Chapter Thirty-Seven: Suppressed

  "What? Er Gui has got the plague?!" Er Gui's wife shouted out loud, and then burst into loud wailing.

  "You're the one who's got the plague!" Liu Ma Zi's eyes turned red in an instant, and even the blue veins on his forehead bulged out as he grabbed the man's collar.

  "I've indeed seen patients like this before." Looking at Liu Ma Zi's rough and burly appearance, who would have thought that he couldn't even lift the man, but was instead pushed away by him. The man pointed to Liu Er Gui's head with a gentle tone, "His head is swollen to such a large size, whoever sees it once will never forget!" He then pointed towards Zhen Shi Niang, "If she hadn't said she could cure it, I would rather die than speak out. Don't be angry, sir, I'm not a doctor, but looking at this child's head swelling like that plague...I just remembered the epidemic in Wu Xi Town back then. You can think of me as talking nonsense..."

  It's better if he didn't explain, but as soon as he did, the crowd suddenly erupted, and some people began to quietly retreat backwards, avoiding Liu Ma Zi's family like they were plague gods.

  Even Li Qi's face turned pale with shock.

  In ancient times, medical technology was backward. Once infected with the plague, eight or nine out of ten people would die. The mere mention of the plague would strike fear into everyone's heart.

  Seeing the scene getting out of control, Zhen Shiniang slapped her hands loudly, "Everyone quiet down!" Seeing Liu Ma Zi staring at the man with a fierce gaze, she said in a low voice, "I've told you before, I can cure this illness. If you continue to make trouble, your son will really be beyond saving!" Her voice was not loud, but it carried absolute authority.

  Liu Mazi immediately retreated to the edge of the door and repeatedly bowed to Zhen Shiniang, "Please, Doctor Jian, save my son!"

  The two expensive daughters also stopped crying, knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to Zhen Shiniang, as if Zhen Shiniang was Guanyin Bodhisattva who could bring the dead back to life.

  Although she said she didn't believe it, Liu Ergui's illness was so strange that she couldn't help but think of her own body feeling cold for the past two days, with symptoms identical to those when Liu Ergui first fell ill. In her heart, Liu Ergui's wife had already believed the man's words.

  My whole family is likely to be infected with the plague!

  "Jian Daifu is a renowned divine doctor far and near, just give us an accurate word, is he or isn't he infected with the plague?" someone in the crowd shouted.

  It's definitely the plague!

  Ke Zhēn Shí Niáng also knew that once she told the truth, an 8-magnitude earthquake would immediately occur here.

  "...He's just caught a cold, a few doses of medicine will do, it's not even a plague." Seeing the crowd relax, she changed the subject, "Although it's not a plague, this disease is also contagious like typhoid fever, everyone should disperse, don't gather here. I'll leave a prescription later, if anyone is worried about being infected, come back in the afternoon to take some medicine and you'll be fine." Her casual words instantly eased the tense atmosphere on the scene, although hearing that the disease was contagious still made people anxious, but they were no longer as terrified as before.

  The doctor in front of her, Jian Shenyi, has never lost a case since she started practicing medicine. She says it's not the plague if it's not the plague, and no one in this town doesn't believe her words. However, although it's rare to see this famous Dr. Jian, there are only a few people who dare to approach her, as everyone wants to see how she treats illnesses.

  No longer paying attention to the hesitant crowd, Zhen Shiniang had someone carry Liu Erguan into the sickroom.

  To facilitate those seriously ill patients who need to be observed at all times, Li Qi, on the suggestion of Zhen Shining, specially added a dozen or so rooms in the backyard of the pharmacy as wards. For people who come to stay here for treatment, apart from charging medical fees, they also charge an additional rent. Not only did the number of patients increase, but the income also rose. Li Qi was deeply convinced of Zhen Shining's extraordinary talent and would often boast about her to others.

  And that's why Zhen Shining's reputation spread so quickly.

  "...Isn't he really a plague?" Li Qi asked Zhen Shimu in a low voice after instructing the young apprentice from the pharmacy to go to the backyard to collect the medicine.

  "Give him a separate room, and do not allow anyone to visit...". Without giving a direct answer, Zhen Shiniang calmly instructed some preventive measures against infection.

