Puerperal fever
The next morning, when Xu Ruoyan arrived at the gate of the Guo residence, Pei An was already waiting there.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve arrived,” Pei An, who had been breathing on his hands to keep warm, rushed to greet Xu Ruoyan. “Minister Guo heard that you had a way to save his wife, so he ordered me to bring you here quickly. So it’s a bit early. I hope you will forgive me.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Ruoyan sensed that the situation was not simple, so she waved her hand and said, "It's alright, life comes first. Go in quickly."
Upon hearing Pei An's words, the servant guarding the gate of the Guo residence did not say that he needed to go in first to inform the master. Instead, he opened the gate wide and let them pass. Xu Ruoyan then pulled Pei An inside.
When they arrived at the front hall, Guo Yuan hurriedly came out to greet them.
"Lord Pei."
Pei An waved his hand: "Don't stand on ceremony, let us go see your wife quickly."
"This way, please."
As Guo Yuan led the way, he explained to Xu Ruoyan, "My wife gave birth to a son three days ago, but she has been suffering from a high fever since delivery, lower abdominal cramps and pain, foul-smelling lochia, and loss of appetite. The imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital have all examined her, but none of them can do anything. Please, Madam, you must save my wife."
He walked quickly, his speech becoming increasingly rapid, and his voice had a heavy nasal tone, indicating that he had just been crying.
Xu Ruoyan's brows slowly furrowed.
Judging from these symptoms, the prognosis is probably grim.
In ancient times, medical conditions were extremely limited, and many women died after childbirth due to various illnesses. This was partly due to a lack of knowledge about certain diseases, and partly due to the lack of treatment options.
Xu Ruoyan gritted her teeth and made a silent vow to save this person. Not just for their plan, but for a precious life.
Since I've somehow ended up here, I should do everything I can to change this situation, even if the success rate is very low.
Upon reaching the west wing, Xu Ruoyan turned to the two and said, "Wait outside, don't come in."
Guo Yuan hesitated, then wiped away his tears and knelt down before Xu Ruoyan: "You must cure her! Please, I'll give anything for you..."
Pei An quickly pulled him up, comforting him while giving Xu Ruoyan a wink.
Xu Ruoyan glanced deeply at Guo Yuan, who was kneeling on the ground, then turned and pushed open the door.
The room was brightly lit. On the bed behind the screen, a woman lay flat, groaning weakly. A maidservant was wiping her face with a damp handkerchief by the bedside.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
In the face of acute and critical illness, time is life. Xu Ruoyan dared not delay and put down the medicine bag to begin observing the woman's condition.
Postpartum fever, lochia, and lower abdominal pain.
Xu Ruoyan then lifted the quilt covering the woman to observe her from underneath.
The stitched wound was red, swollen, and festering. She touched it lightly, which immediately caused the woman to scream in excruciating pain.
"Look at me, can you see me?" Xu Ruoyan pried open her eyelids and waved her hand in front of her face.
She let out a long breath and turned to the maid beside her, saying, "Your household should have a bar. Do you have any liquor? Bring me a bottle, a basin of hot water, and some salt, the kind you use in the kitchen."
The young maidservant reacted quickly, and after receiving the order, she ran off.
Xu Ruoyan then looked at the two maids huddled together: "You two, find your mistress's cleanest clothes and change her into them, quickly!"
Two maids hurriedly brought out freshly washed and dried clothes from outside, but Xu Ruoyan stopped them just as they were about to help their mistress change.
"Wait a minute, go wash your hands with warm water and soap first."
By the time the liquor and hot water were brought, the maids were already helping the woman change her clothes.
"Leave one person inside to help me, everyone else go out."
Xu Ruoyan took off her outer garment, rolled up the sleeves of her inner garment, and then squatted down to pour the white wine into the hot water.
"Tell them to keep themselves busy and bring several basins of hot water. The hot water supply must not be interrupted."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Ruoyan suddenly looked up at the maid: "Did you just wash your hands?"
The maid was startled by her serious gaze, but she quickly nodded.
Puerperal fever is a bacterial infection caused by the mother being in a bacterial-rich environment after childbirth. Although Xu Ruoyan is skilled in medicine, she does not know how to make medicine, so she cannot bring modern antibiotic treatments to ancient times. Moreover, the current environment is limited, and it is impossible to guarantee that the treatment process will be kept in a sterile environment. Under these circumstances, she can only do her best.
She used a clean linen cloth soaked in diluted white wine to first clean the woman's wound, and then repeatedly rinsed it with light salt water. Fortunately, the maids were all very clever and could bring Xu Ruoyan whatever she needed immediately, which alleviated some of Xu Ruoyan's anxiety.
After finally treating the woman's wounds and applying anti-inflammatory liquor, Xu Ruoyan busied herself wiping her entire body, attempting to cool her down physically.
To minimize bacteria in the environment, there couldn't be too many people in the room. Xu Ruoyan refused the maids' help, and after cleaning the wound, she sent them out, staying behind to wipe the woman's body.
After working for two hours, Xu Ruoyan, exhausted, threw the burlap into the basin and pushed open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Guo Yuan rushed over anxiously.
"Doctor, how is my wife?"
