Chapter 14 - Ding Qi is helping

 In the following morning, Yu Lexuan wakes up before Zhang Yi, but he ends up waking him up too, as they are still holding each other:

-Zhang Yi, good morning... - Yu Lexuan kisses him on the cheek.

Zhang Yi slowly opens his eyes:

-You look so good, highness...

-All the merit for you, who kept me warm the entire night.

They rise and step out of the bed. Zhang Yi brings their garment:

-Let me dress you.
-Sure, you can.- Yu Lexuan smiles.

Zhang Yi gently undresses Yu Lexuan from his sleepwear, putting on his attire. He ties the sash Yu Lexuan uses to keep the garment tight on his waist, and the waistband over it. He also makes some final adjustments so the garment fits nicely:

-My time, Zhang Yi.

-I feel honored...

Yu Lexuan repeats basically the same steps:

-We are ready. Let's call someone to bring us something to eat. I spent a lot of energy last night.
-Sure.

Yu Lexuan goes to the door, Wang was outside, overlooking it:

-Hey, Wang, good morning. Could you bring us something to eat?
-Ah, good morning, for sure, just a minute.

While Yu Lexuan asks for food, Zhang Yi takes a look at the water sample. As he expected, the color has changed dramatically:

-Hey, prince, look that, the water is now red!

Yu Lexuan turns and goes towards him:

-Wow, it reacted!
-Yes, and this is not the first time I got this color. You might not remember, but I got the same result some time ago when we had a flu outbreak in a town. 
-I can remember perfectly. But I figured out something different, this is not the same tone of red, it is much darker. What do you think it means, Zhang Yi?
-For what I have studied so far, indicates that the disease is either more lethal or spreads faster. And because it is also red, it means this is probably a similar disease, which means we already have a lot of experience dealing with it! - Zhang Yi smiles.
-That's good news! But, how about people who got it? If the water is so full of it, why don't we see everyone coughing outside?
-Maybe there's a time interval between you getting infected, and the disease showing some symptoms. Maybe some people who get it don't show any symptoms, but still capable of spreading it unknowingly. If that is the case, we are days, maybe weeks behind the disease. 

Wang goes to the palace kitchen to arrange a food platter for the guests. Ding Qi meets him halfway:

-Hey, Wang, where are you going with it?
-This is going to our guests, they asked for it.

Ding Qi takes the food platter:

-Let me bring it to them, personally.

 As Yu Lexuan and Zhang Yi discuss the test, Ding Qi arrives. Upon his entry, they bow to him:

-Good morning, majesty.
-You may rise. Good morning, sorry if we were not fast enough in bringing food for you.

Ding Qi puts the platter over a table:

-Please, come in!

He sits between Zhang Yi and Yu Lexuan:

-Did you sleep well? Anything I need to do to make your stay better?
-We are grateful for majesty being concerned with us, we have nothing to ask.

Ding Qi looks at his side, and sees the test container:

-Hey, I think your test is ready, Zhang Yi.
-Yes, majesty. The test shows us that there are indeed some fragments of a pathogen causing a disease in your city, that looks similar to the flu. You can see also that it is a deep red, so the disease is either very deadly or spreads easily.
-Is there any risk if people are drinking the water directly from the river?
-Nothing to be concerned about. People will boil the water and filter it prior to consumption, so if there is any pathogen on it, will be dead in short order. I can tell it for you with a great degree of certainty because the disease seems to be the same. We had an outbreak in a town, and the other towns downstream have not been infected, despite the tests showing there were parts of the pathogen in the waters.

Ding Qi feels relieved:

-I feel better now, hearing these words. We now know what is going to hit us.
-Well, it has hit us already. It is just a matter of time until more sick people start to fill the hospital.

Ding Qi raises his hand, and Wang enters the room, bringing with him a large paper roll:

-Well, this is my contribution. Zhang Yi, please look at it.

