Chu Yuanchen was waiting for her in front of the Sheng Mansion. She said she wanted to go to Baicaotang, so he went with her without asking any questions.

From a distance, Sheng Xiyan saw a lot of people gathered in front of Baicao Hall, and a strong man was kowtowing in front of the door.

He also brought his wife and children to express his gratitude repeatedly.

"That's impossible." Madam Gu said, "The kind person who gave the medicine is someone else. We just lent him a place."

The man hurriedly asked, "Who is this kind person?"

Doctor Gu said bluntly, "The good man did not reveal his name."

Sheng Xiyan glanced at Xigui, who immediately understood what she meant. She got off the carriage and asked around, then came back and said, "Miss, these are patients who caught a cold a while ago. They fled from Minzhou, and the whole family caught a cold. The man was already dying, and Baicaotang was dispensing medicine, so his wife came to ask for it. After taking it for a few days, she survived, and the whole family survived."

Xigui blinked at Sheng Xiyan and said with a smile, "During the New Year, Baicaotang was closed, so they waited until the door was opened to kowtow."

Sheng Xiyan's eyes were smiling and she was in a very good mood.

She applied the pesticide before the Chinese New Year and originally planned to apply it for ten days, but later she added some silver and applied it for a full half month.

Sheng Xiyan had also asked Xigui to find out a little bit and learned that many people's colds had been cured. Now that she saw someone coming to thank her with her own eyes, her heart was filled with joy as if a little bird was fluttering.

Sheng Xiyan tapped Xigui's forehead and said, "You stay in the carriage. Doctor Gu recognizes you, but don't recognize me."

Xigui agreed happily, Sheng Xiyan jumped off the carriage, and entered Baicaotang with Chu Yuanchen.

During the period before the Chinese New Year, Baicaotang provided free medical treatment and saved many people's lives from the cold. Now, when they saw people coming to express their gratitude, they followed suit.

Chu Yuanchen protected her, squeezed through the crowd, and entered Baicaotang.

Sheng Xiyan looked around and saw that there was indeed an old doctor in Baicaotang. She was delighted and felt that her trip today was not in vain.

She looked at Chu Yuanchen, smiled sweetly, and said, "I'll go over and ask."

The old lady was nearly seventy years old, with gray hair, wrinkles all over her face, and a kind expression. She was smiling as she watched her grandson busying around. When she looked up, she saw a little girl of fifteen or sixteen walking towards her, with an imposing man protecting the girl.

He asked gently, "Miss, do you want to see a doctor?"

Somehow, Sheng Xiyan's eyes felt a little sore. In a trance, she felt that if her grandfather were still alive, when he was older, he might be as energetic as the ancient doctor.

Sheng Xiyan blinked lightly, hiding the inappropriate emotions in her eyes, and asked with a smile: "Old Doctor, I have a medicine that I can't identify. Can you please help me take a look?"

The old doctor had a very good temper. He stroked his beard and said, "Girl, bring it here for me to have a look."

Sheng Xiyan took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve pocket and poured the ointment out of the bottle.

The ointment looked similar to last time, a thumb-sized piece, black in color, but not completely black, to be precise it was a darker dark brown.

She put the ointment on the handkerchief and handed it to the ancient doctor.

The old doctor took the ointment, first carefully identified the smell, then looked at the color and appearance, pressed the softness and hardness, and after pondering for a moment, he asked: "Miss, can you let me taste it?"

Most medicines cannot be identified just from their appearance and smell, unless the smell or appearance is very recognizable. Unfortunately, this ointment does not have that. It only has a slight fishy smell, and there are so many herbs that can emit a fishy smell that you cannot detect it just by smelling it.

Therefore, in ancient times, there was the Shennong who tasted hundreds of herbs. One had to taste them himself to know what they were and what their uses were.

Sheng Xiyan shook her head: "I'm afraid it won't work."

The old doctor showed a look of surprise. He saw Sheng Xiyan had brought this thing to him for identification, and he thought she was very anxious. Then he heard her say, "I don't know whether this thing is good or bad, and I can't let you take risks."

Although the Queen Mother has been eating it for such a long time and is still alive and well, it should not be poison. Even so, she would not dare to let anyone try it, as the ancient doctor is already very old.

