At noon, under the expectant gazes of the entire Xie household, Qi Yue finally stepped into the grand manor.
This scene left Old Madam Xie and the others deeply conflicted; they simply could not fathom how, in the span of just one day and night, their expectations had shifted to welcoming this woman into their home.
It left Old Madam Xie and the others unsure how to address her—to welcome her? To beg her? What a joke!
Fortunately, Brother Zhao’s wife preempted all conversation, and Qi Yue had no intention of engaging in pleasantries, thus averting the awkwardness.
“I only suspect something; I will know for sure once I examine him. I didn't bring my medical kit, I’ve already sent someone back for it. Don't panic yet, let me take a look.” Qi Yue soothed Brother Zhao’s wife, who was weeping inconsolably, and walked straight into the inner room.
Inside, two or three maids were clustered around the crying child.
Seeing them weep like that, everyone’s hearts immediately plummeted into an ice cave.
Is he already gone…?
Brother Zhao’s wife’s legs gave way, and she sank to the floor, unable to even cry aloud.
Qi Yue strode forward a few steps.
“…His temperature is so low,” she murmured, examining the infant one by one. “Give me a lamp.”
It was broad daylight; why would they need a lamp…?
Everyone in the room stood dumbfounded, nobody moving.
Chang Yuncheng fetched a lamp, lit it, and handed it over.
This kind of lamp…? Qi Yue frowned, glancing around, and lowered the curtain.
**It instantly darkened. Qi Yue took a lamp in each hand, held them close to the infant, and simultaneously opened the baby’s eyes.
“…Pupils unequal on both sides, indicating increased intracranial pressure… light reflex still present…” she murmured to herself, “I don't know his blood pressure… but it certainly can’t be high…”
She paused in contemplation, then drew back the curtain.
“It’s alright, he’s still alive, there’s still a chance,” she announced.
These words made everyone in the room exhale in relief, and Brother Zhao’s wife finally managed to let out a sob and began to weep.
“What illness does this child actually have? There was nothing else wrong, just diarrhea, how could it become this severe?” the Eldest Master asked loudly.
And at that very moment, Old Physician An sat in his chair, observing his son, Young Physician An, before him.
“That’s right, just as you said, this is a case of pediatric convulsions,” he stated slowly.
“But it was clearly diarrhea, how did it turn into convulsions?” Young Physician An looked utterly perplexed. “Did I misdiagnose?”
Old Physician An’s expression was grave.
“No, don’t overthink it. These symptoms are easily confused. It’s normal not to recognize this condition if you haven't seen it before,” he sighed, saying.
“Then Father, the Xie family is still waiting, you…” Young Physician An asked.
Old Physician An sighed again.
“Go tell them that a physician cannot save the unsavable; for this affliction, this old man is powerless,” he waved his hand dismissively.
Young Physician An acknowledged and retreated.
The door closed, and Old Physician An remained motionless in his chair, as if in meditation.
“Another case of convulsions…”
After a long silence, a faint sigh drifted from the room, which then subsided back into stillness.
“…The patient exhibits inhibitory symptoms: lethargy, coma, decreased muscle tone…” Qi Yue muttered, “…Various reflexes are weak… bulging fontanelle, suspected subarachnoid hemorrhage… but without a CT scan, I cannot confirm the precise location or volume of the bleeding… and I don’t know what caused it…”
This string of technical terms left everyone in the room completely bewildered, but seeing Qi Yue’s solemn expression, their hearts grew heavy.
“Sister-in-law…” Brother Zhao’s wife choked out.
“Based on the current symptoms, I can confirm it is likely intracranial hemorrhage,” Qi Yue took a deep breath, looking at the family.
The family stared back at her, their faces full of incomprehension.
“In other words, inside the child’s head…” Qi Yue pointed to her own head, explaining simply, “There is bleeding…”
This statement caused an uproar; bleeding was a major issue for them, let alone bleeding inside the head!
Brother Zhao’s wife instantly burst into loud sobs.
“Madam Shao, please, Madam Shao, save Brother Hao,” she knelt and clutched Qi Yue’s leg.
Qi Yue quickly reached out to pull her up.
“Get up quickly! This condition is aggressive; you must hurry and summon a physician!” she urged loudly.
At these words, everyone in the room froze.
She had identified the illness and named the disease—she was just one step away from treatment—yet now she was saying she couldn’t do it and they needed someone else?
What logic was this?
Everyone thought they must have misheard.
“Hurry up! Go and invite a physician to prescribe medicine tailored to the condition,” Qi Yue pressed again.
It wasn't a mishearing…
“You—what do you mean?” Old Madam Xie sharply struck her cane.
Qi Yue was momentarily stunned by the reprimand.
“I don’t mean anything,” she replied, then suddenly understood. “This, I can diagnose the illness, but I don't know how to prescribe the medicine. I can stabilize the child now for emergency care; you all must hurry and invite a physician to write a prescription.”
“Madam Shao, you don’t know how to prescribe medicine?” Brother Zhao asked, astonished.
How was that possible?
“Yes, I don’t know how to use medicine,” Qi Yue admitted directly, unsure how to explain further. “What I learned back then was only diagnosis; I can recognize the illness, but I cannot prescribe the cure.”
Old Madam Xie stared intensely into her eyes, trying to detect any hint of deceit or concealment, but found none.
The woman’s expression was open, her gaze sincere.
“Hurry and send for Physician An!” Old Madam Xie turned and commanded.
The servants immediately scrambled off.
Fine, the physician was being sent for. What needed to be done in the meantime?
