Li Shu told Li Man'er about General Xiao Ruodi's leg injury. "General Xiao's leg was injured by fierce bandits several years ago, and it has been painful whenever the weather is unusual. Man'er, your medical skills are excellent, why don't you take a look and see if it can still be treated."
Li Man'er looked at Xiao Ruodi and couldn't help but ask, "General Xiao is willing to let a young lady like me treat his leg?"
Xiao Ruodi stroked his beard and smiled, "I hit it off with your father at first sight. Seeing you is like seeing a nephew or niece. How could I not trust you? Besides, your medical skills are there for all to see, I believe in you."
"What if it can't be cured, or if I can't cure it?" Li Man'er said, "General Xiao, you are a military man and should know that the sooner a bone and sinew injury is treated, the faster and better the recovery. After so many years, I have no certainty at all. I advise General Xiao not to hold out too much hope."
Li Shu couldn't help but scold softly, "Man'er."
"It's fine," Xiao Ruodi was a magnanimous person. He had recovered from such a big blow back then, so this small setback was nothing.
Even if his leg couldn't be cured, it didn't matter. He hadn't gained nothing. At least he had found a suitable daughter-in-law, hadn't he?
However, the alliance between the Xiao and Li families was a great taboo for the Emperor. It would be very difficult to achieve, even if it sounded easy.
It was too early to talk about these things. Let's treat the leg first.
"Could my dear niece take a look for me first? Even if it can't be cured, it's fate."
Li Man'er said, "General is so open-minded, I admire you." She asked Qin Si to bring the medical box, took out the pulse diagnosis, and gestured for Xiao Ruodi to place his wrist on it.
Li Man'er extended three fingers and placed them on Xiao Ruodi's wrist. After a moment, she asked Xiao Ruodi to switch hands.
Li Shu watched with great interest from the side. When the patient wasn't himself, watching his daughter treat others was quite entertaining.
Li Man'er withdrew her hand and gestured for Xiao Ruodi to roll up his trouser leg.
"This..." Xiao Ruodi looked at Li Shu. "I'm afraid it's not appropriate."
Li Shu was also a bit confused. Wasn't it just a pretense?
"I need to see the General's wound to determine if it can be saved." To be thorough, it was a sequela of an external injury, but if I said it couldn't be cured based on pulse diagnosis alone without even looking at the wound, people might not be convinced.
Xiao Ruodi was still hesitating when he heard Li Man'er say, "General, in the eyes of a physician, there are no gender barriers, only injuries and illnesses. What we do is to alleviate the patient's suffering. We cannot stand by and refuse to help just because the doctor is a woman and the patient is a man!"
Xiao Ruodi nodded, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "My dear niece, you are righteous. I am impressed." He thought for a moment, clasped his hands, and said, "Forgive me," then rolled up his trouser leg.
There was a very hideous scar on Xiao Ruodi's leg, extending from below his knee to his ankle. The overgrown scar looked like a disgusting lizard, making people uncomfortable at first glance.
Li Man'er didn't have many thoughts. For a military man, it would be abnormal not to have any scars on his body!
On the calf of Xiao Ruodi's leg, there was also a circular scar about the size of a copper coin, left by a penetrating wound, which appeared to be an arrow wound.
"Was this leg broken before, General?" Li Man'er reached out and pressed twice on Xiao Ruodi's leg, indeed feeling an abnormality. In ancient times, a broken bone was a life-threatening condition. If not treated properly, not only would the bone not heal well, but it could also cause infection.
This was even more so with open fractures.
There were two very small bone fragments in Xiao Ruodi's leg that had not healed properly. Li Man'er initially judged that the doctor who treated his external injury at the time had not discovered these two bone fragments, so after applying splints, they directly applied medicine and instructed him to rest in bed.
These two extremely small bone fragments were still growing in a misaligned position, not firmly attached, and in the wrong place, which caused Xiao Ruodi's leg to be unable to exert normal force. As long as he exerted normal force, his leg would hurt. Over the years, he had become accustomed to an incorrect gait, shifting his weight to the other leg, which led him to wear special shoes to conceal his uneven walking.
Li Man'er then looked at the arrow wound. Although it was a penetrating wound, it had healed well. The arrow had also hit a fortunate spot, not injuring any nerves or major blood vessels, so it was expected to recover quickly.
Such external injuries, as long as they were not infected, were generally not a big problem.
Li Man'er withdrew her hand, stood up, and took a towel from the medical box to wipe her hands. Coincidentally, Xiao Ruodi lowered his head to pull down his trouser leg, so he didn't see it.
Li Shu felt quite embarrassed. Wiping her hands with a towel after treating someone's wound, was that showing disdain? It wasn't necessary.
"How is it?"
"There are two small bone fragments inside that haven't healed properly," Li Man'er said frankly. "These two bone fragments are very small, about the size of a child's tooth. If they had healed properly at the time, or been removed promptly, there wouldn't be such a big problem."
Xiao Ruodi didn't quite understand. "Removed?"
"Open the flesh and remove the bone fragments."
Li Shu had never seen other doctors treat illnesses this way. His soldiers often suffered casualties, with many losing arms or legs. They were all put in splints and fixed, and he had never heard of having to cut open the flesh and remove bone fragments.
"Child, don't fool around. No matter how small, it's still a bone. How can you throw it away?" Li Shu was confused, but he felt that no bone, no matter how large, should be discarded, let alone cutting open flesh and blood. It didn't sound like a normal procedure.
Li Man'er nodded. "Yes, this kind of treatment is indeed unacceptable to most people. I'm just stating the concept. It's just my idea." Without anesthetic, antibiotics, surgical instruments, or a sterile environment, it was impossible to perform.
"In other words, my leg can't be cured. As long as these bones are still there, it will continue to hurt?"
Li Man'er nodded. "Ordinary methods can only alleviate the pain. Perhaps after many years, these two bones will be absorbed."
But it would be too late.
Xiao Ruodi didn't seem too disappointed after hearing Li Man'er's words. He had already prepared himself mentally.
"It's already impressive that it can relieve the pain," Xiao Ruodi said. "Is it a decoction or a pill? The medicine prescribed by the doctor at my manor before could also relieve pain, but after about half a year of taking it, the effect diminished day by day."
Li Man'er, however, shook her head. "No medicine is needed, but acupuncture can help."
Li Shu frowned secretly. Didn't she say it couldn't be cured? Then why suggest acupuncture could relieve pain? What was this daughter of his up to!?
"If the General trusts me, you can try it. Acupuncture is not difficult to learn. If you find it useful, I can teach this set of needling methods to your trusted subordinate, so that they can apply acupuncture to relieve pain whenever it flares up."