CHAPTER 346: 322 NOURISH YIN AND CULTIVATE JADE

Ms. Zhou remained silent, sitting up straighter, waiting for Du Heng to continue.

Regarding the current situation, Du Heng didn’t put on airs and explained directly, "Blood is stored in the liver, and essence in the kidneys. If a person’s liver qi does not flow, the essence will not discharge; if the essence discharges, the liver qi will be depleted. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the kidney is the mother of the liver. If the mother discharges essence, she cannot distribute nourishment to the liver wood, her child. This will lead to liver dryness and water scarcity. Consequently, fire will smolder and consume the essence, causing the kidneys to become even weaker."

Du Heng spoke very seriously, suppressing a smile, afraid Ms. Zhou would misunderstand. "Deficient liver fire is the reason for your bad temper. Kidney deficiency causes your scanty, dark, and odorous urine. Moreover, since your liver isn’t in good condition, it’s difficult for you to gain weight. So, do you understand these three points now?"

Ms. Zhou nodded. "What does this have to do with my... getting sick after intimacy, or my inability to have children?"

"It has a great deal to do with it. Let me explain it to you slowly," Du Heng said calmly. "Thin people often have more internal fire. Combined with the loss of essence, water becomes scarcer, and the fire grows stronger. Water cannot control the fire, resulting in emptiness and exhaustion in the waist and kidneys. Therefore, after every sexual intercourse, you feel tired and have to lie down; it’s not a true illness. You should relax and not stress yourself. This is not a rare disease."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhou’s expression relaxed considerably, as though a weight had been lifted from her.

"When the liver and kidneys are not in good condition, it’s easy for fire to flare up. However, this fire originates from the liver wood and is more like a ’thunder fire,’ not a true fire. If a couple abstains from intercourse, it’s fine. But when they do engage, the woman’s essence is very prone to leakage. This yin deficiency and fire prosperity makes it difficult to conceive. Even if you occasionally became pregnant, with all that fire in your system, the man’s essence would likely be scorched dry."

Du Heng paused to let Ms. Zhou digest his words before continuing, "I believe you’ve had examinations at the hospital. However, all your gynecological tests were normal. You even tried ovulation-promoting drugs, but they had no effect."

Ms. Zhou looked up at Du Heng, her eyes slowly filling with astonishment.

Du Heng was right; his diagnosis perfectly matched her experience.

Now she only regretted not meeting Du Heng sooner. If she had met Du Heng a few years earlier, she might still have had a chance to have her own baby. She wasn’t DINK; she loved children, but... but...

Now, she was already 41 years old, her menstrual flow was very light, almost menopausal. Even knowing the reason, what could she do?

For a moment, the joy of understanding the cause vanished, replaced by a profound sense of loss and unwillingness.

Ms. Zhou lowered her once-proud head and bent her previously straight back.

Du Heng exhaled gently.

This was a case of "to each their own specialty." In the first part of their meeting, Ms. Zhou had used her professional expertise to firmly put Du Heng in his place, making him understand that lawsuits were far from simple, full of unexpected complexities. Now, in turn, Du Heng had just used his own medical knowledge to put on an equally brilliant and dazzling display. He had discarded the most commonly used method of Palpation and relied solely on Inspection, integrating all his knowledge to guide his Inquiry. He then listened to her recount her condition, thereby completing a very impressive syndrome differentiation. This syndrome differentiation could, in fact, be considered a performance. It was fortunate that today’s patient was an ordinary person like Ms. Zhou, who wouldn’t fully appreciate it. If someone truly knowledgeable, like Li Jianwei, had been present, they would have been so awestruck that nothing short of kowtowing to Du Heng twice would have settled their agitated hearts.

"Ms. Zhou, you should be happy to understand the cause of your condition. Why do you seem so dejected?"

Ms. Zhou raised her hand, flicked the cigarette ash into the ashtray, and then gently extinguished the cigarette butt. She then lifted both hands, lightly tucking away the strands of hair that had fallen beside her temples.

With each movement, Ms. Zhou gradually returned to her usual self; her demeanor once again became that of the elegant, intelligent, and strong woman.

"Thank you, Doctor Du. You’ve answered a question that has plagued me for over a decade." A slight smile touched Ms. Zhou’s lips. "How much is your consultation fee? Let me pay you."

Du Heng shook his head. "No need. For me, it was a small effort. Besides, your consultation isn’t over yet. Why the hurry?"

Ms. Zhou looked at Du Heng in astonishment. "Not over yet?"

"That’s right, not over. We’re talking about treatment. How can we treat an illness without prescribing medicine?"

Ms. Zhou’s eyes lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed. "Is it easy to cure?"

Du Heng shook his head slightly.

That shake made Ms. Zhou’s heart sink.

As expected, a problem that had persisted for over a decade wouldn’t be easy to cure.

But she didn’t expect Du Heng to say, "In your case, you need to significantly replenish kidney water and balance the liver wood. When water flourishes, blood will also flourish. When blood flourishes, the fire will subside. After two doses of medicine, the issue with intimacy should naturally resolve. After taking it for a month, you should naturally conceive."

Ms. Zhou’s eyes widened. She stared at Du Heng and asked incredulously, "Are you saying it can be cured?"

Du Heng looked at Ms. Zhou, puzzled. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Then why did you shake your head earlier?"

