Chapter 73 Life-saving Surgery
Gu Youan was only concerned about Zhou Qi. She didn't dare to guess whether he had any internal organs injured, whether the wound was infected, or whether the wound would become inflamed and cause a persistent high fever...
Gu Youan was extremely anxious and had only one thought in his mind: if she went, there would be a greater chance for Zhou Qi to survive.
She had just received a letter from Zhou Qi seven or eight days ago, saying that the emperor was very angry about the matter of the commander of the Northeast Army. The matter was a foregone conclusion, and no matter how angry the person in the palace was, he would only be furious.
Although the Grand Commander of Zhenbei has a daughter who serves as a concubine in the palace, he is a man of great righteousness and would not surround and kill Zhou Qi just for the sake of the emperor's order, causing unrest in the northeast.
The Grand Commander of Zhenbei will not listen to the palace's orders to kill Zhou Qi, so the only one who will deal with Zhou Qi secretly is the emperor!
Gu Youan had a suspicious target in her mind. She guessed that the emperor could not mobilize the army and could only mobilize secret forces. Zhou Qi should not be in a situation where he was surrounded by a large army.
This was her guess, but she wouldn't gamble on the possibility. After calming down, Gu Youan immediately wrote a transfer order, stamped it with her seal as Princess Qi, and asked Li Xian to personally deliver it to the city defense army.
Gu Youan muttered to himself, Zhou Qi, oh Zhou Qi, since you gave me the power to mobilize the city defense troops, you deserve it if I mobilize the city defense troops to save you.
"Liu Zhong, go prepare the carriage. This princess needs three horses to pull the carriage, and quickly!"
"yes."
Liu Zhong turned around and ran out to prepare the carriage. Xiaoyue immediately asked someone to pack the luggage for the trip, and everyone inside and outside the main courtyard started moving.
Aunt Qian, who had been watching the cook prepare breakfast in the small kitchen, hurried over and said, "Princess, you're pregnant and not even three months yet. If something happens during this bumpy ride, it'll be disastrous!"
Gu Youan said in a cold voice: "This princess is going out. If there is anything inappropriate, you should deal with it instead of trying to stop me!"
Gu Youan had always been very respectful to the aunts from the Du family, but now he didn't even care about their face, and the servants in the room didn't dare to say anything.
Liu Ling came over at a brisk pace. As soon as he entered the room, he heard the princess' words. He had so much to say in his heart to persuade her that he couldn't open his mouth. He only said, "The road from Songjiang City to the grassland to pick up the prince is relatively flat. If we put some thick quilts in the carriage, it should be fine."
Xiaoyue said hurriedly, "The servants have prepared three quilts to pad the carriage, and thick quilts are also placed in the back and on the sides to prevent the princess from bumping into the carriage walls."
Gu Youan nodded in agreement: "Very good!"
Gu Youan asked again, "Is the palace doctor here?"
Zheng Erjia came in and replied, "Eunuch Liu has sent someone to fetch the general, and has also sent someone to East Street to fetch Doctor Zhang."
Yes, Uncle Zhang is also good at medical techniques, so she feels more at ease when Uncle Zhang goes to see her.
In addition to the doctor, all kinds of medicinal herbs were brought along. Gu Youan also thought of disinfection and said, "Bring a jar of strong liquor and vinegar."
"Yes, I will prepare it right away."
Gu Youan made arrangements repeatedly: "Manager Liu, please arrange for someone to go to the Gu family and tell my parents that it's hot and I'm feeling stuffy in the city. I want to go to the suburbs to relax."
Liu Lingdao nodded in agreement.
Gu Youan's gaze towards Liu Ling today no longer held the smile she once had. She asked, "Chief Steward Liu, if the commander of the city defense army is not here, who else can mobilize the city defense army besides the prince and this princess?"
"The prince gave me the seal to mobilize the city defense troops."
Zhou Chen stopped outside the door and didn't dare to come in. He used to have the seal to mobilize the city guards, but the prince took back the seal last year, and he no longer had the power to mobilize the city guards.
Gu Youan glanced at Zhou Chen outside the door and said, "After I leave today, Chief Zhou will guard the inner city, and Chief Steward Liu will watch over the outer city. Anyone who dares to incite the people to cause trouble will be killed. When the prince and I return to the city, I want a peaceful and stable Songjiang City. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"I obey your orders."
