Chapter 55

A single lamp flickered, casting a warm yellow glow.

The two of them lay half-reclined on the soft couch. Yang Yanzong spoke in a gentle tone about the events of the past two days. Su Ci hugged a soft pillow, her pant legs half-rolled up on his thigh, lazily sprawled out with a tuft of hair adorably sticking up.

Yang Yanzong tugged at her tuft of hair, “Why did you cut your bangs again?”

In ancient times, bangs were exclusive to unmarried girls. After marriage, they would grow their hair long and tie it into a bun with the rest of their hair. There was even a ceremony called “opening the face,” which symbolized saying goodbye to a young girl’s hairstyle.

Su Ci didn’t care about this. To her, “opening the face” just meant threading her facial hair, and that was it. She liked having bangs. She giggled, pushed her tuft of hair back, and rolled on the short couch, almost falling off. Yang Yanzong quickly caught her, and she laughed, lying on his chest and poking him.

Yang Yanzong smoothed her messy bangs. He didn’t argue with her about these things anymore. Fine, if she liked having bangs, she could keep them. He pinched her calf and asked, “Did you skip horse stance practice today?”

Su Ci wanted to learn martial arts, so he took some time to guide her. Internally, it involved guiding her meditation and breathing; externally, it was practicing the horse stance. Anyone who wanted to learn martial arts had to start this way, progressing from shallow to deep, and it was very tough and boring at first.

Su Ci immediately fell silent. Yesterday, she had practiced the horse stance for an hour, the minimum requirement. She had to split it into seven or eight sessions to barely complete it. After enduring one day, she couldn’t take it anymore. Practicing martial arts in ancient times was really tough. She had to rub medicinal oil for a long time before sleeping, and she still woke up in pain the next day.

She couldn’t do it anymore. It was said that it took two years of practice to be considered successful. She just couldn’t manage it.

No wonder people had to start training from a young age to achieve great success. It was too painful for adults with fully grown bones to learn.

Su Ci pretended to be dead. Yang Yanzong asked twice, but she acted like she didn’t hear. She clung to his neck and acted cute, “I’m hungry, I’m sleepy. Where’s the midnight snack?”

Alright, he had long guessed that this pampered girl wouldn’t last long. Yang Yanzong smiled, picked her up horizontally, and placed her on the edge of the table. He looked up and said, “Come in.”

The midnight snack had already arrived, but A Kang, being clever, lightly knocked once on the door and, getting no response, didn’t knock again.

A Kang, with his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, brought the food box in.

Yang Yanzong hadn’t had dinner yet, so this meal was dinner and a midnight snack. Su Ci glanced at the large food box and nudged him with her foot. She hadn’t liked setting the table and arranging dishes even before they got married, let alone now. She glanced at him, thinking that the man usually did this task in a relationship.

Yang Yanzong, feeling exasperated, pinched the tender flesh on her calf, making a circle. Su Ci screamed and laughed. After a while of fooling around, he finally got up and dragged the food box over with a stern face.

Su Ci reached out, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and waited with a sly smile.

When he finished setting the plates and bowls, she laughed and brought a piece of stir-fried garlic sprouts with pork to his mouth.

Yang Yanzong glanced at her, smirked, and ate it.

“Can you get me some stir-fried yellow sprouts over there?” She wasn’t wearing shoes, and her arms weren’t long enough.

Yang Yanzong picked some for her, but halfway to her bowl, he changed his mind and brought it directly to her mouth.

Su Ci giggled, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she ate it with a playful “ah.”

He had picked a bit too much, and some fell. She, not wanting to waste any, picked up the fallen pieces from the bowl and ate them too. Her cheeks puffed up adorably, and Yang Yanzong leaned down to kiss her face.

“Ew, so oily!”

To prevent another surprise attack and to reward Yang Yanzong for his progress, she added several pieces of his favorite stir-fry to his mouth.

“Don’t eat too much rice, or you’ll get indigestion.”

