The Lucky Farmgirl

Since she received the gift, Manbao was somewhat concerned about the relationship between Prince Gong and his princess consort, but only for a moment. She turned her head, her eyes sparkling, and asked Bai Shan, "Has the decree for the promotion of the Imperial Hospital been sent to the Central Secretariat?"

"Yes," Bai Shan replied, "I’ve only drafted the initial version. This decree carries significant weight and will definitely need to be redrafted by the senior officials. The Imperial Secretariat will also need to review it, so even with expedited processing, it won’t be ready until tomorrow."

Manbao opened a nearby drawer, took out a plate of snacks, and while eating, said, "With the promotion of the Imperial Hospital, will I get promoted too?"

Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "There’s a fifty percent chance. If you don’t get promoted, the court will likely appoint some additional officials to the Imperial Hospital."

With a status equivalent to the Book of Documents, even the positions must align with the Six Ministries, and some roles needn’t be filled by physicians.

Manbao nodded and waited.

But the next day, the decree wasn’t issued and was delayed for three days. It wasn’t until Director Xiao was beginning to suspect something had gone wrong that it was finally announced.

When the decree was issued, both Manbao and Director Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

If Bai Shan hadn’t provided inside information during those three days, she would’ve barely managed to hold back.

Initially, when the Central Secretariat drafted the decree, they incidentally listed all the details like roles and regulations of the Imperial Hospital, sending it all to the Imperial Secretariat, which was returned for redrafting.

Later, the emperor convened a small court meeting, with Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Liu attending. During the meeting, a half-day argument ensued over whether the Imperial Hospital’s office should be within the inner city, the imperial city, or the palace city.

Finally, when they managed to settle that, like the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Hospital would establish a specialized office next to its teaching facilities, the Imperial Ministry of Rites belatedly expressed opposition to the Imperial Hospital’s independence.

The Minister of Rites concurred.

Mm, the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Ministry of Rites have always been close. In Manbao’s opinion, many responsibilities overlap between the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Ministry of Rites, and they could be merged, doing away with the Imperial Ministry of Rites.

However, she didn’t dare to voice this, and even if Director Xiao heard it, he’d treat it as childish complaints not to be taken seriously.

After three days of back-and-forth reviews and three small court meetings, the Imperial Secretariat finally approved the decrees and documents sent by the Central Secretariat. The decree and documents were then sent to the Ministry of Rites, with copies sent to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Imperial Ministry of Rites, marking the settlement of this affair.

Director Xiao, already aware of the news, wore a brand-new official robe for his audience at the palace that day.

As always, Manbao couldn’t help but look again and again and eventually asked, "Director Xiao, where did you get your new official robe?"

This year, she had grown rapidly, and the official robe issued at the beginning of the year seemed a bit short, which wasn’t very noticeable but indeed left her wrists somewhat exposed, unlike the long sleeves other officials wore.

Director Xiao glanced at her and said, "Outside, there are specific embroidery workshops that make supplementary robes. Hasn’t Imperial Doctor Zhou ever had an official robe made at an embroidery workshop?"

Manbao shook her head. In past years she often resided in the palace, so besides the grand court meetings, she seldom needed to wear her official robes. With just two sets of official robes, if they weren’t rotated, what would she do?

This year, she had worn them the most, as she no longer resided in the palace. Every time she left the imperial villa to enter the palace to work, she had to wear the official robes.

Manbao glanced at her own sleeves, quietly smoothing them. Hmm, wearing them too often and numerous washes had caused them to fade somewhat, nowhere near as impressive and attractive as Director Xiao’s today.

In her curiosity, Manbao asked, "Which embroidery workshop was it made from?"

"At Dason Cloth Store, which also sells various fabrics. Many officials have their supplementary robes made there."

Next to them, Imperial Doctor Liu commented, "I also had mine made there."

Imperial Doctor Zheng, with a smile, said, "Our household also chose Dason Cloth Store."

Imperial Doctor Lu added, "Me too."

Manbao felt she was lagging behind, being the only one who hadn’t had an official robe made, relying solely on the ones issued by the court.

Unaware of the decree, Imperial Doctor Zheng curiously observed Director Xiao, "You look so radiant and spirited today, Director. Is there good news?"

Director Xiao raised a smiling face, "Good news for everyone. We all share in good news today."

Everyone perked up; perhaps the court officials had recognized their hard work over the past half year and decided to reward them with some silver?

A promotion seemed unlikely; not every merit led to a promotion. After all, it is your duty, isn’t it?

Distinctions beyond your duty usually warrant rewards in silver, rice, and cloth.

These things were also quite enticing.

Lost in thought, the Minister of Rites personally arrived with the decree to announce the decree.

The imperial doctors were taken aback; what reward warranted a personal visit from the Minister of Rites to present the decree?

Everyone followed Director Xiao as they knelt at the front gates of the Imperial Hospital to listen to the decree.

Back then, Zhou Man, Bai Shan, and Bai Cheng, when advising on the structure of the Imperial Hospital, had mirrored it on the Imperial Academy’s responsibilities and regulations.

The Imperial Academy oversees educational institutions nationwide, publishes books, and educates the populace, managing all educational matters.

Similarly, the Imperial Hospital would oversee medical institutions nationwide, eventually establishing official medical institutions across the country, providing partial medical insurance for the people and distributing medical knowledge. Simultaneously, it would train competent medical practitioners in various specialties to supply medical professionals nationwide.

The emperor and court officials weren’t oblivious; they naturally saw that it referenced the Imperial Academy, so they modeled the official positions after it as well.

This led to the arguments over the past three days. The Imperial Secretariat repeatedly sent the proposal back for reconsideration, engaging in debates with the Central Secretariat, with minor officials running errands back and forth five or six times a day until the Central Secretariat established a system that met the Imperial Secretariat’s approval.

The Central Secretariat revised the rank of the Imperial Hospital Superintendent from third rank, as suggested by the emperor, to a subordinate third rank, while establishing two deputy superintendents below, ranked as fourth rank officials...

The decree was lengthy, with the Minister of Rites reading for quite a long time. Apart from appointing Director Xiao as the Imperial Hospital Superintendent, other positions were either not established or temporarily vacant.

Apart from Director Xiao and Manbao, the other imperial doctors were astonished.

Rarely involved in court politics, focused solely on the harem and medical affairs such as smallpox, the imperial doctors were suddenly thrown by this news, unsure of how to respond.

Director Xiao accepted the decree on behalf of the Imperial Hospital and then escorted the Minister of Rites out.

The Minister of Rites smiled and saluted Director Xiao, "Congratulations, Director Xiao."

From today, they are no longer of the same rank. Ah, how enviable.

Director Xiao warmly thanked him and, after sending him off, returned to find everyone gathered around Zhou Man, asking questions. There was no helping it; her demeanor was too calm, clearly aware of the inside story. If they didn’t circle around her, who would they surround?

But she didn’t utter a word, leaving them no choice. Seeing Director Xiao, they gathered around him, "Director, what’s the reason for the promotion of the Imperial Hospital, while our Imperial Hospital drops a rank?"

Director Xiao: "There’s no drop. The Imperial Hospital remains a fourth-tier office, it simply no longer belongs to the Imperial Ministry of Rites and will belong to our Imperial Hospital in the future."

"So what about us?" someone asked, "Will we now hold dual roles, or only serve in the Imperial Hospital or Imperial Hospital?"

That was a good question, for even Director Xiao wasn’t entirely sure.

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