I Am Saving Lives, Not People
Feng Yu Heng’s brows furrowed. Someone had bad intentions? If it really was like this, regardless of who this person hid behind, she would definitely drag them out. Killing people demanded repayment with life. To use the lives of normal citizens for something so wretched, that sort of person deserved to die!
The group of carriages very quickly arrived near the jade mine. There were already soldiers from Yu Zhou that had surrounded the affected area not permitting anyone through.
But there were more and more citizens that were gathering. Both Yu Zhou and Ji An Prefecture had too many people that relied on the mine to make a living. This one incident ended up becoming a disaster for half of the citizens. She even heard a granny wail: “I only have that one son! If he was buried and died down there, I won’t be able to carry on living!”
She anxiously exited her carriage, and someone immediately recognized her. The citizens gathered around her, and not even the soldiers could hold them back. It was Feng Yu Heng that raised her voice to say: “Everyone, do not panic. Since this imperial daughter has come, I definitely will not ignore this situation. I invite everyone to give way. No matter what, saving lives is most important. All of the doctors from Hundred Herb Hall have rushed over here. We will go and rescue them first. Later on, this imperial daughter will give everyone an explanation. Is that alright?”
The people were not unreasonable. They knew that rescue efforts were most important at this time. Every moment that they delayed Imperial Daughter Ji An, the people buried below would become a bit less likely to survive. Thus everyone dispersed on their own, giving Feng Yu Heng’s group a path, but there were still some people that wished to go in with her. Feng Yu Heng then ordered the soldiers: “Pick out the young and strong ones to be let inside, but it is not to mess around. Instead, it’s to participate in the rescue operation. Each one that can be dug out counts for one!” At the same time, she said to the people: “Only by saving others can others save your family members. If you only think of your family, it would be pointless regardless of what methods we use for the rescue operation.”
Everyone nodded their heads, and many young men were chosen by the soldiers to enter to carry out the rescue operation, but there were some people that felt a bit worried. They were worried that another landslide would occur, and they would be going off to die. But later on, when they saw Imperial Daughter Ji An and the sixth prince, who had also rushed over, both enter they wondered, what were their lives worth? An imperial daughter and a prince were not even afraid, so what were they afraid for? Thus they all began to register, increasing the number of rescuers.
Feng Yu Heng entered the affected area and looked toward the top of the mountain. There, she saw that the landslide had begun halfway up. There was a noticeably large hole in the side of the mountain. It was that part of the mountain caving in that had begun the landslide. Ban Zou stood at her side and said: “The cause of the landslide should be the caved-in area. The collapse caused a shock to the rest of the mountain, which caused the landslide.”
“The area of the cave-in is very large.” Feng Yu Heng observed from a distance and said, “Also, it looks a bit strange. It’s as though the mountain was hollowed out. Also, this hollowing was not something that existed from the beginning. It should be man-made.” She pointed at the caved-in area and said: “Look, the quality of the earth is hard. The layers of dirt are in solid chunks. Also, that area has already been mined. If the mountain was already hollow, the incident would not have happened at this sort of time. It should have happened when it was being mined.” While she spoke, she walked forward. First, she looked at the injured being carried out, and there were some that had already stopped breathing and some that were still breathing, but they were all covered in blood. It was impossible to tell at a glance where they had been hurt.
“Huang Quan, find some more people from Yu Zhou to bring more tents over. Bring as many as possible.” She began handing down instructions, “Wang Chuan, inform the soldiers in Yu Zhou to participate in the rescue effort. Those that are lightly injured will immediately be sent to Yu Zhou’s medical clinic for treatment. There’s no need for them to occupy the resources here.”
The two maidservants immediately went to carry out these instructions, leaving only Ban Zou, who was unwilling to leave his master’s side, “The mountains are still dangerous. Who knows when the next landslide might occur. Staying here alone is too dangerous.”
Feng Yu Heng understood this reasoning, thus she ordered for the people to set the tents up a bit further away. At the same time, she repeatedly reminded the people participating in the rescue that staying safe was most important.
Soldiers were already coordinating with the people that had not been injured to create a list of people that were missing. Feng Yu Heng asked Xuan Tian Feng to help take care of these things. As for herself, she immediately dove into the work of treating the injured.
The first tent that Wang Lin had set up was left for her to use. She had someone place the surgery tools that had been brought inside the tent. She then entered the tent and did not allow anyone else to enter with her. She then went into her space to retrieve a large amount of medicine. It was all Western medicine. In this sort of situation, Western medicine was most effective. Chinese medicine acted too slowly, and it could not be relied upon to save lives.
Also, infusions and blood infusions, along with the instruments to provide these transfusions were also prepared. In this sort of incident, most of the injured would need large amounts of blood. If a blood transfusion was not given, the injured could not possibly be kept alive. Since the blood required came from her space, she had never taught any doctors about how to give blood transfusions. Now, she was the only person that could be relied upon. Feng Yu Heng felt that this was a bit tiring, but she had no choice but to grit her teeth and bear with it.
Very quickly, she finished all of her preparations and immediately had someone continue preparing the medical tent. Soldiers came in from the outside and built temporary beds. She then had a few doctors called inside. This one would be the main tent, and it would specifically treat the ones that had suffered the worst injuries. Feng Yu Heng had also made some preparations for the treatment, streamlining the process. The injured that had been treated in the tent would immediately be carried to another tent to be observed. The area over here would be opened up for the next people that needed it. Wang Lin copied her idea and made similar arrangements for the other medical tents.
