Dingsheng Workshop had already fallen into chaos.
Zhang Heng had completely lost the high spirits he'd worn yesterday when he first took power.
Like a headless fly, he darted between the Alchemy Zone, the accounting office, and the reception room, frazzled and overwhelmed.
The Earth Fire Formation and Alchemy Furnace Inscriptions that Chen Dongpeng had "upgraded" were like a finely calibrated instrument pushed to its limits. Without the one old master who knew how they worked, they began throwing tantrums at every turn.
"Young master, the earth fire in the seventh furnace in the East Zone suddenly weakened. I'm afraid this batch of Blood-Coagulating Powder is ruined."
"Young master, the temperature in the main earth-fire channel in the West Zone has fluctuated abnormally again. Master Liu says if it doesn't stabilize soon, we may have to temporarily shut down some of the furnaces!"
"Young master, Master Zhao, whom we brought in from the south of the city, says there's a key node on the blueprint he simply can't understand. He doesn't dare touch it, and says we should find someone more capable..."
Bad news came one after another, hammering Zhang Heng until his head spun.
His vaunted intelligence seemed utterly powerless in the face of the intricate, arcane formations and the specialized art of alchemy.
"Useless! All of you are useless! Keep looking, and double the reward. We must find someone who can understand the blueprints and stabilize the formation!"
Zhang Heng roared, his eyes bloodshot.
He didn't dare imagine what would happen if Dingsheng Workshop's alchemy business truly ground to a halt and its monthly profit of 128,000 taels vanished. What would become of the Marquis Estate?
And how would he answer to his mother and the Lineage?
Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Personnel Official's Residence, in Jiang Luohan's bedroom.
After finishing a day of cultivation and regulating her breathing, Jiang Luohan habitually reached into her robe for a supreme-grade Qi Nurturing Pill.
The pill greatly helped her consolidate her cultivation and improve her Internal energy. For the past three years, she had almost never gone without it.
But this time, her fingers found nothing.
She froze, then knitted her delicate willow brows and complained without thinking, "What's Zhang Yu playing at? The Qi Nurturing Pills for these three days haven't been delivered on time? He's getting more and more..."
She stopped mid-sentence.
She suddenly remembered that Zhang Yu had already been imprisoned.
And their engagement had been dissolved; they were strangers now.
An inexplicable restlessness and emptiness welled up inside her.
For the past three years, she had grown used to Zhang Yu's attentive "tribute," especially the pills that aided her cultivation. He had never once failed to provide them.
They had made her cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
Her Seventh Rank cultivation was certainly built on the heaven-defying foundation laid by the Bodhi Pill, but the mountains of Qi Nurturing Pills she'd taken afterward had also played a crucial part.
"Damn Zhang Yu..."
Jiang Luohan cursed under her breath, her tone complicated. "Why didn't he send more before? He had to send them every three days, stingy as ever."
She had completely forgotten how naturally she'd accepted his gifts back then, even complaining that what Zhang Yu gave her was "beneath her."
She also conveniently ignored that Zhang Yu's "steady trickle" of supplies had been deliberate—a contingency for a day like this.
She could complain all she wanted, but she still needed the pills.
With no other choice, she called in her personal maid. "Go to a pharmacy and buy me some Qi Nurturing Pills. Make sure they're good quality."
The maid hesitated, then asked carefully, "Miss, how... how many should I buy?"
Jiang Luohan had been about to say, "Buy a hundred."
She didn't want to be as stingy as Zhang Yu. She wanted to buy in bulk and keep a large supply on hand.
"Miss, supreme-grade Qi Nurturing Pills cost eight hundred taels of silver each."
The maid gently reminded her, then said nothing more.
"That expensive?"
Jiang Luohan was surprised, and understood what the maid meant.
Her father was a Principal Third Rank Minister of Rites, a man of high rank and power.
But the Ministry of Rites wasn't a lucrative post like the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Works. With his salary, seasonal gifts, and income from a few shops, he brought in no more than a hundred thousand taels a year.
A hundred thousand taels of silver might sound like a lot, but the household had plenty of expenses. They also had to maintain appearances in official circles and keep up with social obligations. There wasn't much spare money they could spend freely.
Eighty thousand taels was no small sum that she—or even the Jiang household—could casually throw around.
When Zhang Yu had "paid tribute," she hadn't given it a second thought. Now that she had to pay for it herself, she immediately felt the pinch.
At that moment, her feelings were tangled.
On the one hand, she keenly felt the value and convenience of Zhang Yu's past "support" all over again;
on the other, she felt helpless and annoyed with the situation.
She was angry at Zhang Yu for being "stingy," and angry at herself for having to fret over such a "trivial matter."
"Forget it..."
Jiang Luohan waved her hand and changed her mind. "Have the carriage readied. We're going to Dingsheng Workshop."
If she couldn't afford them herself, she could get them from Dingsheng Workshop, an estate of the Marquis Estate now managed by Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng was now her future fiancé. He ought to take over the supplies Zhang Yu had handled before.
With Dingsheng Workshop's profits, a few pills were a drop in the ocean.
Thinking of Zhang Heng's grand boasts yesterday about "taking over the Marquis Estate and achieving great things," Jiang Luohan felt reassured. Her air of nobility and entitlement returned.
After a quick touch-up, she took her maid and rode to Dingsheng Workshop.
But when she arrived, what she saw shocked her, and the certainty in her heart wavered at once.
Outside Dingsheng Workshop, carriages and people still streamed by, but inside, an unusual tension and chaos hung in the air.
The workers hurried about, worry etched on their faces.
Along with the familiar scent of medicine, the air seemed to carry a faint smell of scorching—and... panic?
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