♂?，，

  Li Mingzhu went to pay respects to the old lady, and coincidentally, Yu Lian came out from inside. She only saw Yu Lian with a worried look on her face, but didn't notice her.

  "Yu Lian..." Mingzhu excitedly called out to her. The several months of being confined at home had been bearable thanks to Yu Lian's frequent visits, during which she also helped her copy out the "Admonitions for Women". Otherwise, she would have really gone mad from boredom.

  Yu Lian reacted a bit slowly, and after being stunned for a moment, she smiled and said with a superficial smile: "Sister Ming Zhu can come out now?"

  Mingzhu looked her up and down: "What's wrong? Scolded by the old lady?"

  Yu Lian hurriedly shook her head: "No, no."

  Mingzhu said, "You look unhappy."

  Yu Lian smiled wryly: "Really nothing, just caught a chill last night and feel a bit dizzy."

  Mingzhu said with a mixture of trust and doubt: "You'd better hurry back and rest! I'll go pay my respects to the old lady first, and then come find you."

  Yu Lian nodded silently and took Ya away.

  Mingzhu walked inside and heard Zhu's mother say: "The old lady is a bit too anxious, the eldest young master has a wife and a concubine but no children, the second young master and the second young madam have only just gotten married... Besides, Yu Lian is one month younger than our cousin!"

  The old lady said, "Just ask her first and let her have some preparation. The key is still Lin Lan. If she can't take care of both sides, we can't just watch Ming Yun suffer."

  "The second young mistress has always been very measured in her actions." Mother Zhu said tactfully.

  The old lady smiled: "I like her, always taking care of her everywhere."

  The old lady smiled and said, "The old slave is just talking about the matter." Mother-in-law echoed.

  Mingzhu vaguely understood that the old lady seemed to want Yu Lian to be a concubine for her second brother. To say that, based on Yu Lian's identity, being able to be a concubine for her second brother was already an honor for her. The key was that if Yu Lian won her second brother's heart, wouldn't Lin Lan be furious? Mingzhu couldn't help but get excited.

  Lin Lan returned and Jin Xiu told her that Miss Bao's house arrest had been lifted.

  Lin Lan is quiet for a moment, this troublemaker has come out again, and it's going to be unstoppable.

  "I'm going to the study, when Second Master returns, come and report to me quickly." Lin Lan instructed and then went to the study in the backyard.

  Since Li Mingyu finished his exam, Li's father set up a study room for him in the front yard to receive friends and colleagues. The original study room was rarely used, so Lin Lan moved her medical books there and it became her exclusive study room.

  Lin Lan flipped through many books, and the records about smallpox only mentioned the symptoms, hazards, and some treatment methods. There was no record of anyone inoculating against smallpox. In Lin Lan's memory, the earliest legend about inoculation occurred during the Song Dynasty, specifically during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song. However, it is unclear whether this is true or false, and further verification is needed. The first confirmed records of inoculation were from the Ming Dynasty, during the Longqing era. The ancient methods used for inoculation were mainly four types: cloth method, liquid method, dry seed method, and water seed method. The first two methods had little effect and were also more dangerous. The dry seed method and water seed method used smallpox scabs as the vaccine material. Through continuous practice, people discovered that using multiple generations of smallpox scabs as a vaccine reduced its toxicity, making inoculation safer. In modern medicine, inactivated vaccines are commonly used, but ancient times did not have this technology, so they could only use the relatively safe and effective water seed method.

  Lin Lan carefully recalled the inoculation method of Shuimiao Fa and wrote it down with pen and paper, preparing to discuss it with Hua Shao tomorrow.

  As dusk fell, Jin Xiu came to report, "The second young master has returned."

  Lin Lan hastily gathered her things and left the library.

  Li Mingyun had already washed his face and changed into casual clothes.

  "Ming Yun, you're back late today! Are you tired?" Lin Lan suppressed her urge to rush straight to the point and showed concern for him first.

  Li Ming allowed himself a glance at her, and saw that she was wearing a light green Hangzhou silk jacket with a white lining, which made her skin look as pale as snow. However, the dark circles under her eyes were also more pronounced, evidence of the fact that she had tossed and turned all night, probably not falling asleep until just before dawn.

  "It's fine, but my legs are a bit sore from standing for so long. We discussed it in the main hall for a while, and then again in the prime minister's chamber for a while." Li Mingyu turned his neck around and did some chest-expanding exercises before sitting down.

  "What are you talking about? Lan subconsciously stood behind him and massaged his shoulders."

  "There's more, first the northwest Tujue invaded and took three cities of our dynasty, with a momentum that is hard to stop. The Emperor has already ordered the garrison troops from Taiyuan and Anxi to go and support them. In Shu, there are also Miao people rebelling, and Tubo is taking advantage of the situation to deploy troops and send generals. Today, the fourth prince presented a memorial requesting to lead troops to quell the rebellion, and the Emperor agreed, ordering Jingbohou as the General-in-Chief for Pacifying the West, and the fourth prince as the General for Pacifying the West. They will set out on an expedition soon." Li Mingyan's words were full of worry.