The medical work immediately began, and it continued from the morning until late into the night. There was an endless stream of people that were dug out of the earth, and they were carried into the tents one at a time. In any case, the other doctors could work in shifts and rest for a bit, eat and drink some water. Feng Yu Heng, however, could not be swapped out for anyone else. She did not have any time to eat or drink water. From the moment she began her work to the last moment, even Huang Quan, who was wiping away her sweat, could not bear to continue watching, as she repeatedly advised her: “Young Miss, rest for a bit. When will it end like this? You can’t let yourself collapse from fatigue.”
Feng Yu Heng, however, shook her head and said: “No, if I rest, that would mean that people will die because they were not treated in a timely manner. I can still endure. I can’t just watch them die before my eyes.” She was not forcefully enduring it. While she spoke, she pulled out a candy bar from her space and took a bite, “Look, this can suppress the hunger.” After saying this, she threw one to Huang Quan.
How could Huang Quan be in any mood to eat. Her young miss’ actions were leaving her extremely anxious. Unfortunately, she herself could not provide much help. It was not as though she had not learned any of her young miss’ medical abilities. Thinking back to that time in the military camp when the soldiers had been poisoned, she, Wang Chuan and Ban Zou had helped give injections to the soldiers. But now, this sort of treatment method was completely different from that time. She watched as the doctors from Hundred Herb Hall cut the flesh open then reconnect the bones inside the flesh before stitching the cut closed. She also watched her young miss draw blood from others to be infused into the patients. Apparently, it was only like this that those people could recover.
She knew that her young miss’ medical abilities were extremely great, but people were not made of iron. Precisely when would this end?
Finally, the sixth prince, Xuan Tian Feng, finished taking care of the situation outside. Lifting the curtain, he entered the tent. He had heard that Feng Yu Heng had not rested from morning until night, and she had not even eaten. Coming in to take a look at this time, but of course, that small face appeared a bit pale in the candlelight. It was clear that this was the result of overexertion.
He stepped forward and received the handkerchief to wipe away sweat from Huang Quan and sent Huang Quan somewhere else. He then stood at Feng Yu Heng’s side and took over Huang Quan’s job, earnestly pleading: “If you collapse from trying to save an extra person, what should happen to those that need treatment in the future? Think about it, will eating a meal cost more time or will collapsing from fatigue cost more time? You’re a rather smart person. How is it that you can’t even figure out this math?”
Feng Yu Heng ignored him and continued her work. Xuan Tian Feng did not get discouraged and continued advising: “The food has already been prepared. I had a stove prepared over here, and a few chefs from the restaurants in Yu Zhou were called over to prepare food. The people participating in the rescue effort need to eat. Just stop for the time being and eat a bit. It won’t take much time. How about it?”
There was nothing that Feng Yu Heng could do. In the past, she had not felt that the sixth prince was this wordy, so why was it that he was like a maidservant, being fussy to no end? But she was very grateful for Xuan Tian Feng’s presence. After all, she had dived straight into her work after entering the medical tent. She could not pay any attention to the situation outside. Fortunately, Xuan Tian Feng was very thorough, and he had even prepared some kitchens.
Truthfully speaking, she also really wanted to stop, but wounded people were constantly being brought into the tent, and roughly six in ten needed to receive blood. Not only did she need to test the blood type of the wounded, but she also needed to test the blood types of those donating. She just busied herself like this, and there were still a number of people lining up outside. How could she bring herself to stop? Feng Yu Heng continued to work and said to Xuan Tian Feng: “Sixth brother, don’t worry. I understand this. I still won’t collapse from fatigue. As for you, you have been busy outside the entire time. Have you eaten yet?” She asked this but did not look up. She had just finished drawing someone’s blood and continued to the next person.
The person who had their blood drawn had been listening to the two speak. When he stood up, he could not help but say: “Imperial Daughter, His Highness Prince Xian is right. You must take care of yourself! All of our lives are lesser, but you are different!”
“How am I different?” She shook her head, “In the face of human life, everyone is the same. We cannot be treated better than others just because I am an imperial daughter and he is a prince. All people in my eyes are the same. I am saving lives, not people.”
When that person heard such words, he suddenly felt in a daze. It was as though he had never seen someone that viewed their lives as important. Although he rejoiced in being able to avoid this disaster, he had worked in the mine for many years. In the past, this mine belonged to the third prince, and the miners had suffered quite a bit. The wages were poor, and they frequently needed to hurry through their work in the middle of the night. But he was a prince, so what could they say? They had no other skills. They could only sell their strength to earn money to take care of their families.
Later on, the mine was handed over to Imperial Daughter Ji An. Although Imperial Daughter Ji An herself had never visited, she had sent quite a few competent people to take care of this side. Not only did Imperial Daughter Ji An’s people visit this area, but His Highness the ninth prince’s people would also visit. The treatment of the workers improved drastically in an instant. Not only had their wages been tripled, but they went to work at a set time each morning. They could never be asked to work an extra moment. When it was time for the holidays, fish and meat were given out, and when they fell ill or got hurt, they could seek treatment and get medicine for free from Hundred Herb Hall in Yu Zhou.
Now, Imperial Daughter Ji An had told him that all people were the same when it came to life. For this common worker, this normal citizen, he immediately felt a sense of belonging!
He no longer continued to advise Feng Yu Heng to eat. Instead, he quickly left the medical tent to spread his feelings to his fellow workers!