Chapter 81: The Good Prescription That Can Save the World

Ye Chutang looked at the nervous Qin Muyun and smiled. “Young Master Qin, there’s no need to be so tense. Marriage, whether between a man and a woman, is quite a common matter.”

After saying this, she picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Qin Muyun.

“Thank you.”

Qin Muyun immediately took the cup and drank the tea.

“Ah, hot!”

Before Ye Chutang could stop him, Qin Muyun burned himself and spat all the tea onto the floor.

He was almost embarrassed to death, wishing he could just crawl into a hole and disappear.

“Miss Ye, forgive me. I’m not usually like this.”

Ye Chutang glanced at the ice basin in the corner, where there were still some ice cubes that hadn’t melted.

She knocked off a small piece, scooped it with a cup, and handed it to Qin Muyun.

“Suck on this. It will help ease the burn.”

Qin Muyun obediently put the ice cube in his mouth.

The burning sensation in his mouth subsided significantly, though speaking was still a bit difficult.

“I know I’m not worthy of Miss Ye,” he said slowly, his words unclear because of the ice cube in his mouth. “But I heard that Miss Ye is the one who makes the decision regarding her marriage. I still want to shamelessly ask, what kind of man do you like?”

Ye Chutang patiently listened, then took a sip of her tea.

“For me, marriage means spending a lifetime with the person I love. I only accept a man whose body and heart belong solely to me, and it must be one life, one marriage, one pair.”

The last sentence was something only a man from a poor family could achieve, as marrying was a difficult task.

In a feudal society, men were granted the privilege of having many wives and concubines. Only a fool would throw that away.

Qin Muyun spat out the ice cube and urgently said, “The Qin family has a rule: no women before marriage. I can promise that I will only love one person in this life, and I will never betray her.”

He didn’t see having multiple wives as a good thing, but rather a burden.

If he could stay with the person he loved, he would be overjoyed and would never let her down.

Ye Chutang thought that someone like Qin Muyun, a charming young man, must have been surrounded by many women. She didn’t expect him to still be so pure.

“Although Young Master Qin’s conditions meet the requirements,” she said, “you’re just not my type.”

“Then what kind of man do you like, Miss Ye?”

“Someone like King Chen, broad-minded, a great hero who works for the country and the people.”

This was, of course, just something she said offhand.

Ye Chutang never considered setting a standard for her partner. When she met someone she liked, that was enough.

When Qin Muyun heard her words, his gaze darkened.

No matter how talented he was, even though he had some skill in divination, he knew he could never be a hero in this lifetime!

“Miss Ye, I will take my leave.”

Ye Chutang looked at Qin Muyun, who seemed dejected.

“Young Master Qin, wait. I still have something to say.”

Just as Qin Muyun was about to leave, he sat back down, his posture stiff, like a child being scolded.

“Miss Ye, please go ahead.”

“People are defined by the groups they belong to. The fact that you are on such good terms with King Chen shows that you are definitely not a careless young man. You must have your own ideals and aspirations. You shouldn’t be restricted to this small world of the capital, wasting away. The outside world is much larger—go and see it.”

At this moment, Ye Chutang didn’t know that her words would leave a mark on Qin Muyun’s life!

Qin Muyun looked at her, his heart stirred.

“Thank you for your advice, Miss Ye. I will think about it carefully. Farewell.”

With that, he stood up and left.

Ye Chutang, having dealt with the peach blossom matters, returned to the crowd and continued her conversation.

As Qin Muyun left the poetry hall, he turned back for one last glance.

Such a woman deserved a better man.

---

By noon, the Emperor issued an edict of self-criticism.

The imperial edict was hung at the city gates alongside the edict for catching the “ghost thief.”

Countless people stopped and watched, blocking the city gate completely.

“The Emperor said he won’t seek immortality anymore. That’s truly a cause for celebration!”

“I never thought the Emperor would admit his mistakes. The ‘people’s petition’ must have been useful.”