"You asked if it’s *easy* to cure. I shook my head meaning it’s *not easy* to cure, not that it *can’t* be cured," Du Heng said, as if it were obvious.

Ms. Zhou felt a bit exasperated.

A couple more rounds of such drastic ups and downs, and she feared her heart wouldn’t be able to take it; this was too much of an emotional rollercoaster.

However, she quickly asked Du Heng again, "Doctor Du, my situation is a bit special now. I’m already 41, and my menstrual flow is very light. Is it still possible for me to get pregnant?"

Du Heng gently raised an eyebrow. "This problem is also related to your liver and kidneys. Once this issue is resolved, your menstruation will naturally return to normal, and of course, you can become pregnant. Forty-one isn’t considered that old in today’s society, just an advanced maternal age."

"Thank you, Doctor Du! Thank you, Doctor Du! Please tell me, what medicine should I take? What’s the treatment?" Ms. Zhou could no longer maintain her composure; her pride and elegance were completely forgotten.

Right now, nothing was more important than being able to conceive.

"Use Nourishing Yin and Seeding Jade Decoction. The characteristic of this formula is that it’s not just for nourishing blood but also for replenishing essence. When the essence is full, the uterus is more receptive to it. When the blood is sufficient, the uterus can more easily sustain a pregnancy. Take it for a month, and I guarantee you’ll conceive."

Seeing Ms. Zhou about to speak excitedly again, Du Heng quickly added, "But I must clarify a few things beforehand. First, you shouldn’t overindulge in sexual activity."

Ms. Zhou blushed and nodded quickly.

"Second, it would be best for the child’s father to have a physical check-up to ensure he’s healthy. I don’t want you blaming my medicine if there’s an issue later. I know you’re a lawyer; I definitely wouldn’t win against you in court."

Ms. Zhou chuckled, surprised that Du Heng could be so cautious and thorough.

"Don’t worry. Regardless of the outcome, I won’t cause you any trouble."

Afterward, Du Heng took a pen and paper from his bag. He called Yu Haiting, who was on duty at the Health Clinic, and helped Ms. Zhou register remotely. Then, he wrote down the prescription, photographed it to send to Yu Haiting, and finally handed the original to Ms. Zhou.

Honestly, it wasn’t that Du Heng was timid; he had just been scared by past experiences. Although it wasn’t strictly by the book, registering through the system required an ID card number, which signified consent for treatment and helped avoid potential trouble.

"’That’s ten yuan, thank you.’"

"Ten yuan?"

Ms. Zhou was once again surprised by Du Heng.

She hadn’t expected Du Heng to actually charge her, and certainly not just ten yuan.

She recalled that just moments ago, she had quoted an attorney’s fee in the tens of thousands.

Before her mind could fully process it, Du Heng had already opened the Health Clinic’s payment QR code saved on his phone. "It’s better to scan the code; I can’t give you a paper receipt."

This payment code was saved on his phone because they often had to go into villages to treat patients. He hadn’t expected to use it here.

Ms. Zhou looked at Du Heng, finding his actions somewhat incredible; she couldn’t quite keep up.

Even as she scanned the code with her phone to make the payment, she kept looking at Du Heng.

Bao Mi and his companion heard the voices in the private room die down, signaling that the discussion was over. They pushed open the door and entered. "President Du, Lawyer Zhou, have you concluded your discussion? The dishes are ready and will be served immediately."

「On Wednesday, Du Heng’s second consultation time arrived.」

There were noticeably more people at the outpatient service than at the same time last week.

Among them were some familiar faces.

Some of these familiar faces had already started acting as Du Heng’s volunteer promoters, telling fellow patients who had appointments for the adjacent consultation room just how incredibly skilled Doctor Du was.

To be more persuasive, they even used their own cases as examples.

However, most of these people were elderly.

As for those listening, some believed them, while others were skeptical.

But these elderly men and women, acting as volunteer promoters, didn’t really care.

They promoted Du Heng more out of a desire to show off.

When young, people compare looks and attractiveness. In middle age, they compare wealth and careers.

Now that they were old, anything could be a point of comparison: their children, whose old partner was healthier, or who lived longer.

The doctor who treated them was, naturally, also an object of their boasting and comparison.

Du Heng was unaware of these things; he simply focused on seeing patients and providing treatment.

Simple cases he handled directly. For more troublesome ones, he prescribed medicine and sent them to the Acupuncture Hall or the Physiotherapy Pavillion next door.

As for those with genuinely severe conditions, he followed Li Jianwei’s arrangement and admitted them to the Chinese Medicine Department’s ward.

The reason was that the out-of-pocket cost for medication alone was higher than for inpatient treatment, because the reimbursement rates for the two were different.

After a busy morning, Du Heng had seen a total of sixty-two patients, a slight improvement from the previous week.

Once he was done, Du Heng found Li Jianwei and told him about being sued, so Li Jianwei would be aware of the situation.

"Xiao Du, now that I’ve heard you out, I have a clear picture. Don’t worry, our Chinese Medicine Department will definitely support you. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thank you, Professor Li. I apologize for the trouble."

"We’re practically family; don’t be such a stranger."

After bidding farewell to Li Jianwei, Du Heng immediately went to find Xu Pinglin.

He had boasted to Ms. Zhou that he could become an externally appointed Deputy Director of Digestion Department 1; he couldn’t let himself be proven a liar.