Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Since the successful operation for the patient with severe bleeding, the Imperial Hospital has gradually returned to its former busy state.

New patients were brought in every day, and the imperial doctors became more and more accustomed to using our improved surgical instruments.

Zhu Yuan finally stopped relying on chicken soup for his own health and instead happily showed off everywhere: "Our scalpel is no ordinary knife! This is the trend of the future!"

I was busy sorting out the medical records while looking at him helplessly: "Zhu Yuan, you're talking as if we already dominate the entire medical field."

He chuckled and waved the scalpel in his hand. "Miss Yang, don't you think our Imperial Hospital has become the focus of the entire capital? Look, lately, even people from other clinics have come to inquire about our equipment. If it weren't for our rules, I would have wanted to demonstrate an operation for them!"

I couldn't help but laugh: "You really want to turn the Imperial Hospital into a surgical theater."

Zhu Yuan scratched his head, but didn't refute: "Hey, it's okay if we don't act, let's engage in academic exchanges."

As I was speaking, a eunuch suddenly rushed in and said to me breathlessly, "Miss Yang, hurry up... someone is coming from the palace. They say the Empress has an urgent matter and asks you to come in immediately!"

I was startled. "Is there something urgent for the Empress?" It hadn't been long since the last palace maid poisoning incident. Could something have happened in the palace again?

"Come on, Zhu Yuan, we have to go and take a look." I didn't dare to delay, and immediately asked Zhu Yuan to pack up the medicine box, and hurriedly followed the eunuch into the palace.

Along the way, I was very nervous. Things in the palace have never been "simple".

Especially the Queen, her health is pretty good. If something urgent happens suddenly, it could be a very serious matter.

When we arrived at the palace, the palace maids greeted us with nervous expressions and took us directly to the queen's bedroom.

Outside the bedroom, several imperial doctors were already standing there with serious expressions. When they saw me, they nodded at me.

"Miss Yang, the situation is... somewhat complicated," an elderly imperial physician whispered to me. "The Empress has been experiencing chest tightness and shortness of breath for the past few days, and occasionally experiences mild dizziness. We've examined her pulse, but it's stable, and we can't detect any issues."

Dizziness, chest tightness, shortness of breath? These symptoms sound like common cardiovascular problems in modern medicine, or perhaps a physical reaction to some emotion. However, in this era, diagnostic methods for heart and mental illness are limited, and many symptoms cannot be accurately diagnosed.

"Let me take a look at the situation first." I suppressed the doubts in my heart and walked into the bedroom.

The queen was half-lying on the bed. Although her face was calm, her eyes showed a hint of fatigue. Seeing me come in, she smiled slightly and said in a weak voice, "Miss Yang, you are here."

I quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I heard you were unwell, so I came specially to treat you."

The Queen nodded and motioned for me to sit down.

I gently felt her pulse, and it was just as the imperial doctors had said, steady and without any abnormalities at all.

However, her complexion was indeed not good, especially the faint blue tint under her eyes, which was obviously caused by long-term fatigue.

"Empress, have you been worried about anything in particular recently, or have there been any changes in your diet?" I asked cautiously.

The Queen sighed and said softly, "There's been a lot going on in the palace lately. The Emperor is very busy, and I also have to take care of the affairs of the harem. Worrying about these trivial matters every day is really tiring..."

Zhu Yuan muttered quietly, "Miss Yang, this isn't a common problem for officials. They worry too much and are exhausted."

I glared at him and said, "Shut up, this is the Queen's bedroom!"

Zhu Yuan fell silent immediately, but an uncomfortable smile remained on his face, as if he was secretly glad that he didn't have to worry about these "palace affairs".

I continued, "My Lady, besides fatigue, do you feel any discomfort in your chest, such as pressure or pain?"

The Queen nodded gently: "It is true that I sometimes feel a tightness in my chest, but there is no real pain."

I thought to myself that although the Queen had no obvious illness, her symptoms were likely related to her emotional and mental state.

This condition is known as psychogenic disease in modern medicine and is usually triggered by long-term stress and anxiety.

"Your Majesty, your symptoms may be due to overwork. Although your pulse is normal, that doesn't mean your body is free of burdens." I chose my words carefully. "I suggest you temporarily put aside your current affairs, rest for a few days, and recuperate your body and mind. I will also prescribe some soothing medicine for you."

