120. Ten Thousand Taels a Bite

Le Qianxue paused for a moment. She looked at Haoyue’s expression; Haoyue was full of worry, speaking only from the bottom of her heart.

Le Qianxue lowered her eyes and did not respond.

Haoyue sighed. "The Prince was able to hold back before, but once he knew you were to become the Crown Princess, he could no longer contain himself."

A sense of melancholy washed over Le Qianxue. She did not want to marry Yu Guhan either, but this was not a society where one could choose their own partner. If you didn't want to marry, you were out of luck—unless you had more power than the Emperor.

She simply said, "There is nothing to be done about it."

Haoyue replied, "How can there be no way? Since the Prince couldn't help but seek you out, it means there is a solution. It’s just that the Prince is now acting with your interests in mind. He is afraid of provoking your anger, so he wants to earn your forgiveness first."

Le Qianxue wondered to herself if Haoyue was just speaking on Zhan Lianjing’s behalf. Zhan Lianjing was not usually one to be so considerate of others.

However, seeing that Zhan Lianjing had exhausted a great deal of his internal energy, Le Qianxue decided to prepare some medicinal pills for him. She asked Haoyue to notify Huatao and then go out to purchase some herbs.

Seeing the bloodstains on Le Qianxue’s clothes and the trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, Haoyue grew concerned. "Miss Le, the Prince has deep internal power; he will recover after a few days of rest. But you are different. You are exhausting your energy, and I fear that will be bad for you."

Le Qianxue replied, "It doesn't matter. I won't let anything happen to myself."

Hearing this, Haoyue felt relieved.

Huatao brought over the alchemy furnace, and Haoyue returned with the herbs. Upon seeing the furnace, Haoyue was curious. "Miss Le, I have seen many large alchemy furnaces, but I have never seen one so small."

Le Qianxue replied, "Naturally. I suspect I am the only one in this world who possesses such a thing."

As she touched the furnace, it underwent a transformation, emitting a faint red glow as it responded to her touch.

Haoyue was amazed. It seemed the title of "Ghost Doctor" was not lightly given. She was likely the only person with such unique abilities. She suddenly thought, "Then the pills given to my young mistress were also refined by you, Miss Le?"

Le Qianxue nodded and began to control the quantity of the herbs, preparing to refine the medicine.

Haoyue remarked, "No wonder. The Medicine King Valley is not skilled in using pills. I was wondering how Physician Yuan managed to procure them, and the efficacy of those pills was truly extraordinary."

At this moment, Huatao stepped in front of Le Qianxue, seemingly not wanting Haoyue to watch.

Haoyue frowned. "What are you doing?"

Huatao, protecting her mistress, said, "When my mistress is refining medicine, no one is allowed to watch."

Haoyue laughed in spite of herself. This skill was indeed not meant for others to see; after all, everyone wants to be unique.

Le Qianxue placed the herbs into the furnace and said, "Huatao, even if Haoyue wanted to learn, she couldn't. Not everyone can use this furnace. In Haoyue’s hands, it would likely be nothing more than a piece of scrap metal."

Huatao, still nervous, said, "Mistress, you don't like being disturbed."

Le Qianxue smiled. "That is true. You two should stay aside. Don't speak loudly, and don't move around too much."

Huatao immediately gestured for Haoyue to step aside. Haoyue was speechless at Huatao’s behavior, though she had to admit, for a maid trained by Le Qianxue, she was quite capable—except for her mediocre martial arts.

Le Qianxue arranged the herbs in the furnace. Haoyue was surprised; she had always seen others use fire for alchemy, but Le Qianxue used none. Instead, she made a series of gestures, placing her hands on either side of the furnace, and soon, mist began to rise from it.

Haoyue was astonished and couldn't help but stand up to look closer. There was clearly no fire, yet the herbs were slowly melting.

Le Qianxue’s expression remained calm as she added the remaining herbs in order. In just a short time, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. It was clear that she was not using her internal energy, but a unique power of her own—a power no one else possessed.

Haoyue pondered this. She had never heard of such alchemy techniques in the world. Where did Le Qianxue learn such formidable skills?

Within half an hour, several pills began to take shape inside the furnace. Le Qianxue’s hand movements softened until the pills were fully formed. She let out a sigh of relief and wiped her brow. Huatao immediately rushed over with a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, her service impeccable.

Le Qianxue inspected the four pills; each was of superior quality. She had expended a lot of energy, but it was worth it.

Haoyue picked them up to look. She truly could not believe that such a way of refining medicine existed. "Miss Le, who exactly taught you this alchemy?"

Le Qianxue replied, "Don't ask. My master forbade me from passing it on."

