Chapter 701 - Gold Mine
In the early morning, the sounds of birds merrily singing woke up the deeply asleep Xiaocao. She popped out her arms from her sleeping bag and stretched lazily before rubbing her groggy eyes gently.
Suddenly, she felt the side of her cheek tickle. She used her hand to feel the area and discovered that the little divine stone had come back at an unknown time. Its butt was against her face and it was currently snoring peacefully. She rubbed its soft head and wriggled out of her sleeping bag.
After using the clean mountain water to brush her teeth and wash her face, she applied a layer of skin care. Only when she was done did she realize that her husband wasn't by her side.
"His Highness left early this morning and said that he wanted to find some wild fruits for you to eat. These past few days, we've only been eating roasted meats and he was afraid that you might end up with excessive heat in your body." Wutong had finished assisting her mistress in her morning ablutions and was currently packing away their luggage and sleeping bags. When Hou Xiaoliang came back, he would be in charge of transporting these items.
The first to come back was Su Ran, who was dressed entirely in white. In his hands were some banana leaves and nestled inside of them were some wax apples about the size of a person's fist. They were bright red and looked very appetizing. Wutong hurriedly took them from him and washed them clean in the spring water before presenting them to her mistress.
Xiaocao chose a wax apple and began eating it. The fresh and ripe wax apple was juicy and sweet. It tasted quite good! She divided up the remaining apples to Wutong and Chunhua. Recently, Chunhua had a bit of excessive heat build up in her body and a large canker sore had appeared in her mouth, so she needed to eat some foods with vitamins in it.
"Surnamed Su, you are very sly and tricky!!" Zhu Junyang, who was dressed entirely in black and had a similar dark expression on his face, came back with a bunch of wax apples. When he saw his wife gnawing happily on a wax apple, the displeasure on his face became very apparent. If it weren't for that fellow Su Ran tricking him, saying that there was a glade of wild lychee trees, then he would have definitely come back first. He was truly too loathsome!
Xiaocao had already gotten used to the two of them quarreling and bickering over mundane things. She took a wax apple from her husband's hands and began eating it with relish. Compliments flowed out of her mouth as she exclaimed that the apple was 'so sweet'. Only then did the dark look on her man's face finally recede a bit. Argh! Men were truly childish and silly creatures.
After getting some crucial information from the little divine stone, Xiaocao finished her breakfast before pointing in a direction and said, "How about we go over there to take a look today?"
The prince from Myanmar looked at the mountain that she was pointing at and he frowned, "The terrain over there is steep and arduous and there's a section of miasma and marshland too. If we're not careful, it'd be very easy to fall into danger. How about we go there another time after bringing on some suitable tour guides?'
"No need, I have a method to counteract the miasma. As for the marshland, all we need to do is go around it!" Yu Xiaocao had found out from the little divine stone that the spiritual energy there was very dense, so there must be a large vein of jadeite ore there. She needed to go there.
The young prince looked over at Imperial Prince Xu, hoping that he would make his wife back down. However, contrary to his expectations, the imperial prince didn't say anything and agreed. Argh! Everyone said that the Imperial Prince Xu doted on his wife to the heavens and now he had experienced to what degree the prince was willing to favor her!
With the little divine stone as a silent guide, the group managed to successfully go around the section of treacherous marshland and arrived at the area blanketed by poisonous miasma. In the gloomy forest, they could see a multi-colored fog gently permeating the area. It made it look as if they were within some heavenly clouds and it was quite a mesmerizing sight.
The expression on the Myanmar's prince's face became even more solemn as he said, "I never would have thought that the miasma here would be the dangerous peach blossom miasma. As soon as it touches you, your skin will start to rot and, following that, the flesh within. In the end, it'll penetrate a person's bones...Your Highnesses, are you sure you want to go there?"
The mountaintop that Princess Consort Xu had pointed at only had marshland or the highly toxic peach blossom miasma around it. It looked like they would need to return without getting to the top.
Yu Xiaocao lightly frowned and took out a very strong and potent detoxifying pill. The little divine stone had said that this pill would have no issues in counteracting the peach blossom miasma. However, if this mountain truly had a large jadeite vein, they needed to find a way to get rid of the peach blossom miasma in the forest. Otherwise, it'd be too difficult to open up the mine and take out the ore!
Zhu Junyang watched as she took out a bottle from her medicine box and poured out a pill. He snatched over the pill from his wife's hands and stuffed it into his mouth as he said, "You all wait here for a bit. This prince will go first to investigate..."
Hou Xiaoliang was so alarmed by this that sweat poured off of him. He blocked his master's way as he said, "Your Highness, this subordinate should go instead..."
"What if there are some other dangers lurking in the forest? With your poor skills, will you be able to fight against them?" Zhu Junyang stopped Hou Xiaoliang's movement with a glance, "Keep the princess consort safe. This prince will look around and come back."
As he spoke, he leapt into the multicolored fog and disappeared quickly. Su Ran saw the worried look on Xiaocao's face and also took a strong detoxifying pill before he said, "I'll follow him and take a look. With two people in there, there should be no issues."
With two experts inside, Xiaocao felt her worries go down by half. However, if her husband was right, the forest might have many dangers looking around. Although the peach blossom miasma couldn't harm them, she didn't know if there were other perils just waiting for them.
Fortunately, the two men didn't make the rest of them wait for too long. After an hour, a black and white figure, who both looked quite similar, appeared back in their eyes.
When the Myanmar prince saw that Imperial Prince Xu and Chief Steward Su came back without a single hair on their heads harmed, his eyes almost fell out of his head. The tyrannically poisonous peach blossom miasma had absolutely no effect on them. The young prince looked over at the medicine box in Xiaocao's hands and became incredibly excited.
One had to know that Myanmar had many mountainous jungles and there were a lot of areas hiding poisonous miasmas. It was very easy for someone to fall into danger if they weren't careful. The prince's eldest brother, who was very skilled and had been the most likely candidate for the throne, had been trapped by their third brother and had stumbled into a glade with poisonous miasma. He was bedridden for more than a year before he finally passed away. If he had a detoxifying pill on hand, that was equivalent to having another chance at life. The young prince wondered just what could he bring out to make Princess Consort Xu willing to exchange a bottle of detoxifying pills for him.
"How is it?" Yu Xiaocao sprayed a medicinal solution on the two of them, which dissolved any remnants of poison from their clothing, and hurriedly asked.
"There are no living creatures within the glade. The peach blossom miasma must be too strong and most animals would dissolve into dust after encountering it. Fortunately, the glade isn't too big and the mountain you have your eye on has a lot of good things in there." Zhu Junyang revealed a reishi mushroom the size of a person's face and gave it to his wife. Perhaps the mountain's marshlands and poisonous miasma acted as a natural barrier. There were a lot of rare and precious medicinal ingredients inside. His wife would definitely like it!
