured! This is simply a miracle recipe! To be honest, in all my years of practicing medicine, I have never seen a more exquisite prescription than this!"

Li Ruoyue has always been straightforward and spoke without any pretense: "Since this prescription is so effective, let's go and get the medicine according to the prescription immediately!" As she spoke, she signaled the people around her with her eyes to take action.

However, when everyone gathered around to check the prescription, I looked embarrassed, sighed helplessly, and said, "The other herbs are easy to deal with, but we are really out of stock of two of the ingredients in this prescription! And the ones we had in stock before are almost used up. What should we do?" My words were full of anxiety and worry.

Upon hearing this, Li Ruoyue's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a look of helplessness evident. After all, even the most skilled physician would be helpless in the face of a shortage of medicine. As the saying goes, a skilled cook cannot cook without rice! Just as the two of them were frantic, like ants on a hot pot, running around in circles but unable to find a solution, they suddenly heard a commotion outside. Then, a servant hurried in to report, "Miss, sir, Master Baili has sent someone to bring the necessary herbs up the mountain!"

Li Ruoyue and Doctor Qian's faces instantly lit up with joy when they heard this. This was like a long-awaited rain, coming just in time! They exchanged glances, their hearts filled with gratitude.