Peasant Woman's Decreed Life as a Wife

And in South State, the floodwaters rose to their peak by the end of the month, causing disastrous losses that greatly alarmed the court.

After all, multiple County Cities were affected by the flood disaster, resulting in countless homeless commoners. Barely a month had passed, and when the skies cleared and the floodwaters receded, refugees appeared in South State.

The Prefect of South State, regretting his previous inaction, wrote to King Qi while simultaneously ordering the cities under his jurisdiction to shut their gates, thus denying entry to the refugees. As a result, the refugees began to seep into other state government offices.@@novelbin@@

At that time.

The Emperor’s Imperial Decree arrived, instructing the Prefect of South State to open the city gates and let in the refugees, and to distribute grain in an orderly manner.

Thanks to Chu Heng and the people he brought with him to rescue the commoners, there weren’t as many deaths from the flood this time, but still, tens of thousands drowned, and over a hundred thousand were displaced.

Great Chu was now in a golden age, which accounted for its large population. But everyone knows that without the common people, the nation’s foundation is unstable, and its collapse would be imminent.

Ye Muyu became somewhat anxious upon hearing that South State had closed its city gates because, due to the flood, she had not received a letter from Chu Heng for half a month.

Three days later.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry, cousin won’t encounter any trouble. He is strong and won’t fall ill; besides, he is an official, and the county government wouldn’t dare to neglect him,” Xiang Ling’er, now noticeably pregnant, reassured her while stroking her belly.

“After a flood, it’s very easy for epidemics to arise. I’m not sure if the medicinal herbs we sent are sufficient,” Ye Muyu voiced her concerns.

Chu Heng must have been prepared in advance. When Steward Luo received a letter from Chu Heng some time ago, he had the medicinal herbs delivered to Yuzhou Port, waiting for clear skies before sending them to South State.

“Where is Doctor Lu?” Ye Muyu asked Su Mei.

“Lady, Doctor Lu is in the front courtyard. He hasn’t left home for two days, but medicinal herbs continue to be delivered to him.”

“I’ll go see him.”

Ye Muyu patted Xiang Ling’er’s hand and, without waiting for her to speak, quickly instructed a nearby maidservant, “Take good care of Ling’er.”

“Ling’er, I’m going to talk to Doctor Lu. You should rest,” Ye Muyu said.

Xiang Ling’er knew the best way to help her sister-in-law was to obediently listen and not cause any trouble, so she nodded agreeably and stayed behind.

Ye Muyu walked briskly to the front courtyard.

In Lu Sangqi’s courtyard there were various medicinal herbs, and he was busy preparing medicine in his room.

“Lu Sangqi, have you figured out the medicine for the epidemic?” Ye Muyu walked in and asked in a hushed voice, audible only to the two of them, while shooing away the servants.

Upon her arrival, Lu Sangqi couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know there would definitely be an epidemic?”

“There have been floods before, and not every time does an epidemic break out.”

Ye Muyu shook her head and found a small stool to sit on. “I’m just concerned. If you could develop a medicine to treat epidemic diseases, it would be a good thing. It’s not certain to happen.”

“No wonder you’re speaking so softly and only to me alone; you’re also afraid of stirring up trouble if it gets out,” he remarked.

Ye Muyu replied, “What nonsense are you talking about? You can’t spread word of such things; that would be cursing people. Moreover, with the floods in South State being so severe, the current atmosphere is very grave. Even a minor slip could become a serious issue.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll ruin your reputation?” Lu Sangqi teased, raising an eyebrow deliberately.

“Stop joking. Just tell me, have you developed the medicine or not?”

“There has been progress,” Lu Sangqi seeing she still did not smile, knew that she wouldn’t be happy until the matter was resolved. He snorted lightly, not bothering to argue with her further, since after all, he had benefited by learning a substantial amount of medical skill from her.

At this moment, he posed his own question, “How did you know about the medicine to treat epidemic diseases?”