Jinyi Spring

Chapter 235 Surgery Successful

Physician Fang and Physician Fan were turned away at the door, their faces full of regret. Imperial Physician Qin was allowed in because he was the best surgeon in the Imperial Medical Academy—he was required to go in to learn.

Shui Chuchen walked to the operating table, took a deep breath, and her gaze was calm as still water.

Wang Tu lay on the stage, his body stiff as a board, his eyes tightly closed, but his eyeballs trembled slightly beneath his eyelids, revealing his tension.

Shui Chuchen looked at him quietly for a moment, then said softly, "Uncle Wang, Lord Ming told me how you were disfigured and how you endured humiliation for sixteen years. I knew then that you could bear this pain today. When you look in the mirror in the future, you will definitely see your younger self. If it really hurts, it's not shameful to groan a couple of times."

Wang Tu opened his eyes and smiled, a smile that showed all his tension. "Your Highness, I, the subject, believe in Princess Xin."

Banxia and Dr. Cai lined up their instruments on a tray: scissors, tweezers, scalpel, catgut sutures, mulberry bark sutures, ointment, medicinal powder...

"A scalpel." Shui Chuchen held out her hand, her voice steady.

Shangguan Ruyu handed her a sterilized, thin-bladed willow-leaf knife.

She pressed her left hand against the skin next to Wang Tu's cheekbone, and gently cut the edge of the scar with the tip of the knife—steady, precise, and unhurried.

The blade followed the direction of the scar, peeling away the hardened scar tissue bit by bit from the normal skin. When the tip of the blade touched the depths of the old scar, Wang Tu shuddered, then gritted his teeth and remained silent.

As blood seeped out, Banxia immediately used a cotton cloth to absorb it, keeping the wound clean.

Shui Chuchen's breathing was extremely light, her gaze focused. The hideous old scar was peeled away inch by inch by her knife.

Li Yuanzheng stood to the side, watching her hand gestures intently. Her hands were as steady as if they were nailed to the table, each cut precisely on the boundary between the scar and healthy flesh, not a fraction more or less.

He was secretly amazed: In his thirty years of medical practice, he had never seen such steady hands. Not even seventeen years old—truly a genius.

After Shui Chuchen removed the entire old scar, the fresh wound underneath was exposed. Because the scar was too wide and its direction was tricky, she made several extremely fine Z-shaped incisions along the edge of the wound—this was a reshaping technique she learned from the Taiyin Divine Needle, used to change the direction of healing and prevent linear contracture after surgery.

When loosening the adhesions, Shangguan Ruyu assisted with tweezers, gently lifting the skin edge. The two worked together seamlessly, like partners who had worked together countless times.

He then used hemostats to clamp several small blood vessels and gently tightened them—a hemostasis technique that Shui Chuchen had taught him before, which he had practiced countless times on injured prisoners. The bleeding stopped, and the wound was a clean pink.

Shui Chuchen picked up the fine, hair-like catgut suture and began to suture from the deepest layer of muscle in the wound. Stitch by stitch, evenly spaced and consistently deep.

First, suture the deep layer—securely attaching the subcutaneous tissue to the muscle layer—then suture the superficial layer—the needle tip pierces the skin edge, and with a gentle lift, the knot falls neatly and securely on one side of the wound. The stitches of the two layers are dense and close together, like flower petals embroidered by a Jiangnan embroiderer.

During this time, Shui Chuchen also asked Wang Tu to cooperate, such as to frown, smile, and open his mouth. Although Wang Tu was in pain, he did it.

Doctor Cai held the porcelain plate, watching Shui Chuchen's every move intently. She knew before that Miss Feng was a good doctor, but she didn't know she was this good.

Physician Qin's palms were sweating as he watched, repeatedly wiping them on his clothes—in his half-life of practicing medicine, he had never seen such exquisite surgical suturing, and his needlework was far beyond his reach.

