Chapter 461
Chapter 461
‘Shen Lang, let’s call for Shen Lang.’
After hearing Li Zhun's words, a ray of hope seemed to shine before the King's eyes.
‘Yes, that’s right! There’s still Shen Lang. I still have him.’
Facing the possibility of losing his beloved, the King's mind was in such turmoil that he hadn't even thought of Shen Lang for a moment. The King was well aware that Shen Lang possessed miraculous medical skills. He had already ordered that the fact Shen Lang had cured Zhang Chong's incurable intestinal abscess not be made public. The cure was so miraculous that the King didn't want others to label Shen Lang as a divine physician.
A divine physician saves lives, which is certainly remarkable, but in this world, being a doctor held little value, and the same was true even for a divine one. People would only think of him when their lives were in danger. Once a person was labeled, it was incredibly difficult to change that perception. If that happened, when people mentioned Shen Lang, they would think of him only as a divine physician, skilled at healing and saving lives, but unremarkable in any other aspect.
In truth, the King had been protecting Shen Lang. Perhaps he had been overprotective, to the point that even the King himself had momentarily forgotten Shen Lang's talent. Or perhaps, with his heart burning with anxiety and his mind a complete blank, he couldn't think of anything at all. Just then, Li Zhun's reminder about Shen Lang filled his heart with boundless hope.
“Quickly, quickly! Bring Shen Lang here at once. And call for Ning Jie as well!”
Ning Jie had previously assisted Shen Lang in treating Ning Yan, and since Consort Bian was a woman, it would be more appropriate for Ning Jie to handle most of the tasks. As soon as the King's decree was issued, a young eunuch immediately took several warriors and dashed out like an arrow. This was a race against time, a battle against death itself.
‘Shen Lang, please, work another miracle. Save the consort I love.’
* * *
The residence of the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng.
Shen Lang was racking his brain, trying to figure out how to save the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng. Countless ideas flashed through his mind, but none of them were effective enough to satisfy him; they all felt somewhat forced. As the saying goes, true mastery appears clumsy. A truly good plan should show no signs of calculation. To be precise, it had to be a method that wouldn't make the King feel threatened by Shen Lang, one that wouldn't wound the King's heart. In the struggle for the throne, the first thing to win was the King's heart.
Just then, the young eunuch burst in like a flash of lightning, his speed so ghostly it was almost invisible. It was the first time Shen Lang realized the young eunuch's martial arts were so formidable.
“Consort Bian has miscarried and is hemorrhaging. It's extremely urgent, hurry!”
The young eunuch explained the situation in less than two seconds after bursting in. Without even a moment to be surprised, Shen Lang immediately went into his room, grabbed his medical bag, and ran out. Still thinking Shen Lang was too slow, the young eunuch quickly had two warriors support him and they raced toward the royal palace.
* * *
In less than a quarter of an hour, Shen Lang was inside the palace. Entering Consort Bian's chambers, he saw dark red bloodstains on the floor, the bed, and everywhere around. The consort's face was as pale as a sheet, her breathing weak and rapid. Due to massive blood loss, she had to struggle to breathe just to supply enough oxygen to her brain.
Princess Ning Jie was already waiting there. Consort Bian was holding the King's hand, giving him her final instructions. The King's face was streaked with tears, completely soaked. Upon seeing Shen Lang, a light he had never seen before shone in the King's eyes, and he asked in a trembling voice.
“Shen Lang, can you save her?”
Shen Lang ignored the King for a moment and turned to the old royal physician beside him.
“Why hasn't the hemorrhaging stopped?”
The old physician replied.
“Her Ladyship took too much medicine in an attempt to save the fetus. As a result, the miscarriage was violent, causing severe internal injuries. The bleeding from her abdomen won't stop at all.”
Consort Bian was thin and frail, weighing only about eighty catties, so her total blood volume would be just over three thousand milliliters. She had already lost about a thousand milliliters of blood. Despite her desperate gasps for air, her gaze was growing dim. At this rate, the lack of blood would prevent sufficient oxygen from reaching her brain, and she would soon lose consciousness completely. She was holding on by sheer willpower alone.
“My husband, please tell my brother. Yanzhou belongs to Your Majesty, not to the Bian Clan. Tell him not to pass it down to his descendants and bring disaster upon them.”
It was, in essence, her last will and testament. The King could no longer hold back and let out a loud wail. Such a wise consort; even on her deathbed, she was still thinking only of him. Her final words were a plea for her brother to relinquish control of Yanzhou and not become a secessionist warlord. This pierced the King's heart like a knife, making the pain even more unbearable. After leaving her final words, Consort Bian could no longer hold on, even with her willpower. Her eyes closed, and she fainted. It even seemed as if she had stopped breathing. In that instant, Ning Yuanxian felt a heart-wrenching pain, his vision went black, and he, too, fainted just like his consort.
“Eunuch Li, please escort His Majesty out.”
At this moment, Shen Lang's words were like an imperial decree. Li Zhun and Li Yin entered without a word and, regardless of whether Ning Yuanxian wanted it or not, immediately dragged him away. Shen Lang immediately activated his X-ray vision to examine Consort Bian's abdomen. The fetus was already expelled, but a large wound remained, bleeding ceaselessly with no sign of stopping.