Yang Yanzong wasn’t afraid of indigestion. After years of military campaigns, he had eaten countless meals on horseback, and soldiers generally had iron stomachs. But her nagging was endearing, so he put down his chopsticks after eating most of a bowl of rice.

Although Yang Yanzong did something he thought men shouldn’t do (setting the table), the mutual feeding, whispered conversations and her clear laughter created a warm and sweet atmosphere that he found surprisingly pleasant.

Alright, a little compromise on small things wasn’t a big deal.

They ate until they were about 60% full, then put down their chopsticks, brushed their teeth, and played on the bed for a while, almost getting carried away. Finally, Yang Yanzong patted her rosy cheeks, “It’s late, go to sleep.” He bit her ear, “I’ll give it to you when we get home.” It wasn’t appropriate here.

This man was so strict with military discipline that even when he was about to explode, he held back. Su Ci, being mischievous, poked him with her foot. He hissed, grabbed her neck, and bit her face, tickling her ribs.

Su Ci screamed and laughed, almost out of breath, her face stinging. She didn’t dare look, “Sleep! Sleep!! I’m tired, hahaha.”

After some playful banter, they finally collapsed into bed. It was already past midnight. Su Ci, feeling sleepy, glanced at him one last time. The final image was of him using a hairpin to extinguish the candle, turning towards her, his face close as if to kiss her forehead. She didn’t know if he succeeded because she had already fallen asleep.

---

Yang Yanzong lay awake for a while, staring at the top of the tent. He then turned to look at the person in his arms. The girl complained about being hot and tried to turn over, but this time, he tightened his arm, not letting her roll away. She tried twice without success, grumbled for a bit, and finally tugged at her collar before settling down. He leaned over and kissed her exposed collarbone, smiled, and closed his eyes.

---

In the middle of the night, a cool breeze blew in through the half-opened gauze window, promising a good night’s sleep.

But things didn’t go as planned. The events were related to the information Yang Yanzong had just received in the past two days. The intelligence gathered by the old emperor’s spies in Northern Rong was not false. Moreover, the Left Sage King Wushe Tuqi’s preparations were even earlier and more comprehensive than they had imagined. This was because the Right Sage King Yiling Xie had made significant progress in seeking opportunities in the East Sea.

In the island nation, they exchanged a particular medicine for a large amount of medicinal materials and food, which greatly boosted the spirits of the Northern Rong high command. Currently, Yiling Xie leads a team that secretly contacts other island nations. Until Wushe Tuqi and his uncle, the Left Guli King, led their troops south, everything was reportedly going smoothly.

Wushe Tuqi had every reason to be anxious. In Northern Rong, the Left Sage King was traditionally prioritized for succession over the Right Sage King, but this was merely a principle. Northern Rong always valued the capable, and with Yiling Xie already excelling in the East Sea, Wushe Tuqi needed to achieve significant success in this southern invasion to reassert his dominance. He had to capture the ancient mountain pass and break the northern defense line, so a major victory was essential.

Unfortunately, the battle did not go as planned, and Wushe Tuqi quickly moved to implement his backup plan.

There was a traitor, and not just any traitor, but one in a high and influential position. This plan was executed swiftly and successfully.

Yang Yanzong, Ji Yuanhao, and Tong Jien had all anticipated that Northern Rong might collaborate with the traitor, but none had expected Wushe Tuqi’s plan to be so insidious and escalate to such a degree.

It’s challenging to guard against a thousand days of thievery. Despite having defensive measures in place, both overtly by General Xu and covertly by Tong Jien and Yang Yanzong, they were caught off guard by a biochemical attack in the form of a plague.

Around the fourth watch, urgent footsteps approached Yang Yanzong’s quarters but were stopped. Yang Yanzong immediately opened his eyes. He frowned and quickly sat up, moving lightly so as not to wake Su Ci, who was still in his arms.

