They watched the woman step out. If not for their fear of her, they would have rushed in long ago, yet, conversely, without this very woman here, they wouldn't be desperately seeking sanctuary.

The chaotic throng quieted at Qi Yue's appearance, as if afraid to disturb her. This woman's temper isn't great lately...

best not to offend her.... "Everyone, please return home," Qi Yue called out loudly.

These words unleashed pandemonium among the assembled people. "Lady Qi, we were wrong..." "Lady Qi, it had nothing to do with us; it was those doctors who stirred things up..." "Lady Qi, have mercy..." Crying, shouting, and kowtowing devolved into a frantic mess.

"No, this is an isolation hospital, meant for isolating the sick, not those who are well!" Qi Yue exclaimed, caught between laughter and tears. "Alas, there are more sick people now than healthy ones!

Please isolate us first," shouted several people at the forefront, stamping their feet. "Impossible.

This place is already full of patients," Qi Yue replied. This statement made the onlookers step back several paces.

"Everyone, do not panic. This contagious disease is not very severe," Qi Yue assured them.

Everyone present looked ready to weep. Was this not severe?

It truly wasn't that severe; generally speaking, the human-to-human transmission rate of anthrax was low, and with proper isolation and protection, it could be avoided. Try that with something else, like the plague...

So, she did possess some integrity; otherwise, forget curing others, she'd probably be dead herself... Hu San emerged carrying a large stack of papers.

"Everyone, follow these guidelines for protection precisely, and there will be no issues. Don't panic," Qi Yue instructed.

Before her words had fully faded, the crowd surged forward. "Give me one, give me one!" Hands stretched out to snatch the materials from Hu San.

Hu San was nearly drowned in the press, saved only when the guards managed to fend off the crowd. After more commotion, a system for queuing to receive the items was established.

"Give me a few extra," pleaded one person holding a single sheet, unwilling to leave. "Give what?

This is money! I printed so many back then; why didn't you keep them?

Now this is all that’s left," Hu San retorted testily. The moment he finished speaking, that person immediately tossed over a pouch of money.

"I'll pay, I'll pay!" he cried out. Seeing this display, and noticing the rapidly diminishing stack of promotional flyers, those queuing behind him grew frantic.

"We'll pay too!" everyone shouted, raising their money pouches. Previously, when they distributed these flyers everywhere, some people took them only to discard them, others happily took several, saying they could be used as rough paper back home, and some waved them away in annoyance.

Their long-held wish was that these flyers, which had cost their master effort and money, would be accepted and kept, even if only glanced at. They never imagined a day would come when people would pay to buy them...

"...Sell it to me, sell it to me..." "...I want them all..." "Quiet down, all of you!" Hu San roared, pointing at the disorganized mass, "Anyone who doesn't queue up won't get anything!" This statement was more effective than anything else; the line immediately straightened into a perfect, unwavering column. "Stop talking about money and such," Hu San said, pushing the pouch back to the man.

"One per household. If it runs out, that's it.

Print your own; I don't have time for this." Having dealt with that person, another set their sights on something else. "Master Hu, could you sell me a few of those gloves and masks?" the man who took a flyer but still refused to leave asked quietly.

Hu San looked up at him, and the mouth behind the mask couldn't help but swallow. This...

this... might be acceptable?

"The main issue is that we don't have many left, and future demand will be huge, so we can't just give them away for free anymore..." he sighed. The man saw a glimmer of hope and nearly threw himself at Hu San.

"No, no, Master Hu, you wound my pride," he said, handing over his money pouch. Only then did Hu San call over a disciple.

"Get this gentleman two sets of gloves and masks," he instructed. The words were barely out when the crowd roared.

"We want them too..." Another forest of money pouches rose into the air. "Listen, ours are made by the tailors; you can make your own," Hu San shouted, wiping sweat from his brow.

"We want the ones bought from Qianjintang!" everyone exclaimed in unison. Who knew if the ones bought elsewhere would work?

The ones from Qianjintang were personally inspected by you all, so they must be fine. Qi Yue stopped concerning herself with the excitement over there.

The five disciples assigned to disinfection and verification had already departed. She, along with another five, prepared to head to the pig farm.

Furthermore, the supply of penicillin could not stop; counting everyone, all her disciples had been deployed. Those currently helping at the hospital relied on the guards from the Marquis of Dingxi's household.

Manpower was still desperately short.... "You are not allowed to go.

Go home now, and immediately inform the magistrate to dispatch personnel to manage this," Qi Yue instructed Chang Yancheng. Chang Yancheng stared, unmoving.

"You have an open wound. You must stay here; I won't feel at ease," Qi Yue said.

"Chang Yancheng, I don't need you to do anything for me; it is enough for me to know that you are standing behind me." Chang Yancheng looked at her and finally nodded. Qi Yue smiled at him, turned, and hurried away.

Because she had to carry heavy medicine kits for experimental testing, her small frame looked even more overburdened amidst the group of male disciples, but her steps were steady, one by one, and she soon vanished from sight. Meanwhile, Wang Qingchun sat in his home, unburdened by anything physical, yet his steps were heavy.

"How could this happen..." he murmured repeatedly. "Sir, what shall we do?" two or three doctors asked anxiously.

"I did not lose!" Wang Qingchun stated in a deep voice. "I did not lose!

She, she said it was a plague—so what! Can I not say the same?

Curing it—only then can we say she has skill!" The doctors looked at him, speechless. "Sir, now is not the time for that; the question is what to do now?" they pressed.

