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The eldest son of Grand Commandant Pang, named Yuan, was from Wujiang. His mother (Grand Matron) suffered from headache and aversion to cold, with fullness and pain in the chest and diaphragm, accompanied by alternating chills and fever. In Wu, there was a physician named Wang Houshan who was famous at the time and deeply trusted by the locals. He treated her for five days without improvement. Hearing that I resided in Wu, they invited me with courtesy to treat her. Upon examining her pulse, the right side was slippery and large, while the left side was floating, wiry, and rapid. I asked what medicine she had taken. Grand Commandant Pang said, "I do not know the prescription, but the medicine is here." I looked at it and inadvertently remarked, "The treatment direction was wrong!" At that moment, a tutor surnamed Xiang was present. Hearing this, he sternly said, "This is a most distinguished gentleman in the Three Wu regions. If anyone criticizes his prescriptions, people spit in their faces. Fortunately, you are not the one being criticized." I smiled and said, "If he is correct and the criticizer is wrong, then spitting at others is justified; if he is wrong and the criticizer is right, he would be too ashamed even to spit at himself, let alone spit at others. Siwu Tang (Four Substances Decoction), Yanhusuo (Corydalis Rhizome), Mudanpi (Moutan Cortex), and Xiangfuzi (Cyperi Rhizoma) are formulas for nourishing blood and regulating menstruation. The Grand Matron is over seventy years old; does she still have menstruation to regulate? The error in medication stems from lifelong adherence to routine protocols, failing to adapt according to the patient and symptoms." Mr. Xiang asked, "What is this syndrome?" I replied, "Zhang Zhongjing stated that headache and aversion to cold indicate an external contraction. A floating, wiry, and rapid pulse, along with chest and diaphragmatic fullness and pain, confirms Shaoyang disease (Lesser Yang disorder) patterns. The slippery right pulse indicates food stagnation generating phlegm. They used Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Dihuang (Rehmanniae Radix), and Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix), all of which are cloying substances that obstruct phlegm and qi. How can internal injury resolve or external pathogen exit under such conditions? This case should only be treated with Chaihu Tang (Bupleurum Decoction) combined with Pingwei San (Powder for Peaceful the Stomach). One or two doses will suffice." Mr. Xiang still wished to argue, but Grand Commandant Pang said, "Do not debate; clarity will emerge after taking the medicine." After one dose, the chills and fever ceased; after the second dose, the chest and diaphragm felt comfortable. Grand Commandant Pang joyfully said, "Your reputation, Master Sun, is indeed well-deserved!" I privately asked Mr. Xiang why he praised Dr. Wang so highly. Grand Commandant Pang explained, "Mr. Xiang initially studied under Dr. Wang. Having not yet seen major medical cases, he exclusively upheld his teacher's theories, revealing his limited insight."

Later, Grand Commandant Pang had business at his estate during the Mid-Autumn Festival. While walking under the moonlight after drinking wine, he slipped and fell. Upon being helped up, he experienced severe hypochondriac pain and could not stand, suffering day and night. He took blood-invigorating, blood-scattering, and blood-moving agents three times a day. Over three months, he consumed more than two hundred doses, yet the pain did not diminish. He then invited me to treat him. My examination revealed a wiry left pulse and a slippery, rapid right pulse. I said, "This is a Phlegm-Fire syndrome." Grand Commandant Pang replied, "No. Although my body is fat, I have never produced phlegm in my life. It is merely due to the fall causing blood stasis accumulating between the ribs." I said, "According to the pulse, it is indeed Phlegm-Fire. The phlegm resides in the meridians, not the lungs, hence no coughing and no expectoration. Pulse classics state: 'Slippery indicates phlegm; wiry indicates fluid retention.' I diagnose Phlegm-Fire based on the pulse. If it were blood stasis, the pulse would necessarily be deep and hidden, or knotted or choppy, and the complexion would likely be yellow. Previous physicians treated it as blood stasis, following your words rather than relying on complexion and pulse. Moreover, the failure of numerous harsh, attacking, and breaking-hardness agents proves clearly that this is not blood stasis accumulation." Grand Commandant Pang happily requested medicine. I prescribed two large Gualou Qiao (Trichosanthis Pericarpium), weighing two taels, ground into powder, along with Zhishi (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), and Qianhu (Peucedani Radix), each one qian, and Beimu (Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus), two qian, for four doses. Grand Commandant Pang thought the dosage was too small. I said, "My opinion is that even this amount is excessive. One or two doses will cure this syndrome. You may return later for tonic preparations." About one shichen (two hours) after receiving the medicine, he decocted and took it. By the fifth watch (early morning), his abdomen gurgled loudly. At dawn, he defecated once or twice, expelling only phlegm, no blood, and the pain decreased by more than half. After another dose, several bowls of phlegm were expelled, the pain completely stopped, and he could stand upright. After three doses, abdominal sounds ceased, and diarrhea stopped. Previously, diarrhea was caused by phlegm accumulation; now that the phlegm is gone, diarrhea has ceased. Grand Commandant Pang said, "Observation, auscultation/olfaction, inquiry, and palpation are the essential tasks of a physician. Everyone speaks of them, but only Master Sun demonstrates unique insight in practice. Regarding the illnesses of my son and myself, previous treatments were handled by famous figures in Wu. Without you, we would have surely hit a dead end! How could we have been revived? I therefore admire your profound expertise even more."