“I say, Physician Attendant Shen, your method of treating illness is quite strange,” Cao Zhen said.
“Other physicians prescribe medicinal soups, yet why are you using a knife?”
Cao Zhen was extremely curious about Shen Yu’s scalpel.
It was a far cry from his impression of typical physicians.
Other doctors were all kind-faced men who stroked their beards, and the most threatening thing they carried was a set of silver needles for acupuncture.
This was the first time he had seen someone wielding a knife like Shen Yu.
What was more, Shen Yu was a woman who looked quite frail, yet her hands were incredibly nimble — she could probably embroider flowers on his arm!
“Because it is the most effective way,” Shen Yu replied without much explanation.
If she had to give every patient a lecture, she would never get any work done.
She might as well go to the Imperial Academy to open a new department and become a teacher.
“Can this truly keep me safe? And will I really never catch Centennial Sores again?”
“Naturally. However, I cannot fully guarantee your daughter’s safety. After all, she has been in contact with a patient suffering from Centennial Sores for a while. Her risk of infection is quite high.”
“That is why I want her to stay here for a few days of observation,” Shen Yu explained patiently.
She then lightly covered Cao Zhen’s arm with a layer of gauze.
Its primary purpose was to hide the wound so he would not see the forming scab and be tempted to pick at it.
“Then she… is she still in danger?”
“There is a high probability she will be fine.”
In Shen Yu’s experience, administering the cowpox vaccine within four days could effectively suppress the smallpox virus.
Smallpox had a relatively long incubation period.
Additionally, the medicinal properties of this world were much stronger than she had imagined, so Cao Xiangning would likely be fine.
What Shen Yu worried about was that everyone reacted differently to smallpox.
She feared that the incubation period in Cao Xiangning’s body might be short, and she would fall ill before the vaccine could establish effective protection…
That would be very dangerous.
Currently, the cowpox vaccine in Shen Yu’s hands was the best defense against smallpox.
If someone truly fell ill, even Shen Yu would be powerless.
The treatment would be no different from those of ordinary physicians — prescribing medicinal soups and then praying the patient could pull through on their own.
“Then I can rest easy. Physician Attendant Shen, I am troubling you. My daughter will stay here with you tonight. I will send a servant shortly to bring over everything she might need.”
“Don’t. For the time being, do not let anyone near this small courtyard. And after you return, Marquis, avoid seeing people as much as possible.”
“Wait!”
Shen Yu suddenly thought of something.
She quickly grabbed the nearby pen and paper and began to write.
Cao Zhen assumed she was writing a prescription for him, so he leaned in curiously.
“Burn mugwort, atractylodes, and realgar. The smoke can suppress the spread of the plague. Keep the doors and windows of the room locked while burning, and make sure no one is inside…”
Cao Zhen did not understand the meaning behind what Shen Yu was writing at all.
No wonder she was favored by His Majesty.
Compared to those Imperial Physicians, Shen Yu had both medical ethics and skill.
Logically, she could have kept such a recipe to herself.
Once the Great Plague spread, a formula that could suppress its spread would be worth a thousand pieces of gold.
Yet Shen Yu had no intention of keeping it a secret.
She meticulously listed an entire quarantine and prevention plan for Cao Zhen.
This plan was small in scale, making it perfect for a place like the Dingyuan Marquis Residence.
Given the prosperity of the Capital City, smallpox would likely soon cast a shadow of death over the city.
To Shen Yu, preserving even one patch of pure land in the Capital would give her a better chance of winning once she found an opportunity to counterattack the smallpox.
“Marquis, I ask that you strictly implement this. This will keep the Marquis Residence safe! Leave your daughter to my care. As for the family members in your residence, you must protect them yourself.”
Shen Yu’s words made Cao Zhen take a sharp breath subconsciously.
“Can the residence really be kept safe just by following this set of instructions you wrote, Physician Attendant Shen?”
“Under strict execution, yes,” Shen Yu promised with conviction.
As the Marquis of Dingyuan, he was a grand marquis who commanded authority in the Imperial Court; surely he could handle his own household.
These epidemic prevention and quarantine measures had been tested and refined many times at the border.
As long as Cao Zhen followed them strictly, Shen Yu could guarantee the safety of the household.
“Also, please send a copy of this plan to the Wuding Marquis Residence. I am old friends with the two young ladies of that estate. Further, entrust them to send the plan to a girl named Xiao Yue. I do not know Xiao Yue’s full name, but I believe the two young ladies of the Yun Estate should know.”
Facing Shen Yu’s request, Cao Zhen agreed without hesitation.
Shen Yu had helped him so much; he would naturally follow her words.
However, he was still uneasy about whether a set of management measures similar to those in a military camp could truly prevent Centennial Sores.
After all, Centennial Sores had too great an impact on the Imperial Court and the entire nation.
It was something everyone feared to even mention.
If a child so much as whispered the words “Centennial Sores,” their elders would slap them across the face.
But… Cao Zhen had no other choice.
He could only choose to believe Shen Yu.
Doing something was better than doing nothing.
Shen Yu was right; he had to personally protect his family in the Marquis Residence.
“If this succeeds, I am willing to work like an ox or a horse for you, Physician Attendant Shen. Even in the next life, I would be willing to risk my entire wealth and life to repay you.”
“I shall keep your great kindness and virtue in my heart, Physician Attendant Shen. I am eternally grateful!”
As Cao Zhen spoke, he prepared to kneel before Shen Yu again, but she was quick to stop him.
“There is no need for this, Marquis. I have some history with Marquis Wuding, and I heard that you and he are close personal friends. Thus, this small favor is only right.”
Shen Yu brought up the connection with Marquis Wuding because she was truly afraid that Cao Zhen would keep kneeling.
Perhaps it was a lingering shadow from her past life as a Director of Pediatrics — if a patient’s family knelt to you, the hospital director would likely come charging in the next second with a grimace, grabbing your collar and tearing through the darkness like thunder.
“I’ve heard about it. That old fellow was nearly gone, but you pulled him back from Guimenguan. Our old brothers had already prepared the funeral scrolls for him. Physician Attendant Shen… I have seen life and death throughout my years, but you are the only one who could pull someone we all thought was a dead man back from Guimenguan.”
“Physician Attendant Shen, I won’t say anything more. I’m a crude man, but I believe in you!”
As Cao Zhen spoke, he fished out two heavy gold ingots from his pocket and placed them on Shen Yu’s table.
“In a bit, I’ll have my servants deliver the necessary items to the outside of the alley. I’ll have to trouble you to carry them in yourself, Physician Attendant Shen.”
Cao Zhen had briefly looked over the prevention plan Shen Yu had written and knew that reducing contact with the outside world was paramount.
“Also… my daughter has a certain ailment. It’s been many years and has never been cured. If she has an episode later, please don’t take offense, Physician Attendant Shen.”
“I apologize to you on her behalf in advance. As for the medical fee… please do not refuse it!”
As Cao Zhen spoke, he pulled out another ingot of gold and placed it on Shen Yu’s table.
These three glittering gold ingots on the table were worth at least twenty taels.
“Rest easy, Marquis. I will certainly do my best.”
But it was clear that once late night arrived, Shen Yu had underestimated the state of Cao Xiangning’s condition when it flared up…