TGCFNM -Chapter 288 It Should Be a Problem with the Water Source

The moon shone bright, stars sparse in the sky.

Chu Ling sat on a chair with her back against the wall, gazing upward.

Aside from her, the others had all been persuaded to go rest—there would be physical labor to handle the next day.

Physician Luo stood beside her, his expression tense.

Bai Su was somewhat nervous as well.

Just then, Ghost Scholar lightly tapped Chu Ling’s shoulder with his folding fan. “Someone’s coming.”

Chu Ling immediately rose and hurried forward.

Madam Lin was so anxious she was nearly in tears. She instinctively grabbed Chu Ling’s hand, then quickly let go as if shocked. “My lord, my lord—my husband, he… he…”

Chu Ling hurried to the room where Lin Fu was temporarily staying. As soon as she entered, she saw Lin Fu bent over a bucket, vomiting.

Turning to Madam Lin, Chu Ling asked, “After drinking the medicinal soup, did you eat anything?”

Madam Lin cried, “We had a few mouthfuls of porridge—but I’m completely fine.”

Chu Ling took out her silver needles and strode forward.

Madam Lin wiped Lin Fu’s face with a cloth and helped him sit up, holding him in her arms.

Chu Ling sat by the bedside and took Lin Fu’s pulse. After a moment, the tightness in her brow eased slightly. She muttered softly, “It feels a bit better than during the day.”

“Better?” Physician Luo immediately asked.

Chu Ling gave a slight nod. She appeared to be explaining the condition, but was actually speaking for Physician Luo’s benefit. “Before taking the medicine during the day, his pulse was weak and forceless. Now that I examine it again, it’s stronger.”

Madam Lin nodded. “I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but he really did seem better after drinking the medicine. My husband and I were so happy… but once night fell, for some reason he began vomiting nonstop. Yet I have no problems at all.”

Looking at the two of them, Chu Ling suddenly understood. “Your symptoms are milder, while his are more severe, so his reaction is stronger. But judging from this, the medicine is effective.”

Madam Lin nodded firmly. The medicine had to be good.

Physician Luo leaned in to carefully examine Lin Fu’s face, then said, “Lord Chu, check the tongue coating.”

Chu Ling reached out and gently opened Lin Fu’s jaw, lifting the oil lamp closer to take a look. Following Physician Luo’s instructions, she also checked his eyelids.

After examining him closely, Physician Luo reached for the silver needles beside Chu Ling—but his hand passed straight through them.

Seeing this, Chu Ling picked up the needle herself and leaned closer to Lin Fu. Under Physician Luo’s guidance, she began inserting the needles.

After a while, Lin Fu let out a faint breath and turned toward Chu Ling. “My… my lord…”

A smile spread across Physician Luo’s face. “He’s awake! He’s awake!”

Chu Ling also let out a breath of relief. “You truly frightened us.”

Physician Luo stroked his beard and said, “He must have gotten greedy—felt he had regained some strength and ate too much.”

Chu Ling hadn’t expected that to be the reason. She glared at Lin Fu and scolded, “You felt better after taking the medicine, so you got greedy and overate, didn’t you? How could your stomach possibly handle that?”

Lin Fu flushed red with embarrassment, and Madam Lin couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.

Chu Ling suddenly sprang to her feet. “Oh no—what if the others did the same foolish thing?!” As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed out the door like a gust of wind.

Sure enough, some people felt much better—but others were still vomiting nonstop.

Chu Ling had no choice but to carry her needle kit and go from person to person, inserting needles one by one—and scolding them one by one as well… She kept at it until the fourth watch of the night before things were finally settled.

Completely exhausted, Chu Ling slumped back against a chair and gritted her teeth. “If they dare do this again, I’ll have Su He do the acupuncture for them!”

Ghost Scholar didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Coroner Su probably wouldn’t agree to that.”

Chu Ling closed her eyes deeply. She was so tired tonight that her arms were trembling—finishing one patient only to immediately move on to the next… Still, putting everything else aside, after this night her needlework had definitely become much faster. That counted as some small gain.

Physician Luo, standing nearby, was grinning from ear to ear. “The medicine works, it works! Even those with more severe symptoms can take it—just need to watch their diet afterward.”

Bai Su sighed with emotion. “It’s truly fortunate that we met you. With a bit of luck added in, we were able to complete the epidemic prescription and save the people here.”

Physician Luo shook his head. “I think it’s because of the magistrate. It was you who stopped the epidemic from spreading further and taught the people not to drink raw water. You’re the one who saved everyone.”

Chu Ling suddenly remembered something and looked at Physician Luo. “When did this epidemic start?”

Physician Luo thought carefully. “About a month and a half ago.”

“Do you know what caused it?” Chu Ling straightened in her seat and asked.

Physician Luo shook his head. “That, I truly don’t know. I only remember that about a month and a half ago, a gatekeeper from the Huang family was brought over by members of the Huang household. They said he had diarrhea and was weak all over, and there were black spots appearing on his arms…”

“At the time, those black spots were only the size of a fingernail. The Huang family blocked my view and said they were just moles… Then they said the gatekeeper had gotten greedy for coolness at night and poured well water over himself, and perhaps had caught a chill… I didn’t think too deeply about it. After taking his pulse, I also believed it was a common cold, so I prescribed medicine for that.”

Physician Luo’s face was full of regret. If he had insisted on examining more carefully at the time, perhaps more lives could have been saved.

“Members of the Huang family personally escorting a mere gatekeeper to see a doctor? And what were clearly plague spots being forcefully dismissed as moles…” Chu Ling muttered, “That doesn’t sound right.”

Ghost Scholar tightened his grip on his folding fan. “It’s definitely not right!”

Physician Luo recalled the situation and said uncertainly, “Actually, the reason I didn’t suspect anything that day was partly because the people accompanying him all behaved very openly, as if they had nothing to hide… However, there was a carriage parked outside at the time. After I finished writing the prescription, that carriage left. From what I saw, it belonged to the Huang family.”

“This matter is likely connected to the Huang family—but why would they do such a thing?” Chu Ling couldn’t understand.

Ghost Scholar looked at Physician Luo. “When did the county magistrate, the Huang family, and the other relatively wealthy families in the county leave?”

“Three days after that incident, there was suddenly a massive outbreak. The line of patients outside the pharmacy stretched for nearly a mile… Then the county magistrate suddenly fled. Soon after, everyone started desperately trying to run away. They had money and carriages—they could go anywhere. The ordinary townsfolk who followed them ended up coming back. They had nowhere to go and couldn’t travel far, so they could only return.”

Physician Luo sighed deeply.

“Then gradually, people began to succumb. Each day was just waiting for death. Cold remedies didn’t work, and the medicinal herbs had all been taken away by them… Fortunately, we encountered you, Magistrate.”

Chu Ling crossed her arms and said in a low voice, “Such a large-scale outbreak was very likely caused by the water source… That’s why, when boiling medicine, I always fetched water from the wells at the Huang residence or the yamen.”

“It’s Ming Lake. The people of Anma County all draw their water from Ming Lake,” Physician Luo said.