Chapter 182: Professional Mouthpiece, Mr. Li
Old Man Gu was so touched he could have cried. He reached out and took it. "You’re such a thoughtful girl."
Zhan Yi also reached out for one, clutching the bright red apple tightly as a wave of emotions washed over him. An apple from his granddaughter. He immediately took a bite. ’So sweet.’
Old Man Gu tucked the apple into his sleeve, unable to bring himself to eat it. He looked up and asked, "What exactly happened? You caused such a huge commotion, so how is it the Emperor still allowed you to eat pastries?"
Ye Qianning smiled enigmatically.
"Eating pastries is nothing," Mr. Li said, a hint of pride in his voice. "The Emperor also bestowed upon Miss Xiang a Life-Extending Pill to cure Fourth Granny’s illness."
"A Life... a Life-Extending Pill?" Old Man Gu was stunned.
"Is it really a Life-Extending Pill?" As someone who studied alchemy, Zhan Yi knew just how precious the Life-Extending Pill was. It was something money couldn’t buy.
’The Beili Imperial Palace probably has no more than ten of them, and the Emperor actually gave one away to cure an old woman?’
Ye Qianning held up the box. "I don’t know if it’s real or not. In any case, the Emperor said it was a Life-Extending Pill."
"You’re joking, Miss Xiang. How could anything from the Emperor be fake?" Mr. Li chuckled knowingly.
Zhan Yi’s eyes lit up. "May I take a look?"
Ye Qianning said nothing, simply handing the box over.
Zhan Yi took the box and opened it. A dark, black pill lay inside. Without touching it, he leaned in and sniffed. The aroma was unique.
He had heard that the Life-Extending Pill was refined from dozens of precious herbs. There were even rumors that its refinement required an ingredient from Penglai Immortal Mountain.
However, no one knew if these rumors were true, as the Life-Extending Pill had been passed down for several generations within Wushan Mountain’s Medicine King Sect. There was only one bottle, with roughly twenty to thirty pills in total.
When the chief disciple of the Medicine King Sect married the Emperor and became a consort, the Sect Leader gifted ten Life-Extending Pills to the imperial family.
Ten pills was a clear testament to how much the Sect Leader valued this chief disciple.
By scent alone, he could only identify one or two of the ingredients. There was also a faint, clean fragrance that he couldn’t quite place.
’The Medicine King Sect truly lives up to its name as Beili’s foremost hidden sect. Their pill refinement techniques are extraordinary.’
Ye Qianning saw his shocked yet delighted expression and glanced down at the box herself. ’It looks like a chocolate bean...’
"Here. It is indeed a Life-Extending Pill." After a moment, Zhan Yi closed the box and handed it back to her.
For someone so obsessed with alchemy, the sight of such a peerless pill would stir in anyone the desire to study it...
Ye Qianning noted his expression. ’It’s just a pill,’ she thought. ’When I get back, I’ll study it. If I can figure out how to replicate it, I’ll give him one for waiting up for me all night.’
’But not now. The Emperor awarded this to Fourth Granny. If I just gave it away so openly, I’d be exposing my own lie.’
"The Emperor was actually willing to part with a Life-Extending Pill." The more Old Man Gu thought about it, the more he felt something wasn’t right.
Mr. Li laughed again. "The Life-Extending Pill is nothing! The Emperor also bestowed an imperial pass."
Old Man Gu was speechless.
Zhan Yi was at a loss for words.
Ye Qianning felt the same.
’Does Mr. Li have a second mouth somewhere on his body?’
"An imperial pass? Really?" Old Man Gu asked, clinging to the carriage window, his hands trembling.
Ye Qianning took out the imperial pass.
Startled, Zhan Yi and Old Man Gu hurriedly knelt and bowed.
"Old Man Gu, Old Master Zhan, what are you two doing?" Ye Qianning stood up and leaned out.
"Seeing the imperial pass is the same as seeing the Emperor himself," Zhan Yi said.
"Get up, quickly. I’ve already put it away."
Startled, Ye Qianning quickly tucked the pass back into her robes. ’This pass is a really good thing,’ she thought, ’but I can’t just wave it around in front of people I know.’