Chapter 67 - The disease spreads

A period of about five days has passed. The rhythm of immunization in Zhejiang was not as good as Feng Long expected. Many people are refusing to take the medicines. There were some minor side effects, but none of them are critical. 

However, the number of infections has jumped, and Zhang Yi recorded more than a hundred new cases in a single day. All of them returned a black result in the testing, indicating that the variant he discovered a few days after was spreading fast. The upside is that none of the infected had taken a medicine yet.

Something similar happened in Huangshan, and Zhang Xiaofan was scared. But, unlike Zhejiang, Huangshan fared much better as people there were more willing to take the medicines than in Zhejiang.

In Jiangsu, Xia Chunyu finished testing the entire empire. He found a village close to Anhui that was wholly infected, so he locked it down.

But in Jiangxi, nothing seemed to happen. Ding Qi replied to Meng Zhang that the medicine made by Xie Yun worked just a well as the ones from Zhejiang. Jiangxi, especially Nanchang, is a very remote area that is not so bounded to shipping like Huangshan or Jinhua, so it might explain why the disease has been under control there.

In Hefei, Bai Chongye was feeling unwell. The prince, Yu Qing, noticed that the emperor was not feeling well, but instead, trying to hide it, maybe under fear of seeing fragile:

-Your majesty, are you well? It seems to me you are a bit dizzy.

-I'm fine.

-I'll call a physician.

-There's no need!

-If your majesty thinks so, I'm okay with it.

Yu Qing leaves the room. Bai Chongye sits in his throne, as he feels his body trembling and losing strength:

-What is happening!

Bai Chongye falls to the floor in pain, squirming. He tries to ignore this pain but fails. His eyes water.

In a few moments, Yu Qing arrives. He promptly runs towards Bai Chongye:

-Majesty!!!

Yu Qing takes Bai Chongye from the floor, carrying him to his bedroom. His eyes water due to the pain:

-Majesty, I told you something was wrong!!! I'll call our physician now!

Bai Chongye was furious. However, the pain was so significant that he had to restrain himself and accept, he was unable to speak. The physician arrives quickly:

-What's going on?

-When I arrived, his majesty was lied down on the floor! He seems to be in pain, but I don't know what is going on.

-Let's have a closer look.

The physician brings a needle and pricks Bai Chongye's middle finger, waiting until a drop of blood falls into a piece of paper. He feels so much pain that he can't react against the physician. He was feeling humiliated for being helped.

In a few seconds, the paper turns pink, and the physician is scared. Yu Qing moves closer:

-Hey, what happened? Is he sick?

-Your highness. Bai Chongye . . .

-Fast, tell me!

-Bai Chongye . . . Bai Chongye got the disease!!!

Yu Qing is shocked:

-How!!! He was kept inside the palace all the time! There is no way for him to have gotten infected!

-I don't know either... but the test says otherwise. Which may also mean that your highness and other people close to him may have gotten infected too!

- But... Well, test me! I've been taking Zinc. I should have nothing!

The physician tests Yu Qing and finds nothing:

-Your highness's test shows nothing wrong.

-I told you that my treatment works! But, about Bai Chongye, what would you do.

-Well, unfortunately, we can't do anything. We must wait until he recovers by himself. The fact that he has just fallen to the ground and is still alive is a good sign.

The physician takes his suitcase and leaves the room. Yu Qing moves closer to Bai Chongye:

-Majesty, I'll prepare some tea for you. You may get better! 

Bai Chongye is burning internally. He was so mad at looking fragile that he would be willing to take off his own life. But, with frustration also comes despair. 

Yu Qing returns quickly, bringing some tea he thinks Bai Chongye might like. He offers one cup to him, but Bai Chongye refuses. By this point, Yu Qing was not willing to keep helping Bai Chongye. He noticed the emperor was embarrassed:

-Well, if your majesty wants, I'll show up. I'll take my leave.

As soon as Yu Qing leaves the room, Bai Chongye kicks the teapot. He feels exasperated:

-"I was utterly humiliated! They think I'm weak, vulnerable!".

The more Bai Chongye tries to move, the worse the pain is. He feels forced to keep himself laid down on his bed. Uknown to him, Yu Qing is hidden in a room nearby, looking through a small hole in the wall. He was concerned: if Bai Chongye dies, no one will respect him should he become the new emperor.

...

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