The scene of the sky filled with the light of blood had left her with an enduring sense of guilt for those innocent people who had died.
She hated Su Jin so much that she wished to cut him into a thousand pieces. But she hadn't let him die completely. By now, it had been some time, and his internal organs should have aged beyond recognition. She wanted him to suffer more than anyone else. She wanted every breath of his to be a luxury.
"Old man, don't get too excited. You're old, and getting overly excited can be dangerous. Why are you alone? Where are Yue Fusheng and Granny Xuan?"
Old Man Tang replied, "Xuan'er is cooking inside. Yue Fusheng has been out these days to search for clues about you and hasn't come back yet."
She was led into the house by Tang Jun. The yard wasn't very big, but it was neatly and cleanly tidied up, and there were medicinal herbs drying everywhere.
"You—"
Tang Jun sensed something was amiss. He reached out and pulled her wrist. After a moment, his eyes widened. "You'er, you're pregnant?"
Tang Youyou gave a charming smile. She knew she couldn't hide it from this old man.
"You've diagnosed it by feeling my pulse, haven't you? It's been nearly three months."
She touched her belly. At this stage, it wasn't visible from the outside. It would start to show in about two more months.
The old man quickly pulled her into the house and made the charcoal fire burn more vigorously.
"Whose child is this?"
Tang Youyou suddenly paused, then her eyes curved into a smile. She said mysteriously, "Guess."
"Oh, don't make this old man anxious. Rong Xun is dead. Do you have a new sweetheart?"
"Sort of."
This really worried the old man. "Where is he? Didn't he come with you?"
"He has something to attend to. He'll come to find me when he's done."
Tang Jun cursed, "What kind of person is he? How could he let you travel such a long way alone when you're pregnant? When I see him, I'll give him a good scolding."
Tang Youyou laughed and cheered him on.
From Tang Jun, she learned that they had managed to escape from the capital that day thanks to Yue Fusheng's quick wits. He had sent them out of the city overnight. But the incident had been sudden, and they hadn't been able to save the two little girls and the others.
Originally, they had planned to wait for her outside the city and leave together. But they had been discovered by Su Jin's men, so they had to leave in a hurry.
Heshuiwan was a place where Tang Jun had stopped during his travels before. It was on the border between the Xia Kingdom and Daming. Hardly anyone would find this place, so they had come here to settle down.
After arriving here, Yue Fusheng had been searching for her everywhere. He would be gone for ten days or half a month at a time.
"Today is exactly fifteen days. Maybe he'll be back soon."
Just as he was speaking, they heard a creaking sound from outside the door.
"Whose carriage is this?"
Yue Fusheng's voice came from outside. Tang Youyou immediately ran out of the door and saw the man standing in the yard.
After not seeing him for many days, he had become a bearded, one - armed rough man and looked much more haggard.
"I'm back."
Yue Fusheng couldn't believe his eyes. He stood there stunned and took a long time to react.
"Miss, how did you—"
Tang Youyou stepped forward and opened her arms, as if she was meeting a long - lost brother.
"Now you don't have to look for me anymore."
She let go of her hands and saw that this big man was actually crying.
"Men don't cry. Hurry into the house. It's freezing."
Although Granny Xuan was a bit confused in her mind, when she saw Tang Youyou, she kept holding her hand tightly.
When the four of them were reunited, Tang Youyou stood under the moon in front of the door. She poured a few cups of wine and toasted the moon.
Ye Yue was lying on a nearby tree branch, watching the happy scene inside.
The master had said that another person would be sent, but that person never showed up. Ye Yue didn't know who it was. That person was so elusive.
At Tang Youyou's suggestion, Yousheng Medical Hall finally reopened.
Before the reopening, she had spent some silver to redecorate the shop. She also had a new plaque made. It looked more imposing than before.
"However, I heard that the doctor in this medical hall is a quack."
Tang Youyou meant something by this. She looked at Old Man Tang. Of course, this old man was the most qualified doctor here.
The old man was quite indignant. "They're blind if they don't recognize my medical skills! The prescriptions I write are much more effective than those from the medical halls in the Western Market. It's just that the patients don't trust me."
Tang Youyou understood. Sometimes, the way Old Man Tang treated patients was indeed different from ordinary doctors. The methods he used were rather strange. No wonder others didn't trust him.
However, for the sake of their future livelihood, Tang Youyou still advised him to use ordinary methods first and then bring out his special techniques when encountering difficult and complicated diseases.
"Doctor! Doctor! Save my husband!"
Tang Youyou heard a cry from the street outside. It was an elderly woman supporting a man who was coughing continuously and spitting up blood frequently.
She stepped forward to take a look, but was suddenly pulled behind by Tang Jun.
"Don't go near! Everyone stay away from this man!"
Everyone didn't know what was going on, but seeing his serious expression, they were so scared that they stepped back quickly.
"The skin is covered with spots and shows signs of ulceration. His face is bluish, and his lips are black. He can't stop spitting up bloody phlegm. It's a plague."
As soon as he said this, everyone started running away, shouting, "Plague! It's a plague!"
They all put on thick veils. Tang Youyou wanted to step forward to help, but was locked in the backyard by Yue Fusheng and the old man.
This man was locked up separately, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.
"There may be more than just this one person in the city. Tell the people in the city that if they have the same symptoms, they're not allowed to go out!"
Tang Youyou couldn't believe that a place as beautiful as Heshuiwan would suddenly have a plague outbreak. This place had beautiful scenery and was lush and green. How could a plague appear without any signs?
But this wasn't the time to think about these things.
Ye Yue immediately showed up after hearing the news and wanted to take Tang Youyou out.
"You've hidden well. I haven't seen you for so long." Tang Youyou saw Ye Yue who had suddenly appeared.
"Leave the city quickly. It's not safe here." Ye Yue advised.
Tang Youyou was also worried. What if she was infected? Would it affect the baby in her belly?
But in this situation, she couldn't leave. Although she hadn't come into contact with the infected man just now, they had been in the same space. She couldn't rule out the possibility of being infected.
Moreover, the old man and the others were still here. She couldn't leave them behind.
"You leave quickly. I'm not going."
For a while, almost all the medical halls in Heshuiwan closed their doors, and every household stayed at home.
The city lord of this city was quite kind - hearted when he heard about this. He offered a large sum of money to find a doctor who could cure this plague.
Tang Jun was still observing the patient's symptoms in the small house.