Chapter 1564 - 1411: The Fake Commandery Princess 21
Request was made to be escorted by government officers to the epidemic county for treatment of the epidemic, voluntarily living with infected common people to treat them, demonstrating extraordinary medical skills by developing a treatment prescription in just two days.
In the end, without seeking fame or fortune, the treatment prescription was left behind without claiming credit, and they left to continue their exile with their family. The Emperor immediately developed a great fondness for Shuangshuang.
Originally, the Emperor had a favorable impression of Ye Feiying and Ye Fangchen. If not for his consideration for these two ministers, he wouldn’t have shown so much favor.
Moreover, the scandal of the Ye Family’s confiscation and exile had already stirred the Capital City, so naturally, the Emperor was aware of Shuangshuang following the Ye Family into exile.
Having heard Doctor Zhao’s report and read the County Magistrate’s petition, the Emperor remarked during the morning court session, "The Ye Family are people of noble character. If not for being misled, they wouldn’t have been implicated in this.
This girl is truly worthy of being from the Ye Family, possessing noble character, despite being in dire straits, she doesn’t forget the virtue of being a healer, serving as a model for physicians."
The Emperor’s comments showed clear favoritism, considering that the son-in-law of the Ye Family he referred to as misguided was also part of the Ye bloodline.
Nevertheless, as long as the matter isn’t significant, whatever the Emperor says is as he wills, and no officials would oppose him.
The Emperor was pleased and immediately decided to issue a decree to award Shuangshuang, though in his heart, he wished to pardon the Ye Family’s crimes.
However, the scandal involving the Ye Family this time was too serious, akin to treason for siding with the Prince’s rebellion.
Such a grave offense, sparing them from death and merely exiling them to Nanzhao, where they could regain freedom upon arrival, was already the greatest favor the Emperor could grant.
There are matters even the Emperor can’t handle recklessly, so although he admired Shuangshuang and empathized with the Ye Family’s injustice, he could do nothing more.
Yet, the Emperor remains the Emperor, he couldn’t openly show further favor to the Ye Family, but he could use this chance to help the Ye Family by rewarding Shuangshuang.
Thus, with a grand gesture, the Emperor exempted Shuangshuang from exile and granted her freedom, along with an additional reward of four hundred taels of gold.
Ostensibly, this four hundred taels of gold was to reward Shuangshuang for not seeking fame, contributing to the treatment of the epidemic, but the Emperor’s true intention was simple,
It clearly indicated an understanding that the Ye Family, having been confiscated and exiled, must be penniless, giving four hundred taels of gold, equivalent to four thousand taels of silver, was essentially subsidizing the Ye Family.
Initially, the Emperor intended to reward Shuangshuang with a thousand taels of gold, but the court officials strongly opposed, claiming that though Shuangshuang’s achievements were significant, the reward should not be excessive.
The opposition was indeed motivated more by objections to the Emperor’s favor towards the Ye Family than by any genuine concern, ultimately forcing the Emperor to reduce the reward to four hundred taels of gold.
When the Imperial Envoy arrived with the Holy Decree for Shuangshuang, a group of nearly thirty individuals was causing chaos beside the official road, with people and horses tumbling over each other in utter disarray!
A group of government officers was yelping in distress, their exposed hands and faces marked by several highly swollen, shiny red welts, their faces twitching from pain, unable to contain their cries of discomfort.
Among the Ye Family, Shuangshuang had two perfectly symmetrical large welts on her face, Ye Fangchen and Ye Jingyi had several lumps, only Ye Feiying, Shen Family members, Bai Menghan, and Ye Jingfei had none.
These four were disarraying two carriages, strewing luggage thrown from the carriages all over, and almost buried themselves in the piled mess inside the vehicle, searching everywhere for vinegar.
The spectacle bewildered the Imperial Envoy, leaving him thoroughly perplexed as to what was happening!
The situation was as follows: during this period, witnessing Shuangshuang daily use two stones to hunt mountain chickens and rabbits, providing everyone with abundantly rich meals,
The government officers, seeing this repeatedly, became eager to emulate Shuangshuang, taking stones in hand to hunt mountain chickens and rabbits, assembling together.
Every time, it seemed they unleashed a storm of stones, and truth be told, their concentrated attack managed to knock out several mountain chickens and rabbits.
These successful hunts immediately filled the officers with enthusiasm, each one more exuberant, seemingly invigorated with excitement, wishing to hit any bird passing by.
However, Shuangshuang stopped them, emphasizing that hunting mountain chickens and rabbits was to fill stomachs and nourish bodies, an act within the norms of the natural cycle.
Striking birds for mere amusement, with little meat to offer, was outright unacceptable according to Shuangshuang.
Thankfully, the officers showed great respect for Shuangshuang, especially after she treated the epidemic; when Shuangshuang insisted against harming the birds, they complied.
Yet rabbits and mountain chickens were different, every day Shuangshuang hunted several chickens and rabbits, leaving the ones spotted along the way as prey for the officers’ practice.
If caught, they saved them for the next day’s meal; even if missed, they had no worries with Shuangshuang around to ensure a steady supply of meat.
Initially, the rabbit and chicken hunts went smoothly, but then today trouble arose when an officer’s hand slipped, missing the mountain chicken and hitting a wasp nest!
An entire swarm of wasps plunged in a black veil over the offenders, pursuing them with relentless vengeance!
Shoes almost flew off during the escape, and after narrowly evading the swarm, everyone ended up injured!
Apart from the four individuals — Ye Feiying, Shen Family members, Bai Menghan, and Ye Jingfei — hastily wrapped in blankets to avoid stings, the others suffered few stings due to those carrying them.
But the hapless officers bore between seven to eight, and at most, ten or more large welts.
The poison from the wasp is relatively potent, requiring immediate attention to prevent complications; thus, upon escaping the wasps, Shuangshuang hurried to treat the wounds.
Bee poison is acidic and needs a basic substance for antidote, whereas wasp poison is basic and requires an acidic neutralizer, with vinegar serving as the best antidote under current circumstances.
Unfortunately, the vinegar was buried somewhere within the carriage, overwhelmed by supplies, making it hard to locate. Shuangshuang, reluctant to search, hadn’t used vinegar for cooking in several days.
Yet now it was imperative to find it, so those not stung scrambled through boxes in search of edible vinegar, which was the chaotic scene the Imperial Envoy encountered upon arrival.
Given the chaos, the Imperial Envoy could only wait at the site, and after a hectic search finally located the vinegar, Shuangshuang treated everyone’s wounds, and only then did she kneel to receive the decree.