Chapter 232

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

The system did not yet know that the host wanted to create a spiritual root; that belonged to heretical paths.

The relationship between Dragon Qi and Spiritual Energy was somewhat complex, because Dragon Qi existed only on the emperor, and the imperial bloodline could extend some of it, though not as richly as the emperor's own.

Moreover, having Dragon Qi in one's body made cultivation comparatively difficult; to put it in some abstruse terms, one could not have it both ways.

Therefore, one who bore Dragon Qi found it harder to cultivate to immortality the richer the Qi was (this belonged to the author's made-up nonsense), because every sip and bite was heaven's will.

Shen Yao wanted to rely on Dragon Qi to create an artificial spiritual root; setting aside how great the cost would be, the created spiritual root was not as useful as one born of heaven and earth.

By then Shen Yao would still have to spend pills on top of it, so unless absolutely necessary, she would never take this path.

The carriage on the journey did not stop, proceeding along the official road they had taken when returning.

Shen Yao occasionally went out for fresh air, walking around and sightseeing with Ren Minmin.

He Shi was not in a hurry, and the Guogong Fu in Jingcheng had no major matters requiring her return; enjoying the scenery along the way could also relax her long-stifled mood.

One had to know that ever since the late Guogong passed away, He Shi had not been in high spirits, and the servants attending her were anxious; this time proposing to return to the countryside to pay respects to ancestors was also meant to let He Shi temporarily leave that place of sorrow in Jingcheng, change her mood, and recuperate her body.

Now everything was developing in a good direction; setting aside how He Shi was, even the attending servants were quite happy, and even though Ren Minmin clamored to go out and sightsee at every place, they did not mind it at all.

"This child Minmin," He Shi said with a shaking head and a smile, her heart filled with mixed joy and worry, "in two more years she'll be of age to look at suitors, yet she has this temper of doing as she pleases."

As long as she was a little unhappy, she had to show it on her face.

Sigh, her city was not deep enough; what would happen if she went to those families with complicated relationships? For people of their birth, a marriage alliance was an inevitable choice.

Even if the elders of the Guogong Fu felt heartache for their own children and wanted to follow their children's wishes, it was impossible.

"Master, the Fifth Young Lady is pure and adorable; when she marries in the future, give her more guidance, and it will surely be fine."

They had tried to straighten out Ren Minmin's temper before, but it was no use—her brain was not open, and no matter how they taught her, it was useless.

In the end, the Guogong Furen and Lady Lao both gave up, and could only try harder when Ren Minmin married, finding someone of good birth and character, to as much as possible cut off at the root the losses Ren Minmin would suffer.

"There's no other way; not just Minmin, but also this child Chengzhou..."

Hearing He Shi mention Ren Chengzhou again, Wei Mama's teeth ached terribly.

Forget it, forget it

The master was already this old; why fuss over so much?

Occasionally opening her mouth to echo a few words of the master, Wei Mama did not forget to present the tonic medicine she had brought; after all, the master's body was most important, and everything else had to take a back seat.

Walking and stopping along the way, Shen Yao would also take He Shi's pulse daily, prescribe a few good recuperation formulas, and brush up the other party's favorability.

Including Ren Minmin, the relationship between the two could be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds.

Ren Minmin called her "elder sister" all day long; even if Shen Yao had a heart of stone, it would be melted by this cute, lively little beauty.

After all, there was no conflict of interest between them; loving each other was the normal script.

Two months later, on the official road to Jingcheng, carriages and horses bearing the character Ren sped along all the way.

"Shen Jiejie, in two more days we'll be in Jingcheng; we'll return to the Guogong Fu first, then go out boating on the lake, tasting delicious food and scenery..."

Ren Minmin was indeed a native of Jingcheng; places to eat, drink, and have fun came readily to her.

Shen Yao had transmigrated through so many worlds and was no stranger to the ancient world, but being able to walk around and look around so freely like this was very rare.

Smilingly accepting Ren Minmin's invitation, Shen Yao entered the Guogong Fu in the capacity of a physician.

The new Guogong Ye and Guogong Furen, facing such a beautiful beauty as Shen Yao, to say they had not the slightest ripple in their hearts would certainly be false; after all, the fu still had several marriageable children currently being considered for matches.

Secretly instructing the servants around her to arrange the residence, and also inquiring clearly about Shen Yao's situation from her own daughter, the Guogong Furen, who showed no emotion on the surface, wore the appearance of a Bodhisattva, but in private guarded against Shen Yao coming into contact with the master's house.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao understood the Guogong Furen's approach; after all, in this era there were all kinds of storybooks, and common scams of climbing the high branch were not uncommon.

Stabilizing her outward persona, Shen Yao rested a few days in the small courtyard before going to Lady Lao He Shi's place to pay respects and chat, and by the way subtly reminded He Shi that she still had a patient, and needed to finish seeing him soon.

'The host is so anxious?' The system jumped out, thinking the other party didn't care.

'Love the line of work one is in; Lady Lao asked, I can't pretend not to know.'

