News of the Magistrate's young son falling ill soon reached Madam Xie, for since learning of the Rao family's perfidy, she had been busy finding a new match for Chang Yuncheng, thus interacting more frequently with the ladies of the prefectural city to inquire about well-bred daughters—though the condition that they could not be of lesser standing than the Rao family immediately disqualified many from Madam Xie's consideration.
She invited the Magistrate's wife for a visit around the time the young master experienced his second bout of stomach pain, an invitation the Magistrate's wife politely declined.
Upon hearing that the Magistrate's wife’s beloved son was unwell, Madam Xie naturally felt she must pay a call.
As the carriage reached the Magistrate’s residence gate, it was thrown open, and another carriage rushed out in frantic haste.
“That is the Magistrate’s wife’s carriage,” Madam Xie quickly lifted the curtain. “Are they leaving?”
Mother Su hurried forward to inquire.
The carriage was abruptly halted, causing the Magistrate and his wife, who were carefully holding their son as per the physician's instructions not to let him move or bend awkwardly, nearly to topple over, and their son let out a sharp cry of pain from their arms.
“What are you doing?” the Magistrate bellowed in fury.
Mother Su, who had just stepped out of the gate, flinched at the roar.
Had they arrived… at an inopportune moment?
“It is the Marquis of Dingxi’s residence; our mistress…” Mother Su quickly bowed and spoke.
The four words, “Marquis of Dingxi’s residence,” reached the carriage interior, and the Magistrate and his wife felt a bitter pang in their hearts.
Wasn't this just adding insult to injury?
It was all because of you people that the other party now wouldn't even set foot in our house, and yet you come here! Coming here to join the ruckus! If they find out, and refuse to treat our son, what then!
“Get away, get away!” The Magistrate’s wife violently pulled back the curtain and shrieked, “Stay far away from our home! Stop harming us!”
The carriage sped away urgently but cautiously, leaving the Marquis of Dingxi’s carriage stuck outside the Magistrate’s gate.
The Magistrate and his wife did not alight, nor did they offer a single polite word; instead, they cursed...
They cursed her to roll away!
Madam Xie sat inside her carriage, her face pale, trembling all over.
Scoundrels! Utter scoundrels!
Had the Magistrate and his wife gone mad? Truly mad?
Mother Su’s face was also ashen. As Madam Xie’s trusted senior maid, she usually carried herself with more dignity than the madams and young ladies of ordinary households. Being publicly cursed on the street like this was an absolute first. Looking at the gazes cast by the servants at the Magistrate's gate, Mother Su was instantly consumed by shame and humiliation, wishing she could die right there.
“What has happened to the Master and Mistress?” she gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath, trying to smooth things over herself.
The men at the gate snorted.
As servants of the Magistrate’s residence, they naturally shared their masters' animosity.
If it hadn't been for the Marquis of Dingxi’s residence that day, why would they have driven out the Divine Physician Qi? Indeed, their Magistrate’s residence would never do such a thing; they were coerced by the Marquis of Dingxi’s residence!
Now that this coercion was nearly costing their young master his life, it was no longer mere coercion—they were mortal enemies!
“Our young master is going to Qianjin Hall to beg Divine Physician Qi for treatment!” the gatekeeper declared loudly, eyes narrowed, pointing a finger outward. “Hurry up and leave, don’t let Physician Qi know you were here, lest you delay our young master’s treatment—can you bear the consequences?”
Madam Xie heard everything clearly from inside the carriage, and her vision momentarily darkened.
Scoundrels!!
What connection does your young master have with me! Why does it sound, in every word, as if I caused your young master to fall ill!
The people of the Magistrate's residence truly had gone insane!
Qianjin Hall! Divine Physician Qi!
Madam Xie gasped, closed her eyes, and clenched her hands tightly.
Wretches!
The Magistrate and his wife paid no mind to whether the Marquis of Dingxi’s lady was choked with rage outside their gate; their eyes were fixed only on their son. Anyone who dared block their path would face the desperate wrath of the red-eyed couple.
The prefectural yamen runners cleared the way, stopping before Qianjin Hall, scattering the queuing populace like startled birds.
Had Qianjin Hall attracted trouble again? Why were officials here?
The ushering disciple, Ah Ru and the others bustling in the main hall, and the patient having his wound cleaned and treated all froze, looking toward the entrance.
“Doctor, Doctor, save him!” The Magistrate’s steward led the way, running in, sweating and adjusting his hat.
“How may I help you?” the ushering disciple asked in a trembling voice. If not for their routine training and frequent use of the phrase, he almost wouldn't have managed to say it.
At any other time, the steward would have kicked the obstructing disciple aside. Did this fool not see who had arrived? The third master of Yongqing Prefecture! Shouldn't your manager come out to greet them kneeling?
“We are from the Magistrate’s residence. Our young master suffers unbearable abdominal pain. Please ask Lady Qi to treat him,” the steward, seasoned and quick-witted, stated simply and promptly.
Seeking medical help?
The disciple blinked, then registered the meaning.
“Emergency case!” he shouted quickly.
Those at the nurse station also snapped back to attention.
“Stretcher, mobile bed!” Ah Ru commanded.
Disciples quickly pushed over a nearby bed and rushed past; the main hall resumed its bustle.
“This, this isn't urgent, treat the Master’s child first…” Several people waiting in line hastily moved aside, even a few undergoing wound treatment were stopped by Ah Ru, who grabbed them with a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
“Lady Qi handles emergencies; this has nothing to do with your situation,” she said.
