Jin Shanyao's hair moves in a very regular pattern: new hair grows in spring, it becomes thick in summer, and then it starts to fall out in autumn.
Her hair detached from her body and transformed into ginkgo leaves. She carefully collected the ginkgo leaves, preparing to grind them into powder for later use, as this was far more effective than any medicine in the mortal world.
After doing all this, she infused Xiaoqi and Xiaobai with some Spiritual Power.
Xiaoqi is that seventy-year-old ginseng, and Xiaobai is that hundred-year-old ginseng.
The two ginseng plants, Jin Shanyao, also lived a good life.
Outside the door, Lu Chi kept mentally preparing himself. Success or failure hinged on this moment; it was all or nothing. Whether he could win over Jin Shanyao depended on how he negotiated.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, deliberately raising his voice two octaves as he shouted in a bluff, "Open the door, I have something to say to you."
When these words reached Jin Shanyao's ears, it meant, "Open the door, I don't want to live anymore!"
Jin Shanyao was surprised. She hadn't eaten anything unusual tonight, so what kind of crazy thing was Lu Chi doing, daring to shout outside her house so late at night?
A surge of Spiritual Power hooked onto the latch, suddenly flinging the door open.
Lu Chi's hand, which was knocking on the door, froze in mid-air. Was he that strong? He had even knocked the latch off.
But it doesn't matter. From now on, he'll be on equal footing with Jin Shanyao. If he can squeeze her even more, that would be even better! Wahahaha...
Unlike his usual coarse linen clothes, Lu Chi changed into a dark green brocade robe, and replaced his wooden hairpin with a white jade hairpin. Surprisingly, he looked quite presentable at first glance.
Holding a stack of silver notes, Lu Chi strode with an air of arrogance, deliberately waving them in front of Jin Shanyao.
In Jin Shanyao's eyes, his actions were like playing the suona in front of the King of Hell —he was courting death!
Lu Chi wasn't much better off. Despite his arrogant exterior, his legs were trembling. To turn the tables and have his servants sing his praises, he was going all out today...
Lu Chi coughed twice, "Well... as you know, I am now the ' Capital Pharmacist' personally appointed by the Empress."
Fearing Jin Shanyao might not understand, he added, "The officials in the capital are very powerful; even Magistrate Yang has to bow to me."
Jin Shanyao her head. Magistrate Yang had told her about this, saying that she was lucky, and that whether she was digging for grass or people, she always found something valuable.
Lu Chi held the ten thousand taels of silver notes in his hand, looking at her with sincere eyes.
"We met when we were both lowly, and we have some feelings for each other. Keep this ten thousand taels; consider it my ransom for you..."
He spoke of the ransom as extremely insignificant, so insignificant that it was almost inaudible.
Lu Chi observed Jin Shanyao's reaction out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that she remained silent, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the official in the capital had some influence and could keep her in check.
Lu Chi grew bolder, "The growth of medicinal herbs in Lush Mountain is encouraging, which pleases me greatly. Now..."
He paused slightly before tentatively stating, "I order you to sell all the medicinal herbs to the imperial court!"
Lu Chi's words and actions were obvious to Jin Shanyao, who jumped onto the table, pointed at himself, and shouted.
" Jin Shanyao, I'm in charge now! Nobody can control me! Hand over all your Lush Mountain and medicinal herbs to me!"
Jin Shanyao glanced at him indifferently, "Anything else?"
Lu Chi's eyes lit up. If he had known that Jin Shanyao was afraid of officials, he should have obtained an official position to scare her earlier, so that he wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation.
With the enemy weak and us strong, this battle will decide the victor and the vanquished. Lu Chi mustered his courage and began to negotiate terms.
"Also, you can't hit me anymore. You can't make me clean the latrines, empty the swill, or tidy the stables—you can't make me do any of the dirty or hard work."
Jin Shanyao her fingers, then unconsciously clenched them. "Anything else?"
Lu Chi seemed to be fantasizing about something, grinning foolishly, "You still have to call me master, and you have to do whatever I tell you to do."
His words, as automatically translated by Jin Shanyao, meant, "My coffin lid is already set; I'm not living today."
"Anything else?"
"And..." This stumped Lu Chi. He just wanted to intimidate Jin Shanyao and stop her from bullying him so much. He hadn't thought that far ahead.
After pondering for a long time, he asked softly, "Why don't you sign a contract of servitude too?"
"Ha... I think you're asking for death?"
