Chapter 1702 Angry
The Imperial Medical Bureau is about to start school. From now on, at least in the short term, Zheng Gu and others will no longer be able to come to the palace for acupuncture.
The palace has always been well-informed about news. Perhaps because of this, more palace maids have applied for acupuncture in the past two days.
As one of the persons in charge, Eunuch Wu inevitably received more information. For example, "I heard that Prince Gong quietly got up at night to go to the small kitchen to get food. A palace servant saw him but dared not say a word. He had to find a way to hide it from Aunt Shang."
For example, "Several officials feel that the tuition fees set by the Imperial Medical Bureau are too high, and they are asking Lord Wang of the Censorate to accuse the Crown Prince and the Imperial Medical Bureau of taking advantage of the opportunity to make money."
Manbao was listening to the gossip with great interest at first, but she didn't expect it to spread to her. She immediately asked, "Which Lord Wang? Wang Ji?"
Eunuch Wu, who was lying on the bed receiving acupuncture, smiled and replied "Yes". He had been here for acupuncture for three days in a row. It was a pity that Zhou Man would have to take a rest and leave the palace tomorrow.
He lay on the bed and said nonchalantly, "Master Zhou, don't worry. His Highness is often impeached, so nothing will happen."
Who is worried about the prince? She is worried that Xiao Yuanzheng is not doing well. You should know that she is standing behind Xiao Yuanzheng, and so are all the imperial doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Manbao inserted the last needle and ignored her three disciples. She propped up her chin and asked, "Eunuch Wu, do you know who those adults are?"
Eunuch Wu felt a little sleepy and asked, "Why are you asking this? Leave these matters to the Zhanshi Mansion. There are people in the court who speak for the Crown Prince."
Is there anyone speaking for their Imperial Hospital?
Manbao frowned, but still asked. She decided to write down the names of these people and tell Xiao Yuanzheng to directly reject their family members.
Humph, since you think it's too expensive, then don't come. She hasn't impeached them for trying to poach the emperor yet.
Thinking of this, Manbao's eyes lit up. Yes, the imperial physician did not have the power to submit memorials, but he did have the power to compile them.
Manbao looked at the lying Eunuch Wu with shining eyes. If he hadn't been having needles stuck in his body, she would have patted his shoulders twice to express her happiness.
When she returned to Chongwenguan, she found that Xiao Yuanzheng was not there, so she turned around and ran to the Imperial Hospital to find him.
Xiao Yuan was busy writing when he saw someone standing in front of him. He looked up and saw it was Zhou Man, so he asked, "What's the matter?"
"Xiao Yuanzheng, does anyone want those twenty spots?"
"Of course there are. The Queen gave them three days to report, and they reported thirty-six right away. I'm having a headache choosing the right person."
Manbao took the list and saw many repeated surnames. He asked, "Aren't these from the same family?"
"We are from the same clan, but not one family."
Manbao found a name, and the head of the household marked behind it was Wang Ji. She also found the names of those adults.
She chuckled and, under Xiao Yuanzheng's gaze, drew a circle on it. "Xiao Yuanzheng, since it's difficult, let's get rid of these five people."
Xiao Yuanzheng took a look and asked, "Did they offend you?"
He said earnestly, "Doctor Zhou, we officials cannot take revenge on personal grudges. I have already discussed with the other doctors in the Imperial Hospital. We will first ensure that one of the families reported is admitted, and then we will consider the rest. In fact, the quota has almost been allocated."
Manbao said, "They and His Majesty have impeached you. Don't you know?"
Xiao Yuanzheng, who was impeached incidentally, paused and glared slightly, "Who told you that?"
Eunuch Wu's name almost slipped out of his mouth, and Manbao immediately changed the subject and said, "Anyway, I heard about it. If you don't believe me, go to the Censorate and ask."
Of course, Xiao Yuanzheng couldn't go and ask in person. That would be so embarrassing and would also alert the enemy.
So he called one of his men and asked him to find out.
The Censorate is also in the imperial city, not far away, and you can get there by walking a little further.
Manbao sat aside, helping to sort out various lists and documents while talking to Xiao Yuanzheng, "Someone's impeaching you. You have to file a defense, right?"
Xiao Yuanzheng said with a headache: "What's there to argue about? I'm arguing with the censor. How can I be so careless?"
Manbao, however, felt that they couldn't give in. "...Otherwise, the Censorate will think we're easy to bully and bully us for everything."
Xiao Yuanzheng looked at her and said, "Did you submit your defense last time? Didn't you submit your apology yourself?"
It's about the time Zhou Man was late.
Manbao said without even looking up, "How are they the same? I was late that time, so I was wrong. But this time we are not wrong."
She said, "One hundred taels per person, twenty people only make two thousand taels a year, where does that come from?"
Manbao, who often made money from the nobles in the capital, knew that these powerful families were not short of money. Two thousand taels a year for an institution was not too much.
But the calculations clearly didn't work that way. The young imperial physician, who had returned from inquiring about the situation, stood before Xiao Yuanzheng with his head bowed and said, "...the annual salary of a fourth-rank official is fifty taels. One hundred taels this year is equivalent to two years' salary for a fourth-rank official. A fourth-rank official would have to go without food or drink for ten years to train a doctor. Isn't this just money-making?"
The young imperial physician secretly glanced up at Xiao Yuanzheng, whose face was ashen. He lowered his voice and continued stubbornly, "Those imperial censors also said that the tuition fees at good academies outside the country are only around 20 taels a year, not to mention the ordinary small academies, where you can study for 5 or 8 taels a year. It turns out that studying medicine is ten times more expensive than studying statecraft. Are doctors superior to scholars?"
Dean Xiao's face was so ugly that even the other busy doctors in the Imperial Hospital put down their work, stood up and listened attentively.
Man Bao was stunned. She knew that the censor's words were usually unpleasant, but she had never expected them to be so harsh. She slammed the table in anger and turned to Xiao Yuanzheng, saying, "Yuanzheng, are we going to put up with this? We must make a defense!"
The other imperial doctors could no longer suppress their anger and nodded implicitly.
Xiao Yuanzheng, who was so angry that he almost lost his mind, turned around and saw Zhou Man fanning the flames, and he calmed down immediately.
He glared at her, then turned around and asked the young doctor, "Anything else?"
The young imperial physician, sweat dripping from his face, said, "There's also someone who cursed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Finally, he even said that the Imperial Hospital has been close to the Eastern Palace lately. Could it be that they're using the guise of passing on their skills to make money for the Eastern Palace?"
The Imperial Hospital fell silent. Dean Xiao was lost in thought when Man Bao, standing beside him, rolled his eyes and said, "Are they fools? His Majesty has given the Crown Prince full authority over the Imperial Medical Bureau. We, the Imperial Hospital, have to edit books and discuss the construction of the Imperial Medical Bureau in the Chongwen Hall. This inevitably requires us to interact with the Zhanshi Mansion. If we don't visit the Eastern Palace regularly, do we have to visit the Censorate?"
Imperial Physicians: ...
Xiao Yuanzheng couldn't stand it any longer and turned to her, saying, "Just shut up! How can you be so outspoken in the palace?"
See you at 7pm. I had something urgent to do so I changed the time. You didn't read it wrong.
(End of this chapter)
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