In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Zhu Qingyu received the imperial decree at home before coming to the pawnshop. Now that the emperor's decree had been issued, the Zhang family no longer had any worries and could leave the capital at any time.

The moment the eunuch delivering the imperial decree left, Zhu Qingyu felt as if the sky above the Zhang family's small residence had cleared up considerably.

Therefore, Zhu Qingyu is in a very good mood. It is the best day she has had since arriving in the capital. She is so happy that when she sees that Lord Gu seems to be about to go crazy again, she is willing to promote the noble professional spirit of medical workers and show Lord Gu some humanitarian care.

Most importantly, in just a few days, once she and Zhang Shen have packed their things, they can leave the capital. There's no need to clash with Gu Zhao at this time, lest it cause unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, Zhu Qingyu remained calm in the face of Gu Zhao's cold gaze, physical restraint, and aggressive tone.

Zhu Qingyu spoke very gently, grasping his hand that was pressing on her shoulder, trying to pull away from his embrace, as she said:

"Lord Gu, it is not easy to live in the capital. As you know, my family is in a difficult situation now. It is hard to make a living in the capital. Therefore, I have no choice but to return to my hometown in Sichuan. Next time you come to Sichuan on official business, if you don't mind, please come to my home, have a cup of tea, and have a simple meal."

In Shuzhong?

Thousands of miles apart, and the Shu Road is so difficult to travel, saying "Come sit at my home" seems like an invitation, but it's really a farewell.

She will never return, and he fears they will never see each other again in this lifetime.

Even the phrase "Sichuan" that she mentioned might be false.

Gu Zhao gripped her hand tightly, pressing it down, his tone a mix of anger and sorrow as he questioned her:

"You're lying to me again. You're not going to Sichuan. Aren't you going to Bianzhou? Isn't your hometown in Bianzhou?"

Zhu Qingyu was truly astonished; why would Gu Zhao mention Bianzhou out of the blue?

If we say that her hometown in this world is Bianzhou, it makes some sense. After all, four years ago she received a phone call to make a house call. As soon as she opened the door, she saw snow falling all around her. With one step, she arrived in Bianzhou City in this world.

She also arrived at a hell on earth that she had never seen before in her life.

She had seen the phrase "great plague" countless times in various history books, but when she did see it, she simply read it; it was difficult to truly grasp the shock and sorrow it conveyed through mere imagination.

Only when those three words were truly before my eyes did I realize what a horrific scene it was: starving people everywhere, corpses scattered all over the ground, white banners hanging in every house, and mourning in every room.

This scene had a huge psychological impact on Zhu Qingyu, who had just arrived in this world, so much so that she stood there, unable to tell whether she was in reality or in a dream.

Until someone woke her up:

"Madam, I've noticed you've been standing here for quite some time. Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Zhu Qingyu turned her head and saw Zhang Shen, and finally saw the first person in this world who looked like he was alive and well.

When Zhang Shen saw her direct and unabashed gaze, he panicked and even began to stammer:

"I, I, I'm not a bad person, really, really, don't be afraid, I am, I am Zhang Shen, the head merchant of Yangzhou."

Worried that Zhu Qingyu wouldn't believe him, Zhang Shen even took out his merchant credentials to show her:

"Look, this is my travel document. I'm a legitimate salt merchant from Yangzhou, not a human trafficker or a bad person. I came to Bianzhou to pick someone up at the request of a friend. When I passed by, I saw you standing here. After picking up the person, you were still standing here. I wondered if you were in some kind of trouble?"

Salt merchants? Bianzhou?

Occupations and place names that you only find in history textbooks.

Zhu Qingyu subconsciously took Zhang Shen's merchant certificate, let out a long breath, and asked:

"Excuse me, sir, no, young master, what is the date?"

Because Gu Zhao suddenly mentioned Bianzhou City, the human tragedy that had been buried deep in her memory was brought up again, and even Zhu Qingyu couldn't help but shudder:

"I am indeed from Sichuan, but I visited Bianzhou four years ago."

Seeing that Zhu Qingyu's expression didn't seem feigned, Gu Zhao pressed on:

"Who is Liu, the Imperial Physician, to you?"

Zhu Qingyu looked completely bewildered:

"I don't know him. This is the first time I've heard of him. Why do you ask? Lord Gu, could you please let me go? It really hurts me as you press down on me like this."

Gu Zhao then released her. Taking advantage of his release, Zhu Qingyu pushed open the door and greeted the shopkeeper:

"Shopkeeper, could you please bring us two cups of tea?"

While the shopkeeper served tea, Zhu Qingyu and Gu Zhao distanced themselves, once again drawing a line between them.

Seeing that she was being distant and clearly trying to keep her distance, Gu Zhao didn't press her for answers. Instead, he found a chair and sat down, creating even more distance between them, almost half a room apart.

The door was open, and the waiter who had been arranged by the shopkeeper to serve tea was there. Gu Zhao was also far enough away, at least on the surface, so Zhu Qingyu prepared to say a few more polite words and then leave.

Gu Zhao, seemingly unaware that she was about to slip away, pulled out a prescription from his pocket and said:

"Qingyu, there is an epidemic in the northern border region."

There were rumors circulating in the streets and alleys about the epidemic in northern Xinjiang, and Zhu Qingyu had heard a little about it.

Because of the devastation caused by the plague in Bianzhou four years ago, which left a deep impression on her, she was very sensitive to these two words. As soon as Gu Zhao started to speak, Zhu Qingyu, who had already taken half a step, pulled back.

Gu Zhao pushed the prescription to the teacup opposite him and continued:

"The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for procuring medicines for disaster relief. This is a prescription for epidemic medicine that I saw in your book at your Zhu Family Medical Clinic. Could you take a look and see if I have memorized the whole prescription? Could it possibly treat this epidemic in the northern frontier? Also, I'm sorry, when Xie Ze borrowed your medical book, I also read a few chapters with him. I didn't tell you about this beforehand and took the liberty of reading your prescriptions."

When Gu Zhao mentioned disaster relief, Zhu Qingyu not only retracted her outstretched leg but also eagerly ran over, picked up the prescription, and began to read it, saying:

"I write medical books so that people can read them. I wish as many people as possible could read them, and I hope that everyone in the world could read them. You don't need to apologize to me for this."

Turning the roundabout into the direct, and the trouble into the benefit, has indeed proven to be true.

Her initiative to approach made Gu Zhao feel happy, but on the surface he still looked like he was talking about serious business. He even tactfully drank tea to hide the slight upturn of his lips.

After reading the prescription, Zhu Qingyu pushed it back to him:

"The prescription is correct, but I don't know if it can cure this epidemic in northern Xinjiang."

Gu Zhao was also stunned by what she said:

"Your prescription? You don't know it?"

It's really hard to explain to these laymen, so Zhu Qingyu tried her best to use simple and easy-to-understand language:

"An epidemic is caused by bacteria or viruses; you can think of it as poisoning. There are countless poisons in the world, so how could an epidemic be just one type? Trying to cure all epidemics in the world with the same prescription is like trying to cure all patients with the same prescription—it's impossible. So, this prescription might have been effective in treating the winter epidemic in Bianzhou four years ago. Whether it can cure the current illnesses in the northern border regions, I need to see the patients to know. I haven't seen any yet, so I'm not entirely sure. I can only say I don't know."