Chapter 23: Where Did I Prick the Princess?

Jiang Yunzhou had actually already roughly determined the cause of Princess Ning Le's illness just moments ago.

High fever causing blindness is mostly due to optic neuritis or retinal artery occlusion.

Blindness lasting over ten years, yet the eyes are so clear, with only some bloodshot around them—this is not optic neuritis; it should be retinal artery occlusion causing it.

But explaining it this way seems hard for them to understand, after all, in this world's medical system there are only skin, muscle, meridians, and bones—there is no concept of nerves.

Zhou Dan saw Jiang Yunzhou silent and spoke sternly:

"How? Where did that insolent attitude go just now? Without real skill, don't be not nonsense here!"

Zhao Zhinan was about to say that this doctor also meant well, but then heard Jiang Yunzhou say from beside him:

"So I say Huashou Pavilion's medical theory is flawed; how does Sir Zhou know that fever causes meridian damage rather than something else?"

Zhou Dan merely found it funny, raised his arm to show the blood vessels and meridians, saying:

"Do we even need to ask? If you strike your arm with fiery force, it naturally damages the meridians."

Jiang Yunzhou shook his head and explained:

"First, the meridians on the arm differ from those behind the eyes; the latter are much finer. Second, even a hand burned by fever cannot reach the heat of fiery force, so damaging the meridians is merely your speculation—and likely mistaken speculation."

Zhou Dan snapped:

"This is pure sophistry! If not speculation, then what? Do you even want to take out the princess's eyes? After all this talk, what judgment do you actually have?"

Jiang Yunzhou didn't want to argue these points, after all he could understand that this world lacks the foundation for scientific experiments to prove things, so he spoke plainly:

"I believe the princess's blindness is due to the tiny meridians behind her eyes being blocked by fever, not damage; therefore Huashou Pavilion's Bright Eyes Nourishing Soup treatment would only worsen the blockage, making it incurable."

Jiang Yunzhou's words were easy to understand, and everyone present could hear them clearly; although unsure who was right or wrong, his words sounded not unreasonable.

If this were at the Imperial Medical Bureau, Zhou Dan would surely use his official authority to suppress and end this pointless discussion.

But here is Prince Rong's mansion, and in front of the prince and princess, this young man bluntly questions Huashou Pavilion's medical skill, so he naturally cannot rely on authority to suppress him.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Dan retorted:

"This is all your imagination; what evidence can you show?"

"Could you possibly produce the princess's posterior eye meridians for everyone to see?"

Jiang Yunzhou had long expected him to say that, so just now he was thinking of a way to prove it; hearing this, he turned and said to the prince:

"If the prince and princess don't believe me, I only need to apply needles and then gently massage the princess's eyes; soon I can prove my words are not false."

Before the prince could speak, the beloved Princess Ning Le said:

"Since it's all for curing my eyes, I, as daughter, think giving it a try is fine."

Seeing his obedient daughter speak, Prince Rong also nodded and said:

"Then let's try; I don't yet know how to address this young doctor."

"I am Jiang Yunzhou of the Azure Medical Hall."

Hearing that name, Zhou Dan's heart stirred; these past two days at the Imperial Medical Bureau he had heard Wei Zongluo say that the Azure Medical Hall had a young doctor with considerable medical skill.

At the time he hadn't paid attention, but it seemed to be called Jiang Yunzhou.

Thinking, Zhou Dan advised against it:

"Your Highness, the princess is of noble birth; how can we let this brat touch her recklessly, lest it worsen her eye condition..."

Prince Rong also grew weary of Zhou Dan's interruptions and glared:

"Just say try and try; why so much talk? Since she's already blind, how could it get worse? I previously left everything to you—did it get cured?"

"Um...... this......"

Prince Rong, among the imperial relatives, treats his subordinates relatively well and understands that some illnesses cannot be cured by human effort, so he has never blamed the imperial physicians for his daughter's eyesight.

But today someone proposed a different view and wanted to try, while Zhou Dan kept obstructing from the side, which really made him angry.

Zhou Dan also knew that his constant suppression of Jiang Yunzhou had touched Prince Rong's berserk switch, so he dared not stop him, instead looking at Jiang Yunzhou and speaking sarcastically:

"If that's the case, then carefully treat the princess; the previous treatment results were given by Huashou Pavilion's predecessors."

"According to the old rules of the medical lineage, if one overturns everything and re-treats without any basis for questioning a predecessor's diagnosis, one should, by right, cut off a finger to take responsibility for the predecessor's reputation and the patient."

"But since the prince has spoken, today I'll let you have an advantage, making an exception to let you try your own method to re-treat the princess."

Zhou Dan's purpose in saying this was naturally to pressure Jiang Yunzhou, implying that questioning Huashou Pavilion would yield no good outcome.

But he didn't expect that upon hearing this, Jiang Yunzhou's body would actually pause.

Zhou Dan thought he had frightened the kid, but Jiang Yunzhou, expressionless, turned and opened his left hand, saying:

"Is this what Sir Zhou meant? If needed, I don't mind doing the right thing again."

Including Shen Qingru, everyone present then noticed that there was indeed a neat scar beneath the little finger of Jiang Yunzhou's left hand.

It looks as if the little finger had been cut off, but no scar is visible on the back of the hand, suggesting it wasn't completely severed at the time, or else it had been reattached.

Yet this scar alone was enough to shock the Imperial Medical Bureau's Zhou Dan.

Originally he merely wanted to use the old rule to scare Jiang Yunzhou, after all, aside from Huashou Pavilion's head, he had never seen anyone actually apply this rule.

But he didn't expect the young man before him to have such ruthless resolve, having actually severed a finger for this; he immediately stared wide-eyed, rooted to the spot, afraid to speak further.

The scene fell into silence; Princess Ning Le Zhao Zhinan, even with keen perception, didn't know what had happened there.

A maid beside her quietly reported to Princess Ning Le's ear:

"This Master Jiang has revealed the scar from his severed little finger."

Zhao Zhinan, upon hearing this, couldn't help but be secretly shocked, and at the same time grew more curious about the doctor named Jiang Yunzhou.

Seeing Zhou Dan say no more, Jiang Yunzhou then turned back and said:

"Please have the princess sit on the chair, with her body away from the backrest and remain still."

Zhao Zhinan complied, sitting up and revealing her slender jade neck, also not expecting today's treatment to be so interesting.

Jiang Yunzhou took out a needle from a small leather pouch in his bosom.

He could use his world's medical knowledge to diagnose some ailments, but to treat them he could only rely on the Yin Yang Profound Needle Record.

Combining the Yin-Yang Profound True Record with my medical knowledge, there is hope to slowly treat the princess's eye ailment, but to prove my conjecture correct now I must take some risk.

Obstruction causes eye pressure to rise; from the congested blood vessels around the princess's eyeball, one can tell.

As long as I use the mysterious needle to stimulate the princess's ocular nerves, then inject a gentle qi force and massage, gradually lowering the eye pressure a little, the princess's eyes may change and perhaps she can see something.

The only trouble is finding the corresponding nerve spot with the mysterious needle, because I don't know which nerve the first needle will connect to; I can only connect it and then slowly adjust.

Jiang Yunzhou, through his clothes, found from behind the princess's Spirit Dao point, slowly inserted the tip of a silver needle, then gently rotated the silver needle to seek the connection with the ocular nerves.

But as soon as his finger turned a little, the princess couldn't help but clamp her legs tightly and let out a muffled groan.