bookbashuk Chapter 35 Post-New Year's Medicine Guide
Chapter 35 Post-New Year's Medicine Guide
The air inside the warm pavilion seemed to freeze, filled with a heavy smell of medicine and a sense of oppressive panic.
Si Zi lay on the brocade couch, her small chest heaving violently, each breath accompanied by a sharp howl, as if an invisible hand was gripping her throat. Her cheeks were flushed, but her lips had an ominous pale purple hue, and her forehead was covered with fine hairs damp with cold sweat.
Two imperial physicians took turns taking the baby's pulse, their brows furrowed tightly as they exchanged rapid, low voices about diagnoses such as "phlegm-heat obstructing the lungs" and "qi rebellion failing to descend." A needle pouch and several open medicine boxes lay spread out on the table. Palace maids held their breath, carrying freshly brewed medicine, but feeding the baby, Sizi, was extremely difficult due to her labored breathing.
Li Lizhi stood guard by the bedside, tightly holding her younger sister's burning little hand, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. She forced herself to maintain the composure of a princess, directing the palace servants to wipe Sizi's body with warm water to cool her, but deep in her eyes lay undisguised anxiety and fear. She had witnessed the illness flare up more than once; both her mother and she herself had suffered from it, but this time it was exceptionally severe, given Sizi's young age.
Empress Zhangsun rushed over, her hair slightly loosened, and her usually serene face now covered with a layer of frost. She first glanced quickly at the imperial physician's expression, and her heart sank. Then she sat down by the couch, personally taking the damp handkerchief from the palace maid and gently wiping her youngest daughter's forehead. Her movements were extremely gentle, but her voice carried an undeniable authority: "How is she?"
The head imperial physician bowed, his voice hoarse: "Your Majesty, the princess's condition is caused by wind-evil triggering latent phlegm, leading to stagnation of lung qi, phlegm and heat congealing, and severe airway spasms. We have already administered acupuncture to relieve her asthma, and the decoction is being prepared to clear phlegm and open the airways. However... the princess is young and weak, and with phlegm obstructing her qi, the decoction is difficult to take. It may take some time for it to take effect..."
It takes time. But Sizi's breathing became increasingly difficult, and time was precisely the most precious thing.
Empress Zhangsun closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone in the room before finally settling on Li Lizhi: "Was there anything unusual while you were playing just now? How could such a sudden attack have occurred?"
Li Lizhi's heart tightened, and she lowered her eyes, saying, "At first it was just ordinary play, and Sizi showed no abnormalities. Before the attack... it seemed he played with some new and interesting things, got a little excited, and then caught a cool breeze..." She tried her best to attribute the cause to ordinary triggers, but her nails dug deeply into her palms. She knew that the "new and interesting things" and Xiao Qingyi's sudden disappearance were probably the deeper suspicions in her mother's heart. But now, nothing was more important than Sizi's life.
In the midst of this suffocating stalemate, a small hand quietly lifted a crack in the curtain of the side door of the warm pavilion. A tiny figure slipped in along the wall. It was none other than Xiao Qingyi, who had returned.
She was clearly also frightened by the heavy atmosphere in the room; her face was pale, but her dark eyes immediately welled up with tears when she saw the suffering Si Zi on the bed and the anxious Li Lizhi. She didn't make a sound, and while everyone's attention was on Si Zi and the imperial physician, she slowly moved behind Li Lizhi, reached out her small hand, and gently tugged at her sleeve.
Li Lizhi trembled and turned around abruptly, meeting Xiao Qingyi's tearful yet unusually earnest eyes. Xiao Qingyi quickly stuffed a small package into her hand and said in a very breathy voice, "Sister, this is for...brother...it might be useful..." After saying that, she pointed to the package, made a "look at the note" gesture, and then quickly shrank back into the corner, curling herself into a ball, her big eyes fixed on Li Lizhi, full of anticipation and unease.
Li Lizhi's heart pounded. She recognized the backpack and understood what "given by her brother" meant—it was medicine from a thousand years in the future. Reason told her it was dangerous, against etiquette, and inexplicable, but when her gaze fell on Sizi's increasingly bluish lips and her mother's solemn and desperate profile, that string of reason almost snapped.
She turned her back, using her wide sleeves as cover, and quickly opened her backpack. Inside were several things she had never seen before: a flat "glass rod" (thermometer) with a strange screen; several cool, soft patches wrapped in strange transparent films (fever-reducing patches); a small, dark blue bottle containing an amber-colored liquid (ambroxol oral solution); and several small, white, round tablets printed with strange symbols (montelukast sodium chewable tablets). A folded piece of paper was mixed in with the rest.
Li Lizhi unfolded the note with trembling fingertips. The handwriting was extremely neat, yet slightly stiff, in a style she could understand. The wording was strange, but the intention was clear: "Apply white plaster to the forehead to lower the temperature; place a glass rod under the armpit to check the temperature. Use the blue bottle of medicine to clear phlegm, half a spoonful each time. White tablets may help relieve asthma; please consult the imperial physician. Do not expose yourself to cold drafts; keep the air circulating."
Phlegm-reducing? Asthma-relieving? These terms perfectly correspond to the imperial physician's diagnosis. This method used in later generations was not without reason.
"Lizhi?" Empress Zhangsun noticed her daughter's unusual silence and movements and glanced at her sideways.
