Chapter 3270 Reward
Old Zhou couldn't help but ask about Zhou Liwei's situation. He hadn't seen this grandson for several years.
"He's currently the ambassador of the Salt Field Inspection Office of the Salt Transport Department. He's an eighth-rank official, which is lowly, but since he manages the largest salt field in Qingzhou, if he works for a few more years and doesn't make any mistakes, he can be promoted to a higher rank. However, he still needs to study and take exams. If he fails, the best he can do is become an inspector of the salt field outside the field."
Zhou Dalang: "Didn't he go to take the exam?"
"He didn't pass the exam," Zhou Man said gloomily, "He did so badly that Bai Shan didn't even have the nerve to give him a backdoor."
Old Zhou was a little angry, "You little bastard, you can't pass the exam even if you have a backdoor."
Zhou Man then spoke up for him, "You can't blame him entirely. The salt fields were so busy in those years that he had virtually no free time. The workload was heavy. His wife told me that he would come home after dark every day, and sometimes he would just fall asleep on the bed without even wanting to eat."
But now Zhou Liwei himself doesn't want to take the exam anymore. He thinks that his current situation is pretty good, as he is already an eighth-rank official. In the past, he wouldn't even dare to think about it.
He was already very satisfied with being able to rise from a manager to an eighth-rank official, and he left the rest to his son.
Zhou Man said: "He said that he would let his son study hard and take the civil service examination, so he won't take it."
Qian didn't care much about this and smiled, "As long as they are safe and healthy, that's all that matters. He now has a skill that can support himself. Even if the child doesn't study well in the future, he will have a skill that will keep him going."
She was very open-minded and even comforted Old Zhou, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. With so many children at home, how much can you worry about? We are old now. Taking care of ourselves will save them a lot of trouble."
Madam Liu couldn't help but nod and praise: "My in-laws are really open-minded."
Mr. Zhuang also nodded and smiled, "A broad mind leads to longevity. This is a good thing."
He raised his hand to toast Madam Liu and said with a smile, "Madam, you should relax now. Zhishan and Ziqian are now able to stand on their own and shoulder the heavy responsibility."
Madam Liu smiled and agreed, "Okay."
But she had worked hard all her life, and it was impossible for her to really let go. Sure enough, as soon as she returned to the East Courtyard, she heard that Zhou Man was making pills for the emperor, so she paid more attention to restraining the servants. Except for a few trusted servants, no one else was allowed to approach Zhou Man's pharmacy.
"Daji is going out with Ziqian, so the courtyard is left to you," Old Lady Liu said to Nanny Liu, "You are to personally take the people to guard the pharmacy and not allow anyone to approach."
Madam Liu agreed, "Tomorrow I will bring my needle and thread and go to guard the door for you, Madam."
Madam Liu smiled and nodded, "Where's the eldest sister? Is she asleep?"
"The lights in the main room are off. They must be asleep."
"She's young, and this is her first time walking such a long distance. She must be tired. There's no need to wake her up early tomorrow. Let her sleep until she wakes up naturally. I heard she likes sweets, so ask the kitchen to make her some dessert..."
Mrs. Liu explained everything in detail before going to bed.
In the main room, Zhou Man and her daughter were lying on the bed and whispering.
"...Mother, there are so many people at home, so many children, I love them so much."
"If you like, go play with them later, but don't bully them. Mommy is busy for the next two days. I'll take you to play with Dabao after I'm done."
"Mom, why doesn't Dabao live with us?"
"He has his own home in the capital, so he lives there."
"Is his house far away?"
"Not far, just across the street."
"What is a Fang?"
"Uh..." Zhou Man counted and said, "It's just three streets away. As for what a fang is, I'll take you to see it later."
"It's really far. Our two houses used to be only three houses apart."
Can Beihai County be compared with the capital?
Zhou Man said with great enthusiasm: "When mother has time, I will take you on a horse to tour the capital. Then you will know how big the capital is."