Xu Ruoyan had been working non-stop all afternoon without even having time to drink a sip of water. She raised her hand to touch her throat, enduring the pain as she said, "So far, the situation seems to be quite good. Remember to give her plenty of boiled warm water and rice porridge. Do you have any Panax notoginseng powder at home? Give it to her. If not, go to the nearby pharmacy and buy some as soon as possible."
She turned her neck and waved to a maid in the distance.
What's your name?
The young maidservant lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly: "My name is Lianhua."
Xu Ruoyan said, "Alright, it's you, Lianhua. You are the only one who can serve your mistress. No one else, no matter who they are, is allowed to enter your mistress's room, do you understand?"
Lianhua nodded, and Guo Yuan quickly followed suit.
"Also, you need to keep a close eye on your wife's temperature, wipe her body with warm water frequently, and press on the bottom of her uterus to help stop the bleeding. I will come again this afternoon, so if you find that her condition is worsening in the meantime, be sure to come to me immediately."
Lotus squatted down slightly: "Lotus understands, Madam, please rest assured."
Xu Ruoyan rubbed her temples: "That's all for now, I'll be going now."
She lifted her foot to leave, but suddenly turned her head and stared intently at Guo Yuan.
"Don't worry, I will do my best to treat him, and there is still a great chance."
Guo Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then tears streamed down his face. When he tried to speak again, he could barely utter a complete sentence.
"Thank you, doctor. Thank you, Lord Pei..."
After leaving the Guo residence, Xu Ruoyan squinted at the bright sun and sighed deeply.
"Thank you for your help, Xiao An. I can come by myself this afternoon, so please don't bother."
Pei An quickly shook his head: "It's no trouble for you, sister-in-law. I see you're already very tired, you should go back and rest. Should I call my brother to pick you up?"
Xu Ruoyan finally had time to think about Pei Jue. When she left this morning, Pei Jue's room was still dark, so he probably hadn't woken up yet. She was in a hurry, so she didn't say goodbye to Pei Jue.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "Your brother is going to take a trip to the coastal areas. I don't know when he'll leave, so I'll just go back by myself."
Upon hearing this, Pei An immediately began to fawn over her: "Then, sister-in-law, I'll take you home. I came by carriage, and it stops at the other end of the street. Where are you going, sister-in-law, home or to the pharmacy?"
After a moment's thought, Xu Ruoyan said, "Let's go home. Let's go back and see if Pei Jue has left yet."
Pei An thought he should also report the progress to his brother, so he ran ahead to lead the way for Xu Ruoyan.
Xu Ruoyan followed behind him, watching his cheerful figure, and couldn't help but doubt her own memory.
Is this really the same mature and composed Pei An I first met?
It's true that everyone unconsciously becomes a childlike child when they're with their loved ones.
Upon returning home, Xu Ruoyan immediately noticed the closed door.
"He's probably already gone." Xu Ruoyan pushed open the heavy door and, sure enough, did not see Pei Jue's figure.
"Madam!" Mai Dong ran over from the front hall. "Master just left not long ago. He left you a letter."
Pei An followed Xu Ruoyan into the courtyard, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but crane his neck to look at the letter out of curiosity.
Xu Ruoyan unfolded the letter and glanced at it. It was nothing more than telling her that she had decided to set off early in order to return before the imperial examination, and that she didn't need to worry.
"...With Zhuying by your side on this journey, Madam need not worry. I will send letters home on time. Please take good care of yourself and do not fret."
Pei An couldn't help but click his tongue behind his back: "No wonder he's a married man, he's become so long-winded."
Xu Ruoyan turned to look at him: "Pei Jue wasn't like this before?"
Pei An almost jumped up when Xu Ruoyan asked him: "Of course not! My brother used to be decisive and cold, and he didn't talk much. The only person who can make him talk so much is you, sister-in-law."
He shuddered dramatically, saying, "That's so disgusting! I can't become like that in the future."
Xu Ruoyan did not comment on his words, but simply smiled.
"In that case, let's go to the pharmacy and get some medicine for Madam Guo."
Pei An said "Hey" and followed Xu Ruoyan outside.
"Um, sister-in-law," he hesitated for a long time before finally leaning closer to ask, "can Guo Yuan's wife really be cured? Guo Yuan looks like he's in excruciating pain, so it seems quite serious."
Xu Ruoyan said calmly, "Do you want to hear the truth?"
Pei An nervously hummed in response.
Although it's already the end of January, there's no sign of spring here. The fierce cold wind is still sweeping through every corner of the city, and the temperature is struggling to rise, remaining stubbornly below zero.
Xu Ruoyan crushed a fallen leaf by the roadside and said, "It's probably incurable."
These words were like a heavy hammer, striking hard into the hearts of two people.
"Even with your amazing abilities, sister-in-law, there's nothing you can do?" Pei An couldn't help but ask.
“My medical skills are limited. While I’m not completely helpless, this illness is an acute one, and it’s difficult to cure it completely with the available medicines. Besides, the weather is so cold now, and the woman is very weak after giving birth. If she can pull through, we can only rely on God’s blessing.”
These words sounded extremely cruel to Pei An, but Xu Ruoyan was able to accept them calmly. After all, she had been a doctor for many years and had seen all kinds of life and death, but this was the first time she had felt so powerless.
If this were in modern times, she was sure she could save that life, she thought. But now, she could only do her best to fight against the harsh environmental conditions.
It was at this moment that she suddenly became resolute.
She wants to stay here and save more people.
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