The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 1704 - 1679: Pleading for Favor

"A physician must also have the ability to preserve themselves. Knowing something is impossible yet still insisting on doing it is not benevolence but foolishness." Manbao paused and continued, "Wanting to trade one life for another, where ultimately both lives are lost, is unacceptable."

"So, what was Director Xiao’s question about?"

"That was also two questions. After not consuming oil for a long time, one should not suddenly eat rich foods like large fish and meat, as they can hurt the stomach and intestines. Those who are unaware might choose meat and can be excused, but those who know and still choose meat are greedy, prioritizing greed over health and life, which is unacceptable."

Mingda seemed to understand and asked, "So, among those who answered ’eat meat,’ some are accepted while others are not?"

Manbao replied, "It depends on the situation. If there are others who answered better and the number of admissions is sufficient, they naturally won’t be accepted anymore. If not enough are qualified, then choose the taller among the short ones."

Since it’s the first enrollment, the candidates were varied. There were young doctors who had already studied medicine for several years, medicine boys with some medical knowledge, and even traveling physicians bringing their family’s sons and nephews.

But most were young men and women from the capital and nearby who could read a few words or couldn’t read at all but heard the Imperial Hospital offered free education, room, and board, with future prospects as officials, and thus came to take the exam.

Mingda asked, "Have you recruited enough people now?"

Manbao shook her head, "Apart from Massage and Incantation classes, the other classes are still short a few people. We really can’t find suitable ones. Director Xiao says it’s better to have fewer than unsuitable ones, after all in the future they will be placed in various medical departments to treat people, better have fewer than unsuitable ones."

Mingda nodded.

There weren’t enough spots in the Imperial Hospital, so some people petitioned the Emperor and Empress, hoping their distant nieces could be allowed to learn a bit, but not counting towards the Imperial Hospital’s quota.

Speaking of distant nieces was just a saying, mostly they gave their big maid a surname, and after registering she counted as a distant niece.

The Emperor only managed the funds for the Imperial Hospital and lately cared little about these affairs. Upon hearing, he laughed and said, "Is your home lacking doctors?"

Doctors were not lacking, but female doctors were.

Although he also didn’t quite understand why the wife and daughters at home insisted on having a female doctor, but the wife occasionally makes a fuss, so he talks to the Emperor.

The Emperor didn’t take it to heart, after teasing, he said, "This matter is handled by the Empress and the Crown Prince, you might as well seek the Empress instead of me."

The petitioning ministers listened and gladly sent their wives to the palace to find the Empress.

They were all granted titles and qualified to enter the palace.

Therefore, within a few days, the Empress privately summoned Manbao, "How many spots are left in the Imperial Hospital?"

Manbao replied, "Rehabilitation Department is missing two, Acupuncture Studies, Pediatrics, and Swelling Abscess are each missing one."

The Empress nodded slightly and said, "Several families’ wives have sought me, wanting their distant nieces to have some learning at the Imperial Hospital."

Manbao understood upon hearing it, frowned but said nothing.

The Empress smiled and asked, "What’s wrong, are you unwilling?"

Seeing Manbao still silent, the Empress asked again with a smile, "I heard that some people petitioned you as well, and you turned them down? Do you have a problem with these aristocratic and influential ladies?"

Manbao shook her head, "I have no problem with them, and I can understand them, but Your Majesty, we said before that the Imperial Hospital is to train and supply doctors for various medical offices, and the medical offices are established for the people of the whole world."

The Empress nodded with a smile, "That’s right, it’s still the case now, isn’t it? You simply haven’t filled up your quota yet."

"Your Majesty, if this year we agree to let families send people to the Imperial Hospital just because we haven’t filled our quota, will the Imperial Hospital not be able to fill its quota next year? Year after year, the number of students we can recruit will become fewer and fewer, finally recruiting only a few, while the remainder of the spots must be given to them?"

Listening to this, the Empress’s smile slowly faded.

Beside her, Lady Shang looked at Zhou Man with surprise.

Manbao said, "That’s human nature, as long as there are benefits, they will try to make things develop in a direction favorable to themselves. What seems insignificant now might be the root of collapse for the Imperial Hospital in the future."

With a serious expression, she said, "So once rules are set, they should not be changed. It’s agreed upon that 300 spots are available each year; if we can’t fill them, then we won’t fill them, but the students admitted within these 300 spots must all be allocated to medical offices in the future."

After pondering for a while, the Empress asked, "Can the medical offices accommodate so many people in the future?"

Manbao seriously replied, "When they can’t accommodate, there are naturally ways to deal with it, be it an imperial decree or coordination with local offices, but now we haven’t seen a time of abundance for physicians."

The Empress massaged her forehead, saying: "Following rules is right; it’s hard for me to refuse after initially being lenient..."

Seeing the Empress distressed, Manbao felt empathetic and thought for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, those 300 spots shouldn’t be given, regardless of being full or not, but we can offer ten spots outside the 300 exclusively for them."

The Empress raised an eyebrow, "You mean, specifically set ten spots for them?"

Manbao nodded, "Yes, let them pay, and we will teach them at the Imperial Hospital."

Thinking that the Emperor’s private funds were almost exhausted, and the Ministry of Revenue delayed disbursements, causing Director Xiao and Scholarly Senior Brother Yang to frequently argue back and forth, making it difficult for her.

Especially recently, Director Xiao liked sending her to relay messages to Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, making it harder for her.

"It’s timely; the Imperial Hospital lacks funds to purchase some educational materials. Once I discuss a price with Director Xiao, you can send the people over. These ten spots will allow them to join classes and learn skills just like other students. After completing their studies, they can come and go freely, absolutely unimpeded."

Manbao paused, then spun her eyes and added, "They won’t need to take exams either; as long as they’re sent here, we’ll teach them. However, whether they learn depends on individual talent, and each year they get ten spots, no more."

The Empress listened in surprise, then nodded, "This method is quite good, but how do we arrange the spots?"

Manbao smiled, "Your Majesty decides on that."

Thinking for a moment, she embarrassedly said, "Your Majesty, has anyone from Li Family from Yongzhou sought you out? If so, perhaps you could reserve a spot for them?"

Empress: ...

Lady Shang: ...

The Empress couldn’t help laughing, "Why not go back and discuss it with Director Xiao first?"

After thinking, Manbao nodded, though she was confident she could persuade Director Xiao, it’s still better to discuss first, as the price needs to be set properly.