Villainous Fake Eunuch (6)
“Follow him!” The system in her mind cheerfully spoke out.
Song Xuyi carefully looked at the man in front of her. The man was still unremarkable, a head taller than her, with a thin body like a bamboo pole, as if he would fall over with a gust of wind. However, Song Xuyi had witnessed his ghostly and unpredictable movements, knowing that this thin body contained incredibly powerful strength.
Over the past few days, Song Xuyi had also observed the man’s character. Just like the system’s impression, Song Xuyi also felt that this was a trustworthy person and did not doubt that he was lying.
However, after seeing the arrogance of those soldiers, Song Xuyi had an additional layer of concern in her heart—currently, the emperor had only sent people to surround this mountain village. If the epidemic became more severe in the future…
This body at least still had the identity of a princess, which served as a sort of talisman. If it came to the point of no return, Song Xuyi could reveal her identity to protect these people. But if she left, Song Xuyi had no idea what the soldiers would do to the villagers.
Thinking this way, facing the man’s slightly squinting eyes, Song Xuyi shook her head, “Thank you, but I cannot leave.”
“But could you deliver a letter for me?” Song Xuyi continued, her gaze towards the man carrying a hint of pleading, “This letter is extremely important to me. If you need compensation, I can give you a generous reward in the future.”
The man looked at the earnest gaze on Song Xuyi’s fair face, something quickly flashed in his eyes. He pressed his pale lips together and nodded.
Song Xuyi breathed a sigh of relief.
She walked into the village, asked a scholar in the village for some paper and a pen, quickly wrote the letter, and handed it to the man.
“Please make the effort to send the letter to Wanzhou Post Station. If anyone asks, just say it’s a letter from Song Xuyi to Gu Ruyu…”
“Gu Ruyu?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
Hearing Song Xuyi mention Gu Ruyu’s name, the man seemed to be taken aback. It wasn’t until Song Xuyi called out “Young Master Zhao” that the man came back to his senses and nodded to Song Xuyi.
“Thank you, you are truly a great person,” the man was unremarkable in appearance, but had a heart willing to help others. Song Xuyi’s face broke into a smile, and she sincerely thanked him, “I don’t have much to offer now, but if we have the chance to meet again in the future, I will surely repay your kindness.”
“A good person, huh?”
A hint of sarcasm appeared at the corner of the man’s lips. His gaze swept across Song Xuyi’s smiling face, pausing for a moment, and his fingers twitched as if something had burned him. Then, he lowered his eyes again, “No need for thanks. I helped you, and in the future, I will come to claim the reward I desire!”
The man didn’t look at Song Xuyi again, took the letter, and turned to walk towards the road out of the village…
Song Xuyi also breathed a sigh of relief.
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She had placed the earrings she wore during her escape inside the letter and falsely claimed that she was currently trapped in Wang Family Village, in a dangerous situation, hoping that Gu Ruyu would come to rescue her as soon as possible. After all, Gu Ruyu was responsible for her protection at this time. If something happened to Song Xuyi, Gu Ruyu would also be held accountable. Upon receiving the letter, Gu Ruyu would certainly rush to her aid.
Even though after this incident, Song Xuyi might never find another opportunity to leave Gu Ruyu’s team, she had no other options at the moment.
Accompanied by the sigh of the system in her mind, Song Xuyi turned around and headed towards the old doctor’s house.
Because of the presence of the old doctor, even though the symptoms of the epidemic in Wang Family Village seemed extremely severe, the villagers, due to their trust in the old doctor, were scared but had not lost their sanity.
The old doctor’s house was deep in the village, near a mountain hollow, which made it convenient for the old doctor to gather herbs in the mountains. After a long day, the old doctor and his family were already very tired. By the time Song Xuyi arrived, the old doctor’s family had already closed their doors.
Not wanting to disturb their sleep, and since the weather was not too cold, Song Xuyi found a small shed next to the old doctor’s house that was used to store miscellaneous items. She took out some clothes, used them as a pillow, and curled up in the shed to get through the night.
Song Xuyi herself didn’t feel too bad, but the system was heartbroken, constantly nagging in her mind, “Xuyi, you shouldn’t have come here in the first place…”
“But I am already here!” Song Xuyi curved her lips into a smile, closed her eyes, and felt sleepiness wash over her. “System, I am glad that I can help these villagers in their times of difficulty. Not everyone has the power I have now…”
Just as she was about to fall asleep, an image flashed through Song Xuyi’s mind. It seemed as if she was hiding outside a door, looking at someone dazzling in the distance, and an overwhelming sense of inferiority surged in her chest… However, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
Song Xuyi was awakened the next morning by the cries of the mentally impaired child.
From inside the house, the anxious voice of an elderly woman could be heard, “Old man, come quickly! Qiu Ge’er looks very pale and seems to have a fever…”
“Old man! He’s passed out!”
“…”
Song Xuyi yawned and opened her eyes, instinctively stretching her body.
Last night, she felt a bit cold halfway through her sleep and was about to wake up. However, for some reason, she fell into an even deeper sleep at that moment, and after that, she no longer felt cold, as if she were sleeping next to a heater—an indescribable comfort.
Despite curling up all night, Song Xuyi’s body didn’t feel the expected pain or stiffness. Her joints moved smoothly, and she even felt a surge of strength throughout her body…
Listening to the commotion inside the house, Song Xuyi stood up. From her vantage point, she could clearly see what was happening inside: the child called Qiu Ge’er was unconscious, his face ghastly pale, lips white, but his cheeks were flushed with an abnormal redness.
