It wasn’t until the New Year that the Emperor’s mood improved sowhat. Perhaps due to his low spirits, he had been neglecting state affairs for over four months, delegating many responsibilities to the Crown Prince.
The entire royal family was in mourning, and the Crown Prince, with no other duties, was suddenly overwheld with work. Though frustrated at first due to the busyness, he gradually adapted.
Not only the Emperor but even the court ministers were increasingly satisfied with the Crown Prince. Seeing this, the Empress finally discussed with the Emperor the matter of allowing Prince Gong to return to his fiefdom after the New Year.
Though Prince Gong’s injury had healed, his leg still had a slight limp. It wasn’t too noticeable at a slow pace, but beca evident when he moved faster.
After the splint was removed, Prince Gong wept for two days, as his leg had been broken by the Emperor himself, causing him much distress. Because of this, Manbao prescribed him calming dication for two additional days.
Since officials were still in the national mourning period, even during the New Year, gatherings and banquets were rare. If they did occur, they were held secretly, not letting outsiders know.
The Zhou Family remained low-key, and because it was New Year, Bai Dalang temporarily moved to the Zhou Residence. The three brothers studied together, and Manbao, on leave from the Imperial Hospital, returned ho to study dical books gifted by the Empress Dowager. Moreover, the Imperial dicine Bureau would be very busy after spring began.
The Imperial Hospital had already decided that after spring, twelve students led by Zheng Gu would be recruited as dical assistants.
Before their formal studies, they had trained in dicine for several years and were mostly disciples of various families. Soon after entering the Imperial dicine Bureau, they were selected and ford a separate class, with a different teaching pace from other classes.
Though there still were many things they hadn’t learned over a year, Doctor Xiao and others felt they wouldn’t gain much more just reading at the Imperial dicine Bureau. It was ti to try diagnosing real patients.
Zheng Gu and two others had already served as dical assistants in the Imperial dicine Bureau for nearly a year.
However, there were only so many patients in the palace. Thus, the Imperial dicine Bureau decided to organize several charitable clinics after spring started. To organize free clinics, dicine was naturally required.
Free of charge was impossible. Maintaining the Imperial dicine Bureau using the Emperor’s private funds was already costly, let alone funding the dicine for free clinics.
Moreover, after private discussions, Doctor Xiao and Manbao agreed that by autumn or winter, they could prepare to take up positions at various dical offices across the country, which would incur costs.
These expenses, whether taken from the Emperor’s private funds or the national treasury, would be difficult to obtain. Therefore, now was the ti to be prudent and avoid creating the impression that the Imperial dicine Bureau was a drain on resources.
Thus, doctors at the Imperial Hospital brainstord for several days and finally decided to seek assistance from large drugstores in the capital.
Of course, it wasn’t about asking for free dicine but for discounts.
Their students would write prescriptions, and buy dicines from partner drugstores at a cheaper rate.
With Imperial Doctor Zheng at Jishi Hall, there’s a good chance of persuading them. Thus, Imperial Doctor Liu assigned Manbao a task with Baohe dical Hall.
The reason was that she seed to have maintained a good relationship with Baohe dical Hall while consulting at Jishi Hall previously.
Manbao had just taken a day off yesterday and decided to rest another day today. Tomorrow, she planned to visit Baohe dical Hall...
Since Jishi Hall agreed to cooperate, persuading Baohe dical Hall shouldn’t be difficult. After all, they were neighbors, not only neighbors but colleagues.
Manbao turned a page of the dical book. While reading, she noted down important points.
Bai Dalang felt his eyes getting tired. He put down his book, stretched lazily, and when he looked up, he saw the three of them still seated and engrossed in their reading, making him sigh softly.
None of the three raised their heads or said anything.
Bai Dalang felt too embarrassed to turn his neck anymore, so he quietly peered out the window, just in ti to see his wife approaching with a tray.
He quickly got up to open the door.
The tray held two plates of snacks. Ms. Cheng smiled at her husband and said to the three inside, "It’s past lunchti, take a break, and have so snacks to warm your stomach."
Slling the aroma, the three looked up to see steaming glutinous rice balls and at pastry sticks on the platter.
Their eyes lit up. They put down their books and, ignoring the cold water in the study, washed their hands in the wooden basin before grabbing the at pastry sticks to eat.
These at pastry sticks were a snack Junior Ms. Qian had recently learned, or could be considered a snack in any case.
Because Manbao found a recipe in a book detailing how deep-frying chicken wrapped in flour was delicious, and having not eaten at for a long ti after mourning in the palace, Manbao couldn’t resist pestering Junior Ms. Qian to fry chicken for her.
Unable to refuse, Junior Ms. Qian not only killed a chicken to fry but also used the recipe to fry other things, like pork, lamb, and fish. Ultimately, Manbao’s favorite was fish and chicken fried in flour.
Unfortunately, when Manbao craved it again, Junior Ms. Qian was reluctant to make it because it was too wasteful; requiring an entire chicken each ti was one thing, but it also used a lot of oil.
Fish was feasible, but fish in the capital was far more expensive than in Luojiang, and often unavailable, so Junior Ms. Qian was less inclined to make it.
Still, after so deliberation, and sohow through experintation, she kneaded flour, stuffed it with at filling, cut it into strips, stead them, then deep-fried them. Since they were pre-stead, the oil used after frying wasn’t much, and it didn’t have the fishy sll of fried fish.
The main advantage was that it didn’t use much at since other ingredients were added to the filling. Besides, too much would be too greasy and this bit-by-bit amount made it more appealing.
The at pastry sticks were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Only the surface layer was crispy, and with a light bite, the subtle sweetness of wheat was tasted first, followed by the slightly salty at inside. Not just Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang, but even Old Madam Liu and Mr. Zhuang liked this new snack.
Mr. Zhuang, who had been dining with the Bai Family, went to the Zhou Family for over ten days to learn this skill. After Aunt Rong mastered it, occasionally making it as a snack for everyone, he returned.
Bai Dalang liked it too, almost gulping down each one in three bites, though he ate them slowly, savoring each bite.
Ms. Cheng watched with a smile, and Bai Dalang handed her one. Ms. Cheng took a bite and couldn’t help but frown slightly. After enduring it, she swallowed.
Manbao glanced at her, examined her face, and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you just woken up?"
Ms. Cheng nodded embarrassedly, "Winter naps are easily overslept."
Manbao stuffed the entire at pastry stick into her mouth, swallowed, and asked, "I rember Senior Brother Bai said this morning that you were still sleeping when he arrived at the study."
Ms. Cheng blushed, "...Winter makes one drowsy."
Manbao grabbed her hand and said, "Let check for you."
With that, she took Ms. Cheng’s pulse for a while and then asked, "Did you have your period this month?"
Ms. Cheng hesitated, thought of sothing, looked at her expectantly, and shook her head, "I forgot about it until you ntioned it. It seems five days late."
However, her periods were often delayed by about seven days, so she and her maids hadn’t paid much attention.
Manbao released her hand and said, "It’s too early to tell. Let’s wait a little longer, but it’s indeed a slippery pulse."
Both Ms. Cheng and Bai Dalang were surprised, as were Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, with their mouths agape.
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