The Lucky Farmgirl

How could the children of the imperial family be that easy to look after?

Especially when among them there was also an eight-year-old little prince and a little princess, the emperor’s two youngest children. Though their mothers were not much favored, the emperor had always doted on his children. Even if they were born to concubines, he would still come by to ask after them whenever he had time, so not a single one of them could be offended.

Not to mention all the imperial grandchildren sent over by the various princes—there really was a whole crowd of grandsons and granddaughters.

Aside from the Crown Prince’s son who was still very young, the second and third princes all had sons and daughters included here. And in the past, in order to show their loyalty, the emperor’s younger half-brothers had sent in all their children and grandchildren of suitable age, both sons and daughters.

Manbao had seen the list that was submitted. Honestly, with her outstanding memory, she still hadn’t managed to remember everyone by now.

Which showed just how many people there were.

She didn’t particularly want to work herself to the bone, but the emperor was her superior’s superior, which made it even harder to refuse his request, so she sighed inwardly and answered calmly on the surface.

The emperor was satisfied, and pointed at Princess Consort Gong, saying, "You people are really on and off about things. This time, when Prince Gong came from Luozhou, he even had Princess Consort Gong prepare a gift for you."

Manbao did not feel flattered; what she felt was horror.

Prince Gong was also stunned for a moment, then turned his head to glare at Princess Consort Gong.

Princess Consort Gong was a little embarrassed, but under the gazes of the emperor and Prince Gong, she still got up and walked to Zhou Man’s side, took her hand, and said with a smile, "I heard from my two younger sisters that Lord Zhou has already set a wedding date, so when I came from Luozhou I specially prepared some congratulatory gifts for Lord Zhou, just think of them as part of your trousseau."

In truth, what she was thinking was that her son would soon be getting variolated under this woman’s hands. Although the emperor said variolation was very safe, she was still a bit afraid.

There is a big difference between a physician who is truly attentive and one who merely does their duty or is careless.

And Zhou Man held a high position in the Imperial Hospital, which made her a bit worried.

So she had specially prepared gifts before coming, originally planning to ask Mingda to pass them on for her. But when she and Mingda were whispering, an aunt nearby overheard them, and the empress then found out.

The empress told the emperor, and who would have thought the emperor would just call it out directly?

The empress hadn’t expected it either, so she shot the emperor a glance. Seeing him still looking on in satisfaction at the "pleasant conversation" between Princess Consort Gong and Zhou Man, she withdrew her gaze.

Forget it. Aside from having some ability in court, what else could one expect from this man?

Princess Consort Gong pulled Zhou Man over to look at the gift: a dressing box full of jewelry, three tiers in total. Each tier, when pulled open, was filled with jewelry...

Well, having seen quite a number of gems and pearls, Manbao did not quite gape in shock, but her heart was still thumping wildly, which showed how fine these pieces were.

Most of them were pearl jewelry and exquisitely crafted gold pieces.

Princess Consort Gong directly opened the top tier, took out a gold hairpin, and showed it to Zhou Man with a smile. "This is a golden phoenix. I specially had a pair made. Lord Zhou, see if you like it?"

Manbao came back to herself and hurriedly declined, "I have done nothing to deserve such a reward; how could I accept such a generous gift from Princess Consort Gong?"

Princess Consort Gong smiled and said, "How could it be for nothing? You previously helped Prince Gong lose weight and also tended to His Highness’s injured leg—those are all merits."

Manbao felt mortified. Those two things, when mentioned, didn’t seem to be good memories for Prince Gong; was he really not holding a grudge?

"Besides, your happy day is approaching. Even without those prior matters, you’re entitled to this gift. My Xiang’er will also be moving into Daming Palace; we’ll still have to trouble Lord Zhou to take good care of him in the future."

Manbao instantly understood in her heart. So this was bribery, and bribery carried out right in front of the emperor and empress.

She began to struggle internally. Should she accept it or not?

If she didn’t, would the emperor and empress think she didn’t want to maintain good relations with Prince Gong?

Manbao kept glancing at the jewelry in the dressing box. She felt that taking bribes wasn’t good, but since this had been openly acknowledged by the emperor, it ought to be acceptable... right?

As she pondered, Mingda gently nudged her and said with a smile, "Third Sister-in-law brought it all the way from Luozhou for you. You can’t possibly make her take it back again, can you?"

Changyu also said, "Since it’s given to you, just accept it."

Had she not noticed how her imperial father kept glancing over?

Manbao tried hard to suppress the smile on her face, but still couldn’t help the joy in her brows and eyes as she nodded. "Then many thanks to Princess Consort Gong."

Manbao paused, then added, "And thank you, Prince Gong, as well."

Princess Consort Gong could tell that Zhou Man truly liked it; the smile couldn’t be hidden from her brows and eyes. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and laugh. "As long as Lord Zhou likes it."

Of course she liked it. She liked anything that was valuable and pretty.

So Manbao hugged the tall dressing box of jewelry and happily returned to the Imperial Hospital.

The Imperial Hospital was still fairly quiet. Since the formal decree hadn’t yet been issued, he forced himself to hold back the urge to share the news with his subordinates. As soon as he returned to the Imperial Hospital, he shut himself inside his office and didn’t come out.

When Manbao came back hugging the dressing box, she was immediately stopped by Imperial Doctor Zheng and the others, who frowned and asked, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, did you lose the argument with the Imperial Ministry of Rites?"

When Director Xiao came back just now, his eyes were rimmed red.

Manbao’s face was still brimming with a cheerful smile as she shook her head. "We didn’t go to the Imperial Ministry of Rites."

Even Imperial Doctor Liu couldn’t help but frown. "Didn’t you go to the Imperial Ministry of Rites to demand justice?"

"Oh, we changed course midway and went to Taiji Hall to see His Majesty instead." Seeing that they all seemed completely in the dark, Manbao was about to share the good news with them when Director Xiao’s office door suddenly opened. He walked out, looked at Zhou Man and said, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, the decree has not officially come down yet. It’s best not to spread this around for now."

Manbao swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, then nodded slightly to Imperial Doctor Zheng and the others. "All right then, just wait a couple more days. Once the decree comes down, you’ll know."

Imperial Doctor Zheng: "...Isn’t agreeing or not agreeing to let us add a new department just a matter of one sentence? Why can’t you say it?"

Imperial Doctor Lu stared fixedly at Zhou Man. He cared most about whether they could set up a variolation department, because this concerned his own personal interests.

Manbao said, "This much I can tell you: we can add it."

Director Xiao didn’t manage to stop her in time. His opened mouth closed again. Forget it, might as well let them know.

Imperial Doctor Liu stared at Manbao’s beaming face, then turned back to look at Director Xiao. He couldn’t help patting his own head. His old eyes really were dim—he’d completely misread the expression. That wasn’t sadness at all; it was clearly excitement.

Since it was good news, he wouldn’t pry anymore. He simply turned around and went back to his own office, calling out as he went, "Imperial Doctor Zhou, it’s your turn to go inspect Daming Palace today."

Thinking of what she had just promised the emperor, Manbao replied, "I’ll go in a little while."

Only then did Imperial Doctor Zheng look at what she was holding. "What’s that?"

Manbao said happily, "A gift from Princess Consort Gong to me, hehehe..."

Everyone looked at the tall dressing box in her arms with either envy or jealousy. This was the advantage of being a female physician—accepting bribes from the women of the harem was much more convenient for her than for them.

Manbao carried the dressing box back to her office and locked it away, then put her hands behind her back and took a boat over to Daming Palace to inspect the progress of the works.

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