The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1018 - 1018 485 Grandparent-Grandchild Reunion (First

Chapter 1018: 485 Grandparent-Grandchild Reunion (First Update) Chapter 1018: 485 Grandparent-Grandchild Reunion (First Update) Gu Chengfeng felt that the remnants of the fallen dynasty and the massive Chen army must have had their brains waterlogged from the rain to actually lock someone up in the Wine Cellar!

What in the world!

Gu Jiao wanted to enter the room.

He raised his hand to stop Gu Jiao, “Wait, I’ll go in first.”

After realizing he had nearly delivered a gift of death, Gu Chengfeng became especially vigilant. He left Gu Jiao outside and carefully inspected the Wine Cellar first to ensure there were no hidden mechanisms or dangers. Only then did he say to Gu Jiao, “Come in.”

Gu Jiao entered the room and closed the door behind her.

The Wine Cellar had no windows, and as soon as the door was shut, the room was so dark that one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face.

Gu Chengfeng took out a match, struck it to life, and knelt on the cold ground in front of the old marquis, reaching out to support him.

“Hold on.”

This time, it was Gu Jiao who stopped Gu Chengfeng’s hand.

The old marquis’s breathing was very faint and shallow, which seemed abnormal.

As a physician, Gu Jiao had an almost instinctive intuition about such conditions. She set down the Red-Tasseled Spear that had been on her back onto the ground. Then she crouched down on one knee beside Gu Chengfeng, using the light from the match to get a clear view of the old marquis’s condition.

To describe him as covered in wounds would be an understatement; he clearly had been brutally tortured, with bloodstains all over his body.

“Bring the match closer,” Gu Jiao told Gu Chengfeng.

Gu Chengfeng moved the match closer.

Firelight cast onto a person’s face can actually hide some of the complexion, yet even so, the old marquis’s pallor was still unmistakable.

Gu Chengfeng’s heart clenched, his throat moved as he whispered, holding back, “Grandfather, Grandfather.”

The old marquis did not respond to him.

Gu Chengfeng’s heart clenched tighter.

Gu Jiao’s expression remained unchanged, as she calmly and composedly began to undo the old marquis’s clothes, examining his injuries one by one.

Having trained to his current level of skill, Gu Chengfeng naturally had his fair share of injuries and had seen others injured, but seeing his own grandfather wounded like this, he couldn’t bear to look any longer.

He wondered how this girl could remain so calm.

Well, of course, she isn’t the real Gu Jiao, after all, to her, his grandfather was merely a common patient.

The match couldn’t last for long, and the light was also insufficient, so Gu Jiao opened the first-aid kit and took out a small emergency flashlight. She turned it on and handed it to Gu Chengfeng, “Shine it here.”

Gu Chengfeng had gotten used to her producing all sorts of strange things; it was basically a Night Light Pearl, wasn’t it? Only that the light it emitted was longer and brighter.

Gu Chengfeng extinguished the match and held the flashlight for Gu Jiao, “Grandfather’s injuries, are they severe?”

“Severe,” Gu Jiao said, her movements gentle yet missing not a single bone, “There are internal and external injuries, with multiple fractures and shattered bones throughout his body.”

Gu Chengfeng was alarmed, “Shattered, shattered into powder?”

Gu Jiao sighed, “If broken into three or more pieces, it’s called a comminuted fracture.”

She didn’t say they were shattered into powder.

It’s not a bone crushing machine, after all.

Apart from the fractures, there were many lash wounds all over the body; the bloodstains were from these wounds.

Though these lash wounds looked frightening, they were not actually the primary cause of the old marquis losing consciousness.

Gu Jiao then took out a sphygmomanometer and measured the old marquis’s blood pressure.

“Strange, why is the blood pressure so low?”

The reason the old marquis had lost consciousness was found: hemorrhagic shock.

However, the lash wounds on the old marquis were superficial, and though the bloodstains were varied, the total amount of bleeding was not significant.

“Internal bleeding?” Gu Jiao murmured, her eyes focusing intently.

Gu Chengfeng did not understand a word she said, and even if he had, he suspected it might not mean what he thought it did.

Gu Jiao took out a pair of gloves from the first-aid kit and put them on, then retrieved a long puncture needle.

Gu Chengfeng’s brow twitched—what was this girl going to do now!

After watching Gu Jiao perform surgery on Gu Chenglin, Gu Chengfeng hadn’t been able to eat any meat for half a year, and the psychological shadow was just beginning to heal; he couldn’t let this girl harm his fragile heart again!

He determinedly turned his face away!

“Hey,” Gu Jiao called to him.

“I’m not scared!” he declared defiantly!

“The flashlight is aimed wrong,” Gu Jiao reminded.

“Aimed wrong, where?” Gu Chengfeng dared not turn back to look.

Gu Jiao took his hand and moved the flashlight forward a bit, “Don’t move.”

Gu Chengfeng: “Oh.”

