Chapter 547 - 472: Cause of Illness
Chapter 547: Chapter 472: Cause of Illness
The visitor was Bai Lihua’s wife, Luo Chunxiang. The two had met before in the Lu Family’s alley but had never spoken.
Yang Liu’er and Luo Chunxiang had been on good terms at the Bai Mansion. Yang Liu’er also knew that Luo Chunxiang had died young in a past life, so when she learned of her poor health, she urged her to go to the hospital for a check-up and treatment. Xiao Man had agreed to see Luo Chunxiang back then. Today, Luo Chunxiang had come to De Ren Hospital and was specifically asking for Tang Manman, which must have been Yang Liu’er’s doing.
Xiao Man was about to pour Luo Chunxiang a cup of hot water, but Luo Chunxiang waved her hand to stop her, smiling sheepishly. "I just came from home, so I’m not thirsty. I slipped out while I was grocery shopping... I’m afraid I’m short on time."
Xiao Man accommodated her and led her directly into another room to check her pulse, ask questions, and observe her complexion.
Luo Chunxiang was quite tall, around 175 centimeters. She explained that her family had lived in the Northeast for generations, and she had always been healthy and robust growing up. Back on the farm, she worked harder than most men and had even been nicknamed an "Iron Girl." If she caught a cold, she would at most cough a few times and get over it, never needing to lie in bed for days drinking herbal remedies. However, ever since following her husband and children back to Beijing, her health had steadily declined. She suffered from constant aches and pains. At night, she either slept like a log or couldn’t sleep at all. When she felt particularly unwell, she sensed something was wrong in her chest, with her heart and lungs. But her family wouldn’t let her go to the hospital. They said they had a private family doctor who practiced both Chinese and Western medicine, so there was no need to go to the hospital and waste time and money.
Every time, Bai Qingyue would have Doctor Jia come and check Luo Chunxiang’s pulse, after which he would write a prescription. The herbs were dispensed directly from the family’s own pharmacy, then decocted for her to drink. Luo Chunxiang had always hated taking traditional medicine, but after being forced to drink what Doctor Jia prescribed, she surprisingly grew accustomed to it and wasn’t so averse anymore. Despite this, her condition never improved. Her flare-ups still came right on schedule, leaving her utterly miserable.
After checking her pulse, Xiao Man knew what illness Luo Chunxiang had died from in her past life. In truth, with this early-stage liver disease, if the Bai Family’s Doctor Jia had a shred of medical ethics, he could have cured it completely. It would have taken half a year at most, spread over a few courses of treatment, for her to make a full recovery.
Xiao Man couldn’t help but ask a few more questions about this Doctor Jia.
Luo Chunxiang said that Doctor Jia wasn’t just the Bai Family’s private physician. He also managed a traditional Chinese medicine hall and was a TCM instructor at a medical college. He procured herbs for the Bai Family, came and went from the Bai Mansion as he pleased, and was particularly close with Bai Qingyue. He would casually use a cup Bai Qingyue had drunk from or finish food she had left half-eaten.
Xiao Man raised an eyebrow. ’What’s so hard to figure out? Just another vile, cheating couple.’
Doctor Jia was in his late forties, approaching fifty. He had studied Chinese medicine in his youth, starting an apprenticeship when he was just seven or eight, or perhaps ten. The fact that he was hired as a lecturer by a medical college proved he was no amateur in the field; he definitely had skill.
Yet when it came to treating Luo Chunxiang, he did nothing, allowing her condition to worsen through neglect. He knew full well what the outcome would be, yet he remained indifferent, concealing the diagnosis and deceiving the patient. As a doctor, he treated human life as if it were worthless. He was a disgrace to the medical profession.
’And all of this must be at Bai Qingyue’s instruction. Has that woman completely lost her mind?’
’A living, breathing person, a mother of three, and she just decides to eliminate her! Does she think she’s Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Cixi? So ruthless and decisive, thinking she can take the life of anyone she chooses.’
’Then again, behind the closed doors of the Bai Mansion, Bai Qingyue really can act like an empress. Aside from Mr. Bai, who in the Bai Family can challenge her?’
