Seeing this, He Zhiran quickly explained: “Elder Brother Meng need not worry. The master who taught me medicine once gave me a prescription for treating plague. Those people have now been given the medicine and are no longer in mortal danger.
What I want to remind you is that those villagers were already infected with the plague before going up the mountain. The origin of the plague is still unclear now, and we cannot rule out the possibility that people from surrounding villages are also infected.
Therefore, I hope you will keep this matter in mind and send more people to investigate the situation. If anything is found to be wrong, measures must be taken immediately.”
Regarding He Zhiran’s claim that she had a prescription for treating the plague, Meng Huaining did not completely believe it.
After all, the plague was different from other diseases. He had heard from his elders that during the plague in the Da Shun Dynasty era, many doctors lost their lives without being able to come up with a cure.
He sincerely believed in Mo Jiuye’s character and was willing to believe that his wife was a good person.
But for such a major event as treating the plague, Meng Huaining did not dare to be careless at all.
If it was not handled properly, thousands or even tens of thousands could end up dead...
“Sister, is your medicine really as effective as you say?”
Peng Wang could testify to this.
“Brother Meng, I saw with my own eyes people on the verge of death being saved. There is no doubt about this.”
With Peng Wang's testimony, Meng Huaining did gain some more confidence.
At the same time, he also felt that immediately cremating the corpses made a lot of sense.
In order not to exacerbate the situation, Meng Huaining immediately gathered manpower to cremate the corpses of the commoners that had been salvaged.
Last night, upon hearing about the flooding here, Meng Huaining had written a memorial overnight to report to the imperial court, hoping that the court would send an imperial envoy as soon as possible to resolve the crisis.
In less than a day, he wrote another memorial report about the outbreak of the plague.
As for how Emperor Shunwu’s side would arrange things, there was currently no way for him to interfere with the emperor's own decisions.
If it had been those with less courage, even if they deeply understood the importance of cremating the corpses, they probably would not have dared to implement it without an order from the imperial court.
This showed Meng Huaining’s wisdom and courage.
Seeing Meng Huaining handling things in an orderly manner, Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran simultaneously developed admiration for him.
By the time all the corpses of the commoners that had been salvaged were cremated, the sky was almost dark.
For the first time in front of He Zhiran and the others, Meng Huaining revealed a hesitant look.
After thinking it over, Meng Huaining reluctantly spoke up.
“Sister, I know this may be asking too much, but as a local official responsible for the people, I have no choice but to think about treating the commoners under me.”
He Zhiran immediately saw through what was on his mind. He was preoccupied with the prescription for treating the plague.
Even if it was Emperor Shunwu himself who came to ask her for it, she would not have given out the prescription.
However, the person before her now was different. Setting aside Meng Huaining’s future achievements for the time being, just looking at the present, he was responsible and had a sense of responsibility.
Moreover, this was someone she intended to get acquainted with Mo Jiuye.
With so many reasons, He Zhiran would naturally not be miserly.
Although she had spent a lot of effort in her previous life researching this prescription.
Her goal in working hard to study it was precisely to be able to treat more people. Now that there was an opportunity to treat even more people, and she could also owe Meng Huaining a huge favor, He Zhiran did not feel any pressure to provide the prescription.
Seeing that He Zhiran had not responded for a long time, Meng Huaining thought that she was unwilling.
“Sister, I guarantee that no one other than myself will know of this prescription. I will also not let anyone know that it came from you. Also, I will have many people purchase the types of medicinal ingredients, so as not to draw suspicion. Once the crisis passes, I will personally destroy the prescription. Does this sound feasible?”
He Zhiran had never intended to reject Meng Huaining’s request in the first place. Now that the other party had already said so much, she would naturally not be pretentious.
“Alright, I trust that Elder Brother Meng will definitely keep his word.”
Soon, Meng Huaining sent someone to fetch paper and writing brush.
He Zhiran was already extremely familiar with the prescription she had formulated. The only thing that troubled her was whether she could write the complex characters of this era properly.
Especially when using a writing brush, she had not taken any calligraphy classes in her previous life.
For this, she could only place her hopes on the memories of the original owner.
He Zhiran hesitated for a moment before picking up the brush, then made two strokes on the paper. Immediately afterwards, she lowered the brush tip.
Whether it was due to the habits of this body or something else, when He Zhiran used the writing brush to write the complex characters of this era, she was actually very skilled.
Not only that, the words she wrote were all neat and well-structured. It was evident that the original owner had put in a lot of effort in this area.
Once the ink on the prescription had dried, He Zhiran handed it to Meng Huaining.
“Here is the prescription. If anyone asks about it in the future, I hope Elder Brother Meng will help conceal some parts for me.”
It was still unknown what would become of Mo Jiuye in the future. As his wife, she must not gain fame for herself externally, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Meng Huaining took the prescription and put it away carefully. He earnestly cupped his fist towards He Zhiran.
“Sister, rest assured. I will never reveal this matter. Similarly, I will definitely fulfill my promise.”
“Then I can rest easy.” He Zhiran replied with a smile.
Seeing that it was getting late, Peng Wang made arrangements to return to the mountain and decided to rest for the night before setting off the next morning.
As for the villagers on the mountain, Meng Huaining would also send people to settle them the next morning.
The few bid farewell to each other and by the time they returned to the cave, the sky was completely dark.
The sisters-in-law had long roasted the remaining game and were waiting for He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye to return so everyone could eat together.
Nothing else of note happened that night.
The next morning, Peng Wang urged everyone to continue on their journey.
The villagers sincerely kowtowed to thank their lifesaver He Zhiran. He Zhiran also exhorted them that if they were grateful for her lifesaving grace, they must not say that it was her who saved them.
Although the villagers did not know why the goddess doctor who saved them was unwilling to leave her name, they still promised under her request not to speak of it.
The sudden flooding had not only submerged Village Chief Liu’s village. After walking a section towards the west, devastation could be seen everywhere.
It was clear how many innocent commoners had been harmed by this great flood.
Alas, natural disasters did not differentiate between ancient and present times. When facing such things, humans were the most vulnerable group, and no one could resist the heavens...
Including the yamen runners, everyone no longer had much in the way of living supplies on them. Although this made it a lot easier to travel, it also brought many more inconveniences at the same time.
Take their three daily meals for example. Not only was there no grain, but it was also very difficult to find clean water sources.
Fortunately, they found some pots and other items washed away by the flood. This solved some of their burning problems.
Despite having cookware, the surrounding areas were severely stricken by disaster, and there was simply nowhere to purchase food ingredients.
Left with no other choice, He Zhiran could only lead everyone to forage for wild vegetables from the mountains they passed to get through the days.
They lived this way for four consecutive days. Finally, on the fifth day at noon, everyone arrived at Anning Prefecture.
