「Fifteen minutes later.」
Zhu Li left the Zhu Mansion in a daze, a letter of recommendation in hand.
'I thought becoming a Mansion Official for Zhao Ci would involve a vicious struggle. After all, Zhu the Second's people have always loved making things difficult for me. Plus, anyone from the Zhu Family who wants to become a Mansion Official usually has to be vetted by a council of Elders. They only let you go after repeatedly deliberating and confirming it aligns with the family's interests.'
'I never expected it to go so smoothly.'
'Does letting a genius Alchemist like me go also serve their interests?'
'That can't be right!'
Zhu Li didn't get it, but she was ecstatic.
'Time to make my own way!'
「Zhu Mansion.」
The smile vanished from Zhu Gong's face as he turned to Zhao Yong. "Your Highness, by letting Zhu Li go to Zhao Ci, I'm afraid we've given him an inside track..."
After all, Zhao Yong was his own sister's son and the primary candidate the Zhu Family was backing. He had, of course, heard that Zhao Yong had once gone to the Kan Mansion to propose marriage.
"No matter!"
Though Zhao Yong didn't look pleased, there was no real anger in his voice. "Matters of marriage are always unpredictable, to say nothing of one arranged by Imperial Father. Letting something like that get in the way of real business is for fools. Uncle, you did the right thing."
Zhu Gong nodded slightly, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.
Frankly, Zhao Yong's temperament was a cut below the Crown Prince's, as he was occasionally swayed by his emotions.
He was a young man, after all; it was normal for him to be a bit impetuous.
But when it came to important business, Zhao Yong never let his emotions get the better of him. With the right guidance, he would one day become the Crown Prince's right-hand man, preventing the Fourth Prince from snatching victory at the eleventh hour.
'Speaking of which,' he thought, 'His Majesty seems to be aging more and more rapidly.'
"Father!"
Zhu Yan suddenly frowned. "Father, you don't think Zhao Ci is after Zhu Li's flame, do you? That little brat attacked me once. Her flame is abnormally scorching. Even if her future in Alchemy is over, she might have a promising path if she cultivates Slaughter Skills."
Zhu Gong smiled but didn't reply, simply looking toward Zhao Yong.
Zhao Yong gave a faint smile. "Relax. Once she becomes a Mansion Official, she can no longer collect a monthly salary. All her Cultivation Resources will have to be earned with merit. With Princess Consort Jing's meager backing, even if they manage to turn a small profit in the Elixir Realm within three years, they'll still be miles behind a normal Pill Workshop. In the end, the Tenth Prince's Mansion will likely have a negative merit balance.
They might be able to use pills from Xiang's Pill Workshop, but what kind of quality pills can that bunch of good-for-nothings produce?
Without sufficient Cultivation Resources, what good will her strange flame be?
It'll just be a waste of three years of her prime cultivation period."
Zhu Yan nodded. "That's true."
Zhao Yong stood and bowed to Zhu Gong. "Uncle, if the details are settled, I'll take my leave. At this Gongdan Conference, I will absolutely..."
Just then, a woman came running over in a panic.
It was Zhu Mei, from the auction last night. "Chief Steward, we have a problem!"
Zhu Gong said coolly, "Speak."
Zhu Mei's expression was grave. "Our spy in the Li Family reports unusual activity from Xiang's Pill Workshop. Last night, Li Fugui and that Tributor named Zhang were drinking together all evening, and both were in high spirits. We also have word from the palace that Zhao Ci has been meeting frequently with His Majesty, who seems to have great expectations for the Xiang's Pill Formula..."
"This..."
The room fell silent.
'If it were just Princess Consort Jing, it wouldn't be a problem.'
'But with the Emperor making a move, things were no longer so simple.'
'If I recall correctly, the Emperor has a few Alchemists with bizarre techniques in his employ. If they were to lend their aid, it could introduce some unexpected variables.'
As for the source of the information, it was absolutely reliable.
The spy in the Li Family held a high-ranking position, but his young son had a strange illness and was being secretly treated by a Zhu Family physician.
The news from the palace came from a eunuch who had formed a committed partnership with a Palace Maid responsible for organizing books in the Imperial Study. A great deal of the Zhu Family's intelligence from within the palace came from this eunuch, making it highly credible.
'But how should they respond?'
Zhu Gong's brow furrowed deeply as he looked down at the list in his hand.
Zhao Yong's failure to acquire the Hundred Refinements Furnace last night had triggered the Zhu Clan's sense of crisis. After a night of deliberation, they had assigned several more Senior Alchemists to Zhao Yong, transferred a batch of Top-Grade Alchemy Furnaces, and even passed along an improved Pill Formula for the Qi Cultivation Pill.
Even though it wasn't a huge amount, parting with it all still stung.
'But I never imagined Zhao Ci would have a card like this up his sleeve!'
'The Emperor is so biased!'
