Torrential rain poured down for several consecutive days, causing the Wei River to swell and flood the farmland and houses, leaving victims homeless.
Before they could even catch their breath, the scorching summer sun hung high in the sky, baking the earth for three straight days. Steam rose from the dampness, making the air as stifling as an oven.
In the military tents, the injured victims—originally suffering from mere scrapes, bruises, or sprains—saw their wounds quickly swell, fester, and ooze pus under the harsh conditions and the contamination of sweat as bacteria rapidly spread. Once inflammation wasn’t treated promptly, it would lead to high fever!
“Your Highness! Dozens more victims in the quarantine camp have developed persistent high fevers today! Four additional deaths have been reported! The military’s stock of wound medicine and fever-reducing herbs is nearly depleted!”
Crown Prince Qin Zhao set down the documents he had been reviewing and looked out at the glaring sunlight beyond the tent, his brow heavy with gloom.
“This epidemic has finally arrived…”
After a flood, epidemics are often more devastating than the flood itself.
That is the true battle—the struggle against death.
“Zhao Jingxing, Commander of the Zhechong Garrison!”
“At your command!”
Qin Zhao’s voice was resolute. “Draft an urgent dispatch immediately and send orders to the neighboring prefectures and counties! Command them to gather all available wound medicine, heat-clearing, and detoxifying herbs without delay—collect as much as possible! Before dawn the day after tomorrow, they must dispatch fast horses to transport the supplies to the camp! Those who delay will face military punishment!”
“Your command is received!” Zhao Jingxing clasped his fists, turned, and swiftly left the tent to arrange messengers.
Inside the tent, the heat was unbearable.
Crown Prince Qin Zhao sat in the center, his gaze falling on a small white bottle on the table—no taller than a hand’s breadth, bearing strange characters, a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao Aerosol.
If only he had this, along with the miraculous medicine that could quickly reduce fever, containing this epidemic would be no trouble at all!
“Jiang Yi!”
“Your subordinate is here!” Jiang Yi bowed as he entered the tent.
“Has the person you sent to keep watch still not seen the shop open?”
Jiang Yi replied with difficulty, “Your subordinate will dispatch additional personnel immediately!”
The Crown Prince sighed. “What good will more people do? Will more people make the shop open?”
In the villages of Xianshui and Baiyang, there were over five thousand disaster victims combined.
Adding those injured in the earlier flood, more than five hundred people were now experiencing coughs and persistent high fevers.
Moreover, this number was increasing daily!
Zhao Jingxing, in coordination with the magistrate of Ping’an County, cordoned off an area several kilometers away on a patch of wasteland and rapidly set up a simple yet orderly quarantine camp.
All patients with high fevers, whether military or civilian, were relocated there for isolation and treatment.
Inside the quarantine camp, several large iron cauldrons boiled water day and night. The air was thick with the mixed scents of medicinal herbs and the sour smell of boiling vinegar.
Patients’ clothing, bowls, chopsticks, and cups—anything that could be boiled—were immersed in boiling water. The ground was strewn with lime.
Qin Zhao stood on a temporary watchtower at the edge of the quarantine camp, gazing at the figures struggling on the brink of life and death, his expression grave.
Hot winds swept sand and gravel across the camp, stirring up clouds of dust.
He raised his head, looking up at the merciless sun scorching the earth, and cried out in his heart:
Heavens above! If there truly are deities, if there truly is miraculous medicine, could you… favor this humble prince once more!
Outside the Grocery Store
Several carriages arrived from all directions, all coincidentally stopping in front of Jixiang Grocery.
The coincidence was as if they had planned it.
As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, Madam Zhou looked disdainfully at the shabby shop before her.
Having lived a life of luxury since childhood, she had always used only the finest things.
Her rouge, face powder, and daily necessities were all specially customized by the renowned Xiangbao Pavilion in the city—exclusively for her!
If it weren’t for the fact that the scent on Madam Wang of the Chen family was so alluring, given her status, she would never have set foot in such a rustic village shop in her lifetime.
Weeds grew all around, with only this single shop standing there, as if abandoned.
The tightly shut wooden door seemed to emanate a chilly gloom, eerily cold even in the sweltering summer heat.
Looking at this dilapidated building and its worn-out signboard, she couldn’t help but doubt:
“Can the things sold here really be used? Won’t there be any problems?”
“Oh, isn’t this Madam Zhou? What a surprise to run into you here!”
Madam Song stepped out from a nearby corner.
The sudden voice startled Madam Zhou, almost causing her silk handkerchief to fall.
Only when she saw that it was Madam Song did her shock turn to indignation.
Madam Song had arrived at the shop entrance early and knocked several times, but no one answered. Just as she was about to leave, she saw the Zhou family carriage approaching.
She had instructed the coachman to park the carriage under a tree and waited quietly in the corner.
Madam Song had always disliked Madam Zhou’s demeanor. Relying solely on a good marriage and having given birth to two sons, her status in her husband’s household was secure, and she always carried herself with an air of superiority.
Clearly desiring something, yet pretending to be aloof and above it all.
Madam Song had only borne a daughter, which forced her to find ways to please her husband in hopes of having a son to secure her position.
Over this matter, Madam Zhou had often mocked her, ridiculing her for resorting to undignified tactics like a concubine despite being the principal wife.
“Madam Song, appearing out of nowhere like a ghost! One might think you’re up to no good here!” Madam Zhou steadied herself and retorted.
“Oh my, how you exaggerate! I’m just here to buy something from this grocery store. People from humble households like ours can only shop at such village stores. I can’t compare to Madam Zhou, who always uses exclusive custom items from Xiangbao Pavilion. But isn’t Xiangbao Pavilion located in the east? Why is Madam Zhou here? Could it be that you’re lost?”
Madam Song fanned herself with an old round fan, smiling as she approached.
“I… naturally use only things from the city. I was just passing by and saw this shop, so I decided to step down and take a look.”
“Step down and take a look? In this scorching heat, with the shop closed? What is there to look at? Besides, didn’t I hear you say last night, ‘What good things could a village grocery store possibly have? Who knows what kind of filth you might catch from using their products’? Wasn’t that said by you, Madam Zhou?”
“I… When did I ever say that?!”
Just as Madam Zhou finished speaking, two more carriages arrived.
It was Madam Kong and Madam Deng.
Madam Kong greeted them with a smile. “What a coincidence, running into both of you sisters here. I met Sister Lotus on the way, so we came together.”
Madam Deng chimed in, “Madam Zhou is here too! Could it be that Madam Zhou also heard about the fragrant soap sold in this grocery store and came here specifically for it?”
Madam Deng was still young and spoke her mind freely.
Madam Zhou straightened her clothes. “As a respectable principal wife, why would I need such attention-grabbing things? The scent is so strong it’s vulgar—clearly not something a decent household would use! Only concubines like Madam Wang would use such things. I’m merely curious.”
Her words offended both Madam Kong and Madam Deng, as both of them were concubines.
Madam Song laughed. “Of course, Madam Zhou is different from us. She’s not here to buy fragrant soap—she’s here to watch the spectacle! But the Zhou residence is in the east of the city, so far away. For Madam Zhou to arrive at the same time as us, just to watch a spectacle, she must have woken up awfully early, right?”
Madam Kong and Madam Deng couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.