newbobooks Chapter 987 Broke My Brother's Heart
Chapter 987 Broke My Brother's Heart
"Yes, Liu Yanming."
Qin Yan spoke.
He and Liu Yanming are still considered good friends.
However, he vaguely remembered that Lord Liu, while not exactly fawning over Lord Lin, still respected his superior.
I haven't met him directly, but I can tell from Liu Yanming's attitude.
The two adults, though not necessarily standing together, have never been at odds.
"Ahem, it wasn't him. Lord Liu used his connections and has already been transferred."
Fang Yin held the teacup: "The current Assistant Magistrate is Lord Wang."
"Prefect Wang?" Fang Tong recalled this person from his memory.
When they first arrived in the prefectural city, his son was inexplicably harassed by Wang Yang. Because Wang Yang's father was a prefectural judge, his family was quite nervous.
In order to know ourselves and our enemy, we did a lot of investigation into the Wang family.
"Yes, he was promoted from Tongpan to Tongzhi."
Fang Yin nodded.
"Where does the Wang family get the audacity to go against Lord Lin?" Qin Yan hadn't forgotten.
When rumors first circulated in the prefectural city that Lord Lin was going to take on a disciple, Wang Yang seemed to have considered it.
The Wang family had the intention of currying favor with Lord Lin.
Fang Yin smiled and said, "In officialdom, as long as there is profit, there is nothing one wouldn't dare to do."
This statement is tantamount to acknowledging that the Wang family has powerful backers.
"Lord Lin hinted that the Wang family and a certain prince in the capital are quite...close."
Lord Lin didn't say which prince it was, as saying too much would be seen as instigating trouble.
But he is definitely not the crown prince.
Lord Lin wanted to win over Fang Yin because he believed Fang Yin was one of the Crown Prince's men.
Given this, the Crown Prince would not be happy to see other princes getting too close to local officials.
There's another layer of meaning: Lord Lin wanted to curry favor with the Crown Prince through the Fang family.
It's not that I wanted to collude with the Crown Prince, but my position in the Eastern Palace was secure, and as a local official, I also wanted to catch his eye.
Let's leave an impression when the crown prince ascends the throne.
Meng Lan is the daughter of a military general. There are some things she hasn't been involved in, but she knows quite a bit about them.
"There's no need to get involved in local struggles."
“My husband, my father said that if a general wants to last long, he must only do his duty.”
Military generals are inherently more dangerous than civil officials, and those who hold military power are more likely to become targets of the emperor's vigilance.
Fang Yin gave her a reassuring look.
"Don't worry, I have a measure."
"Although Huai'an Prefecture is not in the center, it is not easily attacked. Why does Lord Lin want to increase the number of troops stationed there?"
Fang Tong frowned.
Besides, wouldn't increasing the number of troops stationed here be equivalent to giving Lord Wang more leverage?
"We can look that up," Fang Yin said after thinking for a moment.
He certainly didn't believe everything Lord Lin said.
"You want to interfere?" Meng Lan still understood his unspoken meaning.
"If it's not too difficult, then it's possible." Fang Yin felt a little guilty and touched his nose.
Seeing his wife frown, he quickly explained.
"Lord Lin is very well-informed. He knows that Physician Xing of the Imperial Hospital is preparing a memorial to the throne."
"The memorial requests that disciples of the imperial physicians and medical assistants from the Imperial Hospital be sent to various military camps for training."
"Lord Lin said he was willing to support this policy and cover the doctors' expenses in the prefectural city."
Don't misunderstand, it's not the doctor's personal expenses, but the costs of medicine, accommodation, and travel expenses for treating patients in the military.
In fact, the generals readily agreed to Physician Xing's memorial, since it was a good thing.
The difficulty lies in the fact that this training program was proposed by the Imperial Medical Academy. So, who will cover the expenses: the Imperial Medical Academy, the local government, or the Ministry of War?
There will definitely be a lawsuit over this.
Lord Lin's previous memorial regarding the expenses set a precedent, serving as an example for other prefectures with garrison troops.
Even if they aren't as generous as Lord Lin, they can't be too far behind, otherwise it will seem like they are inferior to Huai'an Prefecture.
Fang Nanzhi was stunned; she had absolutely no idea what the memorial was about.
But my second uncle's willingness to help was definitely not because of Physician Xing.
"Is my name on the list of those going on the training program?"
She pointed to her nose.
Fang Yin nodded: "Yes, this memorial was actually instigated by Physician Xing by Elder Zhou."
He knows so much, of course someone told him.
Yes, it's Physician Xing.
Physician Xing must be very intelligent to become the head of the Imperial Medical Academy.
Old Zhou painted him a big, round pie, arousing his ambition, but it was impossible for him to charge into battle.
