Chapter 64 – The Crown Prince is a Dangerous Figure

After Consort Xiyi finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.

Lu Xingwang set aside the document in his hand and raised his eyelids to look at her. His dark, deep eyes seemed to exert some kind of intimidation. Even without saying a word, it made one feel somewhat unsettled.

Inexplicably, Consort Xiyi felt a sudden fear. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t Lu Xingwang’s birth mother, so there wasn’t much closeness between them. However, given the current situation in the palace, she dare to suggest this. Luckily, she was a smart woman, and understood the importance of timely retreat. So, she quickly put on a strained smile and softly said, “It seems that the Crown Prince doesn’t have such intentions.”

Lu Xingwang replied, ”Thank you for your kindness. The current state of affairs in the court has left me disinterested in romantic pursuits.”

Understanding this as a polite refusal, Consort Xiyi persisted, ”But the more turbulent¹disorder, or confusion; not stable or calm. the court, the more people from all sides will be eyeing your marital affairs.”

Whichever faction the Crown Prince marries into will significantly affect the current situation.

With the Prime Minister’s family fallen from grace, the civil officials are now in disarray. Gradually, they are leaning toward the Imperial Historian’s faction. Coincidentally, Imperial Historian has a daughter ready for marriage. Both remaining royal princes haven’t married or taken an official consort. Although the Second Prince currently seems uninterested in vying for the throne, if he were to marry into a powerful family, it could lead to a struggle for succession.

After listening quietly, Lu Xingwang spoke, ”If the success or failure of one’s career depends on their wife’s background, what meaning does such a life hold?”

Consort Xiyi was stunned.

For a moment, she seemed to see traces of Consort Lan in Lu Xingwang. That woman dared to love and hate. Back then, if she hadn’t married the Emperor, being the legitimate daughter of the Lan family and marrying into a noble family would have ensured a life of endless wealth and stability.

But she didn’t make that choice. Consort Lan was a woman of deep emotions, and from the looks of it, her son was as well.

But was being overly emotional a good thing for the Crown Prince, the future Emperor? She didn’t know, nor did she have an answer.

…

Golden Town

At the top of the attic,inside the bathroom.The young master sat in the bathtub, looking outside at Jian Mei, who was sitting on a small stool, and asked, ”MeiMei, not done yet?”

Jian Mei leaned on his chin, replying, ” Young Master, don’t move randomly. You have to soak for an hour every day.”

This medicinal bath was a modification Jian Mei made based on his grandfather’s previous treatment methods. The young master’s leg condition was obviously a bit more severe than the previous patient’s, so the hot water medicine bath would help the medicine penetrate more effectively.

The young master sighed helplessly, ”Alright.”

Jian Mei, fearing he might get bored, offered, ”Shall I read to you, Young Master?”

Since the young master had nothing else to do, he agreed, ”Okay.”

Currently, Jian Mei was holding a history book. Even after spending so much time on this planet, he hadn’t delved into its history. Recently, upon his study, he discovered the system here was strictly hierarchical, based on bloodlines and the level of divine power. Though the system resembled ancient monarchies, the culture was relatively open-minded. They had open relations with other planets and their technological civilization far surpassed Earth’s.

”In the 26th Star Year, the Third Prince and Consort Lan boarded a military spaceship, that met with an accident. One died, the other injured. Consort Lan passed away at 9 pm that night, and the Third Prince lost his divine powers and suffered severe poisoning…” As Jian Mei reached the modern history section, his voice lowered.

The young master opened his eyes, looking puzzled. ”MeiMei, what’s wrong?”

Holding the book, Jian Mei lowered his head, his voice somewhat muffled, ”Nothing, I just feel sorry for the Third Prince.”

After hearing this, the young master chuckled. He found this child interesting, wondering why he’d feel sad for someone he’d never met. “You don’t even know him, yet you feel sorry for him?”

”I just feel he’s very pitiful.” Jian Mei didn’t understand why he felt so affected emotionally. He sighed lightly, ”Losing his mother and suffering such severe injuries, he must have had a difficult time.”

The young master also thought that an ordinary person, faced with such a situation, might go mad. Yet Lu Xingwang managed to endure and even found a breakthrough from such adversity, overthrowing the First Prince’s faction and regaining power. He truly was an exceptional individual.

Thinking this, the young master said, ”He’s already the present Crown Prince; he doesn’t need sympathy.”

