Chapter 199: Disadvantageous Both Inside and Out
Hua Changxi was completely unaware of what each of the Qihuang Halls, from Number Ten to Number Eighteen, taught. Without the wooden token on her person, she had no way to verify this. Staying in Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall, she found herself with nothing to do for the moment.
Sitting in the courtyard, Hua Changxi noticed that after she returned to the hall, almost all the medicine children had gone out, with two having entered and exited several times. She couldn’t help but ponder.
In this Medical Affairs Department, where various forces converged, the reason she could become the Hall Master of Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall was entirely due to her obtaining the wooden token from the Old Plaza Courtyard.
Her position as Hall Master was, in reality, undeserved.
Externally, the Royal Family and the higher-ups of the Medical Affairs Department didn’t take her seriously, and her appointment as Hall Master was merely to use her. Internally, out of the eight medicine children, apart from Pharmacist Xu, with whom she had some rapport, the other seven were all informants with their own agendas.
It could be said that she was disadvantaged both externally and internally!
Facing such a situation, Hua Changxi felt stifled. She had always firmly believed that as long as she was strong enough, she could do as she pleased. However, reality had slapped her hard.
Tong Yao was right; strength couldn’t solve everything.
Hua Changxi was startled to realize that whenever she interacted with people, she frequently found herself in awkward, hand-to-mouth situations.
The stifling situation she was currently facing had actually occurred before.
Back then, when Mu Qingying and Yuan Tianchou were scheduled to lecture at Number Six Qihuang Hall, they had simply sent a message asking her to hand over Number Six Qihuang Hall. She had felt equally stifled then.
Back then, Gu Xing had asked her if she had found a position in the Medical Affairs Department. Now, she had found a position, but the feeling of being stifled still persisted.
Clearly, the position of Qihuang Hall Master was not an easy one to hold.
Before Hua Changxi could decide on her next move, she wondered whether to be a Hall Master in name only, with no subordinates to command, or to transform Number Thirteen Qihuang Hall into a fortress and become a true Power Holder.
The former was easy; she just had to do nothing, as she only wanted the title of Qihuang Hall Master of the Medical Affairs Department anyway. The latter, however, would require her to put in some effort.
Pharmacist Xu saw Hua Changxi sitting in the courtyard, lost in thought. He thought of how he had watched her grow up, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call himself an Elder. He felt inclined to offer some guidance and walked over with a smile, “Jiu Niang, would you like to go and pay your respects to the other Hall Masters?”
Hua Changxi withdrew from her thoughts and looked at Pharmacist Xu, “Is that necessary?”
Pharmacist Xu replied, “Of course. In the future, everyone will surely need to interact. You never know when you might need the help of another Hall Master. It’s better to build a good relationship in advance, so it’s easier to ask for favors when the time comes.”
Hua Changxi found Pharmacist Xu’s words a bit sharp, as if he was certain she would need to ask for favors. “You think very far ahead.” She paused, “When I wasn’t here before, how did the other Hall Masters interact?”
Pharmacist Xu said, “Naturally, they visited each other.”
Hua Changxi thought that she knew nothing about the other Hall Masters and it would be best to wait and see. “Since they visited each other, then let’s wait for the other Hall Masters to visit first.”
With incomplete information, it was difficult to make a move, so she could only wait for the other Hall Masters to visit and then react.
“Uh.”
Pharmacist Xu looked at Hua Changxi, who was stating the obvious, and felt a bit awkward, unsure how to respond.
Seeing his hesitation, Hua Changxi smiled, “Uncle Xu, just say what you want to say.”
Pharmacist Xu hesitated for a moment and then tentatively said, “Then don’t get angry if I say it.”
Hua Changxi replied, “Tell me.”
Pharmacist Xu said, “.The other Hall Masters are all people of status.”
Hua Changxi understood his implied meaning and her tone became a little displeased, “So, I should be the one to proactively visit them?”
Pharmacist Xu said, “You said you wouldn’t get angry.”
Hua Changxi replied, “.I’m not angry, I’m just a bit unconvinced.”
Pharmacist Xu looked at her, “Jiu Niang, our background and status are not as good as theirs, you have to admit that. To proactively build good relationships, you need to lower your stance. This is nothing to be ashamed of; being able to bend and stretch is the mark of a true man.”
