Maomao and the others hustled to the room where Dr. Liu was conversing with Luomen.
Dr. Liu was clearly displeased to be interrupted in the middle of his conversation. Luomen and all the other physicians present looked distressed by the intrusion of Maomao and her party.
“What in the world is going on?” Dr. Liu demanded.
“We’re concerned about His Majesty’s status,” Tall Senior said.
“Cut to the chase.”
From the moment he heard the words His Majesty, Dr. Liu was ready to listen. He knew very well that it was impossible to predict how an illness might progress, and where a clue that it had might come from—it could be in the smallest change.
“The anesthetic was administered only a short while ago, but he already says he feels no pain,” Maomao said, showing Dr. Liu Kada’s Book.
Dr. Liu and Luomen peered at it, their faces grim. “All right, this conference is over. I want you all to get ready as quickly as you can and get to your posts,” Dr. Liu said, and then he proceeded toward the surgical room at a brisk trot. “Tell me how he’s looking.”
“I think Maomao would be best placed...” Tall Senior said, giving her the lead. Dr. Liu tapped Tall Senior on the shoulder and jerked a thumb in Luomen’s direction. An instruction to help Luomen to the operating room.
“Maomao. Situation?” Dr. Liu asked.
“Yes, sir.” Maomao had to jog to keep up with the doctor’s long strides. “His Majesty was experiencing stomach pain when you and Dr. Kan examined him an hour ago.”
“That’s right.”
“The anesthetic was administered about thirty minutes ago, I believe. When the physician asked His Majesty how he was feeling shortly after, His Majesty reported that there was no pain.”
“Shortly after?”
Dr. Liu’s strides became even longer. Luomen walked behind them, supported by Tall Senior. Dr. Liu stopped in front of the operating room and took a deep breath.
“Dr. Liu,” said the physician who had examined the Emperor. “Aren’t you a bit early?”
“What’s His Majesty’s status?”
“Sir? He’s stable. The anesthetic seems to be working brilliantly, and—”
A glare from Dr. Liu stopped the explanation in its tracks.
“Liu, you can’t go giving people that look,” Luomen admonished him as he and Tall Senior arrived.
He and Dr. Liu went into the operating room. Maomao and Tall Senior prepared to wait outside, but Dr. Liu turned and said, “I want you both in here.”
Is that all right? Maomao wondered, checking her outfit to make sure there were no stains or dirt.
“What is it?” the Emperor asked as they entered. His eyes were unfocused.
The anesthetic is working.
“How are you feeling? Any nausea or pain?” Dr. Liu asked.
“I feel very calm. Your medicine must be working. Why didn’t you give this stuff to me ages ago?”
“Because it won’t help nearly so much if you overuse it, sir. And it can create dependency.”
The difference between an anesthetic and a narcotic was in how you used it.
“I’d like to perform a physical examination. All right?”
“Sure.”
Dr. Liu touched the lower right of the Emperor’s abdomen. “How does that feel?”
“No pain,” the Emperor replied.
Dr. Liu looked less than thrilled. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
He left the operating room, and practically no sooner was he through the door than he stamped on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. Auntie Liu, still cleaning nearby, gave him a worried look.
“Of all the times!” Pressing on the site had convinced him. “I think it just ruptured.”
“Well, that’s no good,” Auntie Liu said.
“You’re blasted right it’s no good!”
It was hard to blame Dr. Liu for being upset. The whole point of moving as fast as they could to do surgery was to fix the problem before the appendix ruptured. If it spread filth throughout the body, other illnesses could follow.
“Is something the matter, sir?” asked the doctors of the surgical team, who had just arrived.
“We’re moving the surgery up. Get ready,” Dr. Liu said.
“Yes sir,” the others answered. Realizing this was an emergency, they hopped to their tasks, readying equipment and changing into surgical garments.
Maomao prepared extra gauze. They had plenty already, but there would never be any harm in having more. They would probably use scads of it cleaning out the filth.
“Yikes!”
“Whoa, what are you doing?!”
“Sorry...”
A doctor in a surgical gown had nearly fallen, rescued only by the other physicians holding him up. The doctors might act cool, but the panic was starting to show.
And that’s going to invite mistakes.
Maomao took a deep breath, telling herself to calm down.
In the operating room, they were placing the needles in the Emperor’s honored body. With other patients, the needles and the drugs had been shown to help with pain when administered at the right moment, but Maomao worried how the effect might change on an accelerated schedule.
In the middle of it all was one man who looked totally unperturbed—who, in fact, seemed excited.
“Hm-hmmm!”
It was Tianyu, so at ease that he even had it in him to hum! He was like a child enjoying a special trip.
There might be endless questions about his humanity, but in moments like this he was completely calm, so there was no need to worry about him. He almost seemed to be enjoying the danger.
“Well, now I’m glad I ate my meal early,” said Auntie Liu, methodically and soberly getting ready.
“We certainly won’t have any chance to eat now,” Maomao agreed.
“Yes, and who wants to do surgery on an empty stomach?” Auntie Liu smiled. She went to where the members of the postsurgical team were waiting and tapped them on the shoulders. “All right, you lot. If you don’t have anything to do, grab a light meal. There won’t be time for it once the procedure is over.”
Now, that’s mental fortitude!
She hadn’t lived such a long life for nothing. No wonder Dr. Liu had brought her along.