After waiting for nearly two hours, Princess An came back leading a mule. The mule was carrying a lot of things, which seemed to be medicinal herbs.
When Su Mu saw her, he immediately jumped up and hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Your subordinate greets the princess."
Princess An was lost in thought when she heard his voice. She was startled and looked up at him. "Su Mu? Aren't you in Muzhai?"
"Princess, please allow me to report to you!" Su Mu was almost crying. The scenes he saw along the way almost made his soul fly away. There was not much he could do, so he hoped that the princess could help the people.
"Let's go in and talk." Princess An said.
"No," Su Mu took two steps back, thinking of what Zi'an said. He now believed it without a doubt. Although he felt that he had not been infected with the epidemic, it was better to be safe. He quickly took out a mask that Zi'an had asked him to make from his sleeve pocket and put it on. "Princess, let me tell you right here that the princess asked you to hand a prescription to the emperor and have him announce it to the Huimin Office to the world, telling all the people, whether they are sick or not, to take this prescription."
"Why are you hiding so far away? Where's the recipe?" Princess An frowned.
"I have already handed the recipe to Prince Zhenguo, but I still remember the recipe in my mind."
Princess An's expression changed slightly. "What did you give him? Did the Regent Princess ask you to give it to him?"
"No, no, I am guilty. The princess originally asked me to give it to the princess, but I... I suspected the princess, so I gave the prescription to the prince of Zhenguo." Su Mu said ashamedly.
"Why are you so confused? Write down the recipe quickly."
"Princess, please have someone take out the pens and ink. I cannot go in. The princess said that no one in the village can have contact with outsiders for fear of infection. This plague is called plague. It will spread on a large scale and even spread to other countries. It must be contained immediately."
"So serious?" Princess An was shocked.
"Yes, the princess said so. I have walked all the way down the mountain, and now even Qingyuan Prefecture has experienced an outbreak of the epidemic." Su Mu's voice was filled with tears.
"Qingyuan Prefecture was not affected by the earthquake, so how could it be infected with the epidemic? Did you see it wrong?"
Su Mu shook his head. "You are right. Both I and they can testify. Princess, please prepare the pen and ink immediately so that I can write down the prescription."
Princess An knew that the situation was serious, so she led the mule in immediately. After a while, she came out with a servant, carrying the four treasures of the study.
Su Mu dictated and asked the servant to write it down, and he didn't dare to touch the paper.
After writing it, Su Mu said, "Princess, you should immediately bring the prescription to the palace to find the emperor and inform him of the seriousness of the matter. The princess said that this prescription must be spread."
Princess An put away the prescription and said, "I will go to the palace right away. Tell me what you said to the prince of Zhenguo."
Su Mu said: "Prince Zhenguo asked some questions about the princess's stay in Muzhai, and I told him everything. There is nothing that cannot be known."
"From now on, when Prince Zhenguo summons you, don't say everything. Learn some speaking skills." Princess An's words were tantamount to defending him, pointing out that he revealed so much because he did not know how to speak.
Su Mu was ashamed, "Yes, I will remember it."
Princess An ordered her men to unload the cargo from the mule, then she rode on the mule and left.
Su Mu returned to Muzhai and apologized to Zi'an.
Zi'an said, "I am from the Great Zhou. It is normal for you to doubt me. I don't blame you. Tell me everything you saw when you came down the mountain this time."
Su Mu was shocked when he thought about it. Those rotting corpses and those long queues of patients made him feel nauseous. He suppressed his nausea and said, "In one day, I rode a long way, from Ancheng, Luoxian, Qicheng, all the way to Qingyuan Prefecture, and found that the plague was rampant. The epidemic was really serious, but I don’t know if the death toll reported to the emperor is true. If it is just those announced by the court, it must be far more than that. What I saw with my naked eyes is more than that, not to mention what I couldn’t see. The corpses were piled up like mountains, and it was... uncomfortable to see them.”
Su Mu was choked up at the end of his words.
"Qingyuan Prefecture?" Zi'an was unfamiliar with the terrain of the Northern Desert. "Where is Qingyuan Prefecture? Do you have a map?"
Su Mu doesn't have a map, but he can draw one.
He drew a picture on the spot. It was not detailed and a bit vague, but the orientation was correct.
Zi'an looked at Qingyuan Prefecture he pointed out and frowned, "Was Qingyuan Prefecture a disaster area during the earthquake?"
"No, the earthquake did not affect Qingyuan Prefecture, so I was shocked."
It seems that the epidemic has really spread.
Zi'an felt heavy-hearted. If the plague spread widely and the imperial court did not find a way to stop it, many people would die from the epidemic.
How can war compare to natural disasters
"What is the death toll figures released by the imperial court?" Zi'an asked.
"Thirty-seven thousand eight hundred people."
"Did he die of the plague?"
"No, it's the number of people who have died since the earthquake."
Zi'an shook his head. "No, no, when I was in the Great Zhou, Prince Qi told my prince that the death toll had reached more than 30,000 people. How come after so much time, it's still more than 30,000 people? This data is fake."
"It's fake. It could also be that there is a serious shortage of manpower. There is no one to take care of the bodies of the dead. They are just thrown out and burned when a certain number of bodies are reached."
Zi'an sighed repeatedly, "This way, the plague will spread faster."
"Then, Princess, what do you think we should do now? Will this plague really break out and even spread to several countries?"
"If a major outbreak occurs, it will definitely affect several countries." Zi'an thought of the three plague pandemics in modern times. The largest of these affected more than 60 countries, with the death toll reaching hundreds of millions.
Zi'an was very angry. The earthquake was a natural disaster, but the outbreak of plague was partly man-made.
If Beimo had not sent troops to fight, there would have been enough manpower to deal with the disaster and the corpses, which would have prevented the bodies from rotting and the plague from spreading. Moreover, because of the war, the treasury was empty, and money for disaster relief could not be taken out, and medicines could not be distributed. Even at this stage, the emperor and Empress Cao were still thinking of attacking the Great Zhou.
Are the lives of the people so worthless in the eyes of these people in power
She had no place to vent her anger, so she kicked the table and overturned it.
When Su Mu saw how emotional she was, he knew that she was worried about the victims. Thinking of his previous malicious speculations about her, he felt even more guilty and didn't know what to say for a moment.
He coughed twice and felt his head a little heavy, probably because he was tired from running around all day.
"Su Mu, are you sick?" Zi'an asked vigilantly.
Su Mu shook his head and felt even more dizzy. He forced himself to stay alert and said, "It's okay, I'm just a little tired."
Zi'an looked at his pale face, his lips dry and red, and her heart sank. "Let me feel your pulse."
(End of this chapter)