The most worrying thing happened, the epidemic finally spread to the palace.
This meant the fall of the entire Daye.
Although Shen Que had just woken up, he didn't care much anymore and hurriedly dressed and entered the palace.
Li Luansong couldn't persuade her, so he forced her to drink a bowl of ginseng chicken soup before entering the palace together.
The palace was already in chaos, and the dead palace residents were carried out and burned directly to prevent infection.
The empress was in the royal study, and the ministers were also investigating the cause of the epidemic in the palace. It is said that a young eunuch in the imperial kitchen who was responsible for transporting rice, noodles and vegetables was the first to contract the epidemic. After that, he threw the person into the well when he found someone dead. Then I couldn't hold it in any longer.
There seems to be no doubt, but no matter how much I think about it, something feels wrong.
The little eunuch is responsible for the entry and exit of rice, noodles and vegetables every time, but they are screened at all levels. The person who delivers the food first has a daily pulse diagnosis and drinks preventive and therapeutic herbs before he can contact the people in the palace. Moreover, the two parties are not face to face, but the food. The seller delivered the things to the door, and the little eunuch went to pick him up when he saw the person leaving. There was no direct contact. Moreover, they were all wearing scarves. This alone had many loopholes.
What's more, it took at least three to five days from the time the little eunuch contracted the epidemic to the time he died. Why didn't anyone find out? Why did he jump into the well after he died? How could he jump into the well? This was obviously intentional. .
Everyone was talking about it, and the atmosphere in the imperial study room was full of anger and decadence.
Shen Que and Li Luansong ordered someone to boil the soup and bring it in. She remembered that she had drank ginseng chicken soup in the past few days. Although she couldn't explain the reason, she seemed to think it had something to do with it. In short, it was good to increase nutrition.
It was distributed to everyone, and everyone drank it with thanks but still couldn't hide the exhaustion on their faces.
The emperor was very happy to see them coming, and was even more surprised when he learned that both of them were well.
Everyone was tired after staying up for a few days. The two persuaded the emperor and empress to let everyone go back to rest. Then Shen Que and Li Luansong sat down to discuss how to split up.
"Yu Yuan, it's better to take a rest. You're just right. Leave all this to me."
Li Luansong still didn't trust her, Shen Que shook his head:
"I'm fine, don't worry, Your Highness. Let's fight side by side."
Li Luansong is responsible for the treatment of the people outside the palace. After all, the place is still in dire straits, and the number of imperial doctors has to be reduced, so the burden is not light. But fortunately, the Nikkei is in order, and he can take charge of the overall situation.
Shen Que is responsible for the treatment in the palace. There are still many things to do here. First, check the pulse one by one and isolate them. Those who show signs of it will also be isolated separately. They will be observed for a few days. The remaining people will stay at home and have the same meals every day. Time is sent to each palace.
"First of all, we must ensure the safety of our father and mother. This is the foundation of Daye." Shen Que said, "I will take care of it myself. Your Highness, don't worry."
"Send some imperial troops from outside the palace to strengthen the defense in the palace. As for taking care of patients, Shen Silan, Zelan, and the Zhang family have rich experience. Your Highness can just assign them."
Shen Que pondered and explained one by one, "In addition, how did this epidemic come about? His Highness sent people to quietly check and prevent it."
Li Luansong said: "I have sent people to investigate, but there is no news yet."
Shen Que said: "Well water, check all the wells in Jin'an City."
"Also, I collect ginseng to make ginseng chicken soup. I can't explain the reason yet, but it seems to be effective. I can share one portion every day for everyone to drink."
There are also such tasks as washing, cooking, and fumigating mugwort, all of which have been agreed upon one by one.
It was almost dawn and the two were about to separate. Li Luansong held Shen Que's hand tightly: "Yu Yu, please be careful and don't work too hard. I will write to you every day."
Shen Que hugged him, feeling wrapped in warmth, solid and at ease.
As the sun rose in the east, Li Luansong left the palace and rushed to his "battlefield".
Shen Que stayed in the palace to check his condition, and everyone checked their pulse one by one and assigned them to different places for isolation. The only good thing about the palace is that the place is big enough and is convenient for isolation, but it makes it difficult for her to run around.
