"Miss, please wait!" The young prince on the seat finally spoke.
Zhou Lang and I both paused.
The young prince continued, "Since you defied the heavens to risk your life, and I defied the heavens to buy my life, shouldn't the young lady also bear some of the cost of these twenty taels of gold?"
"Not a single tael less than twenty taels of gold!" He was starting to bargain with me, so I couldn't give in easily. Zhou Lang and I continued walking out.
"I heard that since Changsheng Pharmacy lost my business, business has not been very good. Recently, there have been constant wars on the border, and we are in great need of a batch of reasonably priced medicinal materials..." The young prince hit the nail on the head.
This prince is very shrewd and knows a lot about my affairs. He not only knows how to negotiate, but also wants to get cheap medicinal herbs from me.
It seems they had already secretly investigated me before?
But that's not surprising. If a prince were given a secret medicine recipe by just anyone, how could he not investigate it thoroughly?
It just so happens that some of the medicinal herbs in the pharmacy will mold if they are left unsold. Selling them to him cheaply is not a bad idea. With the prince as a living advertisement, this is the perfect opportunity to establish the pharmacy's reputation, and there will be no need to worry about a lack of business in the future.
Since he's offered me a way out, I'll take it while I can.
"Alright, considering we met by chance and have only known each other for a short time, I'll thank Your Highness and Miss Qingyan for saving my life. I'll pay the remaining ten gold coins myself. Your Highness, you can't renege on this ten gold coins! But I have one more condition..." I relented.
"What other tricks are you up to!" Qingyan started to complain again, and I suddenly felt like teasing her.
“I hit it off with this Qingyan girl the moment I met her, and we feel very close every time we meet. How about I give you, this beautiful little bodyguard, to me?” I looked at Qingyan with a playful expression.
I saw Qingyan start to darken her face and make a face as if she was about to beat me up.
“You’re joking, young lady. If I were to give you my little bodyguard, I would be like a king without a protective umbrella. Even if you gave me a hundred years of life, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it,” the prince said seriously.
Upon hearing the prince's words, Qingyan's expression shifted slightly, as if she was deeply moved.
I clicked my tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, look how serious you are. If there's another one, I'll have to support her. She's so fierce, she must eat a lot. I can't afford to support her, I can't afford to support her! So, Your Highness, would you mind if we stayed here for a simple meal?"
Just then, I smelled the aroma of food, and I knew that the manor must be preparing lunch. Zhou Lang and I were getting sick of eating sweet potatoes every day, and I was just wondering what kind of food the manor would serve. So, I couldn't resist the shamelessness to ask to stay and freeload a meal.
The prince and Qingyan were clearly taken aback by my request. After exchanging a glance, the sickly prince finally let out a long-awaited laugh: "Hahaha, it's impossible to refuse such a kind invitation!"
lunch--
Zhou Lang and I sat facing this sickly prince, our faces contorted with embarrassment as we gazed at the rather "sumptuous" meal on the table.
It consists of bok choy, greens, and various other green leafy vegetables, arranged into three to five different dishes.
I thought I would be able to have a grand meal in this prince's mansion, but it turned out to be nothing special, with not even a meat dish.
I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat, can't you see my face?
"I'm sorry, but I'm too weak to eat meat. I've been eating vegetarian food for years. I didn't know you would be visiting today, so please don't mind. You've also said that to defy fate and prolong life, one needs to accumulate good deeds. Eating vegetarian food is a way of doing good deeds, isn't it?" the sickly prince explained to me.
I chuckled and said, "Vegetarian is fine. This white rice and leafy greens are tastier than the sweet potatoes at home. Consider it a change of pace."
I was just worried about whether he could really produce those ten taels of gold: "But those ten taels of gold..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the prince waved his hand, and Uncle Cai brought over a wooden cup covered with a red cloth and placed it in front of me.
Upon opening it, one finds a small gold ingot gleaming with golden light.
"I'll give you one tael of gold as a deposit first. If this ginseng is truly as effective as you say, the rest will be settled along with the other medicinal herbs in your pharmacy..."
What a shrewd accountant!
"Alright! I trust Your Highness." I quickly tucked the gold ingot into my sleeve, unable to look away, and readily agreed.
As I picked up my chopsticks to eat, I glanced at Qingyan, the beautiful but sickly prince's bodyguard standing outside the door. She was staring intently into the room with a stern face, as if she was afraid that Zhou Lang and I would eat her master.
It made me feel really uncomfortable: "Miss Qingyan, why don't you sit down and eat with us? It's tiring standing there!"
To my surprise, she rolled her eyes at me and turned her head away, ignoring me.
Oh, you don't appreciate my kindness?
I picked up a dish from the table and eagerly placed it in the sickly prince's bowl: "Thank you for your hospitality today, Your Highness. This dish is quite good, please eat more!"
The prince was quite generous and put a dish in my bowl, saying, "Miss Ahua, this dish is also very good! Please help yourself!"
Unexpectedly, Zhou Lang also intervened at this moment, angrily returning the dish that the sickly prince had picked up.
Then, he angrily picked up a dish and put it in my bowl, repeating this several times.
The prince and I exchanged a smile and quickly laughed it off: "You flatter me, you flatter me!"
At this moment, I saw that the half of the beautiful woman's face that was visible outside the door had darkened even more, and there was a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
I smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes at me before turning away and refusing to respond.
"Looks like your little husband is jealous!" At this moment, the sickly prince opposite me started teasing me, pulling me back to my thoughts.
The beautiful woman outside was staring at me and Zhou Lang with such a predatory look that I felt incredibly uncomfortable, and I couldn't resist teasing her.
However, they overlooked Zhou Yu's feelings.
"Zhou Lang, eat!" Hearing him say that, I picked up another dish and put it in his bowl, but he angrily returned it to me.
Well, what's going on today? Zhou Lang's temper has grown quite a bit.
After finishing our meal, I wiped Zhou Lang's mouth and prepared to slip away.
Eating a meal in the home of an emperor was truly uncomfortable; I would never do it again.
Just as I reached the middle of the courtyard, Qingyan's figure flashed before my eyes, and she launched a vicious attack at me with a murderous aura.
"Not again?" Confused, I pushed Zhou Lang back a little, afraid of hurting him, and shouted at him, "Stand there and don't move!"
He then flashed out and began exchanging blows with the girl, each throwing a punch and slapping the other, chasing and dodging, for dozens of rounds without a clear winner.
"Heh heh, I just don't believe it! My centuries of solid skills are no match for her decades of wildness!"
It seemed she was also unwilling to give up and had to settle things with me!
However, having not practiced martial arts for a long time, I could only manage a draw with her. In the past, it wouldn't have been so difficult for me.
Right now I'm in a hurry to get Zhou Lang's clothes from the clothing store, so I don't have time to waste on her any longer.
So, emboldened by lust, I reached out and unbuckled her belt. As soon as she moved, her clothes came undone.
She covered herself in shame, too ashamed to move, and shouted at me, "Despicable and shameless!"
Taking advantage of the situation, I grabbed Zhou Lang and ran outside, leaving behind only the words, "That's enough for today. We'll settle this properly next time!"
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