Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Shan Hai’s fear that Shengsheng Zhou would flee proved entirely unnecessary.
He had never imagined that their emperor would personally accompany her.
“Shengsheng, where are we going?”
Zhiyu Jiang asked around a mouthful of apple.
Shengsheng wiped juice from the corner of her lips.
“To a place called the border. I’m going there to cure an illness.”
Bringing Zhiyu was Shengsheng’s only demand. Siran Ming did not understand why, but he permitted it.
The plot had veered wildly off course. Still, no one cared more than Shengsheng about preserving her chance at reincarnation.
Zhiyu did not understand why Shengsheng needed to travel there to cure anyone. That did not stop her from nodding obediently.
“Aren’t we sharing a carriage with Xiao Ming?”
Shengsheng looked at her seriously.
“You must never call him Xiao Ming again. Call him Your Majesty. Otherwise, you could be beheaded.”
Zhiyu recoiled.
“Would they behead Shengsheng too?”
Shengsheng nodded.
Zhiyu’s expression became solemn.
“I understand. From now on, he is Your Majesty.”
***
This was Shengsheng’s first visit to the border since transmigrating.
The landscape was bleak, yet every inch carried the sharp menace of war.
The plague was far worse than she had imagined.
Ignoring all attempts to dissuade him, Siran covered his face with a cloth and personally visited the infected soldiers.
The gesture moved the surrounding troops profoundly.
Then Siran summoned the imperial physicians and gestured toward Shengsheng.
“She will hold complete authority over the plague response. You will assist her.”
Imperial Physician Zhang stared.
He could not believe that His Majesty would entrust so many lives to such a young woman.
“Your Majesty, you must reconsider! Plague is no child’s game!”
Siran did not answer.
Shengsheng stepped forward, saluted Physician Zhang, and said, “This servant stakes her life on having a way to cure the plague.”
Her humble form of self-address only made his head ache more.
She was a palace maid, hardly older than his granddaughter, yet claimed she could cure the plague.
It was absurd beyond measure.
Siran ignored the physician’s objection and waved for Shengsheng to begin.
She nodded and turned away.
Suddenly, Siran caught her arm.
Shengsheng looked back in confusion.
The indifference on his face remained, but faint concern entered his deep eyes.
“Do not force yourself beyond your limits.”
She pulled free.
“Your Majesty need not trouble yourself.”
Siran pressed his lips together. Unrecognized loneliness entered his eyes as he watched her leave.
*A-Pang, do you have a formula that treats plague?*
Shengsheng had learned her lesson. She could not use interstellar medicine to cure everyone in an instant. This time, the recovery needed to proceed step by step.
*Yes, Host. Please wait while I redeem it.*
“Miss Zhou, I do not know what you told His Majesty to deceive him,” Physician Zhang said when she entered the medical tent. “But human lives are not a game, nor are they tools for currying favor with the emperor.”
His accusation caused an uproar among the assembled physicians.
“What? She is His Majesty’s solution?”
“This old man has practiced medicine for more than forty years. Even Chief Physician Zhang cannot solve the plague. How could she?”
“This is a farce!”
“To send a young girl to placate us–His Majesty truly…”
“Physician Zhang, please take me to see the patients,” Shengsheng Zhou said calmly over the objections.
Even if it was not strictly necessary, she could hardly prescribe a treatment without examining anyone.
This world already possessed some basic knowledge of plague.
The infected had been isolated, and disinfection was handled remarkably well. At least no one had attempted the bloodletting Shengsheng had feared.
She entered the patients’ tent alone, wearing a simple protective garment, and observed for a long time.
Most of the patients were young soldiers. Their bodies burned with fever and their breathing was labored. The symptoms did appear consistent with plague.
Shengsheng asked Physician Zhang for paper and brush. As A-Pang recited the formula they had redeemed, she wrote it down.
It came from another world with a similar historical background, where a celebrated physician had devised it to cure an outbreak.
The achievement brought him immense fame, and he became known as a divine physician throughout his lifetime.
“Physician Zhang, prepare the medicine according to this formula. Once the patients take it, the plague can be cured.”
He accepted the page with obvious doubt. The other physicians crowded around him.
“This…”
Shock gradually transformed his previously impassive face.
“Brilliant!” someone exclaimed. “This is brilliant. It might truly work!”
The others voiced their astonished agreement.
“It is worth attempting.”
After finishing his examination, Physician Zhang raised his head.
All neglect had vanished from his expression. He now regarded Shengsheng solemnly, eyes shining as if he had discovered an incomparable treasure.
The imperial physicians had not dismissed her because they looked down on ordinary people. Their medical ethics simply forbade gambling with patients’ lives.
Now that Shengsheng had demonstrated real knowledge, they immediately apologized for their earlier disrespect and asked her forgiveness.
What an endearing group, Shengsheng thought.
“I did not create this formula. It was devised by my teacher, so none of you need thank me.”
“May we ask your honored teacher’s name?”
Shengsheng gave them the name of the physician who had developed the treatment.
Naturally, no one recognized it. That did nothing to diminish their admiration.
***
The celebrated physician’s formula did more than look convincing.
Its effectiveness astonished everyone.
Within the time it took half an incense stick to burn after the soldiers drank the medicine, their fevers broke. Their condition visibly began to improve.
Physician Zhang went directly to Siran Ming and praised Shengsheng to the heavens.
Shengsheng, however, had discovered a new problem.
She had cured the plague.
How was Siran supposed to contract it now?
How could the heroine care for him without abandoning him? How would he then fall in love with her for herself, rather than as someone else’s substitute?
She hammered her fists against her own head and nearly howled at the sky.
*What do we do, A-Pang? I remembered to bring the heroine, but I overlooked something this important!*
A-Pang was equally troubled.
The woman and red panda clutched their heads and brooded for a long time. Then inspiration struck.
*Host, plague isn’t the only incurable disease in this world. Smallpox is incurable too!*
*You mean we should infect Siran Ming with smallpox?*
A-Pang nodded vigorously.
Shengsheng thought it over.
The plan seemed workable.
Outside the tent, Siran had been about to enter and check on her.
He silently withdrew his hand and listened to the outrageous woman and her System discuss how to infect him with smallpox.
After turning away, he slowly sighed.
Never mind.
He owed her.