Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 164 Dragon Boat Festival
Shuntian Mansion Yamen, the official residence of the governor.

Yin Tuyi of Shuntian Prefecture is in his study, holding a copy of "Mencius" and reading at night by candlelight.His wife has already sent someone to ask twice, "Is the master ready?", but he was reading with gusto, so he waved him away.

For the third time, the sound of distant footsteps sounded from outside the window, and Tu Yi became a little impatient.As soon as the long follower called out "Master...", he interrupted sharply: "Don't call me, Master, I'm studying! I'll go back when I'm tired!"

However, the long follower did not leave just then, but shouted eagerly: "My lord! Prince Yong, Prince Yong are here!!"

"Ah?!" Tu Yi put down the book in a hurry, went to open the door in two or three steps, and said in surprise, "Who? Prince Yong? Official uniform!! Get me the official uniform quickly!"

The long follower hurriedly waved his hand, and replied without a word: "Master, don't worry, don't worry, Chen San'er has already gone to get it..."

Tu Yi stood in the courtyard looking at the sky, anxiously waiting for the official uniform.Because it was the first day of the new year, there was no moon in the sky, and it was dark all around.What time is this?It's probably not a good thing that Prince Yong came here in person!

It was a sweltering day with no wind at all, and the sweat soaked through his gauze shirt very quickly. He didn't know whether it was hot sweat or cold sweat.

The boy Chen San'er hurried over with his official uniform in his arms, seeing that his clothes were wet with sweat, he hurriedly said, "Master, I'll get you a towel to wipe off your sweat..."

Tu Yi snatched the official uniform, put it on on his own, and cursed: "Do you want the prince to wait? Isn't this a death?! Hurry up and wait for the master to dress!!"

Tu Yi was dressed neatly, and was busy walking towards the front hall. When he saw the lights in the hall from a distance, he subconsciously stopped, adjusted his official uniform and put on his top, calmed down, then strode in and sat down. Prince Yong, who is on the throne, pays respects.

Prince Yong went straight to the point and directly asked to see the registers of the people who died in the recent period, as well as the registers of the same period in recent years.

Tu Yi was taken aback, feeling a little surprised, but at this moment he couldn't allow him to think too much, so he hurriedly led Prince Yong to the public office in front, to the room in the back hall where the archives were kept, opened the cabinet, and took out the book that Prince Yong wanted Books, one by one spread out on the table.

Prince Yong looked through the death records of the people in recent days, and found that since April 27, there have been more deaths than in previous years.In previous years, the number of deaths reported in the whole city in April and May was only three to five, but this year, on April 27th, six people died in the southern city alone.Because there are two elderly people and four children, they are not too attractive.

Today, on the first day of May, 21 people died in the daily report in the south of the city, many of them were young and old, and some of them had died before.

A total of 49 people died in the densely populated streets of Nancheng!

Standing beside Prince Yong, Tu Yi's official robes were soaked in cold sweat, and he felt that a huge crisis was approaching.And the master Wen Hong, who was accompanying him at the same time to check the book, also showed a look of fear, and whispered in his ear, "My lord, this is not right... Could it be... Could it be..."

The word "epidemic" was as heavy as a mountain, and his tongue was astringent and his teeth trembled under the pressure. He opened his mouth a few times, but he didn't say it out.

Tu Yi naturally knew, he quietly raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and sneaked a look at Prince Yong.

If it is really a seasonal epidemic, if it is discovered by Shuntian Mansion, the higher-ups will naturally not blame it, and will praise it; but if the higher-ups discover it first, but Shuntian Mansion does not know, it will be a crime of negligence-if the epidemic can be controlled at that time, It's just atonement; if you can't control it... then the people from Shuntian Mansion are the first batch of sacrifices used by the imperial court to appease the hearts of the people.

Although Prince Yong's complexion was normal, he was troubled in his heart. It seemed that there was no doubt about the epidemic. Fortunately, Cao Yong came to report in time. Now it's not too late to ask people to start preparations.

*
The Dragon Boat Festival in the 50th year of Kangxi has become a topic of common people's leisure time after many years.

