Chapter 258: Chapter 240, Can’t Leave Anymore_1
Yan Residence.
Early in the morning, Zhou Jingwan rushed over with a letter in search of Daohua.
Daohua glanced at the envelope and immediately smiled, “This is a letter from your brother to your family, why are you showing it to me?”
Zhou Jingwan’s face, void of its usual smile, looked worried as she said, “My grandfather says you need to know what’s in this letter, just take a look for yourself.”
Seeing her distressed expression, Daohua felt a sudden pang of fear and quickly opened the letter. She turned pale when she read that her brother had been suffering from diarrhea for three days, but as she continued reading and saw that he had taken the medicine she prepared and was now recovering, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Once Daohua finished reading the letter, Zhou Jingwan grasped her hand, “Daohua, my grandfather, my father, and my mother — they want me to thank you. If it wasn’t for the medicine you prepared, my brother…”
Her voice started to waiver and tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.
Daohua also felt a wave of fear, tried to steady her nerves, and quickly reassured, “Both our brothers are already better now, aren’t they? Good people have their own luck; nothing bad will happen.”
Zhou Jingwan nodded, but the worry did not fade from her face, “My grandfather says that their diarrhea might have been due to some contagion, maybe it’s the epidemic you spoke of. They are already preparing a ship, planning to send someone to bring my brother back.”
“I came to tell you about the letter and to ask if your family would like to bring your three brothers back with us?”
Daohua furrowed her brows in contemplation, looked at the letter in her hand, and said, “I can’t make this decision.”
Zhou Jingwan urged, “Then you must quickly tell your parents. This letter was written by a servant from my house. My brother didn’t want to worry the family, so he never intended to send any letters home. I guess it’s the same with your brothers.”
Daohua nodded, “Let me borrow this letter for a while,” she said as she headed to the main courtyard. After a few steps, she paused, “Will Xiao Yeyang and the others be coming back as well?”
Zhou Jingwan shook her head, “Governor Guo is in charge of the disaster relief. He surely won’t leave his nephew in a place of danger, will he?”
After thinking for a moment, Daohua asked, “When is your family’s ship planning to leave?”
Zhou Jingwan replied, “As soon as possible, either today or early tomorrow morning.”
Daohua nodded and took the letter to find Madam Li.
After Madam Li read the letter, her face turned white.
Daohua quickly comforted her, “Mother, my brother is already fine now. Please send someone to inform Father and have him come back to discuss whether we should bring my brothers home.”
Madam Li immediately said, “We must bring them back,” while instructing a maid to call for Yan Zhigao in the front yard.
During this time, Daohua took a moment to have Wang Manman summon Xiaoliu.
Daohua looked at Xiaoliu, “Have you collected the medicinal herbs I asked you to gather?”
Xiaoliu replied, “Some have been collected, but due to the short time, the amount is not substantial.”
Daohua said, “Well, whatever we have will have to be enough for now; send it to Xiao Yeyang first.” She didn’t know if Xiao Yeyang would be returning with them, but since Governor Guo was there, the herbs were certainly needed.
Xiaoliu immediately went to prepare.
At this moment, Yan Zhigao, having received the message, hurried back from the Prefectural Governor’s Office. After reading the letter, his expression became very grave.
As the head of the prefecture, he could deduce many things from the letter that those in the inner house could not.
An epidemic!
Jiguang was likely facing an epidemic!
Yan Zhigao decisively commanded, “Go, immediately bring them back.”
The eldest son bore the responsibility for the family’s prosperity, and over the years, he had placed great expectations on him. Now that he was grown up, he couldn’t let anything go wrong.
And there were Wenkai and Wentao, both good children.
…
Jiguang Province, Xingyun Prefecture.
Zhou Chengye, who had significantly improved after taking medicine, learned that the servant had written home without his permission. Instead of scolding him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even without going out, he could feel the growing unease in the city. The number of people with diarrhea and abdominal pain was increasing, and it was said that people could be seen collapsed on the streets, most of them bleeding from the nose, covered in spots, and delirious.
It was obvious to anyone, these were symptoms of an epidemic.
“Let’s go find Wenxiu and the others.”
Supported by the servant, Zhou Chengye made his way to the courtyard where the three Yan brothers were staying.