Emperor Xiaochun specially added a sedan chair for her, which greatly saved time. He checked everyone in just two days, and all those with severe cases were pulled out of the palace for treatment, while those with mild cases were kept for observation.
That night, she received a letter.
It was written by Li Luansong to her. She thought he would greet her in a formal way, and then tell her to take care of herself and take medicine and eat well. Who knew that the letter actually had ten thick pages.
Shen Que was shocked: ...Are you writing a storybook?
When I opened it and took a closer look, I was even more surprised.
He explained everything to her in detail, almost like a debriefing.
He said: Shen Silan and Zhang Guanhua, two delicate little ladies, are now quite "sisters". They take care of patients in a decent way. They know everyone's situation well, and they don't even need to check the pulse record.
There are also several daughters-in-law of the Zhang family, including Princess Li Le, who take the women to bathe, cook, and prepare medicine every day, working tirelessly, and they no longer show the squeamishness they once had.
He asked Zelan to lead someone to make ginseng chicken soup. The quantity of ginseng was precious and not much, so it took a lot of time to boil it. Simply slice it and use it repeatedly. All the pharmacies in the capital took out the ginseng, and the stocks of aristocratic families also came. Handed over for unified deployment, he said: "Yuanyu, this is all due to you. Although everyone is in difficulty now, we are united. It is really touching."
He also personally selected good ginseng and asked someone to bring it to her. He said that these were not much and were for her to drink. Shen Que asked her not to ignore her body. Shen Que laughed and shed tears. When did this person become a mother-in-law.
It was a small piece of ginseng, of excellent quality. She called Eunuch Shi and asked him to tell the kitchen to cook chicken soup for drinking. Eunuch Shi ran off in a hurry.
He also talked a lot about what he did and ate every day. He liked the dishes but some were not delicious. He missed the snacks and fruits she made. He also said that many women took the initiative to teach him how to have babies. He did not waste the experience of raising a baby. He found someone to write it down. When he went back to compile it, it was a parenting booklet. He gave it to you and ordered Yuanyuan to study it. He also studied it together. He will definitely not be like his father, queen and mother. , I don’t care about raising him, I just let him grow up.
He would also tell her what the groups of people sent out had done, where they had gone, and how they were progressing. It was not easy to send a message every day for thousands of miles.
Under the candlelight, Shen Que carefully read the letters one by one, which almost cured her of the day's fatigue.
I picked up a pen and wrote him a reply, as verbose as he was, telling him what I had eaten and drank, and what my father-in-law had been nagging recently, and my ears were calloused.
The father, the queen, and the queen are all very well, and Lao Qi and Lao Ba are by their side. Everything in the palace is fine. There are signs of the epidemic spreading, but she can control it, so he doesn't have to worry.
"I don't know how long it will be before I see His Highness. I miss you."
This was the first time that Shen Que had the feeling of deeply missing someone, thinking of his appearance, the words he had said, and even the "chapter" he gently left on her lips.
How could the originally upright and steady young lady be led like this by him? Shen Que was shocked when he reflected on himself. However, that feeling was only known to two people. It should be nothing. He thought secretly in his mind. Just think about it.
It was also a thick pile of letter paper. She also drew a small picture for him at the back. Under the moonlight, a young lady raised her head to look at the moon and missed her lover. Before the letter was sent, she began to look forward to his reply.
Late at night, Shen Que remembered what Li Luansong said about missing the snacks and fruits she made, so he changed his clothes and cooked in person, making him custard, cheese, pickled pork ribs, and the pickles he learned to make from the empress.
After eating and drinking enough, I miss home. Dad always said that eating comes first in all important matters in the world.
It's such a simple truth, but it's filled with the warmth and affection of family members.
After packing the things and giving them to Eunuch Shi to send out, Eunuch Shi sighed repeatedly: "Your Highness, this is really... great."
What was so good? He didn't explain clearly because Shen Que asked him to talk less, but Shen Que understood and smiled and said:
"My father-in-law Shi recently tasted some medicine and achieved great success. Everything in the dining room has been reserved for you. Go and eat."
The old man was so excited that he didn't know what to do and went to the dining room happily.
In difficult situations, it is even more important to eat well, drink well, and be in a good mood, so that you can have the strength to fight against it.
However, Emperor Xiaochun couldn't hold on after all and contracted the epidemic.
