“Hey, I really did work hard. Thank you for understanding,” Qi Yue called out with a laugh, raising her voice.
When night fell deeply, the small courtyard was still lit with lamplight. Although they had agreed not to enter to see their son, the magistrate couple absolutely refused to leave this courtyard. Qi Yue knew she couldn’t be too demanding, so she had a room cleaned for the couple to rest.
“I’ll personally watch over him. I know how to provide care. What you need to do now is rest well. Once he passes the dangerous period, you’ll need to take care of him,” Qi Yue repeatedly persuaded.
The term “dangerous period” again stimulated the magistrate couple.
“Didn’t you say that… that… surgery went smoothly? How can it still be… dangerous?” the magistrate’s wife asked with a trembling voice, grasping Qi Yue’s hand.
“Generally, after surgery, there’s an observation period,” Qi Yue smiled, comforting them. “We simply call it the dangerous period. There might be danger, or there might not be. I can only guarantee I’ll do my best, but the outcome… I really can’t say for certain.”
These words, which were common in modern hospitals, left the magistrate couple even more confused.
“Then what exactly is this?” the magistrate’s wife cried. “Did you treat him or not?”
Qi Yue didn’t know what to say when Liu Pucheng opened the window.
“He was treated, sir and madam. The young master is only unconscious because the anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet,” he said, then called back to Zhang Tong.
Zhang Tong brought a bowl of medicinal soup and used a spout pot to feed it to the magistrate’s son. Then he lifted the sheet covering the makeshift support frame made from a flower stand.
The patient’s bandaged wound was exposed before the magistrate couple.
The magistrate’s wife immediately burst into tears, throwing herself against the window and calling her son’s name continuously.
The patient seemed to hear the calls and slowly moved his head, turning toward them.
“Mother…” he moved his lips, making a mumbling sound that only Zhang Tong, who was close by, could hear.
But this was enough for the magistrate couple.
“Those… those…” the magistrate, being a man, noticed more details. He pointed at the bandages on his son’s body and the tubes coming out of his body, asking tremblingly, “Did you really cut open his belly?”
“Of course, otherwise how could we cut…” Qi Yue said.
Before she could finish, Liu Pucheng coughed to interrupt her.
“Otherwise, how could we open the belly to repair the damaged internal organs?” he took over, glancing at Qi Yue.
Qi Yue hesitated briefly, understanding his look, and said no more, only nodding.
“Cut open the belly… really cut it open…” the magistrate muttered to himself, then looked at his son who had awakened from anesthesia—though still mentally confused, he was indeed alive. His expression was indescribably shocked.
With their minds somewhat at ease, the magistrate couple finally agreed to go to another room to rest briefly.
Qi Yue returned to the room.
“Doctor, why didn’t you let me tell the family that the spleen was…” she asked.
Liu Pucheng stopped her.
“Tong’er, go call Hu San,” he said.
Zhang Tong hurriedly responded and went to call him. A’Ru, who had gone to prepare medicine, and Hu San, who had been cleaning up surgical waste, both came hurrying over.
The door closed, and Liu Pucheng stood with them in the small alcove where medicine was prepared, looking at them.
“Remember, this time Miss Qi’s treatment of Young Master Huang was exactly the same method as treating that girl,” he said quietly.
The people in the room, including Qi Yue, didn’t understand what he meant.
“That is to say, it was just cutting open the belly to heal the wound. Nothing else—you’re not allowed to say anything else,” Liu Pucheng said again.
This time Qi Yue understood. She thought of the words Liu Pucheng had interrupted earlier.
“Doctor Liu, but this time was different from A’Hao’s case. This was a spleen removal. Not telling the family about this…” she said.
It was understandable to conceal a patient’s condition from the patient, but to conceal treatment details—especially something as major as removing internal organs…
A’Ru, Hu San, and Zhang Tong also understood and all looked at Liu Pucheng.
“Miss Qi, this matter cannot be spoken of,” Liu Pucheng said, looking at Qi Yue.
“Why can’t it be spoken of?” Qi Yue asked, puzzled. She had never done such a thing before—it was unthinkable.
Doctors had to record every step of surgery in detail, let alone something as major as removing a patient’s spleen. Not informing the patient would result in a lawsuit.
“Because I don’t want Miss Qi to end up like my master,” Liu Pucheng said gravely, his face showing a trace of sorrow. “There will always be people in this world who try new methods, but such attempts challenge people’s understanding. In people’s eyes, the unknown is as terrifying as demons. My master was beaten more than once while saving people. His clinic was destroyed more than once while he was saving people. If he saved a life, he would be beaten. If he couldn’t save a life, he would be beaten even more…”
Qi Yue looked at him.
“Miss Qi, the body and hair are received from one’s parents. The matter of spleen removal is too shocking to speak of—at least, not now,” Liu Pucheng said to her solemnly. “I don’t want your excellent skills to be destroyed by endless questioning and explanations.”
Qi Yue looked at him, her nose tingling with emotion.
She naturally thought of how she would face the magistrate couple’s questioning after telling them about the spleen removal, and had prepared herself to bear their anger.
She just hadn’t expected that someone would stand up, willing to violate medical ethics to conceal this, just to spare her from facing these troubles.
“Doctor Liu, you…” she choked up slightly.
“Miss Qi, I believe in you. Everything you do is done with confidence, never reckless or impulsive. So, do what you want to do. As for other matters…” Liu Pucheng smiled slightly, “Healing the patient is your explanation to them.”