Chapter 32: Third-Class Bad Luck Charm
Maeda Toshiharu looked to be in his fifties, his face deeply weathered, his hair graying and tied in a loose topknot, with silver strands at his temples. He wore an old plain jacket and a pair of double-buckled straw sandals, carrying a bamboo basket on his back. Rather than a feudal lord who would hang anyone who failed to pay their annual tribute, he looked more like an old farmer.
Upon entering, he exchanged a glance with Okumura Iefuku and then unhesitatingly began to warmly welcome Yuan Ye. First, he praised Yuan Ye’s extraordinary appearance, then repeatedly thanked him for saving A Song, and casually introduced his family members.
His wife, Take no Yasu, in her forties, also dressed like a village woman due to working outdoors. However, she spoke with a smile, appearing very optimistic and cheerful.
His eldest son, Maeda Shinichiro Toshihisa, twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, was thin and sallow-faced. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him in other aspects. Although polite and seemingly well-educated, he didn’t seem to be eloquent, and his demeanor was rather melancholic.
His second son, Maeda Uchinosuke Toshihisa, was not present. He was currently in a semi-official capacity as a subordinate official of Oda Danjō no Chū, serving as a magistrate of Oda in the Aichi District frontline, which was roughly equivalent to a transport team captain in the Modern Era.
His third son, Maeda Sanzaburo Yasumasa, in his early twenties, seemed a bit wild in temperament, with an aura quite similar to Maeda Toshiie, the “Eccentric.” However, with his father present, he dared not be presumptuous and respectfully performed his greetings.
His fourth son, Maeda Sunshirō Toshiie, and his fifth son, Sawaki Tohachiro Yoshizane, were both absent. One was serving Oda Nobunaga and had already returned after his leave of absence for visiting relatives; the other had become an adopted son of the Sawaki family and usually resided at Nagoya Castle. Sawaki Tohachiro’s adoptive father was a trusted vassal of Oda Nobuhide, tasked with supporting the “Big Fool” Oda Nobunaga, and currently served as the Castle Guard Deputy of Nagoya Castle, roughly equivalent to a managing deputy mayor in the Modern Era.
His sixth son, Maeda Kichiroku Hideyuki, was also absent, having gone to school.
Yes, he had gone to school. In this era, becoming a samurai wasn’t that easy; one still had to attend school. The school was located within the Terakoya at the neighboring Aragiko Kannon Temple. Japanese monks also worked part-time as teachers, offering cultural and artistic subjects like literacy, etiquette, waka poetry, arithmetic, and the Tea Ceremony. Martial arts and military strategy were not taught; these were generally learned through self-study at home or by finding another master.
The daughters were all present. They didn’t need to go to school. Tsuharu and Aru were both just over ten years old. The other three daughters, Yoshiyo, Tsu-yo, and A Song, were younger, but they were well-brought-up and politely greeted Yuan Ye one by one. Tsuharu and Aru, the older ones, seemed to have slightly less strict upbringing. During their greetings, they kept stealing glances at Yuan Ye, and after the greetings, they continued to peek at Yuan Ye with flushed cheeks, whispering and playfully nudging each other.
Among these daughters, A Song was particularly outstanding. As expected of one of the future “Three Ladies of the Warring States,” she was dignified and approachable despite her young age. After greeting him, she specifically thanked Yuan Ye again, saying many pleasant things in her childish voice. She acted very close to him, seemingly trying to build a good relationship for future needs, showing a bit of cunning.
Of course, it was also possible that Yuan Ye had a bad nature and was too suspicious, seeing everyone as a bad person and wrongly accusing her. She was just a grateful little girl.
Maeda Toshiharu patiently waited for all the children in the family to greet Yuan Ye—he had specifically arranged this. The Kojiki said that being on good terms with a doctor was a good thing; it might save a life at a critical moment. After they had all greeted him, he let them disperse and then instructed his wife, Take no Yasu, to prepare food and drinks, as he intended to entertain Yuan Ye properly before starting the medical examination.