As expected, Yu Xiaocao revealed an expression full of pleasant surprise, "Wow! That's too amazing ah! However, with this reishi mushroom on hand, I can start refining some 'long life medicine'."
"There are a lot of precious medicinal ingredients inside. After all, no people have dared to venture in for many years. However, this prince doesn't know enough about medicinal ingredients. When this prince buys this mountain, even if there are no jadeite ores to be found, we can just use this as a farm for your precious life extending medications!" Zhu Junyang lightly stroked his wife's hair as he gently spoke to her.
Xiaocao closed her eyes in pleasure and acted like a little fox who had just stolen a chicken to eat. Pink bubbles seemed to have appeared in the air around them...the Myanmar prince didn't realize that he was acting as an eyesore when he suddenly asked, "This prince will give this mountain to you all! However...can you sell some detoxifying pills?"
"Hmph! Does this prince require you to give the mountain that my princess consort wants?" Zhu Junyang coldly snorted in displeasure and glared daggers at the Myanmar prince.
The young prince didn't know why Imperial Prince Xu was suddenly throwing a tantrum. He scratched the back of his head and said, "I'm not giving it to you, I'm using it as a trade for the pills! Trading!"
"Trading is also not okay! This prince has decided to buy this mountain to give to my wife, so give me a price ah!" Zhu Junyang thought that his wife would definitely like a mountain full of medicinal ingredients. He didn't even wait for the jadeite experts to look around before arrogantly making a decision.
The Myanmar prince thought that they weren't willing to trade their pills to him and felt very despondent about this. After thinking about it, it made sense to him. These pills had to be very expensive and hard to make. It was likely that a lot of valuable herbs went into these pills. There was no guarantee that the mountain had any jadeite ore so it was unlikely they were willing to trade for it!
The young prince gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, how about I trade an open jadeite mine for some of the princess consort's pills? Is that okay?"
Zhu Junyang looked at his wife for the answer. The pills were hers so he needed to get her opinion. This was something that needed to be respected between a married couple.
Yu Xiaocao thought for a moment and then pointed at a nearby mountain, "I'll pass on the jadeite mine. How about you use that mountain to trade for it instead?"
The Myanmar prince was a bit perplexed by this and said, "We haven't looked at the mountain over there and are not sure as to whether there are any jadeite veins there. Furthermore, that mountain doesn't have any natural defenses, so the nearby villagers go in and out of it all the time. I'm sure any medicinal ingredients have long been harvested from there. Your Highness, you need to make sure you're okay with this decision!"
Yu Xiaocao casually nodded her head, "I've thought about it and I want that one! Your Highness, how many detoxifying pills do you want in return?"
Apparently, these pills were called detoxifying pills. Didn't that mean that they could treat other poisons too? The young prince asked the questions that had surfaced up in his heart. After the princess consort affirmed his thoughts, he was even more excited. After thinking about it, he tentatively gave out a figure, "Would it be okay to give me ten pills in exchange?"
Yu Xiaocao agreed immediately and took out a bottle of detoxifying pills. The two of them then signed a contract. Following that, Xiaocao picked another two mountains that the little divine stone had pointed out and they signed the purchase agreement. As for the mountain surrounded by poisonous miasma, the young prince sold it to them at a very low price.
The next year, this particular mountain revealed a giant pure gold mine. The young Myanmar prince regretted his decision completely. If he wasn't afraid of Imperial Prince Xu's might, he would have ripped up that contract and snatched the gold mine back.
As for the other mountains that Xiaocao pointed out, they also found jadeite veins in them. The one that they traded for using detoxifying pills not only had a very rich vein of raw jadeite ore but the jadeite mined from it were also of top-notch quality. It was only better and not worse than the other jadeite mines that the prince currently had.
The young prince from Myanmar was quite puzzled by all of this. When they had agreed on the purchasing contract for the two mountains, the other side hadn't even investigated them but valuable jadeite mines appeared. Wasn't their luck too good to be true? Were they truly people who were blessed by the Heavens?
If they were blessed by the Heavens, wouldn't going against them mean going against the Heavens? The young prince's inner beliefs told him that he needed to follow the heavenly mandate and obey the Heavens. He could only cooperate well with those who were blessed by the Heavens and not work against him. Perhaps by doing that he would be able to get some luck off of Imperial Prince Xu and would end up helping him in the future! Thus, he always did his best to protect and cooperate with the people who worked on these new mines.
Many years later, the young prince became triumphant over his many older brothers in the fight for the throne and became the King of Myanmar. He was even more certain that he had been imbued with a hint of the heavenly blessings that Imperial Prince Xu had. Otherwise, how could he have been able to gain a victory over his legitimate older brothers? From then on, as the king, he was very obedient and respectful towards the Great Ming Empire. The southwest border didn't have any battles or skirmishes appear for decades. This was all later though.
Chapter 702 - A Sense of Loss
In a jiffy, the two of them had bought five mountains for their own use. By the time Imperial Prince Xu and his wife leisurely returned back to Jinling, it was already time for the autumn harvest. The experimental rice fields in Jinling were a beautiful golden color and the plants swayed gently, resembling a golden ocean.
They had found the sterile rice plants with great difficulty and they had been planted in the breeding fields. At this time, at harvest, they really couldn't see a huge difference between those plants and regular rice plants. However, in the hybridization fields, where they planted the two complementary plants, there were rice tassels that were large and very plump. Each rice ear had around two hundred rice seeds in them.
Official Wu now had hope that they could produce high yielding rice plants in the future. After he saw Xiaocao, he was unable to restrain himself and cried like a child in front of her. Although they were still a bit away from making true hybridized rice crops, they just needed to persevere longer. After all, now he had hope, right?
Yu Xiaocao praised Official Wu a few times and saw that he became even more eager and excited about researching on how to produce hybridized rice. Within her heart, she admired this man, who worked wholeheartedly for the people and was throwing himself into 'scientific research', even more.
[In actuality, this divine stone could just use a bit of power and these rice paddies would get up to a thousand catties per mu without any issues. Furthermore, the seeds used for next year will also have the same high yield.] The little divine stone sensed its master's thoughts and proclaimed in a somewhat arrogant manner.
"No need, if it's too eye-catching, it'll be hard to explain to outsiders. They will start believing that I'm a monster or something!" Yu Xiaocao refused the little divine stone's good intentions, "The people's potential is endless. As long as we give them a direction, I believe that they will very quickly get some results."
[You're willing to waste a few more years to get the exact same outcome? That's up to you then!] The little divine stone suddenly felt that it had lost its meaning and felt a bit at a loss.
