Ch64 - The Crown Prince is a dangerous person

After Imperial Concubine Xi finished speaking, the palace fell silent for a moment.

Lu Xingwang put down the document in his hand and raised his gaze to look at her. HHis dark, deep gaze carried an air of authority, and even without saying a word, his stare made people feel uneasy.

For no apparent reason, Imperial Concubine Xi suddenly felt a surge of fear. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t Lu Xingwang’s biological mother, and therefore they weren’t particularly close. However, given the current political situation in the palace, she had felt bold enough to make such a suggestion.

Fortunately, she was a smart woman who knew when to back down and when to cut losses. She quickly forced a smile and softly said, ‘It seems that Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has no such intention.

Lu Xingwang responded, “Thank you for your kind intentions, Imperial Concubine. However, with the current turmoil in the court, I truly have no interest in matters of romance.”

Imperial Concubine Xi understood this was merely a polite refusal. After a moment’s thought, she replied, “Your Highness, the truth is, the more the court is thrown into chaos, the more closely the various factions will watch your marriage.”

The person that the crown prince would marry would have a major influence on the current situation.

The prime minister’s family had fallen, leaving the civil officials’ faction leaderless. They were slowly gravitating toward the Minister of Justice, who happened to have a daughter of marriageable age. Meanwhile, the two remaining imperial princes had yet to marry or take a formal wife. Although the second prince currently appeared carefree and aimless, with no apparent ambition to vie for the throne, a marriage to a powerful family would give him the means to compete for power.

Lu Xingwang listened quietly and finished hearing what was said. He slowly started to speak, “If the success or failure of one’s career depends on relying on one’s wife, what’s the point of such a life?”

Imperial Concubine Xi was momentarily stunned.

For a brief moment, she saw a shadow of the Imperial Concubine in Lu Xingwang. TThat woman, too, was fearless in both love and hate. Had she not married the emperor, she would’ve been the first wife’s daughter of the Lan family, a woman of noble birth. As the leader of the sorcerer clan, she would’ve married into a powerful noble family, living a stable, prosperous life filled with wealth.

But she had made a different choice. Imperial Concubine Lan was a woman who prioritized her emotions, and it seemed her son was the same.

But for the crown prince, the future emperor, could being too emotionally driven be a good thing? She wasn’t sure if that would be beneficial.

……

At Golden Town.

At the very top of the attic, inside the steamy bathroom, the young master sat in the bathtub, glancing at Jian Mei, who was sitting outside on a small stool. “Mei, aren’t you done yet?”

Jian Mei rested his chin on his hand, looking back at him. “Young master, don’t move too much. You need to soak for an hour every day.”

This medicinal bath had been improved by Jian Mei, based on the treatment principles his grandfather had used. The young master’s leg was far worse than the previous patient’s, so using a hot medicinal bath to help the medicine penetrate better was more effective.

The young master sighed helplessly and said, “Alright.”

Jian Mei was worried that he might get bored so he asked, “Should I read to you, young master?”

With nothing else to do, the young master agreed and said, “Okay.”

Jian Mei was holding a history book. Despite staying on this planet for a while, he had never studied its history. Only recently did he discover that the social system here was deeply hierarchical, determined by bloodline and divine power.

Though it resembled an ancient monarchical system, the people’s customs were relatively open. They didn’t isolate themselves and had long maintained friendly relations with other planets. Their technological advancements far surpassed those of Earth.

“In the 26th year of Xingyuan, the Third Prince and Imperial Concubine Lan’s ship met with an accident, resulting in death and injury. Imperial Concubine Lan passed away at 9 PM that evening, while the Third Prince was found poisoned… which caused him to lose all his divine power.” Jian Mei’s voice grew quiet as he read about Stan Star’s modern history.

The young master opened his eyes, looking at him in confusion. “Mei, what’s wrong?”

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With this in mind, the young master replied, “He’s now the current crown prince. He doesn’t need sympathy anymore.”

Most people would admire his achievements by now, but Jian Mei’s thoughts were elsewhere. “So, was his poison attack cured?”

“…I… I’m not sure about that.” The young master noticed how concerned Jian Mei looked and, for some reason, felt a bit uneasy.

