Everything was ready. Dr. Wang asked Ye Wanmian to roll up his sleeves and then began to treat the Prince of Mu.
First, he motioned for Ye Wanmian to hold the lamp closer. By the bright light, he carefully examined the Prince of Mu's complexion. Then he lifted the prince's eyelids to check his pupils and the whites of his eyes. He reached out to feel the prince's forehead, limbs, abdomen and chest.
The upper part of the body was overheated while the lower part was cold and the middle part was weak. The patient was indeed in great danger at this moment.
After pondering with his head down for a while, he turned around and looked behind him, holding a horn pestle in his hand.
"Who of you come forward and help me pry open his mouth?"
Everyone stared at the horn pestle in his hand in shock. The room instantly fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop.
After a long while, Eunuch Wang said tremblingly, "This... This may not be appropriate. How can we use such an instrument on the prince? This is disrespectful to the prince!"
The Prince of Ning also darkened his face and said, "Quack doctor. You were called here to treat the Prince of Mu, not to play tricks!"
Dr. Wang almost rolled his eyes.
"The man is about to die. Why still care about such trivial matters as disrespect? The most important thing now is to find a way to save him."
Ye Wanmian and Xiao Jingcheng both found it amusing.
Dr. Wang never missed a chance to mock others wherever he went. He even dared to show his dissatisfaction to the Prince of Xuan and the Prince of Ning. It had to be said that it was quite a skill.
The Prince of Xuan withdrew his gaze from Ye Wanmian and said to Dr. Wang in a deep voice, "If this action can save the imperial uncle, we will not care about such a trivial matter. But if you fail to cure him, do you know what the consequences will be?"
Dr. Wang said indifferently, "Let's talk after the treatment."
With that, the Prince of Xuan had no more doubts. He stretched out his hand to Dr. Wang.
"Then let me do it."
Dr. Wang handed the horn pestle forward. The Prince of Xuan really took it and climbed onto the bed to pry open the Prince of Mu's mouth.
Ye Wanmian wanted to step aside. As soon as she lifted her foot, Dr. Wang looked over and said,
"Come here and give me a hand."
Noticing the Prince of Xuan looking at her, Ye Wanmian walked forward reluctantly and helped the Prince of Xuan hold down the Prince of Mu's shoulders.
The Prince of Xuan pinched the Prince of Mu's chin and inserted the horn pestle into his mouth, prying open his lips.
Feeling the foreign object in his mouth, the Prince of Mu felt uncomfortable. Although he was in a coma, he couldn't help struggling.
Fortunately, Ye Wanmian held down his body, so Dr. Wang was able to smoothly check his tongue and the coating on it.
Apart from the Prince of Xuan and the Prince of Ning, there was another middle - aged man in the room. Presumably, he was the imperial doctor who had been treating the Prince of Mu.
When Dr. Wang and Ye Wanmian entered the room, the imperial doctor didn't show any sign of joy on his face. Presumably, since the previous two doctors had failed to come up with a treatment method, he had lost all hope.
But now, seeing Dr. Wang actually manage to pry open the Prince of Mu's mouth, the shock on his face was hard to hide. He couldn't help coming closer to take a look and blurted out,
"Summer heat and cold poison!"
Dr. Wang looked at the man in surprise and nodded, "Exactly. It's summer heat and cold poison. You treated it as just summer heat before, which actually deepened his cold poison. The more medicine you used, the worse his condition became. Naturally, it wouldn't work."
The imperial doctor's legs went weak and he almost knelt on the ground.
Yes, yes. How could he not have thought of it!
He could have pried open the Prince of Mu's mouth like Dr. Wang, but he was afraid that his disrespect to the prince would bring him a fatal disaster. As a result, he almost delayed the prince's illness!
At this moment, the Prince of Ning, the Prince of Xuan and even Xiao Jingcheng were extremely shocked.
They were not only shocked by the Prince of Mu's illness but also by the fact that Dr. Wang had actually found out the cause of the illness.
Was this rural doctor really more capable than the imperial doctor?!
