Chapter 1752: Chapter 1752: Catchphrase

"What do they mean?"

The onlooking commoners didn’t know many characters, so for the moment they couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of these words.

Magistrate Hao, who had come along, felt they were embarrassing him, so he raised his voice and explained, "It means the Emperor is praising Mrs. Qin Gu, saying she has rendered service by making the Insect Attractant and resisting the Rong people, and that she ought to be treated generously!"

"Oh, so that’s what it means, got it, got it. We will definitely treat Mrs. Qin well and never let her suffer any grievance."

Someone else shouted at the top of his lungs, "Whoever dares make Mrs. Qin suffer is going against the Lord Emperor!!"

The voice was loud and clear, full of strength—one could tell at a glance it belonged to a practitioner. Needless to say, he was someone arranged by Qin San Lang.

Qin San Lang wanted to use this momentum to protect Gu Jinli, to spread the Emperor’s words until everyone knew them. So he had planted his own men among the onlookers, specifically to lead the chanting.

Later on, the line "having rendered service to the state, she ought to be treated generously" even became Gu Jinli’s catchphrase. Whenever some short?sighted noblewoman or official’s daughter tried to embarrass her in public, she would say, "The Emperor, that old gentleman, said that I have rendered service to the state and ought to be treated generously."

You’re making things hard for me—are you trying to go against the Emperor?

The move was indeed very effective. After hearing this, the onlooking commoners all shouted, "That’s right, Mrs. Qin is our benefactor, no one can bully her, otherwise you’re going against the Emperor—you’re rebelling!"

"Enough!" Magistrate Hao felt like dying; talking about rebellion—were those two words something you could just throw around?

Vice Minister Ban heard this but didn’t get angry. He smiled faintly, then turned to face the Lei Family’s Courtyard.

Inside the Lei Family’s Courtyard the main gate stood wide open. Qin San Lang and Zhang Yan, together with several Company Commanders and Chief Commanders, came out first. Ms. Gao Lei led the Company Commanders’ Wife and Chief Commander Wife to stand half a丈 behind them; they all knelt and cried in unison, "We subjects / civilian women respectfully welcome Your Majesty’s grace and knock our heads to thank Your Majesty’s grand favor."

After that they added, "Greetings, Lord Assistant Minister."

With that said, they remained kneeling, waiting for the imperial reward to enter.

Vice Minister Ban did not keep them kneeling for long; he immediately went inside. His bearing was quite fine—he could even make walking while carrying a tray of Gold look pleasing to the eye, which truly excited the middle?aged aunties watching the spectacle; faces flushed, they whispered gossip to one another.

Delivering an imperial gift of reward is a bothersome business: you have to set up an incense table, chant auspicious phrases, perform three kneelings and nine kowtows. By the time Gu Jinli actually received the Gold, an hour had already passed.

Gu Jinli grumbled inwardly—these hundred tael of Gold were really not easy to earn. Fortunately, there was that one line that would let her swagger sideways through life, so it wasn’t a loss.

"Much obliged, Lord Ban." As Gu Jinli’s husband, Qin San Lang stepped forward to socialize with Vice Minister Ban, then said, "Seeing as it’s almost noon, we’ve prepared some food in the courtyard. Would you care to stay for lunch?"

He finished and lifted a smile; in that instant, Vice Minister Ban’s eyes lit up... This young man’s features were carved like with knife and axe, his appearance rather cold and hard. Plus, as a commander of troops, he carried a heavy murderous aura. Yet who would have thought that once he smiled, it was like warm April sunlight breaking through the clouds—warm and dazzling.

Oh? He even had a dimple.

Holding a tray of Gold, Gu Jinli glanced at Vice Minister Ban’s expression and smiled... Brother Qin truly deserved the title of "middle?aged and elderly relatives’ killer"—with one smile, older folks’ goodwill toward him doubled.

Vice Minister Ban had heard that Qin San Lang’s parents were both gone; his look turned fatherly as he smiled and said, "No need. Take us to the medicine storeyard first to have a look at that insect repellent Divine Medicine."

This was serious business; they had been thinking about it all the way here after hearing of it.

He turned to Gu Jinli again. "You come along as well."

Seeing that her face was covered with a veil and that she carried a faint medicinal smell, he said, "There are Imperial Physicians accompanying us. In a bit I’ll have an Imperial Physician take your pulse and look at your face."

