Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Oh, right, Prince Qi can't even afford to pay a physician, so how could he possibly hire an engineer at a hefty price?

However, Prince Qi's poverty doesn't dampen Shen Lian's enthusiasm.

After all, he was his favorite protagonist from his youth—a classic web-novel overpowered hero. If he could help Prince Qi solve a thorny problem, he'd gladly work for nothing.

Besides, this might even boost the novel's excitement, increasing "popularity points" and "happiness points," so it's not entirely without reward.

"It's fine if he can't afford it—think of it as doing Prince Qi a favor. After all, he's the Tengri Heavenly Blade of Great Wei. He protects us regular folks, so we should do our part for him too." Shen Lian leaned in closer: "Dian Xia, can you find a way to get Prince Xi to recommend me to Prince Qi?"

The Young Male Concubine's eyes widened in surprise, and he suddenly seemed in high spirits. He lifted his chin and looked down at him with a smug look: "You'd work for Prince Qi even without pay? What's in it for you?"

Shen Lian grumbled: "I told you, he's my hero! How many times do I have to say it before you get it?"

The Young Male Concubine smiled: "Say it until I believe you."

Shen Lian: "Why do I need you to believe me? Once I recreate the water mill, I'll be Prince Qi's top strategist. Maybe I'll get promoted to the Ministry of Works and become a big official. Prince Qi definitely has a better eye for talent than you."

The Young Male Concubine's smile faded: "So that's your plan? You're likely to be disappointed. Not to mention whether a physician can truly recreate Chu State's water mill—even if you pull it off, you can't show it off, let alone claim credit before His Majesty. There are many price gaps to sort out. You'd have to patiently wait until trade resumes before Prince Qi can get back on his feet. There are too many variables along the way—no one can promise you anything. If you want to gamble on your future, you'd be better off investing in that wound-healing medicine of yours—at least the profit margins are higher."

That didn't sit well with Shen Lian.

Why did this Young Male Concubine keep badmouthing his hero?

There was no challenge his Tengri Heavenly Blade couldn't overcome.

Just as he was about to retort, it hit Shen Lian a beat late.

Huh?

Right—in the original story, Prince Qi was nineteen this year.

That meant there were only a few months left before the big disaster!

Soon, Prince Qi's loyal generals and ministers would all be killed off. His brothers and mother would suffer too.

Step by step, Prince Qi would be forced into a do-or-die battle for the throne.

If he joined Prince Qi's building projects now and made great contributions, becoming a trusted minister...

Then he'd be the one killed off in the next wave of disaster!

Shen Lian broke out in a cold sweat.

"Oh!" He looked at the Young Male Concubine nervously: "Good thing you reminded me. Right, I can't throw in with Prince Qi yet."

The Young Male Concubine looked at him with a blank face: "It seems that if neither career nor wealth can be secured, your great hero becomes dispensable."

"No, no, you don't understand." Shen Lian said, frustrated: "Right now, Prince Duan and Prince Rong are both watching like hawks. Prince Qi hasn't grown strong enough—it's very dangerous. The timing isn't right. Dian Xia, don't think about joining him either. Trust me."

Xie Yuan's eyes, which had only been somewhat forlorn, suddenly flashed with sharp anger.

He abruptly stood up, turned, walked to the door, and stepped out into the afternoon plum garden.

The cold wind cooled the sudden surge of emotion.

Shen Lian reluctantly stepped out of the warm main hall, followed him to the plum tree, and asked in confusion: "What's wrong, Dian Xia? Why did you come out? It's so cold."

A moment of silence.

Xie Yuan turned to look at the young imperial physician: "A wise bird picks its branch. I shouldn't interfere, but since we're like brothers, I'll say this: with your way of handling things, if you throw in with Prince Duan or Prince Rong, forget about career and wealth—you might not even figure out how you lost your life. Power doesn't equal safety; in fact, they're more willing to sacrifice expendable pawns."

Shen Lian was stunned.

Although he couldn't quickly grasp the subtext, he had a natural sense for people.

He could sense which superiors and coworkers disliked him, and he could sense the subtle shift in how the Imperial Hospital staff treated him over the past few months.

Naturally, he could also sense Dian Xia's sudden distance.

He could no longer even process what Dian Xia was saying.

Shen Lian looked at him helplessly for a long moment, then asked in a small, almost desperate voice: "Why are you suddenly talking to me so formally? Don't you want to be brothers with me anymore, Dian Xia?"

Xie Yuan's icy gaze suddenly flickered, and his heart pounded heavily.

Since the catastrophe when he was eleven, everything he'd once taken for granted had been stripped away overnight.

Even the most solid sense of security could be shattered.

From then on, Prince Qi had become suspicious and possessive.

Even if he was extremely interested in someone or something, he wouldn't act rashly.

An extremely patient and cautious hunter.

He had to be certain he could fully control and own everything before striking like a storm and devouring his prey.

This trait gave him exceptional tactical instincts and adaptability.

But it also made his soul increasingly walled off.

The moment he'd walked out that door, he'd already decided to give up this entertaining new playmate.

Once such a decision was made, no amount of pleading would change it.

But this young physician had merely asked a single question so blunt it was almost stupid.

Xie Yuan turned on his heel, looked down at the young physician, and replied with a sly grin: "When a brother seriously warns you to stay away from danger, all you need to do is gratefully say 'thank you, Dian Xia'—not ask him if he wants to stop being friends with you. Without you, who would buy him out?"

