Chapter 38 Suspecting the Generals

Zhu Zan seemed not to hear someone approaching; he was just looking down from the temple, plucking blades of grass and tossing them away one by one.

"Why are you being so generous this time? Aren't you here to atone for your crimes and earn merit?" Miss Jun came up and stood behind Zhu Zan and asked, "Why aren't you taking the Zhou Family's child to see the emperor?"

Zhu Zan didn't turn his head.

"That's for him to do my bidding," he said. "As for the crimes of others, that's their business."

Indeed, compared to Zhu Zan, the emperor would definitely trust him more.

Miss Jun sat down on a rock beside him, but before she could settle in, Zhu Zan pushed her with a hand.

"Go on, get further away," he frowned and said.

Miss Jun moved away with a laugh, as instructed.

"Then aren't you afraid he'll hide the news from here? Distort the truth?" she asked. "This kind of thing is their business too, right?"

Zhu Zan turned his head to look at her, raised his eyebrows, and smiled.

"Although he is a beast, the emperor has children," he said. "Without the emperor, he wouldn't even qualify as a beast."

Indeed, the emperor cared even more for his children; without them, what use would there be for the hard-fought kingdom? It would end up in someone else's hands.

Miss Jun smiled and looked towards the direction of the capital.

"Then tomorrow, our place here will be overflowing with people," she said.

But what surprised Miss Jun and the doctors was that this situation did not occur.

There was nothing surprising about this situation.

What is smallpox? A passageway to the underworld. Not to mention the whole world, just take the capital, where every year, no small number of people die from smallpox.

Previously, Miss Jun said she had cured Prince Huai's smallpox, and everyone had great confidence in her, with many smallpox-afflicted children coming for treatment immediately. But unexpectedly, the results were not as everyone had imagined and Miss Jun failed to perform the immediate cure as expected.

This caused Miss Jun's reputation, built up as a bell healer renowned across the capital, to vanish in an instant.

If smallpox couldn't be cured, then the announcement of a medicine to prevent smallpox seemed even more unbelievable. Who would easily believe such absurd talk?

"I dare not take my child to Guanghua Temple."

"One dose for vaccination costs a hundred copper coins."

"Can such a potent medicine really cost only this much?"

"Isn't Miss Jun's Jiuling Hall known for charging a thousand gold for a consultation and a thousand gold for medicine?"

"It doesn't seem useful."

"Who knows if those children were really given the medicine?"

"What's the use even if the feudal authority and the Imperial Hospital have seen it? We haven't seen their children go."

On the street, the people gathered around the announcement posted by the feudal authority were pointing and discussing amongst themselves. Manager Liu watched for a moment and then turned to leave.

"How did they decide on such a low price?" he said to Fang Jinxiu.

Because Guanghua Temple was under martial law, all information was controlled by the Jinyiwei. The announcement about the smallpox vaccination also came from Miss Jun and her group, who had written it and handed it to the feudal authority, leaving Manager Liu without any leverage.

"It's for prevention; the aim is for everyone in the world to get vaccinated, not just the wealthy, so the price has to be affordable for the general public," Fang Jinxiu said.

Manager Liu shook his head.

"I understand her thinking, but if everyone believed her, setting such a low price would be considered a great act of kindness and merit. The problem now is that nobody believes, and by setting the price so unusually low, it only makes them more doubtful," he said.

Fang Jinxiu obviously knew about the talk in the capital and was silent for a moment.

"Some people will believe eventually," she said.

Yes, some people would eventually believe, but Manager Liu didn't want to wait. The smallpox situation had dragged on for too long, and it had been hard on Miss Jun and her group.

Upon leaving Fang Jinxiu, Manager Liu went straight home and ordered his carriage to be prepared and his grandson to be brought to him.

"What are you taking him to do?" Old Lady Liu called out.

"Of course, we're going for the vaccination," Manager Liu said, urging the coachman to hurry the carriage.

Old Lady Liu pounced over and grabbed him.

"You've lost your mind. Our Liu Family has been passing down the lineage through single inheritance for three generations," she shouted.