Therefore, if Luo Chunxiang continued to live in that mansion, her illness likely wouldn’t be cured. Even if Xiao Man wrote a prescription and she took the herbs back from the hospital, preparing and drinking them right under Bai Qingyue’s nose, it would be useless.
Xiao Man said to Luo Chunxiang, "Your condition isn’t serious yet, but if treatment is delayed, it will become irreversible in six months to a year. At that point, not even a god could save you."
Luo Chunxiang’s face turned deathly pale. "What... what illness do I have?"
"There’s a problem with your liver. If it’s not treated in time and is left to progress, it will become liver cancer."
"Is it incurable?"
"If it were incurable, would you be afraid?" Xiao Man asked.
Tears immediately streamed down Luo Chunxiang’s face. "I’m scared! My children are still so young..."
"Yes, it’s a pity for children to be so young. As for anyone else, you don’t need to worry about them."
"No, no! The others... I have to worry about them, too. My parents are getting so old, and I’ve barely had any time to care for them... And my four older brothers! They doted on me and spoiled me my whole life—carrying me on their backs, holding me in their arms, always making me happy. Even after they married, my sisters-in-law would make sure I got the best of everything first! I was young and stubborn. I heard a few sweet words from Bai Lihua and just had to marry him. My brothers and sisters-in-law took on so much pressure, arguing and fighting with people, offending so many on the farm, just to protect my little family... Have I really lived all these years for nothing? Am I going to die without repaying them one bit? WAAAAAH!"
The more Luo Chunxiang spoke, the more heartbroken she became, weeping inconsolably.
Xiao Man let her cry for a while, then got up, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to her. "It’s not that serious yet," she said. "It’s still treatable, so don’t cry."
Luo Chunxiang froze, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief. "You..." she said, sniffling. "You were just trying to scare me, weren’t you? Doctor Jia said I don’t have any major problems either."
"From now on, don’t ever believe a word Doctor Jia says. He’s a fraud."
Xiao Man looked at Luo Chunxiang earnestly and said, "I’m not scaring you. Your liver disease is real. If you find a diagnosis by pulse-reading untrustworthy, I can take you to the Western medicine department for another examination right now. We can get a scan. Western medicine relies on scientific fact—’seeing is believing,’ as they say. The images and test results from the machines don’t lie. You’ll understand once the doctors over there explain the pathology to you. Yang Liu’er asked you to find me, and I want to take responsibility for your care, which means I have to cure you. However, if I were to write you a prescription now, I think our pharmacy is out of one of the necessary herbs. Could you come back tomorrow morning? Is that alright?"
Hearing Xiao Man’s offer, Luo Chunxiang felt embarrassed and quickly waved her hands, declining to go to the Western medicine department. She was already a bit scared of the whole routine of blood draws and scans. She had unwavering faith in Xiao Man’s reputation. After hurriedly asking twice more to confirm that Xiao Man would truly take responsibility for her treatment, she finally left, relieved.
After seeing Luo Chunxiang off, Xiao Man saw two more patients before things quieted down. Seizing the opportunity, she hurried back to her office to call Yang Liu’er. Xiao Man wanted to meet her that evening and ask her to persuade Luo Chunxiang to visit her family back home in the Northeast. That way, Luo Chunxiang could stay with her parents for a month, long enough to finish the course of liquid medicine Xiao Man would prescribe. A month later, Luo Chunxiang could return to Beijing and even live in the Bai Family’s house without issue. By then, she could switch to pills. A small bottle of pills could easily be kept in her pocket, and she would just need to be careful to take them out of Bai Qingyue’s sight. After three bottles of pills, combined with acupuncture twice a month, her illness would be completely cured.
If Luo Chunxiang didn’t leave and instead stayed at the Bai Mansion, as long as the Bai Family wanted her sick, they could easily tamper with her treatment. Then, even the best medicine would be useless. Moreover, if Bai Qingyue and Doctor Jia found out that Luo Chunxiang got her medicine from De Ren Hospital, Xiao Man worried it would lead to further complications.
Of course, Xiao Man had no intention of using spiritual plants and medicine on Luo Chunxiang, nor was it necessary. For Luo Chunxiang’s illness, ordinary herbs were sufficient for a cure, as long as the prescription was correct.