Chapter Fifty Diagnosis

  The women in the mansion were all reserved, only speaking three-tenths of their mind. Even if they had knives to stab each other's backs, they would still appear affectionate and sisterly when face-to-face. Everyone was shocked to encounter a woman who spoke so bluntly for the first time. Especially Old Madam, who had been caught cursing behind someone's back and felt uneasy about it, sat stiffly there, convinced that Zhen Shiniang would also pretend not to hear, just like other women, and they could all tacitly avoid the awkwardness and save face.

  Never would have thought, Zhen Shiniang would say it so bluntly.

  Mrs. Xiao's face turned red and white, and she muttered to herself, "As expected of a rural village woman, she can't even turn a phrase!"

  However, after some careful consideration, Mrs. Xiao was taken aback.

  This statement is straightforward and to the point, yet it's absolutely watertight!

  She didn't say she was too proud to see a doctor, but rather that she didn't dare to live in vain; she rushed in without hesitation. She didn't say she was unrefined and ignorant of etiquette, but rather that she feared putting Xia Zhongtang in an unfilial position. The four words "talent and learning are shallow" were used after seeing herself, not after seeing her own illness.

  The meaning is completely different!

  It's ironic that, upon closer examination, these words are actually facts, leaving her unable to refute them. This woman's skill in manipulating public opinion is almost on par with that of a seasoned politician; if she were allowed to leave like this today, with her sharp tongue, the prestige of the Zhong Tang Fu would be completely lost among the people!

  "Good!" The more noble the person, the more they care about their dignity. Seeing Zhen Shining had already walked to the door, Old Lady suddenly shouted loudly to stop her, "I'll let you take my pulse."

  "She finally agreed!" Zhen Shi Niang's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't turn around, her body just paused for a moment before reaching out to pull the door again.

  "Slow down, Mr. Jian!" Second Mistress hastily shouted after him.

  The old lady thought of the second wife, but what she didn't know was that due to the big head plague incident, Jian Dafu's reputation had already spread among the people. Just like this, let her go, and with this brilliant tongue work, I'm afraid there won't be any folk doctors who will dare to enter the Zhongtangfu gate in the future.

  Zhen Shining slowly turned around.

  "But listen up." Seeing that she had finally turned around, Old Lady Xiao secretly let out a sigh of relief and sternly said, "If you can't cure me, don't even think about taking a single penny!"

  Zhen Shiniang smiled faintly.

  She had already discussed this with Gu Maibang earlier. The Zhongtang Fu would be responsible for sending and receiving her, and if she couldn't cure Old Lady Xiao, she wouldn't take a single penny.

  She felt the pulse again and examined Old Lady Xiao's eyelids, tongue, nostrils, etc. Zhen Shiniang furrowed her brow into a mass of wrinkles.

  In this big house, you can hear a pin drop.

  "What illness did your mother contract?" Seeing Zhen Shining remain silent for a long time, the second lady broke the silence.

  Zhen Shining shook her head, then shook it again, her brow furrowed even tighter.

  The old lady snorted, just about to mock a few words, but saw Zhen Shiniang suddenly raise her head and ask the big girl Xi Yue beside her, "Is the old lady's snoring serious when she sleeps?"

  Snoring?

  Mrs. Xiao's face turned purple with rage, and before Xi Yue could respond, she cut in, "I never snore when I sleep!" Her tone was overbearing and decisive.

  It's a joke, she was born into a prestigious family, a well-bred lady from a good background, how could she possibly snore in her sleep?

  Xi Yue's lips moved a few times, and finally nodded unnaturally towards Zhen Shi Niang.

  “…This is very important for the diagnosis.” Zhen Shi Niang's gaze fell on Xi Yue's hands, which were tightly clutching her handkerchief. “If you lie and affect my judgment, Old Lady will be in danger of losing her life.” Her voice was soft as usual, but carried an invisible pressure.

  Xī Yuè's hands tightened on the handkerchief, her eyes darting over to meet Jiān Shí Niáng's clear and piercing gaze, as if it could see right through everything. Xī Yuè felt a wave of panic, her eyes quickly flashing away to the side.

