Chapter 260: Inoculation

The thirteenth year of Hongwu, the eighth day of the fourth month.

Yingtian Prefecture, Wu Wang Fu.

Just as dawn was breaking, Zhu Yong was awakened by a rapid series of footsteps.

"Prince, Sixth Prince has arrived!" Zhang Wu's voice came from outside the door.

Zhu Yong opened his eyes, and Guanyin Nu beside him also woke, rubbing her eyes and asking, "What does Sixth Prince come so early for?"

"Probably that matter," Zhu Yong sat up, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He knew what Zhu Su had come to do.

After curing Xu Da, Zhu Su had already told Zhu Yong that he and the Imperial Hospital staff had finally cultivated the cowpox, and it had already been tested on condemned prisoners, proving effective.

Today, it should be to inoculate the family.

Zhu Yong dressed and stepped out of his bedroom into the Qian Ting.

Zhu Su was sitting there drinking tea; when he saw Zhu Yong emerge, he immediately stood up, his face showing uncontrollable excitement, and shouted, "Second Prince!"

"Are the supplies ready?" Zhu Yong asked directly.

Zhu Su nodded vigorously, "All set! The cowpox vaccine, sterilized tools, everything is brought. Second Prince, today I'll inoculate you first, then the elder sister-in-law, and the children."

Zhu Yong nodded and extended his arm.

Zhu Su took a small porcelain bottle filled with pale yellow liquid from the wooden box he carried.

He dipped a sterilized silver needle into a bit of the liquid, lightly drew two lines on Zhu Yong's arm, then used another needle to dip the vaccine and applied it to the wound.

The whole process took less than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea.

"Second Prince, how does it feel?" Zhu Su asked nervously.

Zhu Yong looked at his arm, shook his head and said, "Nothing at all."

"That's good, that's good... Normally after inoculation one gets a fever for a few days, but Second Prince, you're robust, so the reaction might be milder," Zhu Su said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Zhu Yong smiled and said, "Also inoculate Guanyin Nu and the children."

Guanyin Nu had already come out with the children at this point.

"Father! What does Sixth Uncle come for?" Zhu Qiongjiong shouted, lunging forward when he saw Zhu Su.

"Sixth Uncle is here to inoculate you, and once inoculated you won't fear catching smallpox," Zhu Yong pulled his own son back, making sure he wouldn't lunge at Sixth Brother; otherwise, given Sixth Brother's frail body, he would likely collapse to the ground.

Huan Huan obediently walked over, extended her arm and said, "Sixth Uncle, I'm not afraid of pain."

Zhu Su smiled, patted her head and said, "Huan Huan is truly brave."

Next was Guanyin Nu, then Huan Huan, and finally Zhu Qiongjiong.

The little fellow kept shouting "I'm not afraid" at first; when the silver needle pierced, he pouted a bit, but didn't cry.

"Good lad! Much stronger than your Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle were at that age," Zhu Su praised.

Zhu Yong smiled, "Your Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle are out in their fiefs now; later, send them some vaccine."

"It's already prepared; dispatch a fast horse to deliver it," Zhu Su said.

After finishing the inoculations, Zhu Su packed up and said to Zhu Yong, "Second Prince, I'm heading to the Eastern Palace first to inoculate the Eldest Prince and his group; in the afternoon I must enter the palace to inoculate Imperial Father and Imperial Mother."

Zhu Yong nodded, "Go! Let Zhang Wu and his men guard you."

……

Eastern Palace.

Zhu Biao was reviewing memorandums when Zhu Su entered; he set down his brush and said, "Sixth Prince, you're here?"

Zhu Su placed the wooden box on the table and got straight to the point, "Eldest Prince, inoculation."

Zhu Biao extended his arm, laughing, "I heard from Second Brother that you've been researching this for almost three years; today it finally can be used?"

Zhu Su, while preparing the tools, said, "Thanks to the formula Second Prince gave me; otherwise even ten more years of research wouldn't have yielded results."

Zhu Biao nodded, watching Zhu Su's deft handling, then asked, "Does this really prevent smallpox?"

"It can," Zhu Su affirmed, "I tested it on condemned prisoners; those inoculated, even when later exposed to smallpox patients, were fine. Those not inoculated, eight out of ten died."

Zhu Biao waved his hand, laughing, "With this, children of Great Ming will no longer die from smallpox."

After the inoculation, Zhu Biao glanced at the shallow scratches on his arm and said, "Sixth Prince, this was well handled; later I'll tell Imperial Father that the Imperial Hospital's vaccine should first be given to the Capital City's children, then spread nationwide."

Zhu Su nodded in reply, "That's exactly what I thought."

……

Afternoon, Kunning Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma sat in the hall, watching Zhu Su busily at work.

Empress Ma extended her arm, her expression calm, "Sixth Prince, go ahead; Mother isn't afraid of pain."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, staring at the silver needle, and asked again, "Sixth Prince, is this truly effective?"

"Imperial Father, I pledge my life as guarantee," Zhu Su said seriously.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, but still extended his arm.

After the inoculation, Empress Ma smiled, "Sixth Prince, over these years you've been tinkering with those medicines; Mother has watched you progress step by step, it hasn't been easy."

Zhu Su's eyes were slightly red, "Mother…"

Empress Ma patted his hand, "Good child, Mother is proud of you."

Zhu Yuanzhang, unusually, praised, "Alright, this was well done; later, at the Imperial Hospital, keep a close eye, don't let anyone cut corners."

"I will obey your command," he replied.

