The Apothecary Diaries - Volume 15 - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: After the Surgery

After that, the surgery ended uneventfully. It wrapped up so quickly, it was almost as if all the excitement had never happened.

To Maomao's intense irritation, Tianyu's work was beautiful. She put salve and a bandage on the Emperor's impeccably sutured stomach.

All right, now we've got to clean up ...

The operating room was a mess of bloody instruments, along with a pile of blood- and filth-soaked gauze. The moment the assistants, dripping sweat, got out of the room, they slumped into chairs.

Maomao did the same.

It hadn't actually taken that long. It had been hardly two hours from the time they had made the incision, including the interruption. And yet she felt many times, maybe many dozens of times, more exhausted than from her usual work.

"Okay, yes, fine work," said Auntie Liu, hustling the nearly immobile Maomao from where she had collapsed in the hallway. While Auntie Liu hadn't been directly involved in the surgery, there was the distinct sense that without her, things would not have gone nearly so well. She was just that talented a helper.

Maomao remembered Auntie Liu wrapping her arms around her and dragging her away.

After that, nothing.

No matter how tired she was, after some sleep, work began.

"Ah, finally up?" said Auntie Liu, who was making the bed next to Maomao's. Maomao struggled to grasp what was going on through the brain fog.

"Where am I?" she asked.

It wasn't her room in the dormitory, she knew that much. It was a cramped chamber with a row of three cots.

"We're in the postsurgical team's room. They made us a place all to ourselves, knowing we would have to sleep here."

"I see ... "

The blood started making its way to Maomao's head. Yes, she did vaguely remember that they had set up such a room.

"But why are there three beds?"

The postsurgical team had only two women, Maomao and Auntie Liu.

"I think they called in some redoubtable helper, just to be safe," Auntie Liu said.

"A helper?"

"Yes, yes. I can see you're still waking up. Go get something to eat, and maybe take a bath. You are a sight to see! You haven't changed since the surgery yesterday."

"Ugh!" Maomao said when she looked at her outfit. She was still wearing the white apron smeared with blood and filth.

"Now, now, don't do that. That came from the jade body."

"Blood is blood," Maomao said. No sooner had she gotten off the bed than she stripped off the disgusting surgical garment and threw it away.

Once she had changed every scrap of clothing, Maomao headed to work.

What to do about this?

They'd already decided everything in discussions prior to the surgery-she simply had to follow the plan.

"I'm afraid His Majesty can't hold any audiences for a while."

"He what ?! "

The indignant cry came from some self-important person being denied a meeting with the Emperor. Gaoshun stood guard before the door. It seemed he was there because he could effectively decline even the more influential would-be visitors.

Maomao slipped inside, careful not to let those influential visitors notice her.

The other half of the postsurgical team was already hard at work.

"Ah, feeling better?"

"Yes, Dr. Wang Wang."

Inside was Tall Senior-a.k.a. Wang Wang.

"You really started calling me by my name out of the blue."

Well, it was an easy one to remember.

"You think so?" Maomao said. "Maybe you're imagining it."

"Well, whatever," Dr. Wang Wang said. "His Majesty is asleep at the moment. The surgical team is going to join the aftercare efforts. Help make sure everyone is assigned to whatever task fits them best."

"Certainly."

Maomao kept walking, ready to get down to business.

It looked like there would be no rest for some time to come.

They observed no abnormalities in the several days after the surgery. A great many important people came seeking audiences with the Emperor, but all were rebuffed.

The enforced rest must have been having an effect, because none of the feared complications had arisen, at least so far. No doubt it helped that the assisting physician had cleaned the filth out of the abdomen so thoroughly during the surgery.

They changed the dressings twice a day, when Dr. Liu and his cohort came in to check on the progress of the surgical site. Quite frankly, the doctors believed that once a day would have been sufficient, but there were some obnoxious high bureaucrats who had insisted on ridiculous things like checking the site every hour or something like that. They evidently didn't imagine that too many unnecessary checks could actually increase the chance of toxins getting into the wound. The two times a day were a compromise.

Much as it felt like a waste, Maomao got rid of the used bandages. Bandages for soldiers could be washed, disinfected, and recycled repeatedly-but dressings from the Emperor, if carelessly reused, could be considered a gift from him. Just another troublesome aspect of dealing with the Imperial family.

The Emperor would be on a liquid diet for a while-they'd spoken with the royal chefs to arrange it. Every time Maomao saw them at work, she remembered nursing consort Lihua. The Emperor grimaced each time he was presented with his thin gruel, but he never complained.

