When he returned to the palace, there were already rotten herbs in the yard sent by Xiaowuzi. Fang Ling opened it and found that there was no ginseng.
After all, there was a large stock of ginseng in the warehouse, but it was not broken every day.
Fang Ling looked at the pile of rotten medicinal materials and thought about his promise to Hu Dahai regarding the two 50-year-old ginsengs. He felt that it was necessary to establish a connection again.
In the middle of the night, Fang Ling arrived at the Imperial Hospital. Lin Mowen was napping in the warehouse. When he heard the sound, he immediately woke up.
Seeing that it was Fang Ling and not the imperial physician, Lin Mowen heaved a sigh of relief. He lazily got up and bowed. Then, he put on a face that kept others at arm’s length and said, “What might Your Highness be here for?”
“Nothing, I just want to chat with you, Imperial Physician Lin.” Fang Ling smiled.
How could Lin Mowen want to have anything to do with Fang Ling? He immediately put on a stern face and said, “Your Highness, the Dean has already ordered that I will be questioned if I lose any medicinal ingredients here.”
Fang Ling was not in a hurry to speak. Instead, he moved a stool to sit down, looked around the warehouse, and said slowly, "It must be tough to guard the warehouse, right?"
Although Lin Mowen was bored, he was still unwilling to talk too much with Fang Ling. He said with a wary expression, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. It’s not too hard.”
Fang Ling nodded deliberately and said, "That's true. You don't need to do anything while staying here. Those imperial physicians are in the palace all day long. It's very tiring to treat patients and get medicine for them. I wonder how much their monthly salary is."
Lin Mowen snorted at the mention of his salary.
In fact, Fang Ling was knowledgeable. Imperial Physician Lin was demoted to guard the warehouse for only a few taels of silver a month at most, and there was no reward at all. Although he was an imperial physician in the name, his life was very poor.
Seeing Lin Mowen’s annoyed expression, Fang Ling took out 150 taels of silver and gently pushed it in front of him.
Lin Mowen woke up as soon as he saw the huge amount of money. He gulped and stared at Fang Ling, “Your Highness, you...”
Fang Ling smiled faintly and said, “I want to buy four stalks of ginseng that are over 25 years old from Imperial Physician Lin for a hundred and fifty taels of silver. I believe that you won’t object, right?”
Lin Mowen was stunned. He did not expect that Fang Ling, who had always been poor, would buy ginseng from him. Furthermore, he was so generous. He naturally knew the price of ginseng in the pharmacy outside the palace. A 25-year-old ginseng could be sold for 40 or 50 taels of silver.
However, the ginseng in this warehouse was sold regardless of the cost. If it was sold, the imperial court would suffer a loss, and the money would enter his own pockets.
However, Lin Mowen still firmly waved his hand and said, “Your Highness, I dare not do such a thing. If I am discovered, I will lose my job!”
Even though his expression was resolute, his eyes were staring at the banknote. Fang Ling saw his expression and said with a faint smile, "Imperial Physician Lin actually only made a small mistake and was exiled here. No one has cared about you for so many years and it’s very likely that you won’t be placed in an important position for the rest of your life. Instead of that, why don’t you think about yourself? Even though a hundred and fifty taels of silver isn’t much, it’s still a sum of money for the two of us to do a business transaction. If we can do ten business deals a month, that would be— fifteen hundred taels of silver!"
Lin Mowen couldn’t help but take a deep breath. 1500 taels? Even though there was a reward for being an imperial physician, it was only a few dozen taels a month at most. How many years would it take for him to earn more than a thousand taels, let alone now when he had nowhere else to go.
Seeing Lin Mowen’s hesitation, Fang Ling struck while the iron was hot and said, “With the money, even resigning in the future will be glorious. Furthermore, Imperial Physician Lin should also know the benefits of having money in the palace. With it, you can get even the best wine in the Imperial Kitchen. Imperial Physician Lin, you only need to write down a number on the broken ginseng list.”
As soon as he heard about the wine, Lin Mowen suddenly felt that he was drunk. He slapped his thigh and said with an unprecedented smile, "Well, since you are so generous and think so highly of me, how can I dare to refuse you? I will go and get you six 20-year-old ginsengs now."
Only now did Fang Ling reveal a smile. In the palace, Money had the godly ability to settle Xiaowuzi and Imperial Physician Lin. Sooner or later, he would pave a path out of the palace!
Early the next morning, Fang Ling went to the Renxin Hall branch. He heard from Xiaosi that Hu Dahai had taken the spare ginseng to the Brigadier General's Mansion.
It turned out that the shopkeepers of each medicine shop were the most active in celebrating the birthday of an official. They always handed over the best things in their shops. In this way, they would be honored and interested officials would come to their door. So Hu Dahai went early in the morning with two 40-year-old ginsengs.
Xiaosi had originally wanted to take Fang Ling there, but since he was swamped, he had asked Fang Ling to go there himself. After all, without the storekeeper there, the accountant would not have been able to pay 700 taels of silver immediately.
