Chapter 54: Hope, a method for treatment (1/2)
“Approve or deny? Qin Wangfei, are you implying you have a way to treat the crown prince?” Emperor Tianhui asked earnestly.
With the crown prince’s illness, a simple B-mode ultrasound in the modern world would reveal the cause, followed by a standard stomach surgery. But in ancient times, that would be a bit difficult. Even so, Han Yunxi fearlessly nodded her head. Naturally, she had other methods available.
“What kind of treatment?” Long Tianmo asked in a hurry, his words revealing his trust in Han Yunxi.
“I’ll create an antidote to the malignant tumor to dissolve it as poisonous blood, then make a cut on the stomach to draw out the remnants of poison with acupuncture needles,” Han Yunxi replied honestly.
If she tried to cut directly into the crown prince’s stomach to remove the object, it’d have to be a very deep large and deep incision. Without the proper tools, she was unwilling to take such a risk. But if she used medicine to dissolve the internal poison before expelling it from his body, then it was extremely similar to what she did with young General Mu Qingwu. As long as there wasn’t too much blood lost, the risks of such a procedure were well within her control.
Han Congan spoke up first. “Then you still can’t prove that the crown prince has a malignant tumor inside his stomach.”
“When the tumor dissolves into poisonous blood, Divine Doctor Han can examine the blood for toxins,” Han Yunxi curved her lips into a mocking smile, placing extra emphasis on ‘Divine Doctor Han.’
Han Congan’s face turned red, then white with hate, but he couldn’t say a word.
“So the stomach has to be cut open,” the empress hesitated.
“This…isn’t appropriate, is it?” the empress dowager was irresolute as well. Her face looked anxious–genuinely worried–because the crown prince was her beloved eldest grandson.
“When chenqie treated the young general’s poison, I also used a knife on his stomach. The empress dowager even mistook my intentions then. Esteemed empress dowager, if you don’t believe chenqie, you can summon the young general for a look. There should still be a scar on his stomach from the incision,” Han Yunxi’s voice was very calm.
The empress dowager lowered her eyes as they flashed with rage. This blasted girl, she still remembers something like that, it’s clearly a taunt. She grew silent. With her case successfully presented, Han Yunxi tossed the hot potato issue[1] at Emperor Tianhui for him to decide.
“Your majesty, Yunxi has explained everything. Please decide on whether or not to proceed with treatment.”
Emperor Tianhui traded glances with the bedridden Long Tianmo between the gauzy curtains, neither of them speaking a word. Han Yunxi was intelligent enough to come up with a completely different diagnosis from Han Congan. If Emperor Tianhui believed her, he’d let her treat him. If not, then he still couldn’t make things difficult for her case. In such a situation, even Han Congan didn’t dare to speak up. After all, he’d spent so many unsuccessful years trying to treat the illness. Speaking anymore would be like seeking his own death.
In an instant, the room fell into silence.
Finally, Emperor Tianhui turned to look towards Long Feiye. “Duke of Qin, what do you think?”
Han Yunxi didn’t expect the emperor to ask Long Feiye. Yet he was as calm as ever as if expecting this from the start. His manner was indifferent and hard to read.
“This is a weighty matter, so imperial brother should naturally make the decision.”
A few simple words had tossed the affair back to Emperor Tianhui. Of course, the emperor was no oil-saving lamp[2] and continued to ask, “Does the Duke of Qin trust Qin Wangfei?”
Such a question forced Long Feiye to answer directly. Han Yunxi’s heart was puzzled, thinking that something wasn’t quite right. It was widely rumored that Emperor Tianhui and the Duke of Qin were close brothers with each other. The Duke of Qin was very authoritative, but Emperor Tianhui yielded to him as a matter of courtesy. But from what she saw now, the emperor and the duke weren’t close at all. Rather, both moved very subtly against each other!
If Long Feiye answered that he trusted her, then wouldn’t he be punished if Han Yunxi failed? And if he answered that he didn’t, her exploits would come to an end. Now everyone was looking towards Long Feiye, who had personally gone to General Mu’s residence to rescue Han Yunxi. This time, would he speak up again?
Why did he show up in person at the general’s house and give Changping and the justice court official a lesson? Why did help Han Yunxi out of a predicament? Why did he allow the existence of the drop of blood on the handkerchief? Were he and Han Yunxi a genuine couple?
Was it because Han Yunxi wasn’t ugly and knew medicine, so he gave her special treatment after seeing her in a favorable light? Did he accept this official wife in his heart?
Everyone was curious to the answers for these questions!
They were anticipating his response, but he only said mildly, “It’s pointless if your lordship believes her. Only if the emperor and crown prince do, will she be of any use.”
These light words were like four liang shifting a thousand jin[3] that dissolved Emperor Tianhui’s trap. Han Yunxi narrowly escaped laughing out loud. This fellow really was a crafty fox. Emperor Tianhui pursed his lips and was about to ask again when Long Feiye said, “Imperial brother, the crown prince isn’t little anymore. It’s about time for him to grow independent.”
These words were undoubtedly saying that the crown prince’s affairs should be decided by himself. The Duke of Qin’s support gave vast influence to any imperial son, so it was natural that the emperor wanted him to support the crown prince. Emperor Tianhui forced a smile as he looked towards the prince.
“Tianmo, your imperial uncle’s lesson is apt. Make your own decisions for your own affairs.”
—
It had already been seven years, and Long Tianmo truly had enough. Though he didn’t believe Han Yunxi deep in his heart, he’d rather fight for his all instead of waiting to die. He was clearer than anyone else that his father would give up on him if this illness persisted. In the silence, his voice was exceptionally bright.
“I accept the treatment!”
Han Yunxi released a breath, while Han Congan’s face turned black. Without a doubt, the crown prince’s reaction had rejected him completely. The emperor was still satisfied with the crown prince’s courageous choice. He nodded and said, “Qin Wangfei, can we begin the treatment immediately?”
“I need to do some detailed research to ascertain the location of the tumor and its size before I write a prescription,” Han Yunxi said earnestly. Now that they’d decided on treatment, she felt much more relaxed and went to do an examination right away. Quickly, she discovered the object in Long Tianmo’s stomach was even bigger than she imagined and definitely alive, because she realized it’d move when she pressed on certain acupoints.
Her gaze grew dark and complicated.
“How is it?” Long Tianmo asked nervously.
Han Yunxi laughed a bit. “Don’t worry, just rest well these two days without thinking too much.” She backed out as she spoke while the empress and empress dowager surrounded her.
“Well?”