The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 503 - 502 Whoever dares to harm her family will be made to wish they were dead (third watch)

Chapter 503: 502 Whoever dares to harm her family will be made to wish they were dead (third watch)

Qiu Qianyun said to the outside, "Junjun, your father and I are both aware now. Take good care of Nannan, understand?"

"Understood."

Li Shaojun replied and clattered away. Once the medicine was ready, he intended to bring it to his royal father and mother without delay.

Tuoba Che received the medicine sent by Li Xianyun at the same time as he received a verbal message from the Khan.

His guess was indeed correct—it was an epidemic.

Tuoba Che immediately had someone prepare the medicine and gave it to those suffering from coughs to drink.

However, he could only take care of their own group of travelers; he had no way to administer the medicinal soup to the people in the posthouse or outside.

Thus, there was no way to eradicate the epidemic.

Fortunately, the royal consort was soon to arrive.

In the evening, a large contingent of people grandly entered Shuozhou City.

Two figures peering around the street corner slowly slipped into the darkness upon seeing this and disappeared into the night with a few leaps, heading to report to their master.

The carriage stopped in front of the posthouse. It had hardly come to a rest, and the step had not yet been set down, when Li Xianyun jumped off the carriage and made a beeline for the lodgings.

Tuoba Che, having received the news, came out to meet her, intending to pay his respects to Li Xianyun.

Li Xianyun quickly raised her hand to stop him. "There are too many eyes here; it’s not appropriate to reveal our identities."

"Understood."

"How are my father and mother now?" Li Xianyun asked without stopping her pace.

Jinwu, Youlan, and Bater followed closely behind her.

Tuoba Che led Li Xianyun forward.

"The lord and lady have taken the medicine. At first, it seemed to suppress the illness, but after half an hour they began coughing severely again..."

He hesitated for a moment but went on, "Especially the lord. He has been coughing up blood for three days now."

Li Xianyun looked at Tuoba Che in disbelief, her heart twisting in agony.

The situation was more serious than she had imagined. She should have arrived even earlier.

When they reached the room where Li Rui and Qiu Qianyun were staying, Tuoba Che said, "Master, the lord and lady are inside. They have likely guessed that they have contracted the plague and are not allowing anyone to enter."

Li Xianyun’s eyes reddened. Her royal father and mother were always so kind, always considering others, and did not wish to impose any burdens on anyone.

She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, unfolded it, and tied it around her face, covering her mouth and nose.

Li Xianyun was not avoiding them; she simply could not afford to fall ill at this time.

If she fell ill, who would save her royal father and mother, who would save the people of this city?

On her way here, Li Xianyun had already seen many pedestrians covering their mouths and coughing, some coughing so severely.

She took the medicine chest from Bater’s hand. "Wait for me outside."

"Yes."

Li Xianyun carried the medicine chest and pushed the door open to enter.

Li Rui had already passed out, while Qiu Qianyun sat up from the soft couch upon hearing the noise.

Under the dim light, Qiu Qianyun’s face looked haggard and utterly devoid of color.

Seeing her parents, tears welled up in Li Xianyun’s eyes and fell uncontrollably.

She walked up to the soft couch, knelt on the ground, and bowed her head to Qiu Qianyun, saying tearfully, "Mother, I have arrived too late."

Qiu Qianyun, delirious from her illness, took a moment to respond before crying out, "Xianxian, my Xianxian, my poor Xianxian..."

She wanted to embrace her daughter but knew she was sick and should not make contact. She extended her hand and then lowered it again.

Li Xianyun stepped closer on her own initiative, embracing her own mother, her tears flowing ceaselessly.

Her mother had become much thinner than when she had left Chang’an.

Li Xianyun patted Qiu Qianyun’s back and said reassuringly, "Mother, rest well. I’m going to check Father’s pulse so that I can administer the appropriate treatment."

Qiu Qianyun nodded, crying.

Li Xianyun approached the bed, suppressed her sorrow, and sat on the chair beside the bed to take Li Rui’s pulse.

Afterwards, she stood up to check Li Rui’s complexion, gently pried open his eyelids to examine his pupils, and opened his mouth to check his tongue coating.

Qiu Qianyun stared intently at Li Xianyun.

Her daughter was highly skilled in medical practice and talented in many arts, kind and understanding—always the pride of the couple.

Now that Li Xianyun had arrived, Qiu Qianyun felt she had a pillar to lean on.

After a thorough examination, Li Xianyun had a general idea and went to Qiu Qianyun to take her pulse and asked a few questions about the symptoms.

Indeed, as she had diagnosed.

Sheng Heng knew her well, and how could she not understand Sheng Heng?

Sheng Heng’s medical expertise was exceptional, but he looked down upon local medical techniques, especially admiring a Persian physician, whose books he read over and over again.

Li Xianyun had also borrowed it to read once.

The book recorded various cases, including a mention of a major plague in Persian history.

The plague originated from cattle and was rare, occurring only once in a hundred years.

Infected people would cough incessantly until they coughed up blood and died.

The book not only recorded treatments but also detailed explanations of the causes of this plague.

That is why Sheng Heng was able to manufacture and spread the epidemic.

Sheng Heng dared to use the plague mentioned in the book because he was convinced that Li Xianyun would not remember its content.

But he was wrong. Li Xianyun had always had a photographic memory, especially as a medicine fanatic, she was particularly interested in complicated and rare diseases.

A plague that occurred only once in a century was naturally something that would capture her special attention.

Li Xianyun told Qiu Qianyun, "Mother, I now know how to break this plague. Please calm your heart; I will go and prepare the medicine."

Qiu Qianyun was overjoyed and nodded heavily.

After Li Xianyun left, she immediately had someone fetch paper and pen, and she wrote down the needed herbs.

She made two copies, one of which she handed to Jinwu.

"Jinwu, take people to gather herbs in the city, be very careful and cautious, and if there is any situation, report back immediately," she ordered.

Jinwu took the command and left.

Li Xianyun gave the other list to Bater, "Take your men to Xuanya Town to find Benchu Pharmacy and buy the herbs, the more the better."

Benchu Pharmacy was a contact point for Ji Shi Tang.

As the Hall Master of Ji Shi Tang, she was very aware of the pharmacy contact points under her.

"Yes!"

After Bater left, Li Xianyun turned to Tuoba Che, "General Tuoba, take your men to patrol the city; anyone suspicious should be captured and interrogated."

Tuoba Che accepted the command and left.

Li Xianyun squinted her eyes, filled with a chilling light.

With a large family and business, Sheng Heng, if intending to doom someone, would make multiple preparations.

His ultimate plan would be to have a physician capable of eradicating the plague. To prevent this, he would tamper with the herbs.

Li Xianyun clenched her fists tightly; if anyone dared to harm her family, she would make Sheng Heng’s life worse than death.

Jinwu soon came back, reporting that none of the many pharmacies in the city had the herbs Li Xianyun needed. On inquiry, it was found that not long ago, someone had bought up all of these herbs in Shuozhou and the nearby counties and prefectures.

Youlan said anxiously, "Master, what should we do now?"

Li Xianyun replied calmly, "We’ll have to see who brings news first, Tuoba Che or Bater."

However, at the moment, she had more important matters to attend to.

Li Xianyun ordered the Hidden Guard to summon the governor of Shuozhou City and presented him with the token given to her by Yelu Yan.

On seeing the Khan’s Decree in Li Xianyun’s hand, the governor was so frightened that he knelt and kowtowed without hesitation.

Li Xianyun commanded the governor to close the city gates immediately; without her permission, no one inside the city was allowed out, and no one outside was allowed in.