Dr. Wang said, "Besides, he has been over - worried, which has led to stagnation of liver qi. Coupled with the fatigue from the journey, his kidney qi has been damaged. He is also not acclimatized. All these problems have accumulated the pathogenic qi in his chest, making it difficult to disperse. That's what triggered this illness."
Then he turned to the imperial doctor and asked, "Did you use this prescription just now?"
He recited a series of names of medicinal herbs. The imperial doctor nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes!"
Dr. Wang pondered and said, "Still use this prescription, but you need to add a few more things. Listen carefully."
The imperial doctor quickly said, "Just tell me."
"The incense ash from the Avalokitesvara Temple in Dongli Town, the well water from Linghe Alley in the east of the city, and the root of the century - old banyan tree in the north of the city..."
The more Eunuch Wang listened, the darker his face became.
What a mess these things were! How could these things be given to the Prince of Mu to drink? This was just nonsense!
But Ye Wanmian's eyes sparkled, "Metal, wood, water, fire and earth... So that's it. Master wants to use the five elements to harmonize the qi in the Prince of Mu's body."
Dr. Wang showed a satisfied smile, "不愧是我的好徒弟，你领悟得真快。"
The Prince of Xuan glanced at the master and the apprentice and gave an order, "Eunuch Wang, quickly send someone to do it. Doctor Meng, please go and decoct another dose of medicine."
"This..." Gritting his teeth, Eunuch Wang said, "All right."
After Eunuch Wang and the imperial doctor left the room, Dr. Wang motioned for the Prince of Xuan to take out the horn pestle.
"Next, I need to give him acupuncture. Please help me hold him up, Your Highness. Disciple, come here and help your master take off his clothes."
Xiao Jingcheng, who had been quietly lying aside watching, jumped up from the ground anxiously.
Take off his clothes?!
She was a woman. How could she be asked to take off the imperial uncle's clothes! Even though she was a widow who had been married before, this was still indecent!
Ye Wanmian was also stunned for a moment and hesitated, "Master... This seems a bit inappropriate..."
Dr. Wang blew his beard and glared, "For a doctor, there is no distinction between men and women. We only focus on treating the sick and saving lives. Didn't you swear to me when you entered the sect? Have you forgotten so soon?"
Ye Wanmian had a good memory and of course she hadn't forgotten. She took a deep breath, looked at the Prince of Mu with his eyes closed, silently apologized in her heart for the "offense" and stepped forward to untie his belt.
Xiao Jingcheng whined and pounced on her, biting the corner of her pants and tugging hard.
Wasn't the Prince of Ning still here in the room? Let him do this kind of thing. Why did she have to step in!
Ye Wanmian gently pushed away the naughty yellow dog with her foot. "Dahuang, your master and I are treating the sick and saving lives. Don't cause trouble at this moment, or you'll be made into dog meat soup."
Xiao Jingcheng was so angry that he was about to explode. Considering his current situation, he didn't dare to shout out loudly. He could only glare angrily at Ye Wanmian, who was taking off the Prince of Mu's clothes as if she were peeling an egg.
At first, she was a bit shy, but soon she became serious. She stared closely at Dr. Wang's movements, learning how to insert the needles into the acupoints.
Absorbed in her learning, she didn't know that Xiao Jingcheng was almost mad with anger, nor did she know that the Prince of Xuan's eyes fell on her intentionally or unintentionally, secretly sizing up her features.
What happened next was without suspense.
The Prince of Mu's body was covered with the silver needles brought by Dr. Wang. Ye Wanmian held two thunder - fire moxa sticks and walked around the Prince of Mu's body. Layer after layer of cold sweat gradually oozed from the prince's body.
Soon, the things like the incense ash from the Avalokitesvara Temple and the root of the banyan tree that had been sent for were brought back. They were boiled together with the imperial doctor's prescription and then fed to the Prince of Mu while it was still hot.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the high fever on his forehead subsided. His cold limbs became warm. After vomiting a mouthful of fresh blood, his eyelids fluttered and he woke up.