After the eldest sister-in-law of a fishing family became a widow, her disabled younger brother-in-l

"Of course not."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xiang hurriedly explained, "Prefect Zhao Xingde of Shuozhou is a diligent and conscientious man. Even the prefectural government has taken in many people. However, the disaster relief funds are limited, and the money allocated can only buy enough grain to barely feed these people."

At the mention of this, Song Jinglan's eyes darkened again. If it weren't for the fact that Prince Ding and Prince Liang hadn't been so persistent in their underhanded schemes over the years, the national treasury wouldn't be in such dire straits.

"Since he has this intention, let him be the good guy."

Jiang Feili then spoke up, "This He Wu is now a member of the Jiang family. The Jiang family is already wealthy, and in the past two years, Wutong Medicine Manor has been incredibly successful. I'm afraid the Jiang family's silver reserves are almost equivalent to half of the national treasury. It would be wonderful if he were willing to lend a helping hand to the people of Shuozhou."

Song Jinglan didn't say anything more, but turned her gaze to Yueying and asked another question.

"Is there anything else unusual about He Wu's behavior?"

Something's not right?

Yueying paused slightly, not quite understanding his meaning. Jiang Feili, however, was well aware of Song Jinglan's thoughts, raised an eyebrow, and explained his words again.

"Does your master mean that He Wu's behavior is in any way like a woman's?"

Upon hearing this, Yueying realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "This subordinate is blind and cannot see anything for the time being. This He Wu does not seem to have any feminine mannerisms in her movements."

Feeling somewhat displeased at being outmaneuvered, Song Jinglan waved his hand, signaling Yueying to continue keeping an eye on Guangyi Hall.

Outside the military tent, the shouts of the Nanzhao people never ceased. Despite the considerable distance, the Nanzhao generals could still be heard cursing in their broken Central Plains dialect.

Seeing the hint of coldness in Song Jinglan's eyes, Jixiang immediately said, "Master, should I take some men to deal with those who are hurling insults?"

"No need."

Song Jinglan's voice was completely flat, with only a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth. "The Nanzhao people are weak and dare not confront Wanqi head-on. Their actions are intended to provoke us and then lure us into a trap."

"Now that we have figured out their tricks, we are no longer a threat. When Feng Ling has a clear understanding of the surrounding terrain, it will be time to wipe out the Nanzhao bandits."

"Yes."

……

The next morning, Jiang Yuyue got up early to prepare for the almsgiving, but to her surprise, Aunt Wang and the others had already started a fire and were cooking.

"Young master is awake?"

Hongying greeted them with a smile, while Jiang Yuyue was somewhat surprised, "Why didn't you call out to me?"

"We are already extremely grateful that you are willing to spend money to buy this grain, young master. How could we possibly trouble you to do these things?"

Hongying was very quick and efficient. While telling Jiang Yuyue the truth, she didn't forget to do her work. "I heard that you have excellent medical skills, so it would be a waste for you to help us here. If you have some free time, why don't you go and lend a hand to Old Master Shen?"

Seeing this, Jiang Yuyue stopped refusing. What Hongying said was true; instead of helping with cooking, it would be more efficient for her to treat the injured.

Thinking of the many weak people she saw on the roadside when she entered the city yesterday, Jiang Yuyue was worried that these people on the outskirts of Shuozhou were unaware of Guangyitang's charity, so she decided to go there and see if there were any injured people who had not yet been treated.

Jiang Qimo, being her little tagalong, naturally wanted to go out with her. Jiang Yuyue couldn't refuse him, so she let him come along, and the two walked towards the city gate.

Just as Jiang Yuyue had expected, the people on the outskirts had no idea about Guangyi Hall. Seeing that there were many people lying on the ground, Jiang Yuyue squatted down and gently patted the shoulder of one of the old men.

"An old man? An old man?"

Jiang Yuyue called out softly, but there was no response after several calls, which made her feel that something was wrong. Only when she listened carefully did she notice that the old man was breathing heavily.

She was startled and quickly turned the old man over, only to find that his face was flushed and his body was burning with an unnatural fever.

Could it be...

Jiang Yuyue inwardly cried out in alarm and immediately reached out to feel the old man's pulse. The extremely erratic pulse confirmed her terrible suspicions.

Then Jiang Yuyue hurriedly checked the situation of several people nearby. Unexpectedly, their conditions were exactly the same as those of the old man. Although Jiang Yuyue was unwilling to accept it, she already had the answer in her heart.

It's probably a plague.

War and plague are often intertwined. War inevitably brings death and injury, and the large number of corpses that cannot be buried in time will lead to the spread of plague. Plague kills people invisibly and is highly contagious. It is hard to know which is more terrible, war or plague.

"Mo'er, step back a little."

Jiang Yuyue said in a deep voice, and immediately tore off the lining of her clothes to use as a veil to cover Jiang Qimo's mouth and nose, "Do you still recognize what Smilax glabra looks like?"

"Remember!"

Jiang Yuyue had taught him to identify various medicinal herbs since he could remember, and had even taught him some medical skills, so Jiang Qimo answered quite readily.

"Alright, then go back to your great-grandfather and have him find all the Smilax glabra. Then bring the items back to me with your men."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuyue hurriedly instructed, "We must be quick!"

Hearing the seriousness in her tone, Jiang Qimo, though young, understood the importance of time. He nodded and hurriedly ran back.

Jiang Yuyue watched him walk away, then tore off a piece of cloth to cover her mouth and nose, and checked the unconscious people around her again. Sure enough, they all had the same symptoms.

It seems it really is a plague.

Jiang Yuyue looked grave. Fortunately, she discovered it in time, and the disease had not yet spread. At least for now, only people infected with the plague have been found in this area.

Although she was waiting for the medicine, Jiang Yuyue didn't rest. She started checking on the other people's conditions. Unfortunately, many of them still couldn't make it and had already passed away.

Although Jiang Yuyue had never practiced medicine formally, she had been exposed to the practice by watching her mother and maternal grandfather save lives since she was a child. Now, seeing so many people lose their lives to the plague, she couldn't help but feel a little sad.

But she also wanted to prevent the remaining people from getting infected.

To solve the plague, in addition to treating the infected, it is even more important to prevent the plague from spreading further.

Having confirmed the deaths, Jiang Yuyue immediately gathered the bodies together, silently prayed for them for a moment, then gathered firewood and, without hesitation, set their corpses ablaze.

After all, keeping their bodies around will only increase the number of infected people.