The Lucky Farmgirl

Manbao took the slip and ran to the imperial city to receive gifts, only to find the queue was extremely long. She estimated the time and turned away dejectedly.

Bai Shan also came with a slip to get things, and the two bumped into each other.

Bai Shan looked at her, then at the long line, and suggested, "Why not return and let someone come to fetch it tomorrow."

Manbao sighed, "I originally wanted to receive it myself."

She felt that receiving gifts was a joy.

Bai Shan agreed, but they simply didn’t have the leisure time to queue. So shoulder to shoulder, they walked back, Bai Shan looked around and whispered, "The official positions in the Imperial Hospital are set; one is Imperial Doctor Liu, and the other is Lord Shi transferred from the Ministry of Revenue, named Shi Bin."

Manbao was stunned, asking, "Why the transfer from the Ministry of Revenue, do we have no one in the Imperial Hospital?"

She looked around and whispered softly, "I can do it too."

Amusement flickered in Bai Shan’s eyes, and he lowered his voice, "The officials say you’re already holding two positions, and if you take on another one, you might be overwhelmed. If you are appointed to the Imperial Hospital, you’ll have to be transferred from Chongwen Pavilion."

Manbao wasn’t foolish and immediately said, "Then forget it, I’ll just focus on writing books and treating patients."

Bai Shan shook his head, "Certainly not just that, your medical skills are excellent, and Director Xiao wants you to pass them down. When I was replaced, they were discussing whether to make you a doctor at the Imperial Hospital or a registrar."

Manbao stiffened and immediately said, "I don’t want to be a registrar; I want to be a doctor!"

Although the grade of doctor is much lower than that of registrar, it belongs to scholarly positions, focused on teaching with few other trivial matters. She wasn’t aiming for promotion in the Imperial Hospital and thus didn’t want to manage trivial tasks but prefer teaching.

Bai Shan nodded, "I think so too, but I couldn’t speak up. It’s okay, any changes can be made before the decree is issued. If His Majesty asks me, I’ll speak for you."

That’s the advantage of having someone in front of the emperor; Bai Shan serves before him, and the emperor always chats with him. A couple of hints during the conversation will suffice.

As for the development, it depends on fate.

Bai Shan returned to the Hanlin Academy, finished his tasks, and went to pick Manbao up from work.

The two collected the three slips, handed them to the family saying, "Let the servants queue tomorrow to receive things."

Having received festive gifts several times, Old Zhou immediately said, "I’ll go in person."

He laughed, "Anyway, we have nothing to do; this kind of thing is best left to us."

Bai Shan, hearing this, simply handed his slip to Old Zhou, letting him collect the gifts.

Liu Sanniang didn’t have an official rank yet, thus didn’t receive the festive gifts, but Old Zhou was confident she and Liru would receive them in the future.

The next day, Old Zhou donned a new outfit and went to collect the items with the Bai family’s servant.

Meanwhile, Manbao and Bai Shan went to work as usual. Today Bai Shan was lucky; just as he arrived at the Hanlin Academy, he was called to the palace to attend a small court meeting as an observer, occasionally taking notes for the emperor.

Of course, after the small court meeting, he wouldn’t leave but would have a quick working lunch with the secretary, then continue watching the emperor ponder.

The secretary ate a little quickly and felt slightly choked, frequently looking at Bai Shan.

Having worked together for months, Bai Shan, knowing him well, quietly got up and brought him a cup of tea to drink.

The secretary kept writing, seeing nothing major happening at present, summarized briefly, then took a sip of tea.

He didn’t dare drink much, otherwise, he’d have to run to the toilet; as secretaries, they need to limit the times they leave the emperor’s sight.

No, it’s letting the emperor leave their sight.

Currently, Bai Shan wasn’t needed, so he quietly added a bit of water to the inkstone and silently polished ink for the secretary.

By afternoon, as the emperor nearly finished critiquing memorials, feeling a bit tired, he got up to stroll and casually called Bai Shan along.

Thus Bai Shan got up and followed, while the secretary leisurely rose and silently trailed behind.

The emperor intended to play chess with Bai Shan; he noticed though Bai Shan was young, his chess skills were pretty good, slightly inferior to his, making them a good match.

Unlike Wei Zhi, whom he didn’t fancy playing chess with.

So among many palace attendants, why did he prefer Bai Shan?

Because over months, the two became chess buddies.

Bai Shan also enjoyed playing chess with the emperor; at the moment, he still couldn’t defeat him, but each chess session felt like progress to Bai Shan, and such challenges were very appealing.

Gu Zhong set up the chessboard, then retreated two steps, smiling and watching from the side.

The emperor was magnanimous, allowing Bai Shan to start.

Bai Shan, accustomed to this, picked up the jar of white pieces, choosing a piece and placing it first.

The emperor liked chatting while playing, "I heard your family bought a house in the inner city as a wedding residence? When’s the date for you and Zhou Man?"

Bai Shan responded affirmatively and said, "Set for October eighth."

The emperor then nodded, calculated the time, after Zhou Man left Daming Palace, there was a month to prepare for the wedding, enough time.

The emperor, while playing chess, couldn’t help but tease him, "Getting married means growing up; however, your current rank is smaller than Zhou Man’s. After marrying, who’ll be in charge at home?"

Bai Shan pondered seriously before saying, "Naturally, we would both be in charge together, but I’ll defer to her."

The emperor hadn’t expected such a serious answer and burst into laughter, casually remarking, "Good, good, you’re both capable officials; just don’t quarrel at home."

Bai Shan smiled slightly and said, "I’ve always had a good rapport with her, we won’t quarrel."

The emperor gave him a wry smile, "Indeed? Yet I recall when I first met you both in Yizhou, you bickered quite a bit."

Bai Shan was briefly stunned, then sheepishly said, "We weren’t bickering, simply debating different perspectives."

Even Gu Zhong couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

The emperor chuckled for a while and straightforwardly said, "Zhou Man is a capable official; her talent in medicine is unparalleled, I’m reluctant to part with her. Thus, I’d like her to take on another role in the Imperial Hospital; do you think registrar suits her more or doctor?"

Bai Shan didn’t answer immediately; after pondering, he said, "Your Majesty, the court isn’t lacking in officials. You mentioned her greatest strength lies in her medical talent and achievements; naturally, being a doctor suits her best."

"But given her prior memorials, she’s evidently well-planned for the Imperial Hospital; Director Xiao doesn’t match even a tenth of her skill."

Bai Shan replied, "Your Majesty, she’s the editor at Chongwen Pavilion, a fifth-grade Imperial Doctor at the Imperial Hospital. In the former, she compiles medical books; in the latter, she’s under Director Xiao’s command."

The emperor raised an eyebrow, understanding if it’s only broad planning, Zhou Man can advise Director Xiao without being a registrar.

Yet the registrar’s rank is higher than a doctor’s.

The emperor scrutinized Bai Shan, humorously asking, "What, are you worried she’ll hold another higher position than you?"

The registrar at the Imperial Hospital is sixth-grade, inconveniently, still one grade higher than Bai Shan.

Bai Shan earnestly replied, "Your Majesty, she’s still young, needs to grow physically, shouldn’t be overly exhausted. Besides, after marriage, we plan to have a baby."

The emperor was momentarily taken aback, then broke into hearty laughter, for the first time tapping Bai Shan’s shoulder, the pat ringing loudly, "Good, good, good lad!"

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