Although Ye Xiaohua could hear the implicit threat and intimidation in Qin Shuhe’s words, she had to admit she breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least, it saved her the time needed to convince Madam Qin.
She feared that a whole basket of her own words wouldn’t carry the weight of a single sentence from Master Qin. She gestured for Madam Qin to place the young child on the bed, and then, to prevent him from thrashing around, had Madam Qin hold his small hands.
Because the young Master Qin was too small and the illness had struck so suddenly, the incompetent doctors from before had misdiagnosed him. What was originally a minor ailment had now become somewhat perilous.
Drawing on the experience from her past life, Ye Xiaohua applied the needles quickly and accurately, without the slightest hesitation. Even so, watching her eldest son’s tender skin being pierced by such long needles, Madam Qin felt a pang of heartache and said, “Be gentler!”
“This isn’t a massage; the needles must reach the acupoints, and the force demands absolute precision,” Ye Xiaohua took a moment to glance at the sobbing Madam Qin. “Would you prefer to take a swift, clean cut from a blade, or would you rather have a knife slowly slice through your skin bit by bit, exposing the flesh, severing the meridians, and boring deep into the bone marrow…?”
Ye Xiaohua didn’t intend to terrify her; she was merely explaining the logic. Without using such a metaphor, she feared Madam Qin wouldn’t understand. However, when she finished speaking and looked back at the Qin couple, their faces were completely dark.
Because the young Master Qin was suffering from damp-heat dysentery, Ye Xiaohua purposefully added two acupoints, Quchi and Neiting, when applying the needles. Nevertheless, to ensure the little fellow recovered as quickly as possible and suffered less, it was unavoidable that he would have to drink some bitter medicinal soup.
While waiting to withdraw the needles, Ye Xiaohua dictated the prescription while Qin Shuhe wrote it down himself. He then ordered a servant to fetch the medicine. However, before the servant could walk very far, he was intercepted and brought back by the old physician whom Qin An had fetched.
“It’s wrong, all wrong!” The old physician shouted repeatedly with the prescription in hand. As he burst through the door in a frantic rush, he nearly tripped over the threshold and fell face-first. Fortunately, Qin An, who was beside him, was quick-witted and agile enough to catch him.
The old physician glanced at Ye Xiaohua. On the way over, Qin An had already filled him win on some of the situation. He glared at Ye Xiaohua with a cold, fierce brow and scolded angrily, “Where did this slip of a girl come from, to dare come here and swindle people? This is a matter of life and death, and this old man will absolutely not tolerate you!”
“Me? Swindling?” Ye Xiaohua pointed at herself and asked with amusement. Seeing how furiously the old man spoke, his beard twitching up and down, he was ninety percent likely a stubborn old codger.
“If not you, then who? What kind of medicine is this that you prescribed?”
“Medicine to cure an illness!” Ye Xiaohua replied fluently.
The gazes of the people in the room shifted back and forth between the faces of the old and the young. The well-traveled elder was growing increasingly impatient, whereas the youngster appeared as calm as a wise old man. The spectacle was truly somewhat comical, but at a critical juncture involving a human life, no one was in the mood to enjoy the show.
“Nonsense! From whom did you learn medicine, and for how many years have you studied it? To dare flaunt your little tricks right in front of me! Young Master Qin suffers from deficiency-cold dysentery, yet you prescribed him medicine for damp-heat dysentery. Giving the wrong medicine for the symptoms will kill a person!”
The old man said all this in a single breath. Compounded by his frantic running earlier, he was now short of breath and panting heavily.
Ye Xiaohua watched him calmly. She waited until he finally caught his breath before speaking, lest the man actually die of anger because of her, which would only bring her trouble.
“The medicine for damp-heat dysentery is exactly what should be prescribed.”
“You… do you even know how to check a pulse?” The old man was so angry he could barely stand straight. He had never seen such an incorrigible slip of a girl. After being assisted into a seat by Qin An, he spoke up once more.
