The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 340 A Sick Man Governing the Country
The palace examination finally ended. The early summer of the second year of Tianqi was as short as a rabbit's tail.

The capital was not very hot during the Little Ice Age climate.

Liu Zhaosun remembers the scene of his family sitting around an eight-immortals table eating red bean paste rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival this year.

That day, the three sisters Jin Yuji, Yang Qing'er and Zhang Yan were still wearing horse-faced skirts, which showed that the weather was not very hot.

Jin Yuji shook her long legs that had nowhere to put and argued with Yang Qing'er about which of the two countries, Korea and Ming, was Qu Yuan's hometown.

Zhang Yan's belly was slightly bulging. The Duke of Huguo untied the hemp ropes on the bamboo leaves and handed the rice dumplings to the pregnant woman whose appetite had increased sharply.

In the blink of an eye, it was June, the weather gradually became hotter, and the plague in Shaanxi became more and more serious.

On the afternoon of the second day of June, around 3 p.m., a dark green cloud suddenly floated in the sky west of the capital, followed by a strong wind, and soon hail began to fall.

Many people in the capital were killed or injured. Even the most eloquent officials in the capital could not connect this extreme weather with auspicious signs.

It's not just the common people who suffer.

The Duke of Protectorate worked overtime every day for two consecutive months to review memorials, and was busy in the barracks workshop during the day. He could be said to have worked day and night, toiling away physically and mentally.

On the morning of the third day of June, the day after the hailstorm, Liu Zhaosun got up early to patrol the camp and felt a slight fever. He did not take it seriously at first and reviewed memorials in the afternoon. When he returned to the military camp that night, he had a high fever, chest tightness, nausea, headache, and irritability, and finally fell into a coma.

The entire Huguo Mansion was in chaos.

Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi were afraid that something might happen to the Duke of Protectorate, so after discussing it, they called Old Song to treat him, and at the same time instructed Deng Changxiong to order the soldiers stationed at the nine gates to wear armor and be prepared for any emergency.

Old Song gave Huguo the medicine and assured him that the patient had a cold and would be cured after two doses of warming medicine.

However, after taking two doses of medicine, the high fever still did not subside.

Jin Yu Ji stayed by her husband's bed, crying like a tearful person.

Just as everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, Yang Qing'er ordered Wu Xiao to go to the palace overnight to find his relative, the imperial physician Wu Youke, at the Imperial Hospital.

Wu Youke came out of the palace that night and took the pulse of the Duke of Huguo. Under Old Song's admiring gaze, he said calmly:
"It's not a problem, it's just an accidental infection. The seasons in the capital have been strange lately, and there have been many cases of plague. It might be the plague."

When everyone first heard the word "it doesn't matter", they all breathed a sigh of relief. But when they heard it was the plague, their faces changed drastically. Plague was synonymous with death in that era.

“Why is there plague?”

"Was it the Emperor's doing?!"

"The Protector of the Country has a tragic fate, alas!"

Everyone was talking.

Kang Yingqian stared at the ground without saying a word.

Qiao Yiqi seemed to be possessed by Xianglin Sao, chattering incessantly:

"I'm so stupid, really. I should have tried to persuade the Protector of the State to take care of himself. He's even more cruel than Emperor Yang of Sui. He spends his entire life doing what others would spend ten lifetimes doing: fighting wars, reviewing memorials, planning reforms, and even having to spend every day with his one wife and two concubines... Even the strongest person can't stand it!"

"I am so silly."

Sun Chuanting had been to Shaanxi and Shanxi before, and knew how serious the plague was. He whispered to those around him, "If it's really a plague, we should avoid it. Also, this matter must not be made public..."

Jin Yuji ignored him and threw herself in front of the bed: "Heal him quickly!"

Yang Qing'er calmed the Korean girl down and said to Wu Youke, "Hearing what you said, sir, I think it's possible to cure her."

Wu Youke recalled the plague case he encountered as a traveling doctor in Shaanxi. He lifted the patient's limp wrist, carefully felt his pulse again, turned over Liu Zhaosun's tongue coating, and said to everyone:
"Aversion to cold and high fever, sometimes three times a day or once a day, at irregular times, with chest tightness, nausea, headache, irritability, a stringy and rapid pulse, a deep red tongue with a greasy coating, or a thick white coating like powder. These symptoms are exactly the same as what I saw in Xianyang in the 45th year of the Wanli reign. It must be the plague."

