“I have a general understanding of the condition. First, tell me who has contracted this illness.”
Shen Yu prayed silently in her heart that the patient was not an elderly person or a child.
‘I hope the patient isn’t an elderly person or a child. If it’s a child, I might be able to try, but please let it not be an elderly person… Otherwise, it truly is a death sentence.’
But as a physician, patients chose their doctors; when did a doctor ever have the chance to choose their patients?
“My father…”
“Your father… how old is he?”
Shen Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt as if half of her heart had turned cold.
Yun Wei before her was in her twenties, and she likely had siblings.
Even if children were born early in ancient times, her father had to be at least in his fifties.
In the modern world, perhaps an appendectomy was nothing major, but in ancient times…
The risk was significantly higher compared to a young adult.
“My father fought many battles in the south and north in his youth, so he married quite late. I am the youngest child in the family, so my father is sixty-three this year.”
“His health has always been quite good normally, but this time, it suddenly…”
As Yun Wei spoke, tears fell involuntarily.
Seeing such a gallant, icy beauty shed tears moved Shen Yu deeply.
Through Yun Wei’s introduction, Shen Yu gained a general understanding of the situation.
Apparently, after returning from a long journey last time, Yun Wei’s father suddenly suffered from unbearable abdominal pain.
Although he was advanced in years, he was a pillar of the Empire’s military nobility.
At the age of forty, relying on his illustrious military achievements, he had been titled Marquis Wuding by the Former Emperor.
The title was hereditary for three generations, and he even possessed an Exemption Medallion…
To reach such a level, he would be considered a powerhouse among powerhouses in any era.
His physical constitution was naturally stronger than that of an ordinary person.
Yet, such a man — a marquis with brilliant military exploits who had been active in the Imperial Court since the era of the Former Emperor — had fallen ill with an intestinal abscess.
He was now a pitiful soul just one step away from Guimenguan.
Such a drastic downfall was truly lamentable.
A grand military noble like Marquis Wuding, not dying on the battlefield but instead being tortured to death by abdominal pain — he would surely howl at the heavens in indignation, wouldn’t he?
As for Yun Wei seeking out Shen Yu, it was entirely unexpected.
When His Majesty learned that Marquis Wuding was in unbearable pain, he immediately dispatched an Imperial Physician to the Marquis Mansion for treatment.
Otherwise, Shen Yu would not have heard so many details about the clinical assessment from Yun Wei.
The various physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine had basically tried every method they could.
Aside from alleviating the pain slightly and allowing Marquis Wuding to linger a bit longer, there was no progress.
Yun Wei had come this time because she heard that Zhou Yuanpan of Huimin Hall was from Liuzhou.
His hometown supposedly had a folk remedy for abdominal pain.
She had come to Huimin Hall looking for him with the attitude of trying anything in a desperate situation.
Before she could find the man, she had encountered the Shen Yu she had been thinking about.
In her view, folk remedies were unreliable.
Even the Imperial Physicians viewed such remedies with the attitude of “doing what is humanly possible and leaving the rest to fate.”
Simply put, they tried everything they could, hoping to save a life.
But the result… was likely that Marquis Wuding’s life could not be saved.
Everyone in the Marquis Mansion had already begun preparing for the funeral, and rumors had even spread through the Imperial Court.
Officials were told to prepare early, as Marquis Wuding might not last much longer…
However, with Shen Yu here, Yun Wei felt a flicker of hope reignite.
“I think I understand.”
Shen Yu nodded, but this problem was a dead end even for her.
The best course of action was to decline.
After all, if even the physicians from the Imperial Academy of Medicine were helpless, what could a lowly Follow 9th Rank Medical Officer like her do?
Furthermore, to cure Marquis Wuding, she would have to perform surgery.
Setting aside the lack of a proper environment, the mere act of cutting him open would likely lead to her being condemned by everyone.
If she performed such a violation of “medical ethics,” wouldn’t those Imperial Physicians point at her nose and curse her?
“Oh my! Medical Officer Shen, something terrible has happened. Eldest Miss Yun, you are here too? This servant greets you.”
Just as Shen Yu was about to tactfully refuse, the little eunuch who had introduced her to Huimin Hall this morning came running in frantically.
“What terrible thing has happened?”
“Quickly, come with me to the Medicine Storehouse to get medicinal herbs and deliver them to the Marquis Mansion! The Marquis is fading fast. His Majesty issued an oral decree to use the full strength of the Imperial Academy of Medicine to save Marquis Wuding’s life. Oh dear, the Imperial Academy is short-handed right now. Quickly, come help deliver the medicine!”
“Huimin Hall is no longer on duty today. If Marquis Wuding dies, none of us will be able to handle the consequences!”
The little eunuch was in a panic.
“Let me tell you, His Majesty previously hand-picked Marquis Wuding to suppress the bandit trouble at the border. The original plan was to set out in four months, after the New Year. The Imperial Academy of Medicine needs to prepare early and send some medical officers along.”
“The academy was already short-staffed, but with four months, we could have managed the personnel. But now that Marquis Wuding is in trouble? If he’s gone, then Marquis Dingyuan will have to go instead… Oh my, you don’t know, that Marquis Dingyuan has a fiery temper and is reckless in battle! Nothing can wait overnight with him.”
The little eunuch stamped his feet in agitation.
“Originally, after four months, the Imperial Academy would have no problem assigning personnel to follow the army to the border. But if we follow Marquis Dingyuan’s impatient temper… we’ll probably set out in less than half a month and have to finish the fight and return to court before the New Year.”
“The Imperial Academy is already understaffed. Newcomers like us will be the first ones sent to the battlefield! On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes! The bandits at the border are fierce. We won’t even know how we died when the time comes… Oh, Medical Officer Shen, why are you just standing there? Hurry and help!”
Hearing the little eunuch’s words, Shen Yu froze in place.
The border?
Bandit trouble?
Suppressing bandits?
Could they be talking about Qingfeng Village?
The Empress had chosen Marquis Wuding to suppress bandits at the border?
Setting out in four months… that was basically the same timeframe Grandpa and the others had predicted.
Shen Yu’s primary mission in entering the Capital was to delay the Imperial Court’s move against Qingfeng Village, buying enough time for Grandpa and the others to catch their breath.
But now, if Marquis Wuding died, the court would have to find a replacement for the campaign, and it would be the short-tempered Marquis Dingyuan.
The heavenly wrath of the Imperial Court, which was originally supposed to descend upon Qingfeng Village after the New Year, would be moved up by four whole months…
No!
“Eunuch, stop worrying about that. The medicine is useless! I have a way to save Marquis Wuding… Eldest Miss Yun, I will do my absolute best, but there is one thing I must confirm with you. My treatment method may be difficult to accept, but I guarantee with my life that I can cure the Marquis’s illness.”
“Are you… willing to believe me?”
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