He added, “But it’s not something we need to worry about anymore. The royal family has plenty of skilled healing priests, and the crown prince will never be involved with us. Mei, he’s a dangerous person—much more complicated than you think. Do you understand?”

Jian Mei seemed to understand, but he wasn’t entirely sure. “I understand.”

After several days of medicinal baths, acupuncture, and Jian Mei’s constant efforts to help the young master recover, his complexion began to improve significantly.

Grandma Li gasped in concern when she first saw the needles. But gradually, seeing that the young master wasn’t harmed by them, she became more at ease and allowed Jian Mei more freedom. As a result, Jian Mei was now able to go out to gather herbs and shop—freedoms he hadn’t had before, when he only had one day off a week.

Xiao Ban occasionally accompanied him, but they mostly went to Pingping’s house.

When they visited this time, Pingping had already recovered from his cold. He was excited when he saw Jian Mei and exclaimed, “Mei-gege, I’m better now!”

Pingping’s mother came out of the house, delighted to see him. She quickly said, “Meimei is here, come in quickly! The prescription you gave really worked. Although it didn’t heal as quickly as the divine priests’ healing spells, Pingping was completely better in just a few days!”

The best part was that they didn’t have to wait in line at the hospital or deal with the grumpy staff, and the cost was extremely low.

Pingping’s father handed Jian Mei a bag of money and said, “A few of our friends caught the cold too, so I took some of your medicine for them, and they got better as well. Here’s the payment for it.”

The bag was filled with small coins.

The currency system here was straightforward: one gold coin was equal to 100 yuan, a silver coin was worth 50 yuan, and a copper coin was equal to 10 yuan. These coins were stable in value, and an average family would spend only one silver coin for half a month. For instance, Xiao Ban earned three gold coins a month, Jian Mei earned five, and families like Pingping’s earned around five gold coins a month.

However, when Jian Mei opened the bag in his hand, he found at least twenty copper coins inside—equivalent to two gold coins!

Jian Mei was surprised. “This much?”

“If you go to the hospital to treat a cold, it costs a silver coin,” the woman explained. “We didn’t want to sell the medicine at too high a price, so one copper coin per person should be enough.”

The man added, “Some of my coworkers have wives and children who caught the cold too.”

The woman continued, “Our neighbors and some of Pingping’s classmates, who are struggling financially, all took the medicine. In total, more than twenty people bought it, and all the money is here.”

Pingping excitedly handed two cups of water to Jian Mei and Xiao Ban and said, “Even so, we’re almost out of herbs. Mom says she’ll go gather more from the mountains soon.”

In less than a week, they had earned two gold coins, the equivalent of an average person’s monthly salary.

Jian Mei wasn’t swayed by money. He pulled ten copper coins from his pocket, handed them to Pingping’s mother, and said, “Please, take half of this.”

The woman was a little surprised. “Meimei, what are you doing?”

“Growing herbs is hard work. You have to prepare the medicine and run errands. You’ve done the hardest work. I haven’t done much, so you deserve this,” Jian Mei said softly. “Please take it.”

The woman hesitated, glancing at her husband.

Pingping’s father thought for a moment, then took only five coins, handing the rest back to Jian Mei. “Meimei, we’ve helped, but it was just the easy stuff anyone could do. We don’t deserve so much. If you really trust us, we’ll just keep helping out when needed.”

Pingping’s family were simple, down-to-earth people. While they were tempted by money, they knew how to distinguish what was important.

Seeing that they refused, Jian Mei had no choice but to give in.

Later, the woman discussed the situation with Jian Mei. The cold was still widespread, and when Jian Mei walked through the street this morning, he noticed many people with their faces covered. But only a few were heading to the hospital. The treatment cost only a copper coin, so most people would probably go if they knew about it. Jian Mei made it clear—he’d definitely help if he could.

But then, a problem came up.

The woman said, “We can’t meet the demand. Treating just these ten or so people has already used up all the herbs we’ve grown. Even if we gather more from the mountain, it won’t solve the real problem.”

This was definitely a problem. Jian Mei had thought the herbs would be enough for his friends and acquaintances, but he hadn’t expected the demand to be so high. Growing herbs would take time, while the divine priests’ magic could be used right away after a rest, herbs wouldn’t grow that fast.

