A Jiu’s heel caught on the threshold, sending her stumbling backward out the door and landing with a plop outside.
She scrambled up, "Sister-in-law, no, it's not like that, Big Brother is sick."
She recalled some things, wondering if they could move her sister-in-law.
As expected, Liu Cai’er, who had just turned to leave, stopped, not looking back,
"What kind of sickness?"
"I don't know, he ran away. His eyes were red before he left."
Seeing a glimmer of hope, A Jiu quickly got up and stepped back inside the threshold.
"He didn't mean to send you back to your maiden home, Sister-in-law. Big Brother is so distraught with regret that he’s out of his mind."
"What did you say? His eyes were red?"
Liu Cai’er spun around abruptly, pulling A Jiu close, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Tell me the specifics."
A Jiu recounted everything, including how Grandma had forced him to drive her away, she told it all.
She also explained how their family had tracked down the refugee group from Xinghua Village, truthfully,
"We caught up with Big Brother after descending Qiming Mountain. That's when his eyes were red."
Upon hearing this, Liu Cai’er furrowed her brows.
"I know Grandma is that kind of person, and I don't blame your Big Brother. But what you've described about your Big Brother is concerning, it's very much like the plague that broke out in Nanzhou County."
Liu Cai’er was lost. A Jiu picked up on this, realizing her sister-in-law still deeply cared for her husband and was very worried about him.
"Plague?" A Jiu gasped.
"Yes, over a hundred people have died. My father died from… working tirelessly treating the sick."
Tears welled in Liu Cai’er’s eyes, but she held them back, her face a mask of resilient strength.
The waiter handed her a handkerchief, "Sister Cai’er, please accept my condolences. We will surely develop an effective prescription, and may it bring solace to the spirit of Master Liu."
"Then develop it as soon as possible," Liu Cai’er said sternly. "Someone reported this matter and pressured my father’s medical clinic. Curing them is our duty, but failing to do so is a capital offense. My father worked day and night, only sleeping for two days in a whole month."
A Jiu dared not interrupt for a long while. It seemed her sister-in-law’s father was a good doctor, but sadly, he was dead.
The scene of her last encounter with her Big Brother replayed in her mind.
Xiao Yan Yan and Zhao Kun had said his eyes were very red, and he had become withdrawn.
Plague!
A Jiu continued to ponder this, growing more frightened with each thought.
"Sister-in-law, my father was a skilled physician. I don't know how to console you about his passing, but Jiu’er wants to ask, if it truly is a plague, is it contagious to anyone who comes into contact with it?"
A Jiu thought of how her Big Brother had traveled with the Xinghua Village refugees for several days.
"That's not necessarily the case," Liu Cai’er stated calmly.
"Initially, we couldn't identify anything from the first patient. Later, as more people died, we found out. It’s primarily transmitted through blood. The source was refugees from the north, starving, who ate someone with an infected constitution."
"..." A Jiu’s mind buzzed. Could her Big Brother have eaten human flesh?
"Then, after this person died, they were eaten by other starving people, thus spreading the infection. As for the source of transmission, it hasn't been identified yet. Your Big Brother…"
Liu Cai’er suddenly turned back to A Jiu, "Your Big Brother must have eaten the flesh of a dead person."
"Impossible… How could that be? My Big Brother is very timid, Sister-in-law, don't scare me."
A Jiu’s back was drenched in sweat.
Her Big Brother was definitely not that kind of person.
"Jiu’er, tell me, where is he now? I need to find him."
"Sister-in-law, I don't know. When I met him, I was less than fifty li from descending Qiming Mountain. But for some reason, he ran when he saw me, and said he had to find you."
A Jiu was bewildered. Her Big Brother was sick, and she hadn't even known.
"I understand now, little sister A Jiu. I will report this matter to the authorities. Once this disease takes hold, anyone who eats the flesh of the deceased will definitely be infected."
Saying this, Liu Cai’er stood up, wrote a document, stamped it with the clinic's official seal, and had the waiter quickly take it to the authorities.
But when she turned around, A Jiu saw tear tracks on her face.
Perhaps her Big Brother couldn't be saved.
"I heard there are many refugees outside the city, all housed in the arena. In fact, Prince Nanming is a good prince; he even distributes food. You all came here because you had no food, didn't you? Do you have anyone else at home?"
Liu Cai’er straightened her back, her tear-streaked face unheeded.
"Yes, my Grandma and Aunt Li next door. If we can get into the city, everything will be easier."
A Jiu said, steeling herself, her head lowered.
"You came to find me because you need a certificate, right?"
A Jiu looked up sharply, surprised her sister-in-law had guessed it. A wave of unease washed over her. "Yes, if we can get into the city, Jiu’er would be eternally grateful."
As she spoke, A Jiu knelt down for the first time.