The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1070 - 149 Advice

Chapter 1070: Chapter 149 Advice

Madam Tang ultimately failed to extract any firm news from Manbao, so frustratedly, she had her get out of the carriage halfway, not taking her to the crossroads.

Manbao didn’t mind it at all; after hopping out of the carriage, she cheerfully waved to Madam Tang, "Madam Tang, see you next time!"

Madam Tang lifted the curtain and said, "Right now, I don’t have the slightest desire to see you again, but still, let me remind you, after today, there will probably be many families inviting you to visit for medical consultations. When you enter large estates, you must listen less, see less, and even more so, speak less."

Manbao leaned towards the window, eyes shining with excitement, and asked, "Will they really invite me to visit?"

Madam Tang reached through the window and tapped her on the forehead, saying, "You specifically mentioned that you specialize in treating gynecological disorders, isn’t it exactly because you want them to invite you over?"

Manbao giggled.

Madam Tang then leaned against the carriage wall and said, "You know, I really can’t figure out what you are up to, but remember, in front of these prominent families, you must be extremely cautious and prudent in what you do or say. You are a doctor, after all, and you will come across confidential matters. Has your master taught you what you can hear, what you can say?"

Manbao became serious, nodding solemnly to Madam Tang: "My master said, when dealing with people, it is enough to observe etiquette. Doctor Ji said, since one wants to be a doctor, one should only do what a doctor ought to do; don’t inquire, don’t respond, and don’t interfere with anything else."

Madam Tang nodded contentedly, let down the curtain, and said, "Alright then, you should head home."

Manbao stepped back two paces, gave a formal bow to the carriage, and watched as their family’s carriage left before turning to get on Daji’s cart.

Daji asked, "Miss Man, are you going to start making house calls from now on?"

Manbao thought for a moment and then said, "There’s no rush on that matter."

Making house calls is a significant decision that she needed to discuss with her master and Shopkeeper Zheng, especially with Shopkeeper Zheng. As the attending doctor, whether she has the qualifications to make house calls depends on Shopkeeper Zheng’s decision.

Moreover, after today’s events, she realized there was a significant issue with house calls; the time spent on medical consultations was too long. Besides treating the illness, she would also have to chat with people, which made her think about how many more patients she could see during that time.

Thinking about this, Manbao returned home to find that Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had already been picked up by Gao Song and others; they both hitched a ride home with Bai Dalang’s carriage today.

Bai Dalang had many poetry gatherings recently, and it wasn’t until he started attending school again that he finally had some free time. As he had free time, he couldn’t resist the urge to come next door for some food and drinks.

Seeing Daji bring Manbao back, an oblivious Bai Dalang greeted her with a beaming smile, "Manbao, why are you back so late today?"

Manbao said, "I was on a medical call today."

She took out two plump silver ingots from the basket on her back and showed them to Mr. Zhuang, "Master, look, this is the consultation fee I earned from today’s home visit."

Mr. Zhuang: "...Is being a doctor so profitable?"

"Not exactly, I asked Shopkeeper Zheng. For a household like the State Duke Pi’s family, if it’s the first visit to provide treatment and other services, it usually costs twenty taels. However, for subsequent visits to check on the progress of the illness, it’s generally around ten taels. It also depends on the host family’s mood—if they are in a better mood or there’s a secret that needs the doctor’s discretion, they might give a bit more."

Mr. Zhuang pointed at the two ingots on the table and asked, "So, these are..."

"Follow-up visit fees. They should have given ten taels for it, but today they kept me there for a long chat, so this extra must be for the conversation."

Mr. Zhuang: "...You didn’t say anything you shouldn’t have, did you?"

"No, I was just talking about medical matters, I’m not sure if they understood, but they seemed to enjoy listening."

Mr. Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good then. If you really can’t control your mouth, talk more about medicine or things from books, less about other things."

The three brothers from the Bai Family couldn’t help but bow their heads and smother their laughter.

Manbao called out, "Teacher, I have a lot of self-control, okay? I even saw Madam Tang today. She asked me about Bai Shan’s father, and I didn’t say a thing."

Although he didn’t think this was particularly praiseworthy, Mr. Zhuang still raised his thumb in commendation, "Hmm, Manbao is getting more and more impressive."

After Manbao finished talking about her matters, it was Bai Shan’s turn to report, "Our school punished us to copy books and clean the Book Collection Tower for a fortnight."

Bai Dalang was still unaware of their skipping school yesterday and raised his head to ask, "Why were you punished?"

Bai Shan said, "There was a minor incident on the road yesterday, and then we encountered our grandmother entering the capital, so we didn’t go to school."

He knew about their grandmother entering the capital. They had even dined together last night at the new residence.

Bai Dalang nodded in understanding.

Bai Shan continued, "When I went to clean the Book Collection Tower today, I heard that the Crown Prince was impeached by the court officials, and the Crown Prince in turn instigated his followers to impeach the Third Prince. Now the court is in chaos, many students’ relatives are forced to take sides, and everyone is very anxious, affecting even the atmosphere in the school."

Bai Dalang was confused, "What does this have to do with us?"

Manbao asked curiously, "Why was the Crown Prince impeached?"

Bai Erlang turned to Bai Dalang and said, "Big brother, you’re too indifferent to politics. We will all be officials in the future, so it’s definitely related to us."

Bai Dalang said, "Shouldn’t we stay as far away as possible from such strife for the heirship? Our family doesn’t even have anyone serving in the court; why join this frenzy?"

He paused and glared, asking, "You’re not thinking about getting involved in the succession struggle, earning merit through supporting the victor, and then seeking revenge against the Prince of Yizhou, are you?"

Mr. Zhuang, who had been quietly listening until now, couldn’t help but fold his book and thump Bai Dalang on the head, asking, "The Emperor is still in good health; what are you fantasizing about all day? Have you been reading those stories of Erlang as well?"

Bai Dalang immediately shrank back and fell silent.

The three younger ones lowered their heads, sneaking laughs. Manbao took the chance to kick Bai Shan under the table, urging him to speak up quickly.

Bai Shan then said, "What else could it be? Three things: first, they say the Crown Prince shouldn’t have left the palace privately; second, they impeach the Crown Prince for using the imperial guards to arrest Du Yu; third, the impeachment is for the Crown Prince risking national security by drawing blood for the young prince... *cough cough* It’s said that there is also a censor impeaching the Crown Prince for muddling royal bloodlines by giving his own ’dragon blood’ to the young prince."

Manbao listened, dumbfounded, "This, the first three points are one thing, but what does ’muddling royal bloodlines’ mean?"

Bai Shan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, saying, "It’s all because the Crown Prince gave his blood to the young prince, that’s what they call muddling the royal bloodlines."

Everyone: ...

But after thinking for a moment, Bai Dalang whispered, "Actually, if you think about it carefully, there might be a bit of logic to it..."

"What logic," Manbao couldn’t help but retort, "There’s no sense in it at all! Forget it, let’s talk about the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. Can’t the Crown Prince just impeach the Prince of Yizhou instead? Why is he always impeaching the Third Prince?"