After Yuan Ye’s “observation, listening, questioning, and pulse diagnosis,” Maeda Toshiharu’s illness could not be cured.
He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, which is still an incurable chronic disease in the Modern Era. Yuan Ye, being a novice doctor, was even less capable, but alleviating the pain was possible, as taught in the books.
He spent some time performing acupuncture on Maeda Toshiharu, left a long list of medical advice, and prepared to make some medicinal plasters for him to use upon returning. After the acupuncture, Maeda Toshiharu indeed felt a warmth and swelling in his chronically aching joints, feeling much more comfortable. Hearing Yuan Ye’s subsequent well-organized arrangements, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Remarkable! Just as Inuchiyo said, Lord Yuan Ye is truly a master of medical skills!”
“Not at all, you flatter me.” Yuan Ye had heard similar words too often recently, and many had even kowtowed to him, so he was no longer surprised. He politely offered a perfunctory reply and turned his gaze to Maeda Toshihisa, politely asking, “Lord Shinichiro, where do you feel discomfort?”
He could see that the person who truly needed treatment today was Maeda Toshihisa.
Maeda Toshihisa bowed slightly, then partially removed his upper garment and turned to reveal his back. Below his shoulder blade was a large, purplish-blue swelling, with multiple small indentations on its surface. It looked like a Cthulhu eyeball, both disgusting and terrifying.
Yuan Ye put on his homemade mask, leaned closer to examine it, and then gently pressed around the swelling. He found the edges to be distinct and the texture to be hard. After carefully taking his pulse to confirm, he asked Maeda Toshihisa, “Did you suffer a back injury in the past? Do you usually experience chest tightness, shortness of breath, fever, chills, and weakness? Does the boil on your back sometimes cause severe pain, and occasionally lead to dizziness?”
Maeda Toshihisa was greatly surprised. Yuan Ye’s words were all accurate, and for a moment, the melancholy on his face lessened.
Maeda Toshiharu also showed joy on his face and answered for him, “That’s right. A few years ago, he was shot in the back with an arrow and then accidentally fell into water. After recovering from his injuries, this large boil appeared on his back. It comes and goes, and we’ve tried many remedies without success. We don’t know… what kind of boil is this?”
“It should be a poisonous carbuncle,” Yuan Ye replied verbally, lost in thought.
Previously, “Tiger of Owari” Oda Nobuhide attacked Saito Dosan of Mino with the full force of Owari. Maeda Toshihisa had likely participated in the battle. As a result, he was not only shot at close range but also fell into the Nagara River while fleeing. He was a third-class unlucky fellow. A first-class unlucky fellow’s head had already become part of a “Jingguan” (a mound of enemy heads). Second-class unlucky fellows had all drowned. Maeda Toshihisa surviving and returning was considered decent luck; he was a third-class unlucky fellow.
However, even though he understood, there was no need to bring up past wounds. Yuan Ye, acting as a doctor, explained the condition in detail to the patient and his family: “There were problems with the initial wound treatment. The wound was not properly cleaned, leading to internal damp heat, disrupting the flow of vital energy and blood, and going against the natural order. The yang energy became superficial, causing heat to decay the flesh and form pus, which is why it has been difficult to heal.”
Simply put, it was a continuous inflammation that spread along the subcutaneous fat to the subcutaneous tissue. The infected hair follicles and subcutaneous glands merged, forming an external traumatic boil that swelled into a large abscess.
This condition might seem minor, but it should not be underestimated. Mild cases could lead to loss of labor capacity and constant discomfort. Moderate cases could cause complications such as cervical spondylosis, respiratory infections, and infertility. Severe cases could lead to direct ulceration of the back, causing widespread inflammation, and death was not uncommon.