The last time she wanted to try it herself, Chu Yuanchen wouldn't let her.

From yourself to others.

This girl is really kind-hearted. The old doctor smiled and said: "Miss, can you give me some? I will check some medical books..."

"This looks like the perfect ointment?"

An uncertain voice interrupted the old doctor's words.

The family of three who had just kowtowed in front of the gate were being led in by their waiter. Doctor Gu felt a little guilty about their kowtow, so he planned to take the man's pulse and give him some medicine to nourish his body.

The sister-in-law looked at the ointment in the old doctor's hand and said to her husband, "Dad, it turns out there is also a perfect ointment in Beijing."

There is something interesting about this.

Chu Yuanchen rubbed it gently with his thumb and index finger. He noticed that when the man heard the words "Shiquan Cream", there was a hint of fear in his eyes, as if this was something terrible.

Chu Yuanchen and Sheng Xiyan looked at each other, and the latter asked with a smile: "Sister-in-law, have you seen this thing?"

Sheng Xiyan had a slender figure, beautiful appearance, and luxurious clothes. The swaying South China pearl on her hairpin alone was enough to dazzle their eyes.

This girl, who was obviously from a wealthy family, made Wang Saozi somewhat awed. She said carefully, "This looks a bit like the Ten-Herb Cream."

"What is the Ten-Heart Cream?" Sheng Xiyan said gently, "Please help me solve this puzzle, sister-in-law."

Wang Zhou said quickly, "My family is from Minzhou. The foreign shops in Minzhou sell a kind of all-purpose ointment. Officials and soldiers in Minzhou would buy it in their spare time."

Near the coast of Minzhou, Darong did not restrict maritime trade, so there were often foreign ships coming and going, and pirates were constantly plundering. Therefore, there were 50,000 troops stationed in Minzhou all year round, and exiled prisoners would be recruited to fight against the bandits.

Sheng Xiyan's mind moved, and she asked, "Is Shiquan Cream very popular in Minzhou?"

Wang Zhou nodded and said, "They were brought here by merchants from that country. They started selling them in their own shops, but they couldn't sell them for a long time. Later, they gave them away for free to the soldiers. They did this in Fujian for three or four months starting from the beginning of the year before last."

"This thing is addictive. If you don't eat it, you will feel dizzy and sleepy. Later, the merchant stopped giving it away, so they had to spend money to buy it."

"People like us can't afford it, but the soldiers usually have plenty of money, so they often buy some to try."

Addicted?!

really!

Sheng Xiyan felt that it was not right for the other party to give it away directly. After all, the most important thing in doing business is to make money. Merchants pursue profits. Unless the merchants can ensure that these people who are used to taking it will come back to spend money to buy it, otherwise, wouldn’t it be a loss to give it away? If it is an addiction, it is easy to explain. The reason for giving it away in the beginning is just to keep people hooked.

Sheng Xiyan asked, "And then?"

"Then." Wang Zhou looked a little dazed and a little scared, and seemed reluctant to speak. "Miss, this is not Minzhou anymore, you'd better stop asking."

"Brother Wang," Doctor Gu said gently, "if you know anything, just tell me. You want to thank the benefactor who saved your family, right? This is it."

Sheng Xiyan was surprised and her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly. She had never expected that he would find out.

Doctor Gu nodded at her with a smile. She had come here with the girl who had returned from the past. Although she was wearing a veil at that time, he still recognized her voice.

Wang Zhou was surprised at first, then delighted. He immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Sheng Xiyan with tears of gratitude. Not only did he kowtow himself, he also pulled his wife and children to kowtow with him.

At that time, they had just fled to the capital city and originally wanted to seek refuge with an uncle of their clan. However, after arriving in the capital, they found that the uncle's family had moved away.

Last winter was really cold. Fujian was hot and stuffy. It was the coldest winter they had ever experienced. The whole family fell ill, especially him, who almost died.

It doesn't matter if he dies, but if he dies, how will his wife and the children survive in an unfamiliar place?

It was the medicine given by a kind person that saved him, or rather, saved his entire family.

Otherwise, they would not be alive today.

Sheng Xiyan took a step aside, avoiding their kowtow, and personally went to help Wang's sister-in-law.

