Chapter 257: Chapter 224: Attendant Gentleman of Affairs

"Congratulations, Assistant Minister! Best wishes, Assistant Minister!"

Lin Miao was also taken aback; he didn’t expect why the Emperor suddenly issued a decree appointing him to a nominal official position, it was completely unexpected.

The words on the imperial decree were too vague, conventional phrases that sounded like praise.

However, having such a position was a good thing; at the very least, when he met the officials from Dongshan Prefecture in the future, he wouldn’t need to be so cautious.

After the proclamation officer finished reading the decree, he had to immediately return to the capital to report, and not linger locally, otherwise, it would be against the rules.

After Mr. Sang congratulated Lin Miao, he left as well. He had also received an imperial decree today and couldn’t wait to go home and share the happy news with his family.

Lin Miao being specially appointed by the court as a seventh-rank Assistant Minister quickly spread, shaking up the official circles of Dongshan Prefecture, especially the South City District Commander’s office. When Zheng Dan heard the news, he was so shocked he fell out of his chair.

Although the position of Assistant Minister had no actual official duties, the rank was the same as his, and Lin Miao’s name was now on the Emperor’s register.

How many officials in the Da Li Dynasty could be remembered by the Emperor?

Anyone remembered by the Emperor, especially with a positive impression, would surely ascend to great heights in the future; Zheng Dan also wished to be remembered, but he lacked the qualification.

This man not only could meet officials without bowing, but Zheng Dan also had to salute him with clasped hands when meeting Lin Miao.

Upon accepting everyone’s congratulations, Lin Miao merely rolled up the decree, composed himself a little, and continued diagnosing and treating patients.

With this imperial decree, Lin Miao had essentially passed the "Path to Sainthood" trial; now it was merely about accumulating case studies.

In fact, even without this decree, he would have passed the trial without any problem.

But with this decree, many troubles were effortlessly avoided; no one would deliberately set obstacles for him in this matter anymore.

In the past, he was too passive; now he had backing from above, he could actively retaliate without affecting the trial results.

Wan Bin’s letter arrived soon afterward.

Wang was very excited, writing a lot, over ten pages in all.

After reading Wan Bin’s letter, Lin Miao understood the whole story behind it; it turned out that Wan Bin did all these things for him behind the scenes.

And also Mr. Jia and Guan Biyun, if it weren’t for them secretly sending these two textbooks to Wan Bin. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

There wouldn’t be these subsequent events.

Actually, he hadn’t intended to use "Lin’s Pulse Study Manual" and "Medical Three Character Classics" as stepping stones, but given his current lack of fame, once put forward, not only would they fail to enhance his reputation, they might cause unnecessary trouble instead.

All he wanted now was to smoothly pass through the "trial" and obtain the independent medical qualification; once granted, this would not be easily revoked, especially for "State-selected" physicians, which had very strict regulations.

Before obtaining this qualification, he did not wish for extra complications.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Jia secretly sent them to Li Jing; Wan Bin was indeed reliable, he even went to bet with Master Fu Qingzhu, and recommended these two books to him.

Fortunately, Fu Qingzhu upheld the virtues of a Master; if it were someone else intending to claim the works as their own...

Such things were too common, mentors taking credit for students’ research results, it was widespread in his previous world.

How could a poor lad with no power or background compete with such top-tier figures within the medical realm?

With just one thought, many people could complete it for him; even if he said the two books were his own, how many would doubt it?

Doctors are also people and have desires for fame and fortune.

Otherwise, why pursue the "Path to Sainthood" trial or rankings, isn’t it all driven by the desire for fame and fortune?

Lin Miao also had desires for fame and fortune, but not as intense, and what he wanted was different from these people.

What he desired was the power to control his destiny, rather than mere money, power, or even status within the medical realm, etc.

Anyway, he accepted their kindness, should be thankful, and would remember it.

Seeing Lin Miao take the imperial decree, and after simply accepting the congratulations, returned to the clinic to treat patients, with his attitude towards patients unchanged, Guan Biyun secretly nodded; at such a young age, to have such poise and not be carried away by this honor was truly remarkable.

