Chapter Thirty-Six: The Plague of Boils

  "Go get my bamboo hat." Zhen Shi Niang didn't say another word, tossing her gloves to Qiu Ju, while walking towards the house, instructing her with her mouth.

  "Miss!" Qiujie grabbed Zhen Shiniang's arm and stared at her with wide eyes, speechless.

  These days, Zhen Shiniang's legs have gone soft even when walking, how can she make house calls?

  "Let me just take your pulse, you're overexerting yourself." Zhen Shining softly coaxed her.

  Qiu Ju stubbornly pursed her lips and grasped Zhen Shiyin's hand, refusing to let go.

  Li Qizhen's wife smiled and said, "Don't worry, Autumn Chrysanthemum girl. I know Ah You is not in good health, so I've already hired a horse carriage to wait outside the alley on the opposite street. Ah You will only help with the diagnosis, and there are assistants at the pharmacy, she won't be overworked."

  These two years, Jian Dafu's reputation has been getting louder and louder, and only his family can invite him out, making more and more people go to the pharmacy to see a doctor, business is booming, Zhen Shi Niang is the auspicious sign of their pharmacy, Li Qi's wife hates that she cannot make Zhen Shi Niang a board to worship, and is extremely polite to Qiuju Xi.

  Jiuzi saw the chrysanthemum and didn't move, Li Qie's wife was anxious and her face turned red, "A You... this..." She looked at Zhen Shiniang hastily.

  Liu Ergui was almost out of breath, the entrance of the pharmacy was surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside, business could not be done, the more delayed, the greater the impact on the reputation of the pharmacy.

  Zhen Shining patted Qiu Ju lightly and said, "You go quickly." Her gentle tone carried an air of unquestionable authority.

  Qiu Ju pouted, reluctantly went into the house to fetch a bamboo hat, and while helping Zhen Shi Niang put it on, she said in a muffled tone, "Why don't I go with you?"

  How can this be!

  Although Qiu Ju was young, she went up the mountain to chop firewood every day, worked in the fields, and bought rice at the grain store. With her lively and likable personality, everyone in Wutong Town knew her. If she followed him, it wouldn't take half a day for the whole town to know that the mysterious Dr. Jian was actually her husband, Zhen Shiying. Wouldn't people seeking medical attention crowd the entrance of their ancestral home?

  What's more important is that if Shen Zhongjie finds out, I'm afraid it won't even be possible to discuss divorce, and instead he'll directly send over a white cloth for wrapping the dead and a cup of poisoned wine.

  "No need." Zhen Shi Niang pointed to the lotus root in the yard and instructed, "...... You just stay at home and continue to sort out the lotus root, pick out the bad small ones, wash them and make lotus powder. Zhang Da Ge will lead people to buy it soon, the price was discussed yesterday, half a cent per catty, you remember to collect the silver."

  "Don't worry, Miss Qiuju. After I've finished seeing the doctor, I'll send Ah You back with a car!" Seeing that Qiuju was still worried, Li Qizhen's wife smiled and repeatedly assured her.

  ……

  A crowd of people gathered in front of Rui Xiang Pharmacy.

  "Look at this, what kind of crappy doctor is this? A good kid, and one dose of medicine ends up like this!" Liu Mazi blocked the door of the pharmacy, cursing loudly. "If you don't give me an explanation today, then don't even think about selling another dose of medicine!"

  He was originally fierce in appearance, and had been hunting for many years with a murderous aura. He stood there like an iron tower, looking exactly like a malevolent spirit. Who would dare to go in and buy medicine?

  They all gathered at the entrance of Rui Xiang, looking at Liu Er Gui wrapped in a quilt and lying on the door board, pointing and discussing.

  The second daughter-in-law knelt in front of the door and wailed loudly, "My son, you're going to die, I won't live either!"

  "The insider has already gone to invite Dr. Jian, the great divine doctor, and Brother Liu has something to say slowly as he enters the house..." Li Qi was sweating profusely, his mouth dry from begging, and he almost knelt down to kowtow to Liu Ma Zi.