  Lin Lan said with a sigh: "I think the Miao people are rebelling because they have been forced to, they are very simple and honest people, if they were not desperate, why would they risk their lives?"

  Li Ming was taken aback: "How do you know the Miao people are simple and honest? Have you seen it?"

  Lin Lanfang felt that he had misspoken and hastily added, "In the early years, Master went to Miaojiang to practice medicine and said that most Miao people were very enthusiastic and hospitable. If they showed him a little kindness, he would repay them with great sincerity. That's why I made this guess."

  Li Ming nodded: "That makes sense, the imperial court's policy towards the Miao people is mainly to suppress them, viewing them as inferior people. The officials in Shu are even more oppressive, it's a case of 'officials forcing the people to rebel'. So, when the Fourth Prince proposed sending troops to quell the rebellion, I was against it. It would be better to win them over and accept their surrender. We must first stabilize the interior before we can defend against external threats. If war breaks out in Shu, won't the Tibetans take advantage of the situation? However, the high-ranking officials in the court strongly support the Fourth Prince, hoping that he will achieve great merit through this opportunity."

  "Nowadays, people are insignificant and their words carry little weight. What's the point of saying anything? It'll only lead to resentment. All one can do is sigh in private." Lin Lan comforted.

  "It's indeed the case that one can only speak of things when they are in their proper place. Take, for example, the smallpox epidemic in Shaanxi Province. Now, many counties in Shaanxi have already broken out with smallpox, and the common people are fleeing in all directions. The scale is so large that it's the most severe outbreak in our dynasty's 300-year history. The imperial court has issued an order that neighboring provinces and counties are not allowed to accept refugees from the epidemic area, in order to prevent the spread of the disease from getting out of control. The imperial physicians entered the palace last night and have been discussing ways to solve the problem, but so far they haven't come up with a good solution to control the outbreak. Some officials even suggested that if the outbreak can't be controlled, we might as well burn all the patients with smallpox to death..." Li Mingyu said indignantly.

  Lin Lan was furious: "Is this something a human would say? If his own family members got smallpox, wouldn't he also burn them to death? I think they should first drag the person who said this out and behead him."

  Li Mingyu sneered: "It's surprising that those who agree with this kind of remark are still in the minority."

  "It's simply outrageous, they're a bunch of beasts! No, even beasts have more humanity than them, they're not even as good as beasts!" Lin Lan cursed angrily.

  "Now the emperor has no way, can only wait for the hospital to come up with a plan before making a decision..." Li Ming allowed himself to sigh: "However, I estimate that the hospital will not be able to come up with any good solution either, this epidemic is too severe."

  "What can we do? Just sit back and watch the epidemic continue to spread?" Lin Lan was very helpless.

  "For now, the only plan is to transport a large batch of medicine there as soon as possible." Li Mingyu shook his head and sighed, then suddenly said: "Right, today the third prince volunteered to go to the epidemic area to inspect the situation and comfort the victims on behalf of the emperor.

  Lin Lan was shocked: "Has the Third Prince had smallpox?"

  Li Mingyu shook his head and said, "No, so today he proposed it and was immediately rejected by the emperor."

  "The third prince is indeed a clever person, he clearly knows that the emperor will not let his own son take risks, so he takes the initiative to request it, with a few words of grandeur, he can gain the emperor's approval and the admiration of the court officials without putting himself in danger, it's really a brilliant move." Lin Lan said thoughtfully.

  "It's not bad, the Emperor praised his benevolent and righteous heart. In short, today was a big show for the Fourth Prince and Third Prince, while the Crown Prince remained low-key." Li Mingyu said with a calm smile.

  Yu Rong came in to remind: "Second Master, Second Madam, it's getting late, shouldn't you go pay your respects to the old lady?"

  Lin Lan slapped her forehead: "Look at my memory, I was so busy talking that I forgot about the time."

  The two of them hastily got up and went to the Chao Hui Hall.

  Li Zha's father is not around, saying that he is discussing matters with his staff in the outer study room. Dinner will be sent to the outer study room later, and Ming Yun is also asked to go there after dinner to discuss matters.

  Lin Lan couldn't help but think to herself: They've been discussing this nonsense for a whole day and still haven't come up with any reasonable conclusion.

  Li Mingzhu saw Lin Lan and smiled: "Second sister-in-law, it's been a long time." The flying eye corners contained a hint of contemptuous provocation, with the implication that I'm Hu Hanshan again, be careful.

  Lin Lan smiled faintly: "Cousin, you've been working hard for several months, reciting 'Nüjie' and 'Jiagu' a thousand times each. It's not easy, is it? I suppose by now, cousin can recite both 'Nüjie' and 'Jiagu' fluently?"

  Li Mingzhu gritted her teeth secretly, thinking that it was all thanks to Suo's favoritism, and sooner or later she would also get a taste of being confined and punished with copying.

  "That's right! Just these two things, Second Auntie, if you have any unclear places in the future, just come and ask me, I will explain them to you in detail." Li Mingzhu said lightly.

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books