Yang Yanzong initially thought they were looking for him, as sudden military emergencies were common. He swiftly donned his clothes and inner armor. At that moment, the person outside quickly exchanged a few words with the guards and then hurriedly approached together.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!!” Heavy knocking sounded at the door. Yang Yanzong frowned and was about to open it when someone outside shouted, “Madam, Madam! Someone from the medical camp is here to see you!!”

“…What’s the matter?” Su Ci was startled awake. She quickly got out of bed, still in her nightclothes, and ran outside. Halfway there, a large black cloak was thrown over her head, and she wrapped it around herself, smiling at him.

They opened the door to see a familiar face. It was a young medicine boy named Liang, who usually followed the old camp judge. He was said to be the old man’s grandnephew. Usually calm, he now had dark circles under his eyes and looked anxious. “Quick! Everyone to the medical camp! There’s a suspected outbreak in the army, and the General has summoned all the military doctors!!!”

Yang Yanzong and Su Ci’s faces changed. Liang didn’t have time to explain further and immediately ran to the next location.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic,” Yang Yanzong said calmly. He had encountered many sudden situations, so his response was excellent. He didn’t show any panic, even in urgent and chaotic times. He held Su Ci’s shoulder and pulled her back inside to change clothes. “Put on your clothes first. I’ll go with you.”

Su Ci calmed down, quickly put on her outer clothes, and used all the protective gear she had prepared, including face masks. She also instructed Yang Yanzong, A Zhao, and A Kang to do the same.

They hurried to the medical camp, which was already brightly lit. Before they even got close, Su Ci heard a buzzing sound and was shocked. “Why are there so many mosquitoes!”

The large ward she was responsible for was closest to the south gate, so she headed straight there. As soon as she entered, she was surprised. She had only been off duty for half a day, so how did so many mosquitoes suddenly appear? Even in summer, it shouldn’t be this bad, and the weather hadn’t been unusual.

Because all the lights in the medical camp were on, the mosquitoes were attracted to the light and flew in quickly. The large ward had several broken screens, and the mosquitoes quickly swarmed in.

Su Ci quickly pulled up her face mask and warned, “Don’t let the mosquitoes bite you!” She instructed Yang Yanzong and the others, then shouted to the medicine boys and on-duty military doctors, “Quick! Brother Liu, Xiao Yuan, and Da Zeng, drive the mosquitoes away!! Close the doors and windows, kill the mosquitoes, and burn them without touching their fluids. Everyone, be careful and don’t get bitten!!”

She had already guessed what the outbreak might be. Sure enough, when she asked Dr. Liu, it was malaria. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried. At least it was something she could handle.

There was no time to explain further. Su Ci quickly reminded everyone to kill the mosquitoes. The injured soldiers who could move got up, covering themselves with clothes and blankets, driving away and killing mosquitoes. Su Ci contributed all her homemade mosquito repellent. Malaria mosquitoes were the main transmission channel, so cutting off this route was crucial.

Dr. Liu ran out to notify other wards to close doors and windows and kill mosquitoes. Although Su Ci’s methods were unusual, no one doubted her medical skills after observing her in practice.

General Xu quickly arrived, looking serious. After understanding the situation, he issued seven or eight military orders and hurried away.

Everyone was running around.

The sudden outbreak of the epidemic and the sudden appearance of so many mosquitoes were clear signs that something was wrong. However, there was no time to deal with this now. Everyone, including Tong Jien and the inspectors, was too busy to pay attention to anything else. Soon, the entire city of Gaobian, inside and out, was bustling with activity, starting to drive away mosquitoes and prevent the epidemic.

Su Ci attributed her knowledge of epidemic prevention to her deceased “master.” But now, no one had the time to question her. Everyone was busy and overwhelmed with work.