Normally, a miscarriage doesn't easily lead to massive hemorrhaging. Shen Lang had initially suspected a retained placenta. A retained placenta is the most common cause of severe bleeding during a miscarriage. However, the royal physician seemed competent, as the placenta had already completely detached from the uterus. Therefore, this massive bleeding was not due to a retained placenta but a blood clotting disorder. He had to stop the bleeding quickly. Otherwise, Consort Bian would die from excessive blood loss in less than a quarter of an hour.
Shen Lang tore open Consort Bian's clothes to expose her abdomen, then quickly took out a brush and marked several points on her belly.
“Here, here, and here...”
Then, Shen Lang specified the angle, force, and depth for each point, and Grand Princess Ning Jie followed his instructions, swiftly inserting the silver needles. She inserted dozens of silver needles, blocking the bleeding from the uterine wound. Ning Jie was truly remarkable. As soon as her needles pierced Consort Bian's abdomen dozens of times, the bleeding from most of the damaged blood vessels stopped immediately. The hemorrhage was mostly staunched in an instant. There was still some light bleeding, but it was nothing like the alarming flood from before. Shen Lang let out a long breath and asked.
“Has Her Ladyship had trouble with bleeding before, where wounds wouldn't clot easily?”
Grand Princess Ning Jie nodded. It was just as Shen Lang had suspected—a blood clotting disorder. Consort Bian had a weak constitution and suffered from a deficiency of both qi and blood. In modern medical terms, she had a blood disorder. Thrombocytopenia or aplastic anemia—both conditions can easily cause clotting problems. A person with such a disease should never get pregnant. Even if the fetus developed normally, childbirth would be incredibly dangerous. But Consort Bian, desperate for a child, had tried every method possible and finally conceived, only to face this life-threatening disaster.
Grand Princess Ning Jie asked.
“What do we do now?”
Shen Lang's examination revealed that while the clotting disorder caused severe bleeding, it wasn't that the blood wouldn't stop at all; it just took much longer to clot than for a normal person. As long as the bleeding eventually stopped, surgery wouldn't be necessary. However, even though they had stopped most of the bleeding from the wound in her uterus, it was still seeping. She had already lost too much blood. If she continued to lose even small amounts like this, she was in grave danger of dying. Furthermore, Consort Bian was unconscious. She needed an immediate blood transfusion.
“We must give her a blood transfusion.”
Ning Jie was stunned by his words.
‘You can transfuse blood?’
“Whose blood can we use?”
Ning Jie's question was the crucial point. You couldn't just transfuse any blood; it had to be a compatible blood type. Otherwise, a transfusion reaction would occur, causing the blood to clot and block the vessels, which would kill her even faster. If Consort Bian was Rh-negative, it would be a disaster. Shen Lang had to determine her blood type in the shortest time possible.
Blood typing is extremely simple in modern medicine; you don't even need to go to a hospital, you can just buy a kit online. But it was impossible for Shen Lang to buy a blood typing kit in this world, so identifying her blood type instantly was out of the question.
Still, there was a way. He could use the method developed by Karl Landsteiner in 1900 at the Pathological-Anatomical Institute of the University of Vienna.
First, Shen Lang drew a dozen samples of Consort Bian's blood into test tubes. He then separated the blood into serum and a red blood cell suspension using a saline solution. Shen Lang quickly prepared a dozen or so blood samples. Next, he drew his own blood, separated it into serum and a red blood cell saline suspension. Finally, he dropped his own serum into Consort Bian's red blood cell saline suspension. If it mixed without issue, it meant there was no rejection, and his blood could be transfused into her. If the blood agglutinated, it meant his blood absolutely could not be used.
The result came very quickly. Shen Lang's serum caused Consort Bian's red blood cell suspension to clump together like cotton balls. Shen Lang then drew blood from Grand Princess Ning Jie, separated it, and added her serum to the consort's red blood cell suspension, but it clumped again. Shen Lang shouted loudly.
“Bring His Majesty. And bring a dozen healthy people as well.”
Shen Lang's words were truly like a royal command. King Ning Yuanxian was the first to rush in. Without a word, Shen Lang immediately inserted a needle into the King's vein and drew blood. At that moment, if Shen Lang had intended to poison him, the King would have been killed without being able to put up any resistance. Grand Eunuch Li Zhun started to say something, but stopped and closed his mouth.
“Your Majesty, the consort's bleeding has mostly stopped, but the seepage from the wound will still take some time to cease. However, she has lost too much blood and needs a transfusion to save her life.”
The King immediately said.
“Use my blood. Use mine.”
“We need to test the blood. If the transfused blood is incompatible, it will clot inside her body, creating an even more dangerous situation. I just tested my blood and Her Highness Princess Ning Jie's, but neither was a match. Both caused a rejection. Does Her Ladyship have any relatives in the palace?”
Hearing this, the young eunuch darted away like an arrow. Consort Bian had one nephew and two nieces living in the capital.
Shen Lang separated the King's blood and added the serum to Consort Bian's red blood cell suspension. But once again, a rejection occurred, and the blood clumped together. Shen Lang furrowed his brow in frustration. The one thing he had hoped wouldn't happen had occurred: Consort Bian had a very rare blood type.