Chapter 5 Vomit

  Miss Gao was dazed and confused, but she could still hear them talking, shaking her head slowly to indicate that she didn't want to eat anything.

  "Miss, you must eat this thin porridge. If you don't eat it, I dare to guarantee that you will die within half a month!"

  As soon as these words came out, everyone in the house was shocked. No doctor had ever dared to make such a prediction before. At most, they would coax Miss into taking medicine and eating food, and then she would recover. No one had ever dared to speak bluntly about death, let alone say that she would die within half a month. So when these words were spoken, everyone in the house was stunned.

  Miss Gao's frail body on the bed also shook slightly, slowly opening her eyes, which were filled with terror, staring at Lu Jinping.

  Lu Jinping looked at her and said, "To be honest with you, my medical skills have reached the point where I can determine life and death! Judging from your illness, you must eat well, and I still have a way to treat you. If you continue to refuse to eat like before, you will definitely die within half a month! —— This is absolutely not intimidation!"

  Miss Gao's eyes were filled with even more fear.

  Her personal maid glanced at Lu Jinping and whispered: "Sir, our young lady vomits every time she eats something."

  "It doesn't matter if she vomits, just feed her again! - You feed her and see if she eats. If she doesn't eat, I'll leave. Half a month later, I'll come to attend her funeral!"

  Next to the old man, his three wives were all anxious and frightened. The youngest, Third Madam, who was also Miss Gao's mother, couldn't help but step forward and gently tug on Old Master Gao's sleeve, muttering: "Look at him! How can he speak of our daughter like that?"

  The old man nodded, patted the third aunt's hand lightly, and coughed violently. He stared at Lu Jinping, wanting to speak, but stopped himself, because the maid had heard this and brought a bowl of millet ginseng porridge, scooping it up with a spoon and sending it to her daughter's mouth. Unexpectedly, her daughter opened her mouth and ate it.

  At this moment, the people in the house were shocked again, especially Old Man Gao and Third Aunt. Seeing their daughter not eating, they were extremely anxious, but they didn't expect that this young doctor would make her eat with just a few words. Although his method made them feel uncomfortable, they also knew that he was telling the truth - if their daughter really didn't eat like this, she might not even last half a month. This logic everyone understood, but no one dared to say it out loud. Yet, this young doctor said it out loud, and unexpectedly, their daughter listened and started eating. They couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

  Soon, Miss Gao finished a bowl of thin porridge, panting as if she was going to throw up, frowning in pain.

  As soon as the girl finished eating this bowl of ginseng porridge, Old Man Gao and the others were delighted.

  Lu Jinping said: "Old master, I've finished reading, may I borrow a step to speak?"

  Old Mr. Gao was somewhat surprised, as all the doctors he had seen before were repeatedly cautious, repeatedly asked questions, and repeatedly took his pulse. This doctor, who only let him drink a bowl of porridge and then ended the examination, was the first one he had met. The patient or their family usually hoped that the doctor would spend more time examining the patient to get a more accurate diagnosis. This doctor seemed somewhat perfunctory, which made Old Mr. Gao very unhappy, his face already darkening. However, he still restrained himself and listened to what the doctor was going to say. If it wasn't to his liking, his violent temper would erupt on the spot, giving him a good show.

  The old lady walked out of her daughter's boudoir with a sullen face and her hands behind her back.

  Lu Jinping followed him out and into the study. Old Master Gao sat down on the couch, his face stern, and said, "Speak, what's going on? What's wrong with my daughter? Can you cure her or not?"

  Ye Qingqing followed closely behind Lu Jiping, seeing the old man's behavior, she immediately became vigilant. She had also heard that this retired official, Gao Lao Taigong, who posted notices to find a son-in-law for his daughter and cure her illness, had a very violent temper. The doctors and Taoist priests who came to treat his daughter's illness were basically all scolded and chased away by him, some were even directly taken to the government office to be punished. However, if he dared to be rude to the young master, she wouldn't be polite either. Ye Qingqing's small fists were already clenched tightly, staring at Gao Lao Taigong with wide eyes.

