Infant spirits have many uses; they can be used to create evil objects, and very powerful ones at that.
It can also be made into pills, and can be refined into soul fragments to repair other people's souls. In short, it has many uses.
Yuan Qi asked many questions, but still couldn't figure out why this person was using infant spirits. However, she knew that someone with this ability was no ordinary Taoist priest.
Half a month passed in a flash, and Yuan Qi did not encounter any more incidents of snatching the baby's soul.
That evening, Huang Xian and Huang Zhong delivered the things Yuan Qi wanted: a basket of red spirit fruit and several baskets of various herbs.
Yuan Qi asked Green Bamboo to find a larger, more exquisite box, which was filled with about half a basket of red spirit fruits, enough to last for a year. Yuan Qi wanted to keep the rest for himself.
Although selling these red spirit fruits for 20,000 taels of gold is indeed a bit expensive, 20,000 taels is not expensive at all for the life of the Empress's eldest son.
To show that he wasn't doing this for money, Yuan Qi also planned to give away a golden-glowing Great Rejuvenation Pill as a friendly gift.
Yuan Qi did some mental preparation and resolutely refused to admit that he was a shrewd businessman.
She cut out a paper figure, dotted on its eyes, wrote a line of small characters on it, signed it Yuan Qi, and then imbued the paper figure with spiritual power with her fingertips. The paper figure then bowed to her and flew away.
Xiao Ran was frail and did not need to attend court, so he stayed in his residence to recuperate.
According to the rules, when a prince turns fourteen, he must leave the palace and establish his own residence. Because he has no political achievements or military exploits, Xiao Ran has not yet been granted the title of prince, and his residence is named Guiyuan.
The person floated in the air and headed towards Guiyuan.
Xiao Ran was taking a bath and preparing for bed when he saw a yellow paper figure fly in front of him, clasping its hands in a fist salute. The paper figure also had a faint glow on it and was winking at him.
He wasn't afraid at all; in fact, he found it novel and interesting: "Where did this paper figure come from? It can even bow; it's really interesting."
He leaned closer and discovered words on the paper figure: "Red Spirit Fruit has arrived. See you at White Crane Tower tomorrow at noon. Yuan Qi."
"So it belongs to Miss Seven. No wonder it's so magical." He opened his palm, and the paper figure ran into his palm, bowed, and then lost its luster, turning into an ordinary paper figure that lay motionless in Xiao Ran's palm.
Xiao Ran poked at the paper figure curiously, but it wouldn't move.
The eunuchs who were serving him during his bath saw it but didn't dare to say a word, so they pretended not to see it.
Xiao Ran instructed the eunuch serving beside her, "Put it away carefully, and don't let it get wet."
The eunuch came over, took away the paper figure, found a small box, and put the paper figure inside.
The next day, Xiao Ran took only two people to Baihelou. He did not reveal his identity and waited for Yuan Qi in the private room upstairs.
It was still early, so he stood at the window and looked out. By the time Yuan Qi arrived, it was already past noon.
Yuan Qi was still wearing a Taoist robe, with Wen Zhujun beside him. As soon as the two sat down, Yuan Qi explained, "I'm sorry to have kept Your Highness waiting. I originally planned to come earlier, but a fortune teller came and delayed me for a while. Please don't mind, Your Highness."
Xiao Ran chuckled: "I arrived too early. I didn't know what Miss Seven liked to eat, so I ordered a little of each flavor. Miss Seven, please feel free to eat whatever you like and don't be shy."
Yuan Qi had already seen the table full of food; the two of them couldn't possibly finish it all, what a waste.
But she didn't say.
"Let's get down to business first. I've brought what Your Highness requested." Yuan Qi lowered his head, took out the exquisite box from the cloth bag, pushed it in front of Xiao Ran, and then took out a jade bottle and pushed it over as well.
Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Ran slowly opened the box. Sure enough, it was full of red fruit. The color was dazzling. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the fruit was glowing. Moreover, the aroma was very unique. Even before eating it, the aroma made him feel refreshed and energetic.
He picked one up and brought it to his nose, carefully savoring the taste of the red jujube.
"Your Highness is frail. Although this Red Spirit Fruit is a good thing, you should not eat too much of it. You should only eat one a day. Given Your Highness's health, it would be best to eat half a fruit a day, and after half a month, eat one a day to ensure your safety. Otherwise, if you consume too much of this highly nourishing food, Your Highness will not be able to absorb it and it will put a burden on your body. Moreover, this fruit is full of spiritual energy and has a very good nourishing effect. Your Highness must remember not to be greedy for its delicious taste and eat it endlessly."
Yuan Qi instructed, word by word, "This is a year's supply. Your Highness can consume it slowly. After a year, Your Highness's body will naturally become strong and healthy."
Xiao Ran wiped the red spirit fruit with her sleeve, took a careful bite, the skin was red, the flesh was white, and it was very juicy: "It is indeed very sweet. Seventh Miss, you gave me so much at once, won't it spoil in a few days?"
"No, this is a spiritual fruit; it won't spoil even after ten or eight years."
Xiao Ran couldn't resist and ate the whole thing; he wanted to take a second one.
Yuan Qi went over and put the lid on: "You must not eat any more. His Highness is weak and cannot withstand the effects of two pills."
She forcibly snatched the box and handed it to the servant beside her: "Remember to keep an eye on your master. Give him half a pill every day for the first half of the month."
The eunuch quickly replied, "Don't worry, Miss Seven, this servant will keep it in mind."
Xiao Ran wasn't the kind of person who lacked self-control. Normally, she would only take three bites of food at a meal in her own residence. No matter how delicious the food was or how much she liked it, she couldn't take more than three bites.
Yuan Qi handed him the small jade bottle: "This is a Great Rejuvenation Pill, used to save lives in emergencies. It is a gift from me as a token of my friendship. Your Highness, please accept it."
Xiao Ran's eyes lit up: "I know about the Great Rejuvenation Pill. As soon as Mother heard that Yaoguang Pavilion had acquired a batch of spiritual herbs, she immediately sent people to buy them, but they were too late. The Great Rejuvenation Pill was sold out. The manager of Yaoguang Pavilion said that there were only ten Great Rejuvenation Pills in total, and they were snapped up as soon as they hit the market. I heard that each one cost 50,000 taels of silver. Would it be a loss for Seventh Miss to give me one?"
"No, Your Highness has given too much money; I cannot let Your Highness suffer a loss."
Xiao Ran chuckled: "Seventh Miss, you're too kind. Then I won't stand on ceremony. I can say this is a very good deal for me."
With a gentle wave of his hand, the attendant behind him immediately placed an exquisite box in front of Yuan Qi.
Yuan Qi opened it and saw that it was still gold notes, a thick stack. She didn't count them and put them directly into her cloth bag.
Xiao Ran opened the bottle and peered inside with one eye. She saw the golden pill lying quietly inside, radiating the glow of life.
Miss Seven is really generous!
He had never heard of a pill that glowed with golden light before; even the pills refined by those two old fogies, Xuanqing and Xuanji, didn't emit any light.
If Father Emperor knew that the elixir could glow, would he...?
Yes, Father must not know about this.
His father was incompetent, making him, the eldest son, a laughingstock among the court officials. He absolutely could not help his father.
In that instant, Yuan Qi looked over and discovered that Xiao Ran also had a melancholy and depressed side.
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