Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ye Jiuge took out the Thousand Threads Herb that she had prepared earlier. The herb, which had been extracted and soaked, glittered green and emitted a faint light. Besides its ability to expel poison from a person’s system, it could also cleanse waste materials from the body. It was an instrumental Spiritual Herb. However, to manifest its detoxification ability, it required another Spiritual Herb, the Blackberry Fruit. Hence, not many Alchemists knew about the Thousand Threads Herb’s capabilities. They preferred to use Green Algae Flower to produce Antidote Pills.
Ye Jiuge took out the Blackberry Fruit and the Thousand Threads Herb. She placed them together in a medicinal bowl and pounded them in a large container of dark green solution with her Spiritual Power before mixing them with other supplementary Spiritual Herbs.
Zi Shang perched at a crooked angle on the red wooden chair beside her. He supported his forehead with his hand, and his long black hair draped over his shoulders. His purple eyes stared unwaveringly at Ye Jiuge as his snake tail roamed around her. The flirtatious tip of his tail unconsciously played with her light green dress, which was embroidered with Yaoguang Flowers, as though he was trying to seduce her.
Honestly, Ye Jiuge’s pill production process was dry and dull. Nevertheless, Zi Shang watched her with great interest. He realized that he had grown fond of Ye Jiuge, who had a vicious tongue and was a little willful and barbarous, but always strove for self-improvement. If he had figured this out earlier, he wouldn’t have restored her original appearance.
People liked her even when she was ugly. Now that she is beautiful, won’t it be more dangerous? It seems that I have to work harder to regain my Demonic Power. If not, when there are more rival lovers in the future, I won’t be able to defeat them!
As Zi Shang’s thoughts wandered, his eyes squinted slightly, and the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile. The golden sunlight gave his beautiful face a radiance, making it look as gentle and intoxicating as the peach blossoms in March. He was so beautiful that his looks could take a person’s breath away.
However, Ye Jiuge had no time to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Once she started producing pills, Ye Jiuge withdrew into herself. Carefully, she calculated the amount of each Spiritual Herb needed and meticulously placed them into the Pill Production Furnace. Then, she adjusted the strength of the flame.
The detoxification pill required to remedy the Fantasy Beauty currently poisoning Imperial Consort Xi had to be tailor-made, so flame control was essential. Furthermore, she had to use her Soul Power to observe the changes in the ingredients in the Pill Production Furnace to ensure that all of them would fuse together perfectly.
The blazing flame turned Ye Jiuge’s face deep red. Her eyes, which were like the clear autumn waters, locked single-mindedly on the Pill Production Furnace, as if beholding a treasure. The Black Fat Rat squatted beside Ye Jiuge, watching the Pill Production Furnace with a solemn expression. The time passed slowly.
Zi Shang finally grew bored of watching. In a flash, he retired into the mark on Ye Jiuge’s hand. Ye Jiuge did not notice anything; she was still paying close attention to the situation inside the Pill Production Furnace.
Just then, the medicinal suspension dissolved to form a crystal-clear, pale green solution. As the pale green solution became more viscous, its color turned darker as it began to take the shape of a pill.
“Black Fatty, go!” Ye Jiuge yelled as she opened the Pill Production Furnace.
The Black Fat Rat rushed over like a flash of lightning. It puffed its cheeks and spat its colorless, odorless saliva into the Pill Production Furnace. When the dark green solution absorbed the rat’s saliva, it split and formed two separate pills. One was slightly larger than the other. It was the size of a thumb and glittering green. It was the Antidote Pill for Fantasy Beauty. The second pill had taken on a deep crimson color and was the size of a red bean. This was the pill poison. Ye Jiuge gave the red-colored pill poison to the Black Fat Rat and stored the Antidote Pill for Fantasy Beauty in a jade bottle.Read latest chapters at NovelFull
Outside the window, the sky was starting to darken. Although it was a little too late to go to the Dongling Prince Mansion, the pill had just been produced. She wanted to give it to Imperial Consort Xi quickly so that she could consume it. Ye Jiuge considered what to do before deciding that the poison should be cured as soon as possible. She believed that Dongfang Que and Imperial Consort Xi would be thrilled to see the Antidote Pill.
