Chapter 357

Wen Shiyuan also hurried over to check.

After taking her pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Has the Princess caught a cold in the last two days?"

*Cough, cough. *

Xiao Minjun coughed twice and nodded weakly: "I am indeed feeling a bit unwell."

Although she was faking the faint, the fact that she had caught a cold was true.

Speaking of which, it was quite pathetic. In order to highlight her slender figure and attract Prince Yu's interest, Xiao Minjun had been dressing quite thinly these days. With winter approaching, the weather had long since turned cold, and having been pampered since childhood, she naturally couldn't withstand the cold as well as others.

And so, she had accidentally caught a cold.

It was fine during the day, but she couldn't help but cough a few times at night.

It wasn't a big deal, and certainly not to the point of fainting, but Xiao Minjun was just using this as an excuse to avoid Du Mingzhu.

"Since the Princess is feeling unwell, then as for the competition..." Wen Shiyuan had a headache.

"It's okay, I can persist!"

Xiao Minjun struggled to get up, appearing eager, while her fingernails took the opportunity to secretly pinch Zhaoyue's palm.

Zhaoyue was stunned.

But having followed Xiao Minjun for so long, she had that much tacit understanding, so she immediately held her down and pretended to persuade her: "How can that be? Princess, you are a golden branch and jade leaf, with a noble status; you cannot afford even the slightest mishap. If His Majesty finds out, I don't know how heartbroken he would be."

"I think it's better to forget it. The competition is important, but your health is even more important."

"But..." Xiao Minjun bit her lip, appearing hesitant.

Zhaoyue looked directly at Wen Shiyuan and said with an apologetic face: "I'm sorry, Head Wen, I will take the Princess back first."

Wen Shiyuan could only agree.

Not to mention that she is a proper Princess, even if she were an ordinary contestant, he wouldn't be able to stop her if she insisted on leaving.

But the ugly truth must be stated first: "In that case, I will consider the Princess to have forfeited this round of the competition."

Xiao Minjun barely tugged at the corners of her mouth: "That is the only way."

After speaking, she slowly walked down the high platform with Zhaoyue's support.

Leaving Du Mingzhu standing there, dumbfounded.

Du Mingzhu's face was severely distorted, making those lumps of flesh look even uglier.

She opened her mouth to call out to Xiao Minjun, her lips moving, but in the end, no sound came out.

She couldn't.

And she didn't dare.

She felt extremely disappointed in her heart.

How could it be such a coincidence? Just as Xiao Minjun was about to detoxify her, she fell ill at this critical moment, causing everything to fall short.

Damn it!

Things have reached this point, and there is no other way; Du Mingzhu can only pin her hopes on other contestants.

Especially that Dongfang Qingyan.

After all, he is representing the Changli Kingdom at the Apricot Grove Assembly; even if his medical skills aren't as good as Xiao Minjun's, they must be excellent.

At least he isn't like that bitch Du Ruo, who is just a fraud filling the ranks, humph!

The commotion on Du Mingzhu's side was seen by the whole venue, and Du Ruo was naturally no exception.

To be honest, she was quite happy.

It wasn't because she was secretly pleased to have one less opponent in Xiao Minjun; although the Thirteen Ghost Needles are very strong, Xiao Minjun is still young and lacks the experience, so she wasn't enough to make Du Ruo wary.

It was mainly because Du Mingzhu was unhappy, so she was happy.

The competition continued.

With only a few people left, it was soon Du Ruo's turn.

Du Ruo strictly followed the standard procedure for traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, first carefully observing Lou Shi's complexion and demeanor, as well as the condition of the wound on her head, and then listening to the rhythm and frequency of her breathing.

Only then did she sit to the side and take Lou Shi's pulse with a serious air.

At the same time, she called the system in her mind: "How is it, Little Tong, is there any hope?"

"Comminuted fracture of the skull, severe brain contusion, intracranial hematoma, complicated by concussion and nerve damage. The condition is extremely critical; you could say one foot has already stepped into the gates of Hell," the system quickly gave its reply after scanning. "For this era, there is no hope."

Du Ruo keenly grasped the key phrase: "Does that mean if it were in the new century, there would still be hope?"

"Of course. As long as you perform intracranial hematoma removal, plus bone fragment removal, plus dural tear repair, and combine it with drug treatment, the hope for recovery is very high."

Saying this, the system snorted: "But saying it is useless. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body, bar none. With your current amateur level, being able to barely perform a C-section and cataract surgery is already using your prehistoric strength. As for this craniotomy... this system advises you to stop dreaming."

Du Ruo: "..."

That stings, Old Tong.

"Is there really no way at all?" She continued to ask, unwilling to give up.

Du Ruo still hoped to cure Lou Shi.

Firstly, it was for the competition results. Since she had gone to such trouble to participate, it would be boring to return empty-handed; she should at least get into the top five.

Only then would the mission be considered a success, and she could earn those fifty reward points.

Secondly, if Lou Shi died, the secret of her mother-in-law Su Shi's background would likely be buried deep underground with her coffin, never to be known by anyone.

