After eating and drinking her fill, Lin Qingge remembered the important matters.
"Right, Physician Murong, don't you have a prescription for treating the plague? Please write down the medicinal ingredients needed for the prescription. I'll have Er Niu, who is guarding the roadblock, deliver the prescription back. Master Hua can then prepare the medicines according to the prescription."
However, upon hearing this, Murong Bai frowned in difficulty, "I do know the prescription, but unfortunately, there's no paper and pen here."
"Although there's no paper and pen, I have a good way to record it!" Yan Tinghao wiped the oil stains from his mouth with the back of his hand, got up, and fetched a plank used for building houses from a pile of materials nearby. Then, he drew a dagger from his left boot. "Physician Murong, you speak, and I'll carve it onto the wooden plank."
Seeing Yan Tinghao prepare himself, Murong Bai no longer refused and began to recite the ingredients one by one. To Lin Qingge's surprise, although Yan Tinghao was carving with a dagger, his speed was not slow. Almost as soon as Murong Bai finished reciting the name of a medicinal ingredient and paused for a moment, he would have finished carving it.
As if Lin Qingge's surprised gaze was too obvious, Yan Tinghao, having finished recording, chuckled heartily, "When I was young, I disliked studying and wasn't good at writing, so I preferred wielding weapons. Thus, my father came up with this method of carving words with a knife. At first, it was very difficult for me to carve, but thinking that using a dagger was better than holding a brush, I gritted my teeth and persevered. Later, not only did I become much more proficient with a dagger, but I also remembered the unfamiliar characters I didn't know before."
Once again sighing about how Yan "Hanhhan" had a good father, Lin Qingge had the latter deliver the carved wooden plank to Er Niu. She herself put on her mask again and began to patrol the area.
That evening, the first to protest were the villagers who should have returned home after sunset. Since most of the villagers were from Jiugou Village, Lin Qingge summoned the village chief of Jiugou Village. To avoid gathering, they both explained to the villagers one by one. Lin Qingge had originally intended to keep it a secret for another day. Once Murong Bai had researched and finalized the prescription for this plague, she would make it public. However, plans rarely went smoothly, and coupled with the severe shortage of manpower, she could only offer partial reassurance for now. Lin Qingge did not enforce anything, adopting a purely voluntary principle. Any villager who passed the initial screening could choose to join the temporary teams for patrol or transporting supplies.
After a busy night, Lin Qingge received the news that Zhuangzi was in critical condition. As Lin Qingge was about to enter the tent, Murong Bai, who had just come out, stopped her. "The air inside is turbid, so you shouldn't go in."
"But—"
"You are neither a physician nor Zhuangzi's family. What business do you have here?" Murong Bai scolded without reservation and said impatiently, "I've done all I can. For the rest, we can only leave it to fate and his own fortune."
Thus, the two returned to the open space where they had been before. Due to limited supplies, Murong Bai disdainfully took off the thing he had modified from his handkerchief, called a 'mask', and placed it far away. "There's still some time before dawn, so get some rest. We might have a tough fight tomorrow." After speaking, Murong Bai carried a stack of dry grass, spread it on the ground, sat down, patted the non-existent dust off his shoulders, and raised an eyebrow, "My shoulder is free for you to use, it's free."
Looking at the seductive devil whose every smile and frown was enchanting, Lin Qingge subconsciously shook her head, "Forget it, I don't want to be tricked by you." With that, she sat down on the other side. Sleepiness washed over her. Having been busy all day, Lin Qingge drifted off to sleep.
When the morning sun shone on her face, Lin Qingge groggily opened her eyes. Her thoughts returned. Remembering what had happened yesterday, Lin Qingge belatedly realized that a dark red garment was covering her. Judging by its style, it should be a constable's uniform issued by the government. Yan Hanhhan?
"The night dew is heavy, and I was afraid you, Lord Lin, would catch a cold, so I asked Constable Yan to take off his outer garment and drape it over you." Looking at the charming man who had woken up at some point, Lin Qingge's mouth twitched. Although she appeared male and was not a delicate young girl, according to the melodramatic plots, wouldn't this scoundrel be the one to take off his clothes and put them on her?
"I am frail and weak, far from being as robust as Constable Yan, so I could only ask Constable Yan to endure some hardship."
...
Speechless, Lin Qingge sincerely felt that his being single until now was entirely due to his own abilities. At this moment, Yan Tinghao, wearing only his inner garments, ran over from a distance, "My Lord, you're awake?"
"Mm." Lin Qingge stood up and returned the dark red constable's uniform to its owner. Yan Tinghao was putting on his clothes while muttering, "Really, my Lord, you were so fierce to me even when you were asleep. I was just covering you with a garment, and you pinched me hard. My wrist is still bruised."
"I pinched you?" Lin Qingge, who had no memory of it at all, recalled for a long time but couldn't recall anything. Perhaps someone had suddenly approached her in her sleep, triggering her instinctive reaction. Fortunately, she had pinched his wrist and not this foolish man's throat. Feeling a slight pang of guilt, Lin Qingge placed her hand on her lips and coughed lightly, then said sternly, "Constable Yan, do you need something from me?"
"Oh right, my Lord, the Madam has come again."
"Ah?" Although Lin Qingge knew that Leng Ningyue was a person of her word, she was still surprised that the latter had come all this way so early and tirelessly, opening her mouth in astonishment.
Arriving at the roadblock blocked by stakes, Lin Qingge discovered that in addition to Leng Ningyue, Hua Jinrong and several teams were waiting there. "Lord Lin, is everything alright over there?"
"No problems for now." Just as Hua Jinrong was about to ask something else, Leng Ningyue stepped in front of him. "I had women work overnight to make a batch of those things you wear on your face. If it's not enough, I'll send another batch this afternoon. Additionally, I've hired twenty villagers to voluntarily enter the epidemic area to help, at a price of one tael of silver per day. You can assign them any tasks you need them to do. Furthermore, Master Hua has not only gathered medicinal ingredients but also found over half the doctors in Changzhou County. They will enter the epidemic area with the supplies shortly to help treat the villagers infected with the plague."
Hua Jinrong, who had a lot he wanted to say, was rendered speechless. Yan Tinghao led his men to move aside a few stakes to allow people and supplies to enter. Lin Qingge not only found a food container in her hands but also a large bundle. Inside the bundle, besides daily necessities and two sets of changing clothes, was a sleeping bag sewn from oilcloth and a cotton quilt? Although the workmanship was a bit rough, it was effective at blocking the cold and keeping warm.
"Madam..." Lin Qingge's voice choked up. Not only was she managing so many things, but she was also meticulously preparing things for her. Thinking that the other party had likely not slept all night, Lin Qingge looked at Leng Ningyue, speechless for a long time. However, before Lin Qingge could express her gratitude, the elder beside Leng Ningyue suddenly ran over from the side of the stakes with an excited expression, staring intently at the graceful white figure walking in the distance, his face filled with disbelief. "Young Master? Is it the Young Master?"