Hearing Ryan’s response, Baldwin rubbed his hands together with anticipation and asked, “Dr. Burns, since you’ve been practicing medicine for so many years, you must have encountered various complicated cases. Can you treat my sister’s illness?”
Ryan replied, “Mr. Wordsworth has already described the issues your sister is experiencing to me. I don’t believe it’s a severe illness; it seems more like a manifestation of physical weakness. I suspect that your sister might have suffered an injury when she was younger.”
Ryan’s words brightened Baldwin’s eyes. “Dr. Burns is right. When my sister was six years old, during winter, the steward took her to play by a frozen lake. For some reason, she stepped on the ice and fell into the lake. Although the steward rescued her in time, her health deteriorated since then, and she frequently falls ill.”
“Mr. Meredith, could you bring your sister to me? I need to examine her pulse to determine the root of her weakness and prescribe the appropriate treatment,” Ryan said with a confident expression.
Ryan considered himself an experienced doctor, and for him, there was no disease too unusual. Treating Baldwin’s sister’s illness would be a manageable task.
Chubby Thomas quickly chimed in, “Mr. Meredith, Dr. Burns is an expert. I went to great lengths to invite him from the North.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wordsworth,” Baldwin said, expressing his gratitude with a smile.
Harry, who was sitting on the side, was becoming anxious. If this chubby guy managed to cure Baldwin’s sister’s illness, he might lose out on a significant business opportunity.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and a butler-like person entered, escorting a young woman.
The woman had a delicate figure that gave the impression she could be carried away by a gust of wind. Her face was quite pale, with a kind of sickly beauty. The idiom “delicate as a young willow” was epitomized in this woman.
Baldwin stood up from his seat to allow his sister to sit down. After Marina was seated, he introduced her to everyone. “This is my sister, Marina Meredith.”
With a caring tone, Baldwin asked Marina, “How are you feeling today? Have you improved at all?”
Marina nodded slightly and then couldn’t control a few light coughs.
Baldwin continued the introductions, saying, “Marina, this is Mr. Toby, this is Mr. Wordsworth, and this is Dr. Burns, who Mr. Wordsworth invited to help treat your illness.”
Because she was feeling unwell, Marina greeted the others with a slight nod.
Ryan tilted his head in Marina’s direction and asked, “Miss Meredith, may I check your pulse?”
Marina nodded and extended her right hand to place it on the pulse cushion that Ryan had prepared.
Although Ryan was blind, his movements were precise. His fingers hardly fumbled as they gently rested on Marina’s wrist pulse.
After briefly feeling her pulse, Ryan wore a confident smile and said, “Miss Meredith, from your pulse, I can diagnose that your body temperature has been consistently low, rarely exceeding thirty-six degrees over the past few months. Is that correct?”
Marina’s eyes lit up, and she replied, “Yes, my body temperature hasn’t been normal for the past few days since I arrived in Langstel. Sometimes I feel feverish, and other times I feel cold.”
“And you have had no appetite, with occasional stomachaches, correct?” Ryan added.
“That’s right,” Marina nodded.
“Miss Meredith, my diagnosis is that your body’s yin and yang are out of balance, likely due to the cold your body retained after the accident when you were young. To cure this, we need to eliminate the cold-dampness trapped within your body,” Ryan explained methodically.
Baldwin couldn’t help but ask, “Dr. Burns, how do we eliminate this cold-dampness?”
Marina had been suffering from this illness for a while, and despite various treatments, her condition remained unstable. Baldwin’s greatest hope was to see his sister completely cured now.
Ryan replied, “Miss Meredith’s body has been deeply affected by cold-dampness. If we had treated her five years ago, the fire-cupping technique alone could have cured her. But now, we must use fire-cupping in combination with toxic therapy to fight poison with poison.”
“Toxic therapy?” Baldwin furrowed his brow, expressing some concern.
Ryan smiled at him, saying, “Mr. Meredith, the toxins come from five poisonous substances. Although it might sound frightening, when used properly, it can be a miraculous remedy.”
Only now did Baldwin breathe a sigh of relief, saying, “As long as it’s not dangerous, then I’ll leave the treatment to you, Dr. Burns.”
Ryan responded confidently, “Rest assured, when I step in, I will surely heal Miss Meredith.”
“Fire-cupping combined with toxins, this approach…”
Before Leo could finish his sentence, Baldwin suddenly exclaimed, “You, be quiet! I’m talking to Dr. Burns. It’s not your turn to interrupt!”
Baldwin’s first impression of Leo was that he was Harry’s driver or lackey, so he initially didn’t pay him much attention. He allowed him to sit here as a courtesy to Harry; otherwise, he would have had his bodyguards throw Leo out.
Now, a lackey dared to interrupt a conversation between himself and Ryan. In Baldwin’s view, this was a flagrant breach of etiquette.
Baldwin turned to Harry, looking somewhat displeased, and said, “Mr. Toby, I don’t think it’s necessary for your subordinate to sit here.”
Baldwin meant that he wanted Leo to leave.
Harry’s face displayed a touch of embarrassment, and he hurriedly explained, “Mr. Meredith, since you were engrossed in your conversation with Dr. Burns, I didn’t get a chance to introduce him to you. This gentleman, Dr. Bloomer, whose name is Leo Bloomer, is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. I specifically invited him to help Miss Meredith.”
“Traditional Chinese medicine?” Baldwin gave Leo another once-over, his face showing a complete lack of belief.
This guy, he was around the same age as Baldwin, right? How could such a young Chinese medicine practitioner be credible?
Leo smiled and nodded in acknowledgment to Baldwin and Marina.
After some suspicion, Baldwin asked the same question he had posed to Ryan earlier, “Mr. Bloomer, how many years have you been practicing medicine?”
When Baldwin asked this question, he had a proud expression on his face. Deep down, he didn’t believe in Leo.
Leo replied truthfully, “Not that long, just a few months.”
“A few months!?” Baldwin exclaimed in disbelief, thinking Leo was joking.
Leo nodded and said, “If we count from when I started my practice, it’s been about two or three months.”
This revelation left Baldwin furious. He slammed the armrest of his chair and shouted, “You’ve been practicing for just two or three months, and you dare to treat my sister? Do you think my sister is a guinea pig for your experiments?”
Baldwin’s words were directed at Leo, but they were also a message to Harry. If it weren’t for the fact that he had become more composed and mature in the business world in recent years, Baldwin would have unleashed a torrent of insults.
His sister’s status was of the utmost importance. Not just any doctor could treat her. Even with Thomas’s recommendation and careful consideration, Baldwin had allowed Ryan, a blind doctor, to treat her.