Xiaocao, who was intimately linked to it, naturally could sense its somewhat downcast thoughts. She comforted it, "Little Glutinous Dumpling, you possess great powers, but there's no need for you to interfere in something that humans can do on their own——that's right, in the past, you told me that when you regained all of your cultivation, you could alter seeds permanently. Doesn't this mean...that you have already gained all of your lost powers?"
The little divine stone's voice echoed prominently in her mind as it stated in a proud manner, [That's right! This time, when we went to the border between the Great Ming Empire and Myanmar, this divine stone came across a great opportunity. All of the fetters that the Goddess of Spirits had left upon me are now gone. Now this divine stone could fly up into the heavens in full glory, ha ha ha!]
"Congratulations!" Xiaocao happily congratulated the stone at first. Suddenly, she became downcast, "Then...doesn't that mean that you will be leaving this mundane world soon?"
When she transmigrated over, the little divine stone had given her earth-shattering powers to turn her life around. On the day before she got married, she remembered the 'dream' that seemed very real that her younger brother had told her.
In his dream, the delicate and weak Yu Xiaocao had passed away after getting hit on her head before Doctor You had the chance to treat her. Her callous grandmother wrapped her dead body in a bunch of broken straw and threw her onto the burial mound at the South Mountain before her father had come back from hunting. By the time her father went there to retrieve her corpse, her dead body had already been torn into pieces by wild dogs and even her face had been gnawed in half. It was truly a horrifying sight.
After more time passed, her father and Uncle Zhao had gone up into the mountain and he had gotten savaged by a bear. Because Madam Zhang only cared about money, they missed the most optimal opportunity to treat him and his wound became infected and he died. Her older brother, Yu Hang, had been beaten to death by Shopkeeper Zhang in one of his drunken frenzies but had been posthumously accused of being a thief. Finally, the money that was given to them in compensation had been confiscated by Madam Zhang.
Madam Liu and her remaining son and daughter had been driven out of the Yu Family's home and lived in the broken old residence. Without undergoing renovations, the old house leaked and let in the cold wind from everywhere. Madam Liu's originally weak body could only last another two years before she finally passed away. Even in death she still wasn't at ease about her remaining two children and had died with her eyes still open.
Xiaolian and her youngest brother also didn't escape their fate of early death. In the span of a few years, a family of six had completely died out. Even a single descendent wasn't left over. Perhaps, the dream that her younger brother had was what had happened in a different timeline.
In this lifetime, she had transmigrated over and brought along the little divine stone, her golden finger. They had completely transformed the destiny of this family. Not only did Yu Xiaocao live past that accident, but the mystic-stone water had also transformed the family's bodies and saved the head of the house, Yu Hai's, life. It kept Yu Hang alive after being beaten to a pulp and even made her younger brother have a highly retentive memory...
All of her successes couldn't be separated from the little divine stone's help. With the little divine stone, even if she was able to grow and plant corn successfully, it wouldn't necessarily be a high-yielding crop. In fact, in history, when corn first came over, the yield from the crop was only around two to three hundred catties per mu. Without the high-yielding corn, she wouldn't be able to get the attention of Zhu Junyang and wouldn't be able to be linked with him in marriage.
Without the little divine stone, the high-yielding wheat, the greenhouse grown fruits and vegetables, the extremely effective pills, the obviously effective cosmetics and skincare, the healing medicinal wines...all of these wouldn't be able to become a reality. In the end, she could only be considered a little farmer girl who knew how to make braised food. How could she possibly be fit in terms of status to the noble and mighty Royal Prince Yang?
Thus, the little divine stone had already permeated into all of her life and every business required it. She was unable to imagine what her life would be like if she didn't have the little divine stone.
Naturally, she would have never expected that the time when it was going to leave her was going to come so soon. However, this was also good! People couldn't rely on luck for the rest of their lives. What was fated to come would come to them in the end! Since she couldn't change this, then she should just accept it.
[Are you that eager for this divine stone to leave ah?] The little divine stone's voice was quite upset. It thought that its master really wouldn't want to part with it. After all, it had helped her with so many things. However, it had accidentally recognized a pitiless master, wah wah wah...
Yu Xiaocao rubbed the multicolored stone on her wrist and smiled bitterly, "You know I don't want you to leave me. Don't tell me that you can't read my mind. Does it matter though? If I beg and plead, would you really not go? I'm incredibly grateful for your company and help all of these years. Just as parents are reluctant to let their children go, in the end, their children need to fly off on their own and find their own skies. Even if I beg you to stay, if you are unhappy by this, I will feel very guilty. The other dimension is your true home and place where you need to be. I can't be too selfish."
The little divine stone became silent for a long time after hearing her true thoughts before it finally replied, [In actuality, you can be a bit selfish ah. As long as you ask, then I will stay!]
"Really?" A look of pure happiness crossed her face but she very quickly became calm again, "No, you need to go back ah! Goddess Nuwa is waiting for you and cares about you. The Goddess of Spirits had worked very hard in order to find a way to polish your will and endurance. All of your good friends are waiting for you there..."
[So annoying! This divine stone had originally decided to stay behind and keep you company, yet you insist on saying these words to me. I'm so conflicted, what should I do?] The little divine stone had some feelings towards this small and weak master. Although this type of feeling was a bit hazy, it always seemed to feel a bit reluctant whenever it thought about leaving.
Perhaps this was what the Goddess of Spirits was trying to teach it before. Only when one understood 'emotions and feelings' could one truly achieve true enlightenment. In the secular word, 'emotions and feelings' encompassed tens of thousands of ideas. There was affection, friendly feelings, romantic feelings, homesickness, kindness, empathy...it had already reached the threshold of understanding 'emotions and feelings'. If it left now, wouldn't that ruin everything?
However, it really wanted to see Goddess Nuwa and tell her that it had missed her a lot. It also wanted to tell her that it wouldn't cause trouble for her anymore and tell her stories of everything it encountered in the mundane world...
The little divine stone transformed into a beam of golden light and shot into the sky, disappearing in the vastness above. Yu Xiaocao couldn't hold back her tears anymore and they fell to the ground like raindrops.
Many of the commoners in Jinling had seen a golden light appear in the area around the experimental rice paddies. Following that, news about the increased yields of rice had spread around. Some of them spread rumors that the God of Farming had descended to bless the commoners of Jiangnan.
The little divine stone had been gone for almost a dozen days and Yu Xiaocao had been depressed ever since it had left. Zhu Junyang had sensed the difference in her mood and asked her to find out what was going on.
Yu Xiaocao showed her empty left wrist to him. Zhu Junyang seized the opportunity to stroke her little hand and rub her arms before he asked, "What's wrong? Does your wrist feel sore? Should this prince give you a massage? How about we go see a doctor? Doctor Zhen in Jinling's Tongren Medicine Hall is said to be quite good..."