Zhao Erniu from Crooked Willow Hutong in Nancheng clearly remembered that something was wrong since the second day of May.He was a small businessman, and he had a small oil and salt shop in front of the alley.

That day, after breakfast, he told his mother-in-law and aunt to send money to the neighbor's bereaved family as a gift, so he strolled forward.When they arrived at the door of the shop, they were startled. Two tall and thick men were standing in front of the shop.Xu Shi got impatient with waiting, the two of them saw Zhao Erniu approaching, looked him up and down, and said loudly angrily, "Is this shop yours?"

Zhao Erniu was bluffed so much that even though he was terrified, he still put on a smiling face, nodded and bowed his head and said, "It's just a small fortune for a villain. The two poor masters have worked hard. It's early in the morning..." He fumbled in his sleeves. After waiting for a long time, but only two coins and broken silver, I want to pay them out to honor these two, but I am afraid that they will be too angry.

"It's yours, just open the door quickly, it's not your family, don't waste your time!" The youngest of the two men took a breath and muttered: "I have been tossing since midnight last night, he Grandma's!"

When Zhao Erniu heard that he was letting the shop open, his knees softened and he almost knelt down for them.This is who provoked whom, came to copy the shop early in the morning?
Seeing him turn pale with fright, the older one laughed and scolded: "You are an official, not a bandit. Are you afraid of being a dick? The Master Futai asked us to buy vinegar, so hurry up and open the door!"

Zhao Erniu heard that he was just jealous, put down his mind for a while, opened the lock, and said with a smile: "Master Guan is really joking, but it's just a jealous idea, it's all a little filial piety."

"Okay, okay, what are you talking about?" The young man was impatient, and when he saw him open the door, he strode in: "What about the vinegar, don't keep it, bring it as much as you want!"

Although Zhao Erniu said that his flesh hurts, he dared not refuse, he knocked two foot-high jars out of the counter and slipped them out: "My lord, it's all here, and they're all thirty catties a jar, just arrived yesterday. , the one in Kaifeng sold for three and a half catties."

The elderly guard took out a piece of paper from his pocket, took a pen from the counter, wrote on it "two jars of old vinegar, totaling 56 and a half catties", and handed it to Zhao Erniu: "Put it away, Use this to pay money in Shuntian Mansion next month!"

Watching the two of them walking towards the entrance of the alley with the jar of vinegar in hand, Zhao Erniu spat and smeared on the ground bitterly: "Damn, when I didn't hear that the government gave out money, who should I coax?" After tearing up the piece of paper and seeing the red official seal, I was reluctant to put it away carefully, still wanting to have some hope in my heart.

At noon, Zhao Erniu's daughter-in-law came to bring him a meal, and said in a panic, "I don't know what's wrong with the Qin family? An official sent over soon after you left!"

Zhao Erniu thought about the two jars of vinegar that had been taken away in the morning, and couldn't help muttering: "Why are there so many officials here and there, is there any way for us to live!" Go, busy shut up.Looking at the clothes, they are people from Wucheng soldiers and horses. These soldiers have taken advantage of the common people in the past, but they don't know which one they are targeting today.

But these days, all family members who died suddenly due to fever were notified by the yamen that the corpses were not allowed to be buried and had to be incinerated by special yamen personnel.In addition, other people in these households are not allowed to go out. Soldiers from Shuntian Mansion and Wucheng Bingmasi were sent to guard the door. A doctor came to give a simple diagnosis. Those who were sick were isolated in the house, and those who were not sick had to drink medicine along with them. .Lime powder was sprinkled on the streets in places where the death rate of the febrile population was relatively concentrated.

By the fourth day of May, not only the outer city, but also the inner city, the atmosphere became weird.Those who have elders in their families, and those who have experienced the past affairs of the previous dynasty, will naturally not forget the great epidemic in the capital that ruined the Han people in the 17th year of Chongzhen.Although there are no rumors of the epidemic yet, there are not a few people who think about it.Some families packed their bags and wanted to go out of Beijing to escape, but they couldn't even get out of the city gate.

