Chapter 263
Chapter 263
Princess Yingyan said.
“Shen Lang, no one in this world can save you now! You've completely dug your own grave by messing with me. You said it got hard? I'll make sure you can never use it again!”
Soaking it in water and scrubbing it with a wire brush would surely render it useless—a fate more miserable than castration. Shen Lang calmly said to her.
“Princess Yingyan, haven't you always dreamed of having a child? The reason you fought so fiercely with your husband was because you couldn't conceive. I can give you a child.”
Hearing this, Princess Yingyan was first stunned, then on the verge of exploding.
'You trash, you scoundrel! You want to sleep with me? You're really asking for death. I, Yingyan, despise pretty boys like you the most. Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're handsome? That all the women in the world will fall for you? I, Yingyan, won't fall for a man who only knows how to harm women. I'll castrate every pretty boy and handsome man I see. There isn't a single good man among those with pretty faces.'
“Shen Lang, you have some nerve. You'll give me a child? You mean you want to sleep with me? Fine! We'll skip the trouble of soaking and scrubbing your manhood with a wire brush and just cut it off directly. How would you like to be a eunuch in my residence? Now, cut off his manhood!”
Yingyan was truly furious. This piece of trash dared to insult her, even to her face. Shen Lang said in a surprised voice.
“That's not what I meant! I meant that I can cure your infertility.”
“Whatever you meant, it's too late. Cut it off!”
A strapping female warrior, eight feet tall with an equally thick waist, drew a dagger from her belt.
“My lord, I'm sorry. I don't want to do this either.”
And she prepared to swing the blade with all her might. But just then, Huang Feng and Shen Shisan burst into the room and blocked the dagger.
“Agh!”
The burly female warrior cried out in surprise as the dagger flew from her hand. Everyone looked at her with contempt.
'Your martial arts are so advanced, yet a single block sends your dagger flying? You should at least make your acting believable. Are you trying to curry favor just because you're in front of a handsome man? No matter how much you try, you're so brawny and plain that a pretty boy like him wouldn't even look at you.'
At that moment, Shen Lang wiped all trace of a smile from his face and spoke seriously.
“Your Highness, the reason I spoke so rudely and provoked you was because I wanted to save you.”
Yingyan sneered.
“Do I need you to save me? Do you think there's anyone in the capital who would dare to touch me?”
“Your Highness, isn't it true that due to an unspeakable condition, you can't even drink a sip of water properly?”
Hearing this, Yingyan's expression changed. This secret was known only to her most trusted confidants; no outsider could possibly know. She soon realized how Shen Lang knew. An Zaishi must have told him. The rumor that Physician An Zaishi, who was living at the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, was a master physician had spread even to the capital, so Yingyan had secretly sent someone to inquire about her symptoms.
Yingyan was incredibly healthy; otherwise, she wouldn't have become such a tigress. But even this formidable woman had a fatal weakness. Every time she urinated, the pain was like torture—several times worse than childbirth. She would be drenched in sweat each time, and if her body and mind weren't so resilient, she might have fainted. Urinating was an unparalleled agony for her.
She had secretly visited every physician, but none could cure her; they couldn't even identify the illness. Moreover, as a woman and a noble princess with a peculiar ailment, she couldn't allow a male physician to examine her. Fortunately, there were female physicians, though their skills weren't exceptional. She had been examined by at least four or five of them, and all of them said she was perfectly healthy with no problems whatsoever.
After four or five years, the pain grew so intense that she sometimes lost the will to live. Recently, she had even started seeing traces of blood after urinating. Yingyan wasn't afraid of dying, but she didn't want to die so painfully and meaninglessly. However, when the pain became too severe, she sometimes wished for a swift death by the blade just to end the suffering.
She often prayed to the heavens, promising to pay any price, even give up her status as a princess, if someone could just cure her illness. A person has to urinate every day. Who could endure such unparalleled agony at least once a day? So, when she heard Shen Lang say he could cure her, Princess Yingyan immediately asked.
“You can save me?”
Shen Lang nodded.
“I've sought out countless physicians, but none of them even knew what illness I have. Besides, you're not a renowned physician. How can you possibly save me?”
“I am a master physician specializing in women's ailments.”
At the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, he was the master, so he treated others out of goodwill. Tending to the health of his father-in-law and mother-in-law was an act of filial piety. He never needed to use his medical skills as a means to get ahead. But things were different in the capital. His medical knowledge and his X-ray vision would be very useful.
However, Shen Lang had no desire to become a professional physician. If he did, all sorts of powerful figures would constantly bother him to treat their illnesses, leaving him no time for anything else. If he refused to treat a high-ranking official, he would be branded a criminal. So, Shen Lang decided to position himself as a master physician for women's ailments. *Sigh!* That way, fewer people would come seeking his help.
Ordinary people wouldn't have the status to ask for his treatment, so only the powerful and noble would seek him out. But the women of noble families valued their reputation. Unless it was a life-threatening matter, would they really come to him? If they contracted an unclean disease, they would be too ashamed to see him. Therefore, Shen Lang's medical skills could save people in critical moments, but he wouldn't have to worry about a constant stream of patients at his door.