"Huh?" The sorrowful young physician instantly perked up, then slowly, bit by bit, reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

Seeing that Dian Xia didn't push him away again, Shen Lian cheerfully tugged him, intending to return to the warm room: "Then let's go back inside and play~ Dian Xia, why are you so jumpy today?"

Xie Yuan stared at the back of Shen Lian's head in astonishment.

This young physician's personality was truly one of a kind.

Not only was he an open book with no hidden foolishness, which put Xie Yuan at ease.

Facing any sudden difficulty, this seemingly fragile young physician always had a calm, unfazed demeanor.

Once the crisis passed, he would immediately return to that simple, carefree peace.

He wouldn't become more wary or guarded because of past hurts.

And Xie Yuan, who could blow up at the slightest provocation, looked on with confusion in his eyes.

This young imperial physician seems more dangerous than he looks.

Why would Prince Qi, after one dumb question, forget that this young physician had refused to side with him because he thought the prince was a lost cause?

This is getting out of hand—I need to step back before it's too late.

Prince Qi, like a big cat, let the young physician lead him back to the main hall.

Just as he was about to close the door, he caught a flash of a dark figure in the corridor, and Xie Yuan stopped in his tracks, telling the young physician, "You go in and wait for me."

Shen Lian, who suddenly couldn't drag the Young Male Concubine along, turned back: "Where are you going now?"

"I just remembered I've got plans with two friends; I need to go talk something over with them." With anyone else, Xie Yuan would've just bailed.

But since the young physician had just called him jumpy, he instinctively started patiently making up an excuse.

Thanks to that delay, two Xuanlin Guards sprinted to the main hall entrance and bowed with clasped fists to Prince Qi at the same time: "Your Highness!"

Shen Lian, whose view was blocked by the Young Male Concubine, curiously stepped to the side to peek outside: "Are these two buddies of yours, Dian Xia?"

Xie Yuan turned around, and to cover up the weirdness of his subordinates saluting him out of nowhere, he immediately also bowed with clasped fists to the two subordinates: "Brother Li, Brother Fu, let's step outside to talk."

The two Xuanlin Guards were completely stunned: ??????

So shocked, they straightened up and just stared blankly at Prince Qi.

Seeing Prince Qi actually bowing to them, the two big, tough Xuanlin Guards got so scared they huddled together, legs shaking so bad they could barely stand.

Had they broken some heavenly rule?

They'd never seen His Highness Prince Qi act so weird.

Why was he bowing to them? And calling them "brother"?

When Prince Qi was in a good mood, he'd joke around, but it was actually funny.

But when he started acting this weird and creepy, it usually meant he was pissed off and getting ready to silence someone.

In just a few seconds, the two huddled Xuanlin Guards had already gone over everything they'd done in the past six months, still clueless about what capital crime they'd committed.

"What's going on?" Shen Lian turned to Dian Xia, leaning in to whisper: "Look at them, they look scared stiff, legs won't stop shaking."

"Nothing like that, it's just cold." Xie Yuan stepped up, slung his arms over the two Xuanlin Guards' shoulders, and pushed them toward the courtyard: "Alright, Brother Li, Brother Fu, go wait outside."

The two Xuanlin Guards, who'd just been called "brother" by Prince Qi, clung to each other, not daring to make a sound as they sprinted out of the courtyard to wait for orders.

Xie Yuan turned around and told the young physician, "I need to go out and handle something. I might be back, or I might not. If you don't feel like going back to the palace for duty, go hang out with Song Jin and have the mansion's eunuch call in sick for you."

"Got it," Shen Lian said cheerfully. "I wanna head home early today too; I still need to keep working on the White Immortal Powder."

"Is that the wound-healing stuff you made?" Xie Yuan suddenly remembered. "Did you bring it? I'll get it to Prince Xi for a trial."

At the mention of this, Shen Lian grew dejected: "The sample is at Xinglin Studio, on display for customers. The Imperial Guard had placed a big order for twenty bottles of White Immortal Powder with me, but I'd only just finished two bottles when they backed out. Eighty taels of silver! I thought our family was about to get rich—I'd already agreed to sell the donkey at a low price, thinking I could trade it for a majestic white horse. I went to that shop every day to look at it, and I could even move to a luxurious new house twice the size! But then they just mysteriously backed out..."

The young physician looked as if the sky had fallen, utterly crestfallen.

Xie Yuan chuckled: "What's the big deal? The troops in the three garrison camps outnumber the Imperial Guard. Bring those two bottles for a trial, then have Prince Qi order two hundred bottles. You'll earn back the cost of the formula. As for the Imperial Guard, let them go—they're nothing."

"Two hundred bottles?!" Shen Lian's eyes lit up. "Can Prince Qi really buy that much White Immortal Powder at once? Does his army urgently need wound-healing medicine? But I'm slow at producing right now—can the next batch wait twelve more days? As for the two bottles I just finished, I've already promised to gift them to Brother Lu the day after tomorrow. I'll stay up all night to prepare the next batch when I get back!"

Xie Yuan's smile vanished, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously: "Gift them? Your Brother Lu already picked a restaurant casually, and he still hasn't had enough? At four taels a bottle for that overpriced powder, and you're giving away two bottles at once—since when has Lord Shen been so generous?"

"That's to repay Brother Lu for saving my life; I've already agreed, so it's not easy to back out." Shen Lian looked a bit puzzled. "But Prince Qi doesn't have much savings either—how can he afford two hundred bottles of wound-healing medicine? My medicine is really expensive."

Xie Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Worrying about whether Brother Lu has enough to eat, and also fretting over whether Prince Qi can settle the bill? It seems Lord Shen is looking to experience an even bigger default."