"It's not that. Look, aren't I missing something?" Yu Xiaocao felt her eyes grow hot after thinking about the little divine stone again and buried her face into her husband's broad and sturdy chest.
Only now did Zhu Junyang discover that the multicolored stone, which had previously been inseparable from her, was no longer to be seen. He hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? The stone is gone? Do you remember where you lost it? Did it get lost in the mountains in the southwest? Don't be said, this prince will send some people there and find it for you..."
"No one will be able to find it! It returned back to its own world!" Yu Xiaocao sniffed and used the clothes on her husband to wipe her tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled against him, seeking comfort.
Zhu Junyang now remembered that all of the odd things that occurred around her were all related to that little stone. However, now that it was gone, it was gone. He no longer had to worry all the time that her unusual abilities would be discovered by other people and cause calamity for her. He could protect her against most people but what if the person above him found out? That would be more tricky to handle.
"If it's gone, then it's gone! Don't you still have this prince ah?" Zhu Junyang lowered his head and gently planted a kiss on her head before sweetly patting her back. It was as if he was trying to comfort an injured little kitten.
"Will you always be by my side? Even if my businesses stop and fall to the ground and I only become an ordinary little girl? You will still stay by me, right?" Yu Xiaocao used her red eyes to look at Zhu Junyang as she emotionally said.
Zhu Junyang didn't hesitate for a moment as he nodded his head, "I will! As long as you are you, I will always be yours. If you don't leave me, I won't abandon you!"
"You're the best!" Yu Xiaocao quietly hugged her man's waist and resembled a helpless child, "When we get back to the capital, the first thing I need to do is apologize to the emperor and leave my court position. All of the businesses in the capital also need to be organized around. The ones that need to be stopped should be stopped earlier rather than later...Husband, in the future, I will have to rely on you."
"Isn't it right and proper for me to keep my wife safe and sound? This prince has long thought that all of your businesses and ventures have used too much of your time. A tiny lady like you has a jammed packed schedule every day. In the past, you've ignored me too much. Now is the time to get that all back!" Zhu Junyang lowered his head to give his wife a deep kiss...
Chapter 703 - Lure the Tiger Away
Zhu Junyang thought that he shouldn't allow the little lass to dwell too long on these things. They needed to find something else to preoccupy her; thus, he began to do something...
"You, it's bright daylight now yet you..." Yu Xiaocao raised her eyes to look into his and understood what he wanted to do. Her face immediately turned bright red.
The two of them were quite harmonious in this aspect. Xiaocao didn't have an ancient person's thoughts on this manner and wouldn't act like a block of wood on the bed sheets like some women. She would react accordingly to the other's movements and gain pleasure from their coupling.
Zhu Junyang also wasn't someone who was solely preoccupied with his own pleasure. On the contrary, when his wife let out sounds of enjoyment and had an ecstatic expression on her face, it made him even more excited and aroused. In addition, his wife had exquisite smooth skin, large eyes that became bright with emotion, a little face that blushed easily, and an alluring voice...all of these stirred up primitive feelings inside of him.
If it weren't for the fact that Xiaocao was too busy most of the time and the fact that an irksome fellow had come along with them, Zhu Junyang really would have liked to trap his wife on the bed day in and day out, so they could 'battle' each other for three hundred times.
The two of them mutually enjoyed a flipping of the sheets together. At the end, Xiaocao lay on her husband's slightly sweaty chest in a lazy manner as if she didn't want to move one iota. Her man had too much stamina and sometimes made her feel quite tired despite all of the enjoyment.
"Once the autumn harvest is finished, let's go back to the capital ah?" From the end of the third month until now, it had already been half a year since they left their home. For the past half year, they only spent a third of the time in the experimental fields at Jinling. The remaining of the time was expended on travelling around and buying jadeite mines in the southwest border.
When the topic of the conversation came up to the mines they bought, Xiaocao once again couldn't help but rub at her empty left wrist. The little divine stone had been gone for a dozen days. Although the stone spent the vast majority of its time cultivating within the multi-colored stone, once it left, it was a bit hard to get used to it.
Zhu Junyang felt his wife's movements and knew that she was thinking of the little divine stone again. When that stupid stone had left, the lass had frankly told him about the golden finger she had relied upon. In his opinion, the little lass relied too much on the mystic-stone water and had no confidence in herself.
Even without the mystic-stone water, the food she made was unique and delicious. The pastries she made were creative and sweet and the cosmetics and skin care items she crafted would also be beneficial to a person's skin. The medicinal pills she crafted would still be more effective than other people's and her methods for brewing alcohol could still make sweet and tasty alcohol...
However, he also understood that after becoming accustomed to something, it took a long time to forget it. In order to not let his wife continue to feel sad, he still needed to distract her and make her so busy that she didn't have the time to think of anything else!
"You...didn't you just finish ah? How could you..." Yu Xiaocao discovered that a certain body part of his had begun changing again. Sure enough, her attention was taken up again.
Zhu Junyang grinned wolfishly, "As a strong man, how could once be enough for me? This prince will let you experience what is called 'seven times in one night'..."
"Stop boasting so much! Be careful that you don't lose so much energy that you end up dying from it!" Xiaocao had just made a critical mistake——doubting her man's ability and energy in that area. The results were obvious.
Like a piece of salted fish, Xiaocao lay limply on the bed after being tossed and turned around. Her limbs felt soft and her waist hurt. She groaned in pleasure as her husband massaged her comfortably. This shameless fellow had tormented her from the afternoon until late at night. No matter how much she begged, this fellow didn't let her go. He even said, "I'll do the parts that require strength, you can just lie there and enjoy the moment."
What crock! It was still tiring to spend half of her time lying on her back, let alone having a certain fellow incessantly pulling her around to do gymnastics together. Argh! Her old back...didn't they say that the man got the most tired from these antics ah? How come the main offender was still as lively as a dragon and as energetic as a tiger?
Rumble——Xiaocao's stomach issued a loud noise in protest.
Zhu Junyang lightly chuckled and asked, "Are you hungry? The evening meal is already ready, I'll have the maidservants bring it in..."
"No, I don't have the face to see anyone. I'm so embarrassed now...I don't want to eat dinner, who cares if I starve to death?" Yu Xiaocao whimpered and turned around, showing her back to him and refusing to acknowledge him.
Zhu Junyang patiently said, as if he was trying to console a child, "If you don't want to see anyone, then this prince will go out and bring the evening meal in. After using up all that energy, don't you need to replenish yourself? You're not allowed to say 'who cares if I die' anymore. If you say it again, this prince will have to slap your bum bum!"
"You dare! Domestic violence! You actually want to commit domestic violence against me! Didn't you say that you would take care of me for the rest of my life ah? We've only been married for half a year yet you've already shown your true colors. Heavens and earth ah——" Yu Xiaocao theatrically exclaimed.
