"Yexun, how much time do I have left for this trip?"
Ye Xun re-planned the route for her, starting from Jifeng County and ending at Liujiazhuang. This trip would take three days. In the end, she could only stay in the village for four days at most.
She needs to find out the source of the plague and prepare a prescription, and the time is so tight that people can't wait.
Several people set off again to Taiping Village. After traveling day and night, they finally arrived at the entrance of the village late at night.
Soldiers have been deployed in the village. Bai Zhi was the first pharmacist to enter the village for free clinic and was led into a temporary tent by the soldiers.
Liu Ruyan and Shen Yanchu stayed next door to him.
Early the next morning, she picked up a bucket of water from the river and walked into the tent where Bai Zhi stayed.
"You mean, the water might have been poisoned?" Bai Zhi asked solemnly.
Liu Ruyan nodded: "The villagers said that they saw Yun Niang by the river before the epidemic broke out, so I want to verify it and see if the water is poisonous."
Bai Zhi immediately asked for a live fish from the soldier, put it into the water, and then tested it with a silver needle...
Half an hour later, he shook his head: "I tested it with the poison test method, and there is no poison in the water."
"However," he continued, "in fact, people in the village only use water from the well, and the river outside the poplar forest is used for washing clothes, or... throwing corpses."
"Throw the corpse?" Shen Yanchu took over, "No wonder there is a cemetery by the river."
"Because this river comes from Tianchi on the mountain. According to the custom in Yanglinpo area, guilty people will be thrown into the river."
Liu Ruyan was thoughtful. Since the poisoning theory didn't work, she suddenly thought of the mysterious woman in the forest. Could it be that she was here to seek revenge?
"I have to find someone to ask. Maybe I missed some clues." She put on her robe, got up and walked out of the tent.
Shen Yanchu followed immediately.
In Nuoda's village, villagers who were not infected still lived in the village, while those who were sick were concentrated in a camp.
She put on a fine cloth to cover her mouth and nose, and then opened a tent.
The patient in this tent had the mildest symptoms. There were ten people in the tent, all women and children. Liu Ruyan sat down next to a young girl.
Shen Yanchu stood waiting at the door. He slightly tilted his head and lowered his cold eyes.
The girl in the tent had never seen Mr. Ruyu before. At that time, she half-closed her eyes and looked at the door with a shy expression.
Devil Shen's handsome brows furrowed slightly, the coldness rising steadily. He simply turned his back and looked at the remaining clouds floating in the sky: "I'll wait outside. Call me if you need anything."
Liu Ruyan made a sound and looked at the woman in front of her: "I'm here to discuss the epidemic. Forgive me for being blunt, does the girl know Yun Niang?"
When Youlan heard her question, she was slightly startled, and then nodded: "Of course I know. In previous years, we went to the woods to collect herbs together, and we could occasionally exchange a few words."
Liu Ruyan looked soothed: "Then do you know if there are any relatives in Yun's family, or people with extraordinary connections?"
Youlan shook her head and whispered as if reminiscing: "I only heard that Yun Niang was an orphan. In addition, she has a withdrawn temperament. She has never mentioned her family past to me, and I have never seen her getting close to anyone. People in the village look at her differently."
"Is that the family that moved out of the village?" she asked.
"Exactly, Yun Niang and this Li Zheng are somewhat related to each other. They know each other well and that's how things happened."
The woman said, as if to avoid taboos, her head lowered and her face slightly turned sideways.
Seeing this, Liu Ruyan also turned away.
If we say that the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was open in the previous dynasty, there were indeed many romantic affairs spread, but today, women's chastity and reputation are also increasingly valued.
She coughed slightly and continued to ask: "I wonder how this Yun Niang looks like?"
She asked casually, but Youlan's reply was ambiguous.
"She looks good, but her complexion is a bit off."
"He's just a cheap hoof, and he won't have peace after death." A girl sitting not far away suddenly said.
"How do you say this?" Liu Ruyan looked up and saw that the girl's complexion was sallow, but it was not difficult to tell that she was a beauty.
The girl spoke again, her voice was gentle and sweet, as sweet as the gurgling water.
Liu Ruyan became interested and listened to her talk.
"This Yun Niang was born with a charming look. She is just a sesame picker. She wears red and green clothes all day long. She also wears mirrors and hairpins like the ladies in the city, and completely charms the honest man in front of her.
Contrary to what I want, I insist on taking her as my concubine. From my point of view, she must have fallen in love with the husband from Youzhou and wanted to seduce him."
"Oh?" Liu Ruyan raised her eyebrows slightly, her gaze was faint, and when she smiled slightly, she was instantly amazed by her beauty.
"How do you think Yun Niang was seduced?"
The girl looked into her abyss-like eyes, her breath was stagnant, her white jade cheeks were as red as fire, and she timidly said: "They say flies don't bite seamless eggs, it's just because her clothes are thin and not good enough..."
"That's right, that girl Yun Niang doesn't think she talks much, but she is much more down-to-earth." The woman in the tent interrupted abruptly, "If it had been another woman, she would have been martyred long ago. She is the only one who is still alive, maybe she will be killed."
I hope that the wild seeds in my belly will give birth and fly to the branches to become a phoenix."
Others also echoed: "You have lost your reputation and still have the nerve to live, you are really shameless!"
"This bitch is obviously a slut, how can he know anything about womanly virtues?"
Liu Ruyan glanced at the crowd, her eyes resting on the pretty girl: "The day Yun Niang's accident happened, was it midsummer?"
The girl was stunned for a moment: "How do you know?"
Liu Ruyan did not answer and asked instead: "How are you dressed?"
"On a hot day, naturally wear a light shirt and thin skirt."
Liu Ruyan asked again: "If you want to go into the forest to collect medicine, for the sake of convenience, will the sesame picker roll up her sleeves?"
Youlan, who was sitting quietly on the side, responded: "The sleeves of the clothes of the sesame pickers are no longer than the wrists, the tail of the skirt is no longer than the knees, and the trousers must be tightened."
"In that case." Liu Ruyan raised her eyes and glanced at everyone in the tent, "Everyone is dressed like this, why is it only judged that Yun Niang has lost her virginity? What happened in the forest is the fault of that noble family member, who has lost his conscience.
The crime is unforgivable, so why did everyone say that instead of supporting the weak and hating the evil, they seriously injured Yun Niang again and again."
She spoke word by word, like a sharp sword, cutting open people's hearts: "I don't know when a weak woman who was violated became a guilty person instead of the murderer."
"Shen Yanchu!" she called across the tent.
The door curtain was opened, and a man walked in. He was dressed in moon-white dark clothes, with a jade-like grace and a windy walk.
Liu Ruyan took a dress from his hand, shook it in the air, and showed it in front of everyone.
"This is what you call shameless!"
Everyone in Youlan's room raised their eyes almost at the same time.
The apricot-colored dress she held up in her hand was covered with patches of all sizes from the skirt to the skirt, and the fabric was made of the simplest ramie.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Ruyan took out a few more pieces of clothing, all of which were old in style and made of shabby materials. Even the women in the village looked down upon them.
Everyone's faces were filled with colors, and for a moment, there was silence.
Liu Ruyan smiled coldly: "People's words are scary."
After that, he turned around and walked out of the tent.