Chapter 57: The Outbreak of the Plague

Jiang Yu was stunned by Jiang Qingqing’s words.

“Isn’t it?”

He naturally asked in return.

Jiang Qingqing gave him a disdainful glance, coldly saying, “Only someone like you wouldn’t survive through the first volume of the plot. We, on the other hand, should be able to make it to the end, right?”

Third sister-in-law, listening to Jiang Qingqing’s teasing of Jiang Yu, laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

Out of curiosity, she asked, “Your skirt today is really something special, Your Highness. What material is it? It’s so shiny.”

Jiang Qingqing lowered her head to look at her dress and replied, “I don’t know either. But I’ve prepared some for you all as well.”

She had been so busy lately that she hadn’t had the chance to prepare fresh clothes for everyone.

All the shops and workshops in Xizhou had been shut down, some looted, some sealed. If they wanted new clothes or cloth shoes, they could only find materials themselves.

Jiang Qingqing gestured for her sisters-in-law to follow her.

“Sisters-in-law, come with me. I have plenty of fabric in my room. We can make new clothes for everyone.”

Originally, she had planned to ask the deity to get her some ready-made clothes, but after thinking about it, she decided it would be better to let her sisters-in-law make them themselves.

They could choose the patterns they liked.

They could also tailor them according to their family members’ sizes and preferences.

Moreover, the deity had provided them with a divine object—a sewing machine—which supposedly could make several outfits a day.

As soon as the topic of new clothes was mentioned, the four sisters-in-law’s eyes lit up.

Jiang Qingqing came quickly and left just as fast.

In the blink of an eye, she had taken all four sisters-in-law with her.

The narrow bedroom space seemed to open up quite a bit.

Jiang Yu sat on the bed, staring at her as she left without a word, not even bothering to explain. His heart hurt and he was confused.

What on earth was going on?

Eventually, Jiang Yu learned from Elder Brother Jiang that the Jiang family had been saved by Jiang Qingqing.

There was also the help of a powerful deity.

Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered.

It was laughable how he had once treated the deity as an imagined enemy!

As Jiang Qingqing had said, it was a high and mighty deity. How could it be tainted by the mundane matters of mortals?

“Brother, have you made offerings to the deity?” Jiang Yu asked.

Elder Brother Jiang suddenly remembered, “Oh right! We haven’t offered incense yet. So much has happened recently. Let’s pick a day and offer incense to the deity.”

——

The four sisters-in-law were picking out fabric in Jiang Qingqing’s room.

No matter how they looked at it, it all seemed good.

They casually took a few bolts of fabric.

It was the four old-fashioned foot-pedaled sewing machines standing by the side that made them think a lot.

The sewing machine had instructions, even with demonstration pictures. It showed how to thread the needle and guide the thread, but the principles were vastly different from traditional hand sewing.

The sisters-in-law were already sweating profusely.

Just when they were about to suggest using regular needles and thread, to their surprise, Second Sister-in-law successfully made it work.

They heard the sound of the bearings spinning, and to their amazement, the fabric on the workbench was being stitched quickly with silk thread.

“That’s amazing!”

Third Sister-in-law exclaimed.

She also wanted to try.

They were all used to doing needlework, but a single garment usually took at least three or four days to finish.

But with this machine, making two or three outfits a day wouldn’t be a problem!

Just as they were about to discuss the wonders of the machine, they heard Elder Brother Jiang’s anxious voice outside the door. “Your Highness, are you inside? Something has happened to the people in the city!”

The group inside exchanged looks, all filled with unease.

It had only been two days since the city was sealed. Could something have happened so quickly?

Jiang Qingqing followed Elder Brother Jiang to the front hall, where a doctor, holding a piece of silk, stepped back in fear as Jiang Qingqing approached to ask about the situation.

It seemed he was terrified of getting too close to Jiang Qingqing.

Jiang Qingqing furrowed her brows. “What has happened in the city?”

The doctor knelt, his voice trembling. “Your Highness, today a strange bird plague has appeared in the city. At least a hundred people have come to my clinic seeking medicine.”

Doctor Zhao had run a medical clinic in a lane before the chaos in Xizhou.

His family had practiced medicine for generations, with a great reputation.

Now that the clinic was closed, everyone had to come to his home for treatment.

“The people coming to see me all show symptoms of high fever, coughing, headaches, and body aches. I suspect… I suspect it’s the plague.”

“The plague!”

As soon as Doctor Zhao finished speaking, Elder Brother Jiang voiced his disbelief.

The scenes of the plague from ten years ago were still vivid in his mind.

The sky was ablaze with flames, caused by the sudden deaths of people being burned. The cries were deafening, and the entire city was immersed in sorrow.

“Are you sure it’s the plague?” Jiang Mother asked sternly.

Doctor Zhao nodded.

“With my decades of experience in medicine, it is indeed the plague.”

“This morning, something strange happened in the city. The streets were covered with dead birds. And those who came seeking treatment had all eaten the meat of those birds.”

Doctor Zhao’s words made everyone fall silent.

Jiang Qingqing calmed herself and asked about the current symptoms of the people in detail.

She also had Doctor Zhao write a prescription, listing the best medicinal herbs to treat the plague.

She reassured him, “Doctor Zhao, please rise. Don’t worry, there will be a solution.”

During the process, Elder Brother Jiang also mentioned some methods used to treat the plague in the past.

Jiang Qingqing glanced at him and wondered aloud, “How was the plague from ten years ago resolved?”

Elder Brother Jiang hesitated to speak, but it was finally Jiang Mother who spoke up.

Her tone was filled with sadness.

“We survived it. Through the city lockdown and the burning of corpses. Imperial doctors came to the palace, but the results were minimal.”

Jiang Qingqing pressed her lips together.

So the plague had been accompanied by the destruction of families. Even Mother and Father couldn’t find a cure?

Jiang Qingqing copied Doctor Zhao’s prescription and held it as she returned to her room.

“Wait for me a moment. I’ll ask the deity for help.”

The image of the deity had already been established in the hearts of the Jiang family, and they looked on with hope as they watched Jiang Qingqing leave.

Would the deity save Xizhou once more?

After Jiang Qingqing left, Jiang Yu, who had been quietly listening the entire time, suddenly spoke up:

“Mother, there’s no time like the present. Let’s go offer incense to the deity.”

Jiang Mother nodded and stood up from her chair, “Let’s go, gather everyone from the Jiang family.”

It was the right thing to do.

——

Jiang Qingqing returned to her room and called upon Fu Zhengnan, but received no response for a long time.

At that moment, Fu Zhengnan had just left the airport in Haicheng. After nearly 15 hours of back-to-back flights the previous night, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd of reporters as soon as he emerged.

“Mr. Fu, we’ve heard that you were scammed by an overseas pig-killing scam for nearly 100 million. Is this true?”

“We’d like to know what you have to say to the shareholders. Will this affect your company’s stock?”

“As the CEO of the Fu Group, how could you fall victim to an online scam? Does this imply that there are no capable people left in the Fu Group?”

“Please respond!”

The flashbulbs went off, blinding Fu Zhengnan, as cameras clicked rapidly.

Microphones were shoved towards his lips.

Some reporters were even live-streaming the scene, providing commentary:

“We have now met the male lead of the billion-yuan pig-killing scam. Let’s see how he will explain this fiasco.”