FDNL CH 12

Chapter 12 – Diagnosis (Part 1)

The Sun family’s woman, the old grandmother, and the child all rushed into the room, staring in disbelief as Su Lianyi calmly performed the rescue.
Her movements were practiced and precise—clearly the hands of someone who had done this many times before.

Before long, the Sun family’s man slowly opened his eyes.

“Father! You’re awake—Father!”

The boy, who had held back his tears for so long, finally burst into sobs.
His mother and grandmother hurried to the bedside.
Seeing the man awake, they were so overcome with joy and relief that they didn’t even stop to wonder how the infamous “demon woman” Su Lianyi could possibly know medicine.

Although the man had woken up, he still seemed half-conscious.

“Do you have any sugar in the house?” Lianyi asked quietly.

Her voice was calm, her face expressionless—but somehow, that cold steadiness made people feel safe, as if nothing bad could happen while she was there.

The woman froze for a moment, then shook her head.

“No… we don’t.”

“Didn’t you still have some copper coins? Go buy some.”

“B-buy sugar?” The woman looked terrified.

“Miss Su… that’s our last bit of money. It’s supposed to be for saving my husband’s life…”

“Then buy the sugar.”

As she spoke, Lianyi was already unbuttoning the man’s shirt to examine him.
Once broad-shouldered, his frame had shrunk to little more than skin and bone.

The woman flushed red, too shocked to speak. Why was this evil woman stripping her husband’s clothes?

But Lianyi’s expression was focused and clinical.
She wasn’t doing anything indecent—she was checking for clues.
Many illnesses left visible signs on the skin: lumps, spots, bruising.
Without modern equipment like stethoscopes, the only way to diagnose was through sight and touch—just like traditional physicians once did.

“You shameless woman!”

The boy’s angry shout rang out before his mother could stop him.

“Jin’er, don’t! Don’t speak!”

She dragged him back and clamped a hand over his mouth, terrified of offending their only hope.

Lianyi ignored them.

“You were offering me money earlier, weren’t you? Use that. Consider the sugar as something I bought. Now go—quickly.”

Her tone was firm, neither harsh nor gentle, but carried the kind of authority that made people instinctively obey.
For one brief moment, the woman actually felt—this Miss Su might really save my husband’s life.

Lianyi was about to continue her examination when she suddenly frowned.

“Wait—do you have brown sugar instead?”

The woman blinked, startled, then nodded.

“We do, Miss Su, but…”

“Buy brown sugar,” Lianyi said curtly, turning back to her patient.

The grandmother hesitated, finally daring to speak:

“Miss Su… brown sugar is for women after childbirth.”

Lianyi paused and looked at the old woman, her tone softening with respect.

“Auntie, brown sugar isn’t only for women in confinement. It’s also good for the elderly and the sick.
It’s rich in vitamins and trace minerals, easily absorbed, and can quickly restore strength.
Your son is suffering from severe malnutrition and exhaustion.
If we can’t give him an IV, sugar water is the only way to supply him with energy.”

The grandmother and daughter-in-law exchanged bewildered glances.
They barely understood a word she said—but somehow her confidence made them believe her.

The young woman nodded fiercely.

“Miss Su, I trust you. I’ll go buy it right now!”

She ran out of the house, the boy chasing after her.

When they were gone, Lianyi actually smiled—a faint, relieved smile.

Perhaps people here are simpler than in the modern world, she thought.
They still know how to trust.

Her smile faded.
In modern times, patients no longer trusted their doctors. They thought every doctor only cared about money, doubted every diagnosis, delayed treatment—and when things went wrong, they blamed the doctor.
That endless mistrust had been what drove her to swear never to practice medicine again.

But here she was—saving someone once more.

Her thoughts scattered when the woman returned, clutching a small oiled paper packet as though it were her husband’s life itself.
She was panting from the run, her eyes full of fear and hope.

“Miss Su, I—I bought the brown sugar.”

For a moment, Lianyi’s eyes wavered with uncertainty.
I swore I’d never treat another patient… so what am I doing now?

Her brows trembled. After a few seconds, determination replaced the confusion.

“Dissolve the sugar in hot water. Make it strong—and hurry.”

Fine, she told herself. Just this once. The first and the last time.

The woman’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude.

“Y-yes, right away!”

Without realizing it, she already saw the “demon woman” as her family’s savior.

****

“Auntie Sun,” Lianyi asked gently, “when did he first fall ill, and what were the symptoms?”

The old grandmother dabbed her eyes and tried to recall.

“About two months ago. He was perfectly fine one day, then suddenly collapsed.
At first we thought he was just tired and would recover after a rest, but… he never stood up again.”

Seeing her grief, Lianyi didn’t press further. She simply thought.

She remembered the few traditional-medicine classes from medical school—just an introduction, but now she truly appreciated how extraordinary those ancient doctors were, diagnosing without any machines.

Without a stethoscope, she had to use the oldest method of all—
She leaned down and pressed her ear directly to the patient’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and breathing.

The grandmother and the boy both stared, speechless.
She took off his shirt—and now she’s lying on his chest? How indecent!

The boy’s mouth opened to shout again, but his mother came running back with the sugar water and shook her head, motioning for silence.

Lianyi listened carefully:
slow heartbeat… irregular rhythm… palpitations.

She straightened, frowning deeply.

Not hypertension or stroke, she reasoned. He’s too thin for that. Maybe heart disease?
But a heart condition wouldn’t keep him bedridden for two months straight.

She looked up to see the woman holding a bowl of steaming brown sugar water.

“Sister Sun, feed this to him.”

“Yes.”

The woman knelt and carefully spooned the liquid between her husband’s lips.

“During this time, did he have fever, diarrhea, or vomiting? Tell me anything unusual.”

The grandmother answered first.

“No fever, no diarrhea—but he vomits often.”

The boy suddenly blurted out, nervous but determined.

“Miss… Miss Su! My father wasn’t sick for just two months. It’s been more than a year!
I saw him get dizzy a few times, but he told me not to tell anyone…”

He hung his head, guilty.
If he’d spoken sooner, maybe his father wouldn’t be like this.

Lianyi nodded thoughtfully.

A year of dizziness, then bedridden for two months, vomiting but no fever or diarrhea, weak pulse, irregular heartbeat, heart palpitations, extreme weight loss…

What illness fits all that?

She focused on the heart symptoms first—
Heart palpitations could come from many causes: coronary disease, arrhythmia, anemia, low potassium, or even neuromuscular disorders.

After drinking the sugar water, the man’s eyes fluttered open again.

When he saw Su Lianyi, shock turned to fury—
He thought she had come to torment his family again.
He tried to rise, to protect them, but his body wouldn’t move.

His wife held him down, quickly explaining everything—that Su Lianyi had saved him, not harmed them.

The commotion didn’t break Lianyi’s focus.
She was still thinking, her eyes fixed on the patient.

If he could struggle to sit up, then it wasn’t full paralysis.
He simply lacked strength—muscle weakness.

Muscle weakness… vomiting… bradycardia… arrhythmia… palpitations…

A sudden realization flashed through her mind.
Her eyes brightened.

“I think… I know what’s wrong with him.”