Yuan Ye’s words were too professional, like reciting from a textbook, mixing Japanese and Chinese. Maeda Toshiharu, his son, and Okumura Iefuku were all bewildered. After a moment of silence, Maeda Toshiharu cautiously asked, “Then this illness…”
Yuan Ye carefully observed the carbuncle again and lightly pricked it with a needle. Seeing yellow fluid flowing out and no black blood, he determined it was a yang carbuncle, not extremely dangerous. He then said, “It can be treated, but it requires slow suppuration and detoxification with medicine, which will take a considerable amount of time, and it’s already dragging on. If you want it done quickly, surgery is the only option, and it will involve considerable suffering.”
As the saying goes, a boil as big as a bean has a core as big as a fist; a boil as big as a fist has a core as big as a plate.
Maeda Toshihisa’s boil was now the size of a child’s fist. For such a mass of pus to dissipate slowly would not be a matter of a day or two, and it was possible that while it was suppurating, other complications had already arisen.
“I don’t fear suffering. Please proceed with the surgery!” Maeda Toshihisa finally spoke. It seemed that because Yuan Ye used many Chinese words, he heard him as a divine doctor, greatly increasing his confidence and making him feel there was a high chance of recovery. He looked at Yuan Ye and said sincerely, “With this thing on my back, I can’t sleep well, I can’t eat well, and I can’t even ride a horse properly. I’m like a cripple. Please, Lord Yuan Ye, cure it as soon as possible! Any method is fine, I beg you!”
“We beg you!” Maeda Toshiharu clearly loved his eldest son and immediately assumed a formal seated posture, bowing his head in entreaty. Okumura Iefuku followed suit, not caring that Yuan Ye was merely a “wandering samurai who had come to stay by chance.” No matter how formidable someone was, when their child was sick, they had to be obedient and polite before a doctor. It was the same in ancient and modern times.
“I understand!”
Yuan Ye did not refuse. He had performed a few such boil excisions in Hibitsu Village and had some experience. Moreover, this was not a dangerous surgery; in later generations, it could be done for about 50 yuan. Ancient Chinese medicine also required cutting for such boils, and the technique was very mature. If it were another type of surgery, he might not dare, and would probably just prescribe a couple of doses of medicine to muddle through.
He immediately asked Okumura Iefuku to call a few maids to boil water for cloth, knives, and small tweezers, and to repeatedly wash his hands with hot water and soap. He also took out a dose of “San Shen Chu Chuang Tang” from his medicine bag and had someone start decocting it. Surgery alone was not enough; it had to be combined with medicinal decoctions.
Looking at the wound, it was clear that the Maeda family had also tried to lance and squeeze the pus before, but it only treated the symptoms, not the root cause, and was completely ineffective.
When everything was ready, he stuffed a piece of cloth into Maeda Toshihisa’s mouth and had Maeda Toshiharu, Okumura Iefuku, and A Qing hold him down. Just like slaughtering a pig, they held Maeda Toshihisa down, and he began to cut the boil.
Yes, he had no anesthetic, so he cut it directly, very brutally.
A yang carbuncle would cause pain that pierced to the bone with a light touch, let alone cutting it directly. Maeda Toshihisa sweated profusely from the pain and writhed uncontrollably. Yuan Ye was not gentle either; he loudly shouted at Maeda Toshiharu, A Qing, and the others to hold him down tightly, while he used all his strength to squeeze out the pus.
First, yellow fluid was squeezed out, then a large amount of foul-smelling white paste and a small amount of bloody pus. Only when nothing more could be squeezed out did he reach in with tweezers and forcefully pull out the torn sac walls containing the impurities. Maeda Toshihisa twitched in pain, as if he had been electrocuted.
These things sound fast, but the operation was actually very slow. Yuan Ye’s skill level was insufficient, and his technique was half-baked. It took nearly two hours to finish.