Zhu Junyang didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. He carried his wife into the washing room and helped wash herself clean before personally dressing her in a set of lounging attire. Then he carried her back to the outer room and set her down next to the table made of fragrant rosewood.
Wutong held the serving tray full of food that was given to her by the younger maidservants and was just about to push the door to enter when the prince stopped her at the threshold. He took the food from her and then closed the door in her face. Xiaocao acted like a dead fish and lay on the table, showing him the back of her head.
"Your Highness, this lowly one will serve you your meal!" Zhu Junyang took out several kinds of strengthening porridges, soups and stews and placed them on the table. These had all been ordered by him for the kitchen to make.
When the smell of the food hit her nostrils, Xiaocao's stomach's rumblings became even more apparent. She turned her head around and saw the table full of strengthening and revitalizing foods. Her face turned bright red and she awkwardly turned around again, lying down on the table, pretending to be dead.
"Your Highness, please partake in the meal. Open your mouth, ahhhh——" Zhu Junyang held a bowl of bird's nest soup and crouched in front of his wife as he offered a spoonful of soup to her mouth.
"Today I've been so embarrassed that I don't even want to raise my head. It's all your fault!" Yu Xiaocao continued to grumble and twisted her head away from the spoon. She refused the temptation of delicious food. She couldn't let that scoundrel off too easily!
Zhu Junyang sidled over to the other side and continued to squat down with the spoon in his head. He good naturedly said, "Yes, yes, it's all this prince's fault. Next time, I won't torment you for this long, is that alright? Alright ah, don't be angry! If you want to be angry, you can be angry after you finish eating. That way you'll have the strength to fight!"
"Hmph, you're not allowed to be like this next time!" Yu Xiaocao's stomach was very hungry, so she decided not to quarrel anymore. Once she was full, she could begin to argue again. She finally 'graciously' opened her mouth and allowed her man to feed her one spoonful at a time. A bowl of bird's nest soup was only enough to stave off her gaping hunger a bit, so she ate some shrimp dumplings, shumai, and lotus root soup before she was finally satisfied.
When he saw his wife eating deliciously, Zhu Junyang felt his appetite rise. The two of them devoured the entire table full of food and cleaned it off completely. When Wutong and Chunhua came in to clean up the remains, they looked at the pile of empty plates and bowls with amazement. However, the two of them knew that their mistress got easily embarrassed and didn't reveal a single expression as they retreated out. Only once the two of them completely exited the room did the two of them look at each other and laugh.
The next morning, Su Ran and Zhu Junyang left to help Governor Fan as he had asked the two of them to help him with a case. For over a month, Jinling had encountered a host of bandits who especially targeted the rich. Not only did they steal their valuables but they also exterminated entire families and their methods were extremely cruel. The yamen had once fought head on against these bandits and discovered that the enemy was extremely powerful. The yamen ended up having disastrous casualties while the enemy left without any issue. They even left a parting insult, 'The authorities are all rubbish'.
Governor Fan had sent out officers and men and Jinling Prefecture's yamen had put out a warrant for arrest. Despite their preparations, they still ended up returning with their tails between their legs in defeat. Helpless, Lord Fan could only think of the two experts living in Jinling right now and asked them to come. At this time, three families had been exterminated around Jinling and over twenty officers had lost their lives. The casualties naturally were much higher.
When Zhu Junyang heard this, he was quite surprised and eager to investigate. He just wanted to see just who was this unbridled to do such cruel things under his own nose! Before he left, he especially warned Xiaocao several times that Jinling wasn't very peaceful recently. She was not allowed to leave the safe area without permission before he came back.
This group of people was quite cunning too. They seemed to know that the authorities had gone out to find some rescuers and didn't appear for several days in a row. When Zhu Junyang and Su Ran slightly relaxed, another accident appeared in the suburbs of Jinling. By the time Zhu Junyang hurried over, the only thing left of that family's residence was a bunch of ash.
All in all, the whole family had eighteen people and even the servants and maidservants weren't spared. Out of the ruins, they took out forty-two badly burned corpses. The stink was so bad that even people over five kilometers away could smell. it. Zhu Junyang gripped his hands into tight fists and believed that this group of criminals did it deliberately!
"Your Highness, do you think that this group of people is targeting you deliberately..." Su Ran's handsome face had a solemn look on it.
"Not good!!" Zhu Junyang suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart. He leapt onto his horse and sped towards the opposite direction of Jinling towards a different courtyard like a madman.
This family's residence was completely opposite of where he wanted to go. He needed to pass through the entire city before he could get where he needed to go. Furthermore, this group of people made it very obvious that they had struck this area, as if they wanted to deliberately bring their attention there. In addition, they had held back their attacks for several days, allowing them to relax their vigilance. By choosing to strike today at this family, they definitely had a different motive.
Zhu Junyang was a superb equestrian but he was helpless as the horse he was riding wasn't as spirited and intelligent as Fierce Wind. Furthermore, there were lots of people coming and going in the streets of Jinling, so he couldn't gallop at top speed. Worries gnawed at his heart. He was certain that this group of people had deliberately lured him and Chief Steward Su away. Their target was definitely the residence where they had been living at...
Ever since they had the water battle on the journey there, he had ordered a dozen highly skilled bodyguards from their residence over to guard their guest house. These people were the best of the best. As long as Xiaocao didn't leave the safety of the courtyard, that group of criminals wouldn't find it easy to attack her. He was just afraid...
Behind was the sound of frantic horse hooves. He didn't need to turn his head around to know that it was Su Ran, who was also extremely worried about Xiaocao. Zhu Junyang could only pray to the heavens now——Xiaocao must have listened to him and remembered his words, staying obediently within the courtyard!
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!!" The hapless pedestrians on the roads all scuttled away. There was a peddler, carrying his goods, who didn't have enough time to back away. He could only throw his stuff away to preserve his life.
"Who is that ah? Racing horses on the official streets, are the authorities not going to take charge of this?" When the horses galloped away, the pedestrians were all covered in dust and couldn't help but complain a bit.
Chapter 704 - Conspiracy
"Shhh——don't be so loud! Didn't you see that the last horse in the group was being ridden by the governor himself? The two people in front of him should be the noble individuals living in the guest residence. Perhaps one of them is even the great imperial envoy!" A young fellow whose aunt's third nephew had a job at the neighborhood yamen spoke up in a quiet voice.
"The great imperial envoy can't recklessly hurt people. How could it be okay if the horses rushing by trampled people?" The person who spoke up was a scholar dressed in appropriate attire.
