“Take care, and be safe on the road.”
After sending off the sisters, Yun Wei and Yun Xiang, Mu’en Hall finally became quiet.
Since the primary goal today was to organize the long-abandoned Mu’en Hall, Shen Yu hadn’t hung up the sign yet.
Originally, Shen Yu thought it would take ten days or half a month to clean the place—it had been unused for so long that the small yard had almost formed its own ecosystem, with mushrooms even growing on the roof beams.
However, at Xiao Yue’s command, a crowd of young and strong servants poured into Mu’en Hall.
In less than half an hour, they had renovated the entire place from top to bottom.
Even the well in the yard was clean and clear again, looking as if one could drink from it without any problems.
The holes in the roof were patched, the mushroom-covered beams were replaced and reinforced, and the green bricks on the floor were scrubbed spotless—some were so smooth they even reflected blurred shadows.
The old medicine shelves were replaced.
Various medicinal herbs filled several massive shelves that required a ladder to use.
Tools for decocting and grinding medicine were delivered—all brand new and clearly of excellent quality.
Deep inside Mu’en Hall were two side rooms.
They used to be places for the physicians on duty to rest and eat, but now they were cleaned up to serve as a temporary home for Shen Yu and Yin Qiu.
Although they weren’t large, the rooms were well-equipped with everything needed.
“Sister, everything is almost ready. Once I finish making the bed, we can sleep here tonight!”
Yin Qiu hummed a little tune happily, the smile on her delicate face never fading.
To have a place to stay in this vast Capital City with her sister made Yin Qiu happier than anyone.
After all, this was her and Shen Yu’s little home.
Although it wasn’t large and the conditions were still a bit simple, a home was a home.
It had warm bedding, hot food, and most importantly, her sister!
“Take a rest. You’ve been busy all day.”
Shen Yu herself was exhausted, and her waist ached terribly.
When she was in Qingfeng Village, she had never done so much work.
Although she was a bandit Eldest Miss, she was still an Eldest Miss after all.
‘Could one still be called an Eldest Miss if they were worked to death with heavy labor?’
“I’m not tired. If you’re tired, Sister, then you should rest. I’ll go make dinner and then boil some water for your bath.”
Yin Qiu was like a little sparrow that never got tired.
Having been busy all day, she showed no sign of fatigue; in fact, she seemed to grow more energetic as the day went on.
Shen Yu could not keep going.
She poured herself a bowl of clear tea and sat by a large banyan tree in the yard to take a few sips.
The sky was darkening, and the sunset on the horizon was a blinding red.
With a creak, the half-closed courtyard gate was slowly pushed open.
A gust of late autumn wind blew into the yard, making Shen Yu shrink her neck from the cold.
“Physician…”
Shen Yu thought the wind had blown the door open.
Just as she was about to get up to close it, she saw a 7-foot-tall, sturdy man.
His clothes showed he was of high status, but his luxurious robes were covered in mud, making him look extremely wretched.
“Please, I beg you, save my young daughter. Please, save her life!”
With a thud, before Shen Yu could speak, the 7-foot-tall man knelt directly in front of her.
This gave Shen Yu quite a shock.
“Quick! Get up, get up. Yin Qiu, come out and help. Sir, what are you doing? A Physician’s Benevolent Heart means saving people is my duty. There is no need to kneel.”
While calling Yin Qiu to help, Shen Yu pulled the man up with force.
She understood the weight of a 7-foot-tall man kneeling before her.
In this era, one knelt to heaven, the earth, and their parents.
Kneeling was not just a bend of the knee; it carried deep significance.
A man in his prime, with clothes suggesting a life that wasn’t destitute, was likely the pillar of a home or even a clan.
For him to kneel directly in front of her meant he had encountered an insurmountable difficulty and was truly desperate…
Furthermore, he was kneeling to her, a woman.
“Please, listen to me first. I have run to every medical officer in the Capital City. Yimin Hall… I even went to the Imperial Medical Bureau, but once they heard about my daughter’s condition, their faces changed, and they all refused.”
“I really have no other choice… Mu’en Hall is funded by the Son of Heaven’s Private Imperial Treasury and represents the monarch’s face, so I thought I would come here and try my luck. I don’t know… Physician, can you treat the Hundred-Year Sore?”
Hearing the man say this, Shen Yu subconsciously widened her eyes.
The Hundred-Year Sore was nothing other than smallpox.
It was also commonly known as the Great Plague in this era—a demon that killed invisibly.
“My daughter… her symptoms aren’t severe. She only went outside the city to visit the refugees suffering from the Hundred-Year Sore. A traveling doctor told me she has likely already contracted it and might fall ill in the next few days.”
“My daughter is only 15 years old. I can’t just watch her die.”
Listening to the man’s narrative, Shen Yu subconsciously frowned.
A few days ago, she had heard from her mother, Su Lianyue, that smallpox had begun spreading at the Border, though Qingfeng Village was safe.
She hadn’t expected that in just a few days, refugees with smallpox would start appearing or even gathering outside the Capital City.
“When did she go?”
“Today! At 7:00 AM!”
“What did she go there for?”
“Sigh, to give porridge to those refugees. That girl… she has her own troubles and yet she’s still thinking of helping others. Why couldn’t she have just sent the servants?”
When the man mentioned this, he was filled with regret and resentment, unable to understand his daughter’s behavior of caring for others while ignoring herself.
“I understand. Let me see her. I have a way.”
If it only happened today, it wasn’t a big problem for Shen Yu.
She wasn’t sure if the girl had come into contact with the source of infection.
If she was just normally distributing porridge, the risk might not be severe, and there was a chance she wouldn’t be infected.
But no one dared to gamble on those odds.
For Shen Yu, treatment was simple.
Even if she was infected, it didn’t matter.
As long as she was vaccinated with the Cowpox Vaccine in time during the incubation period, her life would be safe.
“Also, I must treat you as well. She is your daughter, and since you are close to her, you also risk contracting the Great Plague. For safety’s sake, you must both be treated together.”
“You… you can treat it?”
“Yes, I can.”
The man was stunned.
Seeing Shen Yu agree so readily, he couldn’t even react for a moment.
Shen Yu was completely different from those physicians outside.
She seemed even more capable than the Imperial Physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Those doctors turned pale with fear the moment they heard the words ‘Hundred-Year Sore’.
But Shen Yu remained calm and composed, even stating clearly… that she could treat it!