CHAPTER 12 #2
"No—no." Hedy took out her custom hollow needle and attached it to the syringe.
She had previously found it hard to imagine how people used syringes without needles to extract cataracts—did they just insert the whole steel tube?
Had this been passed down from ancient Greece all the way to the present?
The syringe and hollow needle were both designed and manufactured during the construction of the penicillin workshop. Da Vinci, who had to inspect the surrounding water systems and old canals, helped her improve many things before he left—he truly was a thoughtful and meticulous friend.
Hedy carefully drew the penicillin solution into the syringe, then selected a spot on the child’s upper arm, where the rash seemed to be lighter, to perform a skin test. She patiently waited for a while.
Please don’t let him be allergic, or there will be no way to save you.
During this time, she wrote down a simple medical prescription on paper, explaining to the maids how to use the solution to clean the child's body and how to have him gargle with saline at specific intervals.
As she whispered the instructions, Lorenzo stood behind her, his gaze gentle yet complex.
When the time passed, she checked the skin test area, silently praying.
There was no reaction—everything was fine.
"I’m going to inject this medicine into his body," Hedy said, looking at the child's parents and mustering her courage. "He may struggle and cry because of the pain, so please try not to worry too much."
"Okay—everything is in your hands!"
She had never received professional training and couldn’t guarantee that everything was done correctly.
But to save this child’s life, she had to try it just as she had seen in the hospital.
Giovanni was turned over, his bottom exposed to the air.
She followed the nurses' example, drawing a cross on his backside before administering the penicillin into his muscles.
The child whimpered, trying to escape, but the adults held him still.
Nervously, she pushed the diluted medicine into him, praying that it would work.
While waiting, she explained why they needed to change rooms and ventilate regularly, reminding the parents to watch for any rashes or fever on their own bodies.
When the bells for evening prayer rang in the distance, they had already prepared the new room and returned to check on the boy.
The maid standing by smiled and signaled that Giovanni was already asleep.
His breathing had become much more regular, and his high fever was subsiding.
He looked like a little angel as he slept.
Hedy was calculating the dosage of penicillin in her mind, but she wasn’t entirely sure.
Fortunately, the child’s illness wasn’t too severe. She hadn’t stocked up much of the medicine, and she was worried that the previous dose might not have been enough.
The group confirmed the child’s condition and quietly left the room.
"He probably needs six or seven more injections," Hedy said under the soft glow of the nightlight, eyeing the powder in the vial. Her tone was uncertain. "The medicine may not be enough, but he should gradually recover."
Mr. Rucellai was too emotional to speak, and the servant beside him handed Hedy a bulging purse. "Please accept our thanks—Giovanni is our cherished fourth son, and both Nannina and I cannot afford to lose him!"
Hedy hesitated for a moment but then turned to see Lorenzo’s encouraging gaze. She took the purse.
After all, with this gold, more medicine could be produced, and more people could be saved in the future.
"May I ask where this medicine came from? From Persian merchants or Arabs?" Nannina asked urgently. "We can send people to buy more. Perhaps we could keep some in reserve for other children?"
"This... I made it myself," Hedy replied with a helpless smile. "The next batch will probably take two months to prepare."
"This is all thanks to the lord’s support," Hedy said, looking at the quietly seated Lorenzo, then turning back to the couple with a sincere expression. "Giovanni will get better."
The couple seemed determined to keep her at the palace as a permanent guest, and they expressed their gratitude repeatedly as they bid her farewell.
However, as soon as Hedy boarded the carriage, Lorenzo also entered, with their shoulders nearly touching.
She froze for a moment, thinking she had gotten into the wrong carriage, and stood up to leave.
"Sit down," he said calmly. "I came on horseback."
Hedy sighed internally, pushing aside the discomfort she felt, and quietly waited for the ride back to the palace.
By now, the night air had turned cool, and the sound of crickets could be heard intermittently in the distance, along with the occasional bark of a night-watch dog.
Her posture was relaxed and graceful, but she seemed to be lost in thought.
Lorenzo had initially been observing the security situation outside the window but inadvertently glanced at her.
