The surrounding people saw this and rushed over, chattering:
"What happened? Zhuzi was fine just now, how did he suddenly faint?"
"Zhuzi said he felt unwell this morning and barely ate lunch. Did he faint from hunger?"
"But Zhuzi's face is purple, it doesn't look like he fainted from hunger?"
"What are you all standing here for?
Hurry up and send for a physician, and also call Zhuzi's wife!"
The village chief of Jiugou Village spoke, and everyone busied themselves.
Lin Qingge and the other person also walked over. Seeing the man's condition, she asked the crowd to disperse to ensure air circulation while instructing:
"Constable Yan, go fetch the physician."
"Yes!"
Yan Tinghao ran off in a flash.
Before long, Zhuzi's wife arrived.
Upon seeing Zhuzi lying on the ground, seemingly lifeless, she immediately burst into tears, "Husband, what happened to you? Don't scare me!"
Zhuzi's wife's wailing was painful to Lin Qingge's ears. She gestured for the village chief to pull her away, then bent down to examine him.
High fever, coma, flushed face, and a foul-smelling blackish-purple wound on his ankle.
Lin Qingge felt that Zhuzi's symptoms resembled poisoning, but it was slightly different from what she knew of poisoning.
It was more like… an infection?
A not-so-good guess flashed through Lin Qingge's mind, disappearing as quickly as it came.
Before she could ponder further, Yan Tinghao returned with the physician.
However, upon seeing the white figure being dragged over by Yan Tinghao, Lin Qingge's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Constable Yan, I asked you to fetch a physician, why did you bring Forensic Examiner Murong?"
"My Lord, isn't Forensic Examiner Murong a physician?"
Yan Tinghao said this as a matter of course, completely oblivious to how ugly Zhuzi's wife's expression became because of his words.
But since they were already here and lives were at stake, sending for another physician might cause significant delay.
Therefore, regardless of whether the woman was willing or not, Murong Bai had to examine him.
However, after Murong Bai's examination, the faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his lips vanished.
In its place was a look of solemnity that Lin Qingge had never seen before.
He strode up to Zhuzi's wife, "Is this your husband?"
Seemingly intimidated by Murong Bai's formidable presence, Zhuzi's wife nodded numbly, "Y-yes."
"Has your husband been unwell recently?"
"Since last night, my husband said his arms and legs were a bit sore, and he had a slight fever. I thought it was from working hard recently, so I didn't pay much attention."
"Did he get bitten by a rat recently?"
"A rat?"
Zhuzi's wife tried to recall, "My husband hasn't been bitten by a rat recently...
Oh, wait!
My husband did seem to be bitten by a rat on his way here, but that was four or five days ago."
The village chief of Jiugou Village explained from the side:
"Since the County Magistrate issued the notice that any outsider who registers as a resident of Changzhou Prefecture would be granted free housing and wasteland.
Refugees from several nearby counties have flooded into Changzhou County, and this Zhuzi couple was among them.
After registration, they were assigned here the day before yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Murong Bai's brows furrowed so deeply that they could have trapped a fly.
"Sudden onset of illness, chills and fever, headache and flushed face, severe pain in limbs and joints, sometimes with blood-related symptoms, or cough and shortness of breath, or delirium, and purple-red discoloration all over the body, with burnt lips and black tongue…
All signs indicate that this person is infected with the plague."
Hearing the last two words, the village chief of Jiugou Village was so startled that he took several steps back, "Plague? How could it be the plague?"
Although she hadn't experienced it, Zhuzi's wife, who had heard of it, also exclaimed, "My husband was indeed bitten by a rat, but that was four or five days ago!"
"According to medical records, the incubation period for the plague ranges from two to seven days.
This person already showed symptoms yesterday, which means he fell ill three to four days after being bitten by a rat.
As for the so-called plague, when the epidemic is about to strike, rats die first. If humans inhale their essence, they become infected.
This person was bitten by a rat infected with the epidemic, which is why he contracted the plague."
"Then, then what should we do?"
Due to his relationship with the Zhou family, Murong Bai often treated and provided medicine for the villagers in Jiugou Village, so the village chief of Jiugou Village had great faith in his words.
"Dead rats in the east, dead rats in the west, people see dead rats as if seeing tigers.
Within days of the rats dying, people fall like a crumbling wall."
Muttering these lines, Lin Qingge said with a solemn expression:
"Constable Yan, from this moment on, no one is allowed to leave this place arbitrarily.
Furthermore, please trouble the village chief to find a few strong men to help Constable Yan block the only road leading here with logs."
Lin Qingge had already had a suspicion, and after it was confirmed by the professional Murong Bai, she was now one hundred percent certain it was the plague.
Given the current situation, with similar experiences from her past life, Lin Qingge felt she had a lot to say.
Without much deliberation, a complete anti-epidemic plan had already been formulated in her mind.
As the houses had not yet been built, the refugees were temporarily residing in simple tents, with some even sleeping under the open sky.
Therefore, besides ordering Constable Yan to seal off the road to prevent further spread,
Lin Qingge, in the name of the County Magistrate, ordered everyone to disperse and return to their tents or sleeping places, and then carried out a thorough disinfection with lime water.
However, considering that to rush the construction, everyone had been eating together in communal mess halls and sharing a single pit latrine…
It was highly likely that the plague had already spread.
And to avoid causing panic, except for the few people who knew the truth, everyone else was told that the County Magistrate of Changzhou County wished to meet everyone who voluntarily joined the Changzhou County household registration to welcome them.
However, because the County Magistrate had caught a severe cold, to avoid transmitting his illness, everyone had to wear something that was tied with cloth strips at both ends and hung on their ears, similar to a mask.
Fortunately, the women of this era were all skilled in needlework and could make one in a moment.
Under the County Magistrate's strict orders, although they felt it was a bit of an overreaction, even somewhat bizarre, the newly arrived refugees all complied obediently.
With the basic preventive measures in place, the most troublesome issue for Lin Qingge was the man named 'Zhuzi', the primary case patient of the plague.
Currently, he could neither be moved back to the densely populated tent area, nor could he be left lying here to die in the wind.
While ordering people to set up a tent on the spot, Lin Qingge asked the person beside her:
"Forensic Examiner Murong, do you have any methods to deal with the plague?"
"I have indeed read about medicinal prescriptions for treating the plague in medical books, but plagues are not all the same.
I need to conduct multiple trials to determine the final prescription.
Fortunately, I was collecting herbs nearby when Constable Yan brought me here.
Unfortunately, one of the herbs in the prescription recorded in the medical book is very rare, and there is no substitute among the herbs I have already collected.
Therefore, I am not entirely confident in treating this man named 'Zhuzi'."