The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2353: Chapter 2328: Where Did These Come From?

Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang saw Yin Huo and Liu Huan at the palace gate. The five exchanged glances and then lowered their heads, following the eunuch leading them into the palace.

Manbao and Bai Shan held items in their arms. The guards needed to open and inspect them. Manbao said, "These are records related to the cowpox."

As for the box in Bai Shan’s hand, he said, "This is our New Year gift to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."

The guards looked at them, still opened the box for inspection, confirmed there were no sharp objects, and then let them pass.

Once they were gone, the guards couldn’t help but whisper, "They must be really wealthy."

The eunuch, aware they brought gifts for the emperor, quietly reminded them halfway along, "His Majesty is in a good mood, having had breakfast with Prince Gong and the princesses."

Manbao immediately became alert, gratefully looked at him, and Bai Shan even slipped a pouch into his hand.

The eunuch declined, as many in the palace had benefited from Zhou Man’s kindness, so unless their master expressly intended to trouble someone, they generally wouldn’t want to give Zhou Man any trouble.

Bai Shan could only take back the pouch and followed the eunuch all the way to the Taiji Hall.

The emperor was not in the main hall, but in the study at the back.

Upon entering, they noticed Prince Gong was there, sitting at a desk writing. A glance suggested he was being punished with writing.

The five quickly averted their gaze and knelt to pay respects to the emperor.

The emperor looked up from his desk, glanced at them, and upon seeing the two boxes on the ground, snorted lightly, "You arrived quite quickly. I thought if I called you in the morning, maybe I’d only see you by evening."

Manbao immediately took the lead to plead guilty, saying, "With Your Majesty’s summons, how dare we be slow."

"Then tell me how this journey to the Western Regions went," the emperor recalled something, paused their speaking, and said, "Let’s not talk about going, only about returning."

"On the way out, you had plenty of reasons, inquiring about medical treatments along the way, I know about that. But coming back, how did you manage to arrive in Shazhou with General Ashina, set out the same day from Shazhou, and yet be delayed by... how many days was it?"

He turned to ask Gu Zhong.

Gu Zhong bowed and quietly replied, "Twenty-six days."

"How did you manage to arrive twenty-six days later than General Ashina in the capital? That’s enough time for someone to make another round trip to the Western Regions."

Manbao added, "At most, only to Shazhou and back."

The emperor was furious, "Is Shazhou not far enough west? You took twenty-six days from Shazhou to the capital, that’s two round trips for someone else. How dare you talk back to me?"

Everyone lowered their heads and knelt obediently, Bai Shan pleaded guilty, "It was us who delayed on the way. Returning to the capital, we also brought old soldiers who had been inoculated with cowpox. Some were injured, some old and frail, and they traveled by ox cart, so the speed was much slower."

The emperor frowned, "Is there no one in Anxi? Why use a group of old soldiers for inoculation?"

Manbao explained, "It was during the heat of battle, and inoculating with cowpox is a matter of life and death. It’s best done willingly."

The emperor, though he wanted to reprimand them, knew the matter was important. He reluctantly motioned for them to rise and report, asking, "How is the cowpox project progressing?"

Manbao immediately opened the box, took out two booklets and a thick stack of papers, and began reporting.

The emperor was pleased to hear there were no deaths and they could ensure immunity to smallpox, "Truly?"

Manbao acknowledged and submitted the booklets and materials.

The emperor flipped through the materials, unable to understand the recorded pulse patterns, but he could grasp terms like fever, high fever, low fever, and rash.

The emperor focused on the test subjects’ household registrations and experiences, knocking on the table and asking, "Did you bring these people back to keep under observation?"

Manbao: "...Not necessarily confined. Over three months have passed since inoculation, and observing another three months should confirm if there are any side effects."

She said, "If they can stay in the capital, that’s great. If they wish to return home, local officials can take doctors to check their pulse and physical condition."

The emperor waved his hand grandly, "Why so troublesome? Let the internal treasury arrange for them. Since they are old soldiers, they should be able to tend horses and farm. I’ll have them settled in the imperial estate."

Bai Shan couldn’t help but say, "Your Majesty, they are discharged, already removed from the military records."

"I didn’t say to let them continue as soldiers, just to keep them in the imperial estate to observe. The matter of cowpox is significant, cannot be taken lightly."

If cowpox vaccination is confirmed feasible, Great Jin’s people might not suffer from cowpox in the future.

Bai Shan didn’t object further.

The emperor then asked again about their journey back, "Though you brought many people and could travel slowly, tell me how you managed to be twenty-six days slower than General Ashina?"

He could at most be five or six days slower, considering General Ashina, though hurrying, wasn’t made of iron and needed time coming back, right?

This time the five didn’t make excuses, lowering their heads to admit fault.

The emperor snorted coldly, staring at them for a while before looking at the other box and asking, "What’s in this one?"

Bai Shan immediately lifted the box and said, "These are some local products we collected in the Western Regions, especially brought for Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress as a New Year’s gift."

The emperor glanced at Gu Zhong, who immediately smiled, stepped forward, took the box, opened it for the emperor to see.

Inside were spices and gemstones, stored in separate boxes.

The emperor wasn’t fond of musk, preferring styrax. There was a whole piece of styrax in the box, and upon opening, a gentle fragrance slowly wafted out.

The emperor’s expression brightened considerably, and he asked, "I’ve heard you participated in the Western expedition and acquired many trophies?"

Bai Shan immediately stated that all trophies were submitted to General Ashina for registration and handed to the national treasury. He paused and explained, "During the re-attack on Kucha’s Wang City, to boost morale, the army allocated the first batch of trophies to the soldiers to encourage the siege."

He continued, "Since the soldiers risked their lives, we couldn’t break our word. Thus, that portion remained with them."

General Ashina had reported all this, and the emperor nodded slightly, then asked, "Where did you get these gemstones and spices?"

Bai Shan and the others answered confidently, "Bought!"

"Is that so?" The emperor looked at them skeptically, "Do you have that much money?"