An Innocent Young Master Gets Flirted With, and the Conceited Prince An Insists on Testing the Medicine

The madam immediately called to the young maid.

"Quickly take Young Master Pu upstairs. Prepare tea and snacks; don't neglect him."

Pu Yunshan didn't say anything and followed him upstairs.

Qin Hongxiu was sitting by the window tuning her zither.

She had changed into a moon-white spring dress, with only a thin red jacket over it. When she saw him come in, she quickly pressed down the strings of her zither.

" Young Master Pu."

Pu Yunshan put down his toolbox.

"The window is letting in drafts?"

"The wind blew in through the cracks last night and even froze one of the strings."

She pointed to the window.

"Thank you for your help."

Pu Yunshan went over and saw that there was indeed a crack in the window frame.

He removed the old wooden strips, measured the dimensions, took out new wood from the toolbox, and began to carve.

Qin Hongxiu didn't stand by the side like yesterday; instead, she walked a short distance away to warm the wine.

The only sound in the room was the soft rustling of sawdust falling onto the carpet.

" Young Master Pu."

Qin Hongxiu suddenly spoke.

"After you left yesterday, Mom asked me why I talked so much with a roof repairman."

Pu Yunshan stopped carving with his knife.

"What did you answer?"

Qin Hongxiu lowered her eyes and poured wine into the wine cup.

I said, "Because he's different from everyone else."

Pu Yunshan did not respond.

"When others enter this door, the first thing they look at is the people."

Qin Hongxiu pushed the wine cup towards him.

"Come in and look at the roof beams first."

Pu Yunshan's ears started to feel hot again.

"I'm here to work."

That's why I said you're different.

She looked up at him.

"Isn't that a bit off?"

Pu Yunshan lowered his head and continued whittling the wood. After a long while, he said, "We're all people, there's no difference."

"Have."

Qin Hongxiu answered quickly.

"At least in my area, yes."

The room fell silent again.

Pu Yunshan suppressed the urge to smile, inserted the whittled wooden strip into the window frame, and after confirming it was secure, went to check the water tank.

The water tank has a crack in the backyard, which appeared when it froze in the cold weather. If it's not repaired, melted snow will seep in after a few days, and the whole tank will have to be replaced.

He squatted on the ground mixing the mortar, while Qin Hongxiu stood beside him with a lamp to provide light.

"I can do it myself."

Pu Yunshan Road.

"The backyard is dark."

Qin Hongxiu moved the lamp forward a little.

"Young master can't see clearly."

Pu Yunshan didn't chase her away anymore.

After repairing the water tank, I went up to the third floor, and the light fixture in the music room was indeed crooked.

Pu Yunshan climbed the ladder, re-hanging the light fixture upright. By the time he finished, the sun was already high in the sky.

Qin Hongxiu brought the warmed wine to the table.

"You've had a hard day, let's have a drink before you go."

Pu Yunshan looked at the wine cup.

The rules of Mount Qingcheng forbid disciples from drinking outside, but he remembered Qin Hongxiu saying yesterday that most of the people coming and going in the building had left, so he forgot her name.

If he refuses to even drink a single cup of wine, wouldn't that seem too heartless?

"Only one."

Qin Hongxiu nodded.

"Only one."

The liquor was a bit spicy when it entered my mouth, burning down my throat.

After finishing his drink, Pu Yunshan felt a flush on his face and was about to take his leave when a quarrel suddenly broke out downstairs.

A drunken man kicked open the screen at the top of the stairs and started cursing at the young maid.

"I gave you some silver last night, so today I'll have you Hongxiu play a tune, but you keep making excuses."

The madam stood by, smiling obsequiously.

" Shopkeeper Zhou, Miss Hongxiu has a guest today. Please come again another day."

"A guest?"

The man looked up and saw Pu Yunshan at the entrance on the third floor; his face immediately darkened.

"A poor, pedantic scholar like you dares to steal my place."

Qin Hongxiu had just reached the door when Pu Yunshan put down his toolbox.

Shopkeeper Zhou staggered upstairs, raising his hand to push him.

Pu Yunshan dodged to the side, gripping the other man's wrist with his palm. He didn't use much force, but Shopkeeper Zhou bent over in pain.

The stairs are narrow.

Pu Yunshan released his grip.

"Take your time."