"But it's so cold now. I don't want to ride a horse. I want to take a car."
"You're asking for too much." Zhou Man covered her with the quilt, closed his eyes and said, "Go to sleep quickly. If you keep talking, I won't take you out."
Little Bai Jingxing quickly closed her eyes and soon began to snore. She was really sleepy and very tired today.
Zhou Man also expended a lot of energy and fell asleep in a short while.
Zhou Man went into the palace every day to boil medicine and perform acupuncture on the emperor. After processing the residue, she left the palace and went home to make pills. By the third day, when the emperor had finished taking the medicine, she had also made the pills. There were three porcelain bottles in total. After Xiao Yuanzheng inspected them, he and she handed them to the emperor. "Your Majesty, take this medicine twice a day, one pill in the morning and one in the evening. It will be enough after you finish it."
If it doesn't get better, Zhou Man thought about her points and sighed sadly. In order to make medicine for the emperor, she bought two more potions. However, this was the limit of what he could take. It would probably have no effect if she used it again. She could only think of other prescriptions.
The emperor took it. He had felt a difference in his body in the past three days. He had a feeling that his health was better now than before he took the elixir.
He couldn't help but look at Zhou Man, then glanced at Xiao Yuanzheng. Thinking of the new prescription Xiao Yuanzheng had mentioned, and looking at Zhou Man's now emaciated figure, he sighed and said, "If I had known this, I should have transferred you back to the capital earlier."
Zhou Man: ...Weren't they talking about medicine? Why are they suddenly talking about this?
The emperor accepted the medicine, took one bottle for himself, and gave the other two bottles to Gu Zhong to keep, then let the two men leave.
But as soon as the two returned to the Imperial Hospital, rewards arrived. Xiao Yuanzheng and Zhou Man both received a lot of gold, silver, jade and cloth rewards.
Xiao Yuanzheng was about to give Zhou Man a greater reward, and a large group of people were needed to carry it back to the Xiao family. It was said that the emperor was grateful to Xiao Yuanzheng for testing medicine for him and for his hard work during this period.
Zhou Man glanced at Xiao Yuanzheng with envy, then moved closer to him and said, "Yuanzheng, do you think I can take a few days off?"
Xiao Yuanzheng looked at her, thinking that she had been busy for nearly twenty days and had lost a lot of weight, so he nodded, "Okay, I'll give you three days off, so you can have a good rest. But you are not allowed to leave the capital. If there is an imperial decree from the palace..."
"I will definitely receive it as soon as possible."
Xiao Yuanzheng was satisfied and waved his hand, saying, "Go ahead. You're not feeling well right now, so you should get more rest."
Doctor Zheng listened in confusion, "What's wrong with Doctor Zhou?"
Doctor Lu raised his eyelids and looked at him, "Doctor Zhou is pregnant, can't you see?"
Doctor Zheng: ...He really can’t tell.
He couldn't help but look at Zhou Man's flat belly. It wasn't even three months yet?
You're really working hard. You're trying so hard even when you're pregnant?
Doctor Zheng quickly raised his hand and said, "Congratulations, Doctor Zhou."
Zhou Man thought about how life was not that long now, so he accepted it calmly, "Thank you very much, thank you very much."
The other imperial doctors also congratulated her.
After Zhou Man left and Dean Xiao returned home with his reward, the imperial physicians gathered together to gossip, "How come Dean Xiao's reward is even greater than Lord Zhou's? Wasn't Lord Zhou the first to do this? Look at how Lord Zhou has lost so much weight these days, all the while studying medicinal formulas, and she's pregnant."
"Yes, ever since His Majesty stopped using elixirs, Lord Zhou has either been rummaging through medical books in the palace or studying the properties of medicinal herbs at home. I heard he doesn't go to bed until after midnight every day, and even has to be fed. How come Dean Xiao's reward is even more generous than Zhou Man's?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
