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“Of course, if I got angry, they’d have succeeded.” Nan Qiao knew exactly what Yu Yan and the others were up to.
But he wasn’t going to give them that chance.
He wouldn’t give Yu Yan and the others any excuse to cause trouble for him.
They weren’t worth it.
“Brother Yu, I’ll take you to see Uncle.” Nan Qiao didn’t even consider going to see Yu Yan and the others.
“Okay.”
After Nan Qiao arrived in Nanjiang, Yu Yan and her son found out.
Nan Yue went to Yu Yan’s place to inform her: “He’s back.”
“It’s good that he’s back. It’ll actually make things easier for us once he’s back.” Yu Yan said in a deep voice.
“But Nan Qiao might not necessarily come back,” Nan Yue said with a furrowed brow.
Yu Yan didn’t say anything. It was true that Nan Qiao wouldn’t come back. Over the years, he had only returned to Nanjiang to see the King. Besides him, no one else could see Nan Qiao.
“It seems we’ll have to find a way to get Nan Qiao to come back.”
“As for Father…”
Yu Yan gave Nan Yue a look. “No need to say more.”
Nan Yue sighed softly, looking somewhat helpless as she glanced at Yu Yan. “Mother…”
“I know what you want to say. He won’t bother with these matters.” This was something she had long understood. Naturally, she wouldn’t have too much sadness or any other emotions about it.
Nan Yue suddenly felt a pang of pity for his mother, but as for Nan Qiao, it could only be said that he brought it upon himself.
Nan Qiao had no idea about the situation between Yu Yan and Nan Yue.
He took Su Yu all the way to the palace in Nanjiang.
“Greetings, Young Master.” The guards at the palace gate knelt down to pay their respects.
“You may rise. Is Uncle here?”
“He is.”
“Then I’ll go see him and discuss matters.”
The guard looked at Su Yu. “And who is this…?”
“This is the Imperial Prince Yu of Xuan Empire.”
As soon as they heard that he was Prince Yu, the guard’s expression became very respectful, without the previous wariness.
Su Yu couldn’t help but notice the change in their gazes, which surprised him a little.
“Brother Yu, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Even before they entered the palace, the King of Nanjiang was already informed.
He was waiting in his study for Nan Qiao and Su Yu to arrive.
As soon as they entered the study, Nan Qiao lunged towards the King of Nanjiang, transforming into a swift attack just before making contact.
The King of Nanjiang evaded with resignation, engaging in a brief scuffle with Nan Qiao before speaking up, “You always start a fight as soon as you come back?”
“Uncle, I brought Yu with me to discuss something with you,” Nan Qiao chuckled, knowing that he always did the same thing every time he returned.
“Oh? What does Prince Yu want to discuss with me?”
“My son has been poisoned by the cold poison and needs Red Fire Lotus as an antidote. I heard from Nan Qiao that you have it, so we came together to ask for it,” Su Yu spoke up.
“Wait a moment, I’ll fetch it.” The King of Nannjiang thought it was something urgent, but he didn’t expect it to be a request for Red Fire Lotus.
Su Yu was momentarily taken aback. “Just like that?”
“When you gave grain seeds to Nanjiang, didn’t you just give them to us?” the King of Nanjiang replied with a smile. “If you need something and I have it, of course I’ll help.”
“Thank you.” Su Yu had expected to have to put in some effort to obtain the Red Fire Lotus, but he hadn’t expected the King of Nanjiang to give it to him directly.
“No need to be polite with us. You and Nan Qiao are of the same generation. If you don’t mind, you can also call me uncle,” the King of Nanjiang said.
“Uncle Jin,” Su Yu addressed him.
The King of Nanjiang’s name was Nan Jin, renowned as the most esteemed ruler in the history of Nanjiang, and also the kindest to its people.
Nan Jin nodded with a smile. “Indeed, indeed.”
Su Yu was not at all awkward, which showed his magnanimity. This child was indeed commendable.
“You and Nan Qiao wait here. I’ll go fetch the Red Fire Lotus for you,” he said before leaving.
“Brother Yu, isn’t Uncle Jin really nice?” Nan Qiao asked Su Yu.
Su Yu nodded with a smile. “Uncle Jin is indeed very kind.”
“In Nanjiang, the person I’m most reluctant to leave behind is Uncle. He treats me as well as you do.”
“Uncle doesn’t have a wife or children. He treats me as his own child. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve his kindness.”
“Then, in the future, just treat him well in return.”
Nan Qiao didn’t say anything, but he had already affirmed Su Yu’s words in his heart. In the future, he would definitely treat Uncle Jin very well.
Not long after, Nan Jin came back with a box.
“There are two Red Fire Lotus plants in here. If you don’t end up needing one, you can keep it for future use,” Nan Jin said earnestly as he handed the box to Su Yu.
Su Yu looked at Nan Jin in surprise. “You’re giving it to me just like that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Nan Qiao knows how to cure the cold toxin. However, there’s one thing you need to be aware of: after the cold toxin is cured, the child’s body will be very weak. It will take at least four to five years of recuperation before they fully recover. You need to be mentally prepared for this,” Nan Jin said, looking at Su Yu with a serious expression.
Su Yu tightened his grip on the box, his brows furrowing slightly. Was it really going to be like this?
“Thank you, Uncle Jin, for the reminder.”
“Uncle, I used gu worms to suppress Xiao Bao’s cold toxin, but why did his cold toxin still flare up afterwards?” Nan Qiao had been unable to understand this question.
“It’s simple. He encountered something that triggered the cold toxin.”
“How is that possible? When Xiao Bao met those people, we checked their belongings to make sure there were no substances that could trigger the cold toxin before allowing him to meet them.”
“Why does it have to be medication? What if it was sandalwood?”
Nan Qiao furrowed his brow slightly, quickly understanding what Nan Jin meant.
Another possibility now was that Hou Shijie’s clothes had been fumigated with a substance that triggered the cold toxin. When they smelled it, they assumed it was medicine he was carrying, but they didn’t consider sandalwood.
“I see. No wonder Xiao Bao’s cold toxin flared up shortly after meeting those people. It’s all our fault for not realizing it sooner.” These people were really ruthless to make Xiao Bao’s poison flare up; they even thought of using medicine as incense.
“Brother Yu, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, as well as Bai’s and the others’,” Nan Qiao hung his head, looking like a guilty puppy.
“It’s okay. We’ve already got the Red Fire Lotus. As long as we go back, Xiao Bao’s poison can be cured.” How could Su Yu blame Nan Qiao and the others? They had done their best for Xiao Bao. If he said anything more, that would truly be unreasonable.
Thinking of the wine he had brought, Su Yu placed it on Nan Jin’s desk. “Uncle Jin, this is the wine I brought. I hope you’ll accept it.”
“From you?” Nan Jin’s interest was immediately piqued, and he looked at Su Yu eagerly.
Su Yu nodded. “Yes, it’s been aged for over three years.”
Nan Jin couldn’t wait to open the wine casks. As soon as he smelled the aroma, he was already intoxicated.
“Excellent wine.”
“Uncle, you mustn’t drink too much of this wine. If you drink too much, you probably won’t be able to get up. It’s quite strong, but it’s also very effective and good for the body. You can have a little bit each day,” Nan Qiao said anxiously from the side.
He was worried that Nan Jin might overindulge and want to drink more.