By nightfall, Liu Xuanqing was administering medicine to Old Madam Meng for the thirteenth time that day.
She would vomit after drinking it, and the little that was absorbed had minimal effect. The pain in her abdomen was worsening. If they waited any longer, he truly feared she wouldn't last until Gu Zhongheng brought the venerable Physician Mu.
After having the apprentice tidy up the medicine chest and return to the guest room to rest, Liu Xuanqing couldn't help but recall Song Jinzhao's suggestion of performing surgery.
In his decades of practice, he had encountered the same illness seven times. The patients either suffered for dozens of days before dying, or, after being cured, relapsed within a year or so.
The lucky ones, if cured again, might last another year or two, or even several years. The unlucky ones would end up like Old Madam Meng, unable to survive the first relapse, ultimately meeting the same fatal end.
For this illness, he had never achieved a permanent cure.
Yet Song Jinzhao had proposed a method that promised complete eradication. Even though he had never heard of such a thing, upon careful consideration, he couldn't help but feel inclined to believe it, to want to try it.
If it truly succeeded, a new treatment method would emerge in medical history. To witness it in his lifetime would make his career worthwhile.
It was a pity the Meng family hadn't agreed in the end.
Given the patient's current critical state, he could only hope that Physician Mu could indeed cure her, so these two days of suffering wouldn't be in vain.
Gu Zhongheng returned with the physician on the afternoon of the second day after his departure. By then, three full days had passed since Old Madam Meng's attack.
In just three days, the once pampered Old Madam Meng seemed to have withered away by dozens of pounds, lying in bed with only the faintest breath entering her body.
Meng Hechuan personally came out of the room to greet them. "Physician Mu, I entrust my mother's health to your care."
Gu Zhongheng, standing behind his master, couldn't suppress the triumphant glee in his eyes.
Mu Songnian, over ninety years old, had long since gone gray. He nodded slowly at Meng Hechuan. "Prefect Meng, this old man must first examine Old Madam Meng's condition to determine the appropriate treatment."
Meng Hechuan gestured. "Please, Physician Mu, this way."
After checking her pulse and examining her, and reviewing the prescriptions Liu Xuanqing had written both a year ago and in the past two days, Mu Songnian spoke. "The patient is over sixty. Her digestion was already poor due to age, and this is a relapse—an acute attack. With three days having passed, the situation is extremely grave."
"This old man will prescribe a formula immediately. If she can survive tonight, there is still hope for recovery. However, the likelihood of relapse is very high. The intervals will grow shorter, and each recurrence will be more severe and more difficult to treat than the last."
Meng Hechuan gasped, struggling to accept this. "Physician Mu, please help my mother through this crisis first. If it recurs, we will treat it again."
Mu Songnian dictated the prescription, and Gu Zhongheng wrote it down beside him.
Nearly half an hour later, Old Madam Meng was forced to drink a bowl of medicine. She vomited half of it up, and another bowl was forced down.
Having traveled day and night, the elderly Mu Songnian was exhausted.
The Meng family prepared a guest room. After the medicine was administered, Mu Songnian went to rest, leaving Gu Zhongheng and Liu Xuanqing to watch over Old Madam Meng.
"My master's medical skills are superb. This time will surely be successful," Gu Zhongheng said.
Liu Xuanqing's eyes were filled with worry. "Physician Mu said the next relapse will only be more severe. Without a permanent cure, it's ultimately not a long-term solution."
Gu Zhongheng gave a light shrug and smile. "Too many people die of illness every day in this world. Many diseases simply cannot be cured. If Old Madam Meng can pass this hurdle, she will already be luckier than most. There's no use in you thinking so much."
Liu Xuanqing said hesitantly, "It's just... I feel Doctor Song's method sounds reasonable. Perhaps we could try it."
Gu Zhongheng glared at him. "I think you're getting old, your eyes are failing, and your mind is becoming muddled."
"Cutting out a piece of intestine from the belly? Such an outrageous idea she came up with, and you say it sounds reasonable? I think you're becoming obsessed with finding a cure."
In the latter half of the night, Old Madam Meng, who had been unconscious, suddenly clutched her stomach and began writhing on the bed.
The maid keeping watch by the bed immediately pulled back the bed curtains and called out, "Doctor Liu! Doctor Gu! My mistress's stomach hurts terribly!"
Startled awake, Liu Xuanqing and Gu Zhongheng rushed over.
"Where does it hurt? What kind of pain is it?"
"A gripping, twisting pain... here, all over this area. I'm dying from the pain!"
Gu Zhongheng turned and ran out. "I'll fetch my master!"
Not long after, Gu Zhongheng helped Mu Songnian into the room.
The three members of the Meng family, alerted by the commotion, hurried over and stood anxiously by the bed, hearts filled with dread.
Mu Songnian's expression grew increasingly grave. After a long moment, he supported himself on the bed frame, stood up, and shook his head heavily at Meng Hechuan. "I regret that I am powerless. It is too late."
Meng Hechuan, in his forties, trembled slightly.
Madam Meng refused to give up. "Physician Mu, please think of another way."
Meng Xiaozhe supported his mother, his own face pale.
