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Zang Shaogeng, aged fifty, experienced discomfort in the chest and diaphragm with every meal, feeling a blockage in the throat that made swallowing difficult. His stool was dry and hard, he suffered from internal heat, and his muscles gradually wasted away. Physicians prescribed Wuxiang Lianqiao Tang (Five-Spice Forsythia Decoction), Wuge Dingxiang San (Five-Obstruction Clove Powder), and various other remedies for dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), but none were effective. At that time, I was occupied with tomb-sweeping for my ancestors and had not traveled far. Zang came to me for treatment from a thousand li away. Observing his dark complexion and bright, spirited eyes, yet noting his shortness of breath and emaciation, I deduced he was a person of deep calculation. His pulse was wiry and large on the left, and slippery and large on the right. I told him: "Based on the pulse, this is due to excessive deliberation without resolution, leading to qi stagnation transforming into fire, and the spleen's will failing to relax, resulting in phlegm-fluid retention. This subsequently causes blood deficiency, dry stool, internal heat, and muscle wasting. Zhang Jifeng stated: 'Dysphagia is a disease of the spirit and mind.' By extension, you must reduce your worries, abstain from sexual desires, eat bland food, and abandon delusions, so that your spirit and mind become clear. Only then will herbal medicine be effective; otherwise, even if there were great elixirs in the world, what reliance could there be on roots and grasses? Since you have come from afar, how dare I not treat you with sincerity? I have carefully formulated a prescription that is quite suitable. Take it immediately upon returning, but do not show it to others lightly, lest those with imprecise understanding arbitrarily modify it and ruin the case. Be very cautious!" Zang said: "I shall follow your instructions." The prescription used Liufu Huashi (Talcum) six liang, Zhi Gancao (Honey-fried Licorice Root) one liang, Zhen Bei Baijiezhi (True Northern White Mustard Seed), Luobozhi (Radish Seed), Shegan (Dried Musk), and Lianqiaozzi (Forsythia Fruit) each one-and-a-half liang, Chensha (Cinnabar) five qian. These were decocted with Zhuru (Bamboo Shavings) four liang, mixed with mantou paste to form pills the size of mung beans. After meals and at night, take 1.5 qian washed down with Dengxin Tang (Juncus Decoction), three times a day. Upon completing the course, the illness vanished as if lost.

Cheng Shizhou's wife, after a difficult labor resulting in the death of her child, suffered from sorrow and depression, with a mass in the lower abdomen causing pain, afternoon fever, and loss of appetite. On the following morning, her pulse was three times larger on the right than on the left and rapid. She was given Xionggui Tang (Ligusticum and Angelica Decoction) added with Tangqiuzi, Zelan Ye (Leaf of Salvia Miltiorrhiza), and Rougui (Cinnamon Bark). The next afternoon, she experienced waist and abdominal distension and pain. Upon inquiry, it was found that she had eaten one jin of Yuanyan (Longan Fruit) at noon. From then on, her lower abdomen gradually distended, her stool remained unpassed for three days, she had an epistaxis in the morning, extreme thirst and heat at night, and her pulse was large and disordered. The condition was critical. A formula containing Chuanxiong (Sichuan Lovage Rhizome), Danggui (Angelica Sinensis), Honghua (Carthamus Flower), Taoren (Peach Kernel), Qingpi (Green Tangerine Peel), Binglang (Areca Seed), Ezhu (Curcuma Rhizome), and Shanzha (Hawthorn Fruit) was decocted in water, with Xuanningfen (Natrii Sulfas) two qian mixed in before administration. After taking it, her bowel movement slightly improved, passing two pieces of hard stool, and she slept peacefully. Upon waking, she ate more porridge, which caused recurrent distension and pain. Her abdomen became large as a bucket and hard as stone, with shortness of breath and restlessness. The danger reached its peak. Then, Wulingzhi (Trogopterus Dung), Tangqiuzi each four qian, Lingxiaohua (Campsis Grandiflora Flower), and ChiShaoyao (Red Peony Root) one qian were administered. Afterward, her bowels moved freely, her abdomen softened, and her breathing stabilized. Only then could she consume porridge, and she gradually regained vitality. However, her pulse remained forceful against the fingers, indicating significant accumulation in the abdomen that needed to be expelled while the opportunity arose. A formula of Tangqiuzi and Dahuang (Rhubarb Root) each three qian, Taoren two qian, Guixin (Cinnamon Twig Heart) and Honghua each five fen, and Zhi Gancao seven fen was decocted in water, with Xuanningfen 1.5 qian mixed in before drinking. That night, she passed black stool four times, and the heat subsided. Although the upper abdomen reduced, the area below the navel remained swollen. Tao Ren Cheng Qi Tang (Peach Kernel and Rhubarb Decoction) added with Shanzha, Huashi, and Honghua was decocted and drunk. In the fifth watch, her bowels moved again, and the umbilical and abdominal distension gradually decreased. Later, Jikuai Wan (Mass Dissolving Pills) was used for regulation until complete resolution. In this case, the female patient only knew that gynecology specialized in tonification. Therefore, when the previous fever and abdominal pain ceased, the specialist physician, without examining deficiency or excess, administered the standard Shiquan Dabu Tang (Ten Substance Great Tonifying Decoction). Little did they know that the Longan fruit initially went unnoticed, but soon expanded, causing abdominal distension. Moreover, its sweet nature tends to cause stagnation; adding Dihuang (Rehmannia Root), Renshen (Ginseng Root), and Baizhu (Atractylodes Macrocephala Rhizome) would certainly obstruct the obstruction further! Thus, symptoms of severe fullness and hardness arose. The *Neijing* states: "For fullness in the middle, purge from within." This is precisely the reason. She also adhered blindly to Zhu Danxi's erroneous view that postpartum cases require great tonification of qi and blood.