A simple surgery in later generations was made to resemble pig slaughtering. Especially in the latter half, cleaning the sac and impurities, he rummaged through blood and flesh with small tweezers. Maeda Toshihisa bled profusely and was almost in a coma from the pain. It was roughly equivalent to having seven or eight teeth pulled without anesthesia in the Modern Era; anyone who experienced it would know the feeling.
Yuan Ye didn’t care. In the Tokai District, he was the only “Divine Doctor.” He had a monopoly on this technology and didn’t need to worry about customer experience.
In his memory, Maeda Toshihisa seemed to have no children, or perhaps had a daughter early on, but after the injury, he could no longer have any. His future heir was brought in from his wife’s previous marriage—that was Maeda Keiji, whose full name was Maeda Keijirō Toshitada, known as the “Number One Eccentric of the Warring States.” Later, Japanese people created a visually impaired manga, “Hana no Keiji,” and forcibly renamed him Maeda Keiji.
Maeda Toshihisa’s inability to have children was most likely caused by this carbuncle. Even with the current pain and bleeding, if he knew history, he would have kowtowed to Yuan Ye twice.
After the carbuncle was dealt with, Yuan Ye carefully cleaned the wound again, applied his homemade “antibacterial and anti-inflammatory powder” and hemostatic powder, and by then the “San Shen Chu Chuang Tang” had also been decocted. He then made space for someone to administer the medicine to the groggy Maeda Toshihisa.
Maeda Toshiharu also broke out in a sweat and asked him with a concerned expression, “Lord Yuan Ye, how is Shinichiro’s condition? Will this cure it completely?”
He was now very fortunate to have invited Yuan Ye. Even though the illness wasn’t cured yet, just the fact that he dared to cut open such a large boil, rummaging through flesh and blood, and consistently appeared confident that he could cure it, was something no one else in Owari could do.
He was indeed a master of medical skills, a 100% master of medical skills!
Yuan Ye took off his mask, asked for hot water to be changed, and while carefully washing his hands with soap, he said softly, “It should be fine. His condition should start to improve tomorrow. After drinking the medicine for a while longer, it won’t have any lasting effects.”
Maeda Toshiharu breathed a huge sigh of relief and repeatedly exclaimed, “That’s wonderful! That’s truly wonderful!”
Maeda Toshihisa was his heir and eldest legitimate son, and he was most fond of him. However, the large boil on his back had caused him to try many folk remedies over the years, even drinking urine, but it only made him more depressed and almost rendered him a cripple. If he could truly recover completely, it would lift a great burden from his heart.
After thanking him, he instructed his family retainers and maids to keep a close eye on things and then quickly invited Yuan Ye to the banquet, intending to entertain him properly. After all, he was, to some extent, Maeda Toshihisa’s “0.5 savior,” having saved Maeda Toshihisa’s “samurai career.” He and Okumura Iefuku also urged him to stay at Aragiko Castle for a short period, in case Maeda Toshihisa’s condition relapsed.
Yuan Ye was indifferent. If it only delayed him by a day or two, it wouldn’t matter. After all, with A Man and Yayoi at home, he was somewhat at ease.
Thus, the atmosphere between host and guest improved further. If Yuan Ye hadn’t insisted on not drinking alcohol, the atmosphere could have been even better.
After the feast was over and the dishes were cleared, Yuan Ye felt there was nothing else to do and was about to ask for a room to rest and recover when a retainer of the Aragiko Maeda Family hurried in and knelt before Maeda Toshiharu to report, “My Lord, Chijō, the young master, has arrived.”
“Oh, what is he here for? Please invite him in!” Maeda Toshiharu said with a hint of confusion, then turned to explain to Yuan Ye, “He is the youngest disciple of Master Kaishin, the chief monk of Aragiko Kannon Temple. It’s likely that Master Kaishin has something to discuss and sent him here.”
Yuan Ye nodded without saying anything, but he was somewhat curious. He had been in the Japanese Medieval Period for over a month and had not yet seen an ancient monk!
