My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Author: Yan Xiaomo
Chapter 663: 647: She Came to Slap Faces
Lin Shiquan noticed something amiss in Qin Liuxi’s gaze, his brows furrowing. As he saw more and more villagers gathering to watch, he subconsciously felt he couldn’t let Qin Liuxi continue speaking, otherwise the reputation of Lin’s Medical Hall would definitely suffer a blow.
Just as he was about to speak, the woman had already started, saying, “Yes, five days ago, my husband complained of stomach pain and came here to this medical hall. They said it was because he had eaten poisonous mushrooms.”
Qin Liuxi took a needle bag from her waist, opening it while asking, “Did you eat any as well?”
“We did. My husband is a hunter, he picked some mushrooms while hunting in the mountains, but it wasn’t his first time eating them, he also knows which are edible and which are not,” said the woman. “I thought maybe he accidentally ate a toxic one among them, and after drinking mung bean soup which can detoxify, it should have been fine. But it wasn’t. My husband still complained about stomach pain, so we came for a consultation again, and they said it was gastroenteritis caused by the lingering toxin, and prescribed more medicine. Look at him now. Doctor, what’s wrong with my husband, hey, why are you using needles?”
“With such pain, if I don’t use needles to relieve it, wouldn’t he faint?” said Qin Liuxi as she took a silver needle and punctured several acupoints on the man’s body, including Shenque, Tianshu, and the Large Intestine Shu.
Lin Shiquan observed these acupoint punctures with a fleeting look in his eyes, slightly relieved.
They were acupoints for treating gastroenteritis.
But the next moment, his heart tensed again. The fact that she punctured with such precision proved that she understood medical skills, even if she seemed a bit young.
Lin Shiquan felt conflicted. If she was so young, even if skillful, she couldn’t be all that impressive, right? But watching her handle the needle with such divine expertise, and recalling her previous probing questions, he felt a vague unease.
As he was thinking this, Qin Liuxi punctured needles at the three yin intersection and the Gongsun Acupoint, gently twisting them, lightly lifting and inserting shallowly, and finally, she flicked the end of the needle slightly, causing it to tremble gently.
Lin Shiquan frowned and said, “You’re just using needles rashly after taking the pulse, what if this causes discomfort to the patient…”
“Rashly?” Qin Liuxi laughed, saying, “Doctor Lin, I disagree with that statement. A medical practitioner must only be cautious; there is no room for rashness. I would never use needles if I were uncertain about his condition, that would be disrespectful to life. So with your words, are you insulting me?”
Lin Shiquan’s face darkened, the child is so arrogant!
The woman carefully watched her husband’s complexion. In her heart, she also felt somewhat uneasy, for this young doctor was too young. She simply took the pulse and then used the needle. What if she was just fooling around?
The woman felt a twinge of fear but wisely kept her mouth shut, simply watching her husband. After the needles were inserted, the pain on the man’s face seemed to gradually ease. Delighted, she asked, “Husband, how do you feel now?”
The man said weakly, “It’s not so painful anymore.” He turned to look at Qin Liuxi and asked, “Young doctor, what’s wrong with me?”
The watching villagers grew louder in their discussions. The young doctor applied needles, and the man who previously couldn’t even speak from pain was now relieved of it. Could it be a sham?
If not a sham, could it be that Lin’s Medical Hall actually worsened the man’s condition?
Listening to the doubtful whispers, Lin Shiquan’s expression grew increasingly ugly, barely containing his anger, he said, “This is not the place for treatment. Young doctor, why not move the patient inside the hall for a more thorough examination?”
Qin Liuxi had not yet replied when the woman burst into loud protest, “How come? You chased us out just now, but now you want to go in. Are you feeling guilty because the young doctor has exposed your hypocrisy? We won’t go in. We’ll treat him right here so everyone can see what the Lin’s Medical Hall is really like. Young doctor, tell me, does my husband have what’s called enteritis?”
A glint of malevolence and impatience flashed through Lin Shiquan’s eyes.
Qin Liuxi said, “To say he has enteritis is not incorrect.”
Lin Shiquan’s face relaxed, and the attendant behind him snorted, “Our Lin Family would not misdiagnose, unlike some people who are merely picking up scraps of others’ wisdom.”
“But what he has is not enteritis caused by poison mushrooms; it’s intestinal carbuncle.”
Lin Shiquan’s face changed drastically, “How could it be possible? He clearly has acute enteritis. He’s a hunter, accustomed to hunting in the mountains all year round and fond of picking and eating mushrooms. If he accidentally ingests a poisonous mushroom, that could cause enteritis.”
“Poisonous mushrooms can be hallucinogenic. May I ask Doctor Lin, has the patient shown any such symptoms?” Qin Liuxi spoke calmly, “He has not, in fact, got acute enteritis, but chronic intestinal carbuncle. As you mentioned, he likes eating mushrooms and frequently hunts in the mountains. Hence, one could infer that his irregular diet, Auntie, is that correct?”
