Chapter 498: Breached
Ye Zhen followed Xia Yaohua and the others to the medicine storehouse. She wondered if she was mistaken. Not counting the medicinal herbs sent from the medicinal field this year, based on the number of medicinal herbs sent in the past, the store of the Huaijiang Medical Bureau could not possibly only have such a small amount of herbs left, right?
"This is… Is this all the medicinal materials in the bureau?" Ye Zhen looked at the empty store, then at the most common medicinal herbs. These were the most worthless ordinary medicinal herbs. Most of them were antipyretics and detoxifiers. The medicinal herbs that had been sent from the medicinal field before were not even a shadow of what was available. These bags of medicinal herbs, compared to those sent by the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, were not even worth a fraction.
Xia Yaohua said in a low voice, “This is still good. When we first came here, there wasn't even a blade of grass inside."
Ye Zhen took a deep breath. “Where are the medicinal herbs from the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard?"
When she was in the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, she liked to visit the medicinal field, so she knew how many herbs the courtyard sent to the Huaijiang Medical Bureau every year. Looking at this store now, she was at a loss for words.
"The people here said that the Imperial Court never delivered the medicines. The store has always been like this," Liu Yun whispered.
"Doesn't Imperial Physician Qi find nothing amiss?" Ye Zhen frowned. It seemed that there was something wrong with the Huaijiang Medical Bureau. She refused to believe that Imperial Physician Qi could not tell.
Xia Yaohua said, "How could Imperial Physician Qi not know? It's just… So what if she could tell? A letter was sent to the capital, but we are yet to receive a response. I just hope that nothing really happens. Otherwise, I don't know how to use this small amount of medicinal ingredients."
Ye Zhen walked into the store to take a look at the medicinal ingredients. It was fine if she hadn't looked at them, because once she did, she felt angry. “Where did this come from? How was this sent by the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard? Did they send someone to the mountain to pick it up?"
"These are pretty good now. We've already carefully selected them, and have been drying them for a few days. When they first arrived, there were weeds inside," Liu Yun said.
"It seems that Huaijiang has someone who can cover the sky* ( fraudster)." Ye Zhen sneered. Even the medicinal ingredients sent by the Imperial Court they dared to embezzle, let alone the Disaster Silver.
[*To hide the truth from the masses]
"The dam broke! The dam is breaking!"
A sharp cry suddenly sounded from outside the medical bureau. A bolt of lightning in the sky seemed to split open the heaven and earth. The rumbling thunder was louder than ever.
A startled Ye Zhen was hastily walked out.
The official residence next door had soldiers going in and out. The civilians who had been hiding in their homes from the rain had all come out to take a look.
"The dam has broken. Everyone, quickly go to a higher place."
"The dam has broken! The dam has broken!"
Huaijiang City, which was originally quiet, seemed to wake up. The people started to move things to the attic.
Perhaps it was because the buildings in Huaijiang City were different from those in the capital, most of their houses were built with lofts. Now, most of the people were moving their precious things up high.
"Damn! Imperial Physician Qi and the others are still at the embankment." Ye Zhen was anxious thinking of Huangfu Chen and Imperial Physician Qi. She wondered if they would be able to come back unscathed.
"Xue Lin, I'm going to find Master and Imperial Physician Qi," Ye Zhen said to Xue Lin, who had been guarding her all this time.
"Your Highness, absolutely not! At the moment, there must be chaos outside the city. The dam collapsed, and this is no small matter. You cannot leave the city." Xue Lin immediately stopped her. How could he let the princess take the risk?
Ye Zhen was aware of the danger outside the city. The Huaijiang Medical Bureau couldn't afford to lack personnel, but she was still worried about Huangfu Chen and the others.
Xue Lin immediately said, “Your Highness, why not let this subordinate look for them first? If there's any news, this subordinate will report back immediately. Please, Your Highness."
By evening, the water on the streets outside had reached knee level. More and more people were taking refuge in the city. These people were from the villages outside the city. In the beginning, the authorities would send people to settle them. However, with the increasing number of people, there was no place left to settle them in the city, so they simply ignored them.
Standing under the eaves of the medical bureau, Ye Zhen frowned as she looked took in the scene outside. The city was already full of water. One could imagine what the villages around the dam had become. She was still very worried about her master and Imperial Physician Qi, hoping that they would return safely.
"Help, help!"
At this moment, Ye Zhen suddenly heard someone shouting for help.
It was a mother and son who had entered the city to seek refuge. The child looked to be seven or eight years old, but for some reason, he had fainted in his mother's arms and did not move.
"Quan Fu, go and bring that child over," Ye Zhen hastily ordered.
Xia Yaohua and Liu Yun were bandaging the people's wounds. The medical bureau had already taken in many people who had been injured in the process of escaping. Dai Mei and Quan Fu had also come to the medical bureau to help.
Quan Fu carried the child over. The mother cried as she shouted, “Save my child. Can someone save my son?"
"Put him on the bed," Ye Zhen said to Quan Fu, immediately taking the child's pulse. She was a little shocked at the result. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. It was so hot! “Madam, when did your child get sick?"
"I don't know… I don't know…!" The woman shook her head while crying. "I've been taking care of my husband for the past few days. I just found out that my child is sick."
Ye Zhen checked the other parts of the child's body and had a bad premonition. “What's wrong with the child's father? Where is he?"
The woman cried and said, “I don't know either. A lot of people around the house are sick. I don't know when he got it. Imperial Physician Qi was coming to see him. This morning… In the morning, he didn't have any breath (died). I wanted to hold a funeral for him, but I didn't expect there would be a flood. I had no choice but to leave with my child."
Could it be that Imperial Physician Qi went to their village for a medical visit? This illness didn't seem easy to treat.
"Sister Xia, does the medical bureau have a separate room?" Ye Zhen whispered to Xia Yaohua.
"Only the store is empty now. Some of the other rooms have been filled with water, and some others have already been occupied," Xia Yaohua said.
Ye Zhen nodded slightly and said to Dai Mei, “Go and clean up and have this child stay in the store first. All of you put on your masks*."
[*Oh boy! This is where this author displays her uncanny prediction abilities. This book was completed before 2019, but the treatment method is exactly like the pandemic in 2020]
Xia Yaohua was also a doctor. At Ye Zhen's words, she immediately understood that this little boy's illness was different from the others. It might be contagious.
"I'll prescribe the medicine first. All of you should be more vigilant," Ye Zhen warned. In her heart, she was worried that there were still many among those taken refuge in the city sick like the little boy. If they had the same illness, the infection would probably spread even faster.
And the village that the woman mentioned, if… If her husband had died and they’d been too late in burying, now that he had been washed away by the flood, who knew where the corpse would be.
It wasn't until nightfall that Xue Lin returned with Huangfu Chen and Qi Jin. Huangfu Chen's clothes were drenched while Qi Jin was unconscious. Her forehead was wrapped in white cloth stained with blood.
"Master, what happened to Imperial Physician Qi?" Ye Zhen hurriedly asked.
"When the embankment broke, she was knocked over and hit a corner. She was almost washed away by the water," Huangfu Chen whispered.
♚♚♚