Gu Jiao performed an abdominal paracentesis on the old marquis and extracted non-coagulated blood, indicating the presence of bloody ascites. Considering his injuries, it appeared that there had been substantial organ rupture.

Gu Jiao put away the paracentesis needle and quietly observed his abdomen before starting to gently press down along the direction of his ribs.

Upon pressing the upper left abdomen, his body spasmed slightly.

He hadn’t completely lost consciousness? He could still feel a bit of pain.

The injury must be right here.

Gu Jiao’s gaze turned cold.

This place is the spleen.

“Have you finished your examination? Once you’re done, we must hurry and leave with my grandfather. I have this feeling that it’s not very safe here, those people might return at any moment!”

“We can’t leave,” Gu Jiao said, “He’s injured.”

“Can’t we treat the injuries back at the inn? I know that people with injuries shouldn’t be moved lightly, I’ll find a stretcher! I won’t let his condition worsen!”

Gu Jiao, looking at the continuing drop in blood pressure, shook her head: “There’s no time to wait.”

“What do you mean by no time to wait?” Gu Chengfeng turned his head back, looking at her in bewildered astonishment.

Gu Jiao said, “He needs surgery.”

Gu Chengfeng was taken aback again: “Here, in this place?”

Gu Jiao nodded gravely: “Right here.” Seeing Gu Chengfeng’s struggle and hesitation, she added, “If we don’t operate immediately, he will die.”

Having spent so much time with Gu Jiao, Gu Chengfeng of course understood that aside from when she demanded high fees for her services, she never exaggerated about anything else.

Gu Chengfeng gave Gu Jiao a deep look: “Are you sure you want to do this?”

The risks of performing surgery on enemy territory didn’t need to be spelled out. The life being saved was his grandfather’s, yet the life being risked was also her own.

He continued, “If we’re discovered, all three of us might not make it out.”

Without any hesitation, Gu Jiao pulled out a surgical knife: “I’ll be quick.”

“Why are you doing this? Have you taken him as your grandfather?”

“No,” Gu Jiao unsealed the surgical knife, “He’s not my grandfather, but to thrust a knife for one’s brothers is only right.”

She was serious about this Sworn Brotherhood!

Completely misunderstanding, Gu Chengfeng felt a surge of acid and emotion in his chest. So, in her heart, he was her brother!

Gu Jiao: You’re thinking too much.

You’re not the one; it’s the man lying on the ground.

“Is there anything I can do?” Gu Chengfeng asked nobly.

Deciding not to quibble with him about seniority for now, Gu Jiao took out the surgical knife and anesthetic: “Find something to block the gaps in the door, don’t let any light leak out.”

Without a rag or anything like that in the wine cellar, Gu Chengfeng tore off his undershirt, using a dagger to cut it into strips to block the door cracks and gaps.

In the freezing cold of the borderlands without a heated kang in the cellar, Gu Jiao, to prevent the old marquis from getting too cold during the surgery, also had Gu Chengfeng dismantle a table, pour a bit of liquor over it, and start a small fire.

Snow seeds began to fall from the sky, pattering against the eaves and the ground, perfectly masking the sounds of the burning firewood.

Gu Jiao worked with gentle movements, her demeanor calm.

She started an IV for the old marquis, with Gu Chengfeng finding a stand to hang the IV bag.

The old marquis was severely bleeding internally; epidural anesthesia was inconvenient, so Gu Jiao administered general anesthesia instead.

The last remnants of the old marquis’s consciousness disappeared, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The conditions on-site were not suitable for a surgical drape, so after extensively disinfecting the area on the old marquis, Gu Jiao made an incision directly in his upper left abdomen.

Bloody ascites flowed out along the incision.

Gu Chengfeng held his breath!

Gu Jiao fully freed the spleen and successfully brought it out through the incision. Gu Chengfeng only managed one glance before he nearly fainted on the spot!

Gu Jiao calmly continued with the surgery in front of her. She located the active bleeding point on the spleen and began suturing. If the bleeding couldn’t be stopped after suturing, she’d have to choose between partial or complete splenectomy.

The spleen is not the appendix; it can’t simply be removed.

The sequelae of splenectomy are lifelong. Once the surgery was performed, the old marquis would never be able to return to the battlefield.

As time slowly trickled by, the snow seeds outside seemed to have stopped unknowingly, and the Governor’s Mansion fell into an absolute silence.

Sporadic crackling sounds came from the fire, and with every crackle, Gu Chengfeng’s heart tightened.

Gu Jiao was fully immersed in the task at hand; her bare hands were already soaked in blood.

The suturing was clearly effective; there was no need for splenectomy. She only needed to suture and repair all the lacerations.

The splenic repair surgery was completed, and the surgery was moving into the final phase—suturing the abdominal wound.

Gu Chengfeng clenched his fists tight, silently praying in his heart, “Please, let no one come, let no one come…”