Shipin Dalizheng

He had no choice but to confess that he was a woman and could do nothing about Doctor Zhang's great vision.

Doctor Zhang was shocked as if struck by lightning. "You know everything? You guessed it?"

Rong Tang's words of confession and leniency were stuck in his throat. What had he guessed? Wait, they'd tried everything, using him as a guinea pig. This meant that Doctor Zhang had other patients who needed treatment, such as those who were trying to make a big profit with a small investment, or those who were creating something out of nothing.

Moreover, this patient is very important to him, or has a high status, so he cannot use him as a testament to his abilities.

Rong Tang cried out inwardly, "What bad luck!" yet he had to appease Doctor Zhang. "Please give me a break, old man, and let's sort things out. To be honest, I met Doctor Mo in the south and had a very pleasant conversation with him. I know a little bit about medicine. What trouble are you in? Talk to Xiao Tang about it. Maybe he can help and give you some enlightenment."

His voice is so seductive and infectious that I fall into a hypnotic state without realizing it.

"Even a miracle doctor needs advice sometimes, right?"

Doctor Zhang lowered his head in thought, "That makes sense."

Seeing that there was a way, Rong Tang increased his persuasion, "Then why don't you tell me, what problem have you encountered? Doctor Zhang, your medical skills are so advanced, so the problem you encountered must not be a simple one, right?"

Doctor Zhang had no intention of pricking him again. He sat down on the ground, his eyes squinting at the upper left corner. Judging from human micro-expressions, he was lost in his memories.

"Decades ago, this old man and Mo Huai'en were from the same school, and I was his junior fellow apprentice."

Rong Tang said "Hey".

Doctor Zhang: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just think you're awesome."

Doctor Zhang smiled bitterly. "What's so great about that? My master always praises you for your steadfastness and steady progress, and your rapid improvement in medical skills. He says my ideas are impractical, that I have no medical principles, no evidence, and that I just blindly act based on my own self-righteousness."

Rong Tang thought to himself: That’s right.

"and after?"

"Later, I was not convinced, so I challenged Mo Huai'en to a test. Whoever lost had to agree to a condition from the other. At that time, we encountered a woman who was about to give birth to a child with difficulty, and we made a bet on this. Unexpectedly, the woman was in extremely critical condition. Master and my senior brothers had both examined her pulse, but were powerless. So they told the male owner of that house to seek help from another expert. Seeing that I had never tried before, the male owner asked me to diagnose her. After the diagnosis, I had the same idea as Master and my senior brothers. This woman was beyond saving. If I withdrew at this time and let them seek help from another expert, I could also save the face of master and apprentice. It wouldn't be considered a loss, so I could just find another patient."

"and after?"

He sighed and continued, "I understood Master's intentions, but a frantic force within me wouldn't let me give up. I thought, 'It's said that pregnancy lasts for ten months and delivery comes in one day, and premature births are not uncommon, so they still have to survive.' Since the baby in my belly can't be delivered under normal circumstances, what other methods are there? Like, maybe a surgical procedure to remove the baby?"

Rong Tang's heart skipped a beat. This idea was so advanced and exciting.

He could almost guess what would happen next.

"I shared my idea with my master and senior brothers, and they were all vehemently opposed, believing it was not only absurd, but also bloody and cruel, and disrespectful to the woman. Her family also refused to agree. But in the end, the woman, with her last breath, told me that as long as the child lived, she would die without regrets. She even had a trusted maid write me a waiver of liability, with her own handprint on it."

Rong Tang admired him very much.

"So you did it!"

Doctor Zhang shook his head, but didn't deny what he had done. "My master told me not to do anything wrong, but I couldn't control my obsessive thoughts, and somehow I did it. The woman was already dead, and I used a knife to cut open her belly... There was a lot of blood, it was scary. There were two children in her belly, and after I took them out, they were both alive, but one was healthy, and the other had no legs..."

Rong Tang suddenly remembered who it was. There was only one person in Shangjing who was born without legs, and that was Zheng Changzhi, the eldest son of Prime Minister Zheng.

"Because of this incident, my master expelled me from the sect, and the two of us left home, leaving me behind. The woman died, of course, but she was already dead when I ripped her belly open; it wasn't my fault. Because of the written disclaimer, the man of the family didn't bother me and even recommended me to the Imperial Hospital. But no officials or their families ever sought my services. They privately nicknamed me "Evil Doctor Zhang," and I could only find patients among the common people. During this time, rumors circulated that I had killed the footless child, that I had cut off his foot with a knife. That's ridiculous. Doesn't cutting flesh with a knife cause blood? The child was perfectly healthy, except for his foot. And the other child was healthy. I have no qualms about this. Later, others said the two children were destined to die, but they defied heaven, infuriating the King of Hell, who punished them by removing their feet. I always scoffed at this, secretly believing I had saved two lives. Even if one was disabled, at least they were still alive."

Having said a lot, Doctor Zhang paused for a moment to calm his increasingly agitated emotions.

Rong Tang didn't question him. In fact, he and Doctor Zhang resonated with each other. In that situation, he had indeed saved two lives. If he had told him that a caesarean section could save both mother and child...

Rong Tang hurriedly interrupted his thoughts. Doctor Zhang was still too radical. If he told him the feasibility, maybe Zhang would dare to conduct the experiment on women in the late stages of pregnancy, regardless of whether they had a difficult delivery or needed a cesarean section.

"After a few years, even though the officials and their wives refused to see me, my medical skills improved a lot. After all, it's treating the common people that improves my medical skills. The Imperial Hospital used to prescribe Taipingfang, as long as the medicine didn't kill the patient, but they were all cowards and useless. That year, another noble lady had a difficult childbirth..."

Rong Tang could imagine that only when the situation became hopeless did the nobles think of this scapegoat. He asked in a complicated tone, "You won't... again?"

Doctor Zhang said, "This time, the situation is different. Everyone wants to protect the lady, even the mother herself." He said self-deprecatingly, "Isn't it surprising? In this world where offspring are generally prioritized, there are still people who put the mother first?"

Rong Tang thought, in my era, mothers were always the priority.

Doctor Zhang continued, "I don't think she did anything wrong. Human nature is selfish, and there's nothing wrong with trying to protect yourself in times of danger. It's just that the words she used to threaten me were very special, and I still remember them vividly."

"what did she say?"

"She said that even if the child died, as long as she lived, I'd be fine. If she died, even if the child lived, someone would kill me for her. I felt that this woman was not a good person. By then, my medical skills had improved, and I thought of a risky method that not only saved the adult's life but also gave birth to the child. I thought it was the best of both worlds and could clear my name, Zhang Laoxie, of the stigma. Who knew..."

Doctor Zhang's tone gradually became sad, mixed with anger and helplessness.

"This child is also disabled. She has hands and feet, but she can't stand up. She needs to be carried by others for the rest of her life."