……

Evening, Wu Wang Fu.

Zhu Yong had just lain down when he suddenly felt a warmth spreading over his body.

He touched his forehead, realizing the inoculation reaction had begun.

The Guanyin Nu beside her was already feverish and dazed, her face flushed, muttering something.

Zhu Yong got up, tucked the blanket for her, and then went next door to check on the children.

Zhu Huanhuan also had a fever, but slept soundly.

Xiao Zhu stood by her bedside, wiping her sweat with a cloth.

Zhu Qiongjiong's room was even livelier.

The little fellow was feverish, his face all red, yet he kept swinging a small wooden hammer on the bed, shouting "Kill the bad guys".

Zhu Yong walked over and held his errant hand: "Jiong'er, stop fooling around, sleep properly."

"Father! I'm hot!" Zhu Qiongjiong complained.

Zhu Yong patted his head; it was indeed scorching, but his spirit was fine.

"It's hot, it's hot, it'll be fine tomorrow." Zhu Yong pressed him back onto the bed and tucked the blanket.

Zhu Qiongjiong blinked and suddenly asked, "Father, are you hot?"

"Father isn't hot," Zhu Yong said.

Zhu Qiongjiong muttered, "Unfair…"

Zhu Yong smiled but said nothing.

He truly wasn't hot.

The body granted by the system was different from that of ordinary people.

Inoculating smallpox had essentially no effect on him.

…

Three days later.

News came from the Eastern Palace: Zhu Biao's fever had subsided, and he was in good spirits.

Kunning Palace also reported that Empress Ma's fever had receded; Zhu Yuanzhang was fine that day and said, "Our bodies are sturdy; this little illness is nothing."

Here at Wu Wang Fu, the Guanyin Nu and the children had also recovered from the fever.

Zhu Huanhuan was the first to get better and had already begun reading in the courtyard.

After Zhu Qiongjiong's fever subsided, his appetite surged; he ate three bowls of rice in one sitting, making Lao Zhang grin from ear to ear.

"Prince, this young master's appetite rivals yours back in the day!" Lao Zhang laughed.

Zhu Yong looked at his son, feeling happy inside.

This kid, born with Divine Strength, a huge appetite, and a big temper, is basically a replica of himself.

…

The first day of the fifth month.

After the morning court, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Biao, Zhu Yong, and Zhu Su to Qianqing Palace.

"Old Six, the smallpox inoculation matter can now be rolled out; you'll take charge of the Imperial Hospital side first. Start inoculating the Capital City's children. Then gradually expand to each prefecture and county," Zhu Yuanzhang said bluntly.

Zhu Su replied, "Your son, I obey the decree."

Zhu Yuanzhang added, "Biao'er, have the Ministry of Revenue allocate a sum of silver specifically for this; the inoculation cannot charge the people, the court will fund it."

Zhu Biao nodded, "Your son, I understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yong, "Yong'er, what are your thoughts?"

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Father, Old Six handled this well; I think, not only smallpox, but other diseases in the future can be prevented this way. Old Six's research institute must be run properly."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Well said. Old Six, if your institute lacks anything, just speak up; the court will allocate it."

Zhu Su's face turned red with excitement, "Thank you, Imperial Father!"

…

The tenth day of the fifth month.

The first batch of smallpox inoculations was distributed to the various wards of the Capital City.

The physicians of the Imperial Hospital went door to door inoculating the children.

At first some townsfolk were fearful, but after hearing that Wu Wang Fu, the Eastern Palace, and the palace itself had inoculated, they relaxed.

In just half a month, over thirty thousand children in the Capital City had been inoculated.

In early June, the Yingtian Prefecture report stated that there were no smallpox cases around Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted, issuing an edict to reward Zhu Su with a thousand taels of gold and bestow the plaque "Benefactor of the World, Good Physician."

At the same time, the "Medical Research Institute" under the Imperial Hospital was officially expanded, with Zhu Su appointed as director, focusing on researching treatments for various difficult ailments.

Zhu Su's name began to spread among the people.

"Did you hear? Sixth Prince has developed a medicine against smallpox!"

"Sure enough, my child got inoculated and is now bouncing around lively."

"That's a great merit!"

…

Mid-June, night.

Wu Wang Fu rear courtyard.

Moonlight like water spilled over the courtyard.

Zhu Yong sat on a stone bench, watching the children play in the courtyard.

Zhu Huanhuan led Zhu Qiongjiong to catch fireflies, while Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ying watched nearby.

Zhu Xiongying also came tonight, arguing with Zhu Huanhuan over whose bottle held more.

"Second Uncle!" Zhu Xiongying ran over, "Look at what I caught!"

The little fellow lifted the glass bottle in his hand; inside, a dozen fireflies flickered.

Zhu Yong laughed, patting his head, "Xiong Ying is truly impressive."

Zhu Xiongying smiled smugly and ran back to keep catching.

Guanyin Nu stepped out and sat beside Zhu Yong.

"What are you thinking?" she asked softly.

Zhu Yong shook his head, "It's nothing, just that… it's quite nice."

Guanyin Nu leaned on his shoulder, watching the children frolicking in the courtyard, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

Indeed, quite nice.

Children safe, family healthy, brothers united, the nation strong.

What could be better than this?

From afar, the whistle of a steam locomotive sounded again.

The sound was long and powerful, like the pulse of this age, beating steadily, thump after thump.

In Moonlight, Zhu Yong's mouth corner lifted slightly.

This life, it was worth it.