As soon as Chu Xuwei made room, Du Heng walked over without any modesty.

Then, following his own steps, he carefully examined the patient.

To be honest, in a hospital like this, if a patient’s condition doesn’t improve or isn’t alleviated after hospitalization, there must be a problem with the examination and syndrome differentiation.

Du Heng didn’t believe that the people who could work here wouldn’t prescribe medicine according to the syndrome differentiation.

Moreover, the doctor earlier had also said that the diagnosis was spleen and stomach qi deficiency, and using Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction with modifications was absolutely not a problem; it was a very symptomatic prescription.

But now that the patient wasn’t feeling any effect, it indicated one thing: their syndrome differentiation was incorrect. If the syndrome differentiation was wrong, then their examination must also have flaws or areas they hadn’t considered thoroughly.

That’s why he wanted to examine the patient himself; he wouldn’t look at their medical records.

After completing his examination, Du Heng directly asked the patient, "Uncle, how long have you had this illness?"

The patient was already quite uncomfortable with so many doctors conducting ward rounds, and now that they were all standing around his bed without leaving, he felt even more uneasy. He must have contracted some incurable disease, he secretly thought.

He’d also heard that the young man before him was an expert, but his mood was terrible. Looking listless, he said, "My stomach has been distended for over thirty years, and sometimes it’s painfully so."

"Have you had it checked before?"

The old man nodded, still looking listless. "I went to the hospital for a check-up, had a gastroscopy, and they said it was some kind of... gastritis."

At this point, a family member, likely his son, suddenly interjected, "It was diagnosed right here in our hospital. They said it was chronic superficial gastritis. He was hospitalized there for a week, but it had no effect, so we went home. About three months later, starting last Thursday, the distension and pain began again. We had no choice but to come to the Chinese Medicine Department to be hospitalized."

The family member paused, then added, "Oh, right, my father doesn’t sleep well at night."

Du Heng nodded lightly and looked at the patient again before asking, "Uncle, your stomach is uncomfortable, but your body still looks okay. Can you still eat normally?"

The uncle sighed. "Eating isn’t a problem; I can easily finish a large bowl of noodles. But no matter what I eat, it doesn’t taste good."

Not tasty?

Du Heng raised his eyebrows slightly. "How’s your bowel movement?"

"A bit constipated."

"How often?"

"Once every two days."

Once every two days isn’t really constipation, Du Heng frowned again. That’s just dry stool.

"Uncle, why didn’t you think about having a check-up when your stomach was so uncomfortable before, instead of waiting until now?"

"Well, how should I put it? When I was young, I worked hard and got tired a lot. My stomach would get distended, but I’d feel better after passing gas a couple of times. I’d just buy some stomach medicine and get by like that."

Du Heng’s eyes flickered slightly. "Are you passing gas less frequently now?"

"Yes, I can barely pass gas twice a day." The old man asked Du Heng, full of anxiety, "Expert, do I have some incurable disease?"

It was the first time Du Heng had heard himself called that. He was surprised, but also quite pleased.

No wonder everyone wants to be an expert, Du Heng thought. It’s not just about earning money; being called ’expert’ makes you feel a lot better too.

"Don’t worry, Uncle. There’s nothing seriously wrong with you. A few doses of medicine to regulate your system, and you’ll be fine."

"Don’t try to fool me. I’ve taken Western medicine and Chinese herbal medicine, but nothing has worked. I must have an incurable disease."

With his most amiable smile, Du Heng gently reassured him, "Uncle, you really are fine. The medicine you took before didn’t work because the prescription was wrong."

The patient and his family hadn’t even reacted yet when the doctor who had dragged Du Heng into this situation got flustered and jumped in. "Doctor Du, why do you say my prescription was wrong?"

This was clearly a move to start a confrontation.

But Du Heng wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. He had stated in front of the patient that the prescription was wrong, so he had no intention of just laughing it off with this doctor.

I didn’t provoke you, Du Heng thought. You should have just done your rounds and consulted your director if you had questions. Why drag me into this?

Since you were so eager to involve me, don’t blame me for pushing back when I’m in a bad mood.

I’ve been a Dean for over half a year. At the Provincial First Hospital’s Chinese Medicine Department and Gastroenterology Department, I was on equal footing with the directors. Now that I’m in the Capital, I have to put up with your nonsense? Do you really think being in the Capital makes you superior?

With a faint smile, Du Heng turned to the doctor who had jumped out and said, "If the syndrome differentiation is wrong, then of course the prescribed medicine is wrong. Is there a problem with that? Is that logic unclear?"

The male doctor’s face turned ashen at being told his syndrome differentiation was wrong in front of so many colleagues and the patient. "Doctor Du, you’d better clearly explain what I did wrong. Otherwise, you’ll have to apologize to me in front of everyone here."

Du Heng grinned. "I don’t know how you questioned the patient, but when I asked just now, I’m sure you heard him say that his stomach distension is relieved after passing gas. Based on this point alone, how did you arrive at a syndrome differentiation of spleen and stomach qi deficiency?"

"You..."

The male doctor was stunned. This was a basic concept, and he knew it, of course.

But during the consultation, he didn’t ask the patient about it, and the patient didn’t mention it.

