The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 962 - 941 Rankings (Additional update for the reward from book friend ’Yaoyouyou2017’)

Chapter 962: Chapter 941 Rankings (Additional update for the reward from book friend ’Yaoyouyou2017’)

The Emperor had a headache, "Why did Courtier Kong let him enter the Highest Institute again?"

"He is talented, after all. Although we need to curb his ambition, we shouldn’t aggrieve him too much. If his talent is sufficient for the Highest Institute, then naturally he should be allowed to enter."

What more could the Emperor say?

To suppress him, or to support him, it was all his doing.

The Emperor set Bai Shan’s papers aside and started looking through the papers of others. At the end, when he didn’t find another child’s papers, he lightly coughed and asked, "Doesn’t the Bai Family also have two seats? How is the scholarship of the other one?"

"Far worse," replied Libationer Kong, who had thoroughly understood all forty-eight students and had revised their papers; thus, once His Majesty brought it up, he knew exactly who he was referring to, since among the forty-eight, only two bore the surname Bai.

He continued, "However, that’s in comparison to Bai Shan. Compared to the others, his foundational knowledge isn’t too bad."

The Emperor asked, "Which institute did he enter?"

Libationer Kong replied, "He ranked thirteenth, just qualifying for the Highest Institute."

The Emperor nodded, flipped through their papers again, slightly adjusted the rankings of two out of the seven students at the Highest Institute, and then handed the papers back to Libationer Kong, "Let it be so."

Libationer Kong glanced at the alterations, which were relatively fair as the essays were quite comparable. The changes were clearly a matter of personal preference, a slight concession Libationer Kong was willing to make. He bowed deeply, took the papers, and retreated.

After Libationer Kong left, the Emperor shook his head and said to the Grand Eunuch, Doctor Gu, "Scholars think too deeply. Isn’t Bai Shan keeping a low profile to avoid drawing attention? If they create a stir, once the Prince of Yizhou enters the capital, they might catch his eye immediately."

Doctor Gu chuckled, "After all, Courtier Kong does not know the intricacies here; it’s natural for him to overthink."

"However, one thing he said was right, Bai Shan is indeed conceited," although he had only met him twice, and spent an evening and half a day together, the Emperor could still recall Bai Shan’s demeanor, much more arrogant than Zhou Man.

Doctor Gu smiled and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to meet them?"

The Emperor shook his head, "No, the Prince of Yizhou will be entering the capital soon. It is better for me to leave the palace infrequently, to avoid creating trouble."

Doctor Gu, frightened, bowed his head.

For an Emperor to be wary even of stepping outside because of a Prince... that Prince’s days were certainly numbered.

The Emperor walked back to the harem.

But those outside the palace hardly had any sleep.

Even the usually confident Bai Shan felt somewhat uneasy.

After all, this was different from taking the Yizhou Prefecture examination.

When he took the Yizhou Prefecture examination, he hadn’t thought he would pass and had gone with the aim of gaining experience, which made him relaxed before and after the exam.

But this time, although the main purpose of going to the capital was to seek justice, studying well was also an important goal. This time, the examination involved only forty-eight individuals, and all would be admitted, but to different academies.

So Bai Shan was truly nervous, fearing that his ranking wouldn’t be high enough and he would end up in the Highest Institute.

Actually, the Highest Institute was not bad, but the Highest Institute was clearly better.

Bai Shan couldn’t sleep, and Bai Erlang, even more nervous, couldn’t sleep either; even Mr. Zhuang and Bai Dalang were suffering from insomnia.

Only Manbao, having finished her lessons in the system, yawned, wrapped herself in a thin blanket, and fell asleep peacefully, with hardly any dreams to disturb her.

The next day, refreshed, Manbao bade everyone goodbye as she went to the apothecary. At the door, she added, "Let Daji come to the apothecary to tell me when you get the results."

Mr. Bai Shan waved his hand and said, "You better hurry or it’ll be too late."

Manbao sighed, "I played too hard yesterday and accidentally overslept."

Those who had a bad night’s sleep, like Bai Shan, found her particularly annoying.

When she reached the pharmacy, she was indeed a bit late, as Doctor Gu and others had already arrived, and the hall was filled with patients.

Old Madam Dou, accompanied by Dou Zhu’er, was first in line outside Manbao’s consultation room. Upon seeing Manbao enter, she immediately pulled Dou Zhu’er along and followed her in, smiling broadly, "Doctor Zhou Junior, my granddaughter’s illness seems to be improving. I was hoping you could have another look."

Manbao smiled and beckoned for them to enter by lifting the curtain.

Dou Zhu’er had been taking and applying medicine, and now the rash on her chest had completely disappeared, only some remained on her waist and belly.

Manbao examined her and noticed that it was the thicker layer that had been damaged due to rubbing of clothes and folds of flesh on the waist and belly. There were still some around, and the damaged spots were now scabbing over.

Dou Zhu’er, somewhat worried, asked softly, "Doctor Zhou Junior, do you think it will leave scars? Recently, it’s been really itchy."

"No, the skin isn’t largely damaged where the rash broke. In a while, when it fully scabs over and falls off, it will be better. The color may be slightly darker, but I will prescribe some ointment for you later. Once the scab falls off, apply it, and the color will gradually recover."

After examining her, Manbao went to write a prescription, "Just take the medicine for two more days to consolidate the recovery."

Manbao instructed, "You still need to avoid certain foods during this time, don’t eat things like eggs that are considered pungent."

Dou Zhu’er nodded at each instruction, and Manbao handed them the prescription, smiling, "Alright, go get the medicine now."

Old Madam Dou, still holding Dou Zhu’er, inquired, "Doctor Zhou Junior, she won’t relapse, will she?"

"I’ve felt her pulse and looked at the rash area; there are no signs of a relapse."

Old Madam Dou breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems that it was indeed the allium paepalanthoides causing trouble that day. From now on, don’t just pick things up from outside."

Dou Zhu’er agreed.

After thanking Manbao, Old Madam Dou was about to lead Dou Zhu’er out when she thought of something, stuffed the prescription into Dou Zhu’er’s arms, pushed her out, and then approached Manbao to quietly ask, "Doctor Zhou Junior, may I ask you something?"

Manbao blinked and nodded.

Old Madam Dou whispered, "Can you treat infertility?"

Manbao tilted her head, "Infertility?"

Old Madam Dou nodded repeatedly and whispered, "There’s someone who just can’t conceive. She went to doctors, and the doctors said she’s fine. I thought perhaps those doctors didn’t check properly. As a female doctor, it might be more convenient for you."

Manbao inquired, "Has her husband been checked? Infertility isn’t necessarily a woman’s problem; more often, it’s a man’s issue."

Like her former brother-in-law.

Old Madam Dou paused and then slapped her thigh, saying, "They’ve seen doctors too, and they also said there’s nothing wrong."

Manbao then said, "Have her and her husband come for a consultation, I’ll need to diagnose them first to know."

Old Madam Dou nodded repeatedly and said apologetically, "You know, this matter is sensitive, so..."

"Don’t worry, my medical records are confidential, seen only by me and our chief manager. We won’t spread it deliberately."

Old Madam Dou was relieved and smiled, "Alright, I’ll have them come over tomorrow then."