Capítulo 2145: Chapter 2120: Information
The governor’s residence is much larger than the county governntal office, and naturally, the official residence behind it is also bigger than the backyard of the county governntal office.
Previously, there were so many people from Niu Jia living in the governor’s residence, and it was quite spacious. So, with Yang Heshu moving in, it was even more accommodating.
Brother Qi is still young, so he lives with his parents in the main courtyard. Such a big governor’s residence has only the main courtyard occupied by the family, while the other courtyards are empty.
This ti, when Zhou Man and the others arrived, Ms. Cui simply arranged two courtyards for Bai Shan and his group to stay in, and Manbao and Zhou Liru were arranged in another small courtyard on the other side, separate from the two courtyards.
Their carriage carried personal belongings, while the luggage carriage was sent to the post house.
Ms. Cui also prepared quite a few things for them. As soon as Manbao entered her room, a maid brought clean clothes and bathing water.
So, Manbao took a good shower and washed her hair. When she ca out of the bath, yawning and sleepy, Ms. Cui had already arranged for soone to be waiting in the outer room.
Wearing only her underclothes and with her hair draping wet, Ms. Cui hurriedly told the maid, “Quickly, dry her hair.”
Imdiately, a maid ca forward to serve, while another maid brought a large coat to wrap around her.
Manbao sat cross-legged on the bed, letting them tend to her. She yawned so much, tears almost ca out, “How did the scholarly sister-in-law co over here?”
Ms. Cui smiled and said, “I ca to check on you. I was initially worried that you might have lost weight during the journey. Who would have thought you seem to have gained so weight back.”
Previously, Zhou Man spent nearly four months in Xiazhou and lost a considerable amount of weight. The baby fat on her face was mostly gone. But now, after two months, she seed to have gained it back.
Manbao instinctively touched her waist. Luckily, even though still a bit chubby, she still had a waist.
She said, “After I returned, I stayed outside the palace for a while and could eat the als my sister-in-law cooked every day. She made a lot of soups for to drink.”
Soup is very nourishing.
Ms. Cui pinched her cheek, “A bit chubby is better. You were too thin before. It made my heart ache.”
Ms. Cui’s relationship with Zhou Man was closer than before, a fact that Manbao naturally sensed. She smiled, drooping her eyelids as she was about to fall asleep.
Ms. Cui noticed her fatigue and suspected it was due to the steam from the hot bath.
Even if food and drink weren’t a problem on the road, washing up wasn’t convenient. The journey from the capital to Xiazhou, which was supposed to take eight days, ended up taking nineteen, likely without proper washing.
So Ms. Cui glanced at the maids, giving them a signal.
Soon, a maid brought up a quilt and laid it on the wooden bed, letting Manbao lean against the soft pillow.
As soon as Manbao lay down, her eyelids drooped.
Ms. Cui sat for a while, and hearing her smooth breathing, knew she was asleep, so she got up and left.
Like her, many others felt sleepy after a comfortable bath, except Mr. Zhuang, who was quite energetic and sat in the courtyard sunbathing, waiting for Yang Heshu.
Yang Heshu was busy until lunchti, finishing urgent matters. When he returned to the backyard, Manbao and the others had been asleep for more than half an hour.
Ms. Cui poured him a cup of tea, saying, “They look very tired, so I didn’t let the kitchen start cooking. We’ll wait for them to wake up before eating.”
Yang Heshu nodded, “That’s a good idea.”
Ms. Cui said, “But Mr. Zhuang hasn’t slept. He’s currently in the courtyard sunbathing.”
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Yang Heshu then stood up, “Bring so food over. I’ll join Mr. Zhuang for a al and chat a bit.”
Ms. Cui agreed and instructed soone to prepare dishes the two liked and send them over.
Mr. Zhuang was eager to talk with Yang Heshu about the situation on the grasslands.
Even a small post station knows about the hardships on the grasslands this year, so Xiazhou, with half its jurisdiction being grasslands, certainly knows better.
Yang Heshu said, “Smallpox is most severe in Xiazhou City, but it’s also been transmitted to the grasslands. The area is vast with few people, making it less contagious, but also challenging to control.”
He added, “So tribes, once infected, suffer from widespread contagion. With limited dicine, it’s practically a catastrophe for them, so the grasslands are also having a tough ti this year.”
Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but ask, “Was the disease transmitted from Xiazhou to the grasslands?”
Yang Heshu nodded, “I investigated. The first case indeed was that foreign girl. She only fell ill after entering Xiazhou City, but…”
He furrowed his brow, saying, “Once I learned about the smallpox, I started controlling the flow of people out. With scarce dical resources in the north, fewer people travel there. The disease spread because so herders ca to Xiazhou City, accidentally contracted it, and took it back, but I heard from Western rchants coming from Yizhou that people are also infected with smallpox on the grasslands.”
Mr. Zhuang learned more from Manbao and said, “Soone reported this to the Imperial Hospital. Manbao suspects smallpox may have erged almost simultaneously in both places.”
Mr. Zhuang paused, then asked, “I wonder how the people on the grasslands view this? Regarding the Han people this way…”
Yang Heshu said, “They see smallpox as divine punishnt, retribution for wrongdoing.”
With a deep frown, he said, “Although there’s no hatred towards Han people, several people have died from sacrifices on the grasslands.”
Mr. Zhuang was silent for a while before asking, “How are things now?”
“It’s mostly over. The court previously distributed dicines, following the Imperial Hospital’s prescriptions, to all tribes and scattered people on the grasslands three tis, but with few doctors there and smallpox seeming more vicious there, the survival rate is only thirty percent.”
Yang Heshu said, “The most urgent issue on the grasslands isn’t smallpox now, but the snow disaster.”
He continued, “Xiazhou is alright, Yizhou, including Suzhou, had unexpected snow so ti ago.”
Mr. Zhuang calculated the ti, “How is that possible?”
Yang Heshu nodded, saying, “The weather is bad this year, so the herders on the grasslands are having an exceptionally hard ti, reinforcing their belief in divine punishnt.”
Mr. Zhuang remained silent.
Yang Heshu could only remind him, “Please be careful on this trip, sir. Bai Shan and the others are young and need guidance to avoid trouble from what they say.”
Yang Heshu doesn’t believe in gods, but he knows Bai Shan and so others lean toward Taoism, though they don’t believe in sacrifices.
Several young people are impulsive. If they go to the grasslands and inadvertently encounter such matters, they probably won’t stand idly by. If trouble arises, it will be difficult.
The grasslands differ from the central plains. The court has very little control over areas north of Fengzhou and west of Liangzhou. These places are frontier towns, where officials mostly manage only the Han within the cities, finding it tough to govern the herders on the grasslands.
If they clash with the herders, the officials’ words from the court don’t carry much weight.
Herders mostly heed their tribal leaders, who generally don’t listen to court officials.
Mr. Zhuang nodded solemnly, understanding the gravity.
When Manbao and the others awoke, it was late afternoon. Yang Heshu was back at the front dealing with official business, and even Mr. Zhuang had rested for a while and was sitting on the porch reading.
Six youngsters ventured out rubbing their bellies, feeling hungry.
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