Ye Xiaohua knew what he wanted to ask. Seeing how much effort it took for him to speak, she decided to just say it all herself.
“Old gentleman, though I study medicine, my years of practicing it are indeed not as long as yours. But this time, I am truly correct.”
“You… you are correct? If you are correct, I will write my surname, Wang, upside down!”
Ye Xiaohua was also one to never hold back her tongue. The old man was simply too aggressive and refused to give her a chance to explain, which annoyed her a little. “Wouldn’t it still be written as Wang anyway?”
She waved her hand, stopping the old man from speaking further. “I know that judging by young Master Qin’s deep and thin pulse, it indeed resembles the symptoms of deficiency-cold dysentery. But…”
Old Man Wang was just about to open his mouth when he was choked back by Ye Xiaohua’s “but.” At this moment, he panted heavily and said, “Fine. Then you tell me, since this pulse condition has already distinguished between cold and heat, why do you insist it is caused by damp-heat?”
Ye Xiaohua raised an eyebrow. Her mouth was feeling a bit dry from talking. From the moment she stepped out of the house this morning until now, she had spoken so much without a single drop of water. Turning around, she picked up a teacup and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
“Young Master Qin’s pulse condition is indeed as you say. However, you have overlooked one point, and that is his wet nurse…”
Old Man Wang had just been confidently demanding a reason, but the moment Ye Xiaohua finished her sentence, the teacup in his hand trembled and crashed to the floor.
“Old gentleman, I believe that after practicing medicine for so many years, your medical skills must be extraordinary. However, think about it. How could such a common case of dysentery be treated by so many people for so many days, only to get worse instead of better? Could it be anything other than a misdiagnosis of the underlying condition and the use of the wrong medicine?”
Ye Xiaohua actually had no desire to compete with anyone. She simply wanted to earn some medical fees to buy food and fill her stomach. As for ruining someone else’s livelihood, she had no such intention.
“If you do not believe me, you can check the pulse of young Master Qin’s wet nurse. See if her pulse shows signs of damp-heat, and you will know whether I am right or wrong.”
In truth, Ye Xiaohua’s previous words were already the best evidence. If so many people had treated him for so many days without effect, it could only mean they had misjudged the nature of the cold and heat.
However, to be cautious, Madam Qin still called for the wet nurse. When Old Man Wang placed his fingers onto her pulse, his face turned as ash-gray as a dead man’s. When he looked back at Ye Xiaohua, his expression became complicated—filled with shock, reluctance, guilt, and even envy…
Facts proved that Ye Xiaohua was correct. Qin Shuhe hurriedly sent Qin An to fetch the medicine. Upon further inquiry, they discovered that in order to make the breast milk nutritious for her son, the Qin family had provided the wet nurse with excellent meals consisting of highly nourishing substances. Yet, young Master Qin was too young and his gastrointestinal tract was still weak; thus, his body was too deficient to handle the supplements, leading to the dysentery.
Now that the whole truth was revealed, Ye Xiaohua believed this Old Man Wang could handle the rest of the matters.
“You cannot leave just yet.” Madam Qin had finally stopped crying, but she insisted that the little fellow was not completely cured. To guard against any mishaps, she refused to let Ye Xiaohua go.
“There is no need,” Qin Shuhe cut in ahead of her.
“But what if Huai’er doesn’t get better?” Madam Qin was still somewhat worried.
“He will recover after taking the medicine.” Qin Shuhe took a deep, long look at the smiling Ye Xiaohua. This little girl was no ordinary child. When she spoke to Old Man Wang just now, she was neither subservient nor arrogant. Crucially, for a child of just a few years old to possess such profound medical skill…
Ye Xiaohua felt that this Qin Shuhe was not muddled after all; he truly deserved his reputation as a capable big businessman, making decisive choices at critical moments without hesitation. “Girl, how much money do you want?”
Having finally brought up the topic of money, Ye Xiaohua smiled knowingly. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she paused.