Inside the imperial tent.
Xiao Yunzhou was stunned for a moment, then heard the advice of Meng Chun, the military doctor standing before him.
"Your Majesty, regarding Ba Tu's old wound, the safest approach is to leave it untreated."
"If the fragment is close to the heart vessels, too much tissue would need to be opened. The internal conditions of the human body are extremely complex."
"Excessive blood loss, inability to stop bleeding immediately, and severe post-injury healing and abscess issues could occur."
Xiao Yunzhou interrupted him, "The problem of excessive bleeding..."
His gaze inadvertently shifted to the embroidery needle in Liu Chaniang's hand.
Meng Chun followed his gaze and was taken aback.
He couldn't help but look towards Imperial physician Hu.
Hu gave him a look that said, 'He's not wrong, is he?'
"Your Majesty's words are absolutely correct. It was mentioned long ago in the 'Treatise on the Pathogenesis and Manifestations of All Diseases' that for severed intestines from metal wounds, they can be quickly reconnected... using silk thread to tie off the blood vessels."
"Making a continuous suture in the shape of a bird's tongue... can save the patient."
Imperial physician Hu recited a passage from the book, "Your Majesty is wise; the wound can be sutured."
Meng Chun's eyes widened. What did they mean by 'Your Majesty's words are correct' and 'Your Majesty is wise'? The Emperor hadn't said anything yet, he had just glanced at the needle and thread in Consort Liu's hands!
Meng Chun coughed lightly, "Your Majesty, I have indeed treated many cases of soldiers with severed intestines, but only two out of ten survived."
Xiao Yunzhou's face immediately darkened, "Why such a low rate?"
Meng Chun was displeased as well, "I already have the steadiest hands, and I've been treating external injuries for years. If someone else were to do the suturing, none would survive."
[Oh my, the mortality rate is so high. This is not only due to the difference between ancient and modern suturing techniques but also because of sterilization and infection issues.]
Xiao Chuchu mused, suddenly perking up.
[I wonder how my mother feels now with her system-enhanced suturing skills?]
Xiao Chuchu's curious gaze kept darting towards Liu Chaniang.
[Theoretically, the enhancement should have taken effect. Why doesn't my mother show any reaction?]
[Perhaps she'll only notice the difference when she actually starts suturing?]
Liu Chaniang's ears gradually turned red, her needlework becoming increasingly rapid under Chuchu's intense stare.
She was too nervous.
Xiao Yunzhou, having heard his daughter's thoughts, also stared at her with great curiosity.
Liu Chaniang carefully reflected but didn't feel any different.
Had the celestial technique really been bestowed upon her?
But as she continued sewing, something felt off. Liu Chaniang realized she could sew without even looking down!
Xiao Yunzhou observed for a while and indeed noticed this. He slapped his thigh and pointed at Meng Chun, "Bring a piece of pig intestine and cut it open. Meng Chun, you and Consort Liu will compete to see who can sew faster and better."
Meng Chun's eyes widened.
The Emperor's idea was outlandish! "The feel of suturing flesh is completely different from sewing clothes!"
But imperial orders could not be defied.
Meng Chun's objections were futile, and soon enough, the sycophant Wei Zheng had scurried off and returned with a clean, odorless piece of pig large intestine from the kitchen.
"Cut the intestine in half. Meng Chun, you sew the left side."
"Chaniang, I've seen you sew clothes day and night, and you're quite skillful. Try to imitate Dr. Meng's technique and suture this pig intestine."
Meng Chun remained silent, but his expression was full of derision.
"Very well, this isn't some secret skill. If Consort Liu wants to learn, she can! If the Consort can master this and save even one more life, it would be a blessing for our soldiers."
Though he said this, his tone was full of sarcasm, clearly believing that a woman skilled in embroidery couldn't possibly succeed.
He went to fetch his medicine box and took out the needle and special mulberry bark thread used for suturing.
He had Imperial physician Hu use his self-made iron forceps to help hold the severed intestine in place, and then he began suturing.
[Oh, an ancient version of medical forceps? Wow, it's already quite close to modern surgical practices.]
Xiao Chuchu watched with wide eyes.
But soon she noticed how outdated Meng Chun's technique was.
Compared to the other side, her mother...
Liu Chaniang, after observing Meng Chun's technique for a moment, awkwardly picked up the special mulberry bark thread and threaded it through Meng Chun's custom needle. Then she lowered her head to look at the severed intestine before her.
