Chapter 155: Something Already in the Bag

After wandering around Qihuang Hall No. 13 for a while, Hua Changxi prepared to leave; without the wooden tablet, she had no way to decipher the teachings contained within Qihuang Hall No. 13.

Unexpectedly, just as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she bumped into the Seventh Imperial Prince.

"Steward Hua."

Hua Changxi looked at the Seventh Imperial Prince and smiled: "I am no longer a steward; Seventh Imperial Prince, please do not call me Steward Hua anymore."

The Seventh Imperial Prince immediately asked with a smile, his expression gentle and refined: "Then how should I address you now?"

Hua Changxi replied: "My name is Hua Changxi."

Seeing her serious expression, the Seventh Imperial Prince did not deliberately try to closen their relationship by calling her only 'Changxi'; instead, he cooperated fully and pronounced all three characters of 'Hua Changxi'.

"Uncle Wang has tasked me with managing Qihuang Hall No. 14; now we are neighbors, Hua Changxi. I hope for your guidance in the days to come."

Having said this, the Seventh Imperial Prince smiled, clasped his fists, and bowed to Hua Changxi, his attitude exceedingly humble and polite, devoid of any imperial arrogance.

Seeing him act this way, Hua Changxi felt more vigilance than anything else; one person does not treat another well without reason, so she smiled and said: "If we are speaking of guidance, it should be the Seventh Imperial Prince guiding me."

Hearing this, the Seventh Imperial Prince did not feign modesty but smiled and said: "Then let us guide each other in the days to come."

Hua Changxi smiled slightly but said nothing.

Seeing this, the Seventh Imperial Prince did not press further but quickly changed the subject: "By the way, there is something I must tell you: each Qihuang Hall will be assigned eight medicine apprentices; in the coming days, these apprentices will arrive at the various Qihuang Halls one after another."

Hua Changxi heard this and frowned: "I do not need any medicine apprentices."

The Seventh Imperial Prince smiled and said: "This is Uncle Wang's requirement; every Qihuang Hall must have them." He paused, then continued, "Although in principle the medicine apprentices are to be uniformly assigned by the Medical Bureau, Uncle Wang has entrusted this matter to me. How about this: you determine the list of apprentices yourself, as long as they are personnel from the Medical Bureau."

Disgust flashed through Hua Changxi's eyes; first demanding thirty bottles of first-grade spirit pills every month, now assigning medicine apprentices—demanding spirit pills treated them as alchemists, while assigning apprentices meant sending people to monitor them; thus, their every move would be under the watchful eye of the imperial family.

Letting them take over the Qihuang Halls was merely a pretense; the imperial family's true purpose was to have them decipher the secrets of the Qihuang Halls.

Unwilling to converse further, Hua Changxi said: "Seventh Imperial Prince, I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

The Seventh Imperial Prince nodded with a smile and watched Hua Changxi depart.

After she had walked quite a distance, Xiao Lizhi, standing behind the Seventh Imperial Prince, spoke up: "Your Highness, this Hua Changxi is indeed as our investigation indicated: somewhat aloof, proud, and unapproachable."

The Seventh Imperial Prince dismissed the concern with a smile: "Sincerity can crack even metal and stone; if I genuinely befriend her, I believe that in time, she will feel my sincerity."

After leaving the Apprentice Hall, Hua Changxi returned to the Laborer Hall; originally, she had intended to return to her own courtyard to refine pills, but upon entering the Laborer Hall, she discovered quite a few cultivators present.

Recalling the mortal laborers she had seen dismissed earlier, Hua Changxi was shaken; replacing them with cultivators as laborers meant the imperial family controlled far more cultivators than she had imagined.

Soon, Hua Changxi saw rows of queues in the central courtyard of the Laborer Hall; approaching closer, she realized the newly appointed steward of the Laborer Hall was testing the spiritual roots of the laborers.

Laborers with spiritual roots would stay; those without would be sent away.

There were several thousand laborers in the Laborer Hall, all strong and robust; the number detected with spiritual roots was not small. Hua Changxi stood aside and watched for a while; in less than an hour, twenty or thirty people were found to possess spiritual roots.

"No wonder the imperial family holds so many cultivators; conducting spiritual root tests on such a large scale a few more times will inevitably accumulate a considerable number."

Hua Changxi did not linger long; thinking that many personnel changes had occurred in the Laborer Hall recently, she walked around various sections of the hall. Apart from the addition of several cultivator laborers in various areas, the storehouse was also piled high with spiritual herbs, spiritual plants, and spiritual fruits.

"Has the imperial family truly treated the Pill Saint Hall as something already in their bag?"

With so many cultivators now in the Laborer Hall, Hua Changxi dared not return to her residential courtyard to refine pills; she left the Medical Bureau directly and returned to the Shennong Medicine Shop in Feng'an Market.

