I underestimated everyone's enthusiasm, but I've been pushed into a corner. I write slowly by nature, so please don't intentionally wait for me; I'm trying my best. I won't promise forty or anything specific. I'm giving it my all. If I can't clear the debt this month, it will be next month—what’s a double or triple chapter update? I won't break my word, but I must ensure quality over mere quantity. So, please forgive me if I'm late or slow.
Qi Yue gritted her teeth, about to speak, when Chang Yuncheng stepped forward.
"All of you, get out!" he barked, drawing the saber from a nearby guard.
As he unsheathed his weapon, the guards beside him also drew their blades in unison.
In the sunlight, the array of flashing steel sent a cold glint across the courtyard.
"Clear the square! Anyone who disobeys will be treated as rioters!" Chang Yuncheng looked at the common folk surrounding the courtyard and slowly stated in a deep voice.
Rioters! That meant summary execution!
The faces of the populace turned pale.
Finally, everyone retreated outside.
"You're insane!" Qi Yue cried out in surprise, looking at Chang Yuncheng. "Do you even know what you're doing? What if—"
There was no explanation, no guarantee, not a single kind or reasonable word; he just drew a sword against them, abruptly driving away these people full of doubt. If the treatment succeeded, everything could be explained away, but if it failed, the consequences could only be imagined!
"That is my concern," Chang Yuncheng cut her off, his back to her as he stared outside the gate. "Go do your work. The rest has nothing to do with you."
"The Young Lord is also doing this for his mother; his filial piety is understandable," Imperial Physician Zhou managed to say amidst his busyness. Of course, his primary purpose was to hurry Qi Yue with the surgery, lest the patient die before he could witness it...
Was it only for his mother? Certainly not...
Qi Yue looked at the man's back, her expression complex.
"Prepare for emergency open-chest surgery immediately. The goal is to extract the foreign object and repair the damage," she turned to face the disciples. "First step: general anesthesia. Liu Jiang, you are in charge of anesthesia from this moment on."
The disciple called Liu Jiang, about thirty years old, his hands and body covered in blood, trembled upon hearing this, but he straightened his chest and loudly affirmed his assent, turning to retrieve all the anesthetics from the medical box.
"Now, prepare charcoal fire, and go pluck and wash the pumpkin vines!" Qi Yue instructed.
Another disciple responded and left. The charcoal fire was already prepared, anticipating all possible scenarios during emergency treatment. As the system improved, the 'emergency vehicle' was almost a mobile operating room, lacking only the framework for a temporary shelter.
"We are now proceeding with a tracheotomy to remove the foreign object from the trachea," Qi Yue stated again, pointing to several disciples. "You, you, and you will be my assistants. Although you haven't performed surgery before, you've watched every time. Now, you are A'ru, and you are Zhang Tong."
She was naturally referring to their positions. Having said this, she looked at Zhang Tong.
"Senior Disciple Brother, from now on, you will be in Little Coffin's position," she said.
First Assistant! First Assistant!
Zhang Tong affirmed, "Yes!"
"Change clothes, sterilize!" he shouted.
Imperial Physician Zhou watched the disciples swiftly move aside, removing their contaminated gowns, caps, head coverings, and gloves, stacking them together. Next, one disciple sprayed a substance from a porcelain bottle onto them, while another took out a stack of yellowed, medicine-scented cloths to distribute. Everyone wiped their hands, all the way up to their elbows.
Imperial Physician Zhou watched intently, stepping forward and extending his hands.
"I want some too," he requested.
The disciple didn't say a word, quickly spraying him and tossing him a cloth, but there was no extra gown for him, as two surgeries required changing clothes, so they couldn't waste one on someone not directly involved.
During this time, the disciple who fetched the quicklime and distilled liquor had already begun disinfecting the courtyard area.
"Why are you doing all this?" Imperial Physician Zhou asked loudly.
But no one answered him.
While the bamboo-pierced patient was being anesthetized on one side, Qi Yue was already kneeling on the ground, facing Madam Xie to begin the operation.
Fortunately, she was accustomed to carrying her medical box everywhere, whether for consultations or emergency response; otherwise, the surgery would have been impossible.
Disinfection, local anesthetic, incision.
She cut...
Imperial Physician Zhou felt goosebumps rise all over his body, his temples throbbing with excitement.
She cut!
He screamed internally. The neck! That was the neck!
"Retract and hold, pull aside," Qi Yue directed, reminding the somewhat stiff Zhang Tong.
"Yes," Zhang Tong replied, his voice trembling. He too was kneeling, recalling the image of the 'Coffin Boy,' and extended two iron pieces toward the incision.
However, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking, and his instruments brushed against Qi Yue's scalpel during the blunt dissection.
Qi Yue instinctively prepared to raise her hand and firmly knock Zhang Tong's away.
In an operating theater, this was an immediate action and warning from the lead surgeon.