Qi Yue stood by the bed, her mind racing through the protocols for such a condition in a modern hospital.
“Hemostasis… oxygenation… transfusion… reducing cranial pressure…” she mumbled to herself, flashes of familiar procedures flooding her mind.
But now she wasn't in the modern era; she had nothing, nothing at all. How could she act?
“Everyone irrelevant, leave the room immediately to ensure air circulation,” Qi Yue called out, grabbing a pillow from the couch and carefully lifting the infant’s head, gently positioning him on his right side.
The others had retreated, but Old Madam Xie, Eldest Madam, and Brother Zhao’s wife remained, watching Qi Yue’s every move—actions they had never witnessed before…
“Bring a brazier; warm up the room,” Qi Yue instructed next.
Old Madam Xie relayed the order again.
Soon, several braziers were brought in, and the room immediately grew warm.
“Not enough, still not enough,” Qi Yue called out.
“Go, go find more!” Brother Zhao’s wife shouted, grasping Qi Yue’s hand once more, as if clutching the last shred of hope. “Madam Shao, I beg you, please, save him. He was just born, he hasn’t even properly opened his eyes yet…”
“I will do my best, I will do my best,” Qi Yue replied, patting Sister-in-law Zhao’s hand. “Now, it all depends on the physician…”
As she spoke, a commotion was heard from outside.
“Mother, Old Physician An is back,” Brother Zhao rushed in to announce.
Old Madam Xie and Eldest Madam instantly brightened with joy.
“Quickly, did you manage to invite him?” Eldest Madam asked, ignoring her mother-in-law in her eagerness.
“No,” Brother Zhao replied with a choked voice.
Eldest Madam then noticed her son’s face was almost entirely awash in tears.
“What? Why?” she asked, confused.
“Old Physician An said… said he couldn't save him, that he couldn't treat this condition…” Brother Zhao managed to articulate, close to tears himself.
Old Madam Xie and Eldest Madam were stunned into silence.
Qi Yue was equally shocked by this news.
The physician refused to come? Then what was to be done? What would she do?
“Go invite another physician!” she exclaimed. “Quickly, quickly, this illness cannot be delayed!”
Old Madam Xie and Eldest Madam were paralyzed by the news that Physician An refused the case.
For them, Physician An’s word was the final judgment.
If even he refused treatment, it meant the child was beyond saving…
Old Madam Xie swayed and collapsed into her chair.
Another wave of panic swept through the room.
Qi Yue was left standing aside, completely ignored.
“Hey, don’t act like that! There’s still hope! Hurry and call for a physician—if not this Physician An, then there are other doctors!” she called out.
Brother Zhao’s wife, however, seemed calmer than the two elders at this moment.
“Yes, go summon every physician on this street, summon them all for me,” she commanded loudly.
The people in the room stared at her for a moment.
“Since my son is not dead, since there is still hope, I must fight for him. Whoever gives up, I will not. As long as he still draws breath,” Brother Zhao’s wife stated, her body rigid, murmuring the words.
“Hurry and summon all the good physicians in the city,” Brother Zhao stood up and ordered loudly.
The servants responded loudly and rushed out.
As dusk began to fall, torches were lit in the courtyard of the Xie family’s Young Madam’s residence, casting flickering light on the shadows of people rushing about.
“Oxygen, oxygen, oxygen…” Qi Yue repeated under her breath, leaning over the infant’s mouth to administer artificial respiration. She continuously inhaled and blew, inhaled and blew. Her own face grew pale from lack of air, but she maintained the action.
This time, she lacked even a thermometer, a blood pressure cuff, or a stethoscope. She had no backup in Teacher Liu Pucheng, no assistant nurse like A’ru—she had only her past experience, nothing else.
She knew the temperature was low, but not how low. She knew the heart rate must be fast, but not how fast…
“The splint is here!” someone shouted from the doorway, carrying in a strange wooden board.
Qi Yue quickly tried to stand up but her vision momentarily went black from oxygen deprivation.
A pair of hands promptly steadied her.
Qi Yue closed her eyes, gasped for breath a few times, and then opened them.
“How are you? Are you alright?” Chang Yuncheng’s voice sounded close to her ear.
“I’m fine,” Qi Yue replied, opening her eyes and offering him a smile.
Chang Yuncheng nodded, helping her take the wooden board.
Qi Yue carefully secured the two small splints to the infant’s head, then turned around.
“How is it? Has everyone figured out how to apply the medicine?” she asked.
Seven or eight physicians stood in the room; some had their heads bowed in thought, others were whispering in pairs, but most were simply watching Qi Yue’s actions with curiosity.
Mouth-to-mouth blowing?
Strange wooden boards used to stabilize the child’s head?
Several physicians wiped sweat from their brows—some from the stress of the difficult case, and some because the room was stiflingly hot, like a steamer.
The temperature indoors was very high, with braziers placed all over the floor. Anyone newly entering felt the oppressive heat, while those like Qi Yue who had been there for a while had their clothes soaked through.
“Young Madam Qi, this condition is truly…” an older physician finally spoke up. “It is exceptionally difficult to treat.”
As soon as he spoke, the others nodded in agreement.
“Perhaps we should send for Old Physician An again. He used to be the head of the Imperial Hospital; he must have a method,” suggested a slightly younger doctor. “Our skills are shallow…”
That Physician An again…
Being so highly praised, Qi Yue herself wanted to call him. Without Liu Pucheng by her side, she naturally wished to find the most skilled physician available, but this man, whom so many were mentioning, refused to treat the case!
Truly… a hopeless bind!