"What? Plague?"

When everyone heard this, their faces turned pale.

In the 45th year of the Wanli reign, there was a plague in Xianyang. Of the 100,000 people inside and outside the city, three out of ten died. There were deaths in every household. It is said that in the end there were not enough people to collect and bury the bodies.

Kang Yingqian stared at the Duke of Huguo for a long time without saying a word, muttering, "It's fate. He was about to become emperor, why did it end like this? How hateful, how hateful!"

Qiao Yiqi, Ma Shiying and others were already frightened out of their wits. Sun Chuanting called Pei Dahu and asked him to go down and find someone to strengthen the security of the mansion and prevent outsiders from approaching.

Wu Youke calmly took out a medical book, turned to a page, and said to Yang Qing'er:
"Madam, please take a look. This is the Dayuan Drink I prepared. It is composed of seven herbs: betel nut, magnolia bark, tsaoko, anemarrhena, peony root, scutellaria baicalensis, and licorice root."

Yang Qing'er pointed at the prescription and said calmly, "Are these really effective?"

Wu Youke stroked his beard lightly, shook his head and said, "Betel nut removes the miasma of Lingnan, Magnolia officinalis breaks the evil spirit, and Amomum villosum removes the hidden evil spirit. The three herbs work together to reach the nest of the evil spirit, causing it to collapse and quickly leave the membrane. Amomum villosum treats the cold that is dominated by Taiyin, and Anemarrhena asphodeloides treats the heat that is dominated by Yangming. It can treat damp-heat blocking the middle part of the body, the malfunction of the hub, and the resulting fluctuations of cold and heat..."

Yang Qing'er didn't wait for him to finish and made a prompt decision: "Hurry up and prepare it for the Duke of Huguo to take. No delay!"

~~~~~~
On the second day after Ping Liaohou fell ill, the astute Zhu Youjian got the news from somewhere and immediately sent someone to deliver a handwritten edict and rewards.

Four young eunuchs carried the imperial gifts to the Duke of Protectorate's mansion. Wang Chengen wanted to see Liu Zhaosun, but was stopped by Sun Chuanting and others, who said that the Duke of Protectorate had just recovered from a serious illness and was not in a position to meet guests.

Eunuch Wang had no choice but to read out his oral order in front of Sun Chuanting: "To the Protector of the Country: I haven't seen you for a few days. I heard you caught a cold. I am giving you eighty taels of silver and a python robe as a token of my remembrance."

The gifts were still one piece of fresh pork, one piece of fresh lamb, sweet pickled cucumbers, eggplants, two stone of white rice, ten bottles of wine, eighty taels of silver, two boxes of sweets, two boxes of dry snacks, and a portion of roasted meat.

Sun Chuanting looked at Wang Chengen with a hint of murderous intent.
That night after taking the Dayuan Drink, the high fever on the Duke of Huguo's body gradually subsided, and three days later, he was fully recovered.

During this period, Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er also fell ill and rested in their rooms.

Zhang Yan was pregnant, but she stayed by the bedside of the Duke of Huguo for three consecutive days without taking off her clothes.

Liu Zhaosun woke up in the early morning three days later. Zhang Yan, with her bright eyes and white teeth, was still taking a nap beside the bed, holding a spoon for feeding medicine in her hand. Seeing this, the Duke of Huguo was deeply moved. Despite having just recovered from a serious illness, he gently hugged Madam Zhang...

Surprisingly, the plague did not spread. Only a dozen people died in the capital and the plague disappeared silently. Liu Zhaosun did not know why, and even Wu Youke could not explain it.

Perhaps the plague virus is still in its incubation period, waiting for a more suitable opportunity to break out.

Everything is unknown.

~~~~~~
After this experience, the Duke of Protector of the Country gained a new understanding of life and health.

He decided to delegate power appropriately and delegate more power to Yang Hao and others to make things easier for himself and not risk his life like Zhu Yuanzhang and Yongzheng.

During the scorching summer heat, the number of memorials sent to the capital from all over the country decreased significantly. The training of new recruits was changed from every three days to every five days, and workshops and schools also gradually closed for holidays.

