Chapter 88: Framed
After the apothecary shop in Feng’an Ward was renovated, Hua Changxi prepared to open for business. Therefore, after accepting An Ze and An Ran, she entered Five Finger Mountain to collect many medicinal herbs for refining Martial Artist Pills, preparing for the upcoming opening of the apothecary shop.
After collecting all the needed medicinal herbs, Hua Changxi played with the Mountain Spirit and Xiao Song for a while, then left.
Now that she had mastered the Somersault Cloud with increasing ease, it only took her an hour to return to the Capital City from Five Finger Mountain.
She returned to the Hua Family before dark.
For the next two days, Hua Changxi stayed at home. Besides cultivating and reading by herself, she also guided her parents and two elder brothers. The day before she returned to the Labor Department for duty, all four of them successfully underwent Qi Induction.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, besides Hua Changxi going to report to the Labor Department, Hua Silang, Hua Qiniang, and Hua Shierniang were also going to the Earl’s Mansion to cultivate.
As the four of them left in the morning, Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua, along with their sons and daughters-in-law, stood at the entrance, watching them depart, with a hint of reluctance on everyone’s faces.
Seeing that Hua Second Uncle, Madam Yao, Hua Fourth Uncle, and Madam Hua were all red-eyed, Old Master Hua couldn’t help but say, “Alright, stop looking so glum. Silang and the others are going to bring honor to the family, we should be happy.”
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Hua muttered, “Jiu Niang didn’t bring honor to the family.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Hua Minghe and Madam Yao’s expressions immediately soured.
Old Master Hua saw this and glared at Old Madam Hua, “Jiu Niang is blessed. With Da Lang and Shi Niang supporting her, her future days won’t be bad. Let her do as she pleases.”
Old Madam Hua did not agree with this statement, “Da Lang and Shi Niang have more than just Jiu Niang as siblings. If they have to support everyone, they’ll be exhausted.”
“Isn’t Jiu Niang very capable? She didn’t listen to the family and insisted on joining the Medical Affairs Department as a laborer. If she truly has backbone, she shouldn’t rely on the family’s support.”
Hua Liulang heard this and felt very annoyed. He couldn’t help but exclaim loudly, “Grandmother, Eldest Brother and Shi Niang are Jiu Niang’s full siblings. Why can’t Jiu Niang rely on them?”
“You just want Eldest Brother and Shi Niang to support the family’s brothers and sisters, right? It’s unreasonable for them to help their cousins but ignore their own sister?”
“You really don’t make any sense when you speak.”
Seeing Hua Liulang openly talking back, Old Madam Hua was first stunned, then flew into a rage, and began to scold Madam Yao fiercely:
“Madam Yao, look at the sons and daughters you’ve raised. Each and every one of them is unfilial and disloyal. Are they trying to rebel against heaven?”
If it were in the past, Madam Yao would have silently endured Old Madam Hua’s scolding. But this time, Madam Yao glanced at Old Master Hua, who did not intervene, ignored Old Madam Hua, walked over, took Hua Liulang’s hand, and returned to their room.
This action not only stunned Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua but also shocked Hua Second Uncle, Madam Yao, and the others.
Hua Minghe and Hua Sanlang exchanged helpless glances. They couldn’t say much to Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua due to filial piety. As for Madam Yao and Hua Liulang, they couldn’t bear to reprimand them. In the end, father and son chose to escape.
“Father, Mother, I’m going to work.”
“Grandfather, Grandmother, I’m going to the apothecary shop.”
Watching Hua Minghe and Hua Sanlang leave in a hurry, the Hua family members fell into silence again.
A clear look of panic flashed in the eyes of Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua. Their ability to control the entire Hua family for so long largely depended on the cooperation of the eldest branch.
Now the eldest branch is not cooperating.
Madam Hua glanced at the old couple and quickly gave Hua Second Uncle a look.
Upon seeing this, Hua Second Uncle hesitated at first, but after Madam Hua pinched him, he smiled and said, “Father, Mother, don’t be angry with Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law. You still have me and Fourth Brother. We will always be filial to you.”
He then looked at Hua Fourth Uncle and Madam Hua, “Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister, what do you say?”
Hua Fourth Uncle glanced at Hua Second Uncle, “Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, and us are all filial to you.”
The words of Hua Second Uncle and Hua Fourth Uncle calmed the panic of Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua.
Yes, they still had their second and fourth sons.
Old Master Hua was immensely grateful at this moment that he had forcibly taken the three pills from Jiu Niang last year and given one to the second branch and one to the fourth branch, preventing the eldest branch from becoming too dominant.
Even now, the eldest couple dared to show them a cold shoulder. If they were to become truly dominant, the entire Hua family would probably have to act according to their whims. Where would his position be then?
