This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Chapter 160: 160 Spleen and Kidney Decline

This script is all wrong. It doesn’t match any of the novels or TV dramas I’ve seen. The right script should have the female lead looking down on me and ignoring me. The other two, who are clearly competitors, should ridicule An Chunhui for bringing a young man, and mock my youth and inability. Then, under their disdain and jeers, I should endure the humiliation, make a final reversal, soundly put them in their place, slap their faces hard, making them utterly ashamed, bow in submission, acknowledge their inferiority, and finally become my lackeys, right? Why do I only encounter intelligent opponents? Where the hell did all those idiotic villains who flaunt their low IQs go? Or have they already been snapped up by other writers?

Du Heng continued these thoughts as he examined the old man. The thought of imbeciles almost made him laugh out loud. Fortunately, Du Heng himself knew this wasn’t the right occasion and quickly suppressed it.

However, looking at the two doctors next to him examining the files, Du Heng was still fantasizing that those two were the low-IQ opponents the author had arranged for him. He had to seize the opportunity and crush them mercilessly.

Du Heng entertained himself with these fantasies but still very seriously and quickly finished examining the old man’s condition.

After the examination, he felt a little puzzled. However, he didn’t go over to look at the records with the other two. Instead, he nodded slightly to An Chunhui.

The woman saw this clearly. Seeing that Du Heng had also finished his examination, she said softly, ”If everyone would please move to the living room, we can talk there and let my father rest.”

Everyone cooperated and moved to the living room.

The lady of the house had a strong presence but was genuinely polite.

Once in the living room, she didn’t rush to ask questions. Instead, she had everyone take a seat and then asked the nanny to prepare a cup of tea for each person.

”Bringing all of you here today must have been a great inconvenience. My husband is a bit busy with some matters and couldn’t make it, so I, a mere woman, am hosting. Please accept my apologies.”

Immediately, someone replied, ”Mrs. Li, you’re being far too serious.”

The woman smiled at the man who had spoken but didn’t continue his line of thought. She went on, ”My father-in-law is sixty-one and has had edema in both his lower legs for twenty years. Initially, it was a bit better in the morning and during the day, but by evening, his legs would start to swell.

”He gets up frequently during the night; according to the nanny, about three to four times. His digestion isn’t very good either. After eating, he always experiences stomach distension and abdominal bloating. His bowel movements are also problematic—somewhat loose, and he uses the toilet three or four times a day.

”Over the years, we’ve consulted many doctors and visited numerous hospitals. We’ve tried both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, but the results haven’t been very good. Recently, the swelling in my father-in-law’s legs has worsened significantly, to the point where he can no longer walk. He was hospitalized for treatment for half a month, but there was little improvement. Moreover, the old man also really dislikes the hospital environment and just wanted to come home. We had no choice but to follow Sir’s wishes.”

The woman’s smile faded, and she looked seriously at Du Heng and the other two. ”My father-in-law has been a strong-willed man his entire life. Now, with his legs swollen to the point he can’t walk, it pains us, his children, to see him like this. Please, all three of you, do your best to help the old man.”

Listening to the lady of the house, Du Heng knew they had frequented hospitals. Her description of the condition was detailed and professional; she had articulated everything a doctor would need to ask, down to the last word.

Based on Du Heng’s examination, the old man’s pulse was deep, fine, and slow. His tongue was thick, with teeth marks on the edges, and a thin, white tongue coating. Combined with the old man’s symptoms, it indicated qi deficiency, with weakened spleen and kidney yang qi, rendering him unable to transform dampness. Du Heng felt the old man’s condition wasn’t complicated, so syndrome differentiation wasn’t very difficult. Similarly, the treatment approach wasn’t hard either: tonifying qi and warming yang, strengthening the spleen and dispelling dampness would suffice. If it wasn’t difficult, why hadn’t it been cured in twenty years? The problem must lie with the prescriptions and the specific medications used.

While Du Heng was still pondering the medication combinations, the doctor with thick glasses spoke first. ”Medical books have long recorded: ’For all conditions involving water, swelling below the waist should be treated by promoting urination. Swelling above the waist can be resolved by inducing sweating.’ The old sir currently has swelling in both lower limbs, which is swelling below the waist. Therefore, treatment should primarily focus on promoting urination. Poria Five Powder can be used.”

The doctor with thick glasses spoke with sound reasoning, and it all sounded quite convincing.

But the bald doctor seemed to have his own opinion. He said, ”From a modern medical perspective, lower limb edema is generally related to heart disease. Perhaps we should consider approaching this from the cardiac angle?”

As he spoke, he glanced at the doctor with thick glasses, then turned to look at Du Heng.

Du Heng didn’t interrupt, merely offering a slight smile as a gesture for him to continue.

”Swollen legs are invariably related to the stagnation of water and dampness. I recommend using Five Peel Powder to promote diuresis and reduce swelling.”

”I disagree,” the doctor with thick glasses immediately objected. ”The patient has been suffering for over twenty years; it can certainly be called a chronic and stubborn condition. Five Peel Powder is too mild in nature; I’m afraid it won’t achieve the effect you’re hoping for.”

The bald man didn’t accept this rebuttal and once again presented his own theory.

However, their exchange was a medical discussion, a debate based on reason and evidence, not mindless contradiction.

The current situation was like a small consultation. Everyone could voice their opinions, and the others listened patiently to the two doctors’ discussion without interfering.

After all, truth becomes clearer through debate.

Du Heng watched the two argue without forcibly joining in, simply sitting to one side and observing quietly.

Moreover, their argument was also helpful to him, providing some ideas and perspectives on medication.

At this moment, An Chunhui coughed softly and subtly gave Du Heng a look, signaling him to also offer an opinion and make his presence felt.

Having no alternative, Du Heng coughed once and interjected, ”Gentlemen, from what the lady just described, the patient has sought treatment in many places over the years, seeing both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine doctors. The formulas you’ve mentioned have likely all been tried already.”

The two doctors paused for a moment, then simultaneously turned to look at the lady of the house.

The lady of the house shook her head. ”My father-in-law has taken a lot of medicine over these past few years. I’m not exactly sure what he’s taken. Why don’t you look? It should all be in that pile of materials you have.”

The two exchanged a glance and began to cooperatively sift through the materials.

In a short while, they had sorted out the relevant information.

Looking at the content of the materials, they stared at each other in dismay. It was just as Du Heng had said: the several formulas they had just been debating were all mentioned in these documents.

In other words, the patient had already taken all of them.

But considering the patient’s current condition, one could only say that their efforts just now had been futile.

Neither of them blamed Du Heng for the delayed reminder. Instead, they once again began to ponder where the problem truly lay and what medication the patient actually needed.