“Didn’t we hear that there was a serious flood in the south, causing thousands of deaths? If he didn’t admit his fault, the country would be in danger!”

“Hush! Don’t speak carelessly, you might end up in prison!”

“The southern region has so many deaths—what if there’s an outbreak of plague? Should we stock up on medicinal herbs?”

“I almost forgot, my wife told me to buy medicine…”

As news spread that a plague might break out, the people began to panic-buy plague-preventing powder.

At this time, the shopkeepers of the capital’s pharmacies suddenly realized what was happening.

So that’s it!

The young man who had been buying up medicinal herbs before must have already heard about the flood from the government!

If Ye Chutang knew what the shopkeepers were thinking, she would have just said, “You’re overthinking it, I just like to stock up.”

The plague-preventing powder consisted of ordinary herbs, not too expensive, so the wealthier citizens were buying more of it.

Although the pharmacies quickly restocked, the buying frenzy was so intense that it wasn’t enough.

The head of the Xinglin Pharmacy, having experienced a plague before, immediately introduced a purchase limit.

There couldn’t be a situation where the sick had no medicine while the healthy hoarded all the supplies.

If the plague spread, no one would be safe!

Xinglin Pharmacy was the barometer for all pharmacies in the capital, and soon, other pharmacies followed suit.

The rush to buy finally stopped.

Ye Chutang, who was walking down the street, heard about the situation and went to Xinglin Pharmacy.

Although the plague-preventing powder had a purchase limit, many people were still coming to the pharmacy.

Ye Chutang couldn’t get inside, so she called for a pharmacy assistant.

She had been to Xinglin Pharmacy before, and the assistant recognized her.

“Miss Ye, are you here to buy plague-preventing powder?”

“No, I have a few prescriptions that I want the shopkeeper to take a look at.”

She handed over the written prescriptions.

The assistant glanced at the busy shopkeeper and hesitated for a moment before taking the prescriptions.

“Miss Ye, the shopkeeper is quite busy right now, but he might have time later…”

Ye Chutang interrupted the assistant, her tone serious, “Please make sure he takes a look right now.”

The assistant, considering Ye Chutang’s reputation, nodded, “Alright, please wait a moment.”

He squeezed through the crowd and reached the shopkeeper, whispering a few words.

The shopkeeper glanced out at Ye Chutang and opened the prescription.

“The Plague Prevention Medicine,” the words on the prescription caught his eye.

He didn’t take it seriously at first, because there was no real plague prevention medicine in existence.

But after reading through the prescription, he was suddenly so excited he shouted, “Quick, bring Miss Ye inside!”

As the assistant went to fetch Ye Chutang, the shopkeeper continued to look over the remaining prescriptions, becoming more and more excited.

“This… this… Miss Ye’s medical skills are comparable to the legendary Hua Tuo!”

When these words were spoken, the people in the pharmacy became curious.

“Shopkeeper, didn’t we hear that Miss Ye is the incarnation of the Wenchu Star? How did she become comparable to Hua Tuo?”

They had only heard that Ye Chutang, the eldest daughter of the Ye family, was a literary prodigy whose talents even made Song, the president of Huating Academy, feel inferior.

They had never heard she was skilled in medicine!

The shopkeeper waved the prescriptions in his hand, proudly saying, “Miss Ye’s literary talent is amazing, but her medical skills are even better!”

“Although the prescriptions were brought by Miss Ye, does that mean she wrote them herself?”

“Even if she wrote the prescriptions, does it mean she prescribed them herself?”

The men, full of hostility toward outstanding women, couldn’t help but be skeptical.

Ye Chutang didn’t mind.

She was escorted by the assistant into the pharmacy.

“Shopkeeper, remember their faces. If they ever need my prescriptions to save their lives, don’t sell them any medicine.”

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, “The prescriptions belong to Miss Ye. You have the final say.”

The onlookers were even more curious, asking, “Shopkeeper, what exactly is the prescription you’re holding?”

“The prescription that can save the world!”