There are also some people who have other reasons for the martial law in the inner and outer cities.It is said that someone's second uncle's brother-in-law's nephew was a member of the Nancheng Bingmasi, so through some gossip, he learned the inside story of the martial law in the capital.It turned out that a group of desperadoes fled the capital recently, robbing and killing dozens of people in the southern city alone.This is a once-in-a-century case. Whether it is Shuntian Mansion or Wucheng Bingmasi, they all tried their best to arrest them. Under the guise of investigating "fever disease", several alleys were closed. , Door to door to check.

At the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May, notices were posted on the streets and alleys, announcing the oracle: starting from the sixth day of the first month, three days without slaughtering animals, praying for rain devoutly, and chanting scriptures in various temples, praying devoutly as one wishes.

Every year on the Dragon Boat Festival, there are pomegranate flower fairs in the south and north cities, and the people go to the market to watch the theater, but this year there is no one.Contacting all kinds of rumors and rumors really made the people panic.As soon as the edict of praying for rain was announced, it could be regarded as temporarily diverting the attention of the people.

Since the beginning of spring, there have only been two light rains, but the ground is not even very wet.The irregular rain is God's warning to the superiors. The emperor... well, this is thinking too far. Everyone is still concerned about the "three days without slaughtering animals". Those who are rich will start to clean up the ducks in advance. goose.

Xicheng, Cao Mansion.

Cao Yong and Chu Yu, who had been worrying about Amethyst for several days after coming out of the sunflower courtyard, finally breathed a sigh of relief.Maybe it was because of taking the medicine early, although Zijing had vomiting and diarrhea twice in the past few days, but then it stopped, but her body was a little weak, and she did not have other symptoms such as fever after that.After two days of recuperation, she has gradually recovered, but for the sake of safety, she still did not leave the house for the time being.

Zijing is ill, Cao Yong and Chuyu are unable to move, so where is the festive atmosphere in the mansion?At Cao Song's place, Cao Yong also sent someone to ask for leave at Zongxue's side and asked him to stay at home for a while.Gradually, Cao Song heard some rumors from outside, and then thought of his own home, Zijing was in the Sunflower Courtyard, and his brother and sister-in-law were in the study, all avoiding people, so he was really worried.

Fortunately, Cao Yong stayed in the study for only a few days, and he didn't have any symptoms, which made Cao Song feel at ease.

Because the Infantry Yamen's assistance to Shuntian Mansion's epidemic prevention in the inner city was not going well, so Prince Yong temporarily transferred Cao Yong from the household department.

The people living in the inner city are either banner people and clans, or officials and dignitaries. How can those soldiers be taken seriously?If the person who died was a servant, there is naturally no reason for the master to be closed because of their exhaustion; if the person who died was a family member, it is a big deal to be buried in the ground.After three or two days, Prince Yong understood that if no one was here to suppress him, the disease in the outer city might be protected, and the inner city might not be able to prevent it.

Civil and military officials, princes and ministers all live in the inner city. If the epidemic occurs concentratedly, it will be really terrible.Although the order to pray for rain came two days ago, the plague has not yet arrived. It is estimated that when the order was issued, the urgent letter from the capital had not yet reached Rehe.

Because they had to wait for Kangxi's will, only a few princes and ministers knew the word "epidemic".How could these people follow the people in the infantry office to investigate the epidemic?Finally, he thought of Cao Yong.Cao Yong is an insider, and although his official position is not high, he has the title of Princess Consort.

People are not allowed to enter the sunflower courtyard, and Ge Ge is in the study in the front courtyard these few days, so Mammy Ye also feels something is wrong.Today is the Dragon Boat Festival again. According to the rules, married daughters have to go back to their natal home to visit their parents.No, but Ge Ge said that yesterday he had sent someone to the palace to deliver a letter, saying that there was no need to send a car to pick him up because of something in the mansion.

What could happen, but because of Amethyst's illness?Mother Ye was dissatisfied, and she couldn't see Chu Yu, so she complained to Xiyun a few times: "It's just for a servant girl, even if there is love for a little time, there is no need to make offerings like an aunt like this." It's like! The two real aunts are not as hypocritical as her! Even if they treat their servants generously, it is too much to treat a servant girl like this! After all, they are from Baoyi, not as grand as other people!"