While Lien Yurou has been frequenting the inn more often lately, sometimes returning very late at night.

Ah, a young girl’s thoughts, Guan Biyun, as the mentor, certainly understood; but with how many outstanding girls are around Lin Miao, her disciple is not the most exceptional one. If she has such thoughts, she might face troubles later.

She actually also had some worries; with so many girls around Lin Miao in the future, how should these relationships be handled, can’t keep going like this forever?

Lien Yurou’s family is also unusual; her marriage can hardly be decided by her mentor.

...

Many people spend their lives striving for an official title, but some can obtain it effortlessly; the differences between people are truly unpredictable.

...

Dongshan Prefecture.

"What, the Emperor decreed appointing Lin Miao as a seventh-rank Assistant Minister?" Pei Jian was also astounded upon hearing this news.

"The decree was delivered directly to Lin Miao in person, and it was Mr. Sang from the Medical Bureau who personally brought it." Zhuo Qingfeng explained.

"There was not the slightest indication beforehand, suddenly sending someone to proclaim the decree?" Pei Jian was very curious.

"Mr. Dong, should we quickly write a letter and ask someone in the capital to inquire for us?" Zhuo Qingfeng suggested.

"If there’s news, it should come soon." Pei Jian shook his head; since the decree came from the palace, there surely weren’t many who knew, even if they found out later, they’d be a step behind the decree.

"Master, the messenger from Li Jing has arrived!"

Speaking of the letter, the messenger just arrived.

"I’ll go." Zhuo Qingfeng rose and headed outside; merely a messenger, not enough to warrant Pei Jian’s personal audience.

Zhuo Qingfeng returned shortly, carrying an envelope marked with a fire seal.

At a glance, it was clearly sent from the Eastern Palace.

Pei Jian was recommended by the Eastern Palace, so correspondence with them was quite normal.

Eastern Palace’s letters, marked with a fire seal, of course, could only be opened and read by Pei Jian; no one else had the authority or qualification.

Opening a fire-sealed letter has its intricacies; an unknowing person who reseals a letter after opening it will be discovered.

The confidentiality measures of the letter were very thorough.

As soon as the letter was opened, Pei Jian recognized the handwriting; it was from the Eastern Palace’s secretary, Guo Nu, stamped with the Crown Prince’s private seal.

The content covered quite a lot, mainly about various significant and minor incidents occurring in Li Jing, predominantly centering around the autumn hunting event. Court ministers were divided into two factions, the civil officials group and the military officer group, endlessly disputing whether the youngsters of civil officials could qualify to participate in the autumn hunt. One side disagreed, thinking it fundamentally beneficial while the Emperor’s attitude remained ambiguous, with no conclusion reached. This conflict wasn’t much of Pei Jian’s concern; he was more interested in content relating to Dongshan Prefecture. The letter mentioned Mr. Fu Qingzhu hosting a public lecture at Qihuang Research Institute and how the lecture related to a physician named Lin Miao from Dongshan Prefecture...

Upon seeing this, Pei Jian immediately understood the sudden reason for Lin Miao’s promotion; it turned out he had caught Mr. Fu’s attention and was mentioned before the Emperor.

But merely this shouldn’t make the Emperor favor so greatly, personally issuing an edict for a direct promotion to seventh rank, civil official grade. Looking further, he saw that Prince Jing’s grandson had his rabies cured, also due to Lin Miao’s prescription...

He had suspected this, considering Lin Miao had previously cured cases in Dongshan Prefecture, the news then spread like wildfire.

Previously, news from the Eastern Palace mentioned the prescription was presented by the Imperial Pharmacy, which he hadn’t given much thought to, as the dealing within the Imperial Pharmacy was outside his local officialdom jurisdiction.

Now it appears, Prince Jing’s grandson’s survival was related to Lin Miao, a tremendous achievement indeed. Although the prescription wasn’t voluntarily offered by him, being its inventor, without the prescription, the grandson wouldn’t have survived.