Physician Xing knew that Old Master Zhou was already at this age, and his plans for the Imperial Hospital were not for his own sake, nor did the Zhou family have any other promising talents; it was purely for Fang Nanzhi's sake.
Since it's for Fang Nanzhi, he certainly can't let himself be taken advantage of.
I had already spoken with Fang Yin privately long ago.
Once the memorial is submitted, the question will be: General Fang, do you support this? If not, he won't submit it. As a mere imperial physician, he's no match for the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and even local officials who are all vying for their interests.
His Imperial Medical Academy was weak, so weak that it had virtually no say in court.
Fang Yin knew the inside story, but what could he do? He could only agree to give his full support.
Later, he privately went to see Old Master Zhou and learned about the path the old man had planned for Zhizhi. He could only resolutely prepare to take the blow for Physician Xing.
In other words, before even submitting his memorial, Physician Xing had already secured the support of the Crown Prince and Fang Yin.
Physician Xing always sought stability in his work, and this time he demonstrated it to the fullest extent.
However, such matters were relatively secret, and the vast majority of court officials were unaware of them.
Fang Yin truly admired Lord Lin; he was able to get the news even from afar.
After hearing the story from her second uncle, Fang Nanzhi was deeply moved.
“My master really loves me.”
She did so much without her knowing.
"Then let's investigate. But it's too risky; let's not get involved."
Fang Tong thought for a moment.
Although Lord Lin's memorial was important, it was not indispensable.
The family reached a consensus on this matter.
Fang Nanzhi became worried: "But the imperial physicians' disciples, including myself, number only a dozen or so. What good are they if we put them in the military camp?"
There are too few people.
"Physician Xing didn't submit any memorials before we left the capital, which shows that he has a lot of plans and there are definitely more than just a dozen people involved."
Qin Yan thought about it.
"In each imperial physician's family, there isn't only one person who studies medicine."
Especially in families that have practiced medicine for generations, they train their children from a young age, and only one or two may eventually stand out, but the medical skills of the others are enough to serve in the military.
Fang Nanzhi stroked her chin: "To think that only the descendants of imperial physicians are good is too narrow-minded. There are many pharmacies and clinics in the capital, and many good doctors in the private sector as well..."
The more people she wants to get involved with, the more medical skills she can exchange with many excellent doctors, and her progress will be rapid.
Qin Yan glanced at her: "It's probably unlikely that those people will go voluntarily. Don't forget, military doctors are usually conscripted."
They forcibly conscript you, without giving you the right to object.
Therefore, civilian doctors are still very resistant to military doctors. Although both treat illnesses and save lives, military doctors are definitely in more danger.
No doctor was willing to go.
"This is just a medical consultation at the military camp, not a trip to the front lines," Fang Nanzhi muttered.
Qin Yan remained silent.
Fang Nanzhi could figure it out herself. That's what they said, but if a folk doctor really went to various military camps, and the camps refused to release him, they might take the opportunity to conscript him or something.
The sons of imperial physicians don't need to worry about this when they go to gain experience; they have the Imperial Hospital backing them up.
The Imperial Medical Academy was the emperor's personal medical institution, and the generals were unwilling to offend it just to have a few more military doctors in the army.
"It seems this matter is indeed complicated. I wonder how far Physician Xing has progressed."
Fang Nanzhi began to look forward to it.
It's a pity she found out too late, otherwise she could have helped in the capital.
After finishing their business, the family talked about the Chinese New Year. Although they had brought New Year's goods from Beijing, they still wanted to buy more.
Qian Fengping and Meng Lan decided to go to the county town tomorrow, especially Meng Lan.
Since being diagnosed with pregnancy, she has been resting for several days, but she is feeling restless and wants to go out for a walk.
Fang Nanzhi asked her mother to help her buy a lot of fireworks.
Qian Fengping wouldn't refuse such a small request.
Fang Nanzhi went back to rest after chatting until she felt sleepy.
In the following days, she would go to the prefectural city early every morning, recite her lessons on the train, chat with Zheng Wanru at the Zheng residence, and then be forced to read and do her homework. On the way back, she would recite her lessons again.
He was so diligent that Fang Nanzhi was often moved by his own efforts, and then he would reward himself with a big chicken leg.
Who goes back to their hometown for the New Year and works as hard as she does? She doesn't take the imperial examinations.
Woo woo woo.
Even more "unlucky" than her were Wei Qinglin, Yu Zhenghai, and others, whose anticipated and nerve-wracking year-end exams had finally arrived.
Once in the exam hall, even those who were initially confident completely panicked after seeing the last big question.
What is this? It's so difficult?
Where did this question come from? You're so dense, hurry up and think of something!
After handing in their exam papers in a state of anxiety, the students left the examination hall like withered flowers.
No one is excited about the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday; everyone feels they've failed their exams and will have to go home for Chinese New Year to eat bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork.