Li Lizhi clenched the note tightly in her hand, cold sweat instantly beading on her back. She looked up at her mother, then at her younger sister whose breathing was growing weaker and weaker. Two voices battled fiercely in her mind: on one hand, the palace rules to be followed, the fear of the unknown, and the unpredictable consequences that might come; on the other hand, the increasingly faint breaths of Sizi, the only straw that might be lost in an instant, coming from an unbelievable place.
Time is slowly eroding the rhinoceros's vitality.
She took a deep breath, and under the questioning gazes of Empress Zhangsun and the imperial physician, turned to the physician, handing him the note and the small blue bottle. Her voice was extremely low, yet carried a resolute determination: "Imperial Physician Wang, this is... this is a folk remedy I obtained by chance from overseas, said to have a slight effect on acute asthma and phlegm. This bottle of Chinese medicine is labeled as an expectorant, and this note says... please see..."
Physician Wang was taken aback. He took the small bottle, initially puzzled by the completely unfamiliar material and seal. He carefully sniffed it after uncorking it; the scent was crisp and slightly sweet, quite different from ordinary medicinal herbs. Looking at the note, his brow furrowed even more. "An overseas remedy? The origin of this medicine is unknown, and its ingredients are completely unknown. How can it be used lightly on the body of a princess? What if something goes wrong…?"
"If things proceed as usual, how long can the princess hold out?" Li Lizhi interrupted him, her voice trembling slightly, but her gaze fixed on him.
Physician Wang was speechless, his face showing difficulty. The situation was indeed critical, and conventional methods were too slow to take effect.
"Mother," Li Lizhi turned to Empress Zhangsun, knelt down, and when she raised her face, her eyes were already filled with tears, but they shone with a desperate light. "Your subject begs! Although this prescription is strange, the symptoms it describes match those of the rhinoceros, so there may be a glimmer of hope! Your subject is willing to guarantee with her life that if anything goes wrong, she will accept any punishment! I beg Your Majesty... to let the imperial physicians try it!" She kowtowed heavily.
Empress Zhangsun looked at her eldest daughter kneeling on the ground, then at her youngest daughter who was on the verge of death, her phoenix eyes churning with intense emotions. A foreign remedy? When did Lizhi come to be? And what was her connection to that little girl of unknown origin? Countless questions swirled within her, but at this moment, Sizi's weak groans pierced her heart like needles.
The silence lasted only a few breaths, yet it felt like an eternity.
"Imperial Physician Wang," Empress Zhangsun finally spoke, her voice hoarse and heavy, "in your opinion, if this 'folk remedy' is not used, what are the princess's chances?"
Physician Wang, his forehead beaded with sweat, bowed and said, "Your Majesty... will do your utmost, but the princess's phlegm is obstructing her airways, making it difficult for her to take the medicine. If her breathing does not become smooth within half an hour, I fear..."
Empress Zhangsun closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again with a cold, resolute expression: "Since that's the case... then we shall do as Chang Le says. Imperial Physician Wang, you personally administer a very small dose of the 'expectorant syrup' to the princess. The rest of the medicine will be discontinued for now. If any adverse reactions occur, discontinue use immediately!" This was the maximum risk she could take, placing the responsibility and risk upon herself.
"Your Majesty, I... obey your decree." The imperial physician dared not say another word. He took the finest silver spoon and carefully scooped out about half a spoonful of amber-colored liquid from the small blue bottle. He smelled and examined it again before, under the tense gaze of everyone, he and another imperial physician worked together to drip the small amount of liquid into the slightly open mouth of the rhinoceros with great difficulty.
Li Lizhi clenched her fists so tightly that she didn't even notice her nails digging into her flesh. Qingyi, in the corner, covered her eyes but peeked through her fingers.
Time ticked by. The warm chamber was eerily quiet, save for Si Zi's labored breathing and the monotonous dripping of the water clock.
About an incense stick's time later, Physician Wang, who had been intently watching Si Zi, suddenly exclaimed, "Eh!" Si Zi's tightly furrowed brows seemed to relax slightly, and the rapid, almost continuous wheezing sounds became slightly more spaced out. Although still heavy, they were no longer the heart-wrenching, suffocating sounds. After a while, she suddenly coughed weakly twice and spat out a small amount of thick phlegm.
"The phlegm...the phlegm is out!" the palace maid exclaimed in surprise.
Physician Wang hurriedly took her pulse again, his face showing disbelief: "Princess's pulse... the rebellious qi seems to have eased slightly? Although it is still slippery and rapid, the stagnation has indeed loosened!" He suddenly looked at the small blue bottle, his eyes filled with surprise and inquiry. This "overseas medicine" really has such miraculous effects?
Empress Zhangsun's shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed almost imperceptibly. Her gaze toward Li Lizhi was complex and indescribable, containing surprise, doubt, lingering fear, and deep scrutiny.
Li Lizhi swayed slightly, as if paralyzed, her heart finally settling in half, her back soaked with cold sweat. She knew this was just the beginning; Si Zi was not yet out of danger, and even greater storms might be yet to come. But at least, this glimmer of light from a thousand years in the future had temporarily dispelled the deepest darkness.
She glanced discreetly into the corner, where Xiao Qingyi was staring at her with bright, clear eyes, her little face filled with the joy of relief, nodding vigorously.