The person with the relative at the yamen continued, "Perhaps it's related to the recent spree of crimes. I heard that in the northwestern suburbs another family had been extinguished and it was a very bloody sight. These horrible criminals are too cruel. Stealing valuables is one thing but why do they need to kill off an entire family?"
"Is the governor riding fast through the marketplace related to that group of criminals?" Another passerby believed this was the truth.
No one complained anymore. Recently, all of the families that had a bit of wealth had been trembling with fear as they were afraid that they might become the next unlucky target. The earlier this band of criminals got caught, the earlier the people of Jinling could go back to their regular business and not be on tenterhooks.
The highly anxious Zhu Junyang felt like an eternity had passed before they arrived at the guest residence. He leapt off the speeding horse and pelted towards the gatehouse. He picked up the gatekeeper with both hands by the other man's clothes and hurriedly asked, "Did the princess consort go out today?"
The gatekeeper was startled. After recognizing the person in front of him, he stammered, "Your Highness, the princess consort had been called out by one of the people from the experimental fields about half an hour before you got here..."
"What? She was called out by someone?!" Su Ran's face turned icy cold and he gripped his hands so hard that they made crackling noises, scaring the people around him.
"Please calm down, my lords! Perhaps the great imperial envoy had truly been called over by Official Wu?" The gatekeeper wiped his forehead full of sweat as he silently prayed, 'Please, let the princess consort be perfectly safe and sound ah!'
"Ming Xin, Ming Gui!" Zhu Junyang entered the residence and called towards a dark corner. A figure clothed entirely in black immediately answered and the prince asked, "Tell me, what exactly happened earlier?"
"Master, after you left, a small official under Official Wu hurried over, saying that the experimental fields were aflame and over a hundred fields were burning. When the princess consort heard this, she immediately changed clothing and left. Accompanying her were her two maidservants and the four special bodyguards. Ming Gui was also worried so he followed along..." Ming Xin knelt on the ground and concisely went over everything that had happened that day for his master.
"Go! We're going to the fields!!" An ominous premonition settled into Zhu Junyang's heart. If the experimental rice fields in Jinling had truly caught on fire, then there'd be smoke everywhere, billowing into the city. Currently, things were going on in the city like usual and not a single person was gossiping about the experimental fields burning up. What did this mean? This was a trap; it was a conspiracy that targeted his princess consort!
The group of people rushed over on horseback to the fields. Official Wu was currently leading the tenant farmers in harvesting the ripe rice. When he saw Imperial Prince Xu and the governor arrive, he went over to greet them and asked out of confusion, "Imperial Highness, why did you come over alone? Where's the great imperial envoy?"
Zhu Junyang's heart fell and he grabbed him to ask, "Where's that assistant of yours that helps you record the field data?"
"Are you talking about Little Zhang ah? His mother got sick, so he asked for a day off to take her to Tongren Medicine Hall to get treated. What's wrong? Are you looking for him?" Official Wu sensed that something was off about Imperial Prince Xu, so he stopped smiling and replied in a serious manner.
The look on Zhu Junyang's face was so gloomy that it looked like a thunderstorm would start anytime. Either this Little Zhang had a problem or someone had impersonated him. They hadn't seen any sign of Xiaocao or her servants on the way there, so the situation wasn't optimistic anymore.
"Don't worry, that lass Xiaocao is blessed by the heavens and nothing should have happened to her." Su Ran was also very worried but he patted the other man's shoulder in an attempt to console him, "That lass has always treated others with kindness and doesn't have any real enemies. It's likely that the group took her away for one motive——to control the two of us. No news is good news, so that lass should still be safe right now."
Zhu Junyang's phoenix eyes were full of fury as he growled out angrily, "It must be the evil remnants of the past dynasty again! They keep popping up like a bunch of cockroaches!! Let's go, we need to investigate the road between the residence and the fields to see if there are any clues to be found."
The two of them took the group back and they carefully investigated the roads. As expected, not far from the side of the road, they found a yellow jadeite bead that came off of Xiaocao's bracelet hidden in dried up leaves. If they hadn't been searching carefully, it would have been very easy to miss it.
"Judging by the tracks here, it looks like the enemy has a lot of people. Fortunately, I don't see any signs of a struggle. That lass must have sensed that something was off and stopped Chunhua from fighting. It's better that way. At least the lass wouldn't get injured." Su Ran inspected the clues carefully and made a very accurate assessment.
"I also see wheel tracks in the forest, which means that the enemy used carts to bring the people away. With so many people as well as horses and carts, they must have left some signs along the way. If we follow the wheel tracks along, we should be able to find them." Su Ran looked at Zhu Junyang, asking him for his opinion on the matter.
Zhu Junyang inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down before finally voiced his opinion, "The fact that we could think of this means that the enemy probably has to. Let's first follow these traces and look around a bit."
Since there were no signs of a struggle, that meant Ming Gui hadn't shown himself yet. The little lass was still safe for the moment. However, it also meant that the enemy had a lot of experts, so Ming Gui didn't dare to confront them even though he was a commander of the hidden guards.
Hou Xiaoliang had been with his master this entire time and right now his heart was full of worries too. After a great amount of effort, he had finally obtained Wutong's consent for marriage. They were planning on organizing their wedding once they and their masters got back to the capital. Now, they had encountered such a bad situation.
In order to lure the imperial prince, the criminals wouldn't dare to harm the princess consort, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't harm the people underneath her. If they wanted to intimidate her, it was very likely they would use one of her servants as an example. Couldn't Wutong become an unlucky victim then? When he thought of this, sweat poured down Hou Xiaoliang's body.
Around twenty-five kilometers away from Jinling, the wagon wheel tracks disappeared. An extremely ordinary horse cart had been abandoned at the side of the road. The road in front of them had split into three forks and they didn't know which one the criminals went down.
"If that lass Xiaocao had been lucid the entire time, she likely would leave another clue for us." Su Ran thought of that yellow jadeite bead and proposed the idea that the group split into three to search alongside the forks. If they weren't able to find anything, they would regroup at the start of the fork and then look for another place to search.
Using his intuition, Zhu Junyang chose the left fork and brought Hou Xiaoliang along. Su Ran went down the middle and Governor Fan chose the rightmost fork.
Zhu Junyang commanded his horse to trot down the road as he opened his eyes wide as he sharply looked through the greenery at the sides of the road. Before long, he discovered another yellow jadeite bead on the ground.
"They went down this road! We need to hurry!!" Zhu Junyang spurred his horse faster. Hou Xiaoliang did his best to keep up and the two of them sped down the meandering trail on horseback.
Whenever they reached a fork in the trail, they would soon discover a little bead, telling them the right path to take. Whenever he saw a yellow jadeite bead appear, Zhu Junyang felt his heart relax a bit more——at least, the little lass had been aware this entire time. As long as she was fine, everything was good! Before long, the other two people who were on the search mission caught up with them and the four of them worked together to follow the clues that Xiaocao left behind for them.
