Chapter 141: Surgery and Bone-Setting (1)

Sand weighting is a very conventional method, but undeniably, it is extremely practical.

In modern times, whether in various sports disciplines or military training across different nations, weight-bearing exercises are almost indispensable. In ancient times, didn't the monks of the Shaolin Temple practice martial arts while carrying buckets of water on shoulder poles?

Liu Yitiao provided Wang Dacheng with a detailed explanation of the precautions to be taken during weight-bearing exercises. For instance, at what positions should the weights be strapped on the feet, waist, and arms? What should be the weight of the iron sand for each specific part of the body? How should one train so as not to injure oneself while achieving the optimal weight-bearing effect?

By the time he finished speaking, the sky was already bright. Knowing that Wang Dacheng had to report for his patrol duty, Liu Yitiao waved his hand and said to him, "As long as you can follow the methods I've described for your training, your martial arts will surely make significant progress within half a year. Alright, the hour is getting late, and you have to go on patrol shortly. Don't linger here any longer, hurry off now."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dacheng stood up, bowed respectfully to Liu Yitiao, and said, "Dacheng will keep the teachings of Master Liu today deeply engraved in his heart. When Dacheng achieves success in his studies in the future, he will certainly never forget this! Dacheng takes his leave now. Until we meet again, Master Liu!"

"Mm," Liu Yitiao nodded, watching him depart. This kid is good material, and his future achievements are bound to be extraordinary. I'm afraid the Left Imperial Guard won't be able to hold him for long, Liu Yitiao evaluated Wang Dacheng inwardly.

"Young master, Imperial Guard Li has arrived." Xiao Su raised a hand to point outside, and sure enough, wasn't that Li Jihe from the Eastern Palace?

Liu Yitiao looked up at the sky; it was only around seven or eight in the morning. What is Li Jihe doing here so early? Straightening his clothes, Liu Yitiao stepped forward to greet him, cupping his fists as he said to Li Jihe, "Good morning, Brother Jihe. To seek out Liu at such an early hour, I wonder what business brings you here?"

"Greetings, Divine Doctor Liu," Li Jihe bowed deeply to Liu Yitiao and said, "It is truly discourteous of me to disturb you so early in the morning. I beg the divine doctor to forgive me!"

"Think nothing of it!" Liu Yitiao smiled indifferently and said, "Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have any instructions? Jihe, feel free to speak."

"You are wise, Divine Doctor Liu," Li Jihe cupped his fists and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has sent this humble one to invite the divine doctor to the Eastern Palace for a discussion!"

With that, Li Jihe stepped forward and whispered softly into Liu Yitiao's ear, "The Emperor, the Empress, and all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Service are currently at the Eastern Palace, solely to witness the divine doctor's surgical marvel. Please hurry along with this humble one, and do not keep His Majesty and the others waiting too long."

"Oh?" Quite a grand lineup. Liu Yitiao raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged, and asked softly, "The list I gave to Jihe yesterday—has Jihe prepared everything properly? Also, has Daoist Priest Sun arrived at the Eastern Palace yet?"

Li Jihe replied, "Reporting to the divine doctor, those instruments were crafted overnight and are fully prepared. As per the divine doctor's instructions, they are now placed securely within the bedchamber of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. As for Daoist Priest Sun, His Royal Highness has already dispatched men to invite him, and no doubt he is already on his way to the Eastern Palace by now. Divine doctor, let us hurry over."

"No rush," Liu Yitiao waved his hand slightly and smiled, "Daoist Priest Sun resides outside the palace. Even if he travels as fast as possible, it will still take a quarter of an hour at least. Therefore, there is no need for us to panic. You must know that this surgery cannot possibly be performed without Daoist Priest Sun present. Ah, Jihe, wait here for a moment while I go inside to fetch some things and change into a clean set of clothes before we depart. Otherwise, dressed in this attire of mine, going there might risk showing disrespect."

"As the divine doctor wishes, this humble one will wait here respectfully for the divine doctor." Seeing how resolute Liu Yitiao was, and noticing that he was indeed dressed in short, humble garments—which might be fine when meeting ordinary people, but before the Emperor and the Empress, it constituted an offense of disrespect—Li Jihe no longer urged him to hurry and stood waiting outside with a bow.

A short while later, Liu Yitiao emerged from the room again, wearing a slightly worn long robe that made him look even more rustic. He appeared utterly out of place amidst the resplendent grandeur of the imperial palace. It was as jarring a sight as a ragged beggar suddenly appearing inside an international five-star luxury hotel.

Isn't this the exact same outfit Master Liu was wearing that day at the Sanyuan Pharmacy? Because the initial impression was so profound, Li Jihe recognized it at a glance.

"Divine doctor, if you dress like this, won't it..." Although Li Jihe found it quite endearing, even harboring an impulsive urge to rush up and give him a hug, what would the Emperor, the Empress, and the imperial physicians from the Medical Service think when they saw this? This was even less appropriate than the short garments from earlier.

Liu Yitiao chuckled dismissively and said, "Jihe, do not worry. I am merely a farmer at heart, and this is simply restoring my original colors. I imagine His Majesty and the Empress are not as shallow as others to judge people by their appearance. Very well, let us be on our way."

Speaking so righteously, in truth, it was simply to avoid getting blood splattered all over his clothes while performing surgery on Li Chengqian.

"What the divine doctor says is true, entirely true." A bead of cold sweat rolled down Li Jihe's forehead, and bowing his head, he invited, "Please lead the way, Divine Doctor Liu! This humble one shall guide you."

"Very well, let's go." Liu Yitiao acknowledged, then followed Li Jihe toward the Eastern Palace.

Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, the Emperor, Empress Changsun, and a flock of white-bearded veteran imperial physicians were all seated.

Stepping forward, Liu Yitiao bowed respectfully to Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, proclaiming, "Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress!"

Seeing Liu Yitiao's attire, which was even shabbier than when he first arrived at Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun exchanged a glance, wondering what kind of medicine Liu Yitiao was selling in this gourd.

"Greetings, Master Liu," Li Shimin waved his hand lightly and said, "Knowing that the master intends to perform surgery on the Crown Prince today to treat his foot affliction, both the Empress and I are deeply concerned and have come here specifically to watch and wait. We hope the master will not take offense."

"You flatter me, Your Majesty. This humble citizen is overwhelmed." Liu Yitiao hurriedly bowed and said, "When children are injured or ill, parents naturally worry in their hearts—this is human nature. Having experienced it myself, this humble citizen understands completely. Please rest assured, Your Majesty and Empress: during today's surgery, this humble citizen will give his utmost to extract the foreign object and restore a pair of sound and healthy legs to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Very well. We trouble Master Liu." Li Shimin nodded, a strange glint flashing in his eyes at Liu Yitiao's words.

"I wonder when Master Liu plans to begin?" Empress Changsun leaned back in her chair, her complexion somewhat pale, and asked Liu Yitiao with light breaths.

"This," Liu Yitiao glanced around the room, and seeing that the old Daoist priest Sun Simiao had not yet arrived, he bowed to Empress Changsun and replied, "Empress, we must wait for Daoist Priest Sun to arrive before we can proceed; otherwise, relying solely on this humble citizen, I fear it would be difficult to complete the surgery."

"If the master alone cannot do it, what if you add this old fellow?" At this point, Wang Kui stepped forward voluntarily, first bowing to Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, and then cupping his hands toward Liu Yitiao, saying, "This old fellow wishes to serve as an assistant to Master Liu, aiding from the side in treating His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's foot affliction. I wonder if Master Liu considers this old fellow qualified?"

"Director Wang?!" The group of imperial physicians behind Wang Kui stared at him in astonishment, wondering why he was lowering his status so much as to offer to act as an assistant to a mere village farmer and merchant?

"Qualified, of course qualified. Director Wang is the director of the Imperial Medical Service, and your medical skills are the most brilliant within the entire department. If you are not qualified, then there are probably very few people in this world who are. However," Liu Yitiao cast a slight sideways glance at Wang Kui and said, "this humble citizen dares not employ you."

Seeing Wang Kui's expression shift slightly, Liu Yitiao continued, "Firstly, it is because your official rank is too high, and this humble citizen fears I could not command you, or that I might incur complaints from the other imperial physician lords. Secondly, this humble citizen fears that should Director Wang make any mistake or accident during the surgery, the consequences are something this humble citizen cannot bear. After all, the process of this surgery is extremely perilous and concerns the life and safety of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. This humble citizen cannot afford to be anything less than careful. I hope Director Wang will not take offense."

Mistakes or accidents? Li Shimin raised an eyebrow and couldn't help casting a deep look at Wang Kui.

"Your Majesty!" Before Wang Kui could step out to speak, someone leaped out from behind to uphold justice for him. "Director Wang has practiced medicine for over thirty years, always acting with rigorous diligence and prescribing medicine with prudence. He has never had any major mistakes or accidents. This humble subject has been a colleague of Director Wang for twenty-five years and knows his medical skills and virtue intimately; I can vouch for Director Wang. Master Liu's words just now are sheer slander. This subject requests that Your Majesty punish Master Liu for loose talk and restore justice to Director Wang!"

"We request that Your Majesty punish Master Liu for loose talk and restore justice to Director Wang!" With someone taking the lead, all the imperial physicians sprang forward.

However, they still retained some sense of proportion, knowing that the Crown Prince's foot affliction still awaited this divine doctor, and none of them dared to press for a heavy punishment against Liu Yitiao.

"Master Liu, what do you have to say to this?" Li Shimin glanced at Liu Yitiao, wanting to see what underlying trick he had up his sleeve.

"Your Majesty," Liu Yitiao cupped his hands and said, "In the practice of medicine and healing, to claim one has never made a mistake or had an accident is simply deceiving people. Even Zhuge Liang, with his divine calculations where every strategy succeeded, still suffered the defeat at Jieting. Therefore, this humble citizen had no intention of slandering Director Wang, because such things are unavoidable for anyone. On the contrary, the imperial physician lord who spoke just now claimed that Director Wang has never had any major mistakes or accidents—in this humble citizen's view, that is sheer nonsense!"

Disregarding the old man's blowing beard and瞪 eyes at him, Liu Yitiao continued, "This humble citizen does not know what constitutes a major mistake or accident, but I do know that any mistake or accident, no matter how small, can potentially lead to grave consequences. Especially in the practice of medicine and the application of drugs."

"Take His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's foot affliction, for example. If the physician who treated him when he was first injured had been more earnest and careful, and had not failed to notice the sharp foreign object near the Crown Prince's ankle bone, His Royal Highness would not have had to limp around in pain for a full year."

"Or take the Empress's respiratory illness—does every single dose of medicine truly require that much arsenic? If the physician who originally treated the Empress had calculated the dosage of arsenic with greater precision, Her Majesty would not have had to endure the torment of that toxic affliction."

"And as for these two matters, this humble citizen has heard that they were both under the full charge of Director Wang," Liu Yitiao swept his gaze across the assembled imperial physicians and asked, "I wonder if these count as Director Wang's mistakes or accidents? If they do not, then what are they considered? I beseech the gathered imperial physician lords to instruct me."