Su Ci was initially worried about the availability of medicine. Some of her patients, who had just survived the critical period of high fever from external injuries, were now infected with malaria and were quickly taken away. She wanted to ask about it, but Yang Yanzong pulled her aside. She turned to see him in black clothes and armor, his deep eyes reflecting two points of light in the night. Yang Yanzong said softly, “Don’t worry, the Gaobian camp has medicine. It’s the Qinghao water infusion method you sent earlier.”

This was the original Qinghao water infusion recipe from the “Emergency Prescriptions Kept Up One’s Sleeve.”

Huang Shilong had specifically sent someone to inform them and brought some yellow flower Qinghao.

Huang Shilong was indeed a rare, genuinely responsible official who cared for the people. The old emperor’s choice to send him for disaster relief was truly insightful. After receiving the original recipe and verifying its effectiveness, Huang Shilong immediately organized people to promote it and search for the yellow flower Qinghao.

The malaria epidemic in the disaster area had once shown signs of spreading, but under his full efforts, it was gradually extinguished before it could become a major epidemic.

— Yang Yanzong just told her this latest news. When Yang Yanzong brought her back from Shajiaba the day before, she noticed some deserted villages. Yang Yanzong explained that Huang Shilong had arranged for temporary relocation, and they would return soon. The malaria epidemic in the northeast had almost disappeared, and the vacuum areas used as barriers had completed their preventive tasks.

In addition to creating an advanced vacuum isolation area, Huang Shilong had also informed General Xu, fearing that malaria might get out of control and affect the northern border army. If the northern defense line collapsed, Northern Rong could invade at any moment.

To eliminate this possibility from the start, Huang Shilong notified them and sent a considerable amount of prepared yellow flower Qinghao and the complete recipe. General Xu then ordered more to be prepared for emergencies. Therefore, the Gaobian camp had medicine, which Yang Yanzong knew.

Su Ci nodded, understanding his concerns. That was good; they would see how things went.

---

However, the subsequent situation was not good. The malaria epidemic spread extremely quickly. Before the camp could react, this wave of mosquitoes had already infected many people. Soldiers went from barrack to barrack, asking if mosquitoes had bitten anyone. Those who had were immediately taken away. Despite this, those taken away and even those who hadn’t noticed being bitten soon showed signs of fatigue, headache, followed by chills and high fever.

Worse still, mosquitoes can fly, and sometimes, the ignorance of the populace can indeed be a hindrance. There were several riots and conflicts in the civilian areas outside Gaobian City. Many civilians who had been gradually evacuated from outside the ancient mountain pass, totaling tens of thousands, were originally very honest people. Most were arranged to camp or sleep in the suburbs of Gaobian City because there weren’t enough tents.

Gaobian itself was a mountain city built on a mountain pass, and it wasn’t very large to begin with. It couldn’t accommodate so many people, and even some of the reinforcements had to be stationed outside the city.

Additionally, Gaobian City is a military stronghold, and during critical wartime moments, it is essential to guard against spies. The city had already done its best to allocate a portion of the area to accommodate the elderly, weak, pregnant women, and children. It was impossible to cram everyone in haphazardly. However, the temporarily settled civilians started causing trouble.

Despite the military’s best efforts to contain the situation, efforts to drive away mosquitoes and daily inquiries about mosquito bites couldn’t prevent the outbreak once patients began to appear. Due to a lack of tents, many civilians were sleeping outdoors, leading to more infections and a sudden explosion of cases.

Experienced elders recognized the symptoms as malaria, a contagious disease. The news spread like wildfire, and everyone soon knew. People refused to cooperate, grabbing their belongings and trying to flee. Who would dare stay behind?

But Gaobian couldn’t let them in either, as many were potential malaria carriers. If they flooded into the interior, the epidemic would spread uncontrollably.

Several riots occurred, and the checkpoints were barely held. In the end, they had to kill a few of the most troublesome individuals to quell the unrest. Afterward, they reassured and explained that as long as mosquitoes didn’t bite them, they would be fine—this had been proven over the past few days.

