Oops! The Black Lotus Can't Be a Female Supporting Character - Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Medicine
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Duke Weiguo didn’t think that this young girl could cure her illness, but there was no trace of disrespect on his face. He asked in a gentle tone, “May I ask for the young lady’s surname?”
While he observed Xiao Yanfei, she also carefully observed his symptoms and even glanced at the blood sputum on the handkerchief. Her gaze slightly sharpened.
At the same time, she confidently replied, “My surname is Xiao.”
She then greeted the Duke, “Greetings, Your Grace,” with a respectful gesture and turned to Gu Feichi, asking, “Young Master Gu, do you have the patient’s medical records?”
“Li Shu.” Gu Feichi called out to his attendant.
Li Shu brought a stack of medical records over and looked at Xiao Yanfei with a hint of skepticism in his eyes.
Could this young girl, who is at most fifteen or sixteen years old, truly possess medical skills and diagnose complex illnesses that even the Imperial Physicians are unable to treat?
Li Shu turned to glance at Gu Feichi, his words hesitating.
Xiao Yanfei lowered her head and began examining the stack of silk papers. The records included not only those from the Imperial Physicians but also some prescriptions they had recommended.
Xiao Yanfei quickly flipped through the records, feeling impressed by Princess Ning Shu’s remarkable memory. Her description of Duke’s symptoms from the previous day was accurate, but the medical records provided more detailed information, mentioning Duke’s pale yellow tongue coating, a rapid and forceful pulse, turbid saliva, coughing, and wheezing.
After reviewing these records, she had a good understanding of the situation but still pretended to examine the Duke’s pulse, making it seem as though she was concentrating deeply.
In reality, she had no clue about the diagnosis.
Traditional Chinese medicine requires specialized knowledge, and she, as an elective student, knew only the basics like feeling the pulse and recognizing signs. At most, she possessed only rudimentary knowledge.
Therefore, her most significant challenge at this moment was to make a diagnosis.
Pneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis had quite a few similar symptoms when they occurred, such as coughing, fever, and bloody sputum, making these two diseases easily confused.
In modern times, one can use blood tests, sputum tests, and imaging examinations to diagnose the illness. But this is the ancient era, and none of these methods are available!
Fortunately, in ancient times, there were skilled traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, especially the imperial physicians at the Imperial Medical Academy, who were experts in various aspects. Their pulse-reading techniques were particularly impressive, leaving Xiao Yanfei in awe.
She couldn’t pulse-diagnose, but she could examine the pulse cases!
At this moment, Xiao Yanfei felt especially grateful for the professor’s strict requirements for them as medical students, making them memorize medical texts and study pulse cases.
She might not be a master of pulse cases, but she had a decent understanding.
Combining Duke Weiguo’s symptoms with the available pulse cases, Xiao Yanfei could confirm that he indeed had pneumonia.
Furthermore, it was progressing to severe pneumonia.
If it truly reached the severe stage, it could lead to respiratory failure and even multiple organ failure, not something that could be easily treated with medication alone.
She arrived just in time.
After diagnosing the illness, Xiao Yanfei’s mood lightened considerably, with a hint of a smile in her eyes.
Using her thoughts, she retrieved moxifloxacin, acetaminophen, and cough suppressants from her precious first-aid kit, pretending she took them out of a small wooden box she carried with her. She also had someone fetch a cup of warm water.
She deliberately avoided the explanation for the mysterious capsules and cough syrup and only presented the tablets in three ceramic bottles.
“These dark red tablets are for… cough suppression, one tablet a day, to be taken at this hour.”
“This is for reducing fever. Take one tablet each time, three times a day, with at least a two-hour interval between doses, and no more than four times a day.”
“The last type is for stopping cough and clearing phlegm. Take one tablet each time, three times a day.”
“These medicines should be swallowed with water.”
Li Shu didn’t expect that she would simply take the Duke’s pulse without prescribing anything and would directly take out the pre-prepared medicines.
He lowered his head to look at the messy pile of tablets on the table, and couldn’t help but furrow his brows tightly.
Is this medicine?
Since when do medicines look like this?!
Most pills in the pharmacy are dark brown and emit a medicinal fragrance.
However, the medicines in the porcelain bottles were either white or dark red, and the shape of the tablets was very strange, looking suspicious in every way.
Moreover, doctors usually prescribe medicines based on the patient’s symptoms. Can these tablets that Miss Xiao casually took out be suitable for the condition?
Li Shu’s suspicion of Xiao Yanfei deepened, and his expression turned as cold as water.
This seems too absurd. I’ve never seen a doctor treat patients like this!
Could she be some kind of fraudster from the martial world?!
Xiao Yanfei knew that the tablets she had taken out were a bit unconventional, but they were still more acceptable than capsules or intravenous drips.
Using the words she had prepared in advance, she said earnestly, “These are called tablets, they are a secret prescription of my sect, just like those honey pills.”
The “Ginseng Nutrient Replenishing Pills” and “An Gong Pill,” and the like, are all honey pills, which are pills made by binding powdered medicinal herbs with honey.