Wang Zhou could not hide the excitement and gratitude on his face. After calming down, he answered Sheng Xiyan's questions without hesitation: "The Governor of Minzhou and almost 50% of the Minzhou army started to buy this Shiquan ointment. The price of Shiquan ointment became higher and higher. At first it was free, then it was ten copper coins a box, and by the time our family left, it had risen to ten taels of silver a box."

Ten taels of silver?!

"How many are there in this box?"

Wang Zhou gestured with his own hand, thought it was wrong, and then gestured with his wife's hand: "It's about the size of half of my wife's palm. I heard from them that it can last for more than a month."

Sheng Xiyan showed a pensive look.

She remembered that day at the girls' school, the box that King Zhao had someone bring to the Queen Mother was about this size. If this was really the same thing...

Ten taels of silver.

Ten taels of silver were enough for an ordinary family to live on for more than half a year.

As far as she knew, the court now paid soldiers eighteen taels of silver a year. This was what Chu Yuanchen told her the last time she talked to him about the imperial guards drawing empty salaries.

They can’t afford it with their salaries!

Chu Yuanchen said calmly: "So, Minzhou added the bonus privately?"

Wang Zhou just said that he came to the capital to escape the war.

"In the past two years, the Governor of Minzhou has gradually increased taxes tenfold. We can still tolerate this. Minzhou has many ships and we can earn some money by working as helpers. But in the middle of last year, Minzhou not only allowed merchant ships to enter the port at will, but also allowed pirates to go ashore at will, as long as they paid enough money."

Although maritime trade was greatly expanded, there was a quota for merchant ships to enter the port, and taxes were also increased.

Wang Zhou shuddered and continued, "The pirates were given money to go ashore, so they certainly wouldn't come here for nothing and just rob everywhere. The government took the money as a tribute and didn't care about us at all. We couldn't survive, so we had the guts to run away."

Who would be willing to leave their hometown if they really couldn't survive?

In Minzhou, they still had a few acres of land, and could do some work as helpers in moving goods, so the family would not starve to death, and they originally wanted to just endure it. However, the village where his wife's family came from was massacred by pirates overnight, and they became afraid, fearing that the pirates would massacre their village another day. After his wife cleaned up the corpses of her parents and brothers, they fled overnight.

I had nowhere to go, so I came to the capital.

I originally thought I could rely on my uncle, but who knew that things are so unpredictable...

The old lady passed the ointment in her hand to him and asked, "Sister-in-law, can you take a closer look at it?"

Sheng Xiyan recalled the box that the Queen Mother had received and described its appearance in detail.

"Yes, it's very similar." Sister Wang said, "When I was working as a helper, the old man bought a box and I saw it by accident. It was black inside and smelled a bit bad. I was thinking, who would eat something so smelly?"

She was afraid that she might mislead Sheng Xiyan, so she added, "I haven't used it, so it may not be the case. It's just that the box is like what the young lady said, it's very beautiful. When they gave it away for free, many people thought it was beautiful and went to take it."

She also wanted to take one back to put away her needlework, but her husband stopped her, saying that it must be no good if it was given for free. She thought so and did not take it.

Later, I was very grateful.

Sheng Xiyan glanced at Chu Yuanchen, asking him if he had anything else to ask.

Chu Yuanchen shook his head at her.

Sheng Xiyan then asked them where they were living now. Knowing that they were staying in a dilapidated temple outside the city, she said, "I have a shop in the capital that needs a female waiter. It's a rouge shop, and it mainly serves customers. If Sister-in-law Wang is willing, you can go there. The shop hasn't opened yet, and you still need to help clean and tidy up. There is a small courtyard behind the shop, which can be used by your family temporarily. The fee is two taels of silver per month."

This was Xu's dress shop, which had been rented out before. But at the end of last year, the owner stopped renting it out. Sheng Xiyan thought it would be a bit troublesome to find someone else to rent it out, so she decided to keep it.

There was an ancient book among the medical books left by her grandfather, which contained some pretty good skin care creams. She planned to make them and sell them in the shop.

Sister-in-law Wang was very happy.

They had spent all their money long ago, and now they had to rely on her husband's odd jobs. If they could have a stable job and salary, it would really help the whole family.

Mrs. Wang thanked him profusely and nodded repeatedly.

Sheng Xiyan borrowed some pens and ink from the shop, wrote a note, and asked them to go directly to the shop.

