The Concubine's Scheme: The Best Royal Consort Chapter 126 Medicine (2)

  “…Don’t look at him as a wandering monk, he’s absolutely not a scammer. Think about it, the medicine stall is set up in a public place, with a golden Buddha statue on the stall, and a plate of medicine pills next to it. People who come to buy medicine must first pray to the golden Buddha, then hold the plate close to the copper Buddha. If the illness can be cured, the medicine pills will automatically jump into the Buddha’s hand; if the illness is hard to cure, the pills won’t move…”

  “？”

  "Really, mother, I've personally experienced all of this. These medicines were obtained by me through my own prayers to the Buddha, and these pills even jumped into the Buddha's hands right before my eyes... it's truly amazing..."

  “！”

  "It's just that this medicine is quite expensive, five taels of silver for one pill, and these five pills cost me twenty-five taels of silver. But don't look at the price, there are many officials and nobles buying it too. Actually, whether it's expensive or not doesn't matter, as long as it can cure my mother's migraine, even if I have to spend more silver, it's worth it..."

  Xiao Yan's eloquence was not bad, and with the encouragement of those listeners who were slowly changing from surprise to admiration, he became more and more unstoppable, and finally stared tightly at Old Lady Meng, his eyes filled with eagerness.

  "Old three's wife, you've worked hard!"

  This gesture moved the old lady Meng naturally, and the black pill that was still in her hand earlier suddenly became extremely precious. She nodded repeatedly at Xiao Yan's family.

  "It's nothing, it's nothing..." Xiaoyan hastily said humbly, but on her beautiful face, there was an unmistakable hint of pride.

  "Where is the person who bought the medicine? I'll go buy some tomorrow too." Qin Shi also asked immediately.

  "It's at the second gate on Fulin Street, but you have to go early. If you're late, it's said that the Buddha gets tired and won't cure or dispense medicine anymore. The monk is also very straightforward, he'd rather throw away the leftover medicine than sell it."

  Xiao Yan didn't hide anything and immediately explained and advised her.

  Qin listened and nodded.

  "Mother, now that you've just eaten, hurry up and take your medicine." Xiang then turned to Old Lady Meng.

  "All right..." Then Old Lady Meng responded and instructed Qiaolan, who was standing by, to pour some water over.

  "Here I come... here I come!" Little Yan immediately took over the cup from Cui Lan's hand, personally went to pour water, and then brought it over to serve Old Lady Meng her medicine.

  "Wait—" But just then a clear voice rang out, stopping her.

  This cry of surprise did not only startle Xiao Yan's family but also everyone else. They all turned their heads to look at the person who had opposed him.

  Facing everyone's gaze, Jiu Jie'er remained calm and said solemnly, "Mother, this medicine cannot be taken!"

  Uh...

  Everyone was stunned again.

  "Fourth brother and sister, what do you mean? What is meant by 'can't drink'? Could it be... could it be that I would harm Mother?" Xiao Yan's face sank to the bottom, pressing him for an answer.

  "Third sister, it's not that you would harm mother, but rather you've been deceived by someone and unknowingly harmed her." Ninth sister replied fearlessly.

  "Hehe... Fourth sister, are you jealous that I helped mother find a good medicine?" After hearing Jiu's words, Xiao Yan's expression changed to a smile, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

  Old Lady Meng and Qin Shi looked at Jiu's face after hearing this, although they didn't say anything, but Old Lady Meng's face stiffened, and Qin Shi frowned, they should both think that Xiao Yan Shi's words made sense.

  "Third sister, you misunderstood me!" Jiujier said calmly, "You were really deceived, in fact this is not a divine spirit at all, but the monk's trickery."

  In her previous life, she had seen this trick of the ancients in a piece of information and thought that these scammers were really clever, fully grasping the point that many people are superstitious about gods and Buddhas to reap huge profits.

  But I didn't expect to actually run into him today...

  "Heh heh, Fourth Brother and Sister, that monk has never met you before, why are you slandering him?"

  Xiao Yan's smile grew even colder, her tone more pressing as she spoke. She glanced sideways at Meng Lao Tai Fei and Qin Shi, seemingly searching for allies.

  It's clear that Xiaoyan's trick worked—

  "Yes, Fourth Lady, this is not something to be said lightly. The gods are not to be blasphemed so casually." Old Lady Meng spoke up, her tone full of displeasure, and the look she gave Ninth Sister was no longer as gentle as before.

  "Mother," Jiu's daughter remained calm and thought for a moment before saying, "Can I try something with Xiaojiu?"

  "Experiment?" At this new word from her mouth, several people were taken aback.

  But soon Xiao Yan's wife reacted and wanted to speak sarcastically again, but was interrupted by Old Lady Meng waving her hand.

  "Alright, let's see how the little fourth wife will behave." The old lady's gaze fell on Jiu's determined face.

  "Both sisters-in-law and mother should know this magnet, right?"

  The ninth sister handed a black thing in her hand to several people, which was the magnet she had just asked someone to find. While saying that, she moved the magnet closer to another pile of black things on the table, which were iron filings. But as soon as she got close, the iron filings on the table began to move quickly and strangely, and soon they stuck to the magnet.