In ancient times, the enduring vitality of traditional Chinese medicine lay in its transmission. It can be said that most famous physicians throughout history passed down their knowledge through generations, often from fathers to sons or from mentors to disciples. Each family had its own unique and secretive medical formulas, known as “forbidden prescriptions.”
These forbidden prescriptions were not readily shared with others.
In “Ling Shu Jing,” there is a saying: “This is what the predecessors forbade, passing it secretly, and sealing it with a blood oath.”
Whenever the topic of “forbidden prescriptions” came up, as long as it wasn’t too controversial, people wouldn’t persistently inquire further.
Even if someone spoke without thinking, Xiao Yanfei was completely unashamed, looking at Gu Feichi with a smile.
The young woman’s cat-like eyes were very beautiful, distinct in black and white, as if all the stars of a summer night were reflected in her eyes, exuding self-confidence.
Gu Feichi picked up one of the medicine bottles from the table, smelled it, and took out a white pill to examine.
This white pill was somewhat similar to the one Xiao Yanfei had given him in the Scripture Repository yesterday but also different, and it was similarly impossible to discern the ingredients.
Before yesterday, he had never seen such medicine. When he was in the Scripture Repository, he actually had some doubts about Xiao Yanfei’s medical skills.
It wasn’t until last night, when Xie Wuduan suddenly developed a high fever and fell into a coma, and they had tried everything from herbal medicine, acupuncture, to cold compresses, and the fever wouldn’t break. That’s when he took the risk of trying the medicine she had left behind. To his surprise, in the early morning, Xie Wuduan’s fever began to subside, and he woke up once…
And his father…
Gu Feichi looked at the ailing Duke Weiguo on the bed.
The imperial physician had said that his father might not last for more than three to five days, and if the fever didn’t subside soon, he could slip into a coma at any moment.
Once he fell into a coma, he might never wake up again.
Gu Feichi held the white medicinal tablet in his hand and turned it around.
He asked, “How many days should he take this medicine?”
Xiao Yanfei replied, “Just take it for three days for now, and then come for a follow-up in three days.” She carefully wrote down the dosage of each type of medicine, fearing that they might make a mistake in the dosage.
“Also, during the medication period, temporarily stop taking other medicines.”
Xiao Yanfei thought to herself: Some herbs shouldn’t be mixed with antibiotics, so it’s better not to take them for now.
Upon hearing this, Li Shu, who had been holding back, finally couldn’t restrain himself and asked somewhat stiffly, “Miss Xiao, are these few medicines… enough?”
The Imperial Physician and renowned doctors in the capital have used so many precious medicinal ingredients and still couldn’t cure Duke Weiguo. If they stop the medication now, won’t the Duke Weiguo’s condition worsen even more?!
Facing the other’s doubts, Xiao Yanfei was not angered.
She calmly said, “As the ‘Luoyi Medical Compendium’ says: ‘Simplicity in prescription refines the art; complexity in prescription dulls the art.'”
“The use of medicine is like the use of soldiers, the strategy matters more than the quantity.”
It means that in medicine, quality is more important than quantity.
Duke Weiguo listened, slightly surprised, and when he looked at Xiao Yanfei, there was a touch of admiration in his indifferent eyes.
He found this young girl in front of him quite interesting.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, “What a great saying, ‘strategy matters more than the quantity,’ it is indeed a matter of life and death in both medicine and warfare.”
With this smile, he triggered a coughing fit, coughing several times in a row, and Li Shu quickly patted his back.
After his breathing stabilized, Duke Weiguo drank a few sips of warm water to soothe his throat and then gestured for Li Shu to give him the medicine.
Li Shu’s eyes showed hesitation, while Duke Weiguo had a determined gaze.
He knew his time was short, but he could face death with composure.
The departed have no attachments, but the living may regret their existence due to self-blame and regrets.
Even for the sake of his son’s peace of mind, he was willing to give it a try.
Duke Weiguo readily took the first dose.
Xiao Yanfei was quite satisfied with this.
As a doctor, her favorite patients were the ones who followed her instructions.
“Duke, after taking the medicine, your fever will likely subside within a quarter of an hour to half an hour. During the medication period, you must not consume alcohol or eat spicy and oily foods.”
Although considering the Duke’s condition, he probably couldn’t drink or had much appetite, as a doctor, this was the advice she had to give.
Antibiotics are indeed a great invention. Given Duke Weiguo’s health, he had never encountered antibiotics before, and the medication would surely have a positive effect. Within three days, his pneumonia would certainly improve to some extent.
With Duke Weiguo alive, there would be no need for her to attend to joyous affairs at the Duke’s mansion! She could also preserve her own life.
A win-win situation.
Thinking about it, Xiao Yanfei’s smile deepened, and her eyes shone like a cat’s.
For some reason, Gu Feichi always felt that her smile was saying she was very capable.
He raised an eyebrow, and his stern gaze also relaxed. The gloom that had been lingering in his heart these days suddenly dispersed a bit.
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Translated By: Allthingsfluff