novelraw Chapter 2116: 2091: Smallpox Vaccine
Chapter 2116: 2091: Smallpox Vaccine
Capítulo 2116: Chapter 2091: Smallpox Vaccine
The Empress smiled and said, “Your Majesty, how old is she? At this age, young people are full of ambition. Why discourage her now? Why not let her go forward? If the inoculation method really works, she will surely go to the Western Regions, and she will definitely gain experience from this journey.”
The Emperor sighed and said, “I noticed she eagerly pointed to the Western Regions and wanted to temper her temperament a bit. In the capital and the palace, if we do not blame her mistakes, nothing happens. But on the grassland and desert, others may not indulge her.”
The Empress laughed and said, “Anyway, I have already promised her, Your Majesty, do as you see fit.”
The Emperor: … What can he do? He can’t go against the Empress, can he?
So the next day, Director Xiao obtained the usage rights of a house at an imperial estate outside the city, and Manbao got a pass allowing her to leave the palace at any time, even overnight, except when she was on duty at the Imperial Hospital.
Thus, Manbao quietly went home for two days. Each day when there were classes at the Imperial Medical Office, she went directly there. When there were no classes, she went to the estate to check the room arrangements. If she received an order to treat a patient, she went to do so, making her days quite fulfilling.
The location of the Emperor’s estate was good. He chose a house that the servants guarded each year when he went to the estate.
The estate was large; it needed people to watch over the wheat, beans, and rice planted there. There was a large set of houses for the servants, surrounding the houses where the masters lived.
Actually, it was just for show. It’s not far from the capital, to the east of Daming Palace. Longshou Canal flows through the estate, and every year on February 2nd, the Emperor leads the princes and princesses here to start plowing, so the estate is quite sizable.
The house assigned to Zhou Man and others was far from Longshou Canal, at the northeast corner of the estate, making it the furthest from Daming Palace.
Although inconvenient for the doctors, it suited everyone else.
Imperial Doctor Lu walked into the already arranged house, couldn’t help but show disdain, “It’s too crude.”
Director Xiao said, “This is just a temporary residence for servants guarding the rice fields and driving birds away. How good can it be?”
The dissatisfaction lingered with Imperial Doctor Lu. He glanced at Zhou Man and said, “We don’t have to rush it. Having Chang’an County build a new house wouldn’t take that long.”
Manbao was performing the best inspection and said, “As long as we can start sooner, it’s better. I find it quite suitable. This room is for the patients, this room for our invited guests, this room for the banquet hall. They can unwind; we can rest, and the soldiers will watch from a distance.”
Doctor Xiao nodded, “The Forbidden Army and the Ministry of Justice will handle this matter. We won’t worry; we’ll just treat the patients and observe the progress of the smallpox.”
Manbao nodded and said, “The patients can be brought in now.”
Director Xiao went out to communicate, and the three stayed. Soon after, three prisoners, escorted from outside, entered in ankle chains.
They were all men; Manbao had reviewed their profiles: one was nineteen, another twenty-three, and the last was forty-five.
Manbao quickly checked their complexion, signaled them to sit, and after feeling their pulse individually, said to Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Lu, “They need nourishment first.”
Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Lu also checked them individually, deeply agreeing. Thus, they carefully prepared medicinal meals, which were considered medicinal meals to them, but the servants who received the list thought they were being too kind to these three bothersome prisoners; whether it was lotus root stewed with ribs or yam stewed with lamb…
The three prisoners also hadn’t expected such good treatment. They thought they would only enjoy such meals when facing execution.
Considering this, they held no resistance towards this experiment. After all, death awaited them; having some good days before dying didn’t sound bad.
Not only was the food good, but the doctors also instructed the servants to heat water for them to bathe and change into new clothes. Except for the chains on their feet, everything else was different from the prison.
The three stayed in one room, where three beds were arranged. The beds were clean, and the quilt wasn’t just clean but brand new.
The three sat by the beds, still somewhat dazed.
Imperial Doctor Lu stared at them and said, “Given such good care, you must earnestly treat your illness to live longer. If you perform well, you can enjoy these good days longer.”
The three immediately expressed their willingness to cooperate.
After they cleaned themselves, Manbao entered with a needle pouch, and straightforwardly applied acupuncture for body adjustment.
Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Lu sat on the side chatting with her, “You’re really attentive. By the way, what are the special principles of this needle?”
Manbao understood they were learning stealthily and didn’t mind. She explained why the needle was applied, the depth and angle, clearly articulating the pathways of the meridians for each acupoint, and its benefits.
Director Xiao stroked his beard, carefully listening.
Others might think therapeutic acupuncture is more important, but as doctors, they knew nurturing acupuncture was rarer. Observing Zhou Man’s technique now, they hadn’t heard of it before, realizing this young lady had many things in her belly and maintained her usual generosity.
Due to Zhou Man’s generosity, Director Xiao also became generous, running to the Ministry of Revenue for two consecutive days, preparing many necessary medicinal materials and ingredients, nurturing the body. This way, after seven or eight days, they began preparing the variola scabs.
The variola scabs were brought out by Zhou Man, meticulously packed in a bottle.
Imperial Doctor Lu, seeing she indeed brought back these perilous items from Xiazhou, felt his brow twitching, thankful she stored them well; otherwise…
These items were akin to biological weapons; if scattered among crowds, it would be as devastating as an army of a hundred thousand.
The three Imperial Doctors donned masks, poured the scabs from the bottle to grind them. Director Xiao handed the cold water, boiled earlier, to Imperial Doctor Lu, who mixed it thoroughly with the powder…
Manbao took small clipped thin cotton cloth, and when Imperial Doctor Lu mixed the powder, she spooned some onto the cotton.
Manbao used clips to carefully wrap it, and Director Xiao wrapped it several times with connected cotton thread, thus creating a pustule.
The three consecutively prepared three pustules, then proceeded to the side room together, telling the apprehensive prisoners, “Let’s begin with inoculation today.”
The three were extremely nervous, watched as the doctors each took a cotton ball from the small wooden box and inserted them into their noses, leaving a cotton thread outside.
The three waited for a long time without feeling pain. The doctors stepped back, nodding with satisfaction, and said to them, “The pustule in your nose mustn’t fall out. From now until evening, you can remove it.”
Doctor Xiao said, “It requires six hours; someone must watch all the time. Who will go first?”
Manbao volunteered, “Me, me, me.”
Imperial Doctor Lu rolled his eyes and said, “No one is competing with you. You stay.”
Director Xiao instructed her, “Be cautious as well. Even though you have experienced Xiazhou’s affairs, negligence here is not allowed. Be careful of unexpected setbacks.”
Manbao acknowledged, saw them off, collected the items, then watched the three from the door.
The three prisoners: … Suddenly feeling bored, their backs feeling a bit cold.