Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2176 Behind the Kan Hexagram
The "Xi Chun He" Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic had just been established, and Teng Daili was extremely attentive, working from dawn till dusk, fearing that any mistakes might affect its future development.

Seeing the slight sadness in Teng Daili's eyes, Bian Mu knew that she was under a lot of pressure. To relieve her stress, Bian Mu told Teng Daili an old story at the dinner table.

"During the Kaicheng era of the Tang Dynasty, there was a minister named Yuan in the court. He was probably serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice or something similar. He was getting old and wanted to retire to his hometown to enjoy his remaining years. So he petitioned the court to formally retire and return home. The emperor was having some family troubles at the time and was a bit troubled. Considering that Minister Yuan was indeed old, he immediately agreed. The emperor was kind and specially rewarded him with some money and goods. Minister Yuan was happy and took out a sum of money to persuade a couple from his hometown in Chang'an to return home with him. The couple ran a bakery in the city, specializing in 'oven-baked cakes'. Minister Yuan especially liked to eat those baked cakes. Whenever he returned to the capital from official business, the first thing he did was go to the bakery to eat a few baked cakes before going home. The couple considered that he should return to his roots, and the situation in the capital at that time was not very stable. In addition, they could get a settlement allowance from Minister Yuan, so they naturally agreed." Bian Mu told the old anecdote vividly.

"And then?" Teng Daili asked with a smile, knowing that Bian Mu would definitely include some kind of medical insight in the story.

"Not long after returning home, Lord Yuan fell ill, specifically experiencing loss of appetite and difficulty with urination and defecation. He was well-versed in medicine and prescribed some medicine to treat himself, but unlike before, the medicine had no effect. Lord Yuan was not only proficient in medicine but also had some knowledge of metaphysics. After repeated calculations, he realized that he had encountered a calamity. Therefore, he arranged for his family to invite a famous doctor from another place to treat him. The doctor was quite old. After completing the four diagnostic methods of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, he left the word 'hurdle' and said that Lord Yuan also understood medicine, so he should ponder it slowly. After saying that, he prepared to take his leave." Bian Mu continued to explain with a smile.

"Oh?! The 'Kan' hexagram? It's yin on top, yang in the middle, and another layer of yin lines underneath, two yin lines sandwiching one yang line, is that the image of the hexagram?" It has to be said that Teng Daili has put in some effort in classical studies.

"That's the divination!" Doctor Yuan quickly stopped him and asked the famous doctor if he was nearing the end of his life and the doctor didn't want to be the bad guy at the bedside, so he left behind a vague message to hint at something.

"That famous doctor must know Lord Yuan's temperament quite well, which is why he said that?" Teng Daili guessed casually.

"Yes, there's a premise here: Lord Yuan himself is a very accomplished and respectable physician. That's why that famous doctor said that. The implication is that Lord Yuan only trusts himself, and he only uses the diagnoses of other physicians as a reference at most."

"And then what? What did that famous doctor say?"

"The renowned doctor explained that it was not so much that his lifespan was nearing its end, but rather that it was indeed a 'calamity,' and the answer lay in the 'Kan' hexagram. He suggested that Lord Yuan should ponder it himself. After saying this, the renowned doctor took his leave."

"Don't treat those who are doubtful?! Is that what you mean?" Teng Daili asked casually.

"Pretty much. Lord Yuan held a high position, and although he had retired, he still had considerable influence in the court and among the people. That famous doctor didn't want to cause trouble, so after leaving Lord Yuan's house, he didn't return to his clinic. Instead, he changed his route halfway and went to the Lingnan area, where he disappeared without a trace."

Upon hearing this, Teng Daili seemed to have guessed something.

"Not long after, Lord Yuan passed away?!" Teng Daili guessed casually.

Bian Mu nodded slightly. "From what you just said, isn't Lord Yuan quite capable in every aspect? That famous doctor's hints were quite clear; he should have been able to guess the general idea, right? How come he still..."

Hearing this, Bian Mu smiled, quite satisfied with Teng Daili's reply.

"Then tell me, at which point did Lord Yuan suffer a great loss?" Bian Mu asked with a smile.

"The 'Kan' hexagram, with two yin lines flanking a yang line, represents water. Lord Yuan eats very spicy baked flatbread all day long... His external yang is excessive, while his internal yang is gradually declining due to old age. There is a conflict between the external and internal yang, which is why his stomach qi has difficulty rising and his lower yin qi has difficulty sinking. In Chang'an, it was alright, but being in a different place, especially the capital, the fire element clashed with the water, so he could still maintain a relatively normal life. But after returning home, he suffered from many problems adjusting to the climate and water. Being older, his mind is inevitably a bit slow, and he didn't think about taking care of himself. The external fire aggravated his yang, which instead caused him to develop a rather severe case of superficial yang hyperactivity. Lord Yuan, indulging in his gluttony, didn't realize this and continued to do as he pleased. This is like... many patients can't quit bad habits like smoking their whole lives, so... they eventually die from incurable diseases?" Teng Daili finally understood a little.

"That's roughly the idea. That renowned doctor from out of town foresaw that the outcome would be the same, which is why he left a witness and then fled to another place to avoid trouble. Old Tang's situation is quite similar to that of Lord Yuan from the Tang Dynasty. His daily habits weren't very natural, and his yang energy was just trapped in certain areas where yin fluids were excessive. Moreover, one of Old Tang's children was a professional doctor, so they must have helped their father with his health regularly. Therefore, he didn't lack yin fluids and blood, so he didn't need to replenish his yang energy or warm and nourish his yin fluids. He only needed to replenish the qi of grains, the qi of the five grains. You see! Yin is hard to sink, and yang is not to float. Doesn't the middle part become even more hollow and helpless?"

"Oh! Let me guess, it means that according to Old Tang's daily habits, we should specifically select the grains that he doesn't usually like to eat, stew them with Chinese medicinal herbs, and then make them into Chinese dishes. We should give him a certain amount of 'five grains qi' every day at regular intervals. After a period of neutralization, we should use acupuncture to unload all the excess stagnation of yang qi in Old Tang's body that has accumulated over the years. Then, we should cultivate some new yang qi that is more suitable for the old man's age through traditional warming and tonifying methods. In a sense, we need to roughly rotate the yin and yang qi in his body several times, and those symptoms will naturally be almost eliminated?!" At this moment, Teng Daili's mind seemed to be getting better and better.

Hearing this, a relieved smile gradually appeared on Bian Mu's face.

"That's roughly the idea. Because the diagnosis and treatment are quite complex and varied, you haven't been able to get to this level clinically. The subsequent treatment can only be transferred to the main clinic first. Also, since this is a complaint, it's best to have Mrs. Mai mediate. I'll go to their house for a consultation. After obtaining their understanding, they're a family with some sense of shame, so they'll probably drop the complaint." Bian Mu explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Teng Daili finally relaxed completely, and the smile on her face became much more relaxed.

“In the future, similar incidents will likely only increase day by day. It’s unrealistic to deliberately avoid them. In addition to facing them calmly, we should also strengthen our basic skills and take the initiative to communicate with other colleagues in our spare time,” Bian Mu added a few more words of advice.

"I understand! In any case, I've still caused you trouble." Teng Daili quickly said politely.

"We're colleagues, no need to be so formal. You still need to keep an eye on Mr. Tang's assistant. If you find any bad signs later, contact me immediately and I'll try to handle it."

“Okay!” Teng Daili replied happily.

Once the conversation was out in the open, the food tasted especially delicious. Amidst the laughter and chatter, Bian Mu had once again taught Teng Daili a lesson.