Hua Changxi said, “I am not a true man.”
Seeing her stubbornness, Pharmacist Xu became a little anxious, “Jiu Niang, if you want to be a good Hall Master, you need to unite the people around you. You want to wait for the other Hall Masters to visit you first, but… their status and position are too high. They only visit people of equal status.”
“I know you’ve always been proud since you were young, but now we are the ones who want to get close to them, so shouldn’t we be the ones to make the first move? This is reality.”
Hua Changxi looked at him, “Uncle Xu, you are mistaken. I don’t want to get close to anyone.”
Pharmacist Xu was a bit exasperated, “Working in an official capacity, it’s difficult to achieve great things alone. No, not just in the government, but anywhere, you can’t fight alone.”
Hua Changxi fell silent. Just as Pharmacist Xu was about to say more, her waist vibrated.
It was Tong Yao’s communication talisman!
Hua Changxi stood up immediately, “Uncle Xu, it’s getting late. I’m going back to the apothecary shop.” With that, she left directly, leaving Pharmacist Xu standing in the courtyard, sighing.
In Number Fourteen Qihuang Hall, knowing that Hua Changxi had left again, Duan Yuyan smiled at Chu Junhao, “Cousin, it seems your previous attempts to show goodwill were in vain. That Hua Changxi doesn’t take you seriously at all. She returned to her Qihuang Hall and didn’t even come to pay her respects to you.”
Chu Junhao’s expression remained unchanged, and he said with a faint smile, “Capable people are always a bit proud.”
Duan Yuyan ‘humphed’, “There are plenty of capable people, yet they still bow their heads and bend their backs when they should. I think she simply doesn’t know who she is and can’t put herself in the right position. Does she think she’s Hua Changxin, with Taisu Palace as her backing?”
Chu Junhao glanced at Duan Yuyan indifferently, his smile fading from his face, “Even so, you have to give people time and opportunity to recognize themselves.”
Sensing Chu Junhao’s displeasure, Duan Yuyan lowered her head, pursed her lips, and then said with a forced smile, “I hope Hua Changxi won’t disappear after showing herself this time, like last time. Otherwise, the Prince will be angry again.”
Chu Junhao thought of Hua Changxi’s illogical way of doing things and felt quite troubled.
They had almost turned the Qihuang Halls upside down, searching for the hidden secrets, but had found nothing. Hua Changxi was the only one who had deciphered the secrets of the Qihuang Halls. They needed her to unlock all the Qihuang Halls, thereby gradually gaining control of Dan Sheng Hall.
But the problem now was that Hua Changxi was not cooperating.
Duan Yuyan said, “If you ask me, Cousin, you’re too soft-hearted.”
Chu Junhao looked at her, “With all factions stirring now, coercion alone won’t solve the problem.”
Duan Yuyan scoffed, “For those with power and influence, problems can’t be solved by force. But Hua Changxi has nothing, and the Hua Family is just a small household. If we really wanted to do something to them, it would be a mere word.”
Chu Junhao rubbed his forehead and sighed, “Then why do you think no one in the entire Capital City has made a move against the Hua Family so far?”
Duan Yuyan ‘humphed’, “Isn’t it because the Hua Family has Hua Changxin?”
Chu Junhao replied, “Not only that, but also Hua Changxi. The purpose of the wooden token in Gu Xing’s courtyard is still unknown, but it is definitely a token of Dan Sheng Hall, and not an ordinary one.”
“Let’s put it this way: among everyone in the Medical Affairs Department today, only those who possess the wooden token can be considered people of Dan Sheng Hall. And whether we can become people of the Sacred Land is still unknown?”
“Being able to obtain a Sacred Land token means Hua Changxi has some Luck with her. Such a person is difficult to kill. To make an enemy of her, if you can’t kill her, she becomes a sworn enemy, and she will definitely become an obstacle to our control of Dan Sheng Hall in the future.”
Duan Yuyan pouted. Although Chu Junhao’s words made sense, she knew that this wasn’t the real reason he hadn’t acted against Hua Changxi. “Cousin, I think you are too persistent in your ways.” With that, she turned and left.
Watching Duan Yuyan’s retreating back, Chu Junhao smiled.
Is it bad to be persistent?
You have to get up where you fall!
