Chapter 715: Bewitching Intoxication

Pan Yun did not return to Yushan County seat, but went straight back to Mount Sanqing,

and the moment she landed, she ran to the pharmacy and rummaged through every chest and cabinet; not finding what she wanted, she pried open the lock on Wang Feiyin's door.

Miao He trailed behind her, staring wide-eyed: "Little Martial Aunt, what are you doing?"

Pan Yun dashed into the room and started rifling through all sorts of medicine jars and bottles: "I remember one spring, my Grand Martial Nephew was refining Powdered Peach Blossom, but the medicine didn't come out right—what came out instead was Peach Blossom Drunk. That medicinal wine has an extremely strong kick. Where did it go?"

Miao He followed behind her: "But that wine is poisonous. Grand Xiao Shishu said drinking it causes hallucinations, and children can't drink it."

Pan Yun: "It's for Cai Cheng to drink."

The moment Miao He heard that, she immediately pitched in eagerly to help search.

After searching for a long time, they finally pried up a floor tile in the corner of the wall and pulled out a tightly sealed jar from inside.

The jar was very small, only two palms wide; the moment it touched her hands, Pan Yun felt the weight was off, so she immediately held it to her ear and gave it a shake.

Pan Yun: "……"

Miao He stared with bright, eager eyes: "What is it?"

Pan Yun: "From the sound, there's less than half a jar left."

Miao He: "That doesn't matter. Grand Xiao Shishu said this wine is extremely poisonous—one sip can knock a person flat—but how do we control his hallucinations?"

"By using suggestion," Pan Yun said with certainty. "The half that's missing—Grand Martial Brother definitely stole some to drink."

Miao He looked completely baffled: "It's poisonous, so why would Grand Xiao Shishu drink it?"

Pan Yun looked at her with an expression of fond affection: "You're still young, you don't understand the wonder of wine—especially this batch of medicinal wine that Grand Martial Nephew accidentally brewed. It's something you can only stumble upon, never seek out."

Miao He looked thoughtful: "No wonder back then, even though he'd clearly brewed poisonous wine, Grand Martial Brother was so excited he wanted to follow the recipe and make another batch, and didn't even want to refine Jade-Faced Peach Blossom anymore."

"What a pity it couldn't be replicated."

Miao He fell into thought: "Little Martial Aunt, is this stuff really that good?"

Pan Yun: "It depends how you use it. Used well, it's a good thing—for instance, we're about to use it to save many people, so it's good. But if it falls into the wrong hands, it could do harm.

So the thing itself isn't good or bad—it all depends on the person using it."

Miao He nodded slowly: "Since it's something good, then I should be able to brew it. Back when Grand Martial Brother was refining Jade-Faced Peach Blossom, I was the one stoking the fire."

Pan Yun patted her head: "You give it your best shot."

Having said that, she fitted the floor tile back in, smoothed over the seams, and after tamping it down firmly said: "If you can brew it, Grand Martial Brother and Grand Martial Nephew will absolutely love you to death."

Pan Yun tossed the wine into the Spirit Realm space, scooped up Pan Xiaohei, and headed back to the county seat.

Wang Feiyin trusted her completely and was sleeping like the dead, so her stealing the wine didn't immediately come to light.

Otherwise, with Wang Feiyin's sense of smell, he would have caught the scent of Peach Blossom Drunk the very first moment.

Pan Yun set Miao He down, glanced up at the sky, and figured dawn was almost here—really no point in sleeping—so she lowered her voice and said: "Go back and sleep. You were tired tonight, so I'll allow you to sleep in tomorrow—sleep as long as you want."

Miao He's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Pan Yun patted her head and smiled: "Really."

Miao He happily went back to her room. Pan Yun waited until she shut the door, then picked up Pan Xiaohei, leapt onto the roof, and in a few bounds vanished without a trace.

She slipped silently into the back courtyard of the county government office, searched the main room and the side rooms, and finally found Cai Cheng in the study.

Cai Cheng was sleeping on the small bed in the study, dead to the world.

Pan Yun walked up, lowered her head to look at him, saw the dark patch between his brows, and couldn't help but give a cold snort: "If your death wouldn't drag so many people down, I'd truly love to stand by and do nothing."

Pan Yun casually picked up the teacup by the desk, opened the Peach Blossom Drunk, and poured out a cup of wine.

When a streak of morning sun appeared on the horizon, she snapped her fingers right in front of his face.

