Chapter 409

In the palace, even old acquaintances dared not casually exchange greetings; Li Yifeng and Hu Xiaotian exchanged a glance, which counted as a greeting. Li Yifeng had personally witnessed Hu Xiaotian's medical skill; seeing Hu Xiaotian come over, he also felt relieved. If the Emperor had anything else happen, this group of imperial physicians would all be implicated; although Hu Xiaotian is young, he possesses superb skill.

The only reason they could think of Hu Xiaotian was that the Emperor suddenly fell ill in the Mingyue Palace, and Hu Xiaotian had helped by suggesting a way to relieve his pain—just as the saying goes, in desperation one turns to any doctor. After several imperial physicians and the head of Yiyuantang tried, Long Yelin's condition not only failed to ease but showed signs of worsening, so Long Yelin naturally thought of Hu Xiaotian.

These imperial physicians were all panicked; if the Emperor suffered any mishap, they would not be able to save their own heads. Apart from Li Yifeng, no one else knew who Hu Xiaotian was, nor could they understand why the Emperor would think of a lowly eunuch at such a time.

Ji Feihua brought Hu Xiaotian to Xuanweigong; as soon as they entered the hall, they heard Long Yelin's painful groans. Hu Xiaotian's first thought was that this unfortunate emperor's kidney stones had flared up again. He felt no worry, but rather a secret delight—Long Yelin's illness came at just the right time; if I cure his ailment, I will be his benefactor, and he certainly won't repay kindness with enmity.

Long Yelin writhed in pain on the bed; beside him, Empress Jian tightly gripped his hand, her face full of worry, as if tears were about to fall: 'Your Majesty, please endure a little longer; we have already sent for Mr. Ren.'

Long Yelin clutched his stomach and cried out: 'Hu Xiaotian, bring Hu Xiaotian to me……hurry up and find him……'

Hu Xiaotian, standing nearby, heard him loudly calling his name. He was overjoyed inwardly, but put on a flustered expression and hurried to the dragon bed: 'Alas, Your Majesty, I have come late; please forgive me, Your Majesty……'

Long Yelin was drenched in sweat, his voice trembling: 'Cut the nonsense……I……I cannot bear this abdominal pain; it might be the Dragon Crystal acting up……you……you……you quickly help me examine it……'

Hu Xiaotian heard him utter the term 'Dragon Crystal' and almost laughed out loud, saying, 'You're fat, so you pant; that damned Dragon Crystal, really taking himself for a true dragon son of heaven—it's just a stone.'

Empress Jian found it strange hearing Long Yelin repeatedly call Hu Xiaotian's name—this kid isn't even an imperial physician, why would the Emperor keep mentioning him when he falls ill? Seeing Ji Feihua and Hu Xiaotian arrive together, doubts arose in her mind. Could the Emperor have an affair with Hu Xiaotian? Women are suspicious and jealous, and Empress Jian was especially so. She glared fiercely at Hu Xiaotian, but Hu Xiaotian, with all his attention on the Emperor, didn't notice her expression.

Ji Feihua, however, saw everything clearly and said calmly: 'Your Majesty the Empress, please step aside for now.'

Upon hearing this, Empress Jian's chest instantly flared with unnamed anger—she was the Emperor's legitimate wife, the empress of a nation, the mistress of the harem; for Ji Feihua to ask her to step aside in front of so many people was utterly arrogant. Empress Jian coldly replied: 'In this state, how could I, the palace, leave? It is the unrelated persons who should step aside.'

Only then did Long Yelin realize Ji Feihua had also arrived, his voice trembling: 'Feihua has come as well……'

Ji Feihua said: 'Your Majesty, your servant is here!' Although she called herself a servant, her demeanor was neither humble nor arrogant, showing no sign of deference.

Long Yelin said: 'I……I am in terrible pain……do you have any way to help me……relieve this pain……quickly……quickly……' A glimmer of longing appeared in his eyes.

Hu Xiaotian observed this, his mind filling with doubt: Could Long Yelin have some leverage held by Ji Feihua? That would explain why he dares to act so fearlessly before the Emperor.

In fact, with Ji Feihua's martial arts, sealing Long Yelin's acupoints could also temporarily ease his pain, but Ji Feihua did not rush to act; instead, she softly said: 'Hu Xiaotian, you attend to the Emperor's treatment.'

Having obtained Ji Feihua's permission, Hu Xiaotian approached; his diagnostic method differed completely from that of the imperial physicians. Through inquiry he learned that Long Yelin's pain began around the navel and then shifted to the lower right abdomen. Hu Xiaotian located the point one-third of the way from the umbilicus to the right anterior superior iliac spine—what Western medicine commonly calls McBurney's point—pressed down and then quickly lifted, causing Long Yelin to cry out in pain: 'Pain! It hurts so much!'

Based on Long Yelin's symptoms, Hu Xiaotian quickly made a diagnosis: this unfortunate emperor likely had acute appendicitis, and his high fever also supported this diagnosis. As for treatment……

Appendicitis is actually a minuscule procedure in modern surgery, but in an era when Western medicine was not widespread, opening the abdomen was shocking and scandalous—all the more so since the patient was the Emperor of Dakang, the Son of Heaven Long Yelin; even with superb surgical knowledge and rich clinical experience, Hu Xiaotian dared not act rashly. To suggest cutting open the Emperor's belly would have everyone suspecting him of being an assassin.