His belly hurt because it had been cut open, but the chronic pain and nausea were gone.

Meanwhile, the doctors handled changing the Emperor's clothes and bathing him when they changed his dressings. Why couldn't the ladies- in-waiting or palace women do it? They claimed it was so no coquettishly dressed women might approach His Majesty.

Not that even He of the Prodigious Facial Hair would probably be in a mood to lay a finger on them, Maomao thought.

The palace ladies might get some funny ideas, thinking this was a perfect opportunity. Every ambitious woman in the palace with her parents' hopes laying heavy on her shoulders was looking for a chance to become an Imperial mistress.

Such dalliances couldn't be permitted with a convalescent, of course, and even Empress Gyokuyou was asked to refrain from visiting His Majesty.

Maomao and Auntie Liu took care of cleaning the room, along with the special helper who had been called in: Suiren. That was who the third bed in the nap room had been for.

Cleaning with Suiren was, in fact, exactly what Maomao was doing at that moment. They were moving methodically but swiftly, taking extreme care that dust not fly into the air as they worked. Maomao thought back on when she had been assigned directly to Jinshi and cowered a little. It brought back memories of-well, not torture, but some very stern scoldings.

She really does seem like she can do anything.

She was Jinshi's lady-in-waiting, yes, but before that she had been nursemaid to the Emperor himself. That must make it easy for him to get along with her.

"There are no flowers in here," came a voice from behind the curtain of the bed as Maomao cleaned. It belonged to none other than the Emperor himself.

"Oh, heavens, how can you say that? You know, in my time, people compared me to the lotus, just like my name. Whose fault is it that I'm a white-haired old lady now?" Suiren shot back, even as she hummed.

There was an audible silence from the doorway, where a guard was glaring at her. He appeared to be contemplating what to do with an old woman who took such a flippant tone with the Emperor. He was probably a member of the Ma clan, but now (as Maomao understood all too well) he was put between a rock and a hard place by this uniquely special old lady.

Normally they'd probably drag her off for insulting royalty, thought Maomao-but even the Emperor deferred to Suiren. I wonder whose idea this was.

The Emperor, who just had to lie there with nothing to entertain him, seemed to be enjoying Suiren's banter. If anything, it seemed like anyone who tried to stop Suiren would be the one who got punished.

"Who suckled you at her own breast and changed your diaper?"

"I take no responsibility for anything I was too young to remember," the Emperor replied. "However ... I am grateful to you for saving me from that assassination attempt."

It would substantiate the reputation of the legendary lady-in- waiting who had protected the young Emperor. Maomao wanted to ask what kind of stage drama-worthy events they were referring to, but she decided it wouldn't be wise to pursue the question too deeply, and instead kept polishing with her cloth.

"Did Ah-Duo face the same thing?" the Emperor asked.

"Yes! You didn't know?"

"I didn't. She never said a word."

"Goodness gracious me ... " Suiren sounded quite at ease, but Maomao thought she detected a hint of resentment in her voice as well. "I guess I really should have fled this court once I had a bit of money saved up."

"You were thinking of doing that?" the Emperor said, sounding as if it were news to him.

I can sure sympathize with the desire to get away!

"Well, that girl never did like women's clothing, did she? She was such a tomboy! You would never have taken her for someone who could be a palace lady even if she'd stayed, could you? She was actually talking about taking the money she'd made and becoming a merchant."

"Until I interfered with her plans, as I gather."

"I knew you were quick on the uptake."

Now it wasn't just the guard; Maomao, too, felt a chill. Still, she knew the Emperor would never punish Suiren, so she forced herself to keep breathing and try to calm down.

"Since you're here, Suiren ... About Zui."

“Yes?"

"Does he know?"

Know what?

Maomao understood that they were talking about the circumstances of Jinshi's birth. She'd been sure the Emperor was going to tell him the day before the surgery, but no such shocking confession had been forthcoming, and Jinshi and Maomao had been summarily ejected from the meeting.

What had Ah-Duo and the Emperor discussed after that? Was Jinshi aware that he was their child, or not? Even Maomao didn't know.

"If he knows or if he doesn't, it makes no difference either way," Suiren said, never stopping in her work.

True enough.

Whether Jinshi knew or not wouldn't change anything. Any change would be in those around him. And so long as the Emperor chose not to say anything, nothing would happen. She suspected His Majesty would not be raising the subject again.

"Now, Young Master, Granny's done cleaning-you won't be lonely, will you? I could read a story to you, if you like," Suiren said.

