Chapter 1646: Fixing the loopholes
Manbao looked puzzled and asked, "If we release them, will they still be your people?"
Han Wuniang smiled and said, "Their parents are still at home. Although their books have been put away, they will naturally return home after they finish their studies."
Manbao was stunned for a long time before he asked, "Are there many people who want to send people to the Imperial Medical Bureau?"
Han Wuniang sighed and said, "Who would complain about not having enough medical officers? Naturally, everyone wants to send one in. However, the Imperial Medical Bureau is now under the control of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the selection rules haven't been finalized yet. So even if families want to send someone in, they won't be able to do so for a while."
Manbao smiled and nodded, saying, "These matters are handled by Xiao Yuanzheng and the others. I am young, so I am only responsible for editing books and treating the emperor and his wife. These matters are not my responsibility."
Han Wuniang also guessed it. After all, Manbao was still young. However, she said, "You will be the one to teach this female disciple in the future, right? As a teacher, it was your memorial that established the Imperial Medical Bureau. I think the Imperial Medical Bureau will also take your words into consideration."
Manbao thought for a moment and then said, "I'll discuss this with Xiao Yuanzheng later."
Let’s discuss how to fill this loophole.
Han Wuniang didn't know what Manbao was thinking. She wanted to clear up his confusion, so she told Manbao the worries that had been weighing on her mind for a long time. Then she happily pulled him behind the screen to talk.
During this time, Bai Shan also established a basic friendship with Li Sanlang.
Knowing that they were planning to manage Zhou Man's official land themselves, Li Sanlang said that he would ask someone to help look after Putun.
After all, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake, and the Li family in Yongzhou is not only a local snake, but also a strong dragon.
After the conversation, Manbao and Baishan said goodbye with a smile. Li Sanlang and Han Wuniang sent them to the stairs and watched them go down before turning back to their rooms.
Li Sanlang called the waiter of the restaurant and said, "Put their bill on my account. Send some wine and food over and say it was from me."
The waiter agreed, bowed and walked out.
Han Wuniang smiled and said, "If I had known they had booked our restaurant, they should have arranged it on the third floor. The view from here would be better."
Li Sanlang said, "It's too late this year. It would be too much trouble for them to move. If they come to Yongzhou to celebrate the Lantern Festival again next year, I will book them a room on the third floor."
Bai Shan, who was walking down the stairs side by side with her, took her hand, led her down, and turned around and asked, "What are you thinking about? Don't you look at your feet?"
"I'm thinking about how to fill the loophole in the Imperial Medical Bureau's enrollment." She looked around and saw that there were many people around, so she said, "I'll tell you after we get out."
This time, the two of them took Old Zhou and the others to the street. Manbao and Baishan asked them to guess riddles while they went shopping on their own first.
Manbao specially lit the rabbit lantern that her father liked, and after guessing the riddle, she took the lantern in her hand. Seeing that Bai Shan also guessed two lanterns, she walked back slowly with him and told him what Han Wuniang had asked her to do.
"The Crown Prince and Lord Yang are already discussing the allocation for the Imperial Medical Bureau each academic year," Man Bao said. "I've seen the official document that Xiao Yuanzheng received from the Chongwen Academy. It not only covers the expenses for teaching supplies and medicinal materials, but also the rice subsidies for students. In other words, students who study medicine at the Imperial Medical Bureau not only don't have to pay, but they can also take home a monthly allowance of rice from the bureau."
Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "This is to encourage children from poor families to study medicine."
Manbao nodded.
"If Han Wuniang follows her example and sends her servants to the Imperial Medical Bureau to study, then the students the court and the Imperial Hospital have worked so hard to educate will end up in the private residences of these aristocratic families and the powerful. Wouldn't that defeat the original purpose of establishing the Imperial Medical Bureau?"
Bai Shan pondered, "I'm afraid Han Wuniang is not the only one who has this idea. She doesn't even know she's wrong, let alone others."
Manbao nodded, "We have to find a way to plug this loophole."
Manbao smiled at the thought, "Speaking of which, I have to thank her this time. If she hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known they had such an idea."
Bai Shan: ...I'm afraid Han Wu Niang won't be very happy.
But at this moment the other party knows nothing.
The two of them went back carrying lanterns. Manbao gave the rabbit lantern to her father, who then gave it to her mother. Manbao, who was holding a lantern that Bai Shan had handed over, paused and looked at the lantern in her hand.
Bai Shan smiled and said, "Since Auntie has it, you can take it yourself."
Manbao had no choice but to keep it himself.
Yin Huo and the others also went to guess riddles. He used to guess riddles when he was at home, but he didn't like it. He just followed the crowd and guessed one or two riddles to please his grandmother. He didn't think there was any meaning in guessing riddles.
But at this time, looking at the lanterns hanging on the shed, he found it very interesting that he could get a lantern if he guessed a riddle, and he could give the lantern to others as a gift.
So he dragged Bai Erlang, Liu Huan and others to guess riddles together.
Of course, it was mainly his guess that Bai Erlang and Liu Huan were holding the lamp for him.
But when Bai Erlang saw that he had guessed several times incorrectly, he couldn't help but push him aside and do it himself.
Bai Erlang chose a simple and easy riddle. After guessing three riddles in a row, he looked at Yin Huo and said, "Guessing riddles is different from writing an essay. You need to be imaginative, don't you understand?"
Yin Huo: I don’t know.
But he was quite happy, because he could always guess one of the three riddles correctly, and unlike Bai Erlang who chose riddles based on the lights, he quickly found his own pattern.
No matter whether the lights hanging on the shed were pretty or ugly, he would just look at the riddle and guess it, and if he guessed it correctly, he would take the light.
He then gave it to Zhou Lijun and a few others. If they thought it was ugly, he would give it to a passing child. If they didn't mind, he would give it to them.
Zhou Lijun and Zhou Liru could also guess lantern riddles themselves, but they accepted all the riddles offered to them. They took whatever was given to them. After a while, their hands were full and they turned around to sell them. It didn't matter if it was four or five cents, as long as they could sell them.
Old Zhou didn't expect there would be such an operation, and he followed Zhou Lijun and others behind Yin Huo. He guessed the lamp, took it over, and turned around to sell it.
Qian: ...
Manbao and Baishan were both stunned, then looked at each other, rolled up their sleeves and went forward to help.
When it comes to guessing riddles, who can compare to these two?
It was not until the third watch that they were about to go home. When they came to their senses, they found that they had walked through several streets and basically visited all the lantern sheds in Yongzhou City.
After midnight, the people on the street gradually dispersed. Old Zhoutou and his men had almost sold all the lanterns that Yin Huo and Bai Erlang had won. Everyone was ready to go home with a pocketful of copper coins. Old Zhoutou said with a smile, "I'll buy you some sweet water when we get home."
Yin Huo had talked a lot that night and his throat was a little hoarse. He nodded repeatedly when he heard this. He really wanted to drink some water.
So everyone went back to the inn.
Madam Liu and Zheng had already returned from the restaurant. Madam Liu heard the commotion and came out to tell Manbao and Baishan, "The old lady told you to wash up and go to bed and close the doors and windows. Don't catch a cold at night."
He continued, "Also, the restaurant we're staying at today belongs to the Li family, so they paid for all the food and drinks we had there tonight. The old lady asked the young master and Miss Man to keep this in mind so they can return the favor next time."
Manbao agreed with a yawn and decided to give Han Wuniang a bottle of scar-removing ointment next time to erase the knife marks on her stomach.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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