"I, I will write to the Imperial Medical Academy and ask them to send the best imperial physicians so everyone need not panic," Wang Qingchun said once he regained his composure and understood their question. The doctors nodded.

"So what should be done now?" someone else inquired. Wang Qingchun glared at him.

"Didn't I just say it? I am inviting the best doctors!" he roared.

"Sir, that is for later. What about now?

What about the immediate situation? There are so many sick people in the city, and it has descended into chaos—what do we do?" This doctor couldn't help but shout either.

What to do? Wang Qingchun’s chest heaved violently.

How should I know what to do... Fortunately, the other doctors in the city no longer waited for his directives.

They had all realized that if they waited for him any longer, everyone would be ruined. Thus, almost overnight, all the medical halls that remained open began the disinfection procedures.

Everyone donned masks, caps, and gloves—though theirs were simple white cloth substitutes, unlike those from Qianjintang. And the number of people dressed like this on the streets grew, sporting various bizarre outfits, but all covering their mouths, noses, and hands.

It wasn't until the properly attired individuals returning from Qianjintang drew everyone's attention. "Bought them from Qianjintang." News spread, and more people flocked toward Qianjintang.

The soldiers and guards led by the Deputy Magistrate were already sprinkling lime along the streets. "And the strong liquor..." one leading constable noted, looking at the paper in his hand.

Of course, they too wore masks and gloves, and even leather boots on their feet. Following them came another team of constables who aggressively smashed on doors from house to house.

"Verification of cases! If you do not open up, you will be treated as rioters in rebellion!" they shouted loudly.

That was a serious threat, and doors flew open. Each team of constables was accompanied by a doctor.

Along the streets, people carrying planks were constantly running toward the city gates. "Don't be afraid, we are going straight to Qianjintang; Lady Qi can save you," the accompanying family members soothed the patients.

The Deputy Magistrate, astride his horse, cleared a path to let these people pass first. He too wore a mask and gloves, looking remarkably comical.

"Even though everyone verbally claims not to trust Lady Qi, deep down, they still do. Look, they remembered everything she said in the past, which is why they can put it into practice so quickly now," he commented.

Beside him rode Huang Ziqiao, who had just arrived. "That's for sure," Huang Ziqiao replied.

"But the fact that they bullied Lady Qi is also true." The Deputy Magistrate smiled, a smile hidden behind his mask. "There’s nothing to be done about that; what is strange is seen as strange, and what is unknown is what causes strangeness.

The common folk had no choice," he said. "But after this incident, even if Lady Qi declared the moon had fallen from the sky tomorrow, no one would doubt her again." Huang Ziqiao smiled with a hint of pride.

"I hear the Prefect and his wife have gone to offer condolences to the Marquis of Dingxi?" the Deputy Magistrate suddenly asked. Huang Ziqiao's expression soured slightly.

Condolences? They were probably hiding in the Marquis of Dingxi's residence out of fear.

Everyone believed that since the Marquis of Dingxi's estate was Qi Yue's former in-laws, they might receive some protection, making the Marquis the safest place after Qianjintang. As Chang Yancheng entered the gate, he saw the Marquis of Dingxi scolding in the courtyard.

"Now you’re scared? Too late!

It wasn't like when you bullied my Yue Niang back then..." The Marquis was flushed, a mask hanging around his neck. Your Yue Niang?

How dare he say that.... "Yes, yes," the Prefect replied, filled with contempt but maintaining a cordial smile.

"They were indeed too excessive back then!" "Go, go, tell Yue Niang that the one surnamed Tong, and anyone else—they can sell those masks and protective knowledge to anyone, but absolutely not to his household!" the Marquis commanded. The steward acknowledged with a pleasant smile but made no move to go.

"Yes, yes, absolutely," the Prefect agreed matter-of-factly. The Marquis was about to say more when he saw Chang Yancheng.

"Why are you back? Shouldn't you be guarding your wife?

Why did you run back at a time like this?" he asked in surprise, tinged with anxiety. "Did you make her angry again...?" Chang Yancheng smiled.

"No, I was worried about Father, so I came back to check on him," he replied. "Why worry about me?

What do I have to fear," the Marquis retorted, his tone noticeably softening. At that moment, many people in the city were turned back after being advised on their way toward Qianjintang outside the city walls.

"Lady Qi said she only takes in the sick, not the well citizens." passersby repeated. Those who heard this looked back at the city gate, feeling immense dread.

It seemed the gate was a gaping mouth of a monstrous beast. "Then, then please ask Lady Qi to come back and take a look!" the people pleaded.

"If she comes, sees everything, says it's fine, then we can truly be at ease." Someone scoffed upon hearing this. "Ask her to come back?

When they drove her away, not a single voice spoke up. Now asking her to return, your words come easily," This was said by a constable guarding the gate, holding a blade.

"It's easy to drive out a god, but hard to invite one back. Your lips move so lightly," he continued.

The crowd fell briefly silent, feeling slightly embarrassed. "It was all that Wang Qingchun!" someone shouted loudly.

This reminded everyone, and the shouts grew louder. "Right!

It was all because he wouldn't listen to Lady Qi and encouraged us not to listen..." "...He even made a wager with Lady Qi. Now that he has lost, make him kneel at the city gate to welcome Lady Qi back!" "Yes, kneel at the city gate!" "Wang Qingchun kneel at the city gate!" Accompanied by these shouts, someone took the lead, and the crowd surged toward Wang Qingchun's residence.

The clamor demanding Wang Qingchun kneel at the city gate echoed through the streets.