Chapter 204: Throwing in the Towel

Before the supreme-grade spirit pills before him, Prince Shou’s expression remained composed, yet he took the pills away with considerable speed.

Supreme-grade pills—even the alchemists cultivated by the imperial family with vast resources could hardly produce them, and even if they could, they would never be able to turn out so many at once, even for first-grade spirit pills.

As Prince Shou took away the pills, the fragrance of the pills in the议事堂 slowly dissipated. The remaining scent lingering, those present looked at Hua Changxi with a bit more gravity.

Earlier, many in the room had dismissed those who had obtained the wooden tokens, thinking they had merely been at the right place at the right time, with luck playing a major part.

Prince Shou, who had taken over the Medical Directorate, was especially like that—he had never really thought much of the nine who had gotten the wooden tokens.

If not for the repeated urgings of the imperial elders who studied divination and deduction, saying that those favored by the wooden tokens could more easily unravel the secrets of the Qihuang Hall, he would have even wanted to seize the tokens from Hua Changxi and Shen Qianfan, since they had no backing and could be dealt with without restraint.

But now, Hua Changxi had produced several hundred first-grade supreme-grade pills in one go, fully demonstrating that she indeed possessed extraordinary skill in alchemy, directly shattering the arrogant judgments of Prince Shou and the others.

If Hua Changxi was like this, what about the others? Did they also possess hidden abilities?

At this moment, the hall masters of the Qihuang Hall all looked at Hua Changxi with eyes that had shed their previous careless, scrutinizing attitude.

When they took over the Qihuang Hall, they not only bore the expectations of their respective families but also their own passion and pursuit of medicine and alchemy. They respected those who truly had skill.

Mu Qingying and Director Gu exchanged several glances; master and disciple both seemed somewhat regretful.

In the议事堂, everyone wore different expressions and remained silent, until Chu Junhao, who had been publicly rejected by Hua Changxi, broke the quiet.

“Imperial Uncle, I told you long ago that Hall Master Hua is a gifted alchemist. Now do you believe it?”

Prince Shou said nothing, but his expression had lost the anger from just before.

“Hall Master Hua’s medical and alchemical skills far surpass mine; I was uncalled for in offering my help earlier.” Chu Junhao smiled at Hua Changxi, but his smile was a bit stiff, and everyone could see his awkwardness.

Hua Changxi naturally saw it too. Regardless of Chu Junhao’s intentions, his words and actions were ultimately meant to help her, so she stood up and replied, “Your Highness, the Seventh Prince, is of noble status, I am undeserving of your kindness. I appreciate your goodwill.”

Hearing this answer, Chu Junhao smiled and sat back down in his seat.

He was very puzzled by Huo Changxi’s actions. Evidently, she had not wanted to hand over the supreme-grade pills. Since she could borrow spirit pills from Mu Qingying and others, why was she unwilling to accept his help?

Wasn’t it all just incurring a debt of gratitude?

Not only was Chu Junhao confused, most people present were also baffled. Some even thought Hua Changxi was very unwise to publicly refuse a prince.

Tang Yufeng looked at Hua Changxi, who had sat down again, and murmured softly: “This person is truly proud!”—unwilling to owe favors and never allowing herself to be in a lower position.

Chu Junhao’s public help was essentially asking Hua Changxi to owe a favor in front of everyone. Those who owed a favor could no longer stand tall with confidence.

Favor is something you should avoid owing if possible, and especially favors forced upon you—you should run as far as possible from them.

Hua Changxi’s decisive refusal of the Seventh Prince showed she was indeed a clever person.

Gu Jinfan heard Tang Yufeng’s muttering but felt somewhat worried. Based on her secret investigation, Hua Changxi did indeed have some luck, but extreme hardness invites breakage—she acted too rashly and impulsively.

Publicly refusing a prince—that was showing no understanding of social graces at all.

Amid everyone’s various thoughts, Prince Shou spoke: “I truly did not expect Hall Master Hua’s alchemy skills to be so superb. The other hall masters should learn from her and serve the Medical Directorate more diligently. Only when everyone works together can the Medical Directorate become better and better.”

The hall masters of the Qihuang Hall nodded in agreement.

After Prince Shou had talked for a while about his vision for the Medical Directorate, Director Gu began to preside over the meeting: “The reason we have gathered everyone today is to discuss the teaching arrangements at the Qihuang Hall after the New Year.”

“Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, the number of cultivators has increased, and the demand for pills has grown significantly, yet alchemists are extremely scarce.”

“As the gathering place of the Great Jin’s top physicians and pharmacists, the Medical Directorate leads the development of medical arts and has always borne the responsibility of cultivating outstanding medical talent.”

“Now that alchemists are scarce, the Medical Directorate has no excuse to shirk its duty. After the New Year, each hall master must teach alchemy to the personnel in their respective Qihuang Hall branches.”