Thus, after wrapping up the ginseng, Fang Ling headed in the direction of the West Street with the little white dog wagging its tail behind him. A short while later, the man and the dog arrived at the entrance of the residence.
The city gate Brigadier General was a third rank military official. Even though in this Imperial City that was full of first or second rank officials, the official rank wasn’t that high, he still held great power. Not only were the soldiers of the four gates under the jurisdiction of the city gate general, he also monopolized all of the patrolling missions in the Imperial City. There were naturally many people who wanted to curry favor with him.
The mansion wasn’t big and was surrounded by a green tile wall. Its red gate was wide open and one could see the main road and pine trees inside.
There were a few sedan chairs parked outside the mansion, and some officials were walking inside with their attendants. Outside the mansion, several servants led the horses to the back door, which looked particularly lively.
Hearing that Fang Ling was looking for Manager Hu, a young servant led him in. When they reached a corridor, they suddenly heard someone shouting, “It’s you again?”
Fang Ling turned to look and saw that the person who spoke was Yu Tiancheng of Qingde Hall. He wore a top-notch silver robe and carried three gift boxes in his hands. It was obvious that he had also come to bring medicinal herbs to the officials.
Seeing that Fang Ling was also carrying a gift box, Yu Tiancheng couldn’t help but frown. Then, he quickly walked over and said with a sneaky smile, “Young brother, this gift box in your hand wouldn’t be the medicinal herbs you brought with you, right?”
“What do you think?” Fang Ling asked indifferently.
Yu Tiancheng’s eyes flickered and he thoughtfully said, “I understand now. That old fox, Hu Dahai, has made some preparations. Does that mean that the medicinal herbs that little brother has on hand are even better than the ones that he brought over? Hu Dahai will pay you a lot of money, and I’ll add another ten taels to sell them to me. What do you think?”
“Manager Yu, I have agreed to give these medicinal ingredients to Manager Hu, you can’t go back on your word, right?” Fang Ling calmly looked at him.
Yu Tiancheng’s face turned cold. “Does that mean you’re not giving me any face?”
Fang Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “It’s not that I’m not giving you face, but as a businessman, I need to show some integrity.”
"Integrity?" Yu Tiancheng laughed, reached out his hand and patted Fang Ling on the shoulder, saying, "Little brother, it is said that a wise man submits to the circumstances. The outdated brand of Renxin Hall can't last long. If you cooperate with me now, I can still take you as a friend. If you come to me when Renxin Hall collapses, then my purchasing price will not be so high."
Fang Ling smiled faintly and strode forward.
Yu Tiancheng looked gloomily at Fang Ling's back and snorted heavily. "What an ungrateful boy! I want to see what good medicinal materials you brought."
After arriving at the side of the small hall, Fang Ling found Hu Dahai.
When Hu Dahai saw Fang Ling arrive, he was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly walked over. At the same time, he also saw Yu Tiancheng, who came over with bad intentions.
Hu Dahai sneered and pulled Fang Ling to a corner. When he opened one of the gift boxes, he immediately smiled. Wasn't there a 50-year-old ginseng in the box?
He supposed there would not be many with such quality and quantity in all the capital's pharmacies.
Although Yu Tiancheng was standing far away, his eyes also lit up when he saw it. He had never expected that Fang Ling would have such good ginseng in his hands. Hu Dahai would definitely be surrounded by officials later. How could he have the chance to stand up for himself?
Hu Dahai took out a long-drawn list from his pocket and said with a smile, “It’s hard for me to carry a banknote that costs nearly a thousand taels on me. Little brother, take this list first. After I finish my business here, I’ll pay you.”
When Fang Ling saw the banknote, he was relieved. After all, he was such a big client, so Hu Dahai naturally wouldn’t try to deceive him. Thus, he nodded his head.
Hu Dahai put away the gift box and walked over to hand it to the officials. One of the officials opened it and nodded his head. He then gave a thumb up.
Fang Ling found it funny and thought that it was an eyesore to stand here, so he found a path and walked towards a quiet place. After taking two steps, Yu Tiancheng caught up with him and said, "Little brother, you really have many good things on hand. Do you really not intend to cooperate with me? The price will definitely be fair to you."
Fang Ling stopped and turned to look at him, “Manager Yu, I don’t think I want to cooperate with you for the time being.”
Yu Tiancheng’s face darkened, “Young man, I’m already showing you enough respect by speaking nicely to you. Alright, since you’ve hardened your heart to follow the Renxin Hall, then don’t regret your choice. Perhaps it won’t be long before you come to me in tears!”
After saying this, Yu Tiancheng left angrily.
Fang Ling frowned slightly. He could smell a hint of something from Yu Tiancheng's words. There should be a reason why Qingde Hall developed so fast. Maybe there was a force behind it.
Even though no one outside the palace recognized him, Fang Ling knew that he had to keep a low profile. Looks like he had to be careful in the future. However, if Yu Tiancheng really intended to do something to him, then he would absolutely not wait for death to arrive!
Read all chapters free on Meganovel:https://m.meganovel.com/book_info/31000218135/Fantasy/Cultivation-Life-with-Alchemy
