This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

By this point, Sun Jiaxiang had finished relaying the specifics of the situation and had nothing more to say. To say more would be to stray from the patient’s actual condition.

For a time, silence settled between the two as they waited for Director Meng to return.

Fortunately, Director Meng wasn’t gone for long. About three minutes later, he re-entered the room and said, ”It’s agreed. Come with me.”

Who had agreed?

Agreed to what?

Director Meng didn’t elaborate, and Du Heng didn’t ask. As long as he followed Sun Jiaxiang’s lead, he felt confident there would be no issues.

Truth be told, neither the patient’s name nor seeing the patient in person perturbed Du Heng in the slightest. He had no idea who this elderly man was, what he had done, or what positions he had held. Therefore, he approached this examination and treatment as he would for any ordinary patient.

However, when he saw the people around them—those waiting, those accompanying the patient, and those inspecting him with scrutinizing gazes—an involuntary wave of nervousness washed over Du Heng.

Among these people, he recognized several faces that frequently appeared on television.

Yet Sun Jiaxiang, leading the way, appeared entirely unbothered. With his small walking stick, he leisurely sauntered forward, casually striking up conversations with people as he went.

Seeing Sun Jiaxiang’s relaxed demeanor quickly helped Du Heng, who had been slightly tense, to feel at ease again.

As they slowly made their way, a thought crossed Du Heng’s mind: If Sun Jiaxiang were to introduce me to these people, how should I act? How should I present myself when greeting them?

But even after they reached the patient’s side, and both Director Meng and Sun Jiaxiang had examined the patient and made way for him, neither introduced Du Heng to anyone.

Du Heng gave a self-mocking chuckle. He had really been getting ahead of himself, thinking he was some remarkable figure. It was purely wishful thinking.

After composing himself, Du Heng slowly approached the patient and began his examination.

The elderly man’s complexion was faintly yellow, with many light-colored age spots on his face, and his breathing was shallow and short.

These were all superficial observations that could only serve as references. The main things to observe were the patient’s tongue and pulse.

However, when Du Heng inspected these two aspects, his heart started to thud.

The patient’s tongue was red with a thin coating. The center of the tongue showed a greenish hue, while its periphery was slightly yellowish and greasy. Furthermore, the patient had strong bad breath with a faint, sour odor.

The pulse, upon examination, was thready, rapid, and wiry, yet felt weak overall.

Given these complex and varied manifestations in the tongue and pulse, Du Heng finally understood why Sun Jiaxiang and the others had struggled to pinpoint the root cause of the illness.

The signs from the tongue and pulse were numerous: internal heat, general qi deficiency, qi stagnation, and an imbalance of Yin and Yang. Combined with the specific characteristics of the patient’s illness, it was very difficult for them to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.

However, Du Heng believed that someone must have already figured out the problem but, for some reason, hadn’t said so. After brief consideration, Du Heng had a rough idea why. The elderly man was severely debilitated, with signs of impending organ failure. At this point, even if the diagnosis was accurate, deciding on a course of medication was extremely problematic. The old saying ’Deficiency does not accept supplementation’ perfectly described the elderly man’s current condition. Furthermore, the elderly man was of advanced age; his qi and blood were depleted, and his original qi was scattered. Under these circumstances, even the slightest error in medication could overwhelm his internal organs. Not only would such medication fail to cure the disease, but it could also hasten the depletion of original qi. He estimated that the elderly man’s original qi would be depleted before any medicinal effects could be absorbed and manifest. If one were to use dietary therapy for supplementation, the deficient viscera and stagnant qi would prevent the gastrointestinal tract from absorbing any nutrients. To put it bluntly, these foods wouldn’t provide enough stimulation for the stomach and intestines; they would pass through the system undigested, just as they went in. If not for the nutrient solution keeping him alive, the patient might not just be in a shallow coma; he could have already passed away. Therefore, Du Heng was certain that someone here had already figured it out. Perhaps they weren’t entirely sure, so they kept their opinions to themselves. Or, maybe they were certain but hesitated; given the patient’s physical condition and the uncertainty of which medication to prescribe, they might have feared causing problems and thus remained silent. As for whether there were any other ulterior motives, Du Heng didn’t know, nor did he wish to speculate.

”Xiao Du, have you completed the examination?” Sun Jiaxiang asked, seeing Du Heng straighten up and move slightly away from the patient.

Du Heng did not rush to answer. After pondering for another moment, he slowly said, ”I have finished the examination, Sir Sun.”

Sun Jiaxiang kept his eyes fixed on Du Heng. Seeing Du Heng meet his gaze steadily and give a slight nod, he asked again, ”Then share your thoughts. Speak freely, based on your judgment. Don’t have any reservations.”

