Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1251: Chapter 1253: The County Magistrate Flees_1

The two didn’t linger in sentimentality for long, as Bai Ruozhu went on to treat the sick, and Jiang Yichun set about his task of arranging manpower to continue the thorough investigation into the traitor and the source of the plague.

Just as Bai Ruozhu finished seeing a batch of patients, Zhou Shu called from outside once more.

Bai Ruozhu’s face sunk, ”Nothing good ever happens when Zhou Shu shows up.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Jia also heaved a sigh, ”No telling how many he has brought in today.”

Bai Ruozhu strode directly out, and Jiang Yichun also came from behind, giving her a comforting look, afraid that she would be fired up by the increase in patients.

Zhou Shu felt a tingling sensation on his scalp under their gazes and spoke hastily, ”Today we found three more people, none of them too serious.”

Bai Ruozhu glanced over and, seeing that it was indeed three early-stage patients, let out a sigh and arranged for someone to take them to the early-stage patient area.

”At, at least the number of new patients hasn’t increased. That should be good news, meaning the disease is under control,” Zhou Shu said as he touched his nose, finding something to say to comfort the two.

Bai Ruozhu gave him a disdainful look, ”We had five new cases the day before yesterday, three yesterday, and three more today, that’s eleven new patients in total. If you call that no increase, then your arithmetic must be terrible.”

Zhou Shu shrank his neck in response, ”Then I’ll continue on to disinfect, to prevent the spread of the plague.”

Jiang Yichun tugged at Bai Ruozhu’s sleeve; it wasn’t Zhou Shu’s fault after all. He waved at Zhou Shu saying, ”Go ahead, and take good care of yourselves too.”

Zhou Shu quickly bowed and withdrew. Every time he delivered patients, it felt like he was committing a grave crime. Indeed, he was so unlucky.

”Now that the situation inside is stable, and Doctor Sun can hold it together, let’s continue our investigation in town,” Bai Ruozhu suggested.

Jiang Yichun nodded. A day without findings meant that maybe tomorrow they would have a clue.

Bai Ruozhu gave Sun Jia a few more instructions and then shed her quarantine coat before she and Jiang Yichun headed into town.

Unfortunately, after making their rounds in town, they came up empty-handed. Bai Ruozhu found this strange. Could it be that the plague really wasn’t man-made, that it truly was an act of heaven?

Frustrated by their lack of findings, Bai Ruozhu suggested, ”Let’s go see if the Wonton Stall is out. We’ll go eat wontons.”

”Sure,” he said, the worry between his brows dissipating. Having her by his side, he felt much more at ease.

Luckily, the old couple who ran the stall were back at it. As the two of them approached, the couple suddenly knelt to the ground and began kowtowing, startling Bai Ruozhu. She went to help them up but then, remembering she had been in contact with patients, quickly retracted her hand.

”We are deeply grateful to you both for standing up for us common folks. Yesterday, we didn’t realize you were people of high status. After hearing that the county officer had been arrested, we finally understood,” the old man said gratefully.

The old woman followed, ”We were too foolish. How could we take silver from such esteemed individuals? Please, take your silver back.”

Jiang Yichun stepped back from the silver the old woman was offering and said, ”Elderly madam, there’s no need for politeness. Paying for food is only right, no matter who you are. Even if the Emperor himself were to travel incognito, it wouldn’t be right for him not to pay. Please keep it.”

”Yes, please get up. We’ve been in contact with patients, so we can’t help you up. If you don’t get up, then we won’t eat your wontons,” Bai Ruozhu said urgently.

After looking at each other, the old couple slowly got up.

”Would the officer and his wife like wontons? I’ll go prepare them right away,” the old man said.

Bai Ruozhu smiled and said, ”Thank you, sir, but I don’t want any green onions in my bowl!”

The two of them eagerly ate their wontons; this time, the elderly stall owner absolutely refused to accept any money, saying that the five taels of silver they had given were enough for many meals. Bai Ruozhu and her companion had no choice but to give up on insisting.

Upon returning to the quarantine zone, even though they had not accomplished much, they had at least enjoyed the delicious wontons, which lifted their spirits.

But soon, bad news arrived, once again delivered by Zhou Shu.

”Lord Jiang, Ma Jun has been let out by his confidant, and now he has escaped from Guangqi Town,” Zhou Shu reported.

Jiang Yichun’s face turned cold, ”I entrusted you with the County Government Office. How did you let him slip through?”

Zhou Shu looked utterly ashamed, ”It is my dereliction of duty. I am ready to accept whatever punishment you decree.”

”Have you found out where Ma Jun has fled to?” Jiang Yichun asked.

Zhou Shu replied with some annoyance, ”After investigating, it appears that Ma Jun has some connections with the Prefecture, so it’s very likely that he has gone to seek refuge there. I have already sent an urgent letter to His Majesty, we cannot tolerate this matter.”

”You handled it appropriately for now. I shall not punish you this time but give you the chance to atone for your mistake. If you perform well in your upcoming tasks, you can redeem this lapse in duty,” Jiang Yichun said with severity.

Zhou Shu hastily bowed, ”Thank you for granting me this opportunity, my Lord.”

After Zhou Shu left, Jiang Yichun sent out a confidential report. If the Imperial Court’s men couldn’t stop Ma Jun, did that mean he was out of options?

The treatment in the quarantine zone continued, and thankfully, there was some good news: among the patients in the initial stage of the illness, two had begun to show signs of improvement, and the conditions of several others had been stabilized.

One of the recovering patients was Xie Er. Learning about his improvement, he said with a laugh, ”I never expected my worthless life to get better. I didn’t care much for it, but now look at me. So you all shouldn’t worry so much either. Just enjoy your food and drinks, and you’ll surely recover quickly.”

Another patient who was improving chased after Bai Ruozhu with questions, ”Does this mean I can go home once I’ve recovered? I have elderly and young ones waiting at home.”

Bai Ruozhu shook her head apologetically, ”Once you’re better, you’ll be quarantined with the other initial-stage patients, but you can’t immediately leave. Even patients who have recovered from the plague might carry the virus and still be contagious. You must be observed for seven to fifteen days.”

Expecting the patient to make a fuss, Bai Ruozhu was surprised when he said considerately, ”I will follow Doctor Bai’s directives. It’s better to be observed than to risk infecting my family upon returning home.”

Bai Ruozhu nodded in agreement, thinking it was right for the patient to consider his family’s well-being.

However, that evening, Zhou Shu made another sudden appearance, bringing in two new patients who had just been discovered. Bai Ruozhu froze as she recognized them—it was the elderly couple from the wonton stall!

Her heart tightened. Could it be that after she and Achun had contact with the patients, they had gone to the couple’s stall for wontons and transmitted the disease to them?

Seeing Bai Ruozhu, the elderly lady smiled and said, ”Madam, we’ve been admitted as well. It must be my son who got sick earlier and passed it on to us.”

Bai Ruozhu had previously inquired and learned that the couple’s son, named Sun Fu, was still in the initial-stage patient area and wasn’t in serious condition.

After examining the elderly couple and finding they were also at an initial stage, she personally escorted them to the initial-stage patient area. Seeing his parents, Sun Fu broke down in tears, blaming himself for having infected them.

”Silly boy, who can stop a plague from happening? It spreads fast; it’s not anyone’s fault,” Old Sun consoled his son.