Ordinary people might marvel at this, but Jian Mei’s concern lay elsewhere, ”Has his poisoning been cured?”

”Well… I don’t know about that.” The young master felt a bit uncomfortable seeing Jian Mei’s genuine concern. He said, ”But that doesn’t concern us. The royal family isn’t lacking in highly skilled healing priests. Besides, the Crown Prince will never have any dealings with us. Mei Mei, he’s a dangerous figure, not as simple as you think. Understand?”

Jian Mei seemed to grasp but not fully understand. “Understood.”

With the medicinal baths, acupuncture, and Jian Mei’s active efforts to help the young master recover, his complexion gradually improved.

At first, Ms Li was worried upon seeing the needles, but as the young master seemed unaffected, she gradually eased up. Consequently, Jian Mei gained some freedom to go out for herb picking and shopping, which wasn’t possible before, restricted to only one outing per week. Now, he could go out anytime.

Xiao Ban occasionally joined him, but most of the time, the two of them visited Ping Ping’s house.

This time when they went, Ping Ping had already recovered from the cold. He was excited when he saw Jian Mei, ”Brother Mei, my illness is cured!”

Ping Ping’s mother came out from inside and was also delighted to see him. She hurriedly said, ”Mei Mei, come in! The prescription you gave really worked. Although it wasn’t as fast as the healing spells of the healing priests, but within just a few days, Ping Ping completely recovered!’

The most important thing was they didn’t have to queue at the hospital and the cost was extremely low.

Ping Ping’s father took out a bag of money from inside and handed it to Jian Mei, saying, ”A few of our friends also caught the cold a few days ago. I took some brewed medicine to them, and they recovered too. This is payment for the medicine.”

The bag was full of small coins.

Here, one gold coin was equivalent to a hundred yuan, one silver coin to fifty yuan, and one copper coin to ten yuan. The currency here held its value. The expenses for an ordinary family for half a month amounted to just one silver coin, while someone like Xiao Ban earned three gold coins a month, Jian Mei five, and for an average family like Ping Ping’s, at most, they earned five gold coins a month.

However, when Jian Mei opened the bag, there were roughly twenty copper coins inside, which meant there were two gold coins!

Jian Mei was surprised, ”So many?”

”Nowadays, a single treatment for the cold at the hospital costs one silver coin.” The woman explained to Jian Mei, ‘We didn’t dare to sell the medicine at a high price. Basically, one copper coin per person is enough.”

The man added, ”Some of my colleagues, whose families also got affected, took the medicine.”

The woman continued, ”Our neighbors around here, and even Ping Ping’s classmates—some whose families are in a poor financial situation—all took the medicine. Altogether, it’s more than twenty people, and all the money is here.”

Ping Ping brought two cups of water for Jian Mei and Xiao Ban, saying excitedly, ”Even so, the herbs we grow won’t be enough. Mom said we’ll have to go to the mountain again in a couple of days to gather more.”

In less than a week, they had earned two gold coins, equivalent to an average person’s monthly income.

However, Jian Mei wasn’t swayed by the money. He took out ten copper coins from his pocket and handed them to Ping Ping’s mother, saying, ”Madam, please take half of this money.”

PingPing’s mother looked puzzled, ”Mei Mei, what are you doing?”

“Growing medicinal herbs also requires effort, and then there’s preparing the medicine for them, running errands… The hardest work is done by you. I actually didn’t do much; this is what you deserve.” Jian Mei spoke softly, ‘Please accept it.’

She hesitated and looked at her husband.

After a moment of contemplation, the husband accepted only five coins, returning the rest to Jian Mei, ”Mei Mei, although we put in effort, we’re just assisting. Anyone could do it, we shouldn’t take so much money. If you truly trust us, we’ll help out whenever needed.”

Pingping’s family were humble commoners. They, of course, felt the temptation of money, but they also understood priorities.

Seeing their refusal, Jian Mei had to give in.

Later, the PingPing’s mother discussed with Jian Mei. Because the cold was still severe, early in the morning when Jian Mei came from the streets, he saw many people covering their faces while walking. However, only a few went to the hospital. A single copper coin was a very cheap price; most people would choose it if they knew. Jian Mei’s intentions were clear: if he could help, he would definitely do so.

But here comes the problem.

The woman said, ”We can’t keep up. Just these dozen or so recovered patients have already exhausted all the medicinal herbs we planted. Even if we go to the mountains to gather, it won’t solve the fundamental issue.”

