After the New Year, the spring in Nanxin grew warm very quickly. The entire season was vibrant, and wherever one looked, the air was filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Yun City, too, had reached its time of blooming splendor.
It was the perfect season for an outing. Li Tianzhuo had long since planned to take Deng Youning, along with the Han family and Jiang Yuan, to enjoy the mountains and waters. However, for some unknown reason, five or six government officials had recently requested leave all at once. According to the imperial physicians, the women in their households had fallen ill; large patches of red rashes had appeared on their skin, and in some severe cases, the flesh had already begun to ulcerate. Fearing the ailment might be contagious, the officials had stayed home, not daring to step outside.
Once news of this spread through the imperial court, it gradually leaked into the city. As rumors fed on rumors, some claimed these families had been struck by a plague. But a louder voice argued that the problem lay in the clothing these women wore. If it were a contagious disease, why did it only affect women and not men? Moreover, everyone who fell ill had purchased one of three fabrics from Dongji, including the Fuguang Brocade, and the onset of the illness occurred shortly after they began wearing garments made from these materials.
Chapter 350