Chapter 21: I Am Willing to Serve as a Servant for the Entire Royal Household!

The door to the firewood room swung open, and Wang Yuer saw several guards carrying torches, escorting a tall figure inside.

It was that foolish prince!

She weakly opened her eyes wide; the torchlight flickered in her pupils but could not dispel the confusion in her gaze.

"Why would this fool think of me?"

Xue Yuan, seeing Wang Yuer drenched in blood and pale as death, felt a chill run down his spine, silently acknowledging how ruthless Chu Qiu’er truly was.

“Oh dear, how did you get beaten up like this?”

He hurriedly ran over, lifting Wang Yuer into his broad embrace and shouted, “Quick, fetch Doctor Zhao immediately!”

Lying in that sturdy embrace felt like being pulled out from an ice cellar all of a sudden. Her emotions, which had plunged to a low point, surged violently before she finally lost consciousness.

...

Zhao Huaichun, Ningzhou’s foremost healer, was roused from sleep and carried by sedan chair to the prince’s manor.

This was the uncountable time in recent days he had been summoned to the manor; if he weren’t so obsessed with medicine, he would have surely blacklisted the place.

Fortunately, this time it wasn’t because of Qian Zhongxian. Otherwise, he had already decided to have a serious talk with him about a thorough cure to eradicate his “root illness” — after which he could even help him secure a position in the palace. That would truly be helping someone to the end.

After taking Wang Yuer’s pulse, Zhao Huaichun knew the problem wasn’t severe. He treated her wounds, bandaged her up, and gave her a special pill. He was confident her life was now out of danger.

When he finished and grabbed his medical kit, he looked at Xue Yuan with a proud smile.

“Your Highness, you claim to be gifted in medicine, so why not treat her yourself?”

He wouldn’t tease just any fool, but this particular fool had mocked his medical skills before!

Xue Yuan pointed at the medical kit and grinned foolishly, “How can I treat her if I don’t have any medicine? Doctor Zhao, are you a fool too? Can you play along with me?”

“You!” Zhao Huaichun was furious.

Sure enough, he had been mocked again!

At that moment, Jian Qi entered carrying a box.

Zhao Huaichun noticed Jian Qi had removed the black cloth covering his eyes and was stunned.

“Your eyes are healed?”

“None of your business,” Jian Qi shot him a baffled look without answering.

Overcome with excitement, Zhao Huaichun grabbed Jian Qi’s hand, asking, “Who cured you? You recovered overnight? Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

He then looked at Xue Yuan and asked, “Could it really have been you, this fool?”

“I told you!”

...

“Impossible! Tell me, what prescription did you use?”

Xue Yuan rolled his eyes, pretending to recall carefully.

Then, with a blank stare, he mechanically recited:

“Thousand-year pearl, black-scaled grass, kudzu root, white frost, powdered wild Linglong, mixed in the ratio one to three to two to two to three, taken with water, a dose of one qian produces effect immediately. This is called the Thousand-White Vision Powder.”

Hearing this, Zhao Huaichun’s fingers twitched erratically as he muttered:

“Thousand-year pearl clears vision and removes obstructions, detoxifies and promotes healing but is extremely cold and may harm the body! However, black-scaled grass neutralizes the cold of the pearl, kudzu root also...”

The more he spoke, the wider his eyes grew, his hands trembling so violently it seemed he might collapse at any moment.

“You... you really studied this prescription?”

Xue Yuan shook his head, “No, it’s recorded on page 135 of the Imperial Great Compendium of Medicine.”

Ha! A fool studying prescriptions? Impossible. But a fool with a good memory — maybe.

“The Great Compendium?!” Zhao Huaichun suddenly jumped up. “The very encyclopedia the previous emperor spent seventy years compiling by gathering the best doctors and formulas from across the land? But wasn’t it said this compendium was burned to ashes ten years ago when the Linglong Pavilion caught fire?”

Indeed, the Great Compendium existed, but it contained so many terrifying secret formulas that it was kept strictly within the royal archives.

As a medical fanatic, Zhao Huaichun had dreamed of seeing this supreme medical tome.

Unfortunately, when the Linglong Pavilion burned down, all ten copies were lost, a lifelong regret for him.

Xue Yuan was a little surprised too; the original owner only remembered the name “Great Compendium,” but he hadn’t known about the fire.

But wasn’t that even better?

So he said casually, “Yes, but before it burned, I memorized at least five or six sets.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huaichun’s eyes practically glazed over.

Unbelievable — a walking Great Compendium!

Tell me, in the entire medical world, who wouldn’t want a man with the Great Compendium stored in his mind?

He suddenly grabbed Xue Yuan’s hand and said, “Your Highness, could you write these down? As long as you do, I would gladly serve the entire prince’s household, be their beast of burden! I swear it!”

Xue Yuan chuckled inwardly; this was an easy catch.

Indeed, a medical fanatic!

Zhao Huaichun held immense prestige in Ningzhou, second only to the great scholar Chu Yanxiu. Xue Yuan naturally wanted to recruit him.

Moreover, his master belonged to the hidden sect “Wind and Thunder Valley.”

Xue Yuan had asked Jian Qi: the valley lord was rumored to be nearly one hundred sixty years old, with twelve disciples, each specializing in different fields—medicine, military strategy, agriculture, metaphysics, Mohism, and more—all prodigies.

How could Xue Yuan let such a sect slip by?

But no rush, one step at a time!

Scratching his head, he said, “Too troublesome, I don’t want to! But if you ever encounter illnesses you can’t understand, you can come ask me.”

After all, as long as he saw a patient, the entries would provide treatment prescriptions, so he had nothing to fear about being exposed.

Zhao Huaichun was, of course, not satisfied and babbled excitedly, “Your Highness, if you could write this compendium, you would be a blessing to all humankind! I guarantee, with this great work, the physicians everywhere... no, the entire populace would erect shrines in your honor, worshiping you year after year!”

But before he could finish, Jian Qi pulled him out.

Xue Yuan knew Zhao Huaichun would be back.

Still, as the saying goes, nowadays the one who chases is the sycophant; to truly win these big shots over, you must keep them on edge!

Once the door closed, peace finally returned.

Jian Qi opened the box in his hand and said to Xue Yuan, “The Prince’s great seal is here. I brought it.”

This seal had been stolen by Jian Qi from Qian Zhongxian’s villa on Xue Yuan’s orders because it would be needed soon.

“Did Qian Zhongxian notice?” Xue Yuan asked.

“No,” Jian Qi paused, then added, “Actually, we could have taken it openly.”

Xue Yuan laughed, “No, he must continue to wield the seal.”

“Why?”

“First, without the seal, he would have to report directly to the emperor, which would make things more troublesome for us. More importantly, we still have plans to stir up trouble. When Ningzhou is thrown into chaos, whoever holds the Prince’s seal will bear the blame!”

Jian Qi stared at Xue Yuan for a long moment, then muttered three words:

“You’re amazing!”

He was certain this prince’s scheming far surpassed any character in the novels.

At that moment, Wang Yuer stirred on the bed.

Xue Yuan knew she was waking and immediately signaled Jian Qi to leave.

The real show was about to begin.

He wanted Wang Yuer—and the Loyal Elders’ Association—to serve him!