Chapter 216 My Lucky Star
Taoist Mingxu stroked his graying beard, looking like an immortal. He pressed a white piece with his fingertips and said with a smile, "I guess it will be within a month."
"Oh? So conservative? I thought you would say within three days."
Xiao Yuluan placed the black piece.
She and Mingxu have known each other for more than twenty years. They both studied under the name of the Medical Saint in the past. However, she later traveled around the world, while Mingxu became a Taoist priest and is now a world-famous master.
Xiao Yuluan knew how unruly he used to be, and now he was pretending to be so.
Mingxu placed a white piece and curled his lips. "Although he has already asked the Taoist for the price, this elixir is very valuable. Even if he is the emperor, he may not be able to afford it all the time."
Xiao Yuluan raised her eyebrows at this, "Even the Emperor might not be able to afford it often? Is this pill of yours worth a fortune?"
Taoist Mingxu chuckled twice, "That's about right. Ten pills per bottle, one thousand taels of silver, exactly one thousand taels of gold."
Even though Xiao Yuluan knew he was ruthless, she hadn't expected him to be so ruthless. One thousand taels of silver for each pill? People who take pills don't just take one. Someone like Xiao Yuancheng, who's so eager to preserve their health and prolong their life, would definitely take pills on a monthly basis.
"Of course. This old Taoist's elixir is not like those made by other fake Taoist priests that kill people. This old Taoist's medicine is made from truly rare and precious materials."
After placing the last chess piece, Taoist Mingxu raised his hands in surrender, "I lost." Then he took out a jade bottle from under the table, poured out a piece from it and handed it to Xiao Yuluan.
Xiao Yuluan took it and sniffed it carefully. The fragrance was so strong that it was indeed made from various precious medicines. However, it was still too expensive at one thousand taels per piece. Of course, she could sell it to her eldest nephew.
No, that’s not possible. What if her eldest nephew really gets sick from eating it?
"Brother, you have great skills, but... if it's for Xiao Yuancheng, I hope you can modify the recipe."
Mingxu thought she had some ideas to discuss with him, but instead she said, "For each serving, add an extra ounce of snow lotus, ganoderma lucidum, and other herbs."
Taoist Mingxu was stunned. "This... adding one more qian to this will make the medicine much more powerful. A weak person cannot take it. Your eldest nephew is over fifty years old. Are you going to kill him with this medicine?"
Xiao Yuluan stared at the pill in her hand, rubbing it lightly with her fingertips. Upon hearing this, she chuckled, "That's not a bad idea."
Mingxu's expression suddenly changed: "Junior sister, are you... going to kill the king?"
"Kill the king?" Xiao Yuluan put the pill back into the jade bottle. She looked up at Mingxu, her eyes sharp. "Isn't it possible?"
Taoist Mingxu was stunned for a moment before he said, "Why...?"
"Don't worry, this pill formula has been modified, so it won't kill anyone in a short time. Even if you ask the Imperial Hospital to check it out, they won't dare to say anything bad about it. After all, at least you didn't add mercury like those fake Taoist priests."
"But, according to this prescription, if he gets sick, he will probably be seriously ill..."
Xiao Yuluan stood up and walked to the fence on the cliff. Looking at the boundless green mountain scenery, she turned around and said, "I will cover up this matter for you. The reason for his death in the end has absolutely nothing to do with you. Brother, don't worry. I, Xiao Yuluan, never do anything that will implicate others."
After a while, Mingxu sighed and said, "Okay, if he sends someone, I will make medicine for him according to your prescription."
Taoist Mingxu had never done anything bad in his life, and Xiao Yuancheng had never provoked him. He shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter, but when he looked at the figure that had already gone down the mountain, he couldn't refuse after all.
Who made him help his relatives more? Besides, Emperor Xiao Yuancheng must be senile to be willing to spend one thousand taels to buy his pills.
*
Although he agreed to Qingwu's request to go to the palace alone, Xiao Ji was not really at ease. He sat outside the gatehouse of the palace, and looked outside from time to time, making the guards whose chairs were occupied want to cry, and making Zhao Tong, who was accompanying him, sigh helplessly. Whose master would sit in the gatehouse?
When he saw Qingwu's carriage approaching, he took two steps at a time to greet him.
"How is it? Did your father give you any trouble?" He helped Qingwu get off the carriage, his eyes full of concern.
Qing Wu smiled, raised his hand and slowly dropped a gilded key from his sleeve, waving it in front of Xiao Ji's eyes: "Aji, look, what is this?"
Xiao Ji hadn't reacted yet: "What...what kind of key is this?"
Zhao Tong, who was standing behind him, suddenly had his eyes light up. "This is the key to the East Palace's storehouse! This was handed over to me personally by this old servant..."
"Exactly!" Qing Wu smiled with curved eyebrows, "Now I have it back for you."
Xiao Ji finally realized what had happened, and his fingertips trembled slightly as he took the key. He had thought that he would have to wait until he ascended to the throne to get those things back, but he didn't expect them to appear before him today.
"How did you do that... Qingqing, what did you offer in exchange? I'm telling you, you can't just agree to this lightly..."
Qing Wu gently pressed his hand and said to him angrily, "Am I someone who would suffer losses?"
Seeing the cunning smile on her face, Xiao Ji finally felt relieved. After all, his Qingqing was not someone who would suffer any loss.
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
As the young couple walked in, Qingwu told them everything that had happened today, which shocked Xiao Ji and Zhao Tong again.
"We only gave out five thousand taels of silver?!" Zhao Tong opened his mouth wide and couldn't help but say something even though his eyes were fixed on the key.
"Yes, our princess is very smart and clever. How could His Majesty have the nerve to accept the wedding gift?"
Baozhu replied with his chest puffed out, looking like a soldier who had followed his general to victory in a battle.
"Indeed, you are so smart, you are my lucky star."
Even though he had said this several times, Xiao Ji still wanted to say it. He took a deep breath and couldn't help but hug Qing Wu tightly in front of everyone. "I don't know where I would be without you."
Qing Wu felt a little embarrassed by what he said. He pulled himself out of his arms and said modestly, "It's not that great. Your Majesty still accepted a box of gold."
Xiao Ji laughed when he heard this: "Five thousand taels in exchange for the East Palace storehouse, this deal is quite a bargain."
There were still some of his mother's less important relics in the warehouse, as well as the assets he had accumulated over the years. Taking back these assets would be enough to arm the Hidden Phoenix Guards and the Eastern Palace Guards who stood on his side into an elite force.
Xiao Ji couldn't help but hug Qing Wu into his arms again, rubbing her cheek for a while, "My dear, you are my lucky star. What will I do if I lose you in this life?"
To be honest, Qingwu used to love hearing these words. Even when she first entered the palace, she wished Xiao Ji would praise her every day. But who would have thought that the young man who couldn't even utter a word of praise at the beginning would now be as sweet as honey and no longer care about other people's opinions. He started to praise her regardless of the occasion, which made her shy.
"Alright, alright, without further ado, let's quickly move the things out of the East Palace warehouse."
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