  Lu Jinping seemed nonchalant, glancing at Old Man Gao: "I probably know what's wrong with your daughter. However, I still need some time to make a diagnosis. To diagnose your daughter's illness, I need to take something from her back for testing. Once the test results are out, we'll know if she has the disease I suspect, and then we can treat it accordingly."

  "Examination?" Old Master Gao furrowed his brow. "I've never heard of needing an examination to see a doctor."

  "My way of treating illness is different from others. If it were the same, I'm afraid the result would be like those quacks who can't cure your daughter's illness."

  The old man thought for a moment and nodded his head, asking: "What do you want to take from the little girl to test?"

  "Vomit!"

  "Vomit? My daughter didn't vomit."

  "She will vomit soon."

  "Oh? Is it?"

  Just as he was saying this, urgent footsteps were heard outside the door. Miss Gao's personal maid pushed open the door and rushed in, anxiously saying: "Master, Miss has thrown up everything she ate earlier. The old madam asked me to call you and Doctor Lang to go take a look right away."

  As expected, the old man was surprised and delighted by the young doctor's words. Suddenly, he had great confidence in Lu Jinping's medical skills.

  It's nothing special, Lu Jinping forced Gao to eat such a large bowl of millet ginseng porridge, the purpose is to make her feel nauseous. Because people who have not eaten for a long time and have poor appetite can't eat much at once, suddenly eating so much will definitely cause gastrointestinal discomfort and vomiting.

  Lu Jinping brought Ye Qingqing and followed Old Master Gao to Miss Gao's boudoir.

  As soon as she entered the house, she saw Miss Gao lying on the bed, and the maid was using a handkerchief to wipe away the stains from her mouth. On the bedside table, there was a copper basin with about half a bowl of clear water that had become murky, and there were also some vomit stains on the edge of the basin.

  Lu Jinping turned around and said to Old Man Gao, "Please have someone bring me a small covered bowl and a pair of chopsticks, both must be washed clean."

  The old man naturally didn't know what he wanted to do with these things, and immediately ordered his servants to fetch them. Lu Jinping took a look at them, confirmed that they were indeed clean, then used chopsticks to pick up the small amount of dirt on the edge of the copper basin and put it into a small bowl, handing it over to Ye Qingqing to take care of.

  Lu Jinping then said to Old Master Gao: "Master Gao, let's talk outside."

  Old Mr. Gao followed him to the door, and Lu Jinping whispered to Old Mr. Gao: "I'm going to take these things back for inspection now. Before I return, don't give your granddaughter anything to eat or drink."

  The old man didn't understand: "Why?"

  "This is what I need to cure the illness, if you believe me, then listen to me."

  "Alright! I believe you." Old Master Gao now had no other choice, even the imperial physician couldn't cure this illness. This young man wanted to cure it, of course the method couldn't be the same as others, otherwise the result would probably be the same too. So hearing Lu Jinping make such a request actually increased Old Master Gao's confidence in his medical skills.

  Lu Jinping said: "The inspection will probably take about an hour, I'll come back in an hour."

  "Alright!"

  "I need thirty cents to buy medicine. Please, old gentleman, give me the medical expenses first."

  The old man frowned: "Can't you write a prescription and I'll send someone to fetch the medicine?"

  "No way, this prescription is confidential. I have to go get the medicine myself. - Old Master Gao won't suspect that you cheated me out of thirty cents, will he?"

  The old man smiled: "There are many cheats, and I'm a bit worried. However, thirty cents is not much, if you want to cheat, you won't just cheat for so little money. I believe you!" After that, he called the officer to take out thirty cents of copper coins and gave them to Lu Jinping.

  Lu Jinping carried three strings of copper coins and said, "I'll be back in an hour."

  The old man said: "Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, young master. I'll see you out."

  This old lady is a high-ranking official in Beijing, and she has always been very arrogant. In the past, when doctors came to treat her daughter's illness or Taoist priests came to perform rituals, they were almost all driven away by her, let alone being escorted to the door. But this time, she actually saw off the young doctor all the way to the outer gate, which is truly rare.