The woman nodded eagerly, saying, “Hunters hunt; they only come down the mountain after catching their prey. When in luck, they catch something valuable, and earn more silver. On bad days, they might go two or three days without much, but they never descend the mountain empty-handed.”
She looked at the man and continued, “In our family, the parents are disabled and often need medicine. We also have four children. Eight people depend on one man’s hunting for a living. That’s why he won’t come down the mountain until he has something, and as for his meals, I’ll prepare some dry food for him. When that’s gone, he forages in the mountains, and doesn’t fully indulge in any mushrooms he might pick since they can be sold for silver when dried. So, skipping meals is quite normal for my husband.”
As she spoke, tears rolled down her face. “Life is tough, keeping the family whole matters more than anything. That’s why we came straight to Lin’s Medical Hall when disaster struck, despite the high consultation fee. We came for its reputation because silver can be earned back, but if something happens to the head of the family, our world would collapse. Who knew it would worsen with treatment?”
Sighs emerged from the crowd, each family has its own set of difficult scriptures to recite.
Upon hearing this, Qin Liuxi said, “That’s exactly it. His irregular diet and fondness for mushrooms, combined with the heavy dampness in the mountains during this season and his consumption of cold-in-nature mushrooms, led to the invasion of pathogenic cold, causing damp-heat toxicity to block inside his intestines, and contaminated blood and cloudy Qi to stagnate at the ileocecal area, inducing chronic intestinal carbuncle, with unbearable abdominal pain.”
“Impossible!”
“You might as well take his pulse again; it’s deep, slow, and surging, indicating disharmony of stomach fluids, qi stagnation and blood stasis, and pain upon pressing the right lower abdomen all point to damaged intestinal channels. The prescription you previously prescribed merely alleviates pain temporarily but does not cure the root, hence his pain is increasingly severe.” Qin Liuxi stepped to the side, indicating him to come forward.
Lin Shiquan had no wish to take the pulse, but under the glaring eyes of the public, he had no choice but to step forward grittingly, crouch down, and retake the pulse, his face growing uglier by the second. Pressing gently as Qin Liuxi did, even with the needles in, the man groaned in pain, his muscles tensing up.
Finally, there was a change in his expression, with a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.
Lin Shiquan’s face burned hot, as he looked toward Qin Liuxi, his lips pressed tightly together.
He had indeed misdiagnosed.
The uneasiness he had felt before was justified, this young man had indeed come to embarrass the Lin Family!
Just as he was about to speak, the woman had already started, saying, “Yes, five days ago, my husband complained of stomach pain and came here to this medical hall. They said it was because he had eaten poisonous mushrooms.”
Qin Liuxi took a needle bag from her waist, opening it while asking, “Did you eat any as well?”
“We did. My husband is a hunter, he picked some mushrooms while hunting in the mountains, but it wasn’t his first time eating them, he also knows which are edible and which are not,” said the woman. “I thought maybe he accidentally ate a toxic one among them, and after drinking mung bean soup which can detoxify, it should have been fine. But it wasn’t. My husband still complained about stomach pain, so we came for a consultation again, and they said it was gastroenteritis caused by the lingering toxin, and prescribed more medicine. Look at him now. Doctor, what’s wrong with my husband, hey, why are you using needles?”
“With such pain, if I don’t use needles to relieve it, wouldn’t he faint?” said Qin Liuxi as she took a silver needle and punctured several acupoints on the man’s body, including Shenque, Tianshu, and the Large Intestine Shu.
Lin Shiquan observed these acupoint punctures with a fleeting look in his eyes, slightly relieved.
They were acupoints for treating gastroenteritis.
But the next moment, his heart tensed again. The fact that she punctured with such precision proved that she understood medical skills, even if she seemed a bit young.
Lin Shiquan felt conflicted. If she was so young, even if skillful, she couldn’t be all that impressive, right? But watching her handle the needle with such divine expertise, and recalling her previous probing questions, he felt a vague unease.
As he was thinking this, Qin Liuxi punctured needles at the three yin intersection and the Gongsun Acupoint, gently twisting them, lightly lifting and inserting shallowly, and finally, she flicked the end of the needle slightly, causing it to tremble gently.
Lin Shiquan frowned and said, “You’re just using needles rashly after taking the pulse, what if this causes discomfort to the patient…”
“Rashly?” Qin Liuxi laughed, saying, “Doctor Lin, I disagree with that statement. A medical practitioner must only be cautious; there is no room for rashness. I would never use needles if I were uncertain about his condition, that would be disrespectful to life. So with your words, are you insulting me?”
Lin Shiquan’s face darkened, the child is so arrogant!
