Looking at the lady sitting in the hall, Prefect Zhou of Qingyuan couldn't help but smile until his eyes almost disappeared.
Unlike the commoners, he knew that Miss Jun had arrived in the western route of Hebei long ago, and he had thought about inviting Miss Jun to make a trip here.
But after hearing that both Daming Prefecture and Kaide Prefecture had sent out invitations, Prefect Zhou gave up on the idea.
Although Qingyuan Prefecture is located towards the north in the middle of the western route of Hebei, the nearby Zhending Prefecture could be attacked by Jin thieves, so Qingyuan Prefecture was not a safe place either.
It would have been fine for any other doctor to come, but how could a person like Miss Jun take such a risk to come here?
Moreover, from Xiangzhou to Qingyuan Prefecture is a long journey, compared to other places' invitations, they had no advantage whatsoever.
Unexpectedly, Miss Jun really did come. When he saw the token brought by people, Prefect Zhou thought he was dreaming, but after the Shopkeeper of De Sheng Chang repeatedly assured him, he could only be half-convinced.
Only now, seeing the lady sitting before him, did Prefect Zhou truly believe he had caught a pie that fell from the sky.
"I didn't expect Miss Jun would actually come to our place, I found out too late and couldn't welcome you," he couldn't help but say.
'Welcome' is not a word that should be used for this lady. After all, she was here on command, and in terms of rank, Prefect Zhou was higher.
But in the face of life-saving achievements and public opinion, who cared about that? Having Miss Jun here this year, his future official career was likely to advance.
"I didn't intend to come," said Miss Jun.
Her words made Prefect Zhou startle for a moment, and Lei Zhonglian also glanced sideways.
This was awkward.
How should he respond?
"After finishing in Xiangzhou, I was planning to return to the capital, but then I received a letter from Duke Chengguo," Miss Jun continued.
Her words made Prefect Zhou stall again, while Lei Zhonglian's eyebrows twitched.
A letter? Duke Chengguo?
"Duke Chengguo invited me to vaccinate the people of Qingyuan Prefecture," Miss Jun said with a calm and honest demeanor. "He said that the people in the northern lands have suffered hardships, have been looted, and always live in fear of invasions. If their suffering from diseases can be alleviated and some children's lives can be saved, it would firstly be fortunate for the people, and secondly fortunate for the northern lands. After all, people are the foundation of a nation. With an unbroken lineage, we can also resist the Jin thieves."
Prefect Zhou listened with his mouth agape, his expression turning solemn and excited.
Lei Zhonglian looked stunned, his eyes couldn't hide his admiration.
This had never been mentioned before, was it made up on the spot?
Admirable.
Such lies came out effortlessly and with an unchanging face; he hadn't realized that Miss Jun, such a quiet-looking young lady, possessed such a skill.
Moreover, she had just given Duke Chengguo a free boost to his reputation.
Was it because of that Noble Son Jiu?
Was it not enough just to give him money? Now also giving his father money?
Meanwhile, Prefect Zhou quickly regained his composure.
"I truly didn't expect it, it turns out it was Duke Chengguo," his expression remained excited, his eyes clear, "Duke Chengguo is really thorough in his considerations for our northern people, we feel ashamed."
To say feeling ashamed was a bit of an exaggeration, but he did feel somewhat embarrassed; he had the idea but did not put it into action, while Duke Chengguo had quietly invited someone already.
These cultured bureaucrats usually looked down upon military generals, and arriving in the northern lands, they were suppressed by Duke Chengguo, feeling inevitably dissatisfied. Now with continuous incidents in the two northern prefectures, although they were panicked and sad, there was also a hint of vengeful satisfaction in their hearts.
Let Duke Chengguo be domineering and arrogant, let's see what he has to show off now, he's embarrassed this time.
It's said that the Jinyi Guard Inspector sent by the dynasty will definitely investigate when he arrives. Everyone is holding their breath, not willing to say anything bad about Duke Chengguo, but absolutely not wanting to say anything good either.
Sometimes the silence of cultured bureaucrats is also a murderous knife.
Now hearing that Miss Jun was actually invited by Duke Chengguo and he specifically mentioned Qingyuan Prefecture, Prefect Zhou had to reconsider.
So Duke Chengguo actually cared so much about him.
"Duke Chengguo wanted me to keep it a secret and not mention his invitation," Miss Jun threw out another statement, "Perhaps he was afraid that it wouldn't look good if I refused."
This wasn't just about face; this was giving him a favor. If Duke Chengguo is not mentioned, then it would be as if Prefect Zhou himself had invited Miss Jun.
Prefect Zhou immediately knew what to do, expressing gratitude, while coincidentally showing his concerns and urgency about vaccination. At the end, even he himself believed that Miss Jun was someone he had invited, and he believed that Miss Jun was also persuaded to think so.
Indeed, Miss Jun nodded in agreement to what he said.