"This group of criminals is very cunning!" After running around, Zhu Junyang discovered that the criminals went back to Jinling City. As expected, the criminals were following the saying: 'the most dangerous place is the safest place'!
"We'll be entering the city soon and there are a lot of people going to and fro. This makes it harder for us to find any clues." Su Ran muttered. He frowned deeply and his well-defined eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the commoners and peddlers heading about their day.
"Your Highness, the criminals have a lot of people and it must have been obvious when they entered the city. This subordinate will go to the gate guards and ask if they saw a large group of people and horses entering in this morning." Governor Fan clasped his fists together in a salute before he left. He arrived at the gate and found a few officials there. He asked them if they had seen any suspicious groups of people go through the gate that morning.
After getting all of the information, Lord Fan came back to report to Imperial Prince Xu, "Your Highness, this subordinate believes that there are three groups of people who went through today that are suspicious. One of them is the Chen Family's merchant caravan who just got back, another one is the Wang Family's string of carts that had traveled to Suzhou and Hangzhou to buy and sell silk, and the last is the 'Formidable Goods Couriers'. These three groups all had a lot of people and horses and they all had many experts traveling with them. What do you think..."
Hou Xiaoliang interrupted, "Is it possible that the group of criminals split up outside the city before going in smaller groups?"
"Unlikely!" Su Ran replied with conviction, "They wouldn't have known when their pursuers would come after them. They have a lot of people and splitting them up takes time. It's easier and faster for them to disguise themselves as a merchant caravan or armed couriers."
"Then we'll start with these three groups of people ah!" A red glow faintly flashed through Zhu Junyang's eyes. If the lass had encountered something bad, he would make Jinling run with blood! Since this old bag of bones of his wasn't able to protect her in this lifetime, then he would turn into a monster and clean up everything in this mortal world! If she wasn't alive, then it was the same as throwing him into the depths of hell! Without her, he would transform this world into a purgatory to act as a living burial for her.
The three people next to him all felt the abrupt, violent change in his aura. Su Ran was the least affected out of the three and hurriedly interjected, "Imperial Prince Xu, please calm down for a moment! That lass Xiaocao is still waiting for you to rescue her ah!"
Dear gods ah! If this crazy fellow lost control of himself now, he wasn't his opponent anymore, especially when Imperial Prince Xu transformed into his insane final boss form! He wouldn't be able to hold the guy back ah! Fortunately, when he mentioned the lass Xiaocao, the aura around the prince decreased significantly but he still looked quite imposing and scary.
Hou Xiaoliang forcefully swallowed down some saliva as he said in a quiet voice, "Master, do you think the mistress might have left some clues for us in the city?"
"Hard to say! There are many people in the city, so it's likely that anything she leaves behind might be picked up by a child. Furthermore, the criminals would be even more cautious after entering the city and wouldn't give her the opportunity to do something." Su Ran sighed.
Lord Fan cupped his hands together in obeisance and said, "Your Highness, this subordinate will send some people out. Even if we get some information, we still need to investigate the giant crime scene outside the city. What do you..."
Chapter 705 - Meticulous
"Go ah!" Although Zhu Junyang didn't have much hope for the local authorities in making much headway on the case, it was still important for them to do what they needed to do.
"Master, out of these three groups of people, which one of them is the most suspicious ah?" Hou Xiaoliang was very confident in his master's abilities. He had wracked his own brains and couldn't come up with anything, so he could only look pleadingly at the imperial prince.
Zhu Junyang frowned. He seemed to be half replying to his question while also muttering to himself, "The armed goods courier group can be eliminated from the list..."
"Why? That group of criminals are very skilled. If they disguise themselves as competent armed goods couriers, wouldn't that be a good cover?" Hou Xiaoliang was actually more suspicious of that group of people.
Su Ran glanced at him and scornfully said, "You're an idiot ah!! Didn't you hear that 'Formidable Goods Courier' had just come back from a job ah? Since their wagons and carts were empty, where would they possibly hide that lass Xiaocao and her two maidservants? Furthermore, if three weak women suddenly appeared within the ranks of the armed goods couriers, wouldn't that tell everyone that there was something fishy going on? That being said, when the governor asked the gate guards earlier, they said that the armed goods couriers only had large and brawny men within their ranks. What do you think the princess consort would like if she was dressed in men's attire?"
Hou Xiaoliang thought his mistress's slender and delicate figure, uh...if she was clothed in men's clothing, as long as one wasn't blind, one would be able to spot her in a moment. As expected, his brains, compared to his master's and Chief Steward Su's, were no match for theirs.
It looked like the other two groups were more suspicious. Although no one had seen any sign of the women in the other two groups, they had come back with carts filled with goods. It wasn't entirely impossible to hide three people in the mountain of stuff they brought back...
Just as the three of them were discussing which family to investigate first, Xiaocao and her two servants had been dug out of a pile of silk bolts and had been carried into the hidden room like a bunch of baggage. Following that, they had been thrown to the ground like garbage and they were now lying next to the feet of an old and weakly handsome looking man.
"Ouch!" Yu Xiaocao secretly rejoiced that her shoulder had hit the ground first and not her head. Otherwise, it was likely that her nose would be broken now.
"Mistress, are you okay ah?" Wutong heavily resisted the pain coming off her hands. After getting used to the dimness in the room, she wriggled mightily towards Xiaocao.
Why was she wriggling? That was because her arms and legs had been tied up, making her resemble a bundled up rice dumpling.
"Oh my goodness! How could you treat Her Highness, the Great Imperial Envoy, in such a crude manner? Go receive your punishments now!" The owner of the shrill yet gentle voice was a man of an indeterminate age with white hair. Although his white hair made him seem old, it didn't match with the rest of his appearance. His face only looked to be around forty years old as he only had some fine wrinkles around the corners of his eyes.
A somewhat sickly handsome young man commanded the black-clothed experts within the room, "Why aren't you guys releasing the Clerk of the Capital of the Grain?"
The black-clothed men didn't move and they turned their heads to the white-haired eunuch. A bit of helplessness flashed through the sickly man's eyes and he smiled faintly at the white-haired eunuch, "Eunuch Yuan, this official is talented and once the throne is retaken, we need people with talent serving us."
Dissatisfaction flickered through Eunuch Yuan's eyes. The other man was merely an invalid and a useless one to boot! If he didn't have the blood of the previous dynasty flowing through his veins and didn't have some use, he would have killed the man instantly!
Was this guy's head full of stinky dung? Who was the person in front of them? She was one of the pillars of the Great Ming Dynasty——Imperial Prince Xu's princess consort. After their plans succeeded, they absolutely couldn't keep Imperial Prince Xu alive. If they slaughtered her husband, did they really expect her to go along with them? He was truly too naive!
