BDSMST -Chapter 84 The Peaceful Brew and the Distant Traveler

The air in the study seemed to freeze after Gu Yan’s action.

Jiang Suisui watched him set down the empty bowl. In those deep eyes of his, there was not the slightest trace of doubt—only a complete trust that made her heart tremble.

Her gesture of adjusting his collar was less about tidying his clothes and more about finding something to steady herself against that solid strength of his.

“I…” Her throat tightened. A thousand words crowded her chest, but in the end, she only managed, “The medicine you’re taking—drink it three times a day, warm, after meals. If you encounter patients with fever, you may increase the dosage as needed.”

She did not say “be careful” again. She knew this man understood survival in danger better than anyone. All she could do was turn everything she knew into weapons in his hands.

“And this.” Jiang Suisui took out a small cloth bundle from her sleeve. Inside were several pieces of specially made sulfur soap, sealed with beeswax.

“What is this?” Gu Yan asked, catching a faintly unusual scent.

“Soap. For washing hands,” she explained softly. “Plagues often spread through contact. Every time you or Wei Ziqian touch a patient—or return from the refugee camp—you must wash your hands thoroughly with this. Especially under the fingernails.”

As she spoke, she took his hand and demonstrated the washing motions on his broad palm—from fingertips to wrist, leaving no corner untouched. Her soft fingertips traced across his skin, sending a faint tickle through him.

Gu Yan’s gaze dropped to their overlapping hands. His Adam’s apple moved unconsciously.

He allowed her to explain in detail, committing those unheard-of “disease prevention principles” to memory.

“Do you remember?” she asked after finishing, only then realizing how intimate the gesture had been. Her cheeks flushed, and she tried to withdraw her hand.

But Gu Yan caught it, holding on.

“I remember,” he replied in a low voice, adding, “What you say, I believe.”

That night, Jiang Suisui did not return to her own room. She lay on the couch in the study, still dressed. Gu Yan remained at the desk, studying a map through the night.

They did not speak.

Yet the quiet flowing between them was more reassuring than any words.

At dawn, Wei Ziqian was already waiting by the estate’s rear gate with two unremarkable horses. Large packs were strapped to their backs, filled with dry rations, spare clothes, and jars of oilcloth-wrapped “Peaceful Brew.”

Gu Yan had changed into ordinary merchant’s attire, even growing out short stubble. He now looked like a seasoned traveling trader, with none of the imposing dignity of the Marquis of Yongning.

“Marquis, Madam,” Wei Ziqian greeted respectfully when he saw Jiang Suisui had come to see them off.

“Outside, call me Brother Gu,” Gu Yan corrected.

“Yes, Brother Gu,” Wei Ziqian amended at once.

Jiang Suisui handed them two sturdy cloth face masks. “In crowded places, wear these. They may feel stifling, but they can block droplets.”

“Droplets?” Wei Ziqian looked puzzled.

“Saliva and sneezes from the sick,” she explained simply.

Half-understanding, Wei Ziqian put one on, copying her example so that only his eyes were visible.

Gu Yan did the same. Through the thin layer of cloth, his gaze rested on Jiang Suisui’s face, as though trying to etch her features into his heart.

“We’re leaving,” he said, mounting his horse in one smooth motion.

“Take care of yourself,” Jiang Suisui stood in the pale morning light and said softly.

Gu Yan tightened the reins, looked at her deeply one last time, then nodded firmly. With a squeeze of his heels, he and Wei Ziqian disappeared down the mountain road.

After seeing him off, Jiang Suisui did not pause for a moment.

She immediately gathered everyone in the estate in the open space before the greenhouses for an unprecedented assembly.

“Starting today, Woniu Village enters its highest alert state,” her clear, strong voice rang across the clearing. “Seal all roads connecting to the outside. No one may enter or leave without permission. The patrol team will rotate twenty-four hours a day. Any stranger approaching the estate is to be turned away immediately. No contact.”

The youths answered in unison, solemn and resolute.

Then she turned to the somewhat anxious women and laborers.

“I know what you’re afraid of. We’ve all heard about the plague in the neighboring county. But fear solves nothing. What we can do is protect ourselves and protect our home.”

Large buckets of water and baskets of soap were brought forward.

“From today on, everyone must wash their hands with soap morning, noon, and night. Before eating and after using the latrine—wash. Each courtyard will have plant ash at the entrance. Before entering, step on it to disinfect your shoe soles.”

“The kitchen will prepare Peaceful Brew daily. One bowl per person, per day. You must drink it.”

“I’ve also made these masks.” She held one up for everyone to see. “Whenever you leave your own courtyard, you must wear one. Watch over one another.”

Her directives came one after another—clear, specific, unquestionable.

The villagers shifted from confusion to focused attention. These simple, understandable yet unheard-of methods gave them a direction to follow amid their overwhelming fear.

“Madam, we’ll listen to you!” someone shouted first.

“Yes! We all will!”

The crowd’s morale surged.

But Jiang Suisui was not finished. She knew lockdown alone was not enough. The refugees struggling in despair were a concern she could not cast aside—and the very purpose of Gu Yan’s journey.

She turned to Xie Zi’an. “Sir, I need your help.”

“Please, Madam.”

“I plan to establish a temporary quarantine settlement three miles outside the estate, at the foot of Qingping Mountain,” she said, pointing into the distance. “We need a plan that can both aid refugees and minimize the spread of the epidemic.”

Xie Zi’an’s eyes lit up.

Looking at the woman before him—who, in the face of crisis, had not retreated but chosen instead to step forward—an indescribable admiration rose in his heart.

He cupped his hands in a deep bow. “Zi’an is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty.”

And so, on the small stage of Woniu Village, a battle of scientific disease prevention and humanitarian rescue officially began.