Chapter 2704: Open the Door

The medical tent was brightly lit all night. Manbao only finished treating all the wounded soldiers when dawn approached, then fetched the two students who had gone to sleep last night. After entrusting them with the prescriptions and giving careful instructions, she went to sleep.

She hoped she would wake up to good news, that new herbs would arrive. She wasn’t keen on buying medicine from the marketplace; buying too much of it poses risks, as the current prescriptions don’t achieve the desired effect, and with many using it, the chances of being discovered and suspected are high.

This is different from individual use of marketplace medicine. If it were just one or two people, it could be attributed to their own physical condition. But from yesterday until now, more than sixty people have taken the number four prescription. She has already bought medicine from the marketplace three times. She doesn’t know what the effects will be, but it’s certainly not what her new prescription could achieve. If she can’t change the medicine in time, such data would create misconceptions for people and leave incorrect prescriptions for future generations, which is not the result Zhou Man wants.

Manbao felt her temples throbbing and fell asleep with a headache.

As the emperor’s presence was here, the camp’s defenses were very strict. Just as Zhou Man fell asleep, the emperor woke up.

Their schedules were completely opposite.

He first went to see Li Si, relieved to find that his wounds hadn’t worsened and he had regained consciousness. Breathing a sigh of relief, he entered Baiyan City to tour and comfort the local citizens. Hearing that the other side’s army was about to reach Anshi City, he left with two thousand imperial guards.

Before departing, he wanted to ask Zhou Man about Li Si’s condition, but upon hearing Zhou Man had stayed up all night and just went to sleep, he decided against it.

The emperor was rather displeased and turned to ask, “Have the herbs not arrived yet?”

The ministers and guards nearby all bowed their heads.

The emperor pursed his lips, quite unhappy.

Military supplies of herbs and grains are different.

The grains were originally collected in the Liaodong, Cangzhou, and Qizhou areas, and they also looted grains whenever they conquered a city.

The remaining grains of the defeated armies belonged to them, as did those in the City Lord’s Mansion, and even the food and assets of some stubbornly resistant officials’ families were theirs.

Now, at least half of the Great Jin’s troops can achieve self-sustenance through warfare.

Unlike herbs, they couldn’t easily take from local pharmacies. Apart from purchasing some herbs with money, the vast majority still needed to be transported from the Imperial Medical Institute.

The journey from the capital to here is long, and any disorganized part of the road could delay time.

But no matter how long the delay, it’s now almost ten days past the expected arrival of the third batch of herbs, and they’re still not here. What are they planning to do?

Don’t they know the soldiers are all waiting for medicine to save their lives?

When Manbao woke up and learned the emperor had left, she washed her face and said to Xi Bing, “Go to the general and ask for money; we’re going into town to buy some herbs.”

Xi Bing responded and left, finding someone to report to Heli.

Heli already knew about yesterday’s incident and was aware that the emperor expressed anger when leaving in the morning due to the delayed herbs. Without a second thought, he turned to his subordinates and said, “Take a bag of pearls found in the City Lord’s Mansion yesterday and give them to Lord Zhou.”

“Yes.”

The personal soldier brought a bag of pearls to Zhou Man.

Manbao was shocked upon opening it. She picked up a pearl and, after a long time, said, “Though herbs are valuable, they aren’t this expensive. Is there no money? If gold or silver isn’t available, who would sell with pearls?”

The personal guard smiled and said, “Lord Zhou, the city is chaotic now. With money, it’s even harder to buy things. It’s actually gold, silver, and these pearls and cloth that are easier to trade.”

Manbao frowned slightly, took a few pearls, and returned the bag to him, “Pearls are precious; these few are enough.”

The personal guard didn’t accept and pushed the bag back, saying, “The general said the medical tent’s doctors and soldiers risk their lives, so the spoils should be shared with everyone. The soldiers have received theirs, and these are for Lord Zhou.”

Manbao blinked, “The medical tent too?”

The personal guard grinned, “The soldiers’ lives were saved by the lords. Whatever the soldiers have, the lords naturally have too.”

Manbao rubbed her chin and accepted.

Suye and several girls couldn’t take their eyes off the pearls in Manbao’s hand. These pearls were of excellent quality, and of course, what girl wouldn’t like pearls?

Manbao counted the pearls in one bag; there were indeed quite a few, more than a hundred.

She lifted the bag, picked two students, and said, “Let’s go into town to buy medicine.”

Of course, they wouldn’t go alone. They took a squad of soldiers with them. The city was in chaos, and if anyone took advantage of the turmoil to kill them or rob them, what then?

A group rode horses into the city. The houses in Baiyan City were somewhat low, and the streets were narrow. Having just been through a battle, the streets were chaotic, with only soldiers patrolling back and forth and few people visible. Occasionally they saw someone, but the person hurried past with their head down, not daring to look up or run quickly.

The houses and shops on both sides were mostly closed, with people hiding at home, avoiding going out.

The emperor had always disliked killing officials and wanted to bring them into his fold, provided they were willing to submit.

Thus, although the army had looted the City Lord’s Mansion and many wealthy households, it had killed few people. Most officials were still alive and roaming from street to street to reassure the citizens, telling everyone that it was over, that they were all citizens of the Great Jin, and that the emperor attacked because the King of Goguryeo didn’t respect the suzerain state, waged war, and enslaved citizens, ruling unjustly, and that’s why he came to seek justice for them, blah blah blah.

Manbao led a squad of soldiers along the main street running for a long time without seeing a single pharmacy. She couldn’t help but frown, beckoning to a soldier and asking, “Isn’t there a pharmacy in the city?”

The soldier was dumbfounded, “There should be. Otherwise, what would they do if they got sick?”

Manbao: … If you’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask? Isn’t that what I’m asking you?

The two stared at each other. In the end, Manbao shifted her gaze away, looked around, and said, “Keep going forward. I don’t believe we can’t find a pharmacy.”

The signboards are all in Chinese characters, so it’s not a question of recognizing words. It must be a matter of not having reached the location yet; Baiyan City isn’t that small—it can’t be without pharmacies.

So they continued forward.

Su Mu’s eyes were good, pointing ahead and saying, “Teacher, is that it?”

Manbao turned her head, and Suye had already exclaimed, “It is.”

So the group moved forward.

The shop’s main door was also closed, as were all the shops on this street.

Manbao got off her horse, letting someone knock on the door.

Su Mu stepped forward and politely knocked on the door. After a long time with no one coming to open it, he couldn’t help but keep knocking and shouting, “Open the door, we’re here to buy medicine.”

Hearing him speak the official language, Manbao couldn’t help but roll her eyes, pointing to a soldier and saying, “You go.”

The soldier came forward and knocked hard, the whole door clanging as if it might collapse at any moment. He shouted loudly, “Hurry up and open the door; if you don’t open it, I’ll demolish it.”

Su Mu: …