In this way, a special conferment of a civil official rank isn’t surprising.

As for other matters in the letter, they had little connection to Lin Miao. After Pei Jian finished reading, he found nothing particularly secretive and handed it directly to Zhuo Qingfeng, saving the need for explanation.

"Mr. Dong, it seems we should invest more in Mr. Lin; according to what is tied in the Crown Prince’s letter, this is indeed the implication." After reading, Zhuo Qingfeng exclaimed.

"Qingfeng, under my name, select a congratulatory gift and send it to Mr. Lin," Pei Jian instructed thoughtfully, "And, make a trip to the Ye Family to warn Ye Shengyuan that the matter of ’Herbal License’ should not be turned into a problem anymore, and have Gong Shida personally deliver it."

"Yes, Mr. Dong."

"Has there been any news from Longchuan Canyon lately?" Pei Jian asked.

"No, though a new shop has opened in Li Hen City, selling peculiar things, mainly specializing in crystal sugar, priced thirty percent below normal, yet in limited daily supply and in high demand!" Zhuo Qingfeng replied.

"Crystal sugar?" Pei Jian was momentarily taken aback.

"Reportedly, the quality of the crystal sugar is extremely high, nearly comparable to the snow crystal offered by Great Yue Country to the Emperor," Zhuo Qingfeng added.

"Find a way to purchase some," Pei Jian instructed.

"Yes, Mr. Dong."

...

The Emperor issued an edict, specially conferring Lin Miao as a seventh rank academic officer!

This news reached the Ye Mansion, and Ye Mi Yuan, who had just gotten out of bed and walked slowly with crutches, almost collapsed mentally upon hearing it.

The enemy was not only becoming stronger but now received a prestigious position many covet.

A seventh rank position, albeit honorary, is something even he, as a former theft officer, must look up to.

Afterwards, Ye Shengyuan, with a dark face, came to find him.

An even worse tidbit; Prefect Pei Jian dispatched his close confidant to warn him personally not to target Lin Miao anymore. There was no evidence linking his son’s accidental death to Lin Miao, and should Ye Shengyuan persist in senseless protests or secret harm, Dongshan Prefecture would intervene. Lin Miao’s now an official; any incident happening to him would see Pei Jian, as the local authority, accountable.

Additionally, regarding Anning Hall’s ’Herbal License,’ Pei Jian explicitly requested Gong Shida deliver the ’Herbal License’ permission directly to the recipient.

This gesture obviously entailed compensation.

Dare he not comply?

Although he maintained close ties with Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion, neither having an official rank nor capable of the Marquis’s wife advocating for him in this matter because he was not the president of the Pharmacist Association; Gong Shida was to represent this case, and he was his man...

Therefore, he could merely displease Gong Shida, but since Gong Shida managed affairs on his behalf, the result? Handling the affair means suffering losses and grievances.

Persist under such circumstances; who would be willing to work on his behalf?

"Patriarch, following this, we can no longer target the Lin boy directly. Do you know why he was suddenly specially appointed as a seventh rank academic officer? It seems there’s someone behind this affair," Ye Mi Yuan analyzed.

"It could be the Imperial Pharmacy Inspector, Wan Bin, who came to Dongshan half a year ago. However, given his rank, he lacks eligibility even to present at court, how could he orchestrate such a major incident?" Ye Shengyuan was quite acquainted with the intricacies of court politics.

Based on Wan Bin’s capacity, it’s entirely impossible to achieve this.

"Patriarch, until we ascertain the person behind Lin Miao, we cannot act hastily to avoid unnecessary troubles."

"I understand, Mi Yuan, how is your leg injury healing?"

"I’m able to walk around; the recovery is quite good. That Lin fellow’s medical skills indeed are remarkable..." Despite Ye Mi Yuan’s deep animosity toward Lin Miao, he must concede his medical expertise is beyond dispute.

"Find an opportunity to visit and express gratitude; it could also serve to mislead the opposition."

"Patriarch, I had the same intention."