Liu Zhong ran back, passing by the servants inside and outside the house, not even glancing at Zhou Chen and his master Liu Ling. He knelt before the princess and said, "Princess, the carriage, herbs, and everything else are ready."
"Then let's go!"
When Princess Qi went out, she was pulled by three horses in a carriage, and maids, old women, and servants followed on horseback. Various supplies were pulled by more than a dozen large carts, and she was escorted by two teams of male and female guards. There were more than a thousand people in the group.
After leaving the city, the chief general of the city defense army led 5,000 soldiers and horses to accompany him. All the soldiers were dressed in simple clothes and rode light horses, trying not to affect their speed due to too much baggage.
The general flag where Gu Wenqing was located received the transfer order half an hour ago. Without waiting for him to leave a message for Tian Erlang, he was urged to assemble. At this time, following the convoy of Prince Qi's Mansion, Gu Wenqing immediately guessed that something must have happened to his sister.
When the people from Prince Qi's Mansion came to summon Doctor Zhang, Du Qing happened to be sitting in the pharmacy. It was not surprising that Prince Qi's Mansion came to ask for Doctor Zhang. What was strange was that the man told Doctor Zhang to bring various items such as catgut, knives and needles, and to bring all the medicines for treating external injuries.
Du Qing felt something was wrong and asked who was injured. The man said he didn't know anything about what happened in the mansion and took Doctor Zhang away.
At this point, Du Qing was still wondering if someone was injured in Prince Qi's mansion, but he waited and waited, and when it was already mid-afternoon and Doctor Zhang still hadn't returned, he felt something was wrong.
Du Qing asked Zhang Yinshan to look after the medicine shop, and he went to Prince Qi's mansion in person. The doorman of Prince Qi's mansion knew him, and when he saw him, he respectfully greeted him, "Uncle, how are you?"
"I'm asking you, is Doctor Zhang done with his work? I need to see him about something."
How could the gatekeeper dare to speak of this matter? Du Qing asked several questions, but they all evaded the question and said they didn't know. Du Qing had no choice but to say, "I know your family is very strict, and I won't make it difficult for you. Please help me call Zhou Changshi and I will ask him."
This worked. Zhou Changshi was working in the back room at the moment. A servant hurried to pass on a message. After a while, the servant invited Du Qing in.
Du Qing saw Zhou Chen, who didn't dare act like a chief historian in front of him. He simply said, "The princess felt the heat in the city and went to the suburbs to relax. She was worried it would be inconvenient to call a doctor out, so she took Doctor Zhang with her. He'll probably be back in a few days. The princess sent word to the Gu family, and Madam Du knows all about it."
Zhou Chen then instructed, "No one outside knows that the princess is pregnant. Just tell the Zhang family where Doctor Zhang is. Don't tell anyone that Doctor Zhang is with the princess."
Zhou Chen spoke seriously and it sounded like it was true, so Du Qing nodded and agreed.
Du Qing returned to Zhang's pharmacy and told Zhang Yinshan what Zhou Chen had said. Zhang Yinshan didn't take it to heart. He just said, "I know," and went on with his business.
In the evening, Du Qing returned home carrying his medicine box. On the way, he felt something was wrong. During dinner, Du Qing asked his sister, "How many days will An An be out of town?"
Mrs. Du didn't know either: "Someone from Prince Qi's residence came to inform me this morning, but they didn't elaborate."
Gu Wen asked hurriedly: "What do you want to know?"
Mrs. Du smiled and said, "It's a small matter. An An feels that it's too hot in the city, so she said she wants to go out for a few days."
"Leaving the city? How come I don't know?"
"How could you not know?" Mrs. Du was puzzled. "An An must have left the city through the nearest west gate, and must have passed by the government office on West First Street. Didn't you see it?"
Gu Wen shook his head. He really didn’t see it, nor did he hear his colleagues mention it.
Du Qing felt even more puzzled: "Even if you didn't see it, others should have seen it, right?"
Ah Xuan suddenly said, "Sister must have left from another city gate."
This was exactly what Gu Wen was thinking about. The West Gate was obviously the closest to the city, and the western suburbs were also the best for sightseeing. Why not go out through the West Gate? Unless he was trying to avoid something.
Du Qing then told Gu Wen about Doctor Zhang and An An leaving the city together. Gu Wen could no longer sit still and kept shouting, "Wang Quan, call Wang Quan over."
