Chapter 2622 - 2595: Game of Strategy

After tidying up, Bai Shan and Manbao squeezed together on a couch to read. Manbao disliked the heat and moved aside. Bai Shan leaned back over, glanced at the medical book in her hand, and asked, "Which family’s outpatient visit is it today?"

"The State Duchess Zhao is unwell, we’re visiting her family."

"How is Young Master Zheng’s injury?"

Manbao’s attention was diverted and didn’t mind him being close to her, she confidently said, "He can now speak, though still a bit slow. When he speeds up, he gets confused. But I think if he continues training, the blood clots in his brain will disperse over time, and he will return to normal."

Manbao paused and added, "But he has suffered an injury, and I’m afraid he might develop a future head ailment."

Moreover, the older he gets, the more noticeable it might be.

Though this would be far into the future, Manbao felt she should ponder a solution.

She fell into deep thought, her hand unconsciously set the book down, tapping gently on it, "The Acupuncture technique for awakening the brain has been quite useful, helping with clot dispersal and recovery. But those fractured cranial bones, two aren’t fully aligned, and right now, I have no solution..."

The experiments with the anthropomorphic model in the teaching room showed that the success rate of cranial surgeries isn’t very high.

For Young Master Zheng’s current situation, it offers little help—without cranial correction, he might develop head disorders in the future; with cranial correction, he could die now.

From either a doctor’s or patient’s perspective, cranial surgery isn’t necessary.

Moreover, she’s not sure whether the correction would prevent head disorders in the future.

If a part of a person’s body is heavily injured, even if cured, it may relapse under specific conditions—this is a recurring ailment.

Tellingly, an old waist injury that is fine daily could feel uncomfortable when it’s dreary; should he have a fever or cough, it might easily be triggered.

This old injury heals in flesh and bone to the maximum extent, yet it still happens.

So how can one be sure his cranial bones won’t lead to future head ailments even if they recover normally?

The human body is peculiar, changing with time, yet not just with seasons but with locality and personal timing—like the emperor shouldn’t be in overly humid or hot places, what about Zheng Erlang, Yin Huo, and others?

Manbao suddenly sat up straighter, eyes shining brilliantly, realizing that health isn’t only about diet but also about timing—seasonal, locational, and personal factors—if all three reach optimal states, will the body also be in an optimal state?

Bai Shan noticed her excitement, akin to discovering a room filled with gold, and he waved his hand in front of her eyes; seeing no reaction, he leaned back on the couch and randomly picked a book from the side table to read.

After two pages, he lost interest, got up, and fetched a stack of manuscripts from the study, then placed them on the couch and sat cross-legged, reading while leaning against Zhou Man.

Xi Bing walked by, noticing the candle constantly lit in their room yet hearing no sound, she moved closer to listen.

Jiu Lan saw this, her eyes widened, she pointed, wanting to speak, but Xi Bing hushed her and pulled her to converse in the garden, puzzled, "Strange, why is there no sound at all?"

Jiu Lan’s anger dissipated, curious she asked, "What sound?"

Xi Bing replied, "The sound of renewed intimacy after separation."

Jiu Lan: ...

Her face was a picture of shock as she looked at Xi Bing, "You, you..." unable to say a full sentence.

Xi Bing looked at her strangely, "Me what?"

Jiu Lan stomped her foot, "Aren’t you ashamed?"

"What’s there to be ashamed of, adults are husband and wife," Xi Bing justified, "And isn’t it that you all say the Old Madam looks forward to them having a child?"

With that said, Jiu Lan grew curious, clutched her handkerchief, and suggested, "Should we go to the kitchen and bring some cakes to Master and his lady?"

Xi Bing: "No need, it’s not good to eat cakes at night, but perhaps noodles, pancakes, or roasted meat can be sent instead."

Jiu Lan: "...Isn’t that your idea?"

"That’s what the adults said."

"I’ll ask Aunt Rong to prepare two bowls of silver ear soup; it’s hot now, that’s good to eat."

Xi Bing followed into the kitchen, muttering, "What’s the relation between silver ear soup and hot weather?"

The two went together to bring silver ear soup to the two people in the room, Manbao snapped back to reality, clinking her wooden clogs as she walked over, seeing the steaming soup, she lacked appetite, "Why eat something hot when it’s scorching?"

Bai Shan sat in the chair and said, "Didn’t you mention that food should follow Heavenly Dao’s nature—no cold in summer, no heat in winter?"

Yet sensory experiences matter too, don’t they?

Nonetheless, Manbao sat down, stirred the soup to disperse its heat, intending to eat later.

"So this time you’ve retrieved a significant portion of government field contracts in Qizhou?"

Bai Shan nodded.

Manbao was curious, "How will Minister Liu handle this?"

Bai Shan shook his head, "I don’t know yet, but I think, unless Qizhou repays the purchase money, it won’t get these field contracts back."

Bai Shan’s prediction was accurate; Qizhou’s requests to reclaim contracts were sent twice to the Ministry of Revenue without response. The third time, Qizhou submitted the list of individuals needing Yongye Fields distribution after autumn, and the Ministry only relaxed their stance, saying, "We’ll send back a batch of contracts then."

Governor Yu was furious, unconcerned that he himself was being impeached by the Censorate, he directly filed an impeachment against Minister Liu, accusing the Ministry of Revenue of profiteering with localities, extending their reach into Qizhou.

If the government fields mortgage rests with the Ministry, what’s the point of the purchase for Qizhou’s people?

Minister Liu responded with their financial debt.

If you have the resources, redeem it with real money.

For Governor Yu, producing such funds was impossible; their argument raged through official documents.

Given the proximity of Qizhou, correspondence arrives quickly, ensuring the emperor and the Central Secretariat received letters frequently.

Bai Shan would occasionally select one to present to the emperor.

After half a month of disputes, Minister Liu finally compromised, telling Qizhou, "For convenience, the Ministry of Revenue is willing to return a portion of contracts—spread across all areas, for dividing individual fields, while the remainder stays with us until the debt clears."

This solution was initially proposed, don’t think changing your tone went unnoticed; Governor Yu disagreed.

Minister Liu then bluntly proposed to Qizhou, "You could mortgage some fields to cover the debt, the remainder on credit, repaid yearly after autumn through taxes."

Minister Liu marked fields he selected for return to Qizhou, evenly distributed—mostly middle-tier land, then lesser tier, followed by upper-tier—and widely spread, several hundred acres, not clustered but favoring the side closer to the capital.

Governor Yu recognized the Ministry aimed to use these for official fields.

He couldn’t help but inhale deeply, feeling he endured the world’s greatest malice.