Chapter 1298: Chapter 1276: Not Too Willing (Extra for “Empress Her Majesty Xiaoxue,” a reward for my book-loving friend)
Manbao raised her head to glance at the Crown Princess, then shook her head. Forget it—once you enter the palace, you become a servant of the Imperial Family. Even if the Crown Prince stops his habit of ordering executions, there are still other princes and royal descendants.
It’s said that entering the palace is easy, but leaving is difficult. She figured it was better not to push her luck. Besides, she had already promised Keke to go traveling and help it search everywhere for all the flowers, plants, birds, and animals it hadn’t seen yet.
Keke wholeheartedly agreed. In truth, there weren’t many items left in the palace to document. If her host really stayed in the capital city as an official, it figured that for quite a long time, it wouldn’t be able to collect anything new.
But the allure of a fifth-rank official position was undeniably strong. Manbao decided to go home and consult Mr. Zhuang and the others.
Mr. Zhuang didn’t immediately offer advice but instead asked, “Do you want to become an official?”
Manbao thought it over and then nodded, saying, “I kind of do. If my parents found out I became an official—and a fifth-rank one at that—they’d definitely be overjoyed.”
Mr. Zhuang smiled and nodded as he asked, “Then why are you hesitating?”
Manbao slumped her shoulders and said, “Being an official, especially as an imperial physician, makes you beholden to other people’s lives. I don’t like that.”
“I noticed you seemed brave enough when dealing with the Prince of Yizhou,” Mr. Zhuang replied. “You didn’t look like someone afraid of death.”
“It depends on what the matter is,” Manbao said. “If it’s just for a bit of fame and fortune, then it’s not worth it.”
Bai Shan, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement.
Bai Erlang didn’t yet have this dilemma, but he also thought risking one’s life for the sake of office was a terrifying idea.
Mr. Zhuang chuckled and said, “Ultimately, you dislike being constrained. But you must understand—if you become the Lady Director of the Imperial Hospital, then half your ideal will already be achieved.”
“Becoming a healer to help the world?” Manbao questioned. “I can study medicine among the common people and cure illnesses to achieve the same.”
Mr. Zhuang shook his head. “The strength of an individual versus the strength of a nation is vastly different. As the Director in the palace, you become a court official, backed by the resources of the state. In the civilian realm, you’re merely a small-town physician.”
Manbao furrowed her brows in frustration. “I’m tempted by the Empress’s proposal, but it still feels… a bit off.”
Mr. Zhuang smiled at her and asked, “What seems off?”
Manbao frowned and replied, “My medical skills haven’t yet reached mastery—how much could I really teach them? Besides, the illnesses in the palace are always just those few kinds. If I enter the palace, the variety of illnesses I encounter will be limited. If I can’t produce good prescriptions, the imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital won’t teach me their skills. Then I’d be stuck in the palace, which contradicts my original aspirations.”
Bai Shan had wanted to voice his thoughts earlier, but Mr. Zhuang kept staring at him, so he held back and stayed silent.
Mr. Zhuang smiled and asked, “Anything else?”
Manbao thought for a moment before shaking her head. “I’d rather stay among the common people and explore other places, seeing and learning from physicians across the land.”
She said, “I’ve already noticed that physicians around the world have their own specialties in treating certain illnesses. Beyond that, their methods for handling other ailments are just average. Even among the imperial physicians, apart from one or two individuals, most of them are like this too. So I want to go see what specializations other doctors elsewhere have.”
Mr. Zhuang waved his hand with a smile. “Alright then, since your heart is already inclined, I won’t stop you. Just go ahead.”
He glanced at Bai Shan and said, “You all can discuss it among yourselves.”
Suppressing his desire to speak, Bai Shan stood up and performed a ritual bow alongside Manbao, preparing to leave. As they turned around, they saw Bai Erlang still sitting with a book in hand, pretending to be studying, so Bai Shan tugged at him. “Why are you still here? Don’t bother the teacher any longer—let’s go.”
Bai Erlang followed them out the door, standing in the chilly wind, feeling utterly disoriented. He hunched his shoulders and asked, “Why can’t we just talk in the study? Why do we have to say everything outside?”
Manbao glanced at him and said, “You’re so dense—still don’t get it? The teacher is training us. He wants us to figure things out ourselves first. Can we speak freely in front of him?”
Bai Shan also felt the chill. He looked around and suggested, “Shall we go to my room? We can ask Daji to prepare a brazier.”
Manbao responded, “Then we should grab some flatbreads from the kitchen too. We can eat them while warming up and chatting.”
Bai Erlang perked up and said, “Just flatbreads? What’s the fun in that? The venison under the veranda is frozen solid—why not slice off a few pieces with a knife and roast them together?”
Bai Shan nodded, “Let’s also check what’s available in the back kitchen. But it might get a bit smoky, so roasting in my room won’t do.”
Bai Shan and Manbao then looked at Bai Erlang together. Bai Erlang froze for a moment and quickly jumped back, crossing his arms in refusal. “No way! Roasting in my room will smell just as much, you know?”
Manbao pulled her gaze back and said, “Not sure if we’d be in the way in the kitchen.”
Bai Shan replied, “Certainly, we would—this is right when dinner’s being prepared.”
After much discussion, the three squeezed into Daji’s room to cook.
Daji pushed the table farther back, prepared a large brazier, placed a steel plate on top, and set the venison leg on the table. Even the ice hadn’t melted when Daji began slicing off chunks with a knife, putting them onto a platter.
The three of them rushed to the kitchen to fetch lots of seasonings before sitting in a circle around the brazier, warming themselves while waiting for the venison to roast.
As Bai Shan added some charcoal to the brazier, he remarked, “You can’t be in two places at once, and now you’re already busy with consultations at Jishi Hall while also studying. Where will you find the time to go into the palace to teach them medicine?”
Manbao blinked and asked, “So are you saying I shouldn’t teach?”
Bai Shan shook his head, “I know you want to teach, but there’s a limit to what one person can do. Teaching isn’t done like this.”
He continued, “Let me ask you—if someone wants to learn medicine, how many years do they typically need to apprentice at a pharmacy?”
Manbao replied, “They start as apprentices doing chores at age seven or eight, training for two years before the physicians might teach them a few characters. If recognized, they start memorizing medicinal ingredients at age nine or ten, and after three to four years, they can prepare medicines or assist physicians as medicine boys. They generally need to stay by the physician for about ten years before completing their training.”
This was the usual path. “But there are also smart apprentices whom talented physicians appreciate and take in as disciples early on, bypassing those initial hardships. These students can study for seven or eight years and start prescribing medicine at fifteen or sixteen.”
She herself had benefited from Keke and Teacher Mo—otherwise, even her fastest path would have been the second option.
Bai Shan was well aware of this and nodded, “Exactly. So even if we don’t count the first five or six years of grunt work and jump straight into practical instruction, it still takes ten years for someone to fully train. From what I’ve gathered about the Empress’s intentions, she clearly can’t wait ten years. This Lady Imperial Hospital is about to be established, and there surely won’t only be a place but no officials, right?”
Manbao fell silent.