Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1773 Consort Pei's Views on Love

Yijing Medical College

As usual, Bae Ji-soo finished teaching the female students and announced the end of get out of class. Anyone who didn't understand the content could come to her, and she would explain it to them.

Everything was normal until a conversation among a few girls caught Bae Ji-soo's attention.

"Hey! Han Rui, what's your decision?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Of course, it's about staying at the medical school after graduation!"

"I haven't made up my mind yet!"

"What's there to consider! The spots in medical school are so precious, I hear lots of people want to stay in medical school!"

"Just think about it, the basic salary for staying at the medical school for a year is only fifteen taels of silver. That's a full fifteen taels of silver! My dad and my brother couldn't earn that much even if they worked for a year. And that's just the basic salary. There are also bonuses during festivals. If you're lucky, you can get twenty or thirty taels of silver a year! That's why my dad made me sign up to stay at the medical school!"

"If I can stay at the medical school as a royal physician, I will have a chance to meet His Majesty. If His Majesty likes me this way, I will become an empress, and my family will finally be able to get through this difficult time!"

Hearing her friend say that, Han Rui couldn't help but chuckle and said:
"Bailing, stop daydreaming! What are you doing in broad daylight? The palace is full of beauties, and countless women wait for His Majesty's favor every day. How could His Majesty possibly take a liking to you..."

When her best friend Han Rui complained, the round-faced girl Liu Bailing didn't take it to heart and said:

"That's not necessarily true! The women in the palace are like the big fish and meat dishes. Maybe His Majesty has already gotten tired of them and wants to eat my humble dish of scallions and tofu. Besides, don't those novels say that His Majesty gets drunk at banquets and becomes infatuated, and in the end, I might just end up getting the best deal!"

As she finished speaking, a hint of longing appeared in Liu Bailing's eyes, clearly indicating that she wasn't just saying it casually, but genuinely had such thoughts.

Seeing her best friend like this, Han Rui's expression was also somewhat complicated. A few days ago, the medical school issued a notice to the female students, saying that the medical school planned to select a few students with good academic performance from the dozens of female students in their class to become female imperial physicians, specializing in treating the empresses and noble ladies in the palace.

Perhaps to encourage these female students to compete with each other and make progress together, the medical school also posted outlining their salary and benefits standards.

Because female imperial physicians were a novelty in medical schools, their salary standards were based on those of the lowest-ranking imperial physicians. However, they still received a basic salary of fifteen taels of silver per year, with additional rewards during festivals. If they could accumulate seniority in medical schools for a few years without making any major mistakes, they would have the opportunity to advance. In this way, they could earn several dozen taels of silver per year just from their salary!
Earning ten or even several dozen taels of silver a year would be a high income for ordinary people, but for the imperial physicians at the medical school, it was nothing at all…

If a doctor is highly skilled and cures the illnesses of high-ranking officials and nobles, those officials and nobles will not be stingy and may give twenty or thirty taels of silver at a time, enough for an ordinary person to make a living for five or six years!
That's not even the worst case; the worst case was when imperial physicians took on private jobs!
The imperial physicians of the medical school were required to treat high-ranking officials and nobles; it was their official duty. If they failed to perform their duties properly, they would be punished.

However, treating other people's illnesses was no longer the imperial physicians' official duty; whether or not they were treated depended entirely on their own whims.

For example, some wealthy merchants in Yijing City are richer than ordinary officials and nobles, but their political status is not high, so they are not qualified to hire imperial physicians from the medical academy to treat them like those officials and nobles. The richer people are, the more afraid they are of death, so in order to live longer, they are willing to pay high prices to hire better doctors to treat them when they are sick. Imperial physicians are undoubtedly the most skilled medical people in the Great Qian Dynasty.

To hire imperial physicians to treat their illnesses, these wealthy merchants were often very willing to spend money. Even for ordinary imperial physicians from medical schools, they were often willing to spend forty or fifty taels of silver. In fact, to hire a more skilled imperial physician, they were even willing to spend hundreds of taels of silver!
Because of these lucrative private jobs, almost all the imperial physicians in the medical school are among the highest-income earners in Yijing. Each of them has a private courtyard in the city of Yijing, and on average, each has at least three wives and concubines!
The female students were well aware of the numerous benefits of becoming imperial physicians at the medical school. Most of them came from ordinary families, some even quite impoverished. Therefore, when the opportunity arose, these young women became excited and eagerly began applying…

Hearing the conversation between her two students, Bae Ji-soo felt a pang of sadness.

She originally thought that by teaching these students medical skills, she could enable these female students to be more independent in this world and not have to rely on men so much. However, she did not expect that Liu Bailing would still want to rely on men in the end.

And what's most ridiculous and absurd is that the man she most wanted to be with was actually her own husband, the teacher!
At this moment, Pei Zhixiu really wanted to tell Liu Bailing that the palace was not as good as she thought. The huge palace was like a cage. Although the concubines in the palace were all adorned with jewels and looked elegant and noble, they were actually like canaries trapped in a cage. They had no freedom at all, and every day they could only immerse themselves in the jealousy and rivalry among women. Just thinking about such a life was suffocating.

Although she really wanted to tell Liu Bailing about her feelings about the palace, Pei Zhixiu thought about it carefully and realized that everyone has their own pursuits.