When Lao Ba came to deliver the news, he burst into tears. The almost sixteen-year-old boy suddenly lost his backbone. He was usually calm and steady, but now he was completely confused.
Wiping away tears, he said: "My father is feverish and comatose. He doesn't respond no matter how he calls. My mother is anxious to attend to his illness. I didn't let her come over for fear of getting sick. Brother, go and have a look. I'm so scared. My father won't do it." Something will happen."
He had grown up with Emperor Xiaochun since he was a child, and his relationship with His Majesty was naturally deeper than others.
Shen Que comforted him: "It's okay, Xiaoba, don't be afraid. My father is in his prime and his son is well, so don't worry."
She was comforting Lao Ba, but she was also comforting herself.
In fact, abnormalities in His Majesty's pulse have been discovered during the pulse diagnosis these past two days, so some medicines were added for prevention and treatment in advance, but in the end, they still couldn't resist it.
The two hurried to the imperial study room, and Shen Que asked Lao Ba to stay outside to prevent infection.
Li Luan happily nodded in agreement, suddenly raised his robe and knelt down, kowtowed to him three times, and said: "Brother, to be honest, I once doubted my eldest brother. I always felt that my eldest brother was the same as my second and fifth brothers... Now I am the eighth brother." I see it clearly and know how much my eldest brother feels about my father, so eldest brother, my father, please leave it to me."
This child was very thoughtful. It turned out that he was worried that the competition would be detrimental to his father. Shen Que smiled and helped him up:
"If a real brother doesn't say such things, he is also my father. You should follow Brother Seven and be careful about yourself."
Lao Ba nodded in agreement, raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears, and watched her hurriedly enter.
Only the eldest companion and a young eunuch beside Emperor Xiaochun were left in the palace, and everyone else was sent out.
After diagnosing the pulse, Shen wrote a prescription, ordered someone to boil the medicine, and then ordered someone to make ginseng chicken soup. Emperor Xiaochun's symptoms were not very serious, but he had some long-standing symptoms, so she was particularly careful when prescribing.
The queen couldn't sit still in the palace and rushed over. Shen Zhen had no choice but to let the empress sit far away under the window and enjoy the breeze.
Emperor Xiaochun was still in a coma. Most of his companions helped him sit up. Shen Que held the medicine bowl and fed him the medicine. He blew on each mouthful first and tried the hot and cold before feeding it to him. One bowl of medicine was enough for him. Half an hour.
The queen asked anxiously, "Are you awake?" Shen Que said not so quickly, "If the situation is good, he should be able to wake up after tonight. After a while, he will be fed some chicken soup, and the queen will also drink a bowl."
When the queen heard about the chicken soup, she quickly covered her nose and said she wouldn't drink it. "It's been chicken soup for the past few days. I almost drank it as water. When I burped, it smelled like chicken shit."
Shen Que couldn't help laughing: "My mother is in a good mood, so she doesn't get sick."
The queen was right, "You are right to the point, he..."
She held the handkerchief and lit it to Emperor Xiaochun and said: "I have been thinking a lot these days. What if the epidemic doesn't get over? What if you two can't get better? What if the people lose their patience and rebel. …”
"I have no way to deal with him. I thought too much when I was young. That's why I can be the emperor. Your mother, who has a temperament like yours and doesn't think about anything, will definitely not be able to be the emperor."
While Shen Que was applying the veil for Emperor Xiaochun and listening to the Queen's chatter, Shen Que couldn't help but think of Li Luansong. Like father, like son. Seeing him careless, he was actually very thoughtful.
"There is something he doesn't know about right now. When he wakes up tomorrow and finds out, he might faint again." The queen looked melancholy.
Shen Que asked what was going on.
The queen sighed and said: "There was chaos in the palace, and some timid people ran out while it was in chaos. It's silly, the outside is not as good as the inside of the palace. No, the one in the cold palace was taken away by someone."
ah? Shen Que was startled, a bad premonition flashed through his mind, and he quickly asked: "What about Li Luanfeng, is he still there?"
As soon as these words came out, the queen suddenly realized, her face suddenly changed, and she quickly sent someone to ask, but as expected, she ran away.
The two women looked at each other and had no idea for a moment.
Hearing the sound of "ouch" from the person on the bed, Jiang Jiang woke up and heard the news, and he fainted again.