Wang Quan strode in from outside, saying as he ran, "Master, I'm here."
Gu Wen said, "While it's still early, go and give the young master something. If he's not here, ask someone he knows."
Wang Quan wanted to ask what to send to the young master, but Duan pointed to the roast chicken on the table and said, "My husband likes roast chicken. It's just that he hasn't eaten it yet. Bring the food box and pack it up and send it over."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Wang Quan had been with Gu Wen for many years, so there was no need to explain some things clearly. Gu Wen only needed to give a brief introduction, and Wang Quan knew what he was going to do in the City Defense Army.
Wang Quan rode his horse to the city guards outside the city with a food box and reported the name of the Gu family. The soldiers guarding the gate then asked the person in charge inside, and then sent someone to pass the message on.
After a while, someone came back and said that General Gu was not there.
Not seeing his eldest young master, Wang Quan asked again if Tian Yongkang was there.
Tian Yongkang is in the military camp.
Tian Erlang ran over to get something and smiled from a distance, "What delicious food did my family send me?"
Wang Quan continued, "It's a roast chicken. The old lady is worried about you. She said you haven't been home for a long time and she's worried you might be hungry."
Tian Erlang happily took the food box: "Aunt still cares about me."
The two men came closer, and Tian Erlang lowered his voice, speaking quickly and urgently: "Early this morning, an order came for the transfer of 5,000 soldiers. The commander of the city defense army is leading them. Wen Qing and his team have been transferred."
After receiving the roasted chicken, Tian Erlang laughed loudly and said, "Go back and tell my wife to come visit me in a few days and bring me a roasted chicken. One chicken is not enough to eat."
Wang Quan nodded in agreement, turned around and rode away from the military camp.
Wang Quan rushed back to report the news. After hearing it, Gu Wen said, "I'm afraid something has happened to Prince Qi."
Mrs. Du panicked: "How did this get linked to Prince Qi?"
"An An is pregnant, yet she risked her life by leaving the city, using the excuse that it was too hot to relax. Aren't a thousand followers enough? Are they going to mobilize another five thousand soldiers from the city defense?"
"What about An An and Prince Qi...what should we do?"
Gu Wen sighed, "Don't panic. Since An An refuses to tell us the truth, there must be a reason why she can't say it. We have to believe her."
As for what their family should do, Gu Wen said to his wife, "It's been a bit hot in the city these days, and it's hard for our daughter-in-law to stay in the city with such a big belly. Tomorrow, you, Axuan, and our eldest daughter-in-law should go back to the neighboring village and stay for a few days."
The neighboring mountain village is their territory. Everyone in the village is familiar with them. They also have hundreds of official slaves who work on the land. There is also a tunnel under the house leading to the mountains. The village is safer than the city.
"Then what are you going to do?" Mrs. Du didn't want to leave.
"Don't worry, I don't think it's a big deal. I made this arrangement just in case." Gu Wen said to his eldest daughter-in-law, "If you have nothing to do at home, you can stay in the village for a few days. You and your daughter can talk together."
Duan nodded in agreement and rubbed her belly and said, "Don't worry, Dad. Prince Qi, An'an, and Wenqing will all return safely."
Gu Wen also hoped so in his heart.
As for Gu Youan, they left the city in the morning and rested for fifteen minutes halfway in the afternoon. Everyone replenished their food and water, and the horses drank water and ate horse feed. After taking a short break, they continued on their journey.
"Princess, can you bear it?"
"good."
She was just a little tired and a little hot from lying in the quilt all day, but she could hold on.
Seeing that the princess looked unwell, Xiaoyue said, "Why don't we rest for a quarter of an hour and ask Doctor Zhang to come and take your pulse."
Gu Youan shook his head: "No need, let's calculate the time, we will be there in half an hour at most."
By this time it was dark, and the team raised torches, which formed a fire dragon and galloped across the grassland.
The guide who was returning to Songjiang City to report the news saw the familiar terrain ahead and shouted, "We're almost there."
Gu Youan sat up from the quilt and lifted the curtain. The night wind from the grassland rushed into the carriage. Xiaoyue and Xiaoju hurriedly stood in front of the wind.
"Move aside and let me take a look."
Xiaoyue and Xiaoju made way for them. Gu Youan looked out the window and saw three or four felt tents gathered together diagonally in front of him. The largest tent in the middle was surrounded by guards from Prince Qi's Mansion.
