Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Yang Mei raised an eyebrow: "What are you afraid of? I'm just telling the truth. You've served the court with utmost care and diligence all these years as an official. Besides, you can't be entirely blamed for these natural and man-made disasters."

"And don't forget, our son is a Grand General who will rule the dynasty!"

Yang Mei ignored everything and rattled off a string of words, which Zhao Lian, who was standing in the next room, couldn't help but admire.

In her memory, Madam Song was gentle, dignified, and rather reserved, but she never expected that she would be so eloquent.

……

Watching Yao Miao leave in a disheveled state, Prefect Song sighed, "Madam, why didn't you leave when I told you to?"

Yang Mei poked Prefect Song's head with her index finger, looking at him with exasperation: "You knew perfectly well that Chen Jing had ill intentions towards me, yet you still told me to leave. Are you out of your mind?!"

"Madam, I'm doing this for your own good."

"Bah~"

Yang Mei glared at him and said, "If you really want what's best for me, then you'd better live well and find a way to cure this plague."

Prefect Song shook his head: "Right now, my head is like a lump of mush, I can't think of anything."

Yang Mei couldn't contain her excitement: "Come here, let me introduce you to someone. You can discuss it with her properly, and we're sure we can find a solution."

"Who?"

Prefect Song was surprised.

Yang Mei shouted loudly towards the room next door, "Stop hiding, come in quickly!"

Prefect Song was completely taken aback. How come he didn't know who was hiding in this room?

Looking at the person standing in front of him, Prefect Song couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and made sure it wasn't a hallucination. He was overjoyed.

"Zhao Lian, when did you arrive? Why didn't you inform your godfather beforehand?"

As he spoke, Prefect Song turned to Yang Mei, who was standing to the side, and said, "Madam, what are you standing there for? Quickly tell Liu Ma to prepare some food. Look how hungry Zhao Lian must be; she's lost weight."

"Hey~"

Yang Mei slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing, "Look at my memory!"

Yang Mei asked Cui Xi to instruct Liu Ma to quickly bring up some snacks.

A short while later, Aunt Liu brought up tea and snacks.

Seeing the two plates of crystal-clear rice cakes and pastries, Zhao Lian's eyes lit up. Having been hungry for so long, she didn't hold back and immediately picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of pastry, and ate it in big bites.

"Third Miss, eat slowly, don't choke. Here, have some water first."

After not seeing her for two years, Liu Ma was immediately heartbroken to see how dark and thin Zhao Lian had become.

Liu Ma was Yang Mei's dowry nanny and had always been with Yang Mei. She and Cui Xi came to Suizhou together.

After finishing the two plates of pastries, Zhao Lian leaned back in her chair, patting her stomach contentedly.

I can't even remember the last time I had a snack.

"Zhao Lian, do you have any good ideas?"

Seeing that Zhao Lian had eaten and drunk her fill, Prefect Song asked her about it.

Zhao Lian pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Godfather, why don't you gather all the doctors in Suizhou City together?"

"Then find dozens of patients to see if their symptoms are the same, and then divide these patients into several groups, with each doctor in charge of one group, and prescribe medicine according to their experience."

"We'll see which doctor's prescription works, then we'll take out the prescription for further study and add more patients to try it."

"If this prescription works, we will immediately brew the medicine so that everyone can drink it. If they drink it for several days in a row, they will surely be cured."

Prefect Song's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea!"

But after a short while, Prefect Song's eyes darkened again. He had suddenly thought of another problem.

This would require a large amount of medicine, and who would pay for it? The imperial court did not allocate any funds for this disaster relief effort.

The past two years have been plagued by drought, but the newly enthroned emperor not only ignored the situation but also increased taxes, causing widespread suffering and resentment among the people.

Seeing that everyone is struggling to survive, the imperial court has not taken any substantial measures.

Compared to other places, the drought in Suizhou was relatively mild, and it was included in the capital city for receiving disaster victims.

Previously, Suizhou had been receiving refugees fleeing famine, but now that a plague has broken out in Suizhou, the acceptance of refugees has been temporarily suspended.

The original plan was to settle these disaster victims down first, but now the plague has broken out, catching us off guard again.

Everything else is secondary now; the most important thing is to suppress this plague and reduce the death toll to a minimum.

However, the imperial court did not allocate any funds, and even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice; Prefect Song was powerless to do so.

Upon hearing what Prefect Song said, Zhao Lian frowned. Although she didn't care much about the affairs of the court, she had overheard some conversations from the diners in the restaurant.

I've heard that since the Emperor ascended the throne, he has only indulged in eating, drinking, and pleasure, and for the past two years he has completely disregarded the lives of the common people. At the beginning of the year, he even selected young women to enrich the imperial harem.

While the common people suffered terribly outside, he indulged in revelry in the palace every day.

"Godfather, how about this? Let's see if we can use the imperial court's name to requisition these medicinal herbs first, and then report to His Majesty later to get the court to allocate funds."

Zhao Lian explained the whole story to Prefect Song.

“This is not a solution. If the court refuses later, then I will have spoken out of turn and failed the people.” Prefect Song shook his head.

Yang Mei stamped her foot: "Oh dear, sir, you are too old-fashioned. Saving lives is the priority now. Besides, the court has given you seven days to cure the plague. If you fail to cure it, you will be punished. We can't worry about that now."

"Alright!" After much deliberation, with no other options at the moment, Prefect Song could only take it one step at a time.

Upon learning that Zhao Lian was going to Hengnan Prefecture and that Yan Guihua and the others were still outside the city, Prefect Song quickly ordered Zhao Lian to leave the city.

Because the city is too dangerous, we can't let her stay here too long. If she gets infected with the plague, it could be a big or small matter.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Lian disagreed.

“Godfather, I won’t feel at ease until this plague is eradicated. Anyway, we’ve already wasted so much time, so a few more days won’t make a difference.”

"Okay, I'll go out of town first to deliver some food to my grandmother, and then I'll come back."

Prefect Song frowned: "But now the city gates have all been manned by the governor, so it won't be easy for you to leave the city."

Zhao Lian patted her chest confidently and said, "Godfather, don't worry, those few people can't hold me back."

Prefect Song nodded: "Alright, then you'd better be careful."

Yang Mei was overjoyed to hear that Zhao Lian was going to stay here for a few days.

Yang Mei, her face flushed with excitement, said, "Then I'll have Cuizhi tidy up the guest room first. It's been so long since we've had a proper chat!"

Seeing Yang Mei's excited and loving expression, Zhao Lian felt a warmth in her heart.

Zhao Lian originally planned to leave the city after dark, but she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to find Yan Guihua later and that they would worry. After thinking about it, she decided to go out as soon as possible.

Yang Mei asked Liu Ma to bring about ten kilograms of rice and two pieces of meat, and then gave them to Zhao Lian.

"Zhaolian, please give my regards to your maternal grandmother."

Zhao Lian didn't stand on ceremony and readily accepted it, her face beaming with joy: "Yes, thank you, godmother. I'll be going now~"

There's a plague going on right now, and even if you have money, you might not be able to buy anything in this city, so she naturally wouldn't refuse.