Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 542 - 487 Apology

"...According to observations, the new medication has significant effects on the plague. Within a few hours of use, symptoms such as coughing, bloody sputum, and coma were clearly alleviated. And it’s not a placebo effect."

In Wang’s Mansion, a servant stood cautiously in the hall, reporting his observations from the sick house to the gathered clan elders. "The land around the sick house has been requisitioned by the officials. Many Cultivators not seen before have appeared there, leveling houses and transporting materials like stone and wood to build new quarantine wards. Based on the area occupied and materials used, it’s estimated that the new quarantine zone can accommodate about one thousand to two thousand people."

"...Understood. You may go now."

Wang Bojian, Wang Anlian’s father and Chu Haoman’s father-in-law, who was once competing with Wang Bo Fan for the position of Clan Chief, took a deep breath and dismissed the servant.

Once only the clan elders remained in the hall, he looked around at their solemn expressions and calmly said, "The quarantine area within Taiyuan Prefecture alone can accommodate five thousand people. If you consider the quarantine camps outside the city and multiply that by the average quarantine time of seven to twelve days, all patients could be cleared within two months."

The elders of the Taiyuan Wang Family remained silent. When they received news that Li Ang had emerged from his laboratory, they had harbored a sliver of hope. They thought the injectable solution he produced might be a mere placebo, something Li Ang concocted to deceive the common people of Taiyuan Prefecture and avert the immediate crisis. But as report after report arrived at the Prince Manor, those hopes dissolved into thin air.

The plague was ending. Even if sporadic cases still appeared, once other sick houses in Yu Country began mass-producing the cure, the epidemic could no longer cause significant turmoil.

Wang Bojian continued, "Moreover, according to reports from the scouts, Taiyuan Prefecture’s train stations have also been ordered to resume operations by tomorrow night at the latest. Materials and personnel will be temporarily allowed entry but not exit. In other words, following the emergence of the cure, the Chang’an Court has also changed its initial decision to abandon Taiyuan Prefecture. They are planning to continue investing manpower and resources to quell this plague outbreak."

The hall remained profoundly silent. The clan elders were either expressionless, had their eyes closed, or stared blankly at the ground.

"Does no one want to say anything?"

The anger simmering in Wang Bojian’s heart instantly ignited. He lowered his voice and barked, "The garrison has already taken away the local gentry who participated in besieging the Governor Mansion today. They’ve sent people to raid their homes and seize all their correspondence and documents. They intend to define this incident as a major and serious case. In Taiyuan City, which prominent figure hasn’t had dealings with the Wang Family? The garrison could use these correspondences as a pretext to arrest anyone in Yu Country they wish, under the charge of ’colluding with the Demon Sect and evil cultivators’—including every single person from the Taiyuan Wang Family, top to bottom. The court’s reckoning is about to begin. Distributing flyers privately, spreading rumors, fueling the dissemination of the Plague Demon Talisman, and even inciting the common people to attack the Governor Mansion today—any one of these accusations is enough to topple the Wang Family."

"It won’t collapse." Wang Bo Fan abruptly looked up. "We still have a chance to turn the tables. Isn’t Judicial Cardinal Bian Yubo from Taihao Mountain on our side? He also supported and tacitly approved our toleration of the plague within Taiyuan Prefecture. Various states have issued denunciations against Yu Country. Maybe in a few months, a war will break out, and there will be no more Yu Country!"

"You yourself said that even if a war breaks out, Yu Country won’t instantly perish. Bian Yubo is far away on Taihao Mountain; how could he possibly save us?" Wang Bojian retorted sharply. "Moreover, one of the prerequisites for war is the current plague and internal turmoil within Yu Country. Now that the epidemic is about to be contained, their best opportunity for war has passed, and any conflict will be further postponed. This lengthy delay is enough for Yu Country to secure its borders and stabilize internally."

"But there’s still Zhao Ming!" Wang Bo Fan cried out. "The Plague Demon Talisman was concocted by Zhao Ming; they’ll have a way!"

"Are you expecting a group of Demon Cultivators to save our Wang Family?" Wang Bojian burst into a sardonic laugh. "If they had the capability to directly overturn Yu Country, would they need to skulk around like rats, avoiding Lian Xuanyao? Or perhaps, you want our Wang Family to flee collectively?"

As the saying goes, the monks can flee, but the temple cannot. As a local clan renowned for its tradition of scholarship and farming passed down through generations, the Taiyuan Wang Family could not possibly abandon their homes and collectively become fugitive criminals.

Wang Bojian stared at his pale-faced cousin, wishing he could roll up his sleeves and knock him to the ground. Previously, when Wang Bo Fan had instigated others—supporting or tacitly agreeing to his flyer distribution plan—Wang Bojian had harbored reservations and attempted to dissuade him. However, Wang Bo Fan had expelled him from the council of elders, keeping him ignorant of subsequent plans. Consequently, Wang Bojian himself had only recently discovered the Wang Family’s involvement in spreading the Plague Demon Talisman.

As the elders remained silent, Wang Bojian’s anger surged even more. He looked around at everyone in the hall and said sternly, "Neither Taihao Mountain nor Zhao Ming can save us this time. The mistakes our Wang Family made must be faced by our Wang Family." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

To step forward and face the consequences meant needing a scapegoat to bear the heaviest penalty—death—for the Wang Family.

Hearing this, Wang Bo Fan’s face turned even paler. He had long known he’d lost the gamble, made the wrong bet. But when someone openly stated the outcome before him, the truth was still painfully sharp.

"We still have a way!" the frantic Wang Bo Fan interrupted. "The Wang Family is wealthy enough to rival a country..."