However, this wasn't the time to broadcast his ambitions to the world. Eunuch Yuan shrilly shouted at the black-clothed men, "Are you all dead ah? Why aren't you loosening the bonds on the great imperial envoy?"
After finally getting her limbs liberated, Xiaocao rubbed her shoulder. Luckily, she wasn't hurt down to her bones. However, she couldn't escape from having a nice bruise form there.
"Young Miss, are you okay ah?" Wutong accidentally used her previous form of address for her in her anxiety. Chunhua moved into a guarded position and stood in front of the two of them.
Yu Xiaocao noticed that Wutong was holding her left arm and had a face full of worry. She rushed over to look at the maid's arm. She found out that it was only dislocated and maneuvered it back in with a practiced motion.
When Eunuch Yuan saw this, he raised a white eyebrow and smiled, "I almost forgot that the great imperial envoy is skilled at diagnosing and treating people. Everyone says that those skilled in medicine are also skilled in poison. In order to preserve my and my master's safety, we will have to carefully search the great imperial envoy's body. Please forgive us, your excellency!"
Eunuch Yuan didn't deliberately 'embarrass' her and had a woman clothed in black search her from head to toe. Even the snack pouch at her waist had been searched through. This little activity truly did turn up a few interesting things.
Eunuch Yuan casually picked up a small bottle and read the label, "High-level wound balm——hm? There's even a high-level wound balm? Ah, I know now. It's the legendary wound balm that's not sold to outsiders and it's a holy medicine that's only given to the people around you. Nine Turns Golden Elixir? Heals internal injuries and is even more effective than Medicine King Valley's recovery pill. Was that brat Su Ran dragged back from the King of Hell after taking this pill?"
Eunuch Yuan narrowed his eyes. It looked like they really did need to leave this particular official alive. It wasn't because she had skills in planting and raising crops but because she could make these medicines.
"I heard that you were preparing to concoct a life-elongating 'prolonging life pill', is that right?" Eunuch Yuan arrived in front of Xiaocao and looked at her with great interest. His cold eyes seemed to be slithering around her like a disgusting snake and Xiaocao couldn't help but feel goosebumps rise on her arms.
"That's right." Xiaocao had always thought that people with something missing were never truly right in the head. Naturally, her Sir Su was an exception to the rule. Thus, she didn't believe that being confrontational with Eunuch Yuan was the right choice. Before her husband found them, she needed to keep herself very safe, so she replied in a very obliging manner.
Eunuch Yuan asked with great interest, "When do you plan on concocting this? How long will it take? How much life can one pill give?"
"The efficacy of the prolonging-life pill naturally depends on the rarity and value of the ingredients used. For example, if you use some ordinary ginseng and reishi mushroom compared to using hundred year old or even thousand year old variants, there would naturally be a big difference between the two. The more inferior types can only prolong life by about three to five years. The better types can give a person one to two more decades without any issues!" Yu Xiaocao threw out a bait. She needed to preserve her safety first before making other plans.
Eunuch Yuan's eyes lit up. He only looked to be around forty but his head full of white hair revealed his true age. He was one of the great experts of the previous dynasty and was even older than the emperor emeritus. He was getting close to eighty.
In this era, he was already considered quite long-lived. After all, those who practiced martial arts kept their bodies in tip-top form. However, time eroded all things, including the body. Eunuch Yuan was well aware of this reality.
He was wildly ambitious and desperately wanted to recover the previous dynasty so that he could be the power behind a puppet emperor. Unfortunately, time was not on his side...if he could extend his life by another twenty years, he would be able to reach his cherished goal. Eunuch Yuan's heart became more excited at this prospect.
"If all of the ingredients are prepared for you, how long will it take for you to make?" Eunuch Yuan's power had flourished all these years, so he naturally ended up with quite a number of good things in his hands. Even if he couldn't take any out now, with his connections and wealth, it'd be very easy for him to come up with a full set of ingredients for the prolonging-life pill.
"A total of forty-nine days!" Yu Xiaocao saw that Eunuch Yuan's face had twisted and hurriedly added, "The more precious a pill, the more time it needs to be made. Just think, one needs to purify the medicinal ingredients, make sure the ingredients are harmoniously incorporated together, shaping the pill...all of these require time. If someone told you that you can get it in three to five days, they were definitely trying to trick you!"
Eunuch Yuan wasn't well-versed in making meds, so when he heard her explanation, he was mollified. He even told her to give him a list of ingredients and then had his subordinates go prepare what was needed.
"Chief Steward, a group of authorities are here. They say that they are searching for a group of criminals and need to go through our residence!" The door to the hidden room opened and a very ordinary looking person in nondescript clothing entered. The expressions and mannerisms of this person were not any different than those of ordinary servants in ordinary households.
Eunuch Yuan revealed a scornful smile and replied in a gentle voice, "Then allow them in to search around! We are law-abiding citizens and will cooperate fully with the authorities."
Outside the hidden room, Zhu Junyang took a group of soldiers and entered into Jinling's largest silk merchant's residence, which was owned by the Chen Family. They began to search the area from top to bottom.
Governor Fan ordered, "Everyone keep their eyes open and search carefully. You can't let a single corner off!"
Chen Guang, the head of the Chen Family, was a middle-aged man in his fifties with a long beard. When his two sons got the message, they hurried over and personally escorted the authorities along to every corner and cranny of the Chen Family's residence. All of the male servants had also appeared in the outer courtyard.
Chen Guang and his descendents all had the proper reaction to this situation. All of them were a bit anxious but none of them seemed to be hiding anything more. They resembled the other families who had gotten their homes searched. They had the right level of nervousness but nothing else.
Other than the head of the Chen Family, Chen Guang, no one else in the family knew about the secret room in their warehouse. Furthermore, none of them had an inkling that all of the recent scary events were related to their family. Except for a select few that were carefully chosen and trained, the rest of the servants were all clueless and in the dark.
The people of the inner residence were also fooled! Even Chen Guang's wife of decades didn't even know that her husband was a secret supporter of the previous dynasty. This truly showed just how much he had endured and disguised himself. Thus, Zhu Junyang and Governor Fan were destined to fail here.
"If you discover any suspicious people, you need to report it immediately. Recently, make sure the guards patrol a bit more around the residence. That group of criminals only targets families who have a bit of wealth and status!" Governor Fan couldn't help but leave a parting warning as he took his officers out.
The head of the Chen Family gratefully said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. This commoner will definitely have the guards patrol the area. If anything happens, we will immediately report it to the authorities!"
"Master, this is the last family! Did we get tricked by the tracks in the beginning?" After searching frantically for an entire day, they still had nothing to show. Hou Xiaoliang had become quite fretful.