Chapter 801: Traditional Prescription

Chapter 801: Chapter 801: Traditional Prescription

"The so-called ’five delays’ refer to delays in standing, walking, teething, hair growth, and speaking. The ’five flaccidities’ refer to flaccidity of the neck, mouth, hands, feet, and muscles. These occur due to innate deficiencies and inadequate nourishment of the vital essence.

"However, with the improvement of modern living conditions—which can even lead to over-nutrition—cases of the five delays and five flaccidities are gradually decreasing in clinical practice. Taking their place is an increase in children with precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is a modern medical term, but in ancient traditional Chinese medicine texts, Miaomiao’s condition is known as the ’premature sprouting of Tiangui.’"

"What is Tiangui?"

Seeing everyone’s confused expressions, Li Xu explained, "Tiangui is a microscopic substance within the human body that promotes and maintains growth, development, and reproductive capabilities. To put it simply, it’s like the body’s ’vital energy.’ Its appearance requires one prerequisite: an abundance of vital essence in the kidneys.

"The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor states that for females, ’Tiangui arrives at two times seven.’ Two times seven means fourteen years old. This conclusion drawn by the ancients is a natural law derived from thousands of years of observation. Miaomiao is only nine years old now, yet her Tiangui has ’sprouted’ prematurely. From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, this is classified as a ’Yang-nature pathological change.’"

Li Xu then added profoundly, "This early development comes at the cost of depleting the child’s ’kidney essence.’ It’s like a candle meant to burn for an hour. If you fan the flame to make it massive, it looks bright and burns intensely—mimicking rapid development—but the result is that the candle burns out prematurely. When these children reach the age they should be developing normally, they often stop growing due to overdrawn kidney essence, and may even experience premature aging and stunted height."

"It’s been over three months... and you’ve been hiding this from me all along." Hearing this, Gao Mingxuan could no longer hold back. He turned to Gao Ruiping and roared, "I am a doctor! You’d rather go running around out there than tell me?"

"Dad... we were just afraid you’d worry." Gao Ruiping shrank back, feeling a bit guilty.

Li Xu actually understood the situation perfectly. Gao Ruiping and his wife were typical modern parents. They felt that although the old man was a doctor, he was still just a "country doctor" at a village clinic. For a major illness involving sexual development, they believed it was only reliable to see a Western medicine doctor at a large provincial hospital. Moreover, they were afraid of Gao Mingxuan’s nagging, which was why they had kept it a secret the whole time.

"Dean Li, judging from Miaomiao’s symptoms, where exactly does the pathogenesis lie?" Zeng Yunjun had been taking notes earnestly on the side. At this moment, he was asking for guidance entirely with the humility of a scholar.

"Yin deficiency causing excessive fire," Li Xu articulated clearly. "Yin deficiency refers to the depletion of kidney Yin, while excessive fire is the internal disturbance of false fire caused by the consumption of Yin blood. The heavy breath, foul-smelling flatulence, and red, dry tongue that Miaomiao is currently exhibiting are all ironclad evidence of an excess of Yang heat in her body. This blazing Yang heat causes the blood flow to accelerate abnormally, which is why her tongue appears so red.

"Furthermore, the pathogenic heat is disturbing her stomach, causing her digestive functions to become abnormally heightened. The gastrointestinal motility speeds up, leading to frequent flatulence. It’s like a fire burning too fiercely under a pot, making the steam churn violently."

Li Lin chimed in from the side, "Dean, I remember you saying that low temperatures can slow down metabolism and even freeze life. Conversely, this ’high heat’ in Miaomiao’s body is essentially a ’biological ripening agent’ that is forcibly accelerating her metabolism and development, right?"

"Exactly. That’s a very vivid analogy." Li Xu gave Li Lin an approving look, then pointed to Miaomiao’s cheeks. "Look at Miaomiao’s complexion again. Why is it slightly darkened? The color black corresponds to the kidneys. This is a ’pathological outward manifestation’ caused by the overdrawing of her kidney Qi. If we don’t bring this fire down and consolidate her kidney essence in time, not only will this child be unable to grow taller in the future, but her physical foundation will also be completely ruined."

Gao Mingxuan grew anxious and grabbed Li Xu’s arm. "Xiao Xu, since you’ve analyzed it so thoroughly, you must have a solution, right? Your Brother Ruiping is ignorant, but you have to save Miaomiao!"