She managed to restrain herself, saying nothing, freeing her other hand to palpate the trachea for traction.
Zhang Tong’s face flushed crimson, a mix of shame and tension as he held the traction steady.
"This... this is the trachea!!" Imperial Physician Zhou couldn't help but shout from the side, pointing at the trachea exposed by Qi Yue's incision and separation.
The trachea! Look! A living person's trachea!
He almost wanted to shout!
Qi Yue picked up an iron chopstick from the glowing charcoal to stop the bleeding.
Imperial Physician Zhou shouted again.
A living person! A living person! Help!
Thankfully, only he was shouting; Qi Yue and the disciples were busy, as if they hadn't heard or seen anything.
A hand covered Imperial Physician Zhou's mouth.
"You, get out too," Chang Yuncheng hissed quietly.
Imperial Physician Zhou finally understood why the area had to be cleared. If he, a physician, behaved so improperly, what would happen if the common folk, the patient's closest relatives, witnessed it...
It would cause an uproar!
"Will you let go...?" he mumbled, looking at Chang Yuncheng.
Chang Yuncheng released his hand.
"I won't say another word," Imperial Physician Zhou clearly indicated, covering his own mouth with his hand.
Seeing the trachea, Qi Yue paused her hand holding the scalpel.
She looked down at the surgical instruments placed beside her.
No tracheal dilator...
She wondered if these forceps would suffice...
"Do you know roughly where it’s lodged?" she turned and asked.
Imperial Physician Zhou, his mouth still covered, quickly lowered his hand and nodded without hesitation.
"Here," he also knelt down, pointing at Madam Xie's throat with his finger.
Ha, ha, I touched the dissected trachea! And it's still moving!
Did he have X-ray vision? How could he be so certain?
But there was no other option.
Qi Yue did not hesitate; she propped open the trachea with one hand and, with the other, used the knife to cut open a tracheal ring, then inserted the forceps.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at Qi Yue's hand.
Qi Yue's hand slowly stopped, then slowly withdrew.
"Ha!" Imperial Physician Zhou couldn't help shouting again.
It was fortunate that Qi Yue was holding the forceps; Zhang Tong, standing nearby, visibly flinched at the shout, nearly dropping the retractor.
The forceps held a tiny foreign object.
"It really is a date pit!" Imperial Physician Zhou said, lowering his voice this time.
Qi Yue reached in again, but this time found nothing.
"Adjust the position, lower the head further," she instructed.
Zhang Tong and the other disciples carefully supported Madam Xie, allowing Qi Yue to slowly lower her head further. Qi Yue, kneeling on the ground, had to bend over even lower.
Little by little, the macerated, rotten date pit was extracted.
"How much longer until the anesthesia takes full effect?" she asked loudly.
The disciple standing by the other patient, awaiting surgery, immediately replied.
"Almost, Master, but we are running out of blood!" he shouted.
Thick sweat continuously streamed down Qi Yue's forehead.
Chang Yuncheng reached out and wiped it away with a handkerchief for her.
"Go ask that family, ask for more blood," Qi Yue commanded.
A disciple nodded and ran toward the door.
Qi Yue finally finished extracting the last piece and looked at Madam Xie's complexion.
Once the airway was clear, the blood oxygen saturation immediately recovered.
"Hold still, don't move," Qi Yue instructed, dropping the forceps and scalpel, then standing up.
Her legs, numb from kneeling for so long, suddenly buckled upon standing, and she stumbled, falling forward.
Everyone cried out in alarm, and Chang Yuncheng reached out to steady her.
Qi Yue leaned on him to rise.
"What do you need?" Chang Yuncheng asked urgently.
"They don't know how to draw blood," Qi Yue said, supporting herself on Chang Yuncheng as she walked toward the other patient.
"Master, they... no one is giving blood," the disciple rushed back from outside, shouting nervously.
What?
"I'll go..." Chang Yuncheng was about to stride out.
Qi Yue stopped him.
"There's no time for explanations and running back and forth," she said, pulling off her gloves and rolling up her sleeve. "Give me a needle."
The disciple wasn't sure what to do but handed her a syringe.
Qi Yue bent down, grabbed the cotton swab from the side, wiped her arm, and inserted the needle.
Amidst everyone's gasps, blood was drawn.
"Qi Yueniang!" Chang Yuncheng called her name through clenched teeth, his body trembling, his eyes red as he looked at her.
"Here," Qi Yue drew two tubes before pulling the needle out. A disciple, forgetting all propriety, immediately took an antiseptic swab to press against the site.
Qi Yue handed the needle to the trembling disciple.
The disciple was nearly in tears, holding the syringe with shaking hands.
Qi Yue had already turned and knelt back down by Madam Xie.
"Disinfect the used syringe immediately and bring it to me; I need it," she instructed, swiftly sterilizing the area and putting on a fresh pair of gloves.