The woman carefully watched her husband’s complexion. In her heart, she also felt somewhat uneasy, for this young doctor was too young. She simply took the pulse and then used the needle. What if she was just fooling around?
The woman felt a twinge of fear but wisely kept her mouth shut, simply watching her husband. After the needles were inserted, the pain on the man’s face seemed to gradually ease. Delighted, she asked, “Husband, how do you feel now?”
The man said weakly, “It’s not so painful anymore.” He turned to look at Qin Liuxi and asked, “Young doctor, what’s wrong with me?”
The watching villagers grew louder in their discussions. The young doctor applied needles, and the man who previously couldn’t even speak from pain was now relieved of it. Could it be a sham?
If not a sham, could it be that Lin’s Medical Hall actually worsened the man’s condition?
Listening to the doubtful whispers, Lin Shiquan’s expression grew increasingly ugly, barely containing his anger, he said, “This is not the place for treatment. Young doctor, why not move the patient inside the hall for a more thorough examination?”
Qin Liuxi had not yet replied when the woman burst into loud protest, “How come? You chased us out just now, but now you want to go in. Are you feeling guilty because the young doctor has exposed your hypocrisy? We won’t go in. We’ll treat him right here so everyone can see what the Lin’s Medical Hall is really like. Young doctor, tell me, does my husband have what’s called enteritis?”
A glint of malevolence and impatience flashed through Lin Shiquan’s eyes.
Qin Liuxi said, “To say he has enteritis is not incorrect.”
Lin Shiquan’s face relaxed, and the attendant behind him snorted, “Our Lin Family would not misdiagnose, unlike some people who are merely picking up scraps of others’ wisdom.”
“But what he has is not enteritis caused by poison mushrooms; it’s intestinal carbuncle.”
Lin Shiquan’s face changed drastically, “How could it be possible? He clearly has acute enteritis. He’s a hunter, accustomed to hunting in the mountains all year round and fond of picking and eating mushrooms. If he accidentally ingests a poisonous mushroom, that could cause enteritis.”
“Poisonous mushrooms can be hallucinogenic. May I ask Doctor Lin, has the patient shown any such symptoms?” Qin Liuxi spoke calmly, “He has not, in fact, got acute enteritis, but chronic intestinal carbuncle. As you mentioned, he likes eating mushrooms and frequently hunts in the mountains. Hence, one could infer that his irregular diet, Auntie, is that correct?”
The woman nodded eagerly, saying, “Hunters hunt; they only come down the mountain after catching their prey. When in luck, they catch something valuable, and earn more silver. On bad days, they might go two or three days without much, but they never descend the mountain empty-handed.”
She looked at the man and continued, “In our family, the parents are disabled and often need medicine. We also have four children. Eight people depend on one man’s hunting for a living. That’s why he won’t come down the mountain until he has something, and as for his meals, I’ll prepare some dry food for him. When that’s gone, he forages in the mountains, and doesn’t fully indulge in any mushrooms he might pick since they can be sold for silver when dried. So, skipping meals is quite normal for my husband.”
As she spoke, tears rolled down her face. “Life is tough, keeping the family whole matters more than anything. That’s why we came straight to Lin’s Medical Hall when disaster struck, despite the high consultation fee. We came for its reputation because silver can be earned back, but if something happens to the head of the family, our world would collapse. Who knew it would worsen with treatment?”
Sighs emerged from the crowd, each family has its own set of difficult scriptures to recite.
Upon hearing this, Qin Liuxi said, “That’s exactly it. His irregular diet and fondness for mushrooms, combined with the heavy dampness in the mountains during this season and his consumption of cold-in-nature mushrooms, led to the invasion of pathogenic cold, causing damp-heat toxicity to block inside his intestines, and contaminated blood and cloudy Qi to stagnate at the ileocecal area, inducing chronic intestinal carbuncle, with unbearable abdominal pain.”
“Impossible!”
“You might as well take his pulse again; it’s deep, slow, and surging, indicating disharmony of stomach fluids, qi stagnation and blood stasis, and pain upon pressing the right lower abdomen all point to damaged intestinal channels. The prescription you previously prescribed merely alleviates pain temporarily but does not cure the root, hence his pain is increasingly severe.” Qin Liuxi stepped to the side, indicating him to come forward.
Lin Shiquan had no wish to take the pulse, but under the glaring eyes of the public, he had no choice but to step forward grittingly, crouch down, and retake the pulse, his face growing uglier by the second. Pressing gently as Qin Liuxi did, even with the needles in, the man groaned in pain, his muscles tensing up.
Finally, there was a change in his expression, with a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.
Lin Shiquan’s face burned hot, as he looked toward Qin Liuxi, his lips pressed tightly together.
He had indeed misdiagnosed.
The uneasiness he had felt before was justified, this young man had indeed come to embarrass the Lin Family!