Chapter 698: Chapter 236 Notes_2
"Doctor Lin," he called Lin Danqing, "beyond the Medical Officers on duty at the Plague Hospital, summon the rest immediately. Doctor Lu’s condition is not ordinary; this problem cannot be solved alone, we must work together. The Hanlin Medical Institute has received so much salary, but now we can’t even take care of a colleague. If word gets out, we might as well not even serve anymore. From today onward, Doctor Lu is our patient, and all Medical Officers must join forces to diagnose!"
"Yes, Chief Physician." Lin Danqing hurried out the door to call the others.
Chang Jin called over Ji Xun and was about to check on Lu Tong again when Pei Yunmeng spoke, "Chief Physician Chang."
"Before Lu Tong descended the mountain, she asked me to take Golden Qin from the medicine basket back to the Plague Hospital."
Chang Jin and Ji Xun were startled, and only then did they notice the medicine basket Pei Yunmeng had brought back was stuffed full of medicinal herbs, most prominently clumps of golden flowers shimmering against the spring light, delicate and vivid.
Pei Yunmeng’s voice was calm: "She said that this flower could relieve heat toxins. If the Red Tree Vines are ineffective, Doctor Ji might consider incorporating this flower into a new prescription, replacing two other herbs, which might prove useful against the Pingzhou epidemic."
Both were taken aback.
Lu Tong had already fallen ill, looking extremely weak, yet she was still concerned about the Pingzhou epidemic.
It seemed that she had braved the snowstorm to ascend the mountain just for this flower.
Chang Jin’s throat felt somewhat dry.
Lu Tong had always been reticent and appeared distant with everyone at the Medical Officer Institute. The Medical Officers thought it was just her temperament, overly calm and lacking warmth. As a healer, she always seemed to lack a touch of human kindness.
But now it seemed that her silence was due to her tolerance—although she herself was tormented by illness, she still dared to venture into the mountains regardless of the risk.
Such a foolish child...
...
The fragrance of medicine once again wafted from outside the Plague Hospital.
The Red Tree Vines from Pingzhou were still on their way, but the Golden Qin brought back by Lu Tong had alleviated the urgent need.
The Medical Officers gathered together, worked tirelessly through the night to revise the prescriptions. Golden Qin was not as potent as Red Tree Vines, but it was perfectly suited for those weakened by the epidemic, not causing too much strain on their already feeble bodies.
Cuicui also drank the new medicine.
After her father’s death, she became much quieter and less lively than before.
Lin Danqing packed up the empty medicine bowl, intending to leave, when Cuicui stopped him.
"Doctor Lin," the little girl hesitated before speaking, "is Doctor Lu doing well?"
Everyone at the Plague Hospital was saying Lu Tong went to the mountain to gather herbs for the patients, which was why they all switched to a new prescription regimen. However, Lu Tong herself had suddenly fallen ill and had not appeared for days.
Lin Danqing paused for a moment, then said, "She’s stable."
"Doctor Lin, may I ask you for a favor?"
"What is it?"
Looking at him, Cuicui said, "Could you, on my behalf, apologize to Doctor Lu?"
Lin Danqing was taken aback.
Cuicui lowered her head, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and spoke softly, "After my dad’s accident, I blamed Doctor Lu... I know it wasn’t her fault. I was just too heartbroken..."
"The Red Madam of the Plague Hospital said that Doctor Lu went to Luomei Peak to gather medicine for us. Everyone in Pingzhou knows how dangerous Luomei Peak is in the snow. I want to apologize to her myself, but Chief Physician Chang said Doctor Lu hasn’t woken up yet... When will she wake up?"
The little girl, who had lost both her parents, timidly placed a grasshopper in Lin Danqing’s palm.
Lin Danqing looked at the grasshopper in his hand and after a moment, he squatted down, stroked Cuicui’s head, and said, "She was never angry with you."
"Doctor Lu is the most generous and forgiving person," he continued, "She will wake up soon. Once she does, she’ll come to find you, and you can make grasshopper baskets together."
Cuicui nodded her head, but Lin Danqing felt a pang in his heart and, unable to look any longer, got up and quickly left the Plague Hospital.
Pingzhou had snow every day, and the north wind stung the cheeks. Lin Danqing, after packing up the medicine bowls, headed back in the direction of the Medical Officers’ quarters, his expression somewhat vacant.
Lu Tong’s condition was very grave.
At first, they thought that Lu Tong’s relapse was due to weakness, but after all the Medical Officers diagnosed her together, and Ji Xun and Lin Danqing consulted Pei Yunmeng about the symptoms before Lu Tong fell ill, they gradually confirmed that it was not merely physical debilitation—she was poisoned.
However, her long experience as a Medicine Woman made it so that the symptoms of various poisons were now very indistinct in her body; they did not know which poisons Lu Tong had tried on herself, making it impossible to concoct an antidote tailored to her condition.
Lu Tong’s pulse grew weaker by the day. Occasionally, she had brief moments of clarity, but now those moments were ever shorter. Compared to the Plague Hospital’s patients, she was in greater danger—like the flickering wick of an oil lamp about to extinguish, uncertain of the moment it would go out.
It was a horrifying thought.
She had been a distinguished learner in all branches of medical science since her youth at the Imperial Medical Bureau. Even when she had not topped the list in the spring examinations, she remained proud and confident, believing that the medical path was boundless, and the young had all the time in the world to delve into it in the future. Now, however, she felt acutely the inadequacy of her medical skill, unable to save her own friend.