Chapter 470: Lie to me once, I’ll count it as 100 times (1/2)

Chapter 470: Lie to me once, I’ll count it as 100 times

Han Yunxi and Long Feiye left Pill Fiend Valley while it was still daylight. Despite not sleeping for a night, Han Yunxi wasn’t groggy at all. She leaned against the carriage window and stared at Long Feiye instead. If this were any other day, Long Feiye would have been reading and letting her stare. She had a habit of doing that, anyways. But this time, Long Feiye seemed a bit self-conscious as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Your Highness, there’s something chenqie doesn’t understand about all of this.” Han Yunxi shifted her position as she spoke to sit more comfortably. Even if she wasn’t sleepy, she was still tired.

“What is it?” Long Feiye asked faintly.

“Your Highness, judging from Gu Qi Sha’s attitude…” Han Yunxi trailed off, lost in thought. Long Feiye stared at her and waited, a complicated look flashing through his eyes.

Finally, Han Yunxi continued, “He probably really has no idea who he sold off that last portion of antidote to. Do you think the buyer might have something to do with Mute Granny? Could it be that….Mute Granny isn’t dead?”

“Perhaps it was simply a coincidence,” Long Feiye didn’t hesitate with his answer. “After Mute Granny fell off the cliff, Chu Xifeng immediately sent men down after her. Although they didn’t find her body, it seems rather unlikely that she could’ve been rescued, either.”

Han Yunxi had hesitated for this very reason—she didn’t find a rescue likely, either. Perhaps it really was nothing more than coincidence, and someone else had the same poison as Mute Granny. In the end, she sighed and dropped the issue. Long Feiye wasn’t planning to speak, but in a curious turn of events, he ended up asking, “Han Yunxi, don’t you suspect your lordship?”

Han Yunxi grew amused. She took it as a joke and said, “Even if chenqie suspects Your Highness, would Your Highness ever admit it?”

Seeing her light smile and innocent, unaffected face, Long Feiye only felt his heart ache. He had seen this woman wearing a lovestruck face multiple times, but this was the first time she’d shown such a simple-minded expression.

Han Yunxi, you smart but foolish little woman!

Since I’ve deceived you once, then your lordship will make sure to keep the lie for a lifetime.

Long Feiye pulled Han Yunxi close so she could lie in his lap, holding her rather tightly. His tone was as determined as Gu Qi Sha’s declaration. “I won’t admit it even if I die!”

Han Yunxi burst into laughter at his words, but didn’t think much of them. She was a very decisive type, so once she chose to believe in something, she’d never doubt her choice. The same was true in reverse—she’d never trust anyone she doubted. After a while, she opened her mouth and declared, “Your Highness, if you ever dare to lie to me, I’ll count the first time as 100 times! And I’ll never trust you again!”

“Is Qin Wangfei threatening your lordship?” Long Feiye’s hot breath brushed against Han Yunxi’s shoulders, causing her to shrink back involuntarily.

But she still replied resolutely, “Yes!”

Long Feiye didn’t speak, but lowered his head to kiss her neck. After a long time had passed, he finally answered, “Hm, your lordship will remember!”

Han Yunxi wilted immediately, not daring to best Long Feiye anymore. She breezily changed the topic and said, “Your Highness, chenqie is planning to turn Pill Fiend Pharmacy into a chain store.”

“Chain store?” It was the first time Long Feiye had ever heard of such a term.

“That means I want to open up branch stores. After opening up the first one, I’ll expand into the larger prefectures and even in Northern Li and Western Zhou! At least this way, we’ll have a foothold in the medical community,” Han Yunxi spoke seriously.

She wanted to do this because 1) she couldn’t abide Gu Qi Sha’s way of doing things and 2) she had a long term plan. Cloud Realm Continent’s most unique centers of power rested in its medical community. Medical City oversaw the qualifications of all doctors and their rights to practice medicine, while Medicine City held a monopoly over all the best medicinal products. Even the imperial pharmacies of the three main kingdoms sourced their supplies from Medicine City. Under these circumstances, she wouldn’t be able to escape control of Medical or Medicine City unless she forged her own path.

Now with Pill Fiend Valley’s entire supply of medicinal plants at her disposal and support from the eccentric genius Pill Fiend himself, she and Long Feiye wouldn’t lack as much in the way of medicinal ingredients as previously. Medicine wasn’t a big deal when it wasn’t needed, but at critical times it’s availability determined life and death. Last time, Gu Beiyue had given her three prescriptions to ward off potential pestilence outbreaks; fortunately, any diseases that had happened didn’t spread far. If there had really been a pestilence outbreak, she would’ve need to gather the necessary ingredients to make her prescriptions, then transfer them to the disaster regions. Things like a plague were alright on a small scale, but large scale outbreaks posed a different problem than simply supplying people with grain. Or one could take a battlefield as another example—both the frontline and reserve would need their share of doctors to treat the injured, and the medicines to support them both.

Although she was on good terms with Third Elder from Medical City while Long Feiye was friends with Wang Gong, the head of the Wang Clan in Medicine City, neither of those men by themselves could represent the respective cities that they came from. That’s why they had to establish their own counter. Han Yunxi told all this to Long Feiye, who was very surprised. His heart thumped nervously at the sight of her serious face.

I never expected Han Yunxi to consider so many details, and so thoroughly! What more could a husband ask for in his wife?

—

The first thing Long Feiye did upon their return to Tianning’s capital city was to hand over the key to his unused courtyard and its buildings to Steward Luo. He ordered him to find people to rebuild it into a pharmacy within a month according to Han Yunxi’s instructions. Supposedly, Noble Consort Chu sent invitations to the estate twice more to ask for Han Yunxi, but Long Feiye rejected both in her stead.