Hu Xiaotian came before Ji Feihua; from his expression she guessed he wanted to speak privately, and she smiled faintly: 'You needn't have any scruples; say whatever you wish.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'The Emperor's ailment lies in the appendix.'

'What?' Empress Jian exclaimed in astonishment. The imperial physicians nearby were all bewildered.

Her exclamation reminded Hu Xiaotian that discussing appendicitis with these ancient people would be meaningless; the patient before them was the Emperor, who is a true dragon son of heaven, so the appendix should be called the dragon's appendix, uh, short for dragon tail. Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and repeated: 'The Emperor's ailment lies in the dragon tail.'

The imperial physicians exchanged glances; although they all said the Emperor was a true dragon son of heaven, none knew where the dragon tail was. In fact, they all understood that talk of a dragon's body was self-deception—the Emperor is human, who has ever seen a person with a tail? Though they understood this in their hearts, none dared to say it outright.

Empress Jian looked at Hu Xiaotian with contempt; although he spoke convincingly, she still thought he was playing tricks, and coldly said: 'Where does the Emperor have a tail?' As the Emperor's legitimate wife, she certainly had the right to speak—there was no part of His Majesty she had not seen.

Hu Xiaotian respectfully replied: 'Empress, the Emperor indeed has no tail as a true dragon son of heaven, but he does have a dragon tail.'

Empress Jian rebuked: 'Nonsense that confuses the masses.'

Ji Feihua said: 'Empress, it's fine to let him explain his reasoning.'

Empress Jian glared at Ji Feihua, suppressing her anger and closing her mouth. Although she resented him, Ji Feihua's influence in the harem was overwhelming; should they argue, the Emperor would surely side with him, so even the Empress had to be wary of him to a degree.

Hu Xiaotian requested paper and brush, drew a rough anatomical diagram of the human abdomen on it, and said: 'Everyone, please look; the Emperor's ailment should be located here.' He pointed to the appendix in the diagram.

'What is this?' Ji Feihua asked, puzzled.

Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to say it was the dragon tail, but then thought better of it—suggesting to cut off the dragon tail would be grossly treasonous—so he changed his mind and said: 'At the dragon tail is attached a blood-sucking worm.'

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces changed.

Hu Xiaotian pointed to the diagram and said: 'Dragon liver, dragon gallbladder, dragon spleen, dragon pancreas, dragon stomach, dragon small intestine, dragon large intestine.' Even he found the wording awkward—'dragon your mother's head'! In fact, this emperor, aside from his surname Long, has no relation to a dragon from head to toe. He then pointed to the cecal junction: 'Dragon tail!'

Empress Jian, impatient, said: 'Then tell us about this blood-sucking worm.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'This worm is currently attached to the tip of the Emperor's dragon large intestine, continuously absorbing his dragon blood and swelling, which is why the Emperor suffers such agony.'

Ji Feihua asked: 'Then how should we remove this worm from the Emperor's dragon body?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'I dare not say.' His eyes, however, were fixed on Empress Jian.

Empress Jian snapped: 'What are you staring at my palace for? If you have something to say, just say it.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'The worm must be removed in order to completely eliminate the hidden danger.'

Empress Jian asked: 'How to take it out? How can we extract this worm that lives inside the Emperor's body?'

An imperial physician twirled his goat beard, looking deep in thought: 'Could we use a purgative to knock this worm down?' Those around nodded, thinking his idea reasonable, provided Hu Xiaotian's diagnosis was correct.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: 'Look closely—this worm is attached to the outside of the dragon large intestine; a purgative passes through the interior of the dragon intestine and exits via the dragon anus, so it cannot reach this spot and has no effect on the blood-sucking worm.'

'Um……then what should we do?' The crowd all looked at Hu Xiaotian.

Ji Feihua saw Hu Xiaotian's serious demeanor and felt a urge to laugh, yet she also thought he was unlikely to be pretending; treating the Emperor could easily cost one's head, and no one would gamble with their own life.

Empress Jian said: 'Surely we cannot cut open the Emperor's belly to pull out this worm?'

Hu Xiaotian lifted his gaze to Empress Jian: 'Empress, you are indeed exceptionally wise—you have hit the nail on the head.'

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked; the imperial physicians shook their heads like rattles: 'Absurd, utterly absurd!' Only Li Yifeng of Yiyuantang did not think it absurd, having personally witnessed Hu Xiaotian's methods and knowing he truly possessed such ability.

Ji Feihua furrowed her brows, also feeling that Hu Xiaotian was being overly bold.

Empress Jian gritted her teeth and said: 'Hu Xiaotian, what is your motive, daring to spread false rumors and plot against the Emperor?'

Hu Xiaotian bowed with clasped hands and said: 'Empress, your discernment is clear; that remark was yours spoken just now, I merely agreed.'

You……

At this moment, Long Yelin's cries grew ever more miserable.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'It's not that I'm alarmist; the Emperor's condition is extremely perilous. If we do not act swiftly, this blood-sucking worm will pierce the dragon intestine, travel upward along it, burrow into the dragon stomach, devour the dragon gallbladder, gnaw the dragon liver—by then, even immortals could do nothing.' He intended to be alarmist, to scare you ignorant lot; knowledge is power, and he who grasps knowledge grasps the initiative. (To be continued~^~)