Chapter 841: Good Mood

Chapter 841: Chapter 841: Good Mood

"Dr. Li, could you tell me what exactly is wrong with me?"

The woman looked distressed, her voice laced with anxiety. "Four months ago, I had a cervical polyp removed here... oh, no, at the Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital. The surgery went smoothly, and the abdominal pain afterward gradually went away. But since then, I’ve always felt cold in my lower abdomen, especially right here..."

She pointed downward, looking a bit embarrassed. "It feels like there’s a fan blowing cold air inside. In the dead of winter, wearing three layers of cotton pants doesn’t even help. And it’s not just the cold; sometimes it suddenly spasms, hurting so much it makes me panic."

Li Xu checked her pulse while carefully asking, "What about your urination? How is that?"

"It’s pale, like clear water, but there’s a lot of it. I have to get up several times a night." The woman sighed. "My lower back aches, too, and I always feel weak. I’m not thirsty, though."

Li Xu withdrew his hand and gestured to Wu Mengmeng. "Mengmeng, you also checked her pulse and examined her tongue coating just now. What do you think?"

Wu Mengmeng’s brain was a little short-circuited at the moment because Dean Song was standing right next to them.

She had only ever seen this symptom described in textbooks and stammered, "I... The patient’s Yin blood was depleted and damaged after the surgery, and her pulse is deep and thready... Is, is this a type of ’Yin contraction syndrome’?"

"Well, you got one word of the name right, but you haven’t fully explained the mechanism."

Li Xu didn’t spare Wu Mengmeng’s feelings just because Dean Song was present. Pointing at the medical record, he calmly instructed, "In traditional Chinese medicine, we have a specific term to describe this sensation: ’coldness in the Yin as if fanned.’ Zhang Zhongjing mentioned this concept in the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet, stating, ’When a woman is six or seven months pregnant... her lower abdomen feels as if being fanned. The reason for this is that the womb is open.’"

Li Xu looked at the patient, then at Wu Mengmeng and the observing Dean Song, and continued, "Although this patient isn’t pregnant, everyone must understand a principle: modern medical surgery is essentially an external intervention on the body. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, a cervical polyp removal is somewhat equivalent to experiencing a ’miscarriage’ or ’artificial dilation.’ The so-called ’womb being open’ means the gateway to the uterus was opened during the surgery. If it isn’t well protected at that time, the pathogenic cold wind will take advantage of the vulnerability and drill directly into the Jueyin Liver Meridian."

Listening from the side, Dean Song nodded repeatedly. He silently praised Li Xu, thinking that his ability to strike at the fundamental root of the matter was the demeanor of a true master.

"The Plain Questions: Treatise on Reversal states very clearly: ’Cold Qi lodges in the Jueyin Meridian; the Jueyin Meridian connects to the Yin organs and is tied to the liver.’ Once the pathogenic cold lodges in the meridian, the blood becomes sluggish and the pulse tightens. Therefore, not only will the patient feel ’as if a fan is blowing wind,’ but she will also experience that spasming, cramping pain."

As he spoke, Li Xu wrote down a prescription on a piece of paper. Without looking up, he said to Wu Mengmeng, "For this kind of illness, ordinary anti-inflammatory drugs or generic blood-nourishing medicines are completely useless. You must warm the meridians, dispel the cold, warm the womb, and relieve the pain. The prescription should be based on the Aconite Decoction, with a heavy dose of Aconite, paired with cinnamon and dried ginger. Only by ’warming’ this bellyful of cold wind back up, closing the gateway, and driving out the pathogenic cold can this disease be fully eradicated."

He looked up and gave the patient a gentle smile. "Don’t worry, ma’am. This isn’t some strange disease; you just caught a bit of a chill during the surgery. Take three doses of this medicine, and that ’wind’ will dissipate."

The patient beamed with joy and thanked him repeatedly. "Oh, Dr. Li, now that you’ve explained it, I completely understand. When I went to other departments before, the doctors kept making me check my nerves, but they never found anything wrong. Your description of it feeling ’as if a fan is blowing wind’ really hit the nail on the head."

Only after the patient left the clinic, expressing her profuse gratitude, did Dean Song step forward with a smile. "What a brilliant demonstration of ’striking at the root of the matter’! I ran into Director Tian from the Health Commission outside just now, and she was full of praise for you. She said you have high-level skills, a great attitude, and that your words won her over completely. With you holding down the fort at our Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I can sleep much more soundly at night as the dean."

Li Xu smiled humbly. "You flatter me, Dean Song. Director Tian simply thinks highly of me. In truth, the crux of her illness still lies in her mindset. Traditional Chinese medicine treatments focus on the harmony between humanity and nature, as well as the harmony between a person and their own emotions. I merely helped her untangle things a bit."

"And you untangled them well!" Dean Song laughed heartily before turning serious. "Li Xu, although Director Tian didn’t come here on an official inspection this time, she is currently in charge of the ’Top Ten Outstanding Young Doctors of the Province’ selection. With you performing so well, our hospital’s reputation is likely going to resound throughout the entire province this time."

Listening from the side, Wu Mengmeng felt her heart surge with excitement. Looking at Li Xu’s unflappable profile, her desire to take him as her master grew even stronger. Li Xu, however, simply turned to look at the computer and spoke mildly, "Dean Song, let’s talk more about illnesses and less about selections. The next patient has already been waiting for a long time."

Dean Song was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head with a helpless, wry smile. "Alright, you medical fanatic. I won’t bother you anymore. Keep up the good work, and come straight to me if you run into any difficulties."

At the Health Commission building.

"Director Tian, these are the documents that need your signature this morning."

Kang Yanyan walked into the office holding a stack of materials, her sharp eyes immediately catching the changes in Tian Wen.

In the past, Tian Wen had always kept a massive thermos next to her desk, yet she rarely drank from it because she was afraid of having to run to the restroom. Now, however, not only had the water in her cup been replaced by the herbal tea prescribed by Li Xu, but the knot of gloom that had lingered between her brows all year round had also smoothed out.

What surprised Kang Yanyan the most was that during the two-hour morning meeting earlier, Director Tian had actually sat straight through the entire thing without making a single excuse to leave.

"Director Tian, I can see that your energy over the past couple of days is truly different," Kang Yanyan sighed with genuine admiration while organizing the documents. "It seems Dr. Li’s medicine really hit the mark. You’ve been taking it for less than a week, right? You’re going to the restroom significantly less often now."

Tian Wen put down her fountain pen and massaged her slightly sore neck, a genuine smile appearing on her face. "It’s not just the frequency. The key is that the heavy, burning sensation has disappeared. I used to feel like there was a ball of fire burning in my stomach, but now it feels cool and clear. Yanyan, to be honest, I haven’t felt this relaxed in over a year."

"Dr. Li’s prescription is truly miraculous. I’ve heard people say that in traditional Chinese medicine, ’illnesses of the mind require medicine of the mind.’ He managed to bring down both your ’heart fire’ and your ’liver fire’ at the same time," Kang Yanyan joked with a smile. "Even Xiao Li from our department said that your temper has improved a lot lately, Director Tian, and everyone isn’t so on edge while working anymore."

"These young kids must have talked about me a lot behind my back, huh?" Tian Wen couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head. Despite her words, she was in an excellent mood.