This was an extremely ominous signal, both in the Emperor's attitude and his actions.
Within the Fourth Prince Faction, a Prince Heir had also ambitiously established his own mansion, but his main battleground wasn't the Elixir Realm.
Yet the Emperor was going all out to prop up Zhao Ci and Princess Consort Jing. Whether this was to ease the pressure on the Fourth Prince or a genuine attempt to support Zhao Ci, it was not a good sign.
'This suppression is too blatant!'
'So, should they raise the stakes further?'
"Uncle..."
Zhao Yong was at a loss. If the Zhu Clan raised the stakes, the pressure on him would be immense. But if they didn't, Zhao Ci might snatch away a huge number of orders.
'It's a terrible choice either way!'
Zhu Gong thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Your Highness, do not worry. For now, please return and rest. Later this evening, I will convene the Elders and push to free up three Hundred Refinements Furnaces for you, along with their Alchemists and our new Alchemy Techniques. Even with their recent moves, they shouldn't be able to steal many of our orders."
Zhao Yong's expression froze. "Isn't that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? No matter how much stronger Princess Consort Jing's shabby little Pill Workshop gets, there's a limit, right?"
"That's not the right way to look at it!"
Zhu Gong said gravely, "The key right now is securing the orders. As long as we have the orders, I have a hundred ways to help Your Highness pull through. But if we fail to secure them, the situation will be hard to salvage."
Zhao Yong was conflicted for a moment, but could only nod. "Then I must thank you, Uncle."
He thanked him profusely, his expression a complicated mask. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
'His uncle had agreed far too readily, almost as if he were eager to give it all away. And these were things the Zhu Family had always kept as closely guarded secrets.'
'There's something more to this... '
The pressure on him was immense, but he had no intention of objecting.
'Once I get my hands on all this, surely Imperial Father will see me in a new light?'
He sighed, his feelings a tangled mess.
But then again...
'It's true that I'm under a lot of pressure.'
'But for Zhao Ci, it's game over. I'll crush him in one fell swoop at the Gongdan Conference and put an end to his annoying antics.'
The right to establish one's own mansion is a unique blessing and a solemn duty for the children of the Great Yu Imperial Family.
And that man... he actually used it just to curry favor with Kan Luotang.
'What a complete bastard!'
'Just drop dead!'
...
「The sun was high in the sky.」
Xiang's Pill Workshop.
The door to the Alchemy Room finally opened.
Zhao Ci emerged from the Alchemy Room looking refreshed and full of energy, letting out a comfortable stretch.
He had persisted for four hours last night, enduring terrifyingly intense mental strain. Only when his heart palpitations grew more frequent and severe did he finally withdraw the Yu Xin Flame.
The instant he did, he could no longer withstand the overwhelming emotional drain and collapsed into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, all the negative emotions had vanished, and his very soul felt incomparably light.
He felt as though his five senses had sharpened considerably. Before, a bush was just a blob of green, and he'd had to focus to make out any details.
But now, with just a casual glance, he could perceive the direction in which every single leaf swayed.
'They say that when masters clash, life and death are decided in the blink of an eye.'
'This near-microscopic perception is terrifyingly powerful.'
'It seems Gu Xiangzhu is a gold mine. I'll have to dig deeper.'
The Pill Workshop had only just been completed, so other than the guards Gu Xiangzhu had brought from the Xiang Family, the backyard was empty.
He headed straight for the front hall, intending to ask whether the mushrooms he'd ordered had arrived.
He didn't expect, however, to see a familiar figure sitting there.
"Feng Kucha?"
Zhao Ci was surprised.
Feng Kucha had been dozing against the back of his chair, but at the sound of Zhao Ci's voice, he shot upright. "Zhao Ci!" he asked urgently. "I just went to your mansion looking for you, and your maid told me you were at the Pill Workshop. Is this Xiang's Pill Workshop really yours now?"
"Yep."
"I heard you bought seven Hundred Refinements Furnaces at the auction last night."
"That's right."
HISS...
Feng Kucha was stunned. "I thought you were joking about establishing a mansion. You're actually serious about this?"
"Of course I'm serious. What did you expect?"
"This is worse than if you'd just killed me!"
"..."
Zhao Ci could see the sorrowful indignation of betrayal on Feng Kucha's face.
'I've seen that expression before,' he thought.
'It was the same look his bro gave him when he traded in his Cadillac.'
'In a way, isn't that its own kind of betrayal?'
Feng Kucha paced back and forth in the front hall, his hands clasped behind his back and a pained look on his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth, pulled a small booklet from his robes, and shoved it into Zhao Ci's hand. "I stole this from my family. Be discreet with it, and don't you dare sell me out! And hey... don't forget me when you're rich."
With that, he turned to leave.
Zhao Ci glanced down. The booklet looked old and worn. Four words were written on the cover: Feng Ji's Alchemy Manual.