  "What... whether you're a divine doctor or not!" Intimidated by Jian Dafu's reputation, Liu Ma Zi didn't dare say the words "fake divine doctor". He pointed at the door panel where his son Liu Er Gui was unconscious and said: "My son is right here. If you cure him today, then that's it. But if you can't, I'll make your whole family pay with their lives!" He drew out a curved hunting knife from his waist and waved it in front of Li Qi's eyes.

  Look, a cold light flashed before his eyes, and Li Qi's body hair stood up instantly. His legs softened, and he almost fell to the ground. He barely supported himself against the door post, and when he looked up, he saw Zhen Shi Niang's carriage approaching. Immediately, he shouted loudly, "Jian Daifu has arrived!" His excited voice changed tone.

  The noise suddenly subsided, and everyone turned their heads in unison.

  The horse carriage stopped behind the crowd.

  "Make way, make way! Master Jian is here!" Fanning Zhen Niang down from the carriage, Li Qie's wife shielded her with her body while calling out to the crowd to part.

  Zhen Shining was afraid of being recognized, but Li Qiao's wife was even more afraid.

  Once Zhen Shining was recognized by people, it's likely that no one would come here to see a doctor or buy medicine anymore. The Zhen family home directly became a medical hall.

  Although they couldn't see her face, as soon as they saw Zhen Shiniang's getup, the crowd immediately gave way and cleared a path.

  Er Gui's daughter also stopped crying and quickly opened the door, "Please, Doctor Jian, save my father Er Gui..."

  The noise and shouting were all due to the deep-seated fear of losing their son, now that they saw the legendary and mysterious divine doctor had really arrived, Liu Ma Zi and his wife didn't dare make any more trouble, afraid of delaying their son's treatment, but towards Zhen Shi Niang, they were extremely respectful.

  “…Four days ago.” Xian Shi Niang squatted down to take Er Gui's pulse, and Feng Xi dared to come out of the medicine shop with a gloomy face. “...At first, his eyes were red and his face was hot, he hated the cold and had a fever, the pulse was floating and rapid, pressing it was thin and wiry… The diagnosis is definitely wind-cold, using thick Pao, big yellow, horned melon, and mang Xiao, after taking the medicine, he got better on the same day, but who knew that the next day his head and face were swollen, I added licorice root, platycodon, and ginger...” Feng Xi muttered to himself, looking at Er Gui who was left with only a breath of air, his face turned green. “According to Dr. Jian's opinion, it shouldn't be a cold syndrome?” He shook his head again, muttering to himself, “...It doesn't make sense, whether it's the pulse or the symptoms, they are all typical of severe cold.”

  This is indeed a cold.

  But it's not just an ordinary cold, it's a big headache!

  After feeling the pulse, examining the eyelids and tongue coating, looking at Liu Ergui's swollen head like a cow's head, Zhen Shiniang was certain that he had contracted the Big Head Epidemic. Although she hadn't seen such a case with her own eyes, her mentor in her past life had specifically mentioned this disease when lecturing on the Treatise on Cold Damage.

  Epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, also known as epidemic cerebral meningitis, is caused by wind-heat evil toxin. The main characteristics are swelling and fever of the head and face, often occurring in winter and spring. What's most frightening is that this disease has a very strong contagiousness, and was called "epidemic disease" by ancient people.

  She recalled that when her mentor mentioned this disease, she had also looked up the information. In ancient times, similar epidemics such as "Tou Huang" and "Xia Ma Huang" did break out, and once infected, most people were beyond salvation. Thinking of these things, Zhen Shi's eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

  Not modern, the medical conditions here are so poor, and people are superstitious... will an epidemic break out?

  "What exactly is wrong with my son?" Seeing Zhen Shining's tightly furrowed brow, Er Gui's heart hung in suspense.

  "Is it really wind and cold?" asked Liu Ma Zi, "......can it be cured?"

  "I can!" Zhen Shi Niang replied without hesitation.

  "Can you really cure it?" A man in his thirties, dressed in brocade, suddenly jumped out of the crowd and looked at Zhen Shiniang incredulously. "This is a plague, I saw it in Wuxi a few years ago, once contracted, there's no cure, back then the whole town was wiped out!"

  It seemed as if he had recalled the miserable situation of that year. As soon as the words came out, the man shivered with a chill.