A woman holding her child was driven out of the clinic, crying her heart out; she was so pitiful.
"Dr. Song, please, please save my son! I beg you!"
"I brought money with me. I'm willing to spend any amount of money as long as my son can be cured!"
The woman shouted as she tried to push the servant aside and force her way inside.
Although she was carrying a child, she moved very nimbly, and it took two servants just to stop her.
People love excitement, and when they heard that they weren't kicked out because they were poor, they immediately became interested, and a large crowd gathered around.
He Jiuniang was among this group of people, and even though she was standing on the outside, it didn't stop her from enjoying the show.
"Why won't you listen to advice, woman? Our Doctor Song has already said he can't cure you. Don't force me to do something you shouldn't. Go back and take care of the funeral arrangements!"
"No, no, it's definitely curable! Please try again, Dr. Song! Please, please try again!"
The woman knelt down and kowtowed vigorously as if she felt no pain, leaving bloodstains on her forehead.
The crowd couldn't bear to watch and spoke up for her, saying, "Isn't Doctor Song an old imperial physician from the palace? His medical skills are renowned. This woman is begging so desperately, please have mercy and examine the child again!"
"Yes, I saw that child was completely still, it was quite pitiful!"
"If you ask me, doctors have the heart of parents. If it were truly curable, Dr. Song wouldn't have given up. This child probably has an incurable disease!"
...
There were many different opinions among the crowd. He Jiu Niang was curious about what illness the child had, so she squeezed in a little more.
At this moment, an elderly man with gray hair came out; he must be the Doctor Song that everyone was talking about.
Upon seeing this, the woman crawled forward on her knees, grabbed Doctor Song's legs, and pleaded desperately, "Doctor Song, save my son, save my son, waaaah..."
Doctor Song sighed: "I've already told you, if he had come to see me earlier, I could have tried to treat him, but it has spread throughout his body, and I am truly powerless to help. Please don't make things difficult for me anymore, and let the child rest in peace."
He didn't need to come out and explain, but he was afraid that the woman would make a big fuss and ruin his lifelong reputation.
After all, he had worked in the palace for most of his life, and his family would rely on the reputation he had built up over the years to make a living. How could he let it be ruined by a woman?
Doctor Song was quite famous in this area. After all, he was an old imperial physician from the palace, and many wealthy families liked to invite him to treat them. He was also quite humble and was well-liked by everyone.
Hearing what Dr. Song said, their previous guesses were immediately confirmed, and they all spoke up for Dr. Song: "If you, as a mother, love your child so much, why did you wait until now to bring your child to see a doctor? Isn't this putting Dr. Song in a difficult position?"
"Yes, what were you doing when the child first got sick? Didn't you have money?"
"What else can they do? They're just hoping it's not serious and want to delay it, right?"
...
Faced with increasing accusations, the woman broke down in tears, shaking her head in anguish: "No, no, it's not like that! It's not that I didn't want to take my child to the doctor! I... my husband is gone, and my eldest brother-in-law is the head of the household. They wouldn't let me take my child to the doctor. I begged for so long, so long, sob sob sob..."
The woman cried so hard she could hardly breathe, thinking about all the sad things that had happened. If her husband were still alive, her child wouldn't have to suffer like this.
Only then did everyone realize there was more to the story, and they immediately began to sympathize with the woman, realizing that life as a widow was not easy.
He Jiuniang couldn't stand seeing women cry. Seeing her crying so miserably, He Jiuniang, who didn't want to meddle, still asked, "What illness does the child have?"
The child in the woman's arms was wrapped in a garment, making it impossible to see the illness. The child remained motionless in the woman's arms and had not yet woken up, so it was likely that the child had fainted due to the severity of the illness.
Doctor Song didn't see He Jiu Niang, but he heard her voice, so he replied, "It's impetigo, which has spread all over her body. Her body is covered in sores, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Upon hearing this, the crowd, who had been hoping to see what the child looked like, all took a step back. Their bodies were covered in sores; who knew if it was contagious?
"What a coincidence!" He Jiuniang squeezed out of the crowd and said to the woman, "I happen to have two very effective prescriptions from my hometown that are specifically for treating impetigo. I just don't know if this is a case of summer heat and dampness accumulation or spleen deficiency and dampness accumulation. If you trust me, sister-in-law, why don't you let me take a look?"
Before the woman could speak, the people around her, seeing that it was a young woman, found it quite unusual and asked, "Are you a doctor too?"
He Jiuniang shook her head, readily spouting misleading words: "I'm not a doctor, this prescription is from my hometown, everyone knows it."
Upon hearing that the prescription was effective, the woman disregarded whether the other person was a doctor or not and immediately removed the clothes covering the child, exposing the festering skin to everyone's eyes, causing them to gasp in surprise.
"What a tragedy! It's rotten like this; the child must be suffering so much!"
"This old man is heartless! He only came to treat the child when he was already like this. He's clearly trying to kill him!"
"This orphan and widow really have it tough!"
...
Ignoring the whispers behind her, He Jiuniang squatted down to carefully examine the child's symptoms.
Normally, when impetigo ruptures and oozes yellow fluid, it will dry and form a scab. However, this child's situation is somewhat special. The wound just won't scab over, and the ulcerated area keeps festering, even affecting the surrounding healthy skin.
Especially in this hot weather, the wound is very easy to get infected, which makes it worse and worse.
"Young lady, is there any way to cure my son?"
The woman saw that her hair was not tied up and assumed she was an unmarried young woman, so she called her that.
This can't be blamed on He Jiuniang. After fleeing all the way, who would be in the mood to style their hair?
She nodded: "What a coincidence, it is summer heat and dampness syndrome. The two prescriptions I know are exactly for treating summer heat and dampness syndrome. If you trust me, you can try them. However, I am illiterate, so I need to ask Doctor Song to help me write down the prescription and check if it is correct."
Everyone was truly surprised by such a coincidence, and they all looked at Doctor Song with some anticipation, fearing that Doctor Song might refuse.
However, just like everyone else, Doctor Song always knew that there were always people more skilled than him and that there was always something beyond his understanding. Although he was a royal physician, he never thought that he was any better than ordinary doctors. So he was very happy to invite the person into the clinic, sit down and write a prescription.
People joined in the fun, crowding the clinic inside and out.
He Jiuniang then pretended to be trying hard to recall the prescription, and recited it with some stumbling: "Two prescriptions, one of which is a Sophora flavescens, Cnidium monnieri and Atractylodes lancea bath prescription. Take 30 grams each of Sophora flavescens and Cnidium monnieri, 15 grams each of Atractylodes lancea, Phellodendron chinense and Zanthoxylum bungeanum, and 1 gram of calomel. Boil the herbs in water and use the hot decoction to fumigate and wash the affected area three times a day."
Another prescription is a Sophora flavescens, Atractylodes lancea and Angelica dahurica ointment. Take 30 grams of tender Sophora flavescens, 18 grams each of Cnidium monnieri, roasted alum, open-mouthed Sichuan pepper, Atractylodes lancea, Angelica dahurica and Areca catechu, 12 grams each of tender sulfur, poppy and Phellodendron chinense, and 9 grams of raw licorice. Also take 6 large centipedes and grind them together with the medicinal materials into a fine powder. Fry them in lard, filter out the black oil, and apply it to the affected area after it cools and solidifies.
Both prescriptions are used together; first use the bath prescription, then the ointment prescription. The scabs will form and the skin will heal in five to seven days.
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