“Medical Attendant Shen, we have all been in contact with those refugees who caught Centenary Pox. Don’t you need to take any precautions?”
“It’s fine, Marquis. Neither I nor my Yin Qiu will catch Centenary Pox. Once I have treated you, you won’t have to fear this disease ever again.”
The reason she addressed him as Marquis was that Shen Yu had now clarified the identity of the man before her.
He was Cao Zhen — the Marquis Dingyuan who had been granted titles, appointed as a minister, and commanded tens of thousands of troops.
He was also a close friend of the Yun sisters’ father and one of the core members of the Military Merit Group in the Imperial Court.
Shen Yu was somewhat surprised.
People of this era truly grew terrified at the mere mention of smallpox.
With Cao Zhen’s status, he was practically beneath only one person and above 10,000 in the Capital City.
Yet even for a man like him, when his daughter was suspected of having contracted smallpox, countless physicians would rather risk execution than agree to see her.
One could see how deeply the terror of the Great Plague was ingrained in people’s hearts.
Most physicians were extremely resistant to treating patients with smallpox.
After all, if even the Emperor caught it, there was only death waiting for him.
Why would the young daughter of a Marquis be any different?
As the saying goes, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.
There was simply no cure for this disease, even if one forced themselves to try.
In fact, it would likely result in the physician’s entire family being buried alongside the patient.
Therefore, as long as it was not the Emperor, it was perfectly reasonable for even an Imperial Physician to refuse to see a patient infected with the Great Plague.
Even for Marquis Dingyuan, Cao Zhen, there was no exception.
“Does — does such a skill truly exist in this world? It must be an immortal art. Is Medical Attendant Shen perhaps an Immortal?”
Cao Zhen was straightforward and spoke his mind.
To him, Shen Yu’s words sounded like massive exaggerations.
If those words were spoken elsewhere, no one would believe them.
The Imperial Court had suffered from Centenary Pox for a long time, yet Shen Yu claimed that as long as they underwent her treatment, they would never catch it again.
Aside from an immortal art, Cao Zhen could not imagine any method capable of achieving such a thing.
If it were truly so, would the entire Empire not be free from the ravages of Centenary Pox?
If Shen Yu could really do it… then she deserved to be honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
“What ‘Immortal’? It’s just a method passed down from my hometown that I’ve modified a bit.”
“Don’t worry, Marquis. Please bring your daughter in so I can begin the treatment.”
Cao Zhen stared at Shen Yu for a long time, his expression a mix of belief and doubt.
He might have been questioning her abilities, or perhaps he was just desperate enough to try anything.
Regardless, in this entire Capital City, only Mu’en Hall and only Shen Yu were willing to help his beloved daughter.
He had no choice but to trust her.
“Fine! But I must warn you, Medical Attendant Shen… my daughter likely already has Centenary Pox. If you contact her so recklessly, you might also — “
“Don’t worry, Marquis. Like I said, I won’t catch it, and I won’t let you catch it either. I am completely confident that I can keep both father and daughter safe. See, I am right here, essentially wagering my own life as a guarantee. I’m standing together with you and your daughter — isn’t that enough to earn your trust?”
Shen Yu had already found her usual Scalpel and replaced the blade.
She told Yin Qiu to light the charcoal stove in the room and sprinkle herbal water in the corners for sterilization.
“Good! Medical Attendant Shen, if this works, I will serve you like an ox or a horse to repay this great kindness.”
“I’ll bring her in now.”
Cao Zhen took a deep breath and hurried out of the courtyard.
A few minutes later, he returned leading a girl who was slightly older than Yin Qiu, around 15 or 16 years old.
Though young, her face possessed an unexpected maturity, as if she had already seen through the world and found nothing of interest.
Her refined face was filled with coldness and elegance.
While Cao Zhen was a burly man, his daughter was the perfect model of a noble lady — as cold and beautiful as an immortal in a painting.
“Medical Attendant Shen, this is my daughter, Cao Xiangning. Xiangning, this is Medical Attendant Shen. She is the Divine Physician the Emperor favors, and she can definitely save you.”
Shen Yu looked the girl over.
She recalled Marquis Wuding mentioning that Marquis Dingyuan’s daughter seemed to have a hidden affliction involving forgetfulness.
Seeing her clutching a notebook and a charcoal pencil, she must be using them to keep track of things.
“I’ve caused you trouble,” Cao Xiangning said softly.
Her voice was very pleasant to hear.
“Alright. Miss Cao, please undress and expose your shoulder.”
Shen Yu looked away from the notebook in the girl’s hand and opened a porcelain jar containing silk thread soaked in the Cowpox Vaccine.
“Must… must I undress?”
Cao Xiangning hesitated, looking at her father with awkward, fidgety movements.
“It’s okay, daughter. Listen to the Physician. I’ll be right outside. Don’t be afraid; even if the sky falls, your father will hold it up.”
“Mhm.”
Her expression relaxed a bit at her father’s words.
Once the door closed, Cao Xiangning silently began to undress, soon exposing her white shoulders.
The Eldest Miss’s skin was just like that of the Yun sisters — smooth as jade and dazzlingly white.
It was practically a work of art.
Shen Yu was in no mood to appreciate such things.
She carefully vaccinated her, using the Scalpel to make two small cuts on the arm and then stitching them with the vaccine-soaked silk thread.
During the entire process, Cao Xiangning bit her lip and didn’t make a sound, though she couldn’t help but gasp as the blade cut her skin and the needle passed through her flesh.
Whether out of fear or nerves, her small hand instinctively grabbed Shen Yu’s thigh, gripping it quite hard.
Every time Shen Yu caused her pain, she squeezed harder, making both of them let out sharp breaths — hiss… hiss…
“There, that’s done. But since you have been to a dangerous area and the risk of the disease appearing is high, don’t go back to the Marquis Mansion for now. Stay here at Mu’en Hall for a while so I can observe you.”
Shen Yu wanted to be responsible and control any potential spread.
Even though the Capital City was likely already compromised and the number of cases would soon explode, what she was doing was better than nothing.
“Is… is that all? But… my condition might not be suitable for staying here.”
Cao Xiangning dressed herself quietly and then wrote something in her notebook.
Shen Yu caught a glance at her name followed by words like “gentle” and “beautiful,” but she could see no more than that…
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