In the following days, while Mu Qingying and others moved into the Qihuang Halls one after another, Hua Changxi devoted herself to refining pills and cultivating within the medicine shop.

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage 999,990,000/1,000,000,000; Divine Sense: 110,000+]

While cultivating, Hua Changxi discovered she had encountered a bottleneck; her cultivation base simply could not break through the one billion point mark. After trying many methods without success, she helplessly decided to devote her time to pill refining and body tempering instead.

On October 22nd, after lunch, Hua Changxi was hesitating whether to return to the Hua family early when Hua Dalang arrived.

"Eldest Brother."

Hua Dalang looked at Hua Changxi: "Tomorrow is my engagement banquet as the eldest brother; do you really intend to act like a guest and only arrive at the door tomorrow?"

"Third Aunt, Second Mother, and Fifth Mother have all returned; among the brothers and sisters of our generation, everyone except Tenth Sister is here, leaving only you missing."

"Come, go home with me."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi did not refuse and followed behind Hua Dalang back to the Hua family residence.

"Ninth Sister has returned!"

As Hua Changxi followed Hua Dalang into the Hua family courtyard, the crowd, which had been chatting and laughing, suddenly fell silent upon their entry.

Seeing everyone look at her as if she were a rare guest, Hua Changxi felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart.

At this moment, Lady Yao, who had been busy in the kitchen, came out and, looking at Hua Changxi, said: "...It is good that you have returned."

After Hua Changxi exchanged greetings with everyone, Hua Dalang said: "Ninth Sister, come with me to pay our respects to Grandfather and Grandmother."

Hua Changxi fell silent for a moment, then still followed Hua Dalang into the main hall.

Inside the main hall, Old Master Hua and Old Lady Hua sat in the seats of honor; on the chairs to the left and right sat the three brothers of Hua Minghe, along with Brother-in-law Shen, Brother-in-law Cao the Second, and Third Master He, the three sons-in-law.

"Grandfather, Grandmother, I have returned."

Hua Changxi stepped forward to pay her respects.

Old Lady Hua immediately smiled and said: "It is good that you have returned; apart from Tenth Sister who cannot come home, all the brothers and sisters of your generation are now present. Gathered together, we can bond closely."

Having said this, she quickly cast a glance at Old Master Hua.

Seeing this, Old Master Hua gave a light but firm "Hmm" and said: "It is good that you have returned; your mother is busy over there, so go quickly and help her."

Hua Changxi replied: "Very well."

After exchanging greetings with the others in the room, Hua Changxi exited the main hall.

Seeing that the two were at peace, everyone in the main hall secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ninth Sister."

As Hua Changxi emerged from the main hall, Hua Liulang hurried over, looking as though he had done something wrong: "Ninth Sister, the Sheng family's status is much higher than ours; I worried that tomorrow the Sheng family's friends and relatives might look down on us, so I took the liberty to bring back a batch of spiritual rice and spiritual fruits grown around the spiritual mines. Please do not be angry with me."

Seeing him act this way, Hua Changxi frowned: "Sixth Brother, it is merely some spiritual rice and spiritual fruits; do you see me as such a stingy person in your eyes?"

Hua Liulang shook his head: "I did not think that; I just acted first and reported later, that is all."

Hua Changxi knew this was the aftermath of her previous major confrontation with the Old Master; after a moment's thought, she said: "Sixth Brother, regarding the spiritual mines in Sancha Medicine Valley, aside from the spirit stones, you may discuss and dispose of the other items with Elder You and the others as you see fit, as long as you are not misled by Elder You and them."

Hearing this, Hua Liulang immediately grinned broadly: "Good, I know how to proceed from now on." Then, his expression turned serious: "How could I possibly be misled? I am not a fool."

Hua Changxi chuckled: "Old You and the other three are seasoned veterans; you're just a greenhorn. Learn well."

Hua Liulang promised he would learn well, then headed to the backyard to help tidy up the rooms.

Hua Changxi was puzzled: "Tidy up what rooms?"

Hua Liulang jerked his chin toward the main hall: "Third Brother-in-law, Second Sister's husband, and He San will all be staying at our home tonight."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi quickly glanced at Hua Wuniang, who was holding a child and playing in the courtyard; seeing her rosy complexion and bright eyes, it was clear her life was indeed content.

"A Young Master from the Marquis's Manor is actually staying overnight in our courtyard..."

Hua Liulang also found He San's overnight stay somewhat strange; if he were truly Fifth Sister's husband, it would be normal, but Fifth Sister was merely his concubine.

"Ninth Sister, He San is the son-in-law of the Fourth Branch; we of the First Branch should not meddle in unnecessary affairs."

Hua Changxi looked over: "Do I look like someone who meddles in unnecessary affairs?" She paused. "As long as he doesn't drag me into it, he can do whatever he likes."