12 Did You Think of a Miracle? 3 (1/2)
Being called to attend to the same patient for the third time in half a month left Physician Gao brooding over a few questions.
One of them included whether working under the Wei Family was still a great idea as he had once envisioned.
Holding his toolbox and inwardly grumbling to himself, the old physician could only allow Wei Xuan to wheedle him into the Flowing Winds Residence. The instant the bold signboard entered his gaze, he knew instantly what he had been called over for, causing the physician to sigh.
Shaking his head and coming to a stop, Physician Gao turned his gaze to directly face Wei Xuan, ignoring all established rules of etiquette and social convention to bluntly ask.
”Minister Wei, the patient this time is once again, the Fourth Miss? Am I correct?”
”Yes,” Wei Xuan responded with a despondent expression. ”It's my fourth daughter again. Please offer your assistance, doctor.”
”You-you! Has my advice fallen onto deaf ears!?” The physician stomped his foot and roared, his beard riling in his rage. ”Only eight days has passed, and I'm being called over once again? Minister Wei, just how are you taking care of your daughter!? Even with her precarious constitution, it wouldn't garner such a result-”
”Someone attempted to murder her whilst I was performing my duty at the Imperial Palace,” Wei Xuan replied, his gaze becoming steely as a silver glow was unconsciously emitted from his body. ”This minister had rushed my way here after hearing the news, breaking most of the regulations on cultivation and martial arts in Jiang'an.”
”Murdered?” the physician inquired, his countenance aghast. ”How can that be? Unable to perform the four professions, five virtues, or even fulfil the duties of an official's daughter, what effect would murdering the Fourth Miss cause…”
”Hmph! This minister shall see if anyone dares!”
Wei Xuan trembled as he scathingly spoke, constantly attempting to rein in his anger. The silver light continued to flicker in and out of existence, the fluctuations of spiritual essence becoming unstable.
His eyes narrowing, Physician Gao quickly placated the minister, hurriedly pressing a few acupuncture points on his right arm to calm the rampant spiritual essence.
Feeling his body gradually calm itself, his blood no longer boiling and scalding, Wei Xuan nodded towards the physician, gesturing for him to enter. Physician Gao returned a polite nod, opening the door of the study to find the unconscious An Fei laying on the bed.
Looking at the girl tightly wrapped in multiple blankets, the aged physician frowned, stepping forward and setting his toolbox down. Accepting a silk handkerchief offered by Wei Xuan to take her pulse, the physician raised his index finger just below her nose, only to jerk his hand back as his brows furrowed in surprise.
”Impossible,” he murmured, raising a hand to massage his forehead. ”This should be impossible…”
”Physician Gao, what's wrong?” Wei Xuan tentatively asked as he stepped forward the inspect the physician. ”Is there a problem with my daughter? Has her symptoms worsened?”
”No, nothing of that sort,” Physician Gao hastily affirmed. ”It's just that…the Fourth Miss is in the midst of an acute fever.”
”Fever!?” the minister blurted, his expression one of disbelief. ”But her body was ice-cold when I fished her from the water! How can she be having a fever?”
”Perhaps…she acquired a cold deficiency in the body?” the physician refuted. ”There have been records of patients with cold-deficiency syndrome suffering a drastic drop in temperature during a fever. Nor can I deny such possibility, for there are no signs of anemia within the Fourth Miss' body.”
”Cold deficiency…” Wei Xuan knit his brows in thought. ”Physician Gao, can you please explain the symptoms and how to treat it?”
”Of course,” the old man replied.
”The primary symptoms of cold-deficiency syndrome include extremely low body temperature, reduced stamina, and a short lifespan. Anything else generally pertains to specific areas of the body remaining at a constantly lower temperature than the rest, including the heart, kidneys, and limbs.”
”As for treating it…this physician had studied that though exercise will indeed stabilize the patient's condition, attempting to improve their physique…will accelerate the condition. A far more feasible and reliable method would be to provide a thin slice of ginseng or distilled yang fruit to maintain a thin balance of Yin and Yang. However, this method can only provide stability just like the abovementioned, and never should anyone attempt to consume more than a single slice in a day.”