Cai Sheng, still in his dream, went *snap*—then a rumble of thunder sounded, as if he'd been struck by lightning in his dream. He was so startled he sat bolt upright in bed.

His vision swam for a moment, hazy and blurred, and he hadn't yet adjusted to the dimness before him when suddenly a teacup was held out in front of him…

The teacup gave off a bewitching, sweet fragrance; he didn't even bother to look up and see who the hand belonged to, just took it and drained it in one gulp.

It was as if he'd tasted the most delicious nectar in all the world; his whole being felt weightless, on the verge of ascending.

Once he focused, he found himself kneeling in the Golden Throne Hall.

A sovereign both majestic and still boyish in mien sat upon the dragon throne—blurred and indistinct, impossible to see clearly—but that voice reached his ears with perfect clarity.

"Cai Cheng has performed a great service in bringing the bandits to surrender; he should be richly rewarded."

Voices of praise came from every direction: "Indeed remarkable. The rebellion in Fujian remains unsettled to this day, yet Cai Cheng managed to bring them to surrender—putting down a revolt without raising a single soldier."

"I heard he risked going in person to the bandits' lair to meet the rebel leaders Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing, and laid out how the two of them were ungrateful and heartless, seizing the chance of unrest in Fujian to raise arms and threaten the sovereign—talked them both into weeping bitter tears."

"Song Dalin really was detestable—Deng Maoqi only had to stir him up a little and he rebelled, utterly heedless of the sovereign's grace."

"That's exactly why Cai Cheng is so impressive. Men so ungrateful and cold-hearted were actually moved by him to weep and surrender."

"I heard Song Dalin even stepped forward of his own accord to explain things to the common folk, saying everything Lord Cai has done these past six months was for the good of Yushan County. Ah, the fault lies in the present, but the merit belongs to a thousand ages."

"Isn't that so? Once the official road is repaired, trade can flow—wouldn't the merchants and common folk be the ones to benefit?

Not to mention the waterworks projects—every single one of them is a policy that benefits the people."

"Lord Cai bore the stain of a bad name to do these things, misunderstood by the common folk—how wounded he must feel inside…"

"Bitter indeed, bitter indeed—he should be richly rewarded."

Pan Yun sat in a chair, watching Cai Cheng grow increasingly excited and frenzied, and said in a deep voice: "My dear minister, you have quelled the rebellion for Us and spread the sovereign's renown. You are hereby promoted to Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture."

Cai Cheng dropped to his knees before Pan Yun with a heavy thud, raised his hands in a deep bow, his face flushed crimson, and loudly replied: "I thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace."

Pan Yun's fingers moved slightly, her lips parting and closing, and what landed in Cai Cheng's ears was the endless murmuring of the court officials: "In other words, the hearts of the people of Yushan County are now settled?"

"Naturally. Cai Cheng not only released Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing and the others, he treated them generously. With those two as examples, how could the people's hearts not turn to him?"

"Then what about their families who were arrested?"

Pan Yun's fingers tapped lightly on the desk, producing a *dunk-dunk* sound, and in Cai Cheng's mind it was as if heavenly thunder rolled past. His face went deathly pale as he suddenly remembered—Wang Xiaojing's family was still locked up in the Earth God Temple by him…

A voice in his heart told Cai Cheng: "If you don't release Wang Xiaojing's family, all your previous efforts will be wasted. Today's merits will be revoked, and His Majesty will deem you guilty of deceiving the sovereign, of making a fool of him. When that day comes, forget being a Prefect—you won't even be able to keep your black gauze cap as County Magistrate…"

That voice hammered at his brain like a demon's: "From County Magistrate to Prefect—from seventh rank to fifth rank~~"

Cai Cheng's eyes went wide, and he scrambled up from the ground in one bound.

Pan Yun walked lightly to his side and whispered in his ear: "I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family, I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family, I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family…"

Say important things three times.

After the three repetitions, Cai Cheng also murmured: "I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family, I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family…"

He strode toward the door, ready to fling it open and go out.

But Pan Yun circled to his left ear and whispered: "When meeting the sovereign, one must straighten cap and robes…"

Cai Cheng remembered, and hurriedly turned to put on his clothes and don his official cap.

Before he stepped out, Pan Yun once more stressed three times into his right ear: "I want to release Wang Xiaojing's family…"

Cai Cheng muttered to himself as he opened the door and walked out. By now it was already broad daylight outside; voices rose in the county government office as people got up one after another. (End of chapter)