Chapter 39: A Sigh of Relief

  Today's update is late, I'm very sorry!

  He walked up to the door of the small building and stopped, bowing to Chen Yi: "Master Chen, please wait a moment, I'll go in and take a look!"

  Chen Yi nodded slightly to show understanding and tried her best to remain calm.

  He Lan Sheng didn't say anything else, ignoring the people standing outside the door with surprised and terrified expressions. He lifted his robe and walked quickly into the house after two maidservants had drawn the curtain behind him. Immediately, voices could be heard from inside - a woman's voice and a man's voice. The man's voice was probably He Lan Sheng's, but the woman's voice was indistinct. A little later, footsteps were heard, but no one came out.

  A porter carrying things for Helan stood beside Chen Yi, his body straight as a pencil, but with no expression. The thing he was holding in his hand was the diagnostic tool that Chen Yi needed, which would be used soon. In the past few days, while making stethoscopes, Chen Yi also made other diagnostic tools such as tongue depressors, and most of the things he needed to examine patients were made by him.

  He thought that one day these things would come in handy, only to find out that just a few days later, these new inventions were put to use, and on a noble lady who was likely to be very famous in history.

  The Tang Dynasty had an open and liberal folk custom, where there was not much taboo between men and women. Chen Yi understood this to some extent after crossing over to the Tang Dynasty. He further understood that during the Tang Dynasty, the etiquette between men and women was not very strict. If it were, he wouldn't have been able to get along with Ning Qing, that little girl. The lack of taboos was also an important reason why Chen Yi was willing to follow He Lan Shen to substitute for him in diagnosing illnesses. If this era emphasized the separation between men and women, doctors would not be able to carefully diagnose female patients, taking their pulse or listening to their symptoms would be impossible. Then, his former medical expertise and shallow understanding of traditional Chinese medicine would be useless.

  However, in later generations, when diagnosing diseases for others, auxiliary examinations such as laboratory tests, B-ultrasound, and radiology can provide great assistance to clinical doctors. Now these auxiliary examination methods do not exist, and they can only rely on "looking, listening, asking, and feeling". Chen Yi still feels a bit uneasy in his heart, hoping that He Lansheng's mother will not contract any difficult-to-diagnose diseases. If she really contracts some disease that is not easy to diagnose, he may not be able to make a judgment at the time, or misdiagnose it, and then his reputation as a brilliant doctor would be ruined. In the Tang Dynasty, he would no longer be able to hold his head up high, nor would he have any achievements to speak of.

  Thinking of this, Chen Yi felt a heavy burden in his heart, and he regretted agreeing to He Lansheng's request.

  Just as Chen Yi was lost in thought, He Lansheng walked out from inside and bowed to Chen Yi, "Master Chen, please follow me!"

  Chen Yi nodded and followed He Lansheng into the house, while the servant from the He manor who was carrying his things also followed in with his head lowered.

  A pleasant fragrance wafted into his nostrils, which should be the scent of a woman's makeup, not too strong, with a fresh and natural smell, and also somewhat familiar. Chen Yi couldn't help but take a few deep breaths, and an unusual feeling arose in his heart, his heartbeat also quickened.

  He also forced himself to calm down and tried to appear composed.

  Inside the room, a wide bed was placed with a canopy hanging down. Looking through the thin gauze curtain, there was a woman lying on the bed. However, due to the obstruction of the canopy and the group of maidservants by its side, Chen Yi couldn't see clearly the face of the woman who was lying down.

  "Master Chen, my mother's fever has just flared up again and she's become delirious. I don't know if it's convenient for you to examine her now?" He Lansheng stepped forward, lifting the curtain with his hand, and spoke softly to Chen Yi behind him.

  Chen Yi nodded, "It's okay, let me examine her first. When the lady wakes up later, we can ask about her symptoms then! If I can come to a conclusion after examining her, it doesn't matter if we don't ask about her symptoms. However, it's best if unrelated people don't stay by our side!"