The Queen sighed and nodded, "Miss Yang is indeed attentive. Actually, I also feel that I worry too much, but the affairs of the palace... I can never let go."

The matter of treating the queen came to a temporary end. I was about to leave when suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps outside the bedroom.

A young eunuch ran in breathlessly, looking panicked: "Miss Yang, help! That...that general who came back from the frontier, he's sick again!"

"What?!" My heart tightened. Isn't this the general with the eye injury we treated earlier? How could he suddenly become ill?

"Tell me clearly what's going on?" Zhu Yuan became anxious and stepped forward to ask.

The young eunuch took a few breaths and said in a panic, "The general has been in poor health for the past few days. This morning he suddenly developed a high fever and convulsions all over his body. The imperial doctors are helpless!"

High fever and convulsions? This doesn't seem like a simple injury, but rather symptoms of some kind of infection or poisoning.

But the general's wound had healed long ago, so how could he suddenly fall ill?

"Let's go, Zhu Yuan, we have to go and check out the situation right away!" I didn't dare to delay, so I immediately took the medicine box and followed the eunuch to the general's residence.

The atmosphere in the general's ward was solemn.

The general lay on the bed, his face pale, his body covered in cold sweat, and he twitched from time to time.

Several imperial doctors stood by with anxious expressions, obviously helpless in the face of the situation.

"Miss Yang, you're finally here!" An imperial physician saw me and was as if he had seen a savior. "We've tried all kinds of fever-reducing medicines, but the general's fever won't go away, and he's also having convulsions. The situation is extremely critical!"

I walked over to the bedside and gently felt the general's pulse, which was rapid and irregular. A closer look at his eyes and skin revealed redness under his eyes and faint red spots on his skin.

"This doesn't look like a normal fever," I said, frowning. "It could be sepsis caused by a wound infection, or some kind of viral infection."

Zhu Yuan asked anxiously, "What should we do? Should we prescribe medicine for him right away?"

I pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered that the general had returned from the frontier, and the climate and environment of the frontier were very different from those in the capital - some places had diseases and viruses that had never been seen in the capital. If the general was infected with some disease unique to the frontier, ordinary medicines would probably be ineffective.

"Zhu Yuan, immediately check the general's diet and the things he has touched in the past few days, especially to see if he has brought back any special items or food from the border." I immediately gave the order.

Zhu Yuan did not dare to delay and immediately ran out to investigate.

I began to provide emergency treatment for the general, first using acupuncture to stabilize his pulse, and then asked the imperial doctors to prepare some medicines with the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying to temporarily control his fever and convulsions.

Not long after, Zhu Yuan ran back with a package in his hand and a strange look on his face.

"Miss Yang, guess what I found?" He panted as he raised the package in his hand. "The general brought back something called 'Fire Lizard Fruit' from the frontier. He's been eating it lately and says it's very good for replenishing qi and blood."

When I heard this, I immediately understood a little bit.

Salamander fruit? This name doesn't sound like an ordinary ingredient.

Although the medicinal herbs and foods from the frontier do have many magical effects, many of them are toxic or have side effects.

If the general eats this fruit, it is very likely that heat and toxins will accumulate in the body, causing illness.

"There must be something wrong with this fruit." I took the package and examined it carefully. Sure enough, I smelled a strange smell, a little spicy and sour. It was obviously not an ordinary tonic.

"The general's condition is most likely caused by poisoning and heat accumulation caused by the fire lizard fruit." I quickly made a judgment, "We need to detoxify him and supplement him with heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs."

Emergency treatment began.

I personally performed acupuncture on the general to stimulate the detoxification meridians in his body, and at the same time instructed the imperial doctors to prepare a prescription for clearing heat and detoxifying.

After several hours of intensive treatment, the general's body temperature finally began to drop and the convulsions gradually stopped.

"Miss Yang, you are truly a lifesaver!" an imperial physician said gratefully, "If it weren't for you this time, I'm afraid the general would be in danger."

Zhu Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Miss Yang, you are really amazing this time! You can even cure such a strange disease!"

I smiled, but I knew in my heart: this is just the beginning. As exchanges between the border areas and the Western Regions become more frequent, various unknown diseases and illnesses will gradually emerge.

In the future, we must work harder to cope with these complex and changing challenges.