The old doctor was still examining the ointment and said in a deep voice, "If this thing makes people addicted, it is really terrible."

Sheng Xi Yan Shen agreed with that.

The old doctor pondered and said, "Miss, can you give me some of it? I want to see if there is any cure."

Sheng Xiyan agreed.

She divided the ointment into two and gave him half. She then said that if there were any results or if he needed her to do anything, he could come to Sheng Mansion to find her anytime, and then she left.

Chu Yuanchen got into the carriage with her. After they sat down, he said, "Minzhou has become like this, and the court has not received any news at all..." His peach blossom eyes were slightly raised, with a hint of contemplation in them.

When they arrived at Qingming Tea House, Chu Yuanchen stopped the carriage and said, "I need to discuss this with my eldest brother. You go to Prince Yu's Mansion first, and I will come to find you later."

Sheng Xiyan agreed.

Those businessmen may just want to make money, but Minzhou now allows pirates to come ashore and rob, which shows that the government has become largely corrupt.

If businessmen saw business opportunities in this and sold this thing throughout Darong, the scene would be terrifying.

Moreover, Zhao Yuanrou had never been to Fujian, but he was able to produce the Shiquan Cream. Obviously, this thing had already been sold to the capital. Maybe it just arrived, and the famous families in the capital have seen a lot of good things and may not be interested in free things, so they did not promote it.

"You go ahead."

Sheng Xiyan waved to him, waited for Chu Yuanchen to jump off the carriage, and then went to Prince Yu's Mansion by herself.

Prince Yu was the younger brother of the late emperor. He received the title of prince but did not hold any important post. He had no interest in the affairs of the court. He just liked to ride his horse and play with birds. Prince Yu's grandson loved to play polo, so he built a polo field in the palace.

The polo field was just to the east of the palace. It was flat and spacious, with several bamboo sheds built around it as spectators' stands. When Sheng Xiyan arrived, quite a few people had already arrived, and there was laughter and noise everywhere.

Cheng Chuyu was discussing tactics with her teammates. When she saw her, she waved from a distance.

Sheng Xiyan looked around and saw a familiar face, so she smiled and said, "Han Qianzhi, you are here too."

Han Qianzhi came over and greeted her: "Miss Shengda."

Han Qianzhi and Ji Mingyang now live in the King's residence of Zhenbei. Sheng Xiyan often sees them when she goes to pay her respects, and they have become very familiar with each other. Han Qianzhi is good at using a knife, so Chu Yuanchen asked him to teach Sheng Yan how to use a knife.

"I asked him to come." Cheng Chuyu said carelessly, "I didn't expect that he would come to the capital."

"Do you recognize him?" Sheng Xiyan raised her eyebrows.

Cheng Chuyu said with a smile: "When I was in Northern Xinjiang, I always played with them."

The people in the northern border are tough and there are not as many rules as in the capital. These generals' children often hunt and play together and are quite familiar with each other.

Cheng Chuyu was young at that time, but she was very brave and loved to run behind others. They would also take her to play for a while.

"During the Chinese New Year, my mother took me to pay respects to the princess, and I didn't expect to meet him." Cheng Chuyu smiled casually, "The polo match was moved up temporarily, and Fu Junqing hadn't finished mourning yet. It just so happened that our team was short of people, so we asked him if he wanted to play together."

Han Qianzhi said complacently: "I am an expert at playing polo in Northern Xinjiang. Your Majesty knows that. I have never lost!"

He paused, glanced at Sheng Xiyan's back, and asked, "Where is the prince?"

"He'll be here later."

After Sheng Xiyan said this, Han Qianzhi knew that something was wrong and stopped asking.

Han Qianzhi and Cheng Chuyu were in the same team, and they were also on the same team with Yu Wang Shisun and others, a total of four people.

They were discussing tactics, and Sheng Xiyan did not bother them and sat down in another bamboo shed.

The wind is a bit strong today, but the sunshine is nice and it feels warm and comfortable on my body.

As soon as she sat down, the third son of Prince Yu's Mansion came over casually, followed by a servant holding a tray.

"Come on, come on, Miss Shengda, do you want to place a bet?" The Third Master of Yu smiled casually, looking like a dandy young man. Without waiting for her to agree, he continued, "The red team and the blue team are now at a 3-1 odds. Which side do you want to bet on, Miss Shengda?"