Their plan was correct. Two days later, the exam results came out, and all the students were disliked and suppressed by the teachers, even Wei Qinglin, who ranked first.
I did a terrible job on the last big question.
Some students felt wronged, believing that the question was beyond the syllabus.
Master Wei gave a cold laugh: "Out of syllabus? It means you haven't read enough. This question was set by Qin Yan. He used to be your classmate."
"Look at him now, where is his level? Where are you? You still have the nerve to say it's beyond the curriculum?"
"If we're really comparing, he's actually a few years younger than most of you!"
The students were so humiliated that they couldn't lift their heads and were unable to refute the criticism.
Wei Qinglin and Yu Zhenghai felt like they had been dealt a heavy blow.
But that wasn't all. Master Wei also publicly posted the answer to the last question, written by Fang Nanzhi.
Whether something is genuine or not, you can tell at a glance.
"Perhaps you feel unconvinced that Qin Yan is now studying at the Imperial Academy, but then look at Fang Nanzhi."
"How old is she? She's a young girl. Besides studying, she also has to learn medicine. She can answer this question. And look at you?"
Master Wei looked disappointed, as if he were looking at a pile of rotten wood.
The students were utterly ashamed and couldn't hold their heads up.
They were somewhat resentful of Qin Yan, who was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.
But Fang Nanzhi... they are so far inferior to others, they really have no face to show their faces.
The students of Songhe Academy felt greatly discouraged and ashamed.
So the teachers took the opportunity to assign three times the usual amount of homework for the New Year holiday.
The students didn't think it was excessive and accepted it without much opposition. If they didn't work hard, they would really be useless.
Thus, the year-end exams had taken a toll on the students' mental and physical well-being, while Master Wei and others smiled contentedly.
The goal has been achieved. Let's see if these kids will still slack off in the future.
On the first day of the holiday, Wei Qinglin didn't leave the house at all; he stayed home to do his homework, which would have been impossible in the past.
Even though he loves reading and is always diligent, he feels like he's been released from his cage as soon as the holidays start. How can he not go out and play?
He got up early to study and continued studying until evening. After reciting his lessons, Wei Qinglin lay on his bed, turned over, and felt a bit tired.
Then, he suddenly sat up, feeling that something was wrong.
At the Yu family home, Yu Zhenghai was doing his homework while crying. It was almost Chinese New Year, and he had been looking forward to the holiday. He should have been able to relax, but how did it turn out like this?
Unable to understand, the two went straight to Mushan Village the next day to confront Qin Yan and Fang Nanzhi!
That's outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
They secretly set questions for the teachers without even reminding them?
Even if you can't say it outright, you can still hint at it.
Qin Yan was dressed in a short robe and trousers, ready to go hunting in the mountains.
He had known how to hunt before, but he had learned to survive in the mountains by himself and couldn't compare to a real hunter.
Besides, he hadn't gone hunting for many years. If it weren't for his second uncle constantly urging him to exercise, he wouldn't have gone these past few days.
Just as they were about to leave, a carriage stopped in front of their house, and two faces, filled with grief and indignation, and on the verge of tears, peered out.
"Qin Yan!"
Qin Yan immediately felt guilty, knowing that they had already finished their exams and gone through some kind of torture.
He pretended not to know anything and greeted them with a smile: "Brother Wei, Brother Yu, what brings you here? Unfortunately, I'm just about to go hunting in the mountains. Why don't you sit down for a while and play with Zhizhi? I'll roast a rabbit for you when I come down from the mountain at noon."
He personally hunted rabbits for his friend; he seemed quite enthusiastic.
But will Yu Zhenghai let him off the hook?
"Qin Yan, I'll fight you to the death!"
The chubby boy—no, the really fat boy—jumped off the carriage, making it tremble.
Yu Zhenghai didn't care about anything else and ran over to grab Qin Yan by the neck.
"Are you even a brother? This is too much! You actually kept something like this from us!"
Wei Qinglin also got out of the car and added fuel to the fire.
"Yes, Qin Yan, you have betrayed our friendship! It hurts, it hurts so much!"
"If you don't give us an explanation today, I'll... I'll..."
Yu Zhenghai's face flushed red, and he couldn't think of any harsh words: "I'm not leaving!"
Qin Yan was being shaken around the neck and couldn't break free for a moment.
Actually, he had been practicing martial arts for a year, and dealing with ordinary people was no problem for him, but Yu Zhenghai... was too fat and had a lot of strength.
"Cough, let me go, I can explain!"
Qin Yan was helpless.
He felt that Master Wei and his group were a bit wicked. Why did they have to betray him, the one who set the questions, when they were setting difficult problems for the students?
Yu Zhenghai finally released the man and stared intently at him along with Wei Qinglin.
"Think carefully before you speak. You only have one chance to make excuses."