Indeed, it was a problem. Jian Mei had initially thought that it would be enough for friends and acquaintances he knew. Now, unexpectedly, the demand was so high. The growth of medicinal herbs took time. While the healing priests could use their divine power immediately after resting, the herbs couldn’t grow that fast.

Xiao Ban chimed in, ”Perhaps we can ask Divine Masters²I am replacing priests with Divine Masters and using priest for only healing priest with Earth Divine Power for help.”

That was a good idea.

The Divine Masters with Earth Divine Power were in charge of vegetation growth, and they could easily handle it.

The woman continued, ”Of course, we’ve considered that. But currently, in our town, only the big aristocrats can afford to hire Divine Master with Earth Divine Power.”

In Stan Star, not many possessed divine powers; the ratio of commoners to Divine Masters was 10:1. This was also why most healing priests held high status; it was one reason their families were esteemed.

Ping Ping’s father had a wider network. He said, ”I inquired; to hire a Divine Master with Earth Divine Power once, it costs at least 10 gold coins.”

Moreover, that would be for a single visit, possibly tending to just one area. For every visit, it’s 10 gold coins. If it’s at this price, selling the medicine would result in a loss

Jian Mei was aware of the seriousness of the situation and kept thinking about it on the way back.

Xiao Ban advised him, “Jian Mei, you’ve done what you could. Some things can’t be forced. Don’t be too upset, okay?”

Jian Mei snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at Xiao Ban. “I’m not upset.”

Xiao Ban looked at him puzzled.

Jian Mei said softly, “I’m just thinking if there’s any solution.”

While saying this, his tone was steady, calm, but there was a brightness in his eyes. Xiao Ban vaguely understood why he and others inexplicably trusted Jian Mei. He was so gentle yet determined. Even if not very clever, he never easily gave up. It was this quality that made people want to get closer to him, as if they could draw a little courage from him.

Returning from outside, Jian Mei passed by the garden and happened to see the hired Divine Master taking care of the flowers in the mansion.

The master of this house, Lord Jia Yi, was the Mayor of the town. The priest taking care of the garden was highly paid. This gardener was not very old but possessed strong earth-based Divine Power. According to Xiao Ban, he was also working to save money to go to the capital.

Jian Mei approached him. “Huai-ge, you’re still here.”

Shen Huai was startled and turned to see Jian Mei, responding irritably, “Why do you always appear out of nowhere?”

Jian Mei hadn’t known Shen Huai before. Since he started managing the small garden on the attic, he often came to borrow tools from Shen Huai, which led them to become acquainted.

Shen Huai looked at the most beautiful transparent Gaia flower in the garden with concern. “This flower should have lasted for months, but after yesterday’s heavy rain, it started wilting today. I used my divine power to sustain it, but I can only make plants grow, not recover.”

The Gaia flower had already reached its maturity and couldn’t grow further. Even if a powerful priest came now, they couldn’t stop the flower from withering.

Jian Mei stepped closer and said, “Then let me take care of it for a few days.”

Shen Huai looked surprised. “You?”

Jian Mei nodded. “Yes.”

He found himself oddly suited for caring for plants. Even withered flowers seemed to slowly recover under his attentive care.

Shen Huai was skeptical. “Don’t mess around; this flower is very precious.”

“I certainly won’t!” Jian Mei vowed solemnly. “If I can revive this flower, how about making a deal with me, Huai Ge?”

Shen Huai was suspicious. “What kind of deal?”

Jian Mei pondered for a moment and probed, “I have a few plots of land where I just sowed some seeds. They haven’t sprouted yet. Can you help with that, Huai Ge?”

“Just that?” Shen Huai scoffed. “Let me put it this way: if you manage to revive my spiritual flowers and herbs, not just a few plots of land, I’ll offer you a whole mountain!”

Jian Mei smiled. “It’s a deal.”

…

Initially, Shen Huai’s words were just casual banter. However, seeing Jian Mei’s smile, for some reason, he had a bad premonition, a feeling as if he might have been tricked. Fortunately, he quickly composed himself and tried to convince himself. He told himself there was no need to panic too much. After all… Jian Mei wouldn’t really have so much land to ask for help with, right? He couldn’t possibly be developing an entire mountain!

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)

• 1
  disorder, or confusion; not stable or calm. ↩︎
• 2
  I am replacing priests with Divine Masters and using priest for only healing priest ↩︎