  "This magnet has magnetic properties and can attract iron!" Then, under the gaze of several people staring in shock, she continued slowly, "Actually, that monk's medicine pill and the golden Buddha's arm were both tampered with. The medicine pill was mixed with iron filings, while the golden Buddha's arm was made from this magnet. So when the person buying the medicine approached the golden Buddha with the plate, the medicine pill would jump into the golden Buddha's hand..."

  Logically speaking, people in this era should have understood the magnetism of magnets, and she had even seen the medicinal use of magnets on a prescription before.

  How did it end up here and become so profound? It seems that she overestimated the intelligence of these housewives... No, to be precise, it's their level of education.

  It can be seen from those several pairs of eyes full of doubts and confusion.

  "Bang Bang——"

  Just as a few people and Jiu Jie were staring at each other, there was suddenly applause coming from the doorway.

  Several people were stunned and turned their heads to look at the door, only to see a young man standing at the door with a smile.

  A man in his early twenties, with a handsome face and wearing a white-edged dark blue satin robe with a round collar, wasn't that Yang Guoqing, the fifth master of the Yang family?

  "Qing'er, why have you come back so early?" The appearance of her son instantly shifted Meng Old Lady's attention.

  "There's something." But Yang Guoqing didn't have time to discuss it with her in detail, and just said a few words before turning back to Jiu Sier, his tone surprised and delighted. "Fourth Aunt, how come I never thought of that? I have two friends who work at the Ministry of War and they also suspected that this medicine-peddling monk was up to no good, but we couldn't quite put our finger on what it was. Now that you've mentioned it, it's like a sudden enlightenment! You're really clever, you understand so much!"

  It was clearly a compliment, but when it reached Jiu's ears, she felt quite embarrassed. In a soft voice, "Actually... actually, there's nothing to it, Wu Shu... you're overpraising me, I just... just like reading books in my free time, that's why I know these things."

  It so happened that on the other side, Old Lady Meng was scolding Yang Guoqing for not knowing the rules and not paying respects to the various sisters-in-law, only knowing how to shout and yell.

  Yang Guoqiang naturally didn't ask again, and this topic was passed over.

  The ninth sister couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief.

  Although she can find many excuses in this new environment, it's better to be humble.

  Because being too sharp and revealing one's edge is ultimately not a long-term survival strategy!

  "Mother, let Qiaolan take this pill out and get rid of it quickly! And... Third Aunt, in the future when buying things, be extremely cautious. Spending silver is a small matter, but if you eat something that's really harmful, it'll be troublesome." She was thinking deeply on one end, while on the other end Yang Guoqing had already started dealing with the pill and scolding Xiao Yan Shi.

  Xiao Yan was naturally all sorts of embarrassed and ashamed, hanging her head low, her face flushing red as she nodded in agreement.

  "Mother, I'll go first. I originally came back to help my fourth brother carry things, but now I have to go to a friend's place and tell him to catch that deceitful monk, so as not to harm people again." At this point, Yang Guoqing said, and then he wanted to leave.

  "Qing'er..." But was stopped by Old Lady Meng, "What exactly are you helping the Fourth Master get? If it's very important, then send it over first."

  The son is of course more important than anything!

  Yang Guoqing smiled and said, "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong." After that, he didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.

  After Yang Guoqing left, Old Lady Meng didn't say anything to Xiaoyan.

  No matter how you say it, it's all good intentions, and as an elder, you can't hurt your children's filial piety.

  But I found it very boring, so I used being tired as an excuse to send a few people back home.

  The ninth sister naturally and leisurely went back after bidding farewell to Old Lady Meng.

  As soon as she returned home, she immediately had Cuicui call Cui Mei over.

  On the second day at the Yang's house, she re-assigned tasks to these four maids.

  Cui Qiao, being the most flexible and adaptable, naturally took the lead in controlling everything big and small in the house; Cui Mei managed her dowry and the income and expenses of the mansion, as well as dealing with the accompanying maids she brought with her; Qing Tao was straightforward and bold, so she was put in charge of cleaning, laundry, and arranging positions for some of the wives and maids, as well as supervising them; while Qing Xing, being the most considerate and meticulous, took full responsibility for her daily life.

  "Tomorrow you bring those few families over, I'll meet with them again." Jiujie instructed Cui Mei with a serious face.

  She wants to see those attendants, of course. This is more important than the huge dowry she must sort out carefully, because this will be her future backing in times of need.

  "Yes!" Cuimei hastily replied.

  She nodded and let her sit down, then carefully asked her about the specific situation of these families, as well as the situation of the shops and houses that Wen's family had given as dowry.

  The morning hours passed quickly and by the afternoon, Old Mrs. Lao and several of the servants who had received her gifts came over to sit for a while.

  For these people in Yang's mansion, she naturally put up a perfect spirit to deal with them.

  So by the time it got dark, she was so tired that she didn't want to move anymore. After eating dinner early, she snuggled into bed to rest.

  She was half asleep when Yang Guofeng returned, and in the thick smell of wine that rushed to her nose, she only felt two sharp eyes with an unusual keenness falling on her face.

  She suddenly came to and sat up...

  ……

  Digression

  I dare not say anything else, today two teachers asked for leave and adjusted classes, so I fought another day.