The old doctor, with a grave expression, took Qiu Ge’er’s pulse and then, with furrowed brows, took out silver needles to begin acupuncture…
Song Xuyi pressed her lips tightly together.
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Time passed slowly. Despite the chilly morning temperature, sweat soaked the old doctor’s back. Song Xuyi’s heart remained in her throat until nearly an hour had passed. When the old doctor finally inserted the last needle and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, Qiu Ge’er, who had been in a deep sleep, finally moved his fingers slightly and slowly opened his eyes—
“Administer acupuncture once every night from now on, and Qiu Ge’er will wake up,” the old doctor said with a smile, comforting the anxious woman beside him. “Qiu Ge’er has actually turned a misfortune into a blessing! His previous lack of comprehension was due to stagnant blood in his brain. This fever has loosened the congestion, and with continued acupuncture, there is a great chance Qiu Ge’er will regain his senses…”
The elderly woman was overjoyed, hugging the bewildered Qiu Ge’er who still didn’t understand what was happening. Song Xuyi was also happy for the elderly couple and showed a smile. However, it wasn’t long before the old doctor’s smile gradually faded, as if he suddenly aged several years. He trembled and sat down on a chair.
“Wang Ren!” The elderly woman, noticing the old doctor’s expression, raised her voice and called him by his name, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. Under normal circumstances, it would be fine, but right now, you absolutely cannot!”
“Qiu Ge’er has finally got a chance to recover and become a normal person,” the elderly woman said, wiping her tears in anguish, “He’s only six years old. If he loses this opportunity, he will be dull and confused for the rest of his life! I know you care about our fellow villagers, but no one but you can perform acupuncture on Qiu Ge’er!”
“Qiu Ge’er’s father is already gone, and we won’t live much longer. Do you have the heart to let Qiu Ge’er live his life in confusion?”
The old doctor pressed his lips tightly and said nothing, but Song Xuyi understood: performing acupuncture required an enormous amount of energy, and in his current state, the old doctor had no strength left to focus fully on researching the epidemic.
On one side was the worsening epidemic, and on the other was his young grandson. Such a choice was indeed extremely difficult!
……
“Doctor Wang,” Song Xuyi took a deep breath, stepped out from the shed, and bowed deeply to the old doctor. “I am willing to help you!”
When the old doctor first heard that Song Xuyi wanted to help treat the epidemic, he initially wanted to refuse. He knew that yesterday’s incident was a misunderstanding and that the girl in front of him was intelligent and kind-hearted. However, the epidemic was extremely dangerous, and one could easily get infected. It wasn’t something just anyone could help with, and the old doctor wasn’t willing to take that risk.
However, after Song Xuyi demonstrated her knowledge of medicinal herbs and her grasp of modern sanitation practices, the old doctor remained silent for a long time. Meeting Song Xuyi’s pleading eyes, he sighed and led her into the pharmacy.
In the pharmacy were the prescriptions that the old doctor had prepared. He had already cured several people with this prescription, and it only needed dosage adjustments to be widely administered. The current challenge was the issue of reinfection: some people who had seemingly recovered often got sick again, requiring the treatment dosage to be modified, which increased the danger significantly…
In modern times, this problem would be easily solved: patients with different symptoms would be sent to different wards for centralized observation.
However, now being in ancient times with extremely poor sanitary conditions, implementing sanitation measures was extremely difficult.
The next step was to gather the patients together.
Song Xuyi used money to rent two houses from a wealthy family in the village, planning to separate mild cases in one house and severe cases in another.
However, this was an outrageous suggestion for the villagers of Wang Family Village. Especially after discovering that the soldiers had already forbidden them from leaving the village, the villagers feared that gathering the sick together would lead to their extermination. They adamantly refused to move in, not to mention that Song Xuyi also asked them to boil cloth strips and wear them on their faces, which seemed like a ridiculous joke to them.
Seeing the sick wandering around and more and more people showing symptoms, Song Xuyi became increasingly anxious and had no choice but to go into the village with Doctor Wang to persuade the villagers. The first few households were manageable, but the last one was a violent and aggressive man. After hearing Song Xuyi’s explanation, he sneered, approached her, and grabbed her shoulder, trying to pull off the cloth strip from her face. “Since you say that the disease is spread through the air, why don’t you infect yourself and show me…”
Suddenly caught off guard, Song Xuyi didn’t react in time.
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Before the man’s hand could touch the cloth on Song Xuyi’s face, he let out a howl of pain and released her, stepping back while clutching his hand—
The man had used a lot of force, causing Song Xuyi to stumble and involuntarily take a few steps back. Just as she was about to fall to the ground, she felt a pull at her waist and tumbled into a familiar, seemingly solid embrace—
Looking up, Song Xuyi saw the familiar profile of the man who called himself “Zhao San.”
Zhao San furrowed his brow, his pale lips pressed tightly together. His gaze towards Song Xuyi was mixed with emotions that she couldn’t quite decipher.
Song Xuyi, however, couldn’t care less about the emotions in Zhao San’s eyes. The big man was getting up from the ground, seemingly about to attack Zhao San, but Zhao San remained still. For some unknown reason, the man fell back to the ground, clutching his leg and wailing like a ghost…
At that moment, Song Xuyi finally let out the breath she had been holding. Just as she was about to express her gratitude, her eyes suddenly widened—under Zhao San’s chin, there appeared to be a mark that looked like something had been glued there…
What was this?!
LP: Re-translated on August 14, 2024