When the wound was halfway stitched up, Shui Chuchen straightened up and moved her stiff fingers. Banxia stepped forward and wiped the sweat from her forehead and cheeks.

The last stitch was made, the knot was tied, and the thread was cut—clean and efficient.

Shui Chuchen stepped back and examined the entire wound—the sutures were straight as a string, the skin was neatly aligned, without a single wrinkle. From her left eyebrow to her jaw, the sixteen-year-old scar had now become a row of fine stitches.

"Dressing." Shui Chuchen took the gauze from Banxia, ​​covered the wound with the gauze soaked in Jin Chuang ointment, and then secured it with boiled cotton strips.

After the surgery was completed, Dr. Cai and Banxia brought a bowl of anesthetic powder to Wang Tu.

Although he was conscious at the moment, his face was somewhat stiff due to anesthesia, making it unsuitable for him to swallow large gulps.

The female doctor, Cai, scooped up the medicinal soup with a small spoon, gently lifted his chin, and slowly fed him spoonful by spoonful, waiting for him to swallow each spoonful before adding the next. After feeding him the last spoonful, Wang Tu's eyelids gradually drooped, and his breathing became calm and long.

Shui Chuchen took off her mask, let out a long breath, and said wearily, "Push General Wang to the post-operative observation room. The two of you take turns on duty, checking his pulse every half hour and changing his dressing every hour. If there is fever or bleeding, report it immediately."

Dr. Cai and Banxia agreed and instructed someone to gently lift Wang Tu onto a trolley and take him to the observation room.

Dr. Li let out a long breath and said softly, "Wonderful, wonderful! In all my years of practicing medicine, this is the first time I have ever seen such exquisite suturing techniques."

He secretly thought to himself that he must go to the emperor and praise this princess properly when he got back.

Imperial Physician Qin couldn't help but sigh, "Your Highness's skills are truly divine; I am in awe."

When Shui Chuchen walked out of the operating room, the midday sun was so bright that she squinted. Underneath her surgical gown, the back of her shirt was soaked with sweat. From the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM) until now, more than two hours had passed, and she had hardly straightened her back.

Peony quickly helped her up. Tang Jian handed her a handkerchief, and Shui Chuchen wiped the sweat from her forehead and rubbed her stiff wrists.

Tang Jian felt extremely distressed, but dared not say much, only whispering, "Princess, you've been working hard all day, please rest well."

Shui Chuchen smiled faintly, "It's alright."

Shangguan Ruyu took off her surgical gown and followed behind, her face full of fatigue, but her eyes were bright.

“Cousin, I’ve learned something new today. You used to teach me by drawing diagrams, and I thought it was very simple. But seeing you make the incision, suture, and stop the bleeding today, I realize how difficult it is. I need to practice more.”

Shui Chuchen said, "Your technique is already very good. With a little more practice, you won't be any worse than me." She paused, then added, "Today's procedure is facial suturing, so there can't be any mistakes. Otherwise, I'll let you handle it later."

Shangguan Ruyu chuckled. During the surgery, he really wanted to personally stitch up the wound.

Chief Physician Li, Chief Physician Fang, and Imperial Physician Qin approached and bowed deeply to Shui Chuchen, showering him with praise.

Wang Dongqian even came over and kowtowed to Shui Chuchen.

The group changed their clothes and had a meal in a side room.

After dinner, Shui Chuchen and Shangguan Ruyu sat in the room, talking in hushed tones as they waited for Wang Tu to wake up. The sun gradually began to set, and sunlight streamed in through the window lattice, casting bright, shimmering patterns on the blue brick floor.

At the end of the afternoon, around 3 PM, Wang Tu finally opened his eyes.

His face was wrapped in thick white cotton cloth, revealing only his eyes, nostrils, and lips. The cloth strips were slightly yellowed from being soaked in medicine, covering his entire face completely, like an unfinished clay sculpture.

Liu had been anxiously watching over him by the bedside. Seeing him wake up, she was so moved that tears streamed down her face, but she dared not cry out loud. (End of Chapter)