Xiao Ban suggested, “Maybe we should ask an earth priest to help out.”

That was actually a great idea.

Earth priests could control plant growth, so they’d definitely be able to help.

The woman added, “Of course, we’ve thought about it, but right now, only the great nobles in our town can afford to hire an earth priest.”

Not many people in Stan Star had divine powers. For every ten commoners, there was only one priest. This was why priests were so highly regarded, and their families were seen as prestigious.

Pingping’s dad, who knew more people, said, “I asked around, and if we want to hire an earth priest for a single visit, it’ll cost at least ten gold coins.”

And the priest would only come once, probably covering just one area. It’s ten gold coins per visit, so you’d have to decide if you can afford it. At that price, selling medicine would end up being a loss.

Jian Mei realized how serious this was and couldn’t stop thinking about it on his way back.

Xiao Ban advised him, “Meimei, you’ve already done everything you could. Some things just can’t be forced. Don’t be too upset, okay?”

Jian Mei snapped out of his thoughts. He smiled at Xiao Ban and said, “I’m not upset.”

Xiao Ban looked at him in confusion.

Jian Mei softly said, “I’m just thinking if there’s a solution, that’s all.”

His voice was calm, almost serene, but there was a spark in his eyes. Xiao Ban started to understand why everyone around Jian Mei trusted him without question—it was because he was gentle yet strong. No matter the problem, he’d never give up easily. He might not be the smartest, but he never backed down. This was the reason why people were drawn to him, as if they could absorb a bit of courage just by being around him.

Returning from outside, Jian Mei passed by the garden and happened to see the divine priest employed by mansion’s master tending to the flowers.

Master Jiasi, the owner of the mansion, was also the master of this small town, and the priest tending to the garden had been hired with a large sum of money. Although he was quite young, the gardener possessed strong earth-based powers. Xiao Ban had told Jian Mei that he was here for work-study and preparing to go to the imperial capital.

Jian Mei approached him casually, “Huai-ge, you haven’t gone back yet?”

Shen Huai jumped in surprise, turned around to see Jian Mei, and snarled, “Why do you appear so mysteriously?”

Jian Mei didn’t know Shen Huai before. But ever since he took over the small attic garden, he often came to ask Shen Huai for tools, and through frequent interactions, they naturally became familiar with each other.

Shen Huai glanced worriedly at the most beautiful transparent Kaye flower in the garden. “This flower’s blooming period was supposed to last for a few more months, but after the heavy rainstorm yesterday, it started wilting today. I’ve used my divine power to sustain it, but my abilities can only encourage plant growth. Once it begins to decline, I can’t restore it.”

The Kaye flower had already reached its mature state, and it could no longer grow.

At this point, no matter how powerful a priest might be, they couldn’t prevent the flower from withering.

Jian Mei leaned in and studied the flower for a moment before suggesting, “How about I take care of it for a few days?”

Shen Huai stared at him in disbelief. “You?”

Jian Mei nodded confidently. “Yeah.”

He realized he was actually pretty good at caring for plants. For some reason, even wilted flowers seemed to revive if he took care of them for a few days.

Shen Huai wasn’t convinced. “Don’t do anything rash. This flower is really precious.”

“Of course I won’t!” Jian Mei said confidently. “But if I can bring this flower back to life, how about we make a deal, Huai-ge?”

Shen Huai raised an eyebrow. “What kind of deal?”

Jian Mei paused for a moment, then cautiously asked, “I’ve got a few plots where I just planted some grass, but it hasn’t sprouted yet. Could you help me out?”

“That’s it?” Shen Huai scoffed. “Let me put it this way—if you can bring my spiritual flowers and herbs back to life, forget about the land. If you brought me a mountain, I’d still make it work for you!”

Jian Mei smiled. “It’s a deal then.”

Shen Huai had said it casually at first, but when he saw Jian Mei’s smile, he suddenly had a bad feeling as though he’d just been tricked.

He quickly shook it off, trying to reassure himself. After all… there was no way Jian Mei had enough land to need his help that much, right? He wasn’t really planning on developing a whole mountain, was he?

Translator’s Notes:

There have been changes in my work schedule recently. Updates will now be moved to Mondays, at least until the end of March. See you on Monday!