Chapter 134: The Medicine for the Plague

For several days in a row, under the iron-fisted rule of Shen Fuyu, Qin Yuanqi obediently got out of bed, went to school, finished his assignments, ate his meals, and went to sleep on time. After suffering a few beatings, his bad habits had significantly subsided.

Shen Fuyu was in a rather good mood; whenever the little brat acted out, she had a perfect excuse to give him a thrashing, which left her feeling refreshed and invigorated. Whenever Qin Yuanqi wailed and cried, she would laugh heartily.

"Hahaha..." Shen Fuyu found great joy in watching the little brat roll around on the floor in a tantrum, utterly helpless against her. Of course, the boy didn't have anything nice to say, but his protests were always met with either a beating or Shen Fuyu's mockery. Fortunately, he recovered quickly. When Master Cui at the academy struck his palms with a ruler, and Shen Fuyu struck his backside back at the Crescent Palace, he realized that if he didn't behave, the cycle would never end. After a few days, his bad habits were barely visible, and he even started to take his studies seriously.

"Consort Xian, Sister Yinling, I'm off to my studies." The now-docile little brat headed to school.

Qin Zhiyi appeared at the entrance of the Crescent Palace, just about to step inside. When Qin Yuanqi saw him, the memory of Shen Fuyu’s terror fresh in his mind, he dutifully clasped his hands together and bowed: "Yuanqi pays his respects to his Imperial Uncle." He was incredibly well-behaved.

Qin Zhiyi nodded and, upon entering, asked with some surprise, "You didn't beat him to death, did you?"

Shen Fuyu: "?"

Was her reputation really that untrustworthy?

"Shouldn't you be praising me, Your Majesty?" Shen Fuyu huffed. "It’s only been a few days; look at how well I’ve disciplined him."

Only days ago, this brat had been throwing punches at people and chasing the palace dog, "Qin Shihuang," around. Although he hadn't actually caught the dog, such animal abuse had truly infuriated Shen Fuyu, and she had beaten him on the spot.

"I have summoned the Heir of Prince Ping into the palace today," Qin Zhiyi said. "I ordered him to redeem his past mistakes by delivering disaster-relief grain to the western regions, and I have had Sun Tingjun lead three thousand men to escort him."

For the past several nights, Qin Zhiyi had been staying with Consort Hui, primarily to ensure the Sun family would cooperate with this mission. A portion of the Sun family army had now been recalled to the capital, and Qin Zhiyi intended for Consort Hui's brother, Sun Tingjun, to accompany Qin Zhining.

"The Imperial Astronomer cast a divination for the western regions, and this journey looks perilous. The losses will likely be severe. I suspect an epidemic may truly be underway. Although I have dispatched imperial physicians and medicinal herbs, I still feel..." Qin Zhiyi trailed off, looking concerned. "I would like to ask for your help."

"There's no need for preventative herbs," Shen Fuyu said after a moment of thought. In this era, sterilization basically meant sprinkling vinegar, which was useless. "You might as well have the physicians compile treatment prescriptions from past outbreaks and prepare herbs effective against epidemics."

Shen Fuyu went into the inner chamber and looked back at Qin Zhiyi. "Your Majesty, don't you dare peek!"

Qin Zhiyi: ?

Did she really have to take off her clothes just to find some medicine?

However, Qin Zhiyi was a man of his word. Once Shen Fuyu entered the chamber and closed the door, he remained seated outside. Epidemics were always fierce, spreading from one person to an entire household. Since the founding of the Great Xun, there had been more than one outbreak, and every single one had claimed countless lives. At their worst, several counties had been left nearly deserted. A lack of population would trigger new crises, yet with the current state of medical science, finding a cure was extremely difficult. For the sake of the people in those counties, he could only turn to Shen Fuyu. Only the miraculous medicine she provided could easily resolve such a dilemma.

With a thought, Shen Fuyu entered her personal space. She plucked a few well-grown medicinal herbs from her garden and headed into her small cabin. She had an abundance of pills—treatments for epidemics, protections against them... She flipped through the inventory records, searching row by row, until she finally found the cure for the epidemic tucked away in a corner.

However, there were only three or four pills left in the bottle. Her medicinal field would need another half a month before it could automatically synthesize new ones. It was impossible to give everyone a full pill, and a single pill was so potent that it would make a person instantly energetic—which would be far too suspicious. After some thought, Shen Fuyu grabbed a large bottle, filled it with spirit-spring water, and dropped the few remaining pills into it, shaking it into a bottle of medicinal solution. There was no other way; she would have to dilute it.

Carrying the large bottle and the freshly plucked herbs, Shen Fuyu exited the space and walked out of the inner chamber. Hearing her steps, Qin Zhiyi saw her holding so many things and reached out to take them from her.

"Why do you look like you just crawled out of a mud pit?" Qin Zhiyi frowned slightly, noticing the smears of dirt on her dress.

"My dowry trunks were too dusty," Shen Fuyu lied with a straight face. "The liquid in this bottle is for treating the epidemic. Once the Heir of Prince Ping arrives, have him pour a little into every well. I cannot guarantee it will cure every illness, but it will at least prevent the condition from worsening. Subsequent treatment will still rely on the physicians."

"As for these," she tossed the small bundle of herbs, still clinging with fresh soil, toward him, "grind these roots into powder. Have our men lick a tiny bit of it, and they won't contract the plague."

Qin Zhiyi: "Let's set aside the rest for a moment—just tell them to divide it up and eat it, don't make them 'lick' it."

"Tsk," Shen Fuyu pouted. "I meant that just a tiny bit on the tip of the tongue is enough."

Qin Zhiyi didn't want to argue. Of course, deep down, he found other things even more incredible—for instance, how these herbs looked as if they had just been pulled from the ground. There were so many secrets surrounding Shen Fuyu, and he found himself growing curious about where she obtained all of these things...

"I will instruct them to use it sparingly," Qin Zhiyi said. "And I thank you on behalf of those people." Guilt nagged at him; he thought that if she were a man, such an achievement would easily grant her titles and a place in history, but as things stood, he had no way to reward her properly.

"Don't worry about that. If you tell them to be sparing, they won't," Shen Fuyu waved her hand. "Just tell them that if they take too much, they'll be poisoned, and there is no antidote. Not a single one will take an extra drop." She understood human nature too well. Even in the modern world, if a rumor spread that a certain medicine had some miraculous effect, the next second, you wouldn't be able to find a single lotus-seed mooncake left on the shelves. It was hard to judge whether such behavior was right or wrong, but people were always prone to blind conformity.

Qin Zhiyi was silent for a moment, realizing how true that was. He had learned something new.

"Then I shall take my leave." Qin Zhiyi held the medicine as if it were a priceless treasure. "I have already ordered them to depart after midday."

"Very well, then do go see them off with Consort Hui," Shen Fuyu waved him away heartlessly. "I'm going to take a nap; I'm exhausted." Waking up early every day to accompany that brat to school was simply too draining. As for paying her respects to the Empress, she would skip it; after all, Jing Lanxi couldn't really do anything to her.

"Oh, by the way, Your Majesty," Shen Fuyu called out just as Qin Zhiyi was leaving, "I once read in a book about a country where all the people loved their nation deeply. Do you know why?"