Yan Wenxiu, who had just recuperated, was also getting some fresh air in the courtyard when he saw Zhou Chengye and immediately asked, “How come you’re here? If you’re not well, don’t wander about.”
This bout of illness had nearly drained him, and the Imperial Physician had said that he needed to properly replenish his strength. Otherwise, when he got older, he’d be prone to sickness.
Zhou Chengye was even more severely ill than he was.
“I have something to tell you,” said Zhou Chengye, glancing around and noticing that Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai were not present, “Where are Wentao and Wenkai?”
Yan Wenxiu offered him a seat and poured a cup of tea before speaking, “They’ve gone out with the Little Prince.”
Zhou Chengye immediately frowned, “Why are they running about outside at a time like this?”
Yan Wenxiu said, “The number of injured in the camp keeps increasing. The Little Prince has to help Governor Guo gather medicinal herbs. Don’t worry, the Little Prince always has a physician and a bodyguard with him, no one will get close to him.”
Zhou Chengye nodded, not dwelling on the topic further, “My valet has written a letter home.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Wenxiu’s face changed at first, and then he let out a sigh, “Grandmother and Father and Mother will worry again.”
Over the past two years, the Zhou Family and the Yan Family had grown closer. If the Zhou Family learned of the situation here, then surely his own family would also receive the news.
Zhou Chengye said, “Yes, it’s unfilial to make the elders worry. However, you should be prepared. Given the situation here, my grandfather will most likely send someone to fetch me. My family will definitely inform yours, and I estimate that your family will send someone to retrieve you as well.”
Yan Wenxiu frowned, “But if we leave, what about the Little Prince and the others?”
Zhou Chengye was silent for a moment, “Then we’ll all leave together.”
Yan Wenxiu shook his head, “The Little Prince is unlikely to leave…”
“Since your family has sent someone to pick you up, it’s better for you to go back.”
Just then, Xiao Yeyang returned with Yan Wenkai and a few others.
At this moment, Xiao Yeyang also looked rather solemn, “You’re probably aware of the situation in Xingyun. The Imperial Physician said that it’s likely an epidemic, to keep you here any longer would truly be my fault.”
Yan Wenkai asked, “What about you, Little Prince, will you leave with us?”
Xiao Yeyang let out a smile, “You go ahead; I’ll follow later. Don’t worry, if I want to leave, I can leave at any time.”
Yan Wenkai scratched the back of his head, “How about this? When the ship that comes to pick us up arrives, let big brother, brother Zhou, and the weak ones like Hongxin leave first. As for me, I’ll stay behind to lend a hand.”
Yan Wentao glanced at him and followed up, “I’m also in good health, I’ll stay behind as well.”
Xiao Yeyang was moved that the two were willing to stay with him at this time. He patted their shoulders, “Alright, let’s all leave together. The two of you staying won’t be able to help much.”
“Gurgle, gurgle~”
Suddenly, a series of muffled groans sounded.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw several servants holding their bellies with sweat on their foreheads. One of them couldn’t hold back and vomited on the spot.
“Quick, take them away!”
Defu quickly ordered the bodyguards to lead the people away.
Xiao Yeyang hurriedly said, “Be careful, don’t touch them.”
As the servants cleaned up the vomit, the faces of Xiao Yeyang and the others turned quite grim.
It wasn’t for no reason; these servants had not been out, and they weren’t from one courtyard but from several.
That very night, other patients started appearing in various courtyards.
Seeing that Qin Shisan was also experiencing diarrhea and abdominal pain, Yan Wenkai swallowed hard, “The Imperial Physician specifically checked where we are staying, so how could we still get infected?”
Yan Wenxiu looked very somber, “How can an epidemic be prevented?”
“I want to leave here as soon as possible,” Yan Wenkai said, then his complexion suddenly turned odd.
Seeing him like that, Yan Wentao immediately asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Yan Wenkai’s forehead was visibly beaded with fine sweat, “The medicine, where is big sister’s medicine? Quick, give me two, my stomach hurts.”
Yan Wentao’s face changed and he dashed into the room to get the medicine.
Yan Wenxiu hurriedly supported him, “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay, you’ll feel better after taking the medicine.”