Xiyun and the others were tired of hearing this, Xiyan was quick-spoken, and sneered, "Listen to what Madam Ye said, the life of a maid is irrelevant, no matter how many years she has served the master. , is it reasonable to drag him far away when he is sick?"

Mother Ye realized that she had made a slip of the tongue, she shouldn't have said this in front of them, she laughed twice and went out.

*
Ning Chun also came to Beijing on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and since he got the news that Qiuniang was ill, he couldn't stay still any longer, so he found an excuse to ask the doctor for leave, and galloped all the way back to the capital.

Because it happened to be a festival, Ning Chun thought in his heart that if he came across a new pattern of pouches and sachets on the road, he would buy some for Qiuniang, which would not only fit the festival scene, but also please her.She was so happy that her illness was probably cured by half.He happened to be able to spend some time with her, but he was exhausted in Baoding these days, and every day when he dragged his tired body to bed, he missed Qiuniang more and more.

He had a good idea, but when he entered the city, he felt that the atmosphere was very wrong. It was far from the hustle and bustle of the Dragon Boat Festival in previous years. There were few pedestrians on the street, some shops on both sides were closed, and Yemen was open.

Along the way, none of the usual peddlers who peddled small things in the streets were gone.After passing through a few alleys, he saw notices pasted on the doors of several houses, and officers and soldiers guarded the doors. Ning Chun was very surprised, but at this moment he was not in the mood to meddle in other people's business, so he went to see Qiuniang first.

Arriving at the eggplant alley in the southwest of the city, Ning Chun once again saw those officers and soldiers in the uniforms of [-]% soldiers and horses. There were eight of them, and they were standing at the door of several neighboring houses, two of them were standing in front of their own. !

Ning Chun was startled, got off his horse hastily, walked to the door, clasped his fists at the officers and soldiers at the door, and asked with a smile: "This elder brother has worked hard, what happened to this family?" To the officers and soldiers.

The officer and soldier calmly pinched the silver, about one or two coins, quite satisfied, stuffed it into his sleeve quietly, looked Ning Chun up and down, and said: "Look at your dusty body, you only came back from the outside. But it’s been a while since I’ve been out. Now Beijing is suffering from fever, and anyone who dies of fever is not allowed to enter or leave the house.” He pointed to the notice on the wall next to him, “Look, that’s it.”

"Fever is dead..." Ning Chun seemed to be hit with a sap, his brain was buzzing, and his feet were weak.In a hurry, he grabbed the officer's sleeve and asked stammeringly, "This family, this family, is someone dead? Who is dead?"

The two officers and soldiers saw that his face changed drastically, his words and deeds were abnormal, and they couldn't help but wondered: "What? Do you know this family?"

Ning Chun was so anxious that he didn't wait for the two to answer, he pushed them away and was about to knock on the door.The two officers and soldiers rushed to drag him: "Hey, what are you doing? This house is sealed, and no one is allowed to enter!"

Ning Chun also had two bruises on his body. He knocked down one with his hand, and smashed it against the door with his free hand, shouting, "Qiu Niang! Qiu Niang! I'm back! Qiu Niang! Answer me, Qiu Niang!"

The two officers and soldiers rushed forward to twist his arms, but they couldn't subdue him, and they made him break away again.The officers and soldiers in front of the other house in the alley saw him and came to help, and three or five people dragged Ning Chun away from the door.Ning Chun's arms were twisted, but he still called "Qiu Niang".

When the people in the courtyard heard the movement, they all ran to the door by the wall. Because the officers and soldiers had been guarding for several days, everyone was afraid and did not dare to open the door. Chang Gui and his wife shouted through the door: "Third Master, yes Third master?"

Hearing that it was the two of them, Ning Chun became even more anxious: "Where's Qiuniang? Where's Qiuniang!"

Inside, Chang Gui and his wife knelt down and kowtowed, crying, "Third Master, the slaves didn't take good care of my aunt...the slaves should be damned..." There was a burst of crying in the courtyard.
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(End of this chapter)