Chapter 598 - 475: A Great Epidemic

Pei Jian acted quickly; without confirmation, he decided to trust the content of Lin Miao’s letter and implemented her suggestions without any changes.

This trust even surprised Zhuo Qingfeng, who worked as a strategist.

To his understanding of Pei Jian, for such a significant matter, he would have at least waited for confirmation before issuing such an order.

One must understand that if it turns out to be false, Pei Jian’s emergency "epidemic prevention" order, if proven necessary, would be fine; if it’s a false alarm, the court would hold him accountable.

Especially given the current presence of the Imperial Envoy in Dongshan.

Although the Imperial Envoy Su Mobai is here for an investigation, technically, he is the highest official in Dongshan and even Lanzhou.

Doing something without consultation, without reporting, and issuing orders like sealing city gates and enforcing curfews without discussing could lead to serious consequences if misunderstandings arise.

"Qingfeng, go personally to Shanglin Temple and explain the situation to Mr. Su. Request him to inform Mr. Cui and Mr. Tie to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

"I understand, Qingfeng."

"Convene a meeting with all departments of the Dongshan Prefecture Medical Bureau. Everyone must attend; those who don’t show up without special circumstances, the Prefecture will hold them accountable!"

"Yes."

...

Outside the city, Miao Manor.

"Young Master, besides our affiliated Erli Village, Xiayuan Village also has suspected cases..." The not-so-good news passed from Yue Mei’Er’s lips to Lin Miao’s ears.

"How many people are in Xiayuan Village, and is it far?"

"Not far, about four or five miles away. Some of our manor’s tenant farmers live there, and they’ll be planting our peanuts this year."

"Mei’Er, have your people survey villages within ten miles, the Xue Family Manor isn’t empty. Although some houses are damaged there, it’s now the most suitable place for isolation. I’ll request Mr. Pei to use the Xue Family Manor as an isolation point for treatment outside the city during this ’smallpox’ outbreak. If the epidemic spreads, we have to prepare for the worst!" Lin Miao said solemnly.

"Yes, Mei’Er will organize it immediately, but we might be short-handed..."

"If we’re short-handed, organize the quick-witted villagers who haven’t been infected, inform them it’s not just about saving themselves, but their families too. If anyone dares to act stealthily and their family catches smallpox, they’ll be left to fend for themselves; there will be no leniency!" Lin Miao commanded. At this moment, we cannot be soft-hearted; prioritize the lives of the majority.

"Understood."

...

"Young Master, the prescriptions you provided are quite effective, especially the Silver Qiao Powder. For patients with mild symptoms who took it right after fever started, the fever has subsided, and their headaches have eased!" Lien Yurou approached Lin Miao to report the good news.

This is her man; too impressive. No wonder her master insisted she stay, for a man like this, if missed, would never be found again.

What’s the problem with being a concubine? It’s like drinking water; only the drinker knows its temperature.

As long as she lives happily, it doesn’t matter what others say. Do those women seeking the status of a primary wife always live blissfully?

"As long as it’s effective, Yurou, thank you for your hard work. If it were just me, I wouldn’t manage." Lin Miao nodded.

These prescriptions are tested recipes passed down over the years; proven effective through numerous practices.

Of course, even with these remedies, it cannot be guaranteed they will definitely save someone, as they mainly enhance the body’s resistance. Whether one can survive still depends on their own potential.

But delaying and relieving symptoms to grant a reaction and resistance time can undoubtedly provide infected individuals a chance to survive.

However, once a patient develops toxic blood syndrome with massive internal bleeding, they are beyond medical help.

Current medical skills and conditions are insufficient to save them.

It’s unclear whether this outbreak of smallpox is major, intermediate, or minor. If it’s one of the latter two, it’s manageable, but if it’s major smallpox, explosive smallpox, it becomes a more severe and frightening issue!

The sky gradually darkened.

Isolation and prevention work in Erli Village proceeded orderly, while efforts in Xiayuan Village just began.

Xiayuan Village isn’t as populous as Erli Village, housing little more than two hundred people, more than half being children and elders.

Many have fallen ill, but they didn’t take it seriously, even mistaken it for a common cold, thinking sweating it out would heal them.

Little did they realize, sweating had no effect; the illness worsened with some even seeking physicians in town, obtaining medicine, only for the fever to return promptly...

If Lin Miao hadn’t sent people to alert them, many would still be clueless.

Thus, they acted overnight, searching household by household for suspected infected individuals, enforcing mandatory isolation. After all, this concerns not just individual families’ lives but the village’s entirety, defying this would provoke the village’s fury.

So, the isolation procedure in Xiayuan Village proceeded smoothly.

However, other villages were not as easily managed, first for their distance, and secondly, their lack of relation with Miao Manor; even if isolation and treatment are free, they might not heed the advice.

Who knows if there’s a trap hidden here?

"Young Master, we now have over a hundred cases; it seems this smallpox has been spreading amongst our surrounding villages for a while now. It’s unclear if we’re the source. If not, it complicates things, added with the city’s condition being unknown. It has been learned that some sought treatment in town, so logically symptoms of smallpox are evident, why is there no indication? The Dongshan Prefecture Medical Bureau is certainly negligent..."