“Hm…”
Shen Yu’s slender hand rested on Marquis Wuding’s wrist.
By now, the Marquis had been lulled to sleep by the intense pain for quite some time.
This made things relatively simple for Shen Yu.
After all, she did not need to ask for the patient’s consent; she could discuss the surgical plan directly with the family.
Even if the family agreed to the matter of cutting him open, it was likely that the man himself would have found it difficult to overcome that psychological hurdle.
The shackles of feudal thought were far more severe than a modern person like Shen Yu could have imagined.
Military nobles might be somewhat better, but those scholars—especially the pedantic ones—were truly stubborn and rigid.
Shen Yu’s ears often ached from listening to them ramble about “Filial Physical Integrity,” “Gender Segregation Norms,” or even “Chastity Over Life.”
One would think they only cared about preserving their purity and did not fear death, yet in the end, they still needed Shen Yu to save them.
By then, however, the difficulty of treatment would have skyrocketed due to the delay, and the mortality rate would soar.
Therefore, it was a good thing that Marquis Wuding had been rendered unconscious by the pain.
With him asleep, Shen Yu had much more room to operate.
“Medical Officer Shen, how is my father’s condition?”
Yun Xiang had been watching Shen Yu closely as she took the pulse for several minutes.
Shen Yu had not spoken a single word, only making sounds like “Hm? Hiss! Eh? Oh~,” which caused Yun Xiang’s heart to race with anxiety.
Was her father going to be saved, or was it hopeless?
“Fortunately, he can still be saved. The symptoms are not too severe, and there is still plenty of time for surgery. Do this: go to the Imperial Palace and find a few eunuchs who have served in the Castration Chamber for a long time and bring them here.”
“Huh?”
Shen Yu’s request was completely unheard of to Yun Xiang.
To treat her father’s illness, she needed eunuchs from the Castration Chamber?
‘Is she going to… castrate my father?’
Shen Yu naturally had her reasons for seeking out the eunuchs from the Castration Chamber.
In ancient times, it was essentially the prototype of the earliest surgical operating rooms.
To prevent deaths from infection after the procedure, those eunuchs would consciously create a relatively dry and clean environment.
That was exactly what Shen Yu needed.
After all, she only had Yin Qiu as an assistant.
Others lacked experience and would be of little help.
These eunuchs would more easily understand Shen Yu’s concept of a sterile operating space.
With some guidance, setting up the operating environment would be far more efficient.
“Eldest Miss Yun, don’t just stand there dazed. Go quickly. I will explain it afterward; the matters involved are very complex. At the same time, I need military tents—new ones! I also need new gowns made of clean silk or cotton that can cover the entire body. Set the tent up in the backyard. Everyone approaching the tent must wear one of these gowns.”
“I also need a large amount of plant ash and charcoal braziers. Buy as many of the medicinal ingredients on this prescription as possible. You can find them at the Jingcheng Medicine Market. Bring them back, boil them in water, and sprinkle it throughout the entire Wuding Marquis Residence… and these—yes, all of these. I want them all.”
Seeing Shen Yu methodically list her requirements, Yun Xiang looked at the young woman in her early twenties in a completely new light.
Although she did not understand the purpose of these items, she could inexplicably sense a feeling of complete professionalism from Shen Yu.
With her at the center, order was restored to the entire Marquis Mansion, and the operation to save Marquis Wuding was executed in an organized manner.
It was astonishingly efficient.
Under Shen Yu’s management, even the discipline of the domestic servants rivaled that of soldiers in the army.
In the past, when other physicians treated illnesses, they either used things like millennium ginseng and lingzhi mushroom or some ancestral secret recipe.
To put it bluntly, it was extremely expensive—nearly every item worth a thousand pieces of gold.
During this period, the Marquis Mansion had spent a great deal of money, pulled strings, and used connections in an attempt to save Marquis Wuding.
Yet after mountains of silver were spent, he was still handed a death sentence.
But here was Shen Yu, who not only claimed he could be cured but was personally presiding over the situation with such composure.
Most importantly, the things Shen Yu requested were actually quite inexpensive.
So inexpensive that Yun Xiang even began to doubt.
Could her father’s life truly be saved with just this small amount of silver?
If so, what had been the point of all the money the Marquis Mansion had spent before, only for it to be like drawing water with a wicker basket?
Was it merely to prove that the Marquis Mansion was wealthy?