The Heavenly Dao is truly fair—it gave Mrs. Qin Gu great skill, yet also sent her the calamity of disfigurement.

However, Vice Minister Ban did not show a single trace of disgust, afraid that Mrs. Qin Gu might think too much and do something foolish... But seeing how she was grinning foolishly while clutching the Gold, she should be big?hearted and unlikely to seek death.

Gu Jinli said with a smile, "You needn’t worry, my lord. I have medical skills myself, and there are also doctors in our convoy. We’ve been treating it with medicine all along; the pustules on my face have already begun to improve bit by bit."

She added, "The Imperial Physicians hold official posts and bear heavy duties; there’s no need to waste their effort on a junior like me."

The two accompanying Imperial Physicians were very satisfied when they heard this and found Gu Jinli much more pleasing to the eye. The young Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu said, "Mrs. Qin, lead the way quickly."

His tone was a bit stiff, tinged with arrogance.

But very soon, he found he couldn’t keep being arrogant.

In the medicine storeyard, Senior Doctor Xu and Doctor Fang were in the room carefully researching the Rong bandits’ insect repellent Divine Medicine. They were making good progress and had already found a medicinal ingredient to replace newt liver.

"This is the juice of four?footed snake liver?" Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu stared at the pea?sized four?footed snake liver in front of him, unable to believe that this was a new medicinal ingredient compounded from four?footed snake liver, Black Vine Juice, and stone frost powder.

Senior Doctor Xu nodded, his old face full of smiles. "Yes, it is precisely a newly compounded medicinal ingredient. For this ingredient to be made, we really have Mrs. Qin to thank. Without the pharmacology manual she wrote for the anti?parasitic medicine, we could have racked our brains and still never come up with it."

The pharmacology manual contained a line: All things under heaven can enter medicine, and all things can be compounded into new medicines. If there is no medicine, then create one.

Senior Doctor Xu felt this made excellent sense.

And being able to compound a new medicinal ingredient gave him great satisfaction!

Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu listened, glanced sideways at Gu Jinli, and said coolly, "The compounding of medicines has existed since ancient times; it’s nothing rare."

Senior Doctor Xu was displeased. "But being able, in a short period of time, to crack all the medicinal ingredients in the Rong bandits’ insect repellent Divine Medicine and precisely find new medicines to replace them—that’s not so easy, is it?"

Without real skill, it simply couldn’t be done.

Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu frowned at this. Doctor Shi, standing beside him, feared he might say something inappropriate, so he hurried to speak first: "It truly isn’t easy. Mrs. Qin is indeed someone who has rendered service to the state; this old man is impressed."

He then asked, "Mrs. Qin, where is that pharmacology manual? Could you let this old man have a look?"

Gu Jinli said, "Senior Doctor Xu and the others have already copied two volumes. You can ask them for one to read. We dependants following the army are about to set out for Daokou Gully and have been busy packing these days."

The implication was: I don’t have time. For matters concerning the anti?parasitic medicine, go to those two; I’m not involved.

Anyway, she counted as a participant; once the insect repellent was successfully developed, she would still earn some merit.

Doctor Shi then asked Senior Doctor Xu, "Brother Xu, could you lend me the pharmacology manual?"

Senior Doctor Xu’s heart ached—he cherished that pharmacology manual immensely and didn’t want to lend it out at all.

But the other party was an Imperial Physician from the Imperial Hospital in the Capital; Senior Doctor Xu couldn’t refuse, so he had an attendant bring the pharmacology manual over.

After reading it, Doctor Shi kept exclaiming in astonishment, thoroughly hooking Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu’s curiosity. Xiao Liu asked for the manual to read... and his scorn for Gu Jinli vanished.

Originally he had thought she was merely a scheming woman good at opportunistic tricks. Who would have thought she truly had real ability—she had written down, clear as day, every medicinal ingredient in the Rong bandits’ insect repellent Divine Medicine, its properties, benefits, harms, and even which substances it conflicted with.

Imperial Doctor Xiao Liu’s medical skills were quite good; he had entered the Imperial Medical Bureau at a young age and was very proud. At this moment, however, he bowed to Gu Jinli and said sincerely, "I was shallow and ignorant. Please do not hold it against me, Mrs. Qin."

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