Exhausted from the chaos, even Yang Yanzong had to lead troops out and only returned two days later. His eyes were bloodshot, clearly worn out. Handling such matters was more exhausting than charging into battle.

Su Ci was also extremely tired. The medical staff was severely understaffed, and she could only nap briefly at her desk, never getting a full night’s sleep. Her face was covered with a cloth mask, but her beautiful eyes were already showing signs of fatigue.

Despite the medical camp’s efforts, the medicine was insufficient, and the original Qinghao water infusion was far from enough. After discussing with Yang Yanzong, Su Ci approached General Xu and revealed the cold extraction method.

Su Ci nervously explained, “Lord Huang has a Qinghao water infusion recipe. I specifically inquired about it. I have some talent in medical theory and combined it with my master’s old notes to experiment with it recently.”

She whispered, “Please don’t blame me, General. I was really scared after my last visit to the palace.”

Yang Yanzong bowed and said, “General, my wife is a woman of modest courage, only wishing for peace.”

Su Ci quickly nodded in agreement.

General Xu stared at them for nearly three seconds before taking the recipe. “Do you have the materials?”

“My wife has a healer’s heart and has mentioned several times that we have some supplies at the estate.”

General Xu stared at the recipe for a while. These basic materials weren’t hard to find, and with his resources, the first batch could be ready in three to five days. He stared at Su Ci for a long moment before turning and leaving without a word.

General Xu called the old camp judge and endorsed Su Ci’s plan without revealing her involvement. His back was straight and firm. If he didn’t want to speak, no one could make him. Su Ci felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders.

But now, another problem loomed before the couple. A problem that made Yang Yanzong’s eyebrows shoot up.

The epidemic had exploded, and mosquitoes, being able to fly, were hard to eradicate quickly. This was a contagious disease, and mixing infected soldiers with healthy ones would cause panic. So, General Xu ordered the entire southern city to be evacuated, turning it into a quarantine zone.

As a military doctor, even an auxiliary one, Su Ci would definitely have to enter this quarantine zone with the main force. She originally didn’t think it was a big deal because the 60% to 70% ethanol Qinghao cold extraction method Yang Yanzong tested was indeed effective. She knew how to prevent malaria transmission and felt confident as long as precautions were taken.

— After all, as a former medical student who had taken an oath, the concept of rushing to the front lines in certain situations was deeply ingrained in her through years of education and family influence. Even if she was usually laid-back, she accepted this situation well. At the same time, seeing her patients deteriorate due to malaria made her feel uncomfortable. For once, she was proactive, but Yang Yanzong interrupted her directly!

Su Ci had packed her things and was about to leave when Yang Yanzong returned. She said she was ready to go, but he grabbed her, and she turned to see his deep, sharp eyes.

He said, word by word, “The doctor from Suiping is already on the way,” referring to the one who tested the cold extraction method, “He’ll be here this afternoon. We don’t need you!”

She wasn’t a medicine boy; he didn’t think she had to go. Medicine could be made outside, too!

Yang Yanzong’s eyes were deep and dark like a storm, his expression fierce, as if he was about to explode. He had worked so hard, sacrificed so much, and cooperated extensively to protect his family. With him there, his wife didn’t need to enter the infectious disease zone!

She had done enough!

No matter how safe and easy she made it sound, Yang Yanzong wasn’t willing to take the risk. This was a disease that had once wiped out large numbers of people!

Su Ci was stunned for a moment, then thought, “Uh, it’s not like that. Qinghao is a special medicine, effective immediately. Do you remember penicillin? … And this is a military order!”

This was a military order personally signed by General Xu. Not a single military doctor was exempt. Yang Yanzong, being a military man himself, knew the weight of such orders, right?

“Don’t be afraid…”

“You may not be afraid, but I am!” Yang Yanzong didn’t listen to her at all. He sternly ordered A Kang and A Zheng to keep an eye on her and then stormed out.

Su Ci was stunned: “…”

“Hey, hey, Yang Yanzong—”