After all, the people of the Guogong Fu had no spiritual roots; Shen Yao, to complete the mission, still had to come into contact with the outside world more.

Although these days she had gone out with Ren Minmin and the two had toured many places in Jingcheng, they still had not encountered anyone bearing a spiritual root.

However, there were a few who bore Dragon Qi, but the Dragon Qi was too thin, and Shen Yao did not want to lose the good things in her hands.

Better to finish the matter of the Answering Lady first; everything else could be discussed later.

He Shi was a young lady from a great family and had daily contact with countless furen who spoke in roundabout ways; facing Shen Yao's subtle reminder, she naturally understood.

Smilingly letting Wei Mama take Shen Yao over, He Shi did not forget to verbally entrust, "As long as there is a shred of possibility, we will not give up."

Making up for regrets was what He Shi had to do; even if doing so required paying a great price.

"Lady Lao, rest assured; as long as it's possible, my side will certainly do our utmost."

Treating illness and saving people also brought in money, although Shen Yao was not short of these few melons and dates.

Leaving Lady Lao's courtyard, Shen Yao followed behind Wei Mama to the residence in the courtyard where Ren Chengzhou was.

Dong dong dong—dong dong dong—

The courtyard gate was knocked on; the one who opened the door was a young blue-clad little servant.

Respectfully cupping his hands to Wei Mama, the little servant sized up Shen Yao behind her, and a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.

"Nainai"

"Is the Third Young Master in?"

"The Young Master is in the study; Nainai, please come in"

Wei Mama led Shen Yao into the courtyard, one before the other, while the little servant went to the study to summon someone.

The system in her mind jumped about incessantly: "Host, this person has a spiritual root!"

Moreover, the spirit root quality is not low; at least in this mortal world before her eyes, it is one of a kind.

The radar had already lit up, and the system, without caring about anything else, kept urging the host to work hard; anyway, this person cannot be let go, who knows if she will ever encounter such a thirst-quenching fruit again later.

Shen Yao's expression was indifferent: "This is also a child of the imperial family, with spiritual root and Dragon Qi mixed together; are you sure it's feasible?"

While she was speaking, a few coughs came from nearby, and a youth dressed in green clothes, with a posture straight and tall like a slender bamboo, appeared before Shen Yao.

On the green clothes were painted proud and upright bamboos, as if a clear breeze passed through a gap, occasionally hearing the sound of bamboo leaves, and again like the sound of jade pendants clashing when one walks leisurely forward.

His face was like jade of a crown, his scholarly aura was thick, his appearance was both clear and handsome yet not at all fragile or easily hurt.

Mm, he was a banished immortal beauty.

Before Shen Yao could open her mouth, the youth had already started chatting with Wei Mama.

Ren Chengzhou, who knew his own affairs among his own people, felt helpless; his body had been ruined for many years, how could it easily recover?

However, these were all his grandmother's intentions; Ren Chengzhou had lived in the Guogong Fu for twenty years.

Smiling and nodding at Shen Yao, Ren Chengzhou opened his mouth with an apology.

How does that saying go again? "A person on the road is like jade, a young master is unparalleled in the world."

Ren Chengzhou was precisely such a noble young master who walked out of a painting scroll.

Every move and action seemed like a modest gentleman, not the kind that puts on airs, but rather unity of words and deeds.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao felt that with Ren Chengzhou's appearance, it was no wonder He Shi would never give up.

Gathering her thoughts, Shen Yao signaled Ren Chengzhou to sit down, and then seriously took his pulse to diagnose him.

"Young Master Ren's physical problems originate from the womb and need slow nourishment and recovery."

While speaking, Shen Yao took two prescriptions from the medicine box and handed them to Wei Mama beside her.

"Some medicinal ingredients are expensive; Nainai can take them to show others first before deciding."

It can definitely be cured, but conventional methods definitely won't work.

Shen Yao carefully felt Ren Chengzhou's pulse, and sighed with the system that examples of spiritual roots and Dragon Qi being incompatible were right before her eyes.

In other words, part of the reason Ren Chengzhou had been sickly for twenty years was because his spiritual root and Dragon Qi were incompatible, neither submitting to the other.

It was also because Ren Chengzhou was born into wealth and relied on the efforts of both the palace and the Guogong Fu to support him; otherwise, if it were an ordinary family, he would have long turned into white bones and scattered in the world, how could he wait for Shen Yao to come save his life?

Ren Chengzhou had heard what Shen Yao said since he was young, not even lifting his eyelids; even if Shen Yao was beautiful as a fairy, it would not shake his heart in the slightest.

Well, it did shake a little, but who was Ren Chengzhou? His life wouldn't last long, so how could he have the mind to care about these romantic matters?

Withdrawing his wrist lightly, Ren Chengzhou politely thanked Shen Yao for the diagnosis, and at the same time explained he still had matters to attend to, so he would not disturb her any further.

Shen Yao:...

If she didn't hear wrong, she was being disliked, right?!