"???" Lu Chi was slightly stunned. Before he could react, a bright green whip was wrapped around his waist, and in the blink of an eye, he was hanging from the roof beam.
The sudden turn of events didn't even give him a chance to cry out...
Lu Chi was face down, thinking to himself, "Oh no, the talks have fallen apart."
If we don't say that Heir Apparent Lu is flexible and adaptable, he can change his mind faster than turning the pages of a book.
"Master, what are you doing? We're just having a heart-to-heart talk, you can't really open my heart to you."
Jin Shanyao out with her whip, striking Lu Chi with a sharp cry of pain. "Master, let's talk things out instead of resorting to violence! Let's speak our minds; it's better to be honest than to be ruthless..."
Jin Shanyao didn't even lift her eyelids, and lashed out with her whip again!
Lu Chi felt his brocade robe being torn open. "Master, you can't pull it any further, or it'll expose my skin... I'm not wearing any undergarments, I'm afraid it will offend your eyes."
Jin Shanyao her whip and asked calmly, "You want me to sign a contract of servitude?"
"No, no, how could I dare let my master sign a contract of servitude?"
Lu Chi frantically tugged at the hem of his clothes, trying to block the draft. He couldn't compare to Jin Shanyao; Jin Shanyao shameless, and he wasn't even married yet!
With Lu Chi's skills, he shouldn't have been unable to dodge ordinary attacks, but the Jin Shanyao was waving too fast, too fast for him to react.
Seeing the whip about to fall again, Lu Chi hurriedly begged for mercy, "Master, I was wrong, I shouldn't have spoken so arrogantly. I really came to see you because I have something to discuss."
The Jin Shanyao, signaling him to continue.
Lu Chi hissed in pain twice. "The Empress heard that the medicinal herbs you grow are of good quality, and she asked me to speak with you."
Jin Shanyao couldn't help but roll her eyes. "This is the first time I've grown medicinal herbs this year, and nobody's telling me I'm doing well?"
Lu Chi was so frightened that he wanted to reach out and cover her mouth, but then realized he was still hanging from the rafters. He hurriedly said, "Don't shout! That's the Empress! Be careful you don't lose your head!"
Jin Shanyao is a tree; even if she's cut in half, she'll still live. Who are you trying to scare with the talk of beheading her?
She took a deep breath, resigned. After all, in the human world, one must still abide by human rules and conditions.
Lu Chi was stunned, not expecting Jin Shanyao to react so quickly.
He chuckled awkwardly, "The price of the medicinal herbs is negotiable, but the main thing is that the Empress asked you to give me four bottles of ginkgo nuts." Actually, it was two bottles, but he saw the dog eating the ginkgo nuts.
Out of spite, I ordered two more bottles without permission.
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "You bought all the medicinal herbs from my mountain just for four bottles of ginkgo nuts?"
"Yes, buying the casket and returning the pearl."
Jin Shanyao readily agreed, "Alright, I agree to two bottles of ginkgo nuts."
Lu Chi corrected, "Master has four bottles."
"Four bottles, I may not know the Empress, but don't I know you?"
Seeing that his plan had been exposed, Lu Chi immediately changed his tune with a grin, "Master, whatever number you say, that's it."
Jin Shanyao the whip, and Lu Chi cried out and fell to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, he covered his torn clothes with one hand and placed the silver notes on the table with the other.
He smiled ingratiatingly, "Master, they all have official seals, so they can't be wrong."
Jin Shanyao up, took out a wooden box from the cabinet, and handed Lu Chi's indenture to him.
"When I bought you from the matchmaker, I didn't know your identity; I only knew your name was Gouya."
Lu Chi panicked completely. "Master, I just said it casually. I didn't intend to take a contract of servitude."
I don't care whether you want a contract of servitude or not, I want ten thousand taels of silver.
Seeing that Lu Chi did not take it, Jin Shanyao raised her hand and lit the indenture in front of the oil lamp.
Lu Chi instinctively snatched it away, slapping his large hand onto the flames. Burning ash floated in the air, staining his palm mostly black.
For some reason, a feeling of grievance suddenly welled up inside me. "Master, don't you want me anymore?"
Jin Shanyao in bewilderment, "Didn't you say you wanted to redeem yourself?"
"I was just joking," he said stubbornly, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) and clutching the half-burned indenture.
"In all my years, besides my aunt, cousin, older cousin, and nephew, you've been the kindest to me."
Jin Shanyao's lips twitched slightly; actually, there were quite a lot of people.