'I, the great Shen Lang, am a master physician of women's ailments. I treat only women!'
With a slogan like that, any queen or empress with an incurable disease would come to him. His medical skill was as good as a ladder to success.
'It seems I, Shen Lang, was destined from birth to live by the grace of women.'
Princess Yingyan said seriously.
“Shen Lang, I suffer a pain several times worse than childbirth at least three times a day. I swore that whoever cured my illness would be my benefactor. But... if you are lying to me just to save your own life, I will make you die a truly painful death. Of course, I know I absolutely cannot kill you. Killing you would bring about a great disaster. But if you deceive me in this matter, I will kill you, no matter the cost. I would even pay with my own life.”
Shen Lang replied with a serious expression.
“Your Highness, I, Shen Lang, have never joked about such matters in my life.”
“Then tell me. What is this illness I have? Why does every physician who examines me say that I'm in good health?”
Shen Lang gestured for Shen Shisan to leave the room, and Princess Yingyan dismissed the female warriors by her side.
“Do you need to examine my body? I am a woman and you are a man; propriety between the sexes must be observed. That is not allowed.”
“There's no need for an examination. I already know what illness Your Highness is suffering from.”
Yingyan asked, her voice trembling.
“What is it?”
“Kidney stones!”
Yingyan was startled.
'I've never heard of such an illness.'
“Your Highness, in the past, did you not experience irregular, severe pains in your abdomen from time to time? But recently, the pain only occurs when you urinate, correct?”
Yingyan nodded, her face turning pale. Just recalling the pain made her feel like she was dying. The most excruciating pains in the world were kidney stones and ureteral stones. It was an ailment truly ten times more painful than childbirth. Even a man of steel, when struck by a kidney stone attack, would lie on the floor writhing in agony, cursing that he couldn't die instantly. For her to endure being drenched in sweat without making such an unsightly scene was truly remarkable.
“Your Highness, have you not also seen blood when you urinate recently?”
Princess Yingyan was even more astonished and nodded. That was a secret she hadn't told anyone, not even those closest to her. How could Shen Lang possibly know?
“The stones that were in your kidneys have now moved into your bladder, which is why it is so excruciatingly painful every time you urinate. The stones rub against your insides, causing the bleeding. If it isn't treated soon, it will lead to an infection, and then things will become truly troublesome.”
Shen Lang's words were so strange that Yingyan couldn't quite comprehend them.
'How can there be stones in the kidneys? Can stones form inside the body?'
Because Shen Lang spoke like an expert, Yingyan couldn't fully understand his words, but she felt that his medical knowledge was profound. Finally, Princess Yingyan asked in a voice that was trembling uncontrollably.
“Th-then, can you cure me?”
She desperately wanted to be cured, even in her dreams. She had sworn many times that she would even give up her status as a princess if she could just be healed.
“If you cure my illness, you will be my benefactor. From now on, if anyone dares to cause you trouble, I will kill them for you. If you want money, I will give you money. If you want women, I will send you ten a day. If you even want an official position, I can grant you one, though it would be below the seventh rank.”
Yingyan was deeply moved. She saw a glimmer of hope that years of nightmares could finally end. She couldn't let go of even the slightest chance.
“I can.”
“Then how long will it take?”
'Don't tell me it will take a year and a half. I really can't endure that much longer. Lately, every time the pain hits three times a day, I think it would be better to just die.'
“Just two hours!”
The moment she heard this, Princess Yingyan was ecstatic.
“Hurry and cure me. Quickly. If you can cure me, you will be the greatest benefactor of my life.”
Severe kidney stones require open surgery. But could such a major operation be performed in this world? It was no laughing matter; one wrong move could kill the patient. In the modern world, there was a procedure called Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy. It used advanced machinery to direct ultrasound waves at the stones. Reflected waves would form on the stone's surface, and the pressure would cause it to break. As the ultrasound passed completely through the stone, another reflected wave would form on the contact surface, generating a surface tension wave. When the intensity of this tension wave exceeded the strength of the stone, it would shatter. The broken fragments would then be passed out of the body through urine.
But in this world, there was no ultrasound equipment, so that method was out of the question. However, while they lacked ultrasound, they did have qi and internal energy, didn't they? The plan was to use vibrations to break the stones, then have her drink a large amount of water to flush them out. Of course, breaking the stones required incredibly precise targeting. The kidneys were softer than the stones; the slightest carelessness could injure them, leading to instant death. Therefore, he needed a supreme master who could control their qi with great finesse. Moreover, since it required physical contact to manipulate the qi, it had to be a female master.
“To treat Your Highness's illness, I will need a female master of supreme martial arts. She doesn't have to be a Grandmaster, but her skills must be close to that level.”
“Go, bring my aunt, Ning Jie.”
In less than an hour, a supreme female master entered the room. Ning Jie! She was the king's younger sister, a supreme martial arts master, and the one who had laid the foundation for Princess Yingyan's martial arts training. She was the junior sister of the Left Emissary, a former Grand Scholar of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, and a woman who had never married. Princess Yingyan lay on the bed, baring her waist, and Shen Lang officially began the treatment.