Shen Yao retorted, "Does Young Master Ren not believe I can regulate your body well?"

Amazing, perhaps this was what domineering CEOs often say, "Woman, you have caught my attention"; she currently had this thought about Ren Chengzhou too.

Ren Chengzhou:...

Ren Chengzhou naturally didn't know Shen Yao's thoughts; he was just answering normally, and when hearing Shen Yao's retort, he gave an explanation he also understood.

Even the imperial physicians were helpless about his own body condition; as for other doctors, without hope there was no life, otherwise Ren Chengzhou himself would not be able to bear it first.

"Miss Shen, Ren's body has made no progress for many years; being able to live is already the mercy of the heavens; as for other things, Ren does not seek anything."

Or rather, if it weren't for He Shi persisting for many years, Ren Chengzhou would probably have perished long ago.

"He's still someone who sees through the red dust," Shen Yao muttered a sentence to the system, then said nothing more, only watching Ren Chengzhou leave, and she and Wei Mama exchanged glances.

Wei Mama smiled bitterly: "Miss Shen, please don't mind; Third Young Master has just been disappointed too many times."

Ren Chengzhou was not like this from the beginning; it was entirely because the medical arts of this world were not strong enough, being repeatedly pulled back and forth since childhood, and even the best temperament could not bear it.

Shen Yao expressed understanding for this; anyway, the prescriptions she had written had already been given out.

She had Wei Mama grab the medicine well and send it to her small courtyard; she still needed to perform subsequent operations (adding herbs useful for Ren Chengzhou's body inside).

Wei Mama naturally would not shake her head and refuse; since the master believed in the "treat a dead horse as a living horse" approach, what reason did she have to object?

Just like that, she had the personally made pills packed into a porcelain bottle and sent to Ren Chengzhou's place, then Shen Yao pulled Ren Minmin out of the mansion to let loose.

Incidentally, Shen Yao, citing the inconvenience of living in the Guogong Fu for a long time, had already bought a small courtyard separately in Jingcheng, and planned to move out of the mansion as soon as possible.

But the plan changed faster than expected; just as Shen Yao had finished packing her luggage, because Ren Chengzhou's body showed some improvement, He Shi hurriedly came to ask Shen Yao to help diagnose and treat him.

He Shi was also very polite, or rather, the way she looked at Shen Yao was like looking at a treasure; she couldn't let the other party leave, her own grandson finally had hope of being saved, no matter what, she had to keep this life-saving benefactor.

Don't misunderstand; He Shi was not the kind who would beg desperately and use various means if you didn't agree; He Shi liked to use money to smash and dig people over.

Anyway, as long as Shen Yao was interested in something, He Shi didn't mind exchanging for it.

Shen Yao naturally didn't leave; not only did she not leave, but she also had frequent contact with Ren Chengzhou, the two of them; apart from seeing patients on ordinary days, they could still exchange a few words.

Wow

The system felt the host had ulterior motives: "Host, aren't you afraid the Guogong Fu will refuse? That Ren Chengzhou is the biological son of Noble Consort Niangniang in the palace."

Regarding Ren Chengzhou's background, Shen Yao knew it after coming to the Guogong Fu; it wasn't a big secret, and besides, the palace had no intention of concealing it.

Even occasionally the palace would send rewards, they just didn't summon him much; even during festivals and holidays, Ren Chengzhou would not enter the palace.

Because of these things, Ren Minmin had gossiped about the related content with Shen Yao.

"Saying he's a biological son, from the very beginning, Ren Chengzhou was one who was abandoned."

The Third Prince and Ren Chengzhou were born in the same year, same month, same day; as a result, one bore the surname Jiang and was the son of a Favored Consort, while the other bore the surname Ren and could only live at his maternal grandfather's home.

Even Ren Chengzhou's Jiang surname was removed; the entire imperial family had no trace of Ren Chengzhou's existence.

If it weren't for He Shi truly valuing Ren Chengzhou and not abandoning or giving up on him for many years, Ren Chengzhou would have been finished long ago in such a suppressive environment.

"Have you heard? The He clan has been looking into prospective matches for Ren Chengzhou lately. Only, none of the families they selected agreed, and they've politely refused."

That's only natural—who would marry off their good daughter to a royal discard who's clearly on his last legs, and what would they gain from it?

He Shi went to the palace to see the Noble Consort no fewer than several times over this, but to little avail: not only has the marriage made no progress, the Third Prince has instead taken on several more concubines.

In short, matters here are complicated; even if Shen Yao truly married Ren Chengzhou, it wouldn't matter much—at most she'd be a pastime for idle days in Jingcheng, swapped out for some new novelty after a few days.

"Host, your elixirs can only slowly restore Ren Chengzhou's body to normal, and there's a cultivation method in the space that can let him cultivate. Do you want to give him a portion?"

The system spoke up, not feeling at all that there was anything wrong with doing this.

"Let's wait and see; it's connected to later developments," she said. Whether she returned to the Cultivation World or spent her life here made a great difference.