Shopkeeper Zhou clutched his wrist, sobering up considerably, and looked up to meet Pu Yunshan's calm face.

His lips moved, but he didn't dare to curse again. He turned around and went downstairs, holding onto the railing.

The madam quickly followed after him with a fawning smile.

Qin Hongxiu stood by the door, looking at Pu Yunshan.

" Young Master Pu."

He's drunk.

Pu Yunshan picked up his toolbox.

"Are you alright?"

Qin Hongxiu shook her head.

Pu Yunshan was about to leave.

Qin Hongxiu quickly took out a newly braided red rope from her sleeve and handed it to him.

"This is for you."

Pu Yunshan hurriedly shook his head.

I cannot accept it.

It's not valuable.

Qin Hongxiu placed the red rope on the toolbox.

"Tie it to the sword, for peace and safety."

Looking at the red rope, Pu Yunshan felt those old rules of the sect resurface in his mind.

But remembering how worried Qin Hongxiu had been about him, he put the red rope back into his pocket.

Thank you.

Qin Hongxiu nodded gently.

Will you come again tomorrow?

Pu Yunshan stopped in his tracks.

"Is there still work to be done?"

Qin Hongxiu looked at him and pursed her lips.

"The floor in the music room is making some noise."

Pu Yunshan remained silent for a long time.

"Then I'll come back tomorrow."

Qin Hongxiu stood by the railing on the third floor, watching him leave before turning around and going downstairs back into her room.

The young maid followed her in and asked cautiously, "Miss, is the floor in the music room really damaged?"

Qin Hongxiu picked up the wine cup and twirled her fingertip around the rim.

"Have someone break it into two pieces."

Where to demolish?

"Casual."

Outside the window, Pu Yunshan walked to the street corner, raised his hand to touch the red rope in his arms, and grinned.

I feel like I haven't been this happy in the past twenty years.

Prince An's Residence.

Chen Qing, covered in snow, rushed into the study, leaving two wet footprints on the threshold. Before the guards outside could stop him, he had already carried the lacquer box in his arms to Gu Mochen's desk, his frozen fingers lifting the lid twice before he could finally open it.

Six vermilion pills were stacked flat in the box, their outer layer glistening with oil. The fishy, pungent smell overpowered the sandalwood in the room, causing even Zhou Huaili to step back.

Gu Mochen put down the Anyang grain price list in his hand, his face extremely grim.

Rice prices in the city doubled twice in one day, and more and more displaced people gathered outside the soup kitchens.

"You've come back for the Chinese New Year?"

Chen Qing lay prostrate on the ground, his forehead pressed against the carpet, speaking rapidly and urgently, "No, Your Highness, you are the only one in my heart. This is a supreme yang medicine that I risked my life to obtain from Yang Tie of Cypress Village."

Yang Tie was a remarkable folk hero. He used extremely yang blood to refine this elixir, and then used a secret fire to heat it, specifically to counter the filthy and evil arts of Prince Yi.

Zhou Huaili stared at the pills, the fishy smell in his nose becoming increasingly strange, and the jade ring he was twirling in his hand slowed down.

"Mr. Chen," he asked, "Does Yang Tie have a prescription, or someone to test it on?"

Chen Qing looked up, his face full of certainty. "How could an extraordinary person leave notes everywhere? However, Yang Tie himself said that after taking this medicine, the yang energy can dispel all evil. Even if Prince Yi concocts a poisonous gu from a latrine, he will not be able to get close to it."

Gu Mochen's eyelids twitched when he heard "don't get close".

Yi Prefecture busy with canal repairs, shop openings, and troop training. Every little thing Gu Moran has done lately weighs on his mind. Meanwhile, Anyang City is barely able to survive on even a bowl of porridge. Outside, those unruly people are eating the porridge provided by the Prince's Mansion and still dare to complain that the rice is mixed with stale grain.

He reached out and picked up a pill, and Chen Qing immediately straightened his back.

Zhou Huaili stepped forward. "Your Highness, the origin of this item is unknown. We should have the royal physician examine it first."

"What's there to test? Don't I trust Chen Qing?" Gu Mochen looked at him.

"That sickly fellow from Yi Prefecture dares to build irrigation canals, dares to set off fireworks, and dares to gather a bunch of peasants around him. I'm taking a pill, and you're stopping me."