The two hurried the carriage and quickly arrived at the town’s medical clinic. Despite going early in the morning, there were still a few patients lined up before them.
Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao had no choice but to wait with their child on the side.
Xiaoxiao asked anxiously, "Husband, you say there can’t be anything wrong with the child, right?"
The main reason for bringing the child for a check-up was the fear that the child’s spleen and stomach might be affected. Not knowing if such a young child could be examined, and having no experience in child-rearing, Xiaoxiao thought it was better to be cautious.
"Don’t worry, it should be normal for infants to spit up milk. We are just being cautious," Yang Ming comforted her.
After waiting for a while, it was finally their turn, and the couple carried the child inside.
"Who’s here for the consultation? Please sit down," said the doctor.
Xiaoxiao quickly sat down with her child, "Doctor, it’s my son."
Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming had been to this medical clinic a few times before and recognized the doctor who usually held the consultations, but today’s doctor was a stranger.
"What’s wrong with the child? How old is he?"
"The child is about a month old. He spit up milk yesterday afternoon, then again at midnight, and once more this morning," Xiaoxiao hurriedly explained the symptoms.
"Bring the child over for me to have a look," said the doctor.
Xiaoxiao quickly passed the child to the doctor to examine, and eventually, the doctor took the child’s pulse.
Xiaoxiao felt uncertain; could a pulse be clearly taken from such a small child?
After a moment, the doctor spoke, "It’s normal for a child to spit up milk, this is a common occurrence with infants. It could be due to overfeeding or something he ate. There’s no need for medicine."
Upon hearing this, Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. What the doctor said was exactly the same as what their family had suggested. It seemed they really were just too nervous, "Thank you, doctor, thank you."
"I haven’t finished speaking yet."
When the doctor indicated there was more to say, Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming’s hearts tensed up again, "Doctor, please continue."
"The child may have been poisoned."
"What?" Xiaoxiao exclaimed in shock. How could this be?
"This poison is rare, a chronic type, introduced while in the womb."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoxiao felt a sudden jolt in her heart. That meant someone had administered a slow-acting poison to the child’s mother, didn’t it?
"This is a poison administered to the child’s mother, aimed at taking the child’s life. This poison won’t take the mother’s life but it will take the child’s."
Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming exchanged glances. The doctor’s words undoubtedly meant someone had wanted the child’s life even while he was still in his mother’s womb.
"Doctor, is there any cure?"
The doctor shook his head, "This poison, I only know of it by chance. I can detect it, but I cannot cure it."
Hearing this, the couple felt indescribably disheartened. If the child’s poisoning was incurable, didn’t that mean there was no hope? The child was so young; they had only just begun to bond with him.
"Doctor, is there truly no cure for this poison?"
"Divine Doctor Xue of Medicine King Valley might be able to cure this poison, but Divine Doctor Xue’s whereabouts are unpredictable and nobody knows where he is. Perhaps you could try your luck in Medicine King Valley. However, you need to be aware that, even with a slow-acting poison, the child only has two months to live since after being born, he cannot survive beyond three months."
"Thank you, doctor." Regardless, there was still hope for the child; they had two more months. Xiaoxiao paid the consultation fee.
As she was about to leave with the child, she heard Yang Ming say, "Wife, you go ahead and take the child outside. I have a few words to say to the doctor."