The flickering light of the torches made it possible to vaguely see the expressions of the guards, happy yet nervous. It seemed that Zhou Qi was still alive.
Gu Youan's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back into his stomach. As long as he was still alive, there was still hope.
The carriage stopped ten steps from the entrance of the tent. Xu Zhi, with his unshaven beard and a weathered look on his face, came out to greet her. "Princess, have you brought the court physician?"
"I brought it."
Gu Youan signaled, and the court doctor and Zhang Shinan hurried in carrying the medicine box.
Gu Youan followed in, but she stopped the other servants outside the door: "Except for this princess and the doctor, no one else is allowed in."
"yes!"
Li Xian personally led his men to guard the door of the felt tent.
Gu Youan walked in a few breaths late, only to see Zhou Qi lying on a bed with several woolen pads and quilts piled up. The court doctor and Zhang Shinan had already lifted the cloth covering Zhou Qi's wound.
Xu Zhi: "After the injury, we immediately applied medicine to the prince and bandaged the wound tightly, which reduced the bleeding. However, the prince soon developed a fever. We kept rubbing his body to reduce the fever, but it didn't work very well."
They were attacked last night, and by this time, he had been burning for a day?
Gu Youan hurried forward and held his hand. His palms were abnormally hot, and his arms and body were also hot.
After Zhang Shinan examined the wound and took the pulse, he said, "The medicine you used is good stuff, but there is dirt on the knife that injured the prince, so the medicine is ineffective."
"What? Those bastards poisoned the place?" Xu Zhi was so angry that he wanted to go outside and whip the corpse. It was so easy for those thieves to die.
As Zhang Shinan cleaned the wound, he said, "It doesn't seem quite right to call it poison. The substance they smeared on the knife is some kind of animal corpse powder. Contact with it won't poison you, it will just make the wound red, swollen, and fester, making it difficult to heal."
The court physician was not as knowledgeable as Zhang Shinan. Zhang Shinan's detailed account suddenly reminded him of a passage he had read in a medical book: "Is this something that's circulated among the people of the southwestern border?"
Zhang Shinan said: "Yes, it is written in the book of witchcraft that this thing is a kind of poisonous insect, specially used to torture people."
Gu Youan immediately associated this thing with dirt and bacteria: "Can this be cured?"
"It can be cured, but Prince Qi will have to suffer a little."
After cleaning the wound, Zhang Shinan asked someone to boil water and cook all his knives.
"It's been so long since I was injured, the corpse powder has already covered the wound. It can't be washed away. If I want the wound to heal and stop heating up, I have to cut some of the flesh off the wound."
Gu Youan clenched and unclenched her fists. She said, "I have a better knife. Use mine."
Gu Youan asked Xiaoyue to bring in the small box from her carriage.
Xiaoyue took the box that the princess wanted in and put it away, then immediately left.
Gu Youan stood facing everyone. No one except her could see what was in the box. She took out a set of knife handles and unopened blades and placed them on the table.
"Uncle Zhang, I accidentally got a set of knives like this. Do you think they can be used?"
"It can be used. Why can't such a good thing be used?"
Zhang Shinan and the court doctor were both shocked. Which blacksmith in the Great Zhou Dynasty could make a blade so thin? With such skill, he was worthy of being called a master craftsman.
The court physician was shocked: "I have been a medic for most of my life. Not to mention breaking arms and legs, I have even opened up people's stomachs countless times. When have I ever seen something as good as this?"
Not only had the court physician, who came from a military background, never seen such a thing, but even Zhang Shinan, who came from a medical family and had worked as an imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital and had seen countless good things, had never seen such a thing.
Gu Youan said, "This knife is thin and sharp. Use it to treat his wound. If you are quick, he will suffer less."
"Okay, let's start now."
"No rush, make preparations first."
Although the scalpel she took out was good, it still needed to be disinfected. Taking advantage of this time, Gu Youan asked Zhang Shinan to go out and change into clean clothes before coming in.
After Zhang Shinan and the others left, Gu Youan called Xiaoyue and asked her, "Did you bring the vinegar I asked you to bring?"
"I brought it. It's with Sister Wei."
"Tell Sister Wei to bring some vinegar, boil it, and use it to fumigate the tent."
She did everything she could, hoping it would be of some use to Zhou Qi.
Gu Youan also changed her clothes. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else in the tent except the unconscious Zhou Qi, she hurried to the space to get the anti-inflammatory medicine. She dissolved the powder in water and poured it into his mouth.
