Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Ever since the successful eye surgery, the atmosphere in the Imperial Hospital has been as lively as the New Year.

The imperial doctors surrounded Zhu Yuan and me, as if we had become some kind of divine figures, and there was an endless stream of "learning exchanges" with us every day.

Even the number of patients coming to the Imperial Medical Bureau increased significantly. Everyone had heard that there was a "miracle doctor" here, so all kinds of strange illnesses emerged one after another.

"Miss Yang, this patient said that his voice has been hoarse for several days. Do you think he is short of energy?" A young imperial physician asked me excitedly while holding the medical record.

I held my forehead helplessly: "Did he eat ten spicy chicken wings last night?"

The imperial physician was stunned: "This... seems to be."

I smiled and shook my head, then turned to look at Zhu Yuan and found that he was actually sitting in the corner, drinking a big bowl of chicken soup with an intoxicated look on his face.

"Zhu Yuan, why are you starting your own 'post-operative recovery' first?" I walked over helplessly and patted his shoulder.

Zhu Yuan swallowed a mouthful of chicken soup and smiled, "Miss Yang, I'm accumulating experience for researching post-operative nutritional meals! You don't know how much this chicken soup helps with physical recovery. I was feeling sore in my shoulders just now, but now I feel much better!"

I looked at him with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Your shoulders are sore because you stayed up late playing cards last night, right?"

He chuckled and scratched his head: "Miss Yang is indeed as foresighted as a god."

However, the successful improvement of surgical instruments did not stop us.

Although current tools are much more sophisticated than before, I am increasingly aware that the choice of materials is crucial to the development of surgical instruments.

"Miss Yang, I think the fine steel we're using is strong enough, but still a bit heavy," Zhu Yuan said as he packed up his surgical tools. "You see, during surgery, my hands are kept raised for hours at a time. After a while, they're almost numb from shaking."

I nodded. "You're right. Although stainless steel is durable, it's certainly not light enough. Especially during long surgeries, the surgeon's wrists can get very tired."

Zhu Yuan frowned and scratched his head: "Can we try a different material? Something lighter?"

"That's what I'm thinking about too," I said thoughtfully.

Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Then let's quickly find the right materials!"

Thus, the "adventure" to find new materials began.

First, we visited the most famous craftsmen and blacksmith shops in the capital.

Although Master Liu has superb skills, his knowledge of materials is limited after all.

We decided to ask around to see if there were other craftsmen who could provide us with some novel materials.

As expected, most workshops in the capital still mainly use traditional iron and copper.

Although we can occasionally find a few pieces of high-quality stainless steel, they still cannot meet our demand for "lightness".

"Miss Yang, this material is so hard to find!" Zhu Yuan complained, looking around. "We need to go somewhere further afield, how about the border? I heard there are a lot of rare minerals there!"

I smiled wryly and said, "The journey to the border is long and difficult. However, your suggestion makes sense. I heard that merchants from the Western Regions sometimes bring in some unusual metals. Perhaps we can start with them."

Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go straight to the Western Region merchants! Maybe we can come across some rare materials!"

The next day, we really set out on the journey to the Western Region Merchants Market.

At the market, the voices of vendors were heard one after another, and all kinds of rare treasures were on display.

Zhu Yuan was as excited as a child, looking around and stopping from time to time to bargain in front of a stall.

"Miss Yang, here is a copper pot from the Western Regions. Does it look like the 'novel material' you mentioned?" He excitedly held up a pot with a peculiar shape, smiling proudly.

I glanced at him helplessly. "This is just ordinary copperware, far from the material we are looking for."

Zhu Yuan curled his lips. "Hey, these Western Region merchants seem quite impressive, but how come they don't have any rare metals? We've been looking for them for almost the entire day!"

Just when we were about to give up, suddenly, an old merchant from the Western Regions noticed us.

He came closer with a mysterious look on his face and whispered, "Are you looking for some special metal? I have some rare stuff here."

Zhu Yuan immediately became excited: "Oh? What rare stuff? Take it out and let me see it!"

The old businessman took out a small package from his arms and opened it gently. Inside was a piece of silver-gray metal with a smooth surface and a slight luster.

"This is ore dug out from the deep mountains of the Western Regions. I heard it is very light and extremely strong. If you want it, I can sell it to you at a lower price." The old businessman said with a smile.

I picked up the piece of metal and it felt very light, lighter than I had imagined.

I tapped it gently with my hand, and the metal made a crisp sound. It was obviously much harder than ordinary iron and copper.

"This thing is pretty good," I said thoughtfully, "but we can't be sure of its specific performance just by looking at one piece. We have to take it back and do a test."

Zhu Yuan immediately took out his wallet and said with a smile, "Old man, let's buy it! If this stone can become our new material, I will thank you very much!"

After returning to the Imperial Hospital, we immediately began testing the metal.

First, we found Master Liu and asked him to help polish and forge the metal.

As soon as Master Liu got the piece of metal, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "This thing is really strange! It's as light as a feather, but it's harder than any metal I've ever seen!"

After some polishing and forging, Master Liu finally succeeded in making this piece of metal into a scalpel.

The blade is incredibly sharp, and when we tried cutting some items, it sliced ​​through tough leather and wood almost effortlessly.

"Miss Yang, this knife is amazing!" Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up with excitement. "It's so light and yet so sharp, we've really found a treasure!"

I couldn't help but laugh too. "It seems this metal is exactly what we need. With it, surgical instruments will not only be lighter but also more durable."

In the next few days, the Imperial Medical Service once again launched a "knife-testing craze."

The imperial doctors rushed to try out the scalpel made of this new material, and even doctors who rarely performed surgery couldn't help but want to give it a try.

Everyone raved about the new knife, saying it greatly improved the precision and efficiency of the surgery.

"Miss Yang, this new knife is really a magical weapon! It cuts effortlessly, and after using it for a whole day, the blade doesn't even show any signs of dulling!" said an imperial physician excitedly.

Zhu Yuan stood aside, almost flying with pride: "That's right! This is a treasure we found from a merchant in the Western Regions! From now on, our Imperial Hospital's surgical instruments will be at the forefront!"

Just when we thought everything was going smoothly, an accident suddenly happened.

One day, a patient suddenly suffered heavy bleeding during surgery.

The imperial doctors immediately panicked. Blood was gushing out of the operating table and the patient's life was in danger.

"Miss Yang! Come and save me!" a young imperial physician shouted.

I rushed over immediately, and upon seeing the patient's condition, I was shocked. The surgery itself was fine, but the patient's blood vessels were incredibly fragile, rupturing at the slightest touch, leading to heavy bleeding.

Zhu Yuan was also panicking: "Miss Yang, what...what should we do? Should we use hemostat?"

I calmed down and quickly analyzed the situation. Hemostat alone might not be enough in this situation; we had to take more drastic measures.

"Zhu Yuan, go get the acupuncture needles and hemostatic drugs immediately." I gave the order decisively.

Zhu Yuan rushed away, and I quickly provided emergency treatment to the patient. This was a battle with death, and every second was crucial.

After a few minutes, the situation was finally under control.

The patient's bleeding gradually decreased and his breathing began to stabilize.

The imperial doctors breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhu Yuan was so excited that he was sweating profusely: "Miss Yang, you saved another life! You are truly amazing!"

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, but I knew in my heart: this success was not luck, but more due to our continued progress in surgical instruments and technology. In the future, we still have more challenges waiting for us.