To divorce his wife, the top scholar preferred being cuckolded to wearing a red hat.

The people of Qingzhou City were in dire straits. Xiao Zhan ordered Physician Hu to lead a team to stabilize the patients as soon as possible and find a cure.

Physician Hu knew the task was arduous and there was no turning back: "Your Highness, the most urgent matter is that there are many patients, and the infection is serious. If we close the doors and windows, some of them will inevitably go hungry. If they don't have food, they will go out to find food."

"Just lead the imperial physicians and pharmacists to find a treatment method. Tell me what kind of medicine you need and how much, and I will find a way to get it. In addition to medicine, I will also find a way to ensure everyone has access to essential supplies such as water and food."

The city gates were tightly shut, and the people inside were filled with anxiety as the number of sick increased daily. They also heard that a prince had arrived in the capital and intended to confine them all to their homes, forbidding them from leaving.

Locking them up at home, are we going to starve them to death?

They don't have much food stored at home. Maybe they can stay home for a day or two? But if they stay for ten days or half a month, the plague might not be over yet. Wouldn't they just starve to death at home?

"Do you think the imperial court is planning to abandon us?" In a dark room, several men in tattered clothes gathered together, discussing the situation outside in hushed tones.

"This disease came on suddenly and violently; I'm afraid even the imperial court has no way to cure it."

"Didn't they say some prince came with a lot of imperial physicians? Those physicians must have a solution, right?"

"Don't you see how many people are dying in Qingzhou City every day? If one family gets infected, almost the entire family gets infected."

"What can we do? Going out to wait for death, staying home to wait for death, is also a death sentence. Rather than going out and getting infected, it's better to stay home and lie down, at least you don't have to worry about infecting your family."

“I’m afraid the imperial court doesn’t think that way. Think about it, the situation in Qingzhou City is so serious right now, I estimate it won’t be long before the city is burned down.” A middle-aged man looked at the chaotic street, his tone filled with worry.

"No way, if the city is really burned down, the imperial physicians and princes from the court will die here just like us. No one can guarantee that they won't get infected. If they do get infected, the court won't let them live."

"How do you know the court didn't send a scapegoat?"

"You mean, the people who came this time are the ones the Emperor wants to get rid of?"

“How could we possibly know anything about the Emperor’s affairs? Let’s leave other matters aside for now. The streets are now closed off, and no one is allowed to leave or come out. As for the food issue, will they actually provide it? If they can’t, is there any difference between us starving to death and dying of disease?”

"Let's wait and see. Qingzhou is a prosperous place, the imperial court certainly won't ignore it."

"This is really strange. How did I get this disease when I was perfectly healthy?"

"Who says it isn't?"

……

Su Mingyue was sitting in the carriage with her eyes closed, resting, when she suddenly heard Xiao Xiang's voice: "Master, Master, there is a patient nearby, stop the carriage immediately."

Su Mingyue was immediately wide awake.

I immediately put on a mask, lifted the curtain, and sure enough, I saw a mother and child on the roadside.

A woman in her thirties was holding the hand of an eleven-year-old boy.

The little boy was in serious condition and had fallen into a coma. His wife held him and cried incessantly.

"My son, wake up, wake up. Just hold on a little longer, and I'll take you to see a doctor." The woman, dressed plainly, shook the boy's body, her voice wailing.

“Master, both of them have symptoms of the epidemic. The mother has mild symptoms, while the son has severe symptoms. It can be transmitted through the air and saliva, so please be careful.”

"Is there an antidote?"

"Wait, teleport me immediately." As soon as Xiao Xiang finished speaking, Su Mingyue opened the medicine box and saw several boxes of medicine.

There are traditional Chinese medicines for clearing heat and detoxifying, as well as some Western medicines.

"Xingchun, there's a mother and child by the roadside. I think they're in bad shape. Put on your protective gear, we're going to rescue them now."

The woman by the roadside also saw Su Mingyue's carriage. She looked at it as if it were a lifeline: "Miss, we are ordinary people from Qingzhou City who are visiting relatives. My son is seriously ill. Could you lend us your carriage to take us to the town ahead to find a doctor? He is dying."

Su Mingyue walked up to the boy and checked his breath.

His breath was weak; he didn't have much time left.

She looked at the woman and said, “Madam, I am the doctor. Your son is not suffering from an ordinary illness, but from an epidemic. He has already fallen ill and does not have much time left. If you trust me, I have medicine here.”

The lady listened to her words in disbelief: "Impossible. He just caught a cold. He had a fever and cough the day before yesterday, and we didn't take him to see a doctor on the way here. Now it's serious. How could it be the plague? Don't scare me."

“Whether it’s an epidemic or not, your son doesn’t have much time left. Why not try my medicine? Maybe it will work.”

As they were talking, the boy suddenly woke up and started vomiting blood on the ground.

The lady was terrified when she saw him approaching. She immediately knelt down before Su Mingyue and pleaded, "Miss, please save my son. If you can save him, I will serve you like a slave."

"When did you leave Qingzhou City?"

“Two days ago, I had a slight cough and thought it was just a cold, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. Then I received news that my mother was seriously ill, so I packed a few clothes and left with my son to go back and see her.”

"Were there many patients at the clinic at that time?"

The woman said solemnly, "There were many. The prefect even set up a special treatment center for patients. At the time, I thought I wouldn't be so unlucky as to get infected, but I didn't expect to actually get infected, and I even implicated Xiaoyou."

Su Mingyue took out the medicine and fed it to Xiao You.

"This medicine needs to be taken for three consecutive days. After three days, the symptoms will be relieved. During these three days, you should come with us so we can observe the progress of the medicine."

"Is it okay? Aren't you afraid of getting infected?"

"Yes, I'm scared. But we can't give up just because we're scared. If this medicine works, it will save millions of lives." Of course, Su Mingyue was afraid.

This disease is incredibly contagious; you can easily get infected if you're not careful.

"Miss, are they really infected? If so, how many people have they infected along the way? This disease spreads so quickly, it's not just Qingzhou City that needs to be sealed off." Although Xingchun hadn't seen the situation in Qingzhou with her own eyes, she could imagine how terrible this disease was.

"Take these medicines in a moment, just to be on the safe side. Better safe than sorry." Su Mingyue handed out the medicine to each of them. "The most urgent thing is to take care of them, mother and child. It's not realistic for them to come with us. We don't know how many people they'll infect along the way. Leaving them here alone is no different from letting them die."

“Girl, tell me what to do? My family home isn’t far from here. If all else fails, I’ll go back to my family home and lock myself in. I’ll have my mother bring me all my food.”

"No, you can't go to crowded places right now. You have to stay away from them."

"Then I'll go back with you. We won't get off the bus or have any contact with anyone along the way, okay?" The woman thought of her husband at home and wondered how he was doing. She wanted to go back and check on him.