Zhang Yi takes the paper roll and extends it over the table. Written there, a chart with over two hundred names and other information:

-I got it from the hospital. I asked them to send me this list, and also to put the symptoms, social status, and date of entry.

Zhang Yi analyzes the data:

-I noticed that the admissions are growing faster and faster. They doubled in a week. The symptoms described are compatible with the flu, but people shouldn't stay that long in the hospital due to it. Some of these people are also accounted as deceased?
-Yes. This started about two weeks ago after the flood ended.

From what Zhang Yi sees in the data, about 3 people in a hundred died:

-This is serious, Ding Qi. About three of every 100 who got it died. Of course, it may have something to do with the flood and some of those may have actually starved.
-No, they accounted it for, and more people died from hunger this year. All the deaths in this roll are probably from the disease...
-You may be right. Before we jump to conclusions, I have to improve my testing method, 24 hours is just too slow. I know this can be done because, in the previous outbreak, I created a test that reliably reacted in less than 2 minutes. After that, we need to test some people, maybe bring someone who died from it, and test against the river waters. If the colors are the same, we can say that the disease is active.

-Zhang Yi, I don't want to hurry you up, but what should I do as emperor? I told you that I can't close the gates of my city and interrupt the flow from the commercial route.

-Well, we can ask everyone to use a face-covering made of silk and filled with cotton, materials that are readily available. This will not totally protect everyone but will reduce the likelihood of the pathogen spreading faster. Also, the palace must quarantine itself and only respond to demands via document. We need to avoid mixing with the general public or producing large gatherings, as the pathogen is circulating between them.

-Are you asking me to let people die?

-No, just to keep yourself safe. The best way is to lock everything down and wait a couple of days until the hospital stops receiving new patients. Alternatively, we can keep only the essential people outside, those who work with commercial affairs, so the commercial route can remain active. People who work producing food and other goods that are essential and live in rural areas also don't have to lock themselves down. Everyone else must lock themselves up in their homes. 

Ding Qi gets up from the seat:

-I'll have to ask my counselors before taking this decision, I can't bear all this responsibility alone...

-Have your time, Zhang Yi, but please, do it fast, each day we keep the pathogen free to infect more people, worse will be the situation ahead.

Ding Qi leaves the room. Yu Lexuan and Zhang Yi eat the breakfast:

-Zhang Yi, I think you were a bit harsh on him, don't you think?

-This is all result of our previous experience. Do you remember how Zhong Kunyi reacted when I suggested to him that the emperor should keep the borders of Lishui closed for almost 20 days? Zhong Kunyi feared the economy of the town would be destroyed, but it turned out that not only it didn't happen, but the disease disappeared permanently and the economy recovered and even grew. This is simple, if the pathogen can't find people to infect, it cannot survive. Feng Long, fortunately, understood that and has overridden Zhong Kunyi's desire to keep everything working and busy amid an epidemic. 

-What you said makes sense to me. But Lishui was a very small town, with only a few buildings.

-I understand that this is going to be more difficult in a denser city. But I'm still confident this will work.

After they finish eating, Zhang Yi takes his backpack:

-I'll spend my day working in a way to speed up my test. I need some time alone, so I ask my prince to kindly avoid getting to my room for some hours.

Yu Lexuan takes a bun and bites it. He gets closer to Zhang Yi:

-I have not seen you trying these buns, they are great, here, have a try!

-But you ate all of them, this is the last one.

Yu Lexuan moves forward until the remaining bun touches Zhang Yi's lips. He tries to bite it, and Yu Lexuan kisses him:

-Now you can go to your room. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-This bun came out of your mouth and is good, I wonder why...-Zhang Yi blushes a bit.

He goes upstairs, while Yu Lexuan lies down on the bed. He stares at the roof:

-I wish Zhang Yi finishes it. I'm really missing my majesty, even though Zhang Yi is so good, it is difficult to find someone who knows me so much as Feng Long does...

...

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