  He himself opened a pharmacy, Li Qi didn't understand what was going on, his face turned pale with shock, he turned around and walked away with a stern expression.

  Zhen Shi Niang also called Huang Qin, Xuan Shen were placed on the six pieces of yellow paper in the cabinet, Feng Xi blinked his eyes, "...since Jian Niang also said it was a cold syndrome, why not use Cheng Qi Tang, but use Huang Qin, Xuan Shen?" When he just came in, he asked Zhen Shi Niang, and she also said it was a cold symptom.

  Cold syndrome naturally requires using Cheng Qi Tang to purge and induce sweating, the prescription he came up with removed Ban Lan and Gan Cao, which is the famous Cheng Qi Tang in modern hospitals.

  "Although it's the same cold syndrome, the patient's head and face are swollen, obviously the evil toxin is attacking upwards, the disease is in the heart and lungs. Using Cheng Qi Tang to purge downwards can only discharge the heat from the stomach and intestines, but cannot clear the evil toxin from the heart and lungs, so I used Huang Qin to drain the lung meridian's evil heat..." Zhen Shi Niang explained casually while skillfully dividing the medicinal herbs.

  Most of the medicines she had come into contact with in her past life were Western medicines. As for traditional Chinese medicine, although Zhen Shiniang understood pharmacology and knew many prescriptions and processing methods, she had few opportunities to see real objects. Almost all the Chinese medicines she saw were already made according to the prescription by the pharmaceutical factory, and they could be used directly. Therefore, every time she came to Rui Xiang Medicine Shop, she seized every opportunity to "practice" and learn to identify various medicinal materials by their smell and shape, and sort out medicinal materials. These were all essential basic skills for her to open a medicine shop in the future.

  After several years, he has actually developed a good kung fu skill.

  She was used to her prescribing medicine for people every time, thinking she was keeping a secret, and Feng Xi didn't say anything, only frowning and tasting her words.

  "...He really isn't a plague?" Zhen Shi Niang was weighing the fresh licorice root, when a clear voice sounded beside her ear. She lifted her head to see that it was the middle-aged man in brocade clothes from earlier, who hadn't left and was standing in front of the counter looking at her, "...You really can cure this kind of illness?"

  She glanced at him faintly, Zhen Shi Niang didn't say a word, lowered her head and poured the remaining licorice root on the scale into the last pile of medicine, turned back and skillfully pulled open the drawer containing white silkworms.

  "My sister lived in Wuhan, seven years ago, all seven members of her family died from this disease." The man's voice was tinged with sadness and a hint of unease.

  Is this little girl ignorant or really confident that it's not the plague? She dares to be so arrogant, and doesn't even notify the authorities about such a big thing, nor take timely isolation measures.

  To know, if she is careless, it will bring a disaster to this small town.

  What's more, although this place is remote, it is a crucial location in the capital, located between the Upper Capital City and General Shen's Fenggu Great Camp, only tens of miles away from both places. If an epidemic really breaks out, it will spread with the wind, and the Fenggu Great Camp has hundreds of thousands of troops stationed there!

  The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the man's face turned slightly pale.

  Feng Xi suddenly lifted his head, and the man was staring intently at Zhen Shi Niang's back, with a sincere gaze that revealed an unhidden fear. Feng Xi couldn't help but turn to look at Zhen Shi Niang, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes, and his fingers on the counter trembled slightly.

  The action of taking medicine stopped there, and Zhen Shiniang slowly turned around.

  "...The plague was called the Toad Plague, and those who contracted it were exactly like that patient, with red, swollen faces, eyes like lines, and cheeks puffed up like a toad." Seeing Zhen Shiniang turn back around, the man spoke sincerely, "At first, the town's doctors thought it was just a cold, just like this gentleman, and used Xiangqi Decoction. But as time went on, things got worse and more people died, they became afraid... The imperial court was alerted, and the government isolated the entire town, only allowing entry, not exit... Doctor Jian doesn't believe me, he can go check, the government has records..."

  "Th...th..." Feng Xi's forehead was suddenly covered in cold sweat.

  The client wants to invite me for dinner tonight, so today's update may be a bit late.