Chapter 246: 144 Surgery (First Revision)_2
What Lady Xu truly wanted to say was that the Young Master’s reputation had already waned even in comparison to the Crown Prince’s wife. If it declined further, there would be nothing left to tarnish.
Biting her teeth, the Third Prince’s wife retorted, “Does she have a sense of kinship? Which younger sister regularly speaks up for outsiders? I asked her to learn the zither with me, but she declined, saying the Crown Prince’s wife played it better! Does she understand the difference?”
As she finished speaking, the Third Prince’s wife felt her stomach pain intensify.
This maid was driving her crazy!
The Third Prince’s wife clutched her stomach, her brows knitted deeply in pain.
The two maidservants sensed something was amiss. Lady Xu asked, “Young Master, are you alright?”
“Oh…” The Third Prince’s wife could not help but groan, clutching her stomach tighter as she braced herself against the corner of the table, “We must go back home immediately… Tell the carriage to go slowly…”
The two maidservants were stunned.
Did they need to go slowly or quickly?
Sweat broke out on the Third Prince’s wife’s brow from the pain. She desperately wished to be back home immediately, but every jolt of the carriage was accompanied by a more intense wave of pain.
The maidservants noticed their master’s face growing pale, uncertain whether it was a result of anger towards the Fifth Miss or a genuine illness.
“I’m fine…” The Third Prince’s wife began, only to be interrupted mid-sentence by a sharp pain in her abdomen. She lost her balance and fell, landing hard on the floor of the carriage.
The two maidservants were terrified.
Lady Xu screamed, “Stop the carriage… Now!”
The driver halted the carriage.
Though the bouncing had stopped, the Third Prince’s wife’s condition showed no signs of improvement. She writhed in excruciating pain.
“What should we do, Sister Xu?” Lady Liu asked tremulously.
Lady Xu, kneeling beside the Third Prince’s wife, watched her master’s agonized squirming insecurities mounting.
The Third Prince’s wife might not hold on till they got home…
She pulled back the curtain, addressing the driver, “Is there a medical hall nearby?”
The driver pondered for a moment, “There is a school up ahead for girls and there seems to be a medical hall next to it.”
Lady Xu hastily commanded, “Hurry there!”
“Yes!” The driver headed towards the medical hall.
Hopping off the carriage, Lady Xu yelled, “Doctor! We need a doctor!”
The shopkeeper came out, “Miss, our medical hall has not yet officially opened. You are…”
“Ah―” From inside the carriage, a scream of agony echoed from the Third Prince’s wife.
Realizing the severity of the situation, the shopkeeper deduced they may not have the time to find another doctor.
He rushed upstairs to find Gu Jiao, who was cleaning the rooms, “We have a patient. A woman!”
Gu Jiao put down the broom, removed the apron, and went downstairs.
“Where is the doctor?” asked Lady Xu.
“Here she is.” The shopkeeper pointed at Gu Jiao.
“A female doctor?” Lady Xu frowned.
In Zhan Country, there were male doctors and female doctors. However, the medical skills of the female doctors were not as eminent as their counterparts, hence they hold a comparatively lower status.
In the Imperial Palace, female doctors could only assist the Imperial Physician and weren’t allowed to personally treat the concubines.
Lady Xu voiced out harshly, “How can a mere female doctor suffice? Call out your best doctor!”
Gu Jiao didn’t allow anyone to belittle her, she stepped forward, shielding the shopkeeper, “I am the doctor on duty. Either you let me see her, or leave.”
Lady Xu was choked with shock.
“Ah―” The Third Prince’s wife’s pain worsened.
Lady Liu pulled back the curtain, sobbing, “Sister Xu! Let her come up, already! The… the wife… seems unable to hold on much longer!”
Lady Xu’s heart thumped.
Gu Jiao climbed into the carriage. The light inside the carriage was rather dim as the day had started to fade.
“Light up all the oil lamps!” she commanded.
Lady Liu lit all of the spare oil lamps.
After a careful examination of the Third Prince’s wife, Gu Jiao noted the wife clutching her right abdomen tight. She kneeled, moved the wife’s hand, and pressed a sensitive point on the lower right side, “Does it hurt here?”
“Yes!” The Third Prince’s wife uttered as pain almost knocked her unconscious.
Gu Jiao lifted her hand, “This is acute appendicitis. You need an immediate surgery.”
“What…What does that mean?” Lady Liu questioned, unable to understand Gu Jiao’s terminology.
Gu Jiao spoke solemnly as she gazed at the suffering wife, “Surgery. I will need to cut open your abdomen and remove the inflamed appendix.”
Lady Liu stuttered in exclamation, “You… You want to cut open… the wife’s abdomen?”
The Third Prince’s wife, her face deathly pale, looked towards Gu Jiao in anticipation of an explanation.
Without breaking eye contact, Gu Jiao explained, “Your case is an emergency. Medicines can’t control it, if we don’t act as I suggest, you don’t have much time left.”
The frightening aspect of acute appendicitis is that, if not treated promptly, it may result in a perforated appendix leading to peritonitis; it has an extremely high mortality rate.