  Zhen Shining's gaze fell on Xihua, Xichun and Xiachun again, each standing upright, their eyes fixed tightly on the floor, as if in this brief moment, a glittering golden ingot would emerge from the floor.

  In front of the doctor, there's no avoiding private matters, it concerns Old Lady Xiao's life and death, this isn't a time to worry about dignity. Zhen Shi'niang let out a quiet sigh, turned her head to look at Second Madam.

  She stared at them until they felt extremely unnatural, and the second lady waved her hand at the little maidservants on the ground, "You all get out." Only Chun, Hua, Qiu, and Yue, the four senior maidservants, were left behind. "There are no outsiders here, so you must answer truthfully about how the old lady has been sleeping lately."

  Also seeing the four people's expressions were off, Old Lady's heart skipped a beat.

  "The old lady's snore is very loud, like...like...a man..." Xi Yue hesitated and dared not look into the old lady's eyes.

  "Am I really snoring?" The tone had weakened a bit, and the old lady asked the four maidservants, but her eyes glanced at Zhen Shiniang.

  The four senior maids nodded silently.

  "When did it start?" Xun Shi didn't notice Mrs. Xiao's embarrassment, and Zhen Shiniang signaled her to tilt her head back, using the light from the window to carefully examine her nostrils, "Is it intermittent?"

  Seeing her calm and composed demeanor, with no hint of disdain on her face, Old Lady Xiao's heart felt a little lighter, and she cooperated by tilting her head back.

  Many famous doctors were invited, but no one asked about this symptom. In an instant, the people in the house had a hint of reverence for Zhen Shiniang. Xi Yue didn't dare to be vague and replied seriously, "It was probably around February or March, one night when I was on duty, I heard snoring like thunder and thought it was a thief, so I called Xi Hua to take a stick and go in to check..." Xi Yue's voice trailed off.

  A woman's snores are as loud as thunder and spread out, which is not dignified at all. Everyone has been avoiding it.

  Seeing Old Lady's face turn red, Xi Chun hurriedly mediated, "...... Is it related to this illness?"

  She then asked Xiao Lao Furen if she often felt nasal congestion and whether she could smell odors, etc. in her daily life. Zhen Shi Niang nodded, "Xichun said it correctly, the old lady's snoring is indeed related to this illness..."

  Mrs. Xiao had a disease common in her past life - nasal polyps.

  However, the polyp was located further back, near the nasopharynx, and couldn't be seen from the nostrils, which is why no one noticed it.

  As soon as she entered the door, Zhen Shiniang saw that Old Lady Xiao's face was purple, and she was sure that she was 80% likely to have respiratory problems, due to long-term hypoxia, which would cause headaches, tinnitus, memory loss, irritability, and breathing difficulties. The respiratory system only has a few organs, including the nose, throat, trachea, bronchi, and lungs. Old Lady Xiao had difficulty breathing but did not cough, and her lung sounds were normal, so it was unlikely to be a problem with the trachea or lungs. That left only the nose, throat, and larynx.

  Zhen Shining suspected it was rhinitis, sinusitis, or nasal polyps.

  The nasal cavity was specifically checked and all excluded, especially the nasal polyps. One of the most obvious characteristics is a frog nose, which causes external nasal deformation due to compression by polyps.

  But none of these symptoms were present in the old lady, so she just furrowed her brow.

  In her previous life, she had access to advanced medical equipment and all she needed was a nasal endoscopy. But this was ancient times, she had nothing, and the only thing she could rely on was her rich experience and solid basic skills. After racking her brains, she suddenly remembered a special case she had diagnosed in her previous life:

  That little girl was nine years old, snoring loudly while sleeping, never finishing her homework, and even peeing in class. Her intelligence was lower than that of children of the same age... Later, she was diagnosed with nasal polyps, which caused poor breathing, leading to long-term hypoxia of the brain, resulting in decreased intelligence...