The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 293 - 289 The Empress’s Invitation

Two quarters of an hour later, Ruo Shan had seen all five patients and prescribed their medicines.

County Magistrate Zhang then said to Mrs. Zhuang, "Madam Fang, why don’t you choose two physicians to examine these five villagers to see if Master Ruo Shan has made any mistakes in his diagnoses?"

Everyone thought Mrs. Zhuang would choose Fang Boshan, but she felt that Fang Boshan might favor Ruo Shan, so she chose two other doctors who were ranked behind Doctor Fang in the competition.

As it turned out, after examining the patients, the diagnoses of the two doctors matched Ruo Shan’s. Moreover, there was one patient whose illness they could not identify.

Then County Magistrate Zhang let Mrs. Zhuang pick a referee to take a look.

Mrs. Zhuang knew that among these referees, the one sitting in the very center must be the best in medical skills. She had heard that this time, the Pharmacist Association had even invited the former Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau to serve as a referee.

This former Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau was quite formidable; in Xuanyuan Country, he was known as a divine physician, and most of the physicians in the current Imperial Medical Bureau were his disciples.

His medical expertise was said to be so profound that he could bring the dead back to life and mend flesh and bones. The entire Capital City’s elite treated him with the greatest respect.

The middle seat is the highest-ranking one, and since he was sitting there, that person must certainly be the former Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

She thus asked for the one sitting in the center.

In her heart, Madam Fang hoped to use this chance to get acquainted and then forge a relationship so that later on, her husband could become his disciple.

Even if her husband could not become his disciple, having his guidance in medical skills would be very beneficial for her husband’s reputation. At the very least, she could say her husband had received pointers from the Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Most people are modest in their speech, and everyone would think that her husband was a disciple of the Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Unexpectedly, the other party said, "I cannot step in, for I am the master who took Ruo Shan on a month-long medical charity visit. I must avoid any appearance of bias. Madam, please choose another noteworthy individual! Otherwise, you might question my disciple’s medical skills again."

Mrs. Zhuang: "..."

She looked at Ruo Shan in disbelief. He was actually a disciple of the former Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau?!!!

So, did this count as offending the former Chief Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau?

If she offended him, did that mean she had offended half of the Imperial Medical Bureau?

Fang Boshan and Doctor Fang both spoke up, "Ruo Shan’s medical skills need not be doubted. His clinching of the first place is truly well-deserved. The inside story is that my wife has been frivolous!"

"With the competition having reached this point, it’s already sufficient to prove the profundity of Ruo Shan’s medical foundations."

Not wanting to offend the former Chief Officer, Mrs. Zhuang smoothly said, "So it turns out that Ruo Shan studied medicine under your tutelage, elder! No wonder he has improved so quickly! Now I believe he can take the first place, hehehe... There’s no need to invite another judge to prove it anymore."

Ruo Xuan said in her childish voice, "But that won’t do. Let Madam Fang choose another referee! Otherwise, I fear that later on, Madam Fang might once again slander my uncle, which will not only harm my uncle’s reputation but that of his master as well."

Imperial Physician Kang looked at Mrs. Zhuang, "Princess Xuanbao is right. It would be best if this lady could choose another referee."

Mrs. Zhuang: "..."

In the end, Mrs. Zhuang bit the bullet and requested the referee sitting next to Imperial Physician Kang.

A physician qualified to serve as a referee in the Pharmacist Association competition naturally possessed actual talent, and his diagnosis was the same as Ruo Shan’s to the letter.

He also mentioned that the prescriptions written by Ruo Shan were exceedingly ingenious!

Thus, Ruo Shan rightfully deserved first place in the competition!

Fang Boshan had Mrs. Zhuang apologize to both Ruo Shan and the Pharmacist Association.

Some bystanders who loved watching the excitement also called out for an apology.

Mrs. Zhuang once again begrudgingly apologized to the Pharmacist Association and Ruo Shan.

Last time it was at the medical hall, where there weren’t too many people, but this time it was at the market, and today was the market day, where both locals and outsiders gathered—she truly suffered a public embarrassment!

Not only did she lose face, but she also offended a former head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, which was like losing the wife and the soldiers!