The Duke of Protectorate had just recovered from a serious illness and no longer went to inspect the military camp. He stayed at his mansion every day, accompanied by his three beauties.

From the expedition to Japan to returning home to quell the rebellion, it was another busy half year, and finally I had a few days of free time to rest.

On June 15th, the streets and alleys of the capital were decorated with lights and were very lively. The officials of the capital invited the Yiyang Opera Troupe to perform Kunqu Opera on the North and South Streets.

At dusk that night, the Duke of Huguo married Zhang Yan with three gifts and six betrothal gifts.

Zhang Yuhe's bulging belly has become more and more obvious. After all, she is six months pregnant and can't delay getting married any longer.

Although Liu Zhaosun was reluctant, he could not resist the constant nagging of Kang Yingqian and others. Moreover, after this serious illness, he also developed some inexplicable feelings for Zhang Yan.

To add, after Kang Yingqian spent a large sum of money to bring Zhang Yan back to Liaodong, he recognized Zhang Yuhe as his adopted daughter.

In other words, Lao Kang is now Zhang Yan's godfather.

In other words, Liu Zhaosun now has a new father for no reason.

And he's the kind of godfather who likes to peddle illegal drugs everywhere.

On the day of the wedding, all the civil and military officials in the capital were present to celebrate the Duke of Protectorate's marriage and his stunning beauty.

After working hard for half a year, the Duke of Protectorate could finally relax a little. On the day of his wedding, he got drunk and passed out.

When she woke up again, Zhang Yan had become a second-rank imperial lady, officially becoming the third lady in the Duke of Huguo's mansion.

~~~~~
Fire in July.

Although Liu Zhaosun advocated frugality and a simple life, he was, after all, the Duke of Protector of the Country, a high-ranking official, so his daily expenses were naturally incomparable to those of ordinary people.

In the Duke Protector's Mansion, there are many luxury items to cool down the heat, such as ice jars (similar to air conditioners) and chilled red wine.

The three beauties accompanied each other, hiding in the small building and living together, and their days were quite comfortable.

Just as described in Water Margin:
A jade screen, surrounded by vermilion railings, teems with fish and waterweed. A bamboo mat, eight feet long, is covered with white shrimp whiskers, a red agate pillow rests on the head. Six dragons, fearing the heat, dare not move, while the seawater boils over Penglai Island. The young master still finds the fan's power insufficient, while the traveler continues on the mortal path.

Here it says, "In the sweltering summer months, the young princes and nobles soaked floating melons and sunken plums in the pavilions and water towers, and made lotus root stews with ice and snow to escape the heat, yet they still felt the heat. How could they know that the guests, for the sake of a little fame and profit, and without any shackles to restrain them, had to walk on the road in the dog days of summer?"

The cries of the Binghuers (coolies selling sour plum soup) could be heard again in the streets and alleys of the capital.

Ice cellars have been used to store ice since ancient times. In the Yuan Dynasty, people in the north used cream and other ingredients to make popsicles or ice cream.

Jin Yuji would drink a glass of sour plum juice every day to cool down.

There are no such cold drinks in North Korea, and she rarely saw them when she was in Kaiyuan in previous years.

When they arrived in the capital, the Korean girl was really enlightened. She found out that there were so many kinds of cold drinks during the dog days of summer.

So in addition to taking care of her daughter, Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er studied how to make ice cream more delicious - the two now formed an alliance to deal with Zhang Yan together.

Unfortunately, their craftsmanship was so poor that even Liu Yufei wouldn’t eat the ice cream they made.

So the two sisters began to study the method of making amber cake.

The so-called amber cake is made by filtering the watermelon juice and then simmering it over low heat. The juice becomes thick and is then chilled. It looks good and tastes good.

Tan Er is good at making all kinds of cakes, and amber cake is no problem for him.

Liu Zhaosun took a bite and felt that it was almost the same as a certain Das he had eaten before, and couldn't help but praise it:

"Tan Er, your cakes are good. You can open a cake shop in the capital and apply for a patent. Then you will become rich."

Chef Tan naturally didn't know what a patent was.

However, in the following July, the chef who had escaped from his ancestral home in western Liaoning was busy making cool and delicious amber cakes.

(End of this chapter)