"Zhou Qi, you have to be more motivated. If you die here, it would be a disaster. It would be totally not worth it." Gu Youan whispered in his ear.
She took his hand and covered her belly: "I don't know if it's a son or a daughter. Do you want to know?"
Zhou Qi's hot hands covered her belly, and Gu Youan couldn't help but feel her eyes turn red.
"Princess, we're coming in."
"Come in."
She let go of his hand and stood up, taking a few deep breaths to regain her composure.
Everything was ready. Zhang Shinan and the court doctor entered the tent and smelled a sour smell in the tent. The area around the bed was brightly lit by candles. It was a good condition to treat wounds in the wild.
"Princess, Li Xian and the others have changed their clothes. Please ask them to come in."
"Come in."
Li Xian and his five guards changed into clean clothes, washed their hands and faces, and tied their hair tightly and wrapped it with cloth.
Gu Youan looked at them and nodded.
Li Xian and six other men came to the window and worked together to hold down their master's hands, feet and body.
Gu Youan knew that the anesthetic was not very effective at this time, and there was no doctor here who could perform acupuncture and pain relief. In order to avoid making a wrong move, he could only ask someone to hold the knife.
Gu Youan retreated to a place not far from the bed. She sat cross-legged on the mat on the ground and watched Zhang Shinan cut the knife calmly.
"ah!"
Zhou Qi was awakened by the pain and couldn't help struggling.
"Hold it down!" Zhang Shinan shouted coldly.
Li Xian and others hurriedly held it down, not daring to relax even a bit.
Gu Youan didn't say anything, nor did she cry. She just watched coldly, watching him struggle but unable to, watching the flesh and blood that was cut from his body placed in the basin on the ground. The anger in her heart was almost uncontrollable.
Xiaoyue quietly lifted the curtain and took a look inside. She was extremely worried. She said anxiously, "Princess, this is too scary. Anger is harmful to your health. Please don't hurt the little master in your belly. Besides, it's already this late. Princess, it's time for dinner. You can't go hungry."
Having said that, the princess had ordered that no one else was allowed to enter the tent. At this moment, the prince had not finished his work yet, so Xiaoyue did not dare to send food in or ask the princess to come out.
Xiaoju was also anxious, but she had served the young lady since she was a child, and she knew her temperament. She said, "You must trust the princess. Now that the prince has fallen, the princess will definitely not let herself fall as well."
Xiaoju thought, given the young lady's temper, she must be thinking about how to take revenge.
Xiaoju: "The princess is definitely not in the mood to eat right now. Wait a little longer. When the prince is ready, the princess will feel hungry."
Xiaoyue was still worried and couldn't help but look inside again. Xu Zhi, who was patrolling, saw her and pulled her aside, scolding her in a low voice.
Xiaoyue was unconvinced: "You only think about the prince, why don't you think about the princess? The princess rushed here while pregnant and rode in a carriage all day. She only ate a piece of cake and drank a bowl of water in the afternoon. It's already midnight and the princess hasn't eaten anything yet."
"Have you asked someone to prepare food?"
Xiaoyue sighed, "Sister-in-law Wei and the others are ready to go. The food is ready. If the princess doesn't say she's hungry, we wouldn't dare ask her to come out."
Xu Zhi took a long breath and gripped the knife handle tightly with his right hand: "Wait a little longer, Doctor Zhang and the others should be almost done."
Before the princess and the prince got married, Xu Zhi had investigated people who were close to the Gu family. He was the one who investigated Zhang Shinan personally, and Xu Zhi knew very well how capable Zhang Shinan was.
Another half a minute passed, and Zhou Qi's clothes were soaked with sweat. Zhang Shinan then slowly straightened up: "Fortunately, there was no internal damage. Now that the wound has been treated, it depends on the prince's recovery."
The court doctor sighed, "It's still dangerous. If it goes two inches further, it will damage the root."
Gu Youan sneered, maybe it was someone in the palace who gave the order.
He looks like an emperor sitting on the throne, but in fact he is a sinister villain behind the scenes. He is so jealous that he wants to cut off other people's descendants.
Zhou Qi kept staring at Zhou Xuan, but unfortunately he was still tricked.
From now on, let her come.
Didn’t those people say that only women and villains are difficult to raise? She wanted them to see what women’s vicious methods are.
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