In late September, the Beginning of Winter arrived. Though winter had officially begun, the weather was only mildly cool, with high temperatures returning now and then, as though the scorching summer still refused to leave.
For Li Qian and many others, however, grim news they had long anticipated finally arrived.
No plague had broken out in Dengzhou City-or rather, it had not spread.
After Yi Shuyuan visited the old woman's home that day to examine her son, the first thing he did upon returning was report to the temporary Imperial Commissioner’s Residence. They then launched as thorough a citywide screening as possible.
Thus, the situation in Dengzhou City was brought under control before it could develop. Even the old woman's son had "miraculously" improved and stabilized despite the shortage of medicine, and once medicinal supplies reached the city, he gradually recovered.
It was a relatively complex process. Amid calamity, the currents of fate were uncertain; even Yi Shuyuan could not survey the entire picture.
While Dengzhou City remained relatively stable, a large-scale plague broke out around Baishi County in Zhao Province!
Baishi County lay west of Zhao Province, not far from Zhao Province City and close to the border of Deng Province. Its higher elevation meant it had actually been one of the few places less affected by the earlier floods.
For that same reason, however, large numbers of refugees had gathered in Baishi County during the disaster. Many had escaped death in the floodwaters, yet even after fleeing there, people continued to die. Countless new mass burial grounds had appeared outside the county town.
Early on the morning of the Beginning of Winter, the magistrate of Baishi County, who had received several commendations as an exemplary leader in disaster relief, finally sent an urgent dispatch.
After devoting half the