This young lady is only sixteen or seventeen years old; he also knew her father, a weak and honest county magistrate, and her maternal family of wealthy merchants. There was no doubt about the family craft in this young lady's hands, but others were probably all handled by De Sheng Chang.
Such a young lady, who gets things done but does not understand human interactions and calculations, Prefect Zhou was quite confident that he could make her follow his own thoughts.
"It's really tough on Prefect Zhou," Miss Jun said softly.
Prefect Zhou sighed.
"Serving the ruler's generosity with loyalty and being a parental official of the land is my duty. It's all worth it to go through the trouble of inviting Miss Jun here," he said.
Miss Jun gave a slight smile without speaking, and the man next to her glanced at him.
Prefect Zhou also glanced at the man. He must be an attendant, but why did his gaze seem somewhat odd?
Just as Prefect Zhou was about to say something, hurried footsteps and a loud voice sounded from outside the door.
"Damn it, this is an utter disgrace."
Prefect Zhou's expression immediately darkened.
"General Peng, what are you talking about?" he barked, looking at the incoming general, "Miss Jun is here."
Right after praising Miss Jun, you blurt out 'disgrace.' Young ladies are the most tender-hearted. Aren't you just inviting misunderstandings?
Hearing the name Miss Jun, the entering general quickly suppressed his angry expression and piled on a smile as he bowed respectfully.
Miss Jun rose to return the bow.
"I'm scolding those damn brats. They can't even guard a notice on the city gate. If the gate was stolen, they probably wouldn't even know," the general said, unable to contain his anger.
Prefect Zhou was obviously aware of this matter, but he didn't think it was a big deal.
"How can this not be a big deal? That was a notice posted on the city gate. With so many soldiers guarding it day and night, no one noticed, allowing things to be silently taken right under their noses. Doesn't this show that people can come and go as they please? If it were Jin thieves, last night our entire Qingyuan Prefecture would have been taken," the general exclaimed.
Once again, Prefect Zhou's face changed, and he cursed inwardly.
Saying in front of a young lady that Jin thieves could take Qingyuan Prefecture, wouldn't that scare her off right away? Wouldn't the people of Qingyuan Prefecture tear me apart?
"It's a minor issue, just a notice," he hurriedly said. "Maybe it was blown away by the wind, picked up by someone. Why must it have been stolen? Don't jump to conclusions without proof; you're causing public panic."
The general smartened up as well and quickly agreed, nodding continuously at the girl who appeared so frail she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
"Yes, yes, I'll look for it again," he said. "The wind was quite strong yesterday."
Miss Jun listened quietly all along, not showing any sign of fear or inquiring, merely nodding and smiling at the right times.
"Miss Jun, please go rest. The vaccination procedure will begin tomorrow," Prefect Zhou said with a smile, while giving subtle signals to the scribes and servants in the room.
The servants and scribes hurried forward to show the way, with Miss Jun thanking them and following.
Prefect Zhou kept smiling until Miss Jun was out of sight before he twisted his mustache.
"Is Miss Jun really going to our camp to administer vaccinations? How embarrassing for us; we should also line up," the general chuckled, rubbing his hands together.
Besides conveying the news of Miss Jun's arrival, De Sheng Chang had also laid out the concrete operational rules and arrangements for the vaccinations: fixed locations for queuing and paying fees. However, an exception was made stating that children of soldiers need not line up at the government office; they can queue at the largest garrison instead, where Miss Jun will personally vaccinate the soldiers' children.
This was a generous benefit. They didn't have to squeeze in with everyone else, causing quite the envy.
Prefect Zhou didn't quite understand at first, but now he did.
Since Duke of Chengguo personally invited Miss Jun, it is only natural for the soldiers to be given special care.
Prefect Zhou had no intention of seizing this benefit for himself.
"We will follow Miss Jun's arrangements," he said, and warned the general with a glance, "Be careful with your words. Don't just say anything."
The general quickly acknowledged, watching Prefect Zhou leave with his hands behind his back and in great spirits.
"But they really were stolen," he muttered to himself, his expression gloomy and puzzled. "Does Qingyuan Prefecture really have such skillful thieves?"
By dawn of the next day, the government office's main gates were tightly shut, but the side doors on both sides were thrown open, as teams of government soldiers maintained order within the long queue that had formed.
Despite being overseen by the soldiers, the queue was still occasionally disordered, and the noise of talking, bickering, and laughter was tumultuous.
The early morning outside the government office was stirred up as if it were a temple fair.
At a distance down the street, a few men reined in their horses.
"Master Jin, this woman sure has a lot of free time," the men said.
Eighteenth Jin twisted his short beard, appearing both annoyed and somewhat amused.
"No matter, we can wait," he said.
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Thanks to Butterfly Dance Zi Xin, ?The Last Shot?, Miss Jun, Southern Ice for the rewards and He's Bi (*^__^*)
Thank you, everyone.
Continue to enjoy your weekend!