The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

Chapter 222 Arrival in the Epidemic Area

After gathering information, Li Muxia gained a preliminary understanding of the epidemic. Upon returning to her room, she began writing letters home, knowing that it would be difficult to send letters once she went to the epidemic area.

After writing a letter home, I took out another sheet of paper and briefly explained that I was going to the epidemic area. This was for Jishishanzhuang.

After everything was finished, it was already dark. Li Muxia lay down on the bed, ready to rest. These past few days she had been numbing herself with busyness. Every day, apart from traveling, she spent the rest of her time researching various medicinal herbs and prescriptions. It was rare for her to go to bed so early today.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, her long-forgotten thoughts slowly swept over her mind.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and all her composure and calmness vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of grief.

I buried my head in the blanket, trying my best not to cry out loud.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Cui'er and Hong'er brought in water, and Li Muxia was already up, as she didn't have the habit of sleeping in.

After washing her face, Cui'er set out breakfast, and the three of them ate as usual. No one noticed that Li Muxia had cried last night.

The journey was arduous, but fortunately, Fuhai was not far away, and we arrived in three days at a fast pace.

At this time, the General's Mansion also received a letter from Li Muxia. Upon seeing the words "epidemic" on the letter, the old general felt a wave of dizziness.

General Li quickly stepped forward to support the old general and said, "Mu Xia, this time she's really being reckless. How could she go to such a dangerous place?"

The old general suddenly seemed to have aged several years. Knowing that he could no longer stop Li Muxia, he said weakly, "The Emperor sent Prince Rui to Fuhai Prefecture to oversee the situation, fearing that the epidemic would spread, causing panic among the people and leading to riots. This time, Prince Rui brought ten imperial physicians with him. Go to Prince Rui's residence and tell the Prince about Muxia's situation, so that he can take care of Muxia."

After saying this, the old general waved for General Li to leave, and sat there for a long time without getting up.

Dongfang Jincheng had already learned from the Shadow Pavilion about Li Muxia's trip to the epidemic area, so when General Li arrived, he guessed his purpose and readily agreed. The original plan was to depart early the next morning, but he insisted that General Li leave immediately.

The people all thought that Prince Rui was worried about the people in the epidemic area, but only he knew that he was just afraid that the people in his heart were in danger.

Dongfang Jincheng did not stop along the way. By the time he arrived at the capital of Fuhai Prefecture, it was already five days later. The soldiers and imperial physicians who were with him were all exhausted and their bodies ached.

Li Muxia had already entered the epidemic area two days ago.

When they arrived, the soldiers guarding the city intended to drive the three away, but when Li Muxia revealed that she was a doctor, the soldiers went down to report, and the city gates opened shortly afterward.

Li Muxia gave the masks she had prepared in advance to Cui'er and Hong'er, and took protective measures herself before following the soldiers into the city.

After Li Muxia entered, she found that the epidemic in the city was still very serious. Everywhere on the street, two soldiers could be seen carrying a corpse, heading in the same direction.

Even without looking, it's obvious that those were people who died of illness.

Cui'er and Hong'er had never seen such a scene before. Terrified, they hid behind Li Muxia and whispered, "Miss, are they all dead?"

Li Muxia didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

The soldiers led them to the government office, expecting the magistrate to come out, but instead it was the clerk.

The soldier introduced the newcomer, saying, "This is Master Chen from the government office."

Then he said to the clerk, "Clerk Chen, these three are the new doctors."

Upon hearing this, Master Chen quickly stepped forward and said, "That's wonderful! What we need most right now is doctors. Most of the doctors in the city are unwilling to take on patients. It's really great that you've come."

Li Muxia nodded to Master Chen as a way of greeting him.

Somewhat embarrassed, Master Chen asked, "May I ask how the three of you are addressed?"

Li Muxia then introduced himself: "My name is Xia Mu, and I am a doctor from Jishi Manor. These two are my younger brothers."

Then, pointing to Cui'er, he said, "This is my second brother. You can just call him Xia Er."

Pointing to Hong'er, he said, "This is the third brother, you can just call him Xia San."

Hong'er and Cui'er were speechless when they heard the names their young mistress had given them; how convenient!

When the advisor heard Xia Mu's name, he was so excited that he couldn't speak. It was the Immortal Physician! The Immortal Physician had arrived. Maybe this epidemic could really be brought under control.

The advisor asked, excited yet somewhat uncertain, "Are you really the Immortal Physician Xia Mu?"

Li Muxia nodded: "Yes, it's the real deal."

Li Muxia had planned to reveal her identity from the beginning, so that she could save a lot of effort in the subsequent treatment.

Upon hearing this, the advisor excitedly reached out to grab Li Muxia's hand, but Li Muxia skillfully dodged it.

Master Chen didn't feel embarrassed at all, and said excitedly, "Great, great! The Immortal Physician has arrived, we are saved."

Seeing Master Chen's agitated state, Li Muxia quickly said, "Master Chen, please calm down."

Master Chen then realized his lapse in composure and quickly apologized, "Immortal Physician, I'm sorry, I was too excited."

Li Muxia understood his feelings and said, "You can just call me Xia Mu."

Master Chen: "Yes, okay."

Li Muxia: "Master Chen, please tell us about the current epidemic situation."

Then he took out a pre-made mask from the package: "And this, this is a mask. Try to make more and distribute them to everyone. This can effectively control the spread of the epidemic."

Master Chen took the mask from Li Muxia's hand, looked at it, and found that it was the same as the one worn by Li Muxia and the others.

"No wonder you've been carrying it around all this time; it turns out it has this function too."

After saying that, he handed the mask to the yamen runner next to him, gave him a few instructions, and the yamen runner took the mask and left.

Next, Master Chen invited the three of them to the back room and gave them a brief overview of the epidemic in the town.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, in just five days, half of the town’s residents have been infected. Since yesterday, some infected people have been dying one after another. Of the dozens of clinics in the town, only two or three are open to treat patients now, while the others are basically closed.

Most infected people initially present with symptoms such as fever, chest pain, and cough, and doctors treat them as common colds. To this day, the exact cause has not been found.

Tide Village, where the first case of the illness appeared, was completely locked down. Medical conditions there are poor. A doctor from a clinic in the town applied to go to the village to treat the villagers and investigate the cause of the illness. However, there has been no news so far.

Initially, some uninfected people wanted to leave the city, but the magistrate, fearing they would spread the disease, sent troops to suppress them several times until people died, at which point the people stopped causing trouble.

The people in the city lived in constant fear, worried that they might be executed by order of the imperial court before they even succumbed to the plague.

It's no wonder they're worried; something similar has happened before, and the entire city's inhabitants were eventually ordered to be burned alive.