Moreover, most cases of stomach distension and pain are caused by spleen and stomach qi deficiency. His experience told him he wasn’t wrong.

But he hadn’t expected to be tripped up by a fart.

Seeing the male doctor speechless, Du Heng had no intention of letting him off the hook. He continued, "The patient’s tongue coating is thick, and his pulse is a string pulse. From these two points, you also cannot differentiate spleen and stomach qi deficiency, can you?"

The thick tongue coating indicates that there is a problem with the stomach, which is not controversial.

But what about the string pulse?

String pulse indicates a disorder of wood excess!

The liver belongs to the wood element!

So how could one possibly differentiate spleen and stomach qi deficiency from that?

This is just pure nonsense.

Everyone present was a student of traditional Chinese medicine, and their academic qualifications were at least a Master’s, if not a doctorate.

It might have been overlooked if not pointed out, but once emphasized, these individuals immediately understood where the problem lay.

Whatever the illness was, it simply couldn’t be spleen and stomach qi deficiency.

Seeing the male doctor’s face flush red to his ears, Chu Xuwei also felt his own face burn with embarrassment.

No matter how displeased he was with this doctor, he was, after all, one of his subordinates.

If Du Heng had launched into a long, classic-quoting argument, it might have been hard to listen to but also easier to smooth over.

But now, Du Heng had backed him into a corner with a few simple questions, causing Chu Xuwei himself to lose face.

Sighing softly, Chu Xuwei had to step in to ease the tension. "Director Du, since that’s the case, please tell us your syndrome differentiation."

Du Heng had to give Chu Xuwei some face. He smiled and said just two words, "Qi stagnation."

"Director Du, please elaborate for everyone. I believe most here might not understand why it’s Qi stagnation."

"The *Emperor’s Inner Classic* states that illness arises from qi, and qi transforms into illness. The various symptoms this patient exhibits are typical manifestations of Qi stagnation described in the book."

Those who had read the *Inner Canon* were already trying to recall where this was mentioned, while those who hadn’t were completely lost.

Du Heng continued, "The treatment method should be to regulate qi and alleviate pain. Using Depression-Overcoming Pill combined with Pinellia and Magnolia Bark Decoction, with modifications, should suffice."

Du Heng was very considerate of Chu Xuwei; he didn’t wait for further questions and directly stated his complete thought.

Chu Xuwei glanced at Du Heng, then shot a sideways look at the dumbstruck, red-faced male doctor, before continuing Du Heng’s point. "Depression-Overcoming Pill resolves various stagnations, and among the six stagnations, qi is primary. Therefore, its main function is indeed to regulate qi. There’s no issue with this verified prescription."

Taking a deep breath, he paused briefly, then continued, "Pinellia and Magnolia Bark Decoction, also known as Major Seven Qi Decoction, is a medicine that harmonizes the seven emotions and also primarily focuses on regulating qi.

Doctor Du is brilliant. Combining these two formulas achieves the wonderful effect of harmonizing qi and blood, thus preventing a hundred illnesses from arising."

Du Heng smiled humbly and didn’t press his advantage further, unlike his earlier demeanor.

Chu Xuwei handed the medical record he had been holding back to the male doctor. "Quickly note down what Director Du said, and the formula as well."

"Yes, Director. Thank you, Doctor Du."

The male doctor’s face changed several times, but eventually, he lowered his head sensibly.

Subsequently, Chu Xuwei said no more and continued the unfinished ward round.

By the time the ward round actually ended, it was already 10:30.

This was considering Chu Xuwei’s targeted approach to the rounds; if he had treated everyone equally, it probably would have taken until noon.

This truly is a major hospital in the Capital, Du Heng sighed inwardly. So many inpatients, and such a variety of conditions.

His own Health Clinic, for instance, though it had many inpatients, mostly consisted of patients he himself had admitted and was treating. Doing rounds on his own patients felt quite uninteresting to Du Heng.

As for Provincial First Hospital, he was never part of their ward rounds.

Of course, if he had wanted to participate, Li Jianwei would certainly have welcomed him. But Du Heng lost all interest whenever he saw the sparse number of patients at Provincial First Hospital.

Later, Provincial First Hospital did get more patients, but a significant portion were those he had admitted himself, or stroke patients he was treating. He felt it unnecessary to join the main group for ward rounds then.

Returning to his office, Du Heng found himself idle once more.

Finding it boring, Du Heng decided to go out for a walk.

His main purpose was to find the flag-raising location and figure out how to get there.

Since I’m in the Capital, it would definitely be a regret not to see the flag-raising.

Moreover, Thursday this week—the day after tomorrow—was New Year’s Day. That made him want to go even more.

With this in mind, Du Heng immediately started looking for Cao Binghe, planning to let him know he was stepping out.

But just as he raised his head, Cao Binghe’s low voice sounded beside him, "Doctor Du, you were truly impressive today! You’ve resolved a huge weight on my mind."

Du Heng looked at Cao Binghe in surprise. "A huge weight? Did that doctor bully you?"

Du Heng’s expression shifted to one of slight disbelief. "No way! You’re Professor Lan’s student, which makes you Director Chu’s junior fellow apprentice. That guy actually dared to bully you?"