This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng glanced at Director Yang, then shook his head and said, ”This is something you really can’t explain.”

”What do you mean?” Both Director Huang and Director Yang were taken aback.

Du Heng slowly explained, ”The patient’s damp phlegm and dead blood have formed tumors; promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is necessary.”

”Exactly,” Director Yang interjected impatiently. ”That’s why I used the ’Network-Quickening Elixir,’ which promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis, and its medicinal heat can dispel the patient’s cold dampness. Furthermore, I considered that the medication follows the liver and spleen meridians, which greatly helps the patient recover. There’s no way she had a stroke due to the medication; it’s impossible, absolutely impossible!”

Du Heng chuckled softly. ”Director Yang, don’t rush. Let me finish.”

”Go ahead. I won’t interrupt this time.”

”The patient’s pancreatic cyst stems from damage to the meridians after surgery, leading to the stagnation of qi and blood in certain areas. I believe neither of you would dispute this, correct?”

Director Huang readily agreed, ”I don’t deny that. There’s definitely a relationship with the surgery. But whether it’s injury to the meridians, I’m not entirely sure, as I’m not a TCM doctor.”

Admission of its relation to the surgery is enough, Du Heng thought. He then said, ”Since the core issue lies in stagnant qi and blood, promoting blood circulation is the right approach. However, Director Yang overlooked one issue.”

”What issue?” Director Yang couldn’t resist interrupting again, further irking Director Huang.

Du Heng smiled. ”Stagnation can occur in two forms: slow and obstructed. Obstruction, in turn, can also come in two forms: with or without tumor formation. Without tumor formation, qi and blood simply do not flow, becoming stagnant without dead blood and Poisonous Gas. In this case, merely increasing the vitality of qi and blood to stimulate movement should be sufficient. However, if there is a tumor, it’s not just a case of stagnation; rather, dead blood and Poisonous Gas accumulate, forming an obstacle. At that point, to restore the circulation of qi and blood, simply increasing the volume of qi and blood is futile. We first need to remove the obstruction.”

Director Huang squinted slightly and interposed, ”If we don’t remove it, as you said, qi and blood won’t circulate, meaning the medicine’s effect won’t be realized?”

Du Heng nodded with a soft smirk. ”It’s not that it wouldn’t have an effect, but rather it wouldn’t take effect in the right place.”

As Du Heng finished speaking, Director Huang involuntarily looked over at Director Yang, then directed his attention back to Du Heng. ”Previously, Director Yang, and just now you, Deputy Director Du, mentioned that the prescribed medicine was spicy and warm in nature. This explains the patient’s restlessness and fever—it’s because the medicinal effect accumulated in the body without exerting its intended effect. But there’s still one thing that bothers me: why did the patient slur her speech and experience finger spasms?”

”Heat accumulating and turning into wind,” Du Heng said calmly. ”The patient’s damp phlegm and dead blood formed a tumor, thereby blocking meridian circulation. Consequently, the body produces excess internal heat. This heat, unable to circulate or be expelled, transforms into frantic wind. Moreover, the patient has undergone two surgeries, during which her original qi suffered major damage. Her resistance, therefore, is at an all-time low, so any internal wind will immediately manifest externally. Furthermore, although the ’Network-Quickening Elixir’ does promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, it is also an Expelling Wind Medicine. If a patient without wind pathology mistakenly uses a wind-expelling medicine, it’s bound to stir up the internal wind.”

Director Huang now generally understood the issue and why Du Heng said it couldn’t be disclosed to the family. If divulged, Director Yang’s head would be on the chopping block with the family. After collecting his thoughts, Director Huang asked the question he was most concerned about: ”What do we do now? Is this difficult to treat?” Stroke, truth be told, from everything he had heard or observed, was always extremely challenging to manage.

Du Heng laughed lightly. ”It’s not a big issue.”

Such confidence? Director Huang couldn’t help but look at Du Heng again.

Director Yang also secretly cast a glance at Du Heng, showing keen interest in his next words.