Sheng Xiyan glanced at the red riding uniforms of Cheng Chuyu and the others and said with a smile, "Of course it's the Red Team."

The servant's tray was filled with gold and silver ingots, just for fun. Sheng Xiyan also took out a gold ingot and placed it on the red team's side.

"Okay, buy it and leave it alone!"

The third young master asked the servant to record the bill and then went to the next bamboo shed.

By the time all bets were placed, the time was almost up and the polo match officially began.

Cheng Chuyu's team was wearing bright red riding uniforms and red ribbons on their foreheads; they were the red team, while Princess Qingping and Princess Qingyue were on the blue team.

Qingping raised his chin slightly and glanced at his opponent, then his gaze fell on Cheng Chuyu again, with a heavy look in his eyes.

Cheng Chuyu was not to be outdone, she glared back at her and said, "Princess, we won't hold back!"

Princess Qingping curled her lips and said meaningfully, "It's still unknown whether we will win or lose."

She pulled the reins and was the first to enter the court.

Boom!

There was a sound of bronze bells being struck, and Princess Qingping kicked off the match first.

The fist-sized white ball flew out in an arc in the air. The court was immediately filled with the sound of horses' hooves. People rode their horses, holding sticks, to chase after the ball. On the court, the bright colors of the red and blue teams were clearly visible.

The ball is fast, but the horse is faster.

Qingyue caught the polo ball first and passed it back to Qingping beside him. Qingping rode his horse to meet him, holding the staff high in his hand. At this moment, a black shadow rushed in with lightning speed and hit the polo ball away with one stick. The ball flew towards the young man in red not far away.

"pretty!"

Han Qianzhi praised loudly, raised his right arm and swung the polo ball, which flew along the pole and into the opponent's goal.

"OK!"

Sheng Xiyan cheered and applauded happily.

This steal was so spectacular that loud applause and cheers broke out simultaneously from the surrounding bamboo sheds.

It was Cheng Chuyu's turn to kick off. After a chase, Qingping finally grabbed the polo ball and dribbled towards the opponent's goal in an attempt to get back 10%. She was an excellent rider, and with Qingyue and others protecting her, she was about to lose the ball. Han Qianyi pinched the horse's belly, then quickly lowered his body and hung himself on the horse's side. The pole went under Qingping's horse's belly at an extremely impossible angle and picked up the ball.

Yu Wang Shisun took his pass and passed it to Cheng Chuyu. Before the blue team came back to help, Cheng Chuyu easily scored another point!

There was thunderous applause all around. Whether it was Han Qianzhi's stealing of the ball or the red team's passing, they all had perfect coordination and it was obvious that they had planned the strategy beforehand.

Cheng Chuyu raised the hammer and touched it with Yu Wang Shisun, and then it was Han Qianzhi and Miss Zhou Wu.

Cheng Chuyu raised his eyebrows, looked at Qingping with a smile, and said, "Princess, you see, the victory or defeat has already been decided."

Qingping looked at her coldly.

She squeezed the cub pole, and all the new and old grudges came flooding back to her.

Why? Lady Wu Anbo obviously likes me more. Why would Cheng Chuyu, a wild girl who just came back from the frontier, interfere?!

"Qingping."

Qingyue called her, indicating that the game was about to start again. Qingping withdrew his hateful look and rode back to his position.

The ball flew into the air again, and Prince Shisun of Yu swung the club and hit the ball smoothly. He made a quick gesture, and several people on the same team grabbed the reins at the same time and went to their respective positions.

On the court, eight people and one ball were competing fiercely.

Sheng Xiyan was also watching the performance enthusiastically from the side, occasionally standing up and clapping enthusiastically.

"ah!"

She let out a light cry, and on the court, Qingping finally snatched the ball from Miss Zhou Wu's hand. A cold look appeared in her eyes, and she raised the cue and hit the ball towards Cheng Chuyu who was coming towards her and trying to steal the ball.

Sheng Xiyan clenched his fists nervously.

Cheng Chuyu's riding skills were excellent, and Sheng Xiyan thought she could avoid it, but the next moment, the ball hit the horse's forehead heavily.

The horse neighed in pain.