  He Lan Sheng glanced at Chen Yi's face and gained some comfort from the slightly confident expression on his face. He didn't ask any questions for the time being, but instead ordered all the maids waiting by his side to leave. However, Chen Yi stopped He Lan Sheng's action and asked two of the maids to stay behind and help out.

  He Lansheng was puzzled, but he also followed Chen Yi's orders and kept the two maidservants who were close to his mother.

  "Chen Gongzi, Sun Daochang has said... Oh, I know you have a unique way of diagnosing illnesses, so just use your own method to examine him!" He Lansheng said lightly.

  "Thank you for your trust, young master!" Chen Yi felt a bit grateful for He Lansheng's trust and didn't say anything else, sitting down on the couch that had already been lifted up.

  The woman lying on the couch had her hair scattered, covering half of her face, and her complexion was slightly flushed due to fever. Her closed eyes made it impossible to discern her features, but her skin was smooth and unlined, suggesting that she was not very old. Her long eyelashes, high nose, and plump lips were all perfectly proportioned, proclaiming that this was a beautiful woman.

  Chen Yi was a little excited in his heart before he saw the woman, and he had also guessed what kind of beauty she would be. But after seeing her, his heart became calm instead. Because he couldn't see her face clearly, he couldn't tell whether he was disappointed or delighted.

  Although there were many thoughts, they all passed away in an instant. Chen Yi quickly entered the role of a doctor and gently touched He Lansheng's mother's forehead with his hand. It was indeed scorching hot and frightening, estimated to be at least over 39 degrees Celsius. Possibly due to the high body temperature, there were occasional convulsions and erratic movements of the limbs, which were startling actions.

  Chen Yi took out his stethoscope after taking the patient's temperature and prepared to listen to her heartbeat. To avoid awkwardness, he asked the two maids who stayed behind to help him. He instructed them to hold the other end of the stethoscope and place it on Madame He's body, while they watched him point to different parts of his own body and move according to his instructions. After a few orders, the two maids understood what to do, and Chen Yi began listening to her heartbeat.

  He carefully auscultated the anterior and posterior chest, and after a rough listen, Chen Yi was surprised to hear the typical "crackles" sound, which is commonly heard in the congestion and resolution phases of lobar pneumonia, as well as in the early stages of pulmonary tuberculosis, pulmonary congestion, pulmonary edema, and incomplete lung expansion. However, except for lobar pneumonia, other diseases generally do not present with high fever.

  Chen Yi had a clear idea in his mind, and his heart was at ease. After listening carefully to the diagnosis again, he also conducted a necessary percussion examination and identified the coughing situation of He Lansheng's mother who was sleeping soundly. Through this examination, Chen Yi basically confirmed what disease He Lansheng's mother had contracted, and then inquired about the progress of He Lansheng and the two maidservants' conditions, and he already had a firm grasp on it. Immediately ordered that maid to bring water to wipe He Lansheng's mother's body, using physical cooling methods to try to lower He Lansheng's mother's body temperature as soon as possible.

  "Master Chen, is your mother's illness serious?" He Lan Sheng asked anxiously as he saw Chen Yi stand up.

  "Please don't worry, Mr. He," Chen Yi said confidently, "your mother's illness is not complicated, it's just an acute change in the lungs, which can be cured quickly! However, she still has a high fever now, and we must first bring down her body temperature, then take some medicine to reduce the fever and inflammation, and use warm saline solution to replenish the lost water due to the high fever. Once her body temperature comes down, she will regain consciousness."

  During the examination, Chen Yi basically diagnosed that He Lansheng's mother was suffering from acute lobar pneumonia by asking about her condition, checking her physical symptoms and listening to her breathing and heartbeat. This disease is more common in winter and spring, with a sudden onset of severe illness, often accompanied by high fever, and patients may even experience convulsions or coma due to the high fever, looking very dangerous! In fact, this disease is not difficult to treat, as long as treatment is timely, the prognosis is also very good, and recovery is relatively quick. Chen Yi basically had nothing to worry about. He was even wondering if this was an opportunity for him to show his face?