Her hand involuntarily picked up a pair of iron forceps from Meng Chun's medicine box, gripped the suture needle, and began working on the intestine!
A perfect end-to-end anastomosis, with full-thickness interrupted sutures and knot-tying!
A perfect posterior wall, with full-thickness interrupted sutures, each stitch evenly spaced and fine!
Then a perfect anterior wall, with inverted sutures!
Followed by perfect reinforcement sutures, closing the mesentery on both sides of the intestine!
Finally, checking the patency of the anastomosis!
While Meng Chun was sweating, slowly preparing for the second half of his suturing, he noticed that Imperial physician Hu, who was holding the severed intestine for him, had hands that were becoming increasingly crooked and slanted...
"What are you doing?"
"Don't move!"
Meng Chun looked up and scolded him, only to find Hu staring to his right with a shocked and amazed expression.
To his right, there was only one person - Consort Liu, who was learning his suturing technique.
"What are you staring at? What are you staring at! You're holding a person's life in your hands, how can you be so distracted? You're really disgracing your master!"
Meng Chun frowned but still couldn't help glancing disdainfully at Consort Liu.
Even if it was her first time, it was normal to show a bit of talent.
After all, he had heard that Consort Liu had led the palace women in making thousands of winter clothes, and even the down jacket was her idea.
Then there was that silk reeling machine. Clearly, Consort Liu was extremely skilled in women's work and embroidery, and quite clever and dexterous.
If she could imitate his technique and sew decently, that was to be expected.
But so what? Could a consort really accompany him to the military camp and assist him?
Meng Chun shook his head and sighed lightly. He would like that, but would the Emperor allow it?
As he was lost in thought, he turned his head, and all his musings vanished!
Because he saw that Consort Liu had stopped.
Consort Liu was standing still.
And then, he saw in her hands - a perfectly sutured pig intestine, with almost no misalignment, neither too tight nor too loose!
He even had a feeling that if this intestine were put back into a pig's belly, the pig would survive!
It could even defecate immediately!
Meng Chun's eyes widened in shock, and he froze.
He even forgot to move the needle in his own hand!
"How... how is this possible?"
Meng Chun looked down at the pig intestine in his hands. He had only sutured half of it, and while his stitching wasn't bad, it was far from as beautiful as Consort Liu's!
It was as if Consort Liu had been suturing pig intestines for ten years!
"Um, Your Majesty, your subject doesn't know either..." Liu Chaniang's face reddened. "When your subject saw this pig intestine, it was as if I had a feeling, an intuition about how it should be sutured to close both the inside and outside properly."
Meng Chun's mouth gaped open, his eyes wide.
Xiao Yunzhou listened, his eyes flashing with excitement. Was this the celestial technique bestowed by the heavenly realm?
This truly was a blessing from the celestial world!
"Incredible skill! Truly incredible!"
Xiao Yunzhou was excited. Why hadn't the heavenly realm bestowed its blessing upon him?
[Hot damn, Mom! Wow, this system reward is really something. Without any fuss, it turned my mother into an expert.
But heaven knows, Mom usually opens her eyes just to sew, and when she closes them, she's still sleep-talking about how to speed up her sewing.]
Xiao Chuchu mused.
[The system rewarding Mom with surgical suturing skills is inseparable from her daily hard work and embroidery foundation!]
Xiao Yunzhou's expression changed.
Ah, he understood now.
The heavenly realm didn't bless him because he spent his days being an emperor, not handling needles and thread!
Even if the heavenly realm wanted to bless him, there were no grounds to do so. They could only bless those around him.
As Xiao Yunzhou pondered this, his face contorted as if he had lost a precious treasure. How painful!
If he had known earlier—well, he still wouldn't have picked up an embroidery needle.
This kind of suturing technique was better left to the deft hands of Lady Liu.
Lady Liu was someone he could trust.
With renewed enthusiasm, Xiao Yunzhou turned to Wei Zheng and said, "Take away the pig intestines. Have the kitchen send in pigs and sheep, gutted and split open. Lady Liu, you continue to practice."
"Meng Chun, as usual, demonstrate for Lady Liu first, and let her try to learn."
"..." Meng Chun's mouth twitched.
What was he supposed to demonstrate?
Lady Liu's stitching on the pig's large intestine was far more beautiful than his, functional, and faster too.
What could he possibly demonstrate? Demonstrate his rear end!