As before, Ye Jiuge found Bai Songling and asked him to secretly bring her into the Dongling Prince Residence. Knowing that Ye Jiuge had produced the Antidote Pill for Imperial Consort Xi, Bai Songling exclaimed happily, “Your pill is right on time!”
“What do you mean?”
Ye Jiuge was a little confused. When she had gone to see Imperial Consort Xi, she was recovering well, and her need to consume the Antidote Pill was not that urgent.
“You must be unaware that the Empress has been up to something again,” Bai Songling answered.
As it turned out, after Elderly Lady Xu had gone missing, the Empress was gloomy for a time. Then, she suddenly said that she wished to select a few prospective concubines for the Emperor. She claimed that there had not been any newcomers to the Harem—hence, no recent newborns of royal lineage. She wanted to open selections for the Harem.
Those who were ignorant of her character would have thought that the Empress was genuinely considerate of the Emperor. They did not know that, in recent years, no less than ten imperial concubines had suffered miscarriages. Countless palace maids had also been forced to drink Contraception Medicine. Some were even forced to drink Contraception Medicine before visiting the Emperor for his sexual pleasure, just because they were pretty. Accordingly, nobody believed the Empress when she said that she was helping the Emperor spread his seed.
“What did the Emperor say?” Ye Jiuge frowned and asked. She felt that the Empress’s action was strange as well.
“The Emperor has said that the Alchemy Convention will be taking place in a month, and he will discuss the matter only after the competition. However, he is a man, so he won’t say no to having a large Harem!” Bai Songling did not hide the contempt on his face. It seemed that he had a poor opinion of Emperor Xuanwu.
“What do the selections for the Harem have to do with curing Imperial Consort Xi of poison?” Ye Jiuge was puzzled.
“If Imperial Consort Xi returns to the Harem, the Emperor will not hold any selections,” Bai Songling said with certainty.
“But you have already said that a man prefers a larger Harem. There is no conflict between Imperial Consort Xi returning to the palace and the Emperor’s selections.”
Ye Jiuge felt that Bai Songling overestimated Imperial Consort Xi. If Emperor Xuanwu had loved Imperial Consort Xi dearly, he wouldn’t have left her outside the palace for over ten years without any concern for her.
“That is because you don’t know what Imperial Consort Xi means to the Emperor!” Bai Songling smiled. His words had a much deeper meaning.
Previously, when both the Imperial Noble Consort and Imperial Consort Xi were around, Emperor Xuanwu had never chosen any prospective concubines. He had seemed satisfied with the company of just those two consorts. Emperor Xuanwu had started selecting prospective concubines without restraint only after the Imperial Noble Consort had passed away and Imperial Consort Xi had left the palace. Now that Imperial Consort Xi was back, to protect the reputation of his profound love, Emperor Xuanwu would not select any prospective concubines.
“Fine. You are right. Let’s head to the Dongling Prince Mansion to cure Imperial Consort Xi now!”
No matter what, Ye Jiuge would be happy so long as she could cause trouble for the Empress.
Bai Songling led Ye Jiuge through the secret passage from the Yuwu Teahouse to the Dongling Prince Mansion. Dongfang Que had just returned from the palace. When he heard that Ye Jiuge had produced the Antidote Pill, he was elated.
“She should not be asleep yet,” he said. “If you go over now, you’ll arrive just in time.”
Although the rotten flesh on Imperial Consort Xi’s face had improved, she still refused to see anyone.
Apart from Elderly Lady Zhou, only Ye Jiuge was allowed to enter her residence at will.
“Then I will go now.”
Ye Jiuge was familiar with the path. She bid farewell to Dongfang Que and Bai Songling and headed toward Imperial Consort Xi’s residence.