”After diagnosis, I believe the patient’s problem is not heart fire, nor is it in the stomach and intestines, but rather a kidney yin deficiency.”

Sun Jiaxiang’s expression did not change. He continued, ”Elaborate.”

”The patient exhibits symptoms of heart fire, which is caused by insufficient fluid in the heart,” Du Heng said gravely. ”The fluid in the heart is, in essence, kidney essence. When the heart receives this essence from the kidney, the heart lives; if the heart loses this connection with the kidney, the heart ’dies.’ ’Restless vexation and insomnia are precisely the presentation of a ’dying heart.’’”

After Du Heng finished speaking, those who understood traditional Chinese medicine all nodded silently, beginning to ponder whether what Du Heng said was right or wrong.

However, anger appeared on the faces of those who didn’t understand traditional Chinese medicine, or even medicine in general.

’Dying heart’? ’Heart death’? What kind of talk is that! The old man is merely unconscious, and this young man is spouting such nonsense! Is he saying the heart is dead? How can someone be alive if their heart is dead?

At this, Sun Jiaxiang, his expression calm, continued to ask, ”Since the kidney connects upward to the heart, then how does the patient come to have qi from below the navel rushing upward, causing vexation?”

Without hesitation, Du Heng replied, ”When kidney water engages with the heart, it is the engagement of kidney water, not kidney fire. When kidney water engages with the heart, it achieves a state of ’After Completion’ (Jiji), a harmonious balance. When kidney fire engages with the heart, it results in ’Before Completion’ (Weiji), a state of disharmony. Therefore, ’After Completion’ brings peace to the heart, while ’Before Completion’ brings vexation. The elderly man previously likely had insufficient original yang and was excessively supplemented with yang qi to invigorate qi and break stagnation. However, the supplementation was too aggressive, leading to isolated yang devoid of water. This caused heat to surge upward, creating a scenario of kidney fire rushing to the heart.”

Sun Jiaxiang, ignoring the others, kept his gaze on Du Heng and asked, ”What is the treatment?”

”Excess fire indicates insufficient water. The treatment method should be to greatly supplement the kidney water. With sufficient water to control the fire, the upward rush of fire will cease, and the heart fire will naturally subside.”

”Xiao Du, after all that, your summary is that the patient’s vexation and insomnia are due to heart and kidney non-interaction. But you seem to have overlooked one issue: the patient still has constipation.”

Sun Jiaxiang looked calmly at Du Heng, asking in a somewhat flat tone, ”Do you think the constipation is unrelated to excessive heart fire and needs to be treated separately?”

Du Heng shook his head. ”No.”

”Then how would you solve this problem?” Sun Jiaxiang quickly followed up.

”The dryness and weakness of the intestines, leading to constipation, are also a consequence of kidney essence failing to moisten the intestinal tract,” Du Heng responded confidently. ”Humans have five viscera and six bowels. The five viscera are responsible for producing and storing essence and qi; the six bowels are responsible for receiving, breaking down, and transporting food and water. The ’Plain Questions - Treatise of the True Doctrine of the Golden Coffer’ records: ’The North is black; it enters into and communicates with the kidney, opens at the two yin (the two lower orifices), and stores essence in the kidney.’ This clearly points out that the kidney is closely related to the excretory functions of the anterior and posterior yin orifices.”

Seeing Du Heng pause, Sun Jiaxiang prompted him again, ”Don’t stop. Explain in more detail.”

Du Heng paused for a moment. He felt Sun Jiaxiang should already know all this. What was the meaning behind this persistent questioning? As he glanced around in momentary confusion, Du Heng noticed the expressions of those nearby and had a sudden thought: Is this old man providing cover for me, helping me make my case?

With this realization, Du Heng continued, ”The kidney governs water and fluids and is exteriorly-interiorly related to the bladder. Its functions of qi transformation, opening, and closing play a crucial role in the body’s metabolism, as well as in the formation and excretion of urine. Therefore, it is relatively easy to understand that the kidney governs urination. The ’Thorough Knowledge of Medicine - Urinary Fecal Stoppage’ records: ’That the bowels can both open and close is a power wielded by the kidney.’ This is to say, the kidney stores original yin yet also houses original yang. The yin qi of the five viscera cannot be moistened without it, and the yang qi of the five viscera cannot be warmed without it. Therefore, the formation and passage of normal stool are directly influenced by the actions of kidney yin and kidney yang. In other words, if kidney yin is abundant, it can moisten the large intestine, ensuring the stool is of appropriate consistency and that bowel movements are smooth.”