The elderly Mu Songnian bowed slightly with clasped hands to the three of them. "She has at most two days left. Sir, you should begin preparing for the funeral arrangements."
Gu Zhongheng stood rigidly in place, unmoving. If he had known it was hopeless, he should have kept his head down and not gotten involved in the first place.
Seeing the Meng family plunged into grief, Liu Xuanqing timidly spoke up. "Should we... try Doctor Song's method?"
Since she was going to die anyway, trying something was better than simply waiting for death.
Meng Hechuan and the others stared blankly at Liu Xuanqing, momentarily unsure how to decide.
Mu Songnian looked at Liu Xuanqing and asked curiously, "What method? Which Doctor Song?"
Liu Xuanqing stepped closer. "A newly arrived female physician in Anyang Prefecture. Three days ago, she came to the Meng residence for a consultation. She said this illness is caused by blockage and infection in an organ called the appendix at the end of the intestine."
"She proposed making an incision on the right side of the abdomen, removing the appendix, and then suturing the wound. That would completely cure it, with no future relapses."
Mu Songnian stood quietly, his brow slightly furrowed.
After a long while, he asked, "Has this female physician used such a treatment method before?"
Liu Xuanqing shook his head. "I don't know. But she seemed quite confident."
He looked at Meng Hechuan. "I think since there's no other way to save her, it's better to give it a try. There might be hope. It's better than doing nothing."
Mu Songnian asked, "How old is this female physician now?"
Gu Zhongheng's tone was flat, suppressing his inner turmoil. "She looks to be only in her teens."
Meng Hechuan interjected, "Song Jinzhao is sixteen this year."
"So young?" Mu Songnian found it hard to believe. At sixteen, most medical practitioners were still apprentices, far from being able to treat patients independently.
In the latter half of the night, Fushun was sleeping soundly when a violent banging on the door, like an earthquake, startled him so badly he fell right out of bed.
"Again?!"
He scrambled up from the floor to open the door. "Who is it?"
"From the Meng residence. We're here to fetch Doctor Song for a consultation."
Fushun opened and closed his mouth, utterly exasperated.
Why did it always have to be the middle of the night? Couldn't they let people sleep?
He opened the door and said wearily, "Wait here. I'll go call my young mistress."
Song Qiming emerged from his room, frowning. "Didn't they say they'd find someone else to treat her? Why are they here in the middle of the night again?"
Song Jinzhao opened her door, her expression grave. "Most likely, the treatment failed."
This time, they returned to the clinic to gather all necessary equipment before heading to the Meng residence.
Approaching the hour of Yin, the rear courtyard of the Meng residence was brightly lit.
As Song Jinzhao entered, both Meng Hechuan and Liu Xuanqing stepped forward to meet her.
"Miss Song, I beg you, save my mother. I am willing to undergo the procedure you mentioned, the one where you cut open the belly and remove part of the intestine."
"Doctor Song, Old Madam Meng's condition seems to have worsened. Please take a look."
Song Jinzhao's gaze swept over the elderly man standing with Gu Zhongheng. He looked frail with age, at least ninety years old. Was this his master?
She stepped forward to examine and question the patient. There was severe, persistent pain throughout the abdomen, and a vague mass could be felt upon palpation. This indicated perforation, and an abscess had already formed.
"It has perforated and formed an abscess. Even if we successfully remove the appendix now, the risk of subsequent infection will be extremely high."
She would do her utmost to sterilize and disinfect, but this was, after all, ancient times, not a modern operating room.
Meng Hechuan stepped forward, his eyes filled with a mix of despair and entreaty. "Are you saying it cannot be removed now?"
Song Jinzhao met his gaze. "It must be removed. Removing it offers a sliver of hope. Not removing it means certain death."
"The decision rests with you, sir. Shall we proceed?"
Meng Hechuan lowered his head. "Remove it. Whether we operate or not, she will die. What harm is there in trying?"
If only he had known that Old Master Mu couldn't save his mother, he would have agreed to the surgery three days ago. At least the success rate would have been higher then.
Song Jinzhao: "Alright. The surgery will begin immediately. Shixue, tell them what needs to be prepared. Uninvolved personnel, please wait outside."
Liu Xuanqing said urgently, "Doctor Song, might I be permitted to stay and observe? I truly wish to understand how this is treated, how the removal is done."
Song Jinzhao gave a slight nod. "You may only stand to the side. Speak little, observe much. Do not interfere with the surgery."
Liu Xuanqing nodded vigorously, his sixty-year-old head bobbing up and down as fast as a pecking chicken.
Mu Songnian spoke up, "Doctor Song, might this old man also stay to observe? As a fellow physician, I am exceedingly curious about this 'surgery' you speak of."
Song Jinzhao: "You may. But your disciple cannot. I truly fear that the moment I open the patient's right abdomen, he will start shouting that I'm committing murder."
Gu Zhongheng opened his mouth, his throat feeling clogged. With no other choice, he said to Mu Songnian, "Master, I will wait outside."
He was determined to see for himself whether Song Jinzhao could actually save Old Madam Meng.
He would bide his time for now. It wouldn't be too late to mock her once the outcome was clear.
