After returning to the inn, Su Huaiyue didn't have time to rest for too long and plunged into the preparation of supplies.
She knew very well that medicinal materials were crucial for the journey to the southwest, and she urgently needed to take stock of the money she had so that she could purchase as many essential herbs as possible in Dongzhou.
Su Huaiyue poured all the silver and money in the package onto the table and counted them carefully. Wei Che and Lord Li also helped to sort them out.
The flickering candlelight in the room illuminated the slightly tired yet focused faces of the three people.
After an inventory, the remaining money was not abundant, but if we lived frugally, it should be enough to purchase some basic medicinal materials.
To reassure the two, Su Huaiyue put the silver back into her purse and said, "I'll go to the pharmacy tomorrow morning to see if I can buy some herbs."
Lord Li nodded, "Thank you for your help, Miss Su."
The next morning, before dawn, Su Huaiyue got up and hurried to the pharmacy in Dongzhou.
At this time, Dongzhou City was still shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist. There were only a few early risers in the streets, and occasionally the barking of dogs could be heard.
Su Huaiyue tightened his cloak and quickened his pace into the first pharmacy.
Inside the store, a shopkeeper who was over fifty years old was sitting behind the counter, slowly wiping the abacus.
"Boss, please tell me if you have any medicinal herbs such as honeysuckle, forsythia, patchouli, etc. to treat epidemic diseases?" Su Huaiyue asked anxiously, his eyes full of expectation.
The shopkeeper raised his eyelids, glanced at her, and replied slowly, "Miss, you're too late. These herbs have long been bought up at high prices. There is nothing left in our store."
Su Huaiyue's heart sank suddenly, but she still didn't give up and asked, "Then do you know where else to find it?"
The shopkeeper shrugged and said helplessly, "Miss, there's nothing I can do. In the past few days, several mysterious groups of people have come and swept away all the medicinal herbs in the city. My small business really can't afford to buy more."
Su Huaiyue gritted her teeth, said thank you, turned around and ran to the next pharmacy.
This pharmacy is a little bigger, and there is a young man in the store who is sorting the shelves.
"Young man, do you have any medicinal herbs to treat the epidemic? Honeysuckle, Forsythia, Patchouli, etc." Su Huaiyue asked hopefully.
The clerk stopped what he was doing and said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Sorry, young lady, we're out of stock. It's strange. Just this morning, someone paid a high price and bought up all the remaining stock."
Su Huaiyue's expression became increasingly serious. She said anxiously, "Brother, please be kind. I need to bring some herbs to save someone. Could you help me find some, even just a little bit?"
The guy sighed and said, "Girl, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that we don't have any. You can go look at other places, but I guess they're all about the same."
Su Huaiyue was unwilling to give up and went searching from house to house.
Every time I went into a pharmacy, I got the same answer - there were no products in stock and they had all been bought at high prices.
The few stocks that were available were ridiculously expensive, almost several times the usual price.
She walked through the streets, her steps becoming heavier and heavier, her heart filled with helplessness and anxiety.
Before I knew it, I had walked back to the inn.
"Miss Su, you are finally back. How is the situation?" Lord Li stood up first and asked anxiously.
Wei Che had also been waiting downstairs for a long time, but when he saw that she didn't look well, his heart sank.
Su Huaiyue shook her head weakly, her voice hoarse and low: "I have searched almost every pharmacy in the city, from the east to the west, one after another, and these herbs have been bought up at high prices. There is only a little bit of stock left, but the price is ridiculously high. With the silver we have, I am afraid we can't even buy a tael of it."
Upon hearing this, Lord Li sighed deeply, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the room. The wooden floor under his feet made a creaking sound, as if he was also sighing over this predicament.
Wei Che remained calm and analyzed, "Who on earth would suddenly buy these herbs at such a high price? This is too strange. The rampant epidemic in the southwest has only been reported in secret reports from the court. How did others know about it and start hoarding medicine?"
Su Huaiyue had also thought that buying the medicine at a high price was for no reason, unless... someone leaked the news.
The three of them looked at each other and understood.
Lord Li lowered his voice and said, "We only learned about this last night through the Spurs. It seems that someone with inside information leaked the secret."
A cold glint flashed in Wei Che's eyes. "We all know Brother Ma well. He wouldn't be the one leaking the information. This secret report traveled all the way from the capital to Dongzhou. There were so many people involved along the way, it's inevitable that it would have leaked somewhere else."
"We can't waste any more time in Dongzhou. We have to set off today. What should we do with these medicinal herbs..." Lord Li looked grim.
Su Huaiyue suddenly remembered something. "Lord Li, please have someone pack up and get ready to leave. If we delay any further, the court might blame us. We'll pass through many mountain villages on our way to the southwest. Maybe they'll have the herbs we need. There's always a way out."
Wei Che agreed with Su Huaiyue's statement, "Indeed, we are also anxious here now. Why don't we set off first and then find a solution. It will take some time to reach the southwest. The more anxious we are, the more likely we are to make mistakes."
Lord Li nodded, agreeing to their proposal, and then hurriedly asked his adjutant to go up and call up all the family members, and get ready to set off after packing up.
Su Huaiyue went back to her room to pack her bags, and when no one was around, she called the system in her mind.
"System, the epidemic is raging in the southwest now, and people are suffering everywhere. Medicinal materials are in extreme shortage. Do you have any way to help me get some medicinal materials?" Su Huaiyue asked anxiously.
The system's cold, emotionless electronic voice suddenly rang out in her mind without any warning: [Complete the system task to receive 1,000 bags of Forsythia]
It seems that this dog system is not so inhumane!
Su Huaiyue felt a little relieved and asked in a good mood: "Tell me, what is the mission?"
[The host needs to start a campaign against Wei Che. The mission is considered complete only when Wei Che's favorability towards you increases by 20%.]
Su Huaiyue was struck by lightning when he heard this.
The good mood just now is completely gone.
This shit system is still so shitty.
"It's too difficult to make Wei Che like me better than to kill me. Dog system, do you know that he wanted to kill me at the beginning, but now he has finally changed his mind and is still in favor of me? Are you crazy? Can you change the mission?"
[No! ]
In order to get the herbs, Su Huaiyue accepted her fate, but still wanted to bargain with the system, "This mission is too difficult. How can the reward be only forsythia? I also want honeysuckle and patchouli!"
[Host, then you need to increase your favorability by 30%~]
Su Huaiyue's eyes widened, her heart filled with helplessness and madness, "30%? This is going to kill me! Wei Che looks gentle, but he's actually very cunning. How can he be conquered so easily?"
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