Only then did everyone reluctantly settle back down, looking anxious.
Qi Yue and Liu Pucheng had already come out upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing the young lady emerge, though they had never met her, the Magistrate’s wife recognized her instantly. Feeling ashamed, she stepped forward, intending to perform a deep bow.
“Lady Qi, please, save my son. I—I will kneel and apologize to you…” she said, tears streaming down her face.
Qi Yue quickly stopped her.
“If I can treat it, I will. Don't panic,” she said, putting on gloves and beginning the examination.
Upon hearing that he had swallowed a silver spoon, she was also startled.
“He can’t pass it?” she asked, gently beginning to palpate the young master’s abdomen.
The moment she touched him, the young master let out a louder howl, making everyone flinch.
“He can’t pass it,” the Magistrate stated, relaying the previous doctor’s diagnosis. “Lady Qi, please just cut him open and take it out quickly.”
Cutting the belly open to retrieve it—that sounded so simple...
Qi Yue frowned.
She had no idea where the foreign object was; how could she possibly cut him open? This was not child’s play.
She remained silent, and the emergency bay fell into a suffocating quiet.
“Lady Qi, please just operate. We won’t blame you; we won’t treat your saving of a life as murder,” the Magistrate’s wife wept.
The Magistrate nodded as well.
“Yes, since we brought him here, we trust Lady Qi. Just operate as you see fit,” he said, his voice trembling.
Qi Yue almost laughed and cried.
“It can’t be done arbitrarily,” she shook her head, taking a deep breath, her hand slowly sliding down the young master’s throat. “Surgery isn't that simple—bleeding, infection, complications—every moment is perilous. Moreover, I cannot see where the foreign object is lodged in the young master's body. If I don't know where to make the incision, I can't just cut here, find nothing, and then cut somewhere else. By the time I find it, the young master’s life might be over.”
The Magistrate and his wife’s expressions immediately turned despairing.
“Then, then what do we do?” The Magistrate’s wife instantly slumped onto the ground, clinging to the mobile bed where her son lay, weeping loudly.
“We can only try,” Qi Yue said. “Tell me now, exactly when did he swallow it, how big was it, when did the pain start, and every single reaction. You must try hard to recall, recall everything, and tell me completely.”
The child, screaming in agony, was uncooperative, and the anxious, foaming-at-the-mouth parents knew nothing. Every maid and servant was questioned, and even the young cousin, one of the instigators of the incident, was dragged in by his family, who were equally terrified.
“We bet. If I lost, I didn’t dare eat it, but Yu’er ate it, so he won,” the young cousin cried. “It was the day before his birthday.”
Hearing this date, the Magistrate’s wife nearly fainted.
“That’s six days ago,” Qi Yue calculated. “With such severe abdominal pain, and a silver spoon not being excessively long, it must have passed through the stomach and reached the intestines.”
An anatomical chart of the human body was swiftly hung up in the treatment room, and Qi Yue pointed things out to them.
“Then, then Lady Qi, please take it out quickly,” the Magistrate’s wife urged, unable to comprehend the winding diagrams.
“But in which section... I can't see it, and I can't palpate to find the point of pain...” Qi Yue stared at the chart, muttering with a frown. She once again had the urge to scratch her head. “No rush, no rush, let me think, let me think.”
In the room, aside from the child’s painful cries, silence descended once more, everyone’s gaze fixed tightly on this woman dressed in an unappealing white gown.
“With this much pain, the intestinal wall must have been worn thin. After so many days, normally it should have passed. If it hasn't, it must be stuck...” Qi Yue studied the anatomical chart, her hand slowly sweeping over the abdominal and intestinal area, “...A silver spoon isn't too long; the most likely place it could get stuck is...”
Her hand paused. Liu Pucheng and the others only saw the same winding intestines.
“The duodenum,” Qi Yue murmured, tapping the spot heavily with her hand, as if making a final decision. “We can’t delay; I'll take the gamble.”
She turned around, looking at everyone in the treatment room.
“I am about to perform an emergency laparotomy. The goal is to remove the intestinal foreign body and repair the damaged intestinal wall,” she announced.
The disciples responded affirmatively.
“Now I will conduct the pre-operative disclosure for you all...” Qi Yue stood before the Magistrate and his wife. “Surgery...”
“Lady Qi, we understand. The signature, yes, sign it. You don’t need to explain,” the Magistrate interrupted, raising his hand. “For something like this, you shouldn’t need to explain or have us sign. A gentleman’s word is binding; I trust you.”
Qi Yue smiled. See, who said there was no change? People’s suspicion and resistance towards surgery had lessened.
“It’s better to explain clearly,” she said. “This won’t take much time, and besides.”
She smiled again.
“It’s not that I fear anything—I am clear of conscience—but you don't understand. I explain this not for my own peace of mind, but for yours.” She stated.
The Magistrate and his wife looked at her and nodded solemnly.
This was still a laparotomy, so those participating in the surgery were less unfamiliar with the procedure. Ah Ru and Zhang Tong’s reactions during surgery had also improved; at least they were no longer trembling and dared to look at the opened abdominal cavity.
“...This is the duodenum?” Coffin asked, pushing aside the abdominal wall to ensure Qi Yue’s surgical view was unobstructed.
Qi Yue nodded, slowly lifting the descending part of the duodenum to begin palpating.
Heaven, please, be here, be here! It must be here!! She really didn't want to drag out the entire intestine and flip through it inch by inch...RS