Saying this, Director Gu paused and looked at the hall masters: “Now, you can speak up if you have any opinions.”

The matter of teaching at the Qihuang Hall had long been circulated widely. Those hall masters with good information networks already knew what they should and shouldn’t know. Even if some disagreed, they would not make trouble in the议事堂, so none were inclined to speak.

Seeing that nobody was talking, Hua Changxi, who had originally hoped to gather more information from them, had to ask herself: “Director, how many days per month are there classes? What if one goes out to train or goes into seclusion and has no time for classes?”

Hearing her question, everyone realized just how out of the loop Hua Changxi was.

Director Gu: “Open classes—each hall has one day per month, arranged according to the hall number. Hall Master Hua, you are in charge of the Thirteenth Qihuang Hall, so the thirteenth day of each month is your hall’s teaching day.”

“Open classes cannot be missed, as they represent the image of your respective Qihuang Hall. If the hall master is unavailable, they may arrange for a subordinate to take over.”

Hua Changxi quickly asked: “What if I have no subordinates?”

Director Gu looked at her: “… No subordinates? Hall Master Hua, don’t you think you should consider whether that is your own problem?” He paused and kindly reminded her, “You are now a hall master. When you encounter problems, you need to solve them yourself, not ask others.”

Hua Changxi sneered, "The eight medicine boys in No. 13 Qi Huang Hall were all arranged by you. Now you're saying it's my problem?"

Director Gu: "Regarding the medicine boys, it's because you didn't make any demands, so the Medical Bureau arranged them on its own."

Hua Changxi was speechless. Just as she was about to retort, Director Gu spoke first, "The eight medicine boys in your hall are all quite talented. If you teach them patiently, they will surely become your right-hand men in the future."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi was so angry she laughed, "Director, do I look like a fool to you?"

"Pfft~"

Someone couldn't help it and let out a laugh.

Everyone turned to look at the person who laughed.

The person who laughed was none other than Huo Yunxiao, the master of No. 3 Qi Huang Hall. Seeing everyone looking at him, he suppressed his smile and looked at Hua Changxi. "Hall Master Hua, you are very open and straightforward. You say what you think and hold nothing back. I'm very happy to meet you. As for me, I tend to laugh when I'm happy. Please don't take offense."

Hearing this reply, many rolled their eyes. If not for the fear of the Heaven Division behind him, they would have sarcastically retorted.

Director Gu, under Hua Changxi's glare, coughed uncomfortably and continued, "In addition to public lectures, each hall must also take in ten alchemy apprentices. Every year, during the twelfth lunar month, the Medical Bureau will conduct an assessment. Each hall must produce at least five alchemists within a year."

"This is a mandatory regulation of the Medical Bureau. Every hall must comply."

As he spoke, he looked at Hua Changxi. "Hall Master Hua, do you have any more questions?"

Hua Changxi did not oppose teaching; in fact, she was quite willing to teach. But the Medical Bureau's regulations were restricting her everywhere. "Director, I have a big problem. Taking over No. 13 Qi Huang Hall, I get no benefit at all, and I have to invest time and energy into it. I really want to ask you, why should I be the hall master of this Qi Huang Hall?"

Director Gu: "......"

The other hall masters, who had their eyes on the Dan Saint Hall: "......"

Hua Changxi stood up. "You guys play by yourselves." With that, she prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Director Gu was dumbfounded, and the others were also stunned.

"Wait."

Seeing that Hua Changxi truly intended to quit, Director Gu quickly called her back. "Hall Master Hua, your temper is too hasty. We are still discussing, aren't we? If you have opinions, just say them. We can discuss again."

Hua Changxi stopped. "I am not satisfied with any of your arrangements. I can teach, but I set the schedule myself. I can instruct alchemy apprentices, but I choose the people myself."

Hearing this, Prince Shou objected, "You decide everything? How about you run the Medical Bureau?"

Hua Changxi was already unhappy about handing over the supreme-grade pill, so she directly said, "Then forget it."

Prince Shou had never seen someone who so blatantly disregarded him. His face darkened. "You can leave, but leave the wooden token behind."

Hua Changxi laughed in anger. "No. I obtained the wooden token with my own strength. No one can take it from me. Not just the token, but also the Qi Huang Hall."

These words made everyone once again experience Hua Changxi's arrogance and unruliness.

She had just publicly rejected the Seventh Prince, and now she was defying Prince Shou. Did she even want to stay in the Medical Bureau?

Prince Shou could no longer suppress his fury. Previously, when Hua Changxi had a bit of a temper, he had tolerated it for the sake of the Qi Huang Hall's secret. But now she was publicly challenging his authority. This was unbearable. He stood up abruptly, and just as he was about to say something, a paper crane suddenly flew in and landed in his hand.

"The Protector is about to arrive."

Opening the paper crane, Prince Shou saw this line of text, and his expression immediately changed drastically.