That won't do.

If she's going to die, she must spit out that secret before dying.

The system heard all of Du Ruo's grumbling in its core, and after a long silence, it spoke slowly: "It's not that there's absolutely no way."

Du Ruo's spirits lifted: "Then hurry up and say it!"

"Don't get too happy too soon," the system sighed. "This system already told you that Lou Shi is too severely injured, and you are too inexperienced. If you perform surgery by force, it is highly likely you will take her life on the spot."

"This system has a compromise method that can allow you to win the competition and also allow you to extract the secret you want to know from Lou Shi—the best of both worlds."

"Host, you do it like this, like this..."

Du Ruo's eyes grew brighter the more she heard: "Good, let's do as you say!"

The judges received the prescriptions submitted by the contestants one after another.

Unfortunately, most were ordinary and had nothing particularly stunning.

The one who stood out slightly was Dongfang Qingyan.

He had always followed the middle path, and his treatment plans were always steady, never taking extreme risks.

This time was no exception.

Regarding the cockroach poison on Du Mingzhu, Dongfang Qingyan suggested using a top-grade detox pill to neutralize the poison, combined with the Thirteen Ghost Needles to stimulate acupoints and clear the meridians, which could effectively detoxify.

This prescription was approved by Wen Shiyuan.

He thought the same.

However, because too much time had passed, the toxicity had invaded every pore and skin of Du Mingzhu's body, so while there would definitely be an effect, it wouldn't be particularly obvious. It could only be said to make those lumps smaller, shrinking from the size of a copper coin to the size of a mung bean, but it still couldn't be cured at the root.

Moreover, top-grade detox pills can only be made by the Medicine God Valley; the quantity is very scarce, and they are hard to come by—even with money, you might not be able to buy them.

Besides that, the Thirteen Ghost Needles are also hard to request.

Xiao Minjun has already withdrawn from the competition, and as a princess of a country, she lacks nothing and likely wouldn't lower herself to treat Du Mingzhu.

As for her master, Qiu Shisan, one shouldn't even dream of it; just based on the identity of being the granddaughter of the Northern Peace Marquis's mansion, she isn't worthy of his intervention.

So this prescription, while looking feasible, is actually not feasible.

The other three contestants were much bolder than Dongfang Qingyan; some said to cut open the lumps to release the poison, others said to let the cockroach bite her again to fight poison with poison—all sorts of wild and imaginative ideas.

The judges shook their heads repeatedly.

Mu Shanyue sighed: "If the Grandmaster were still here, perhaps there would be a way."

"What way?" Wen Shiyuan asked curiously.

The elders also looked over one after another.

Mu Shanyue gently spat out two words: "Skin grafting."

Everyone gasped in unison.

Even skin can be grafted; Si Zhu Xian's medical skills are truly shocking.

Worthy of being the Heaven-Chosen One!

It's a pity that ever since the Qing Kingdom was destroyed, Si Zhu Xian has also vanished without a trace, and his whereabouts are unknown.

After discussing the prescription for Du Mingzhu, everyone continued to look at the prescription for Lou Shi.

The situation was not much better.

It was even more frustrating.

One said there was no cure.

One said she would surely die.

Another was the most straightforward, directly saying to prepare the coffin.

The judges' foreheads were throbbing with veins. Although it was the truth, this is a competition; shouldn't they at least write a prescription for recuperation to fob them off?

Giving up so easily, is that appropriate?

Just when everyone was disappointed, they finally saw a different prescription.

It was Mo Changsheng's.

【The patient's skull is fractured, and there is blood stasis in the brain, leading to a coma. One can seek life in death by performing a craniotomy to clear the stasis.】

Craniotomy?

The judges looked at each other. Doctor Hua was the first to shout: "What kind of joke is this! Is this wanting to make the patient die faster, wanting to give her a quick end?"

Others also expressed their disapproval.

If you open the head, can the person still live? I'm afraid they would die immediately.

Only Mu Shanyue was full of interest, letting the attendant call Mo Changsheng over to ask him face-to-face: "You can perform a craniotomy?"

"I've done it," Mo Changsheng nodded, then thought and added a sentence, "But nine out of ten died."

Everyone gasped in unison.

Looking at Mo Changsheng's innocent face, their expressions were full of fear.

This person is so young, and he has actually opened the heads of ten people?

Truly a case of "the younger generation is to be feared"!

Sensing the accusatory gazes of the judges, Mo Changsheng seemed to realize something and quickly waved his hands: "No, no, no, everyone, you misunderstood. I wasn't talking about people, but mice! I used mice to practice; I have never performed a craniotomy on a person!"

Oh, so that's how it is.

The expressions of the crowd finally relaxed.

Mu Shanyue, however, felt some regret. A mouse brain is not the same as a human brain; if even with mice, nine out of ten didn't survive, then for humans, it goes without saying.

This method is not feasible.

After dismissing Mo Changsheng, only the last prescription remained.

Which was Du Ruo's.

It was still the ugly, chicken-scratch handwriting, but there were quite a lot of words, written profusely over half a sheet of paper.