For ordinary girls, the wealth and luxury of the palace might be what they pursue their whole lives. Thinking of this, Pei Zhixiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

While Pei Zhixiu was disappointed, Han Rui was also deeply conflicted. She was actually quite interested in staying at the hospital as a female imperial physician, given her family's financial situation. Although Pei Zhixiu had lent her thirty taels of silver, enabling her elder brother to successfully marry, her father remained ill and bedridden. Without their father's care, her brother, a mediocre carpenter, couldn't earn much, and the family's finances were increasingly strained…
Therefore, if she could become a royal physician under such circumstances, the entire family would experience a significant improvement. First, her father might not have to lie at home waiting to die as he does now, and second, the family would no longer have to squeeze into a crowded tenement.

Despite understanding her family's predicament, Han Rui, as a girl of marriageable age, still found it difficult to accept living in the same house as her father and brothers, separated only by a cloth, under the influence of feudal etiquette. What she longed for most was a house of her own. Besides this, Han Rui also wanted to buy herself two pieces of gold jewelry. This was partly due to her love of beauty as a young woman, and partly because she knew her family had no money left for a dowry. She wanted a dowry to avoid being looked down upon by her in-laws after marriage, and she would have to rely on her own efforts to save up for it.

Finally, although Pei Zhixiu clearly stated when lending the money to Han Rui that Han Rui would repay it if she had the money in the future, and that she didn't need to repay it if she didn't have the money, Han Rui was very grateful for Pei Zhixiu's assistance. However, she was still quite proud at heart, and she hoped that the money was a loan from Pei Zhixiu to her, rather than a handout.

Therefore, she did intend to return the silver to Pei Zhixiu. Although she knew that thirty taels of silver might be a huge sum for an ordinary family in the Great Qian Dynasty, it was nothing to Pei Zhixiu...

It can be said that all of Han Rui's current ideas can become reality after she becomes a female imperial physician in the future. She can move out of the tenement, live in a separate room, save up a generous dowry for herself, and even repay her mentor's money.

If that were all there was to it, Han Rui shouldn't be so conflicted; she should have signed up immediately, just like her classmates.

However, Han Rui had some unspeakable secrets in her heart. Some reasons prevented her from immediately registering. Thinking of this, Han Rui's gaze fell on Pei Zhixiu beside her. Originally, Han Rui wanted to think about the problem alone, but she immediately had the idea of ​​listening to her mentor about her inner struggles.

With this thought in mind, Han Rui waited until Pei Zhixiu finished tutoring the other students before coming to her mentor.

Having overheard Han Rui and Liu Bailing's conversation, and seeing Han Rui's incredibly conflicted expression, Pei Zhixiu already guessed some of Han Rui's thoughts. Although somewhat helpless, Pei Zhixiu pretended not to know and asked her:

"Han Rui, do you have any questions about the content of this lesson?"

Although she had already made up her mind to ask her mentor's opinion, Han Rui still felt a little shy when faced with the question, thinking about what she was going to say next. However, after hesitating for two seconds, the young girl mustered up her courage and spoke:
"Mr. Pei, I have no questions about the content of this lesson, but I have a question about my life that I'd like to ask you..."

"Oh, tell me!"

After receiving permission from Bae Ji-soo, Han Rui poured out all her thoughts to Bae Ji-soo.

Upon hearing this, Bae Ji-soo went straight to the heart of the matter, saying:

"Since becoming a female imperial physician has helped your life so much, what are you hesitating about, Han Rui?"

Seeing that her mentor had finally asked the question, Han Rui, although somewhat prepared, fell silent again. After a few seconds, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said somewhat shyly:

"Sir, I have someone I like, but he doesn't want to stay in Yijing in the future!"

Bae Ji-soo was slightly surprised by Han Rui's answer, but upon reflection, it was not unexpected, but it was also reasonable. Girls like Han Rui are currently in the midst of their youthful innocence and yearn for a passionate love affair. Therefore, love is an important factor for them when considering their future.

As someone who's been through it all, Bae Ji-soo really wanted to tell Han Rui that, based on her experience, most men in this world are unreliable. Before they get you, they'll shower you with sweet words and make grand promises, acting like they'd give you their heart to prove their love.

However, once the novelty wears off, a man's love will gradually recede like the tide. At that point, they will reveal their true colors. He will gradually become impatient with you, insult you, or even beat you.

Women in those times often felt like crying but had no tears left. If they had children, they were in a situation where they couldn't live or die, and could only endure a life of humiliation and hardship day after day...

Although she really wanted to tell Han Rui these words, Pei Zhixiu thought again. She had told Han Rui that men were unreliable, but back then she had made the exact opposite choice. She had chosen to believe Ye Mingsheng, and Ye Mingsheng had not let her down. Now she was living the wonderful life she had always dreamed of.

From this perspective, it seems I shouldn't oppose Han Rui pursuing love; in fact, I should encourage her to do so!
But the question is, how many men like Ye Mingsheng, who remain consistent and have a conscience, are there in reality?
When Pei Zhixiu received female patients at the Kai Changshan Medical Clinic, these women would often tell her about their life experiences while receiving treatment. Pei Zhixiu heard too many complaints and grievances, which led her to lose faith in love, even though she was successful in her relationships. She didn't believe that other people could be as lucky as she was and find a man worthy of entrusting their lives to.

Moreover, from a personal perspective, Bae Ji-soo also did not want Han Rui to become a female royal physician.

Although Bae Ji-soo was unaware of the notice issued by the medical school to female students before, after Han Rui's description, she understood that the medical school was implementing the Empress Dowager's idea.

After these female students become female imperial physicians and enter the palace, Pei Zhixiu's identity will inevitably be exposed. In order to allow her to teach with peace of mind, the medical school had previously issued orders to all lecturers and professors, requiring them not to reveal their identities. But if these female students she teaches become female imperial physicians, can she still teach them medical skills with the same peace of mind as she does now?

(End of this chapter)