The syringe was quickly delivered. Qi Yue set it down, picked up the scissors, looked at the syringe, pulled out the plunger, removed the needle, and forcefully cut the barrel.
"Master!" the disciples cried out.
"Master, what are you doing!" Zhang Tong also shouted, his eyes wide.
None of them knew the significance of that syringe better! There were only three in the world!
Qi Yue paid them no mind and quickly cut the syringe apart.
"We'll make do; it's better than a pumpkin vine," she murmured to herself, threading a thicker cotton cord through both sides to secure the makeshift tracheal cannula.
The subsequent suturing, packing, and insertion of the drainage tube were completed in a few swift movements.
"Done. Observe closely," Qi Yue said, standing up.
Watching Madam Xie's breathing clearly return to normal, Imperial Physician Zhou knelt down, took her pulse, and then made a sound as if he were about to weep.
How could it be... how could it be...
This... how did she... come back to life...
"Now, we proceed with the emergency thoracotomy."
Qi Yue's voice came from the other side.
Thoracotomy... Heavens, was he dreaming... It was too... too magnificent...
Imperial Physician Zhou, half-crying and half-laughing, struggled to stand up. Whether from excitement or something else, it took him three or four tries before he managed to rise, staggering as he followed.
Right posterior incision, entering the right chest through the fifth intercostal space. The bamboo pole was pulled out and tossed aside...
Imperial Physician Zhou knelt on the ground, gazing at the horrifying scene before him, watching the woman swiftly move her needle and thread, her scalpel and scissors dancing, watching as, following her commands, the disciples lifted the surgical drapes and passed medicine.
"...The middle lobe of the right lung is shattered and cannot be sutured; resect it."
"...Saline..."
"...Check the lung lobes for air leaks..."
"...Two drainage tubes..."
Imperial Physician Zhou slumped onto the ground, staring blankly at the scene, seemingly unable to blink, his mind completely blank...
Where... where did this come from...
This must be like what was recorded in ancient texts—the miraculous surgeons performing abdominal incisions, skull drilling, and perforation treatments...
Sounds of footsteps and carriage wheels, along with shouting, came from outside the gate.
But the people didn't flood in; instead, the sound of chaotic disinfection filled the air.
"Master, Master, they're here!" Zhang Tong, who had been diligently guarding Madam Xie, shouted, his voice cracking with tears.
Chang Yuncheng's guards opened the gate, and Liu Pucheng, A'ru, led a group of disciples rushing in. They were all wearing gowns, hats, masks, and held their gloved hands before them.
Seeing them, the busy disciples present couldn't help but feel tears well up.
God, they were scared to death...
More personnel, medicine, and surgical instruments stabilized the area.
Large surgical drapes were set up to create a crude temporary ward, and more disinfectant sprays were deployed.
The soiled materials they had removed were taken away by dedicated personnel for incineration.
Liu Pucheng and the others looked at the two patients; their expressions were not much better than Imperial Physician Zhou's.
Two of them—one with a throat injury, the other with a bamboo pole impaling the chest...
My heavens...
What in the world just happened here...
Meanwhile, Qi Yue closed the chest cavity, completing the final suture.
When the word "surgery complete" was finally spoken, a cheer erupted in the courtyard.
Because the entire surgery was performed either half-kneeling or completely kneeling, Qi Yue could not stand up.
A'ru supported her with tears in her eyes. Just as Qi Yue managed to stand up slightly, the disciple monitoring the patients cried out in alarm.
"Master, he's bleeding!" he shouted.
"What's so strange about bleeding from such a large wound?" Imperial Physician Zhou couldn't help but remark.
Liu Pucheng also stepped forward and pressed on the man's original thigh wound.
"The wound is large; let's suture it again," he suggested.
"No need," Qi Yue's voice rang out.
This remark stunned everyone, and they looked up at her, only to see Qi Yue's face was pale, her gaze fixed straight on the patient.
"It's not that the suturing was poor..." she murmured. "It's a hemolytic reaction..."
So...
She wasn't always lucky...
Qi Yue slumped her head in defeat.
She wasn't an immortal; how could she cure every illness...
(Recommendation for Liu An Hua Ming's currently updating book Mei Ren Mou Lü [Beauty's Scheme for Law], Book ID: 2530562)
Born into a military household, ancestors engaged in lowly professions, living in the slums... Quite tragic, wasn't it?
But this young lady excels at turning tragedy into comedy!
Watch as a modern female lawyer is reborn as an ancient female litigator. Though she has no money, power, or status and faces discrimination, luckily, she is cunning, eloquent, and sharp-tongued enough to make a fortune.
She deals with vicious stepmothers and relatives internally, and debates with rogue bullies and court officials externally.
My goal is: to stand in the courtroom, to handle official business, to outwit the phoenix, and to squash the cockroaches.