Du Heng whispered, ”The patient’s fundamental problem lies in meridian obstruction due to tumor formation. By simply breaking up the tumor, allowing it to disperse and begin to circulate, and then strengthening the promotion of blood circulation and removal of blood stasis, we can eliminate the damp phlegm and dead blood.”

It’s unclear whether Du Heng’s approach will be effective, Director Huang mused. However, from what I’ve heard so far, his reasoning seems more reliable than Director Yang’s. At the very least, many of the things he says are understandable to everyone, unlike Director Yang, who constantly uses convoluted language, leaving people in a fog.

Director Huang took a deep breath, his mind racing. One moment he was contemplating what Du Heng had said, the next he was reflecting on the information he had looked up after Director Wu left, and then he was thinking about the mess Director Yang had created. His mind felt like it was on the verge of exploding.

Eventually, he chose to trust Du Heng. After all, he understood Du Heng and found his reasoning sound. The data he’d found indicated that Du Heng was extremely competent and trustworthy. Besides, he had no other options at this point.

”Deputy Director Du, could you please prescribe some medicine?” Director Huang spoke openly, making no attempt to hide his thoughts. ”As long as it can solve the current problem, prevent the cyst from growing larger, and buy me three to four weeks, I can resolve this issue surgically.”

”Alright.” Du Heng understood that since he had been called for a consultation and had a solution, prescribing medicine now was appropriate. However, those last words clearly indicated some lingering distrust towards me, he thought.

But Du Heng didn’t argue. Instead, he continued, ”The Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill is a Verified Prescription for dissipating clumps and dispersing accumulation. Furthermore, although the ’Network-Quickening Elixir’ is beneficial for activating blood and nourishing the liver and spleen, it must be discontinued as it is an Expelling Wind Medicine. The ’Network-Quickening Elixir’ can be replaced by the ’Origin-Restorative Blood-Quickening Decoction.’ This ’Origin-Restorative Blood-Quickening Decoction’ is also a good prescription for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Moreover, it specifically targets injuries from falls and blows, so there is no need to worry about internal heat.”

After Du Heng clearly explained his approach to the medication, Director Huang handed him a pen and paper. Du Heng combined the two prescriptions, made minor adjustments, and wrote them down.

When he handed the prescription to Director Huang, Du Heng cautioned, ”After taking this medicine, the patient will experience some temporary vomiting, bringing up some Black Blood. This is normal; it’s the body expelling damp phlegm and dead blood, but there won’t be too much of it. Also, the patient’s stool will likely contain blood and pus. Considering the current size of the patient’s cyst, this might be quite severe. But that’s also fine; in at most two days, the stool will return to normal. However, be aware: if fresh red blood appears and doesn’t lessen, be sure to inform me immediately.”

Director Huang nodded seriously and took note. He now harbored a deep-seated apprehension towards Chinese herbal medicine. If it weren’t for the fact that he had no other options, he might not necessarily have believed Du Heng.

After seeing off Du Heng and Director Yang, Director Huang handed the prescription to the attending Physician, who then began to issue new medical advice.

Over an hour passed. Neither the girl’s mother nor the attending Physician bothered him, allowing Director Huang to temporarily forget about the young patient and devote his full attention to his other responsibilities.

”Director Huang, please come quickly and see what’s happening to my daughter!”

Suddenly, that familiar, tearful voice shattered the quiet, startling Director Huang, who had been engrossed in his work with his head down.

”What’s wrong?” Now, whenever Director Huang saw this family member, his heart leaped into his throat. Her urgent tone made him even more anxious. Young people really can’t be trusted, he thought.

”Director Huang, what exactly did you give my daughter to drink? She’s vomiting large quantities of Black Blood!”

Black Blood? Director Huang’s mind snapped to attention. Isn’t this what Deputy Director Du mentioned earlier?

Suppressing his initial alarm, he reassured the woman, ”It’s okay. This is a normal reaction after taking the medicine.”

The woman was frantic. ”No! You doctors said she would only vomit a little, in small amounts! But she’s throwing up large mouthfuls right now! She’s already vomited so much!”

Vomiting large amounts? Director Huang felt his stomach clench again. ”Let’s go. I’ll take a look.”