In truth, she had made it up. Having transmigrated and brought the Tang family’s alchemy furnace with her, the truth would be too unbelievable for anyone to accept.

Seeing this, Haoyue stopped asking.

"Could the herbs not be boiled in water?" Haoyue asked. "Must they be refined into pills? Doesn't that consume more time?"

Le Qianxue explained, "My pills are three or four times more effective than ordinary decoctions. They are different."

Otherwise, why would her pills have fetched such high prices? The herbs themselves were not that rare, but the energy she expended was the real cost. The herbs melted in the furnace, absorbing its spiritual essence, which made them extraordinary. This furnace was, after all, a treasure of the Tang Sect.

Haoyue thought back to when Le Qianxue had listed her pills at the Drunken Painting Pavilion—they had been incredibly expensive. It seemed Le Qianxue was telling the truth. "That is truly magical. Miss Le, should we have the Prince take one now?"

Le Qianxue nodded. "Dissolve it a little in water and feed it to him."

Haoyue naturally set out to do so, but before she could feed him, she complained, "Miss Le, you had better do it yourself."

Le Qianxue, feeling tired, frowned. "What is it?"

Looking over, she saw that Zhan Lianjing had woken up. It seemed his constitution was truly excellent. Zhan Lianjing was looking at her, his gaze no longer cold, but intensely burning.

Le Qianxue said, "Why are you looking at me? Haoyue is feeding you medicine. Drink it quickly; don't be so difficult."

Zhan Lianjing didn't speak, but he didn't take the medicine either. Haoyue’s hand stiffened; she felt helpless. Why did their bickering have to involve her? She was innocent.

"Miss Le, you..."

Before she could finish, Le Qianxue turned her head away, refusing to look at Zhan Lianjing. Zhan Lianjing’s gaze dimmed, eventually becoming as lifeless as stagnant water.

Haoyue grew anxious and pleaded, "Miss Le, I beg you..." She was always on Zhan Lianjing’s side and naturally wanted the two to reconcile. Furthermore, Zhan Lianjing had suffered enough; she didn't want him to endure the pain of lovesickness any longer.

Seeing that Le Qianxue remained unmoved, Haoyue was on the verge of kneeling. "Miss Le..."

Le Qianxue remained unmoved. Haoyue gritted her teeth and stood up, intending to kneel, but Le Qianxue immediately said, "What are you doing?"

At the same time, Zhan Lianjing reached out to steady Haoyue, preventing her from kneeling. Haoyue had followed him for a long time and had never been forced to be so subservient; he did not want Haoyue to do this for his sake.

Their reactions were perfectly synchronized. Haoyue was slightly dazed. Seeing Zhan Lianjing move, Le Qianxue glared at him.

Zhan Lianjing said, "This matter is mine alone. You don't need to involve yourself."

Haoyue had no choice but to step aside. Zhan Lianjing held the small bowl, his face pale, and said, "Come here."

Seeing that he was still using that tone, Le Qianxue felt a flash of irritation. He was always so overbearing. "I won't."

Zhan Lianjing suddenly softened his tone. "Then I beg you to come here. Ten thousand taels per spoonful."

He was actually trying to tempt her with money. Haoyue was stunned. Though Zhan Lianjing was wealthy, that wasn't how one usually spent money. However, thinking that the object of his affection was Le Qianxue, it made sense. She was notoriously difficult to please.

Haoyue’s jaw nearly hit the floor when Le Qianxue walked over and took the bowl. Le Qianxue did not act holier-than-thou; she simply said, "Ten thousand taels per spoonful. A deal is a deal. Watch me feed you dozens of spoonfuls."

Zhan Lianjing’s mouth twitched. Such a small amount—could she really feed him dozens of spoonfuls? Was she trying to bankrupt him? But he had already promised, and he would keep his word.

He hummed in agreement. "It’s a deal. If you feed me dozens of spoonfuls, I’ll even give you the silver notes I keep under my pillow."

Le Qianxue couldn't help but laugh as she fed him the medicine. She didn't feed him dozens of spoonfuls, only five or six. Even so, that amounted to sixty thousand taels. To anyone else, it was a fortune, but Zhan Lianjing didn't care; he could capriciously say he had money and could spend it however he liked.

At some point, Huatao and Haoyue had quietly slipped away. Zhan Lianjing was bare-chested, his hair slightly disheveled, half-reclining on the soft couch. He looked incredibly alluring.

Le Qianxue huffed, "Put your clothes on. Don't be so indecent."

Zhan Lianjing looked puzzled. "What do you mean by indecent? It seems you were the one who took them off."

Since the wound was bandaged, it must have been Le Qianxue who did it. Suddenly, he felt his injury had been worth it. He smiled gently, a smile that could topple kingdoms.