This kind of disease genuinely touched upon a blind spot in knowledge for a doctor of Gao Mingxuan’s level. Even in top-tier hospitals, many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners would only prescribe standard formulas like the Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia formula, and the results were often unsatisfactory.

"Since we’ve identified the pathogenesis, it can naturally be treated." Li Xu signaled Li Lin to prepare a prescription pad. "Miaomiao’s condition falls under ’Yin deficiency causing excessive fire, and hyperactive liver fire.’ Therefore, the treatment principle is very clear: nourish Yin to lower the fire, and clear the liver to purge the fire. Nourishing the kidney Yin is the root, and bringing down the false fire is the foundation."

Li Xu smiled faintly. "As it happens, I have a famous formula on hand that exactly targets this situation."

"The Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Decoction?" Li Lin asked tentatively.

"That’s right, exactly the Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Decoction." Li Xu’s pen danced across the paper as he wrote: Raw Rehmannia, Rehmannia Glutinosa, Mountain Yam, Cornelian Cherry, Poria Cocos, Water Plantain, Peony Bark...

Pausing here, he explained, "In the Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Decoction, the Mountain Yam nourishes the spleen and kidneys, the Cornelian Cherry nourishes the liver and kidneys, and the Rehmannia is specifically dedicated to tonifying the kidneys. Here, I’ve used both Raw Rehmannia and Rehmannia Glutinosa together. This is the method most commonly used by Zhang Jingyue, the famous warm-tonification expert of the Ming Dynasty. The Raw Rehmannia cools the blood and clears heat, while the Rehmannia Glutinosa replenishes the essence and nourishes the marrow. One clears and one tonifies, which is perfectly suited for Miaomiao’s situation, where deficiency and excess are intermingled."

"The Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Decoction?" Gao Ruiping was stunned. Although he didn’t understand medicine, he constantly heard advertisements saying this medicine was for adult men to "tonify the kidneys." He spoke up hesitantly, "Li Xu, Miaomiao is only nine years old. If she takes this... won’t it be too much tonification? Won’t she become even more ’ripe’?"

Hearing this, Li Xu couldn’t help but laugh, and Zeng Yunjun and Li Lin beside him also chuckled.

"Brother Ruiping, this is a typical misconception." Li Xu set down his pen and said seriously, "Traditional Chinese medicine believes that ’if the medicine matches the symptoms, a single sip of decoction is enough; if it doesn’t match, a whole water vat is useless.’ The Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Decoction is not some powerful aphrodisiac; it is a foundational formula for nourishing Yin, moistening dryness, and gently regulating the body. It extinguishes the internal ’false fire’ by supplementing the ’Yin fluid.’ Right now, Miaomiao is like a sapling that’s parched and on the verge of withering, causing its trunk to heat up. What we need to do is not add fuel to the fire, but water its roots.

"Tonifying the kidneys does not mean forced ripening. On the contrary, only by adequately replenishing the kidney Yin can we suppress that erratic ’ministerial fire’ and slow down her development speed, bringing her back to the normal rhythm of a nine-year-old child. Don’t assume that just because adults can use it, children cannot."

Li Xu handed the written prescription to Gao Ruiping, having added a few medicinal herbs for clearing the liver at the end. "Take this and get the medicine. This illness requires patience. Have her take seven doses, and Miaomiao’s symptoms of irritability and chest pain will alleviate. After that, we’ll need to adjust the formula according to her condition. If she persistently takes it for two to three months, we’ll suppress the growth rate of her bone age, and there won’t be any major issues."

Gao Ruiping accepted the prescription as if he had received a priceless treasure, and his wife was so moved she kept wiping away her tears.

Gao Mingxuan stood to the side, watching his own disciple effortlessly solve the puzzle that had troubled their entire family for months with just a few words under everyone’s watchful eyes. Seeing that calm and composed demeanor, how could he find even a trace of the little apprentice who used to follow behind him, learning to identify herbs?

"Director Zeng," Gao Mingxuan turned to Zeng Yunjun and sighed emotionally, "I’m afraid all the luck in my life has been spent entirely on this disciple."

Zeng Yunjun nodded in deep agreement. "Teacher Gao, this is exactly what they mean by ’you reap what you sow.’ Without your initial guidance, how could there be this pillar of strength today?"