Even in the darkness, her delicate brows and pale blue eyes looked like something out of an oil painting, the kind of beauty that seemed to belong in a masterpiece.
He wanted to ask her something or perhaps talk about some inconsequential topic.
But... what should he say?
If he were to ask her how the workshop was going, or whether she needed any help, or if she wanted to do something else, would it come across as overly eager or out of place?
It was already late at night, and discussing the weather didn’t seem quite appropriate.
Ah, yes... her two rabbits...
He cleared his throat, intending to casually bring up something.
But just then, the carriage came to a stop.
"My lady, we have arrived."
Hedy nodded, finally snapping out of her thoughts.
Lorenzo instinctively got out of the carriage first, offering his hand to help her down.
His long, fair hand carried a faint warmth, and for a moment, it felt as though time itself paused when they touched.
Hedy didn’t notice anything unusual about his silence, politely thanking him instead.
They both ascended the stairs in silence.
At the top of the stairs, as they parted ways, Hedy instinctively spoke to say goodnight.
"Goodnight, Mr. Medici."
He gave her a faint glance before heading upstairs without another word.
Five days later, Giovanni gradually recovered.
His fever had completely subsided, the rashes had faded significantly, and even his tongue was slowly returning to normal.
Though his appetite and energy were still low, he was much better than he had been when he was near death.
Meanwhile, the Rucellai family and the Medici family both gave even more substantial sponsorship to the penicillin workshop, using a large amount of gold coins to secure priority access to the medicine.
Hedy gradually acquired a group of capable and reliable helpers. Under her influence, Dechio began learning to read and write, and was able to assist her with many tasks.
Her life became increasingly smooth, but something felt amiss.
Da Vinci hadn’t returned in three or four months, and the Doge’s Palace had felt much quieter in his absence.
Occasionally, when she played Mozart’s compositions, she would suddenly long to hear her old friend play his lyre.
But before Easter could arrive, Da Vinci returned, weary from travel.
It seemed the journey and the trials of the road had matured him; there was a new sharpness about him, a youthful energy, and his eyes were determined and bright.
And when Da Vinci returned, he brought with him news that was shocking enough to stun all of Florence.
—Both Sultan Mehmed II and King Louis XI had passed away.
The news came so suddenly, yet it somehow seemed entirely logical.
Before Mehmed II had even passed, his sons had already begun fighting among themselves for inheritance and power. Even though there had been no official news from Turkey, it was enough to make one recall many earlier events.
As for Louis XI, his age was simply too advanced, and his passing to God seemed almost inevitable.
Only Hedy, upon hearing the news, showed the slightest change in her expression.
She knew exactly how the French king had died.
The Medici’s intelligence network… was certainly growing more and more sophisticated.
This time, Da Vinci had not only surveyed the local water systems but had also proposed multiple suggestions for dredging canals and building bridges, some of which had been adopted.
If the plans for the canals and bridges could be completed, travel and access to water would be greatly improved for the people.
Not only that, but he had also brought Hedy several peculiar gifts, including a bag full of wild fruits.
If the vegetables and fruits she had were unable to produce quick-fermenting moss, should she try these strange wild fruits instead?
Hedy happily accepted the gifts and gave him a big hug in return.
It might have been the warmer weather, or maybe there was something unusual about these wild fruits.
She had indeed found something that resembled a melon.
It appeared to be about the size of a modern tomato, and when it was brought back, it was already covered in mold.
But once the mold was scraped off and placed into the culture medium, it grew at a rate over thirty times faster than other types of fungi. The speed was so rapid that it made her wonder if she had made some mistake.
However, in comparison with golden staphylococcus, the mold happily devoured almost all of the bacteria, multiplying at a rate similar to rabbits and field mice.
—This was nothing short of a miracle!
Such an incredible capacity for consumption, and such astonishing growth speed.
With this, the production of penicillin should advance by leaps and bounds.
Hedy took Da Vinci directly to see the latest progress in the beef broth jar—the mycelium was even, dense, and far superior to anything they'd achieved before.
They both crouched down to observe it for a long time, laughing like children.