The Lucky Farmgirl

State Duke Zhao looked distraught, hurriedly admitting his mistake: "It’s all because the children at home don’t understand things..."

He later heard from his old wife, who said that the daughters-in-law at home were worried about Zhou Man bringing back unfavorable things from the imperial estate, so they had a steward stop her at the second gate for a change of clothes.

It’s normal for ignorant women to have many worries, but sending just a steward at the second gate to arrange Zhou Man’s entry is too humiliating.

Not to mention that she is more than just an imperial doctor; even if she were only an imperial doctor, the matter is excessively humiliating. If an imperial doctor with a temper is summoned to treat an illness, it will be difficult to invite them again afterward.

What can State Duke Zhao do?

He can only apologize on behalf of the children at home.

With a face full of guilt, he said: "It’s my fault for not teaching them well."

The emperor sympathetically patted his shoulder and sighed: "Children are debts, but since Zhou Man suffered grievances, you should send her some things to apologize. She is broad-minded. I remember that Liulang and Bai Shan Bai Cheng were classmates, and Zhou Man often attended classes at the Chongwen Pavilion, so they are considered half-classmates. She shouldn’t hold a grudge."

"Yes," State Duke Zhao smiled and said, "My wife said that every time Imperial Doctor Zhou visited, she was very calm and never shirked; indeed, she is magnanimous."

As for the apologetic gifts, he indicated that he would prepare them when he returned.

The emperor felt reassured upon hearing that and led State Duke Zhao inside to see the empress.

State Duke Zhao sighed in relief; in fact, neglecting Zhou Man at home was akin to neglecting the empress. After all, she had gone to treat illnesses under the empress’s orders.

The emperor didn’t want the empress to know about these matters to avoid troubling her, so he took State Duke Zhao with a smile, went inside, and showed the memorial in his hand to the empress, saying happily, "Director Xiao and the others are close to testing the cowpox vaccine."

The empress was pleasantly surprised: "Truly?"

The emperor nodded.

The empress smiled and said, "Then we must give them a good reward; this is a great event of timeless merit."

The emperor pondered, "Naturally, Zhou Man should be credited with the highest merit, as she is the one who crossed the vast desert from the Western Regions to bring back the prescription at great effort, and she has spent the most effort in this experiment. Ever since she entered the imperial estate, she has been there for two months already."

"Yes," the empress smiled and said, "How will Your Majesty reward her?"

The emperor laughed and said: "Last time she returned from the Western Regions, she was originally going to be conferred the title of ’County Viscount.’ After all, those who went with her, like Bai Shan and Liu Huan, received noble titles. As the leading official, she deserves a title even more, but... hmph,"

The emperor snorted, and both the empress and State Duke Zhao knew why—Zhou Man’s delay in returning made him lose face.

The emperor said: "However, back then, it wasn’t confirmed if the cowpox could be cultivated in the central plains, so the merit wasn’t acknowledged. Now, it’s confirmed that the prescription is effective, so I plan to confer her a noble title."

It’s difficult to confer her another official position.

Zhou Man’s rank as an imperial doctor is already as high as that of Imperial Doctor Liu’s, and further elevation would equate her with Director Xiao’s rank, making management difficult.

Originally, she was a fourth-ranked editor, only half a rank below Director Xiao, and civil officials are regarded as more prestigious than imperial doctors. So, she is already on par with Director Xiao. If further elevated, should conflicts arise, who should obey whom—Director Xiao or her?

So the emperor did not wish to promote Zhou Man to a higher official position in the short term.

If it’s challenging to promote her in terms of an official position, then grant her a noble title.

A county viscount is only fifth in rank, but it is a position of dignity. The emperor hesitated, "How about conferring her the title of ’County Lady’?"

State Duke Zhao couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat.

The empress, however, lowered her eyes in thought and then advised him: "Consider her age, Your Majesty; she is a person with significant prospects for the future. There will be many more opportunities for meritorious deeds; if you confer her as County Lady now, what will you confer when she performs meritorious deeds next time—a real position or elevate her to Princess?"

The emperor, upon hearing this, nodded immediately: "Makes sense, then make her a County Viscount."

State Duke Zhao discreetly exhaled a sigh of relief.

The emperor had a meal with the empress’s brother and then had someone escort State Duke Zhao out. After he left, the emperor looked at the empress with amusement, "I remember the first time I conferred a position upon Zhou Man, you even told me to conferred her a slightly higher position so that if she caused trouble in the future, she could be demoted, and wouldn’t immediately slip out of the palace. Yet now, it’s about leaving room for her to be promoted?"

The empress smiled and said, "That’s because I underestimated her back then."

The empress wrapped her arm around the emperor’s as they sat together on the couch, smiling, "At that time, how old was she? There wasn’t a younger official than her in the entire court; she was youthful and spoke straightforwardly, unknowingly choking others. She had a somewhat excessive confidence—such a person, where could she go far in the officialdom?"

Actually, there was another concern the empress hadn’t voiced.

After all, Zhou Man was the first female official to attend court meetings. While people are accustomed to it now, and don’t pay much attention, surely at the time there must have been those who objected. However, her official position was minor, she was young, and there were relationships connected to the crown prince. Any obstruction could involve the struggle for the Crown Prince’s position, so everyone suppressed their objections.

But the empress thought that once the crown prince’s wife gave birth to a child and his position was solidified, some ministers in the court might dislike Zhou Man serving as an official alongside them.

She had not anticipated Zhou Man’s success. Not only did she quickly establish herself in the Imperial Hospital, but she also quickly solidified her position as a civil officer in the grand court meetings.

Having gained the acknowledgment from the civil officials led by Wei Zhi, no one thought of having her removed from the grand court meetings from then on.

Since the emperor is also a man, the empress never voiced these considerations, but her silence didn’t mean she hadn’t thought about it.

Zhou Man is already a qualified civil official, and one acknowledged by both the civil and military officials, so she still has a long road ahead.

Since the road is long, she should not proceed too hastily to avoid drawing too much attention. She is still young and will have many opportunities for advancement in the future.

The thought flickered across her mind as the empress shared a laugh with the emperor, saying, "Who would have known she would be so delightful, not entirely unaware of the political affairs within the court. You’ve seen it, she now possesses capabilities no less than Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Liu. I’ve heard that even during her distant journey to the Western Regions, in the span of a year, she managed to complete half a medical book, which has now been submitted to the Bureau of Documents for printing. Not only are there plenty of copies available in the Imperial Academy for students to study, but the Chongwen Pavilion has also collected it."

The empress continued, "She has independently compiled five medical books over three years, among which one is on acupuncture and one is a collection of prescriptions. Director Xiao remarked that the prescriptions in there are rarely documented in existing medical texts; furthermore, she has participated in the compilation of eight more medical books. This level of diligence and capability is something I previously underestimated in her."

The term ’participated in compilation’ means Manbao narrated the case records and prescriptions she previously documented in plain language, then submitted the manuscript to the chief editor for them to compile together with directories, prefaces, and other elements before submitting it to the Bureau of Documents for printing.

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