The next day, morning court convened at the Royal Palace.
The potbellied King Han An sat high upon his throne. Below him to the right stood Crown Prince Han Bai, Fourth Prince Han Yu, Ninth Prince Han Fei, and the other royal nobles. To the left stood Great General Ji Wuye, Chancellor Zhang Kaidi, and the other civil and military officials.
After various minor matters had been dealt with, the court session was nearly over. Just then, the King of Han suddenly turned to Crown Prince Han Bai and asked, "Crown Prince, I recently heard that a Fangshi skilled in pill refining has come to your residence. Is that true?"
"Dan Chenzi is a Fangshi from Qin's Yin-Yang School, with exceptional skill in pill refining. He was traveling through the seven states, and when he passed through Xinzheng, I recruited him as a guest retainer at the Crown Prince's Residence."
Although Ye Uchiha's fame had spread throughout Xinzheng City, it should not have reached the Royal Palace yet. Han Bai wondered how the King of Han had learned of him, but still answered honestly.
"Why not summon such a capable man and have him serve Han?"
"Well... Master Dan Chenzi cares little for fame or fortune, and places little value on worldly power. I have invited him to serve Han several times, but he has refused every time."
In truth, Han Bai did not want anyone to lure Ye Uchiha away, not even his own father.
Ever since the uproar over the Youth-Preserving Pill, roughly half of every batch of pills Ye Uchiha sent to Han Bai had been sold through special channels. In just a few days, the funds of the Crown Prince's Residence had multiplied several times over their previous peak, with hundreds of taels of gold pouring