Ruo Xuan, pleased with the five people who came to help, said, "I promised to provide you with free medicine earlier, come, come get the silver from me. If it’s not enough, you can also go to the Bogu Pavilion and ask the shopkeeper for it later."

Ruo Xuan took out her small purse and gave each of the villagers two taels of silver. Two doses of medicine would be enough; she had given more on purpose.

The five people received the silver with tears of gratitude.

The surrounding people all felt that their Princess Wuyou was both adorable and kind-hearted.

~

After the contest ended, the county magistrate Zhang handed a card to Ruo Xuan, smiling, "Princess Wuyou, this is a card from the Capital City."

The Emperor had specially instructed the Empress to send this card to Ruo Xuan.

The Emperor thought that the Empress Dowager and Xiaojiu hadn’t returned to the Capital City for the New Year for three years, and they also said they wouldn’t return this year.

The Empress Dowager really liked Princess Wuyou, didn’t she? She always said Xiaojiu couldn’t be apart from the princess, waiting for Xiaojiu to become a bit more lively before returning to the capital.

However, with the Empress Dowager advancing in years, her health declined yearly. The Emperor truly felt uneasy about her being away for so long, so he took the opportunity to summon Princess Wuyou and Ruo Hai to the palace.

That way, the Empress Dowager and Xiaojiu would probably follow them to the Capital City, right?

Of course, the Emperor wasn’t certain; he was just attempting it.

Ruo Xuan was receiving a card for the first time, but the moment she took it, she investigated with her Spiritual Power and completely understood the Emperor’s thoughts. She still asked, "What kind of card is it?"

County Magistrate Zhang didn’t know either, but he guessed it was probably an invitation for the Ruo Family to attend a palace banquet, especially since it was the end of the year.

Ruo Xuan directly opened and glanced at the card; indeed, it was from the Empress, inviting her and her grandmother to attend the Lantern Festival palace banquet.

Just right, her father was going to the Capital City to take part in the imperial examinations, Divine Lord Xuanyuan was heading there to catch that master, so she might as well go to the capital!

Upon returning home, Ruo Xuan informed her family about the Empress’ invitation for her and Granny Lei to attend the Lantern Festival palace banquet.

Just then, Ruo Hai also returned; he had received a card from the Capital City while in the military camp, summoning him to return to the capital and attend the Lantern Festival palace banquet.

When Ruo Hai mentioned this, Ruo Xuan said, "Grandma and I have also been invited to the palace banquet. Why don’t we go to the Capital City for the New Year? I’ve heard it’s very lively there."

Upon hearing this, Granny Lei said, "That works, just right. The second and fourth youngsters will also need to go to the capital for the provincial examinations after the New Year, so we might as well travel to the capital early. We can also gather more information in the capital."

Madam Jiang added, "It’s good to spend the New Year in the Capital City, and we won’t have to set out after the New Year. But the weather has started to freeze, and I’m afraid the heavy snow will block the roads, so we should start our journey earlier. This way, we won’t need to rush, and if we encounter blizzards, we can take shelter for a few days before continuing our travel."

Madam Jiang had once experienced a mishap on the road while her husband was rushing to the examinations and had since become somewhat fearful. She had been worried about Ruo Jiang’s journey to the capital for the examination after the New Year.

Now that the whole family was setting out together, and Ruo Xuan would accompany them, she somehow felt at ease.

"That’s the right idea, let’s sort out our affairs at home in the next two days and prepare to set out for the capital!" Granny Lei decided with finality.

Fortunately, the family bookstore had a shopkeeper, the medicinal fields had Mother He, the flower fields had Aunt Chenxiang, the mushroom house had Brother He, and then there was Father He and the farm laborers in the village fields, all honest and reliable folks, with nothing to worry about.

The date to depart for the Capital City was agreed upon with the Xuanyuan family matriarch for three days later.

Since Ruo Shan still had to participate in the prefectural contest, once it concluded, he would set out for the capital, conducting free medical consultations along the way with Imperial Physician Kang, to take part in the Capital City contest.

Therefore, on the day of departure, Ruo Shan did not set out for the Capital City with the rest of the Ruo Family.