Taifu Liang called the doctor and asked, "You said that Doctor Xia hasn't been seen for a few days. What does that mean? Didn't she go to collect herbs?"
The doctor smiled and said, "Collecting herbs? We have all the herbs we need here. The Hu family said that they will supply all the herbs in the epidemic area. Doctor Xia doesn't need to go to collect herbs at all. Before she left, she said that this disease cannot be cured, and then she left."
Taifu Liang was surprised. "What? She said she couldn't cure it and left? She signed a military order. What do you mean she ran away? Escaped?"
General Li quickly tried to smooth things over, "That's impossible. Doctor Xia never said it couldn't be cured. She has been trying to find a way."
Prince Li asked the doctor, "She told you in person that she couldn't cure the disease, and then she left?"
The doctor bowed and said, "Your Majesty, yes."
Prince Li frowned, "She is so irresponsible?"
Xiao Xiao said calmly: "Your Highness, if she wanted to escape, she wouldn't be so stupid as to spread the news everywhere, right? Signing a military order and running away is a capital crime."
Prince Li said: "I know she is not stupid, she is very smart, but it is irresponsible for her to be away from the epidemic area for a few days."
Everyone knows that Prince Li is not concerned about people but about matters. He is stubborn and hates irresponsible people.
When Taifu Liang heard this, he said to General Li, "You said she went to collect herbs, so you must know where she went to collect herbs, right? Go find her and bring her back."
General Li stammered, "I don't know where she went to collect herbs."
"How could you not know? She is the person in charge of the epidemic area. Shouldn't she tell you where she is going?" Taifu Liang said sternly.
Rouyao County Lady stepped forward and said, "Why is Grand Master so excited? You also said that Xia Zian is the person in charge of the epidemic area. She has her own ideas about where to go, and we can't ask about it."
"County Lady Rouyao, you shouldn't be here in the first place. There are doctors in the epidemic area, and you have not been recruited. You must leave immediately." Taifu Liang said with a stern face.
Princess Rouyao was slightly annoyed. "The emperor has posted a notice to recruit doctors. Other doctors can come in, but why can't I? Others can covet the gold, but I can't?"
Taifu Liang said sternly, "The imperial edict has been withdrawn a long time ago, and you have been in the epidemic area for so long, but you have not been able to cure the patients. This proves that you are not the person the imperial edict is looking for. You must pack up and leave tonight."
Rouyao County Lady was so angry that her face turned pale. "I won't leave. I have been taking care of these patients. I won't leave until they are cured."
"Does the county lady have any way to make them recover?" asked Taifu Liang aggressively.
Rouyao County Lady turned her face away and said, "I don't care. I won't leave no matter who comes. Even if I can't cure them, I can still help them relieve their pain. You are not the boss here, you have no right to drive me away."
Taifu Liang said calmly: "Okay, go find Xia Zian and I'll tell her."
Princess Rouyao and General Li looked at each other, both angry and worried. It seemed that Master Liang was really here to cause trouble.
Where did Zi'an go? She hadn't come back for two days. If Taifu Liang were to tell her, she would definitely accuse her of neglecting her duties or even directly accuse her of running away.
Taifu Liang looked at Prince Li and said, "Your Highness, you have seen the current situation. Xia Zian is not here, and these doctors are allowed to tinker here. People from the Huimin Bureau are not allowed to come in to help. This is simply putting the cart before the horse. Please give the order to let the county lady and others leave and let people from the Huimin Bureau move in."
Prince Li was about to speak when he saw the door to the backyard open. Grand Princess Murong Zhuangzhuang walked out slowly, with a hint of sarcasm on her face. "Is this the first time that the Grand Tutor has come here? If you don't know, you would think that the Grand Tutor comes here every day. He knows that the county lady has been here for several days, and he also knows that the doctors from the Huimin Bureau cannot come into the ancestral hall to treat patients."
Master Liang didn't expect Murong Zhuangzhuang to be here. He was slightly startled and said, "Greetings, Princess."
Xiao Xiao, who was standing beside him, looked at Zhuang Zhuang steadily, then bowed and said, "I am Xiao Xiao, the last general, and I pay my respects to the princess."
In this dirty and messy ancestral hall, the air was filled with a foul smell. Zhuangzhuang raised his head and looked at Xiao Xiao, whom he had not seen for a long time. He felt as if he was in another world.
But, it only took a moment for everything to return to normal. "The general is back?"
"Yes!" Xiao Xiao looked at her, with something indescribable in his eyes, "I'm back."
I'm back, I'm back!
Just like when he accompanied her in the palace before, and occasionally went out of the palace to stay at home for a few days, when he returned to the palace, he would first look for her and then say to her, I'm back.
"Little aunt!" Prince Li observed etiquette and bowed to greet her.
"Well, the third brother is here too!" Zhuangzhuang glanced at him calmly, "There's no need for so many people to come to the epidemic area. Be careful, the third brother might be used as a knife."
Prince Li knew what Zhuangzhuang meant, but he didn't care. After all, he was only targeting the matter and not the person.
Zhuangzhuang looked at the doctor just now, "I just heard you say that Zi'an told you before she left that she couldn't cure the disease and she was leaving, right?"
The doctor replied, "To answer the princess' question, it is like this. Actually, the princess came just now and told us to give consistent statements and tell everyone that Doctor Xia went to collect herbs. I disagree. If Doctor Xia really escaped, we should have reported it to the court earlier so that the court could send someone to take over the affairs of the epidemic area."
"Escape? You said escape?" The official brought by Taifu Liang stared at the doctor and asked, "Are you sure she escaped?"
The doctor replied, "She hasn't been back for two days. Besides, she did say something like that to me before she left, so we can assume that she ran away."
Taifu Liang asked, "The day the prince came, he said he didn't see her. Does that mean she hasn't come back since the prince came to inspect?"
"Yes!" said the doctor.
Taifu Liang sneered, "If you didn't run away, why didn't you come back for two days? Princess, please tell me the reason!"
Zhuangzhuang said expressionlessly, "I said she went to collect herbs, and the deadline has not come yet. Why is the Master so anxious?"
Taifu Liang said calmly: "You have to bring someone with you when you go to collect herbs, right? Besides, why should you tell the doctor that she can't be cured when you go to collect herbs?"
"Yes, if she wanted to escape, why would she tell people that she couldn't be cured? Master, don't you think Zi'an is too stupid?"
Xiao Xiao had said this, and when Zhuang Zhuang said this, he was looking at Zhuang Zhuang.
Taifu Liang laughed strangely, "Okay, let's take it as the princess said. She went to collect herbs, but she was gone for two or three days. Isn't that too irresponsible? What herbs must she go to collect in person? There are more than fifty lives waiting for her here. If she doesn't come back for a few days, even if she is not running away, it is dereliction of duty."
"Neglect of duty? Does Zi'an hold any official position? How come I don't know?" Zhuangzhuang sneered.
Taifu Liang looked at Xiao Xiao, "What does the general think? She was ordered to come to the epidemic area, but she hasn't been seen for several days. Is there any point in signing this military order? If the person who signed the military order behaved like this in the army, what punishment would he receive? The Queen Mother asked the general to monitor the epidemic area. The general will tell the Queen Mother the truth about the situation here, right?"
(End of this chapter)