“Doing this can prevent the Great Plague?”
Yin Qiu asked cautiously…
The Great Plague she spoke of, naturally, referred to smallpox.
In this era, people called incurable diseases of unknown origin the “Great Plague.”
It symbolized death and danger; wherever the Great Plague struck, the commoners suffered beyond measure.
Even when the Imperial Court faced a region struck by a sudden Great Plague, their only methods of response were control, isolation, and leaving things to fate.
When a Great Plague would end depended on its severity and when those infected eventually died.
Just like the Black Death of the Middle Ages that Shen Yu knew of, there was no effective solution other than letting a massive number of people die until the plague’s transmission was broken.
While the medicinal ingredients of this world were powerful — even more so than Shen Yu had imagined — the Great Plague was aggressive, complex, and ever-changing.
Coupled with the Survivorship Bias Principle, any plague that could be easily cured simply didn’t count as a Great Plague.
Thus, the term “Great Plague” loomed over everyone’s minds like a predatory beast.
“Yes. In fact, the Human Immune System itself is the best method for fighting all pathogens. It’s just that its reaction is relatively slow, much like —”
“Like the decoctions from the Imperial Academy of Medicine!”
Shen Yu stopped what she was doing. She was a bit surprised — surprised that Yin Qiu didn’t question her at all, and even more so that she could draw parallels within such a short time.
“It can certainly cure, but it requires time and might even have side effects. However, when the Great Plague breaks out, what people lack most is the time to recover.”
“When I used to travel with Grandpa to practice medicine, I saw many patients infected with plagues. Most of them didn’t die from the plague itself, but rather from persistent high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms. They died from their own body’s excessive reaction.”
Yin Qiu counted on her fingers as she told Shen Yu about her experiences.
This caused Shen Yu to develop a bit of interest in the young girl for the first time.
She was too clever; for one so young, she possessed remarkable insight.
Although she was currently mostly filled with questions, it was precisely this mindset that kept her only a few steps away from the truth.
If she continued to develop at this steady pace, she might truly be able to knock on the doors of Modern Medicine, bit by bit.
“That’s why when Grandpa and I treated acute illnesses, we often chose to delay the patient’s painful symptoms as much as possible. It’s just that while this method is sometimes very effective, other times it becomes a death warrant…”
“Sigh, it’s really confusing.”
Yin Qiu watched as Shen Yu cut two small slits on her arm, then pulled two silk threads from two completely sealed porcelain vials and carefully stitched them into her wounds.
Although it was painful, Yin Qiu didn’t make a sound.
This surprised Shen Yu.
One had to realize that back at Qingfeng Village, the scene of vaccinating those children with the Cowpox Vaccine was practically hellish.
Crying, running away, and resisting — Shen Yu could understand those.
But those who fanned the flames of panic were something Shen Yu truly couldn’t comprehend.
As a result, Shen Yu’s reputation among the children plummeted at the time.
Fortunately, the parents at the Border were sensible.
They knew Shen Yu meant well and was saving their children’s lives.
Meanwhile, under Shen Yu’s candy offensive and the parents’ physical offensive, Shen Yu managed to become the Divine Physician Sister in the children’s mouths once more.
However, some of the tough children — who wailed in pain after the vaccination and cursed Shen Yu just as loudly — would subconsciously cover their butts whenever they called her “Divine Physician Sister.”
It was as if seeing Shen Yu reminded them of the scene where their entire family teamed up to give them a thrashing so severe they couldn’t get out of bed for 3 days.
“Is it finished like this, Sister? Will I not get the Great Plague now?”
“Only smallpox. Don’t let this area touch water for a while. Some small blisters might appear, but don’t worry about them; they will heal on their own. At most, they’ll leave two tiny scars.”
Shen Yu gave her instructions in a gentle voice, but as Yin Qiu looked at the carefully stitched wounds on her arm, she had other thoughts…
‘Does this count as a mark Sister made on me? Does it mean I’ll be the servant who attends to Sister alone from now on?’