Hrk!

Maomao slapped her hand over her mouth before she could spit out the sound she was threatening to make-but she was holding a cloth, so it became a sort of Urgh!

The guard looked like he was suffering too. He was biting his lip and digging his fingernails into his thigh, struggling not to laugh.

"Don't call me that," the Emperor said-words Maomao knew well from hearing them from Jinshi.

"I'll be going, then!" Suiren said and left the room.

Maomao made to follow her, but the Emperor said, "Lakan's daughter. Maomao, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir." Maomao halted and turned around.

"If I should die, will I be nothing but a lump of meat?"

Maomao almost choked, and sweat started pouring off of her.

Don't tell me ...

Had he been aware of what was happening throughout the surgery? He hadn't made a peep, so she'd just assumed he was unconscious.

"People speak of the jade body, but yes, it's made of flesh. And I don't bleed gold, but regular red blood."

"Ho ho ho ho ho!" Maomao said-the closest thing to a laugh she could manage with such an intense frown on her face.

How calm and collected is he that he could stay silent and wait through everything that was happening ?!

Maomao had the distinct sense that the guard was glaring at her now.

"Have you said the same sort of thing to Zui?"

"The same sort of thing, sir?"

She'd said far too many things to Jinshi, in fact, and wasn't sure which one he meant.

I guess I might have said the sort of thing that would put a scratch on the jade ...

Maomao was starting to worry, but the Emperor's beard just swayed gently. "In any event. It seems my moving my hand during surgery caused no end of trouble."

"Don't give it a thought, please."

Yes, she did wish he hadn't done that-but it couldn't be helped now. She was just impressed that he had endured the entire thing without making a fuss about the pain.

"I must say, it's an experience I've never had before. It felt like I was in a haze-something felt wrong in my stomach, and the doctors kept bustling about. I think Luomen noticed, but he told me it was nothing. I don't suppose it was true."

Maomao pressed her hands together without quite meaning to. Luomen must have intervened to stop her in part because the Emperor had still been alert.

"Fear not," the Emperor said. "As you can see, I'm doing fine. The incision still hurts and itches, but there's nothing to be done about that. What matters is that Ah-Duo told me to write in my will that the physicians should not be punished."

"She did, sir?" Maomao looked at the ceiling and gave thanks to Ah- Duo.

"Yes, and so I should like to say that you have nothing to worry about." The Emperor looked down, deep in thought. "But in that case, my will would come into conflict with your wishes, Maomao, and I've been pondering what to do."

"My wishes?"

"You said you wanted a reward, did you not?"

Maomao crossed her arms and thought.

"I believe you were asking for the fingers of one of the physicians. It sounded far away, but it was a woman's voice, so it had to be either you or Liu's little sister. Perhaps I misheard."

Maomao froze.

"Maybe I'll have him give me a few of your fingers, Tianyu. If you don't have any use for them, I can dry them out and put them on display-tell people they belong to a mummy! At least they'd serve some purpose then!"

That was what she'd said. Oh, yes, she'd said it, all right.

"Er, well ... Ahem. I wasn't, you know, being entirely serious ... "

"I suppose not. I for one don't wish to take any medicine that uses human fingers as an ingredient."

Hell, neither do I!

Either way, it was actually strange that no punishment had been handed down for the problem child who had declared on a whim that he wouldn't do surgery. The surgery had been successful, and if the Emperor said that no punishment was to be meted out, then certainly none would be.

"Wait!" Maomao cried, realization dawning.

"What is it?"

"Er ... Maybe it would be possible to dock that physician's pay instead of cutting off his fingers?"

"Dock his pay?"

"Yes, sir. For six months."

"Hm. Yes, very well. I'll speak to Liu."

That meant it was as good as done. Maomao hadn't seen Tianyu for the last few days, but she suspected he was a little taller now-at least by the height of the bump raised by all the knuckles he'd been subjected to.

"I'll excuse myself, then," Maomao said.

"Hold on," replied the Emperor.

There's still something else? Maomao thought, trying to remember any other outbursts she might have had during the procedure.

"I simply have so much time on my hands here. Maybe you could bring me the textbook? The one that you presented at the rear palace?"

"The textbook? Ahh ... "

He was talking about the "instruction manual" she'd given to the rear-palace consorts. She'd also offered it to him at one point.

"I'm afraid it might fall afoul of one of Dr. Liu's inspections," Maomao said.

"One of Liu's- Ahem. I think I ask for too much."

"Not at all, sir," Maomao said. Then she bowed and finally left the room.