The daughter-in-law who followed along didn't dare to speak, only staring at the child in Manager Liu's arms with tearful eyes.

"Don't worry, if Miss Jun says it's safe, then it's safe," Manager Liu said. "We're well aware of her medical skills."

Old Lady Liu sat on the ground and cried bitterly.

"I don't know about her medical skills, all I know is that it's smallpox," she sobbed, slapping her thigh. "Have you forgotten how our two sons died?"

"I remember, that's exactly why I don't want Xiao Bao to face the threat of smallpox. Getting him vaccinated will put our minds at ease," Manager Liu said. He didn't pay any more attention to the woman and cracked the whip to urge the horse forward.

The carriage sped off, the child in his arms not understanding what was happening, giggling happily to the fast-paced ride in his grandfather's embrace, echoing the crying sounds of the woman coming from the house.

Although the public was skeptical about the feudal authority's announcement to get vaccinated at Guanghua Temple to prevent smallpox, everyone was still concerned about who would go. So when Manager Liu made his move, everyone knew about it, but it didn't cause much of a stir.

"With De Sheng Chang being part of Miss Jun's family, who else but him should go?" everyone said to each other.

Seeing Manager Liu's arrival, Miss Jun and the others weren't surprised.

"I didn't expect everyone to be so cautious," Manager Liu said, sitting down on a chair, trying hard to appear calm, but a hint of nervousness was still evident in his eyes.

Doctor Feng was vaccinating his grandson. The boy's arm was gently pricked, and just as he puckered his mouth to cry, Miss Jun had already handed him a sugar figurine.

The child hurriedly took it, his tears forgotten on his cheeks, and Doctor Feng had already swiftly wrapped the boy's arm with cloth.

"It's no wonder everyone's being cautious," he said, straightening up with a smile. "Initially, we doctors were even more cautious than everyone else."

Manager Liu took the child and held him in his arms.

The child had long forgotten the pain and fear, licking the sugar figurine with glee.

"I'll explain it all in more detail to everyone when I get back," he said.

Doctor Feng wasn't in a hurry.

"Introducing a new medicine is all about getting people to accept it gradually," he said.

Though Manager Liu was also nervous, he left with the vaccinated child to demonstrate his trust.

Guanghua Temple was still under martial law, but accommodations were arranged outside the temple for those coming to get vaccinated, and their movements weren't restricted.

Manager Liu returned to the city with the child, and as soon as they passed the city gates, they were surrounded by people. Manager Liu didn't shy away, allowing everyone to see the white cloth wrapped around Xiao Bao's arm.

"They say he'll start to get a fever tomorrow, and after a few pox appear, he'll be fine," he said. "Everyone is welcome to visit my home tomorrow to see for themselves."

The crowd followed Manager Liu all the way home and continued to discuss fervently even after he had gone through his front door.

............................................

Inside the Imperial Hospital, the imperial physicians were also gathered, whispering among themselves. Compared to the confident demeanor they had before, they now seemed uneasy.

These days, they had followed orders to Guanghua Temple along with the officials, witnessing the vaccination process performed by other doctors.

Apart from the child of the Zhou Family who was invited to the imperial palace, there were other children who came seeking treatment, as well as family members of patients who had been vaccinated. The doctors demonstrated the vaccination process on the spot and showed that a child who had been vaccinated remained safe and sound after rubbing the pustule fluid from another child with smallpox on their own skin.

To say they didn't believe would be difficult for them to explain.

To believe...

This would indeed be a great deed, and they would definitely be revered as deities by people all over the world.

"The matter of vaccination is of great importance. We should petition for an imperial edict for the Imperial Hospital to take over," Imperial Physician Jiang suddenly said.

The eyes of the present imperial physicians brightened, and they sat up straighter.

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Thank you to Sunflower Seeds for the reward of the Spirit Beast Egg.

Thank you to Guang Han Palace's master a, Green Vine Language, and Ice of the South for the reward of He's Bi.

Actually, we still need to continue to accumulate, and by the middle of the month we'll have a new storyline.