“Second son, fourth son, your father knows you are good people. Don’t worry too much about Silang and Qiniang. If you miss them, your father will take you to the Earl’s Mansion to see them.”
“Father, can we really go to the Earl’s Mansion?”
“Last time, when your father and eldest son went to the Earl’s Mansion to pay respects to the Earl, the Earl personally said that your father could visit anytime.”
Upon hearing Old Master Hua say this, Hua Second Uncle immediately stepped forward to support him, and Madam Hua also happily supported Old Madam Hua. The group then returned to the courtyard.
Back in the main hall, Old Master Hua dismissed everyone. When only he and Old Madam Hua were left in the room, Old Master Hua said, “The eldest couple dotes on that girl Jiu Niang, and Liulang is also on her side. In the future, you should criticize Jiu Niang less in front of them.”
Old Madam Hua no longer had the energy to care about Hua Changxi. She looked at Old Master Hua nervously, “Has the eldest son truly become estranged from us?”
Old Master Hua understood Hua Minghe well. Whether it was practicing martial arts or joining the Six Doors, the family had fully supported him. Even when he married Madam Yao later, the family had compromised.
The eldest son knew all of this and felt he owed the family.
He might have some reservations about the distribution of pills, but it was unlikely that he would completely abandon the family from now on.
On this point, Old Master Hua had confidence in his son.
Old Madam Hua said with deep regret, “We shouldn’t have let Madam Yao into the family back then. The children of the second and fourth sons are all very filial to us, but the ones Madam Yao gave birth to are simply here to collect debts from our family.”
Old Master Hua glanced at Old Madam Hua indifferently, “Da Lang, San Lang, and Shi Niang are all good. Liulang was influenced by Jiu Niang. Of the eldest son’s five children, only Jiu Niang truly has a rebellious spirit.”
“Actually, it’s fine if Jiu Niang is restless. She wants to find her own way, so let her. As long as she doesn’t ask the family for help, we won’t interfere in her affairs from now on. Let’s not let her affect our relationship with the eldest son anymore.”
Old Madam Hua snorted, “Madam Yao even dares to give me a cold shoulder. How could I possibly manage Jiu Niang? From now on, I’ll pretend I don’t have such a granddaughter.”
Hua Changxi was completely unaware of the turmoil in the Hua family. Upon returning to the Labor Department, she wanted to quickly verify if teaching others to process medicinal herbs could also improve her cultivation speed.
Therefore, after returning from the New Year, the female laborers of the Sixth Bureau could all see Hua Changxi standing by the ditch, teaching her team members how to quickly wash medicinal herbs and the precautions to take during the process.
“This Hua Changxi isn’t as unsociable as you said. I think she’s quite enthusiastic. Qiuyu also told me that this person is quite responsible.”
Steward Zhou Ran returned after the New Year. Hua Changxi had taken her position as steward, and she, in turn, had returned to being a laborer, working under Du Ruo.
Du Ruo watched Hua Changxi earnestly guiding Zhou Qiuyu and the others, her expression somewhat puzzled. Seeing her friend Zhou Ran’s questioning gaze, she immediately said:
“I’m not lying to you. If you don’t believe me, go ask Wang Yun Chu and the others if Hua Changxi used to be aloof.”
Zhou Ran smiled, “Don’t rush. I’m not saying you’re lying to me. I’m just a bit curious about Hua Changxi.”
Du Ruo was still pondering Hua Changxi’s change, “Did Hua Changxi become different because she became a steward?”
Zhou Ran smiled, “Becoming a steward would definitely make a difference. One of the steward’s duties is to urge their subordinates to do their jobs well.”
“Hua Changxi is an expert at washing medicinal herbs. Seeing her subordinates washing medicinal herbs so sluggishly, she might feel it would make her lose face, so she wanted to teach Qiuyu and the others a few tricks.”
Du Ruo thought this was likely the reason. Hua Changxi was quite proud, and this seemed like something she would do.
Zhou Ran: “Do you think… we could go over and listen in? Qiuyu told me that Hua Changxi’s explanations on medicinal herbs are more comprehensive than any medical book she’s read. The parts she didn’t understand in medical books, she understood after listening to Hua Changxi’s explanation.”
Du Ruo realized she didn’t really understand Hua Changxi. Medical skills, which could be passed down through families, were rarely taught to others for free. She shook her head, “I don’t know either.”
Zhou Ran: “Skills learned are your own. Next time Hua Changxi explains, I’ll shamelessly tag along and see if she drives people away.”
Du Ruo didn’t stop her. Even if Hua Changxi didn’t want other group laborers to listen, at most she would drive them away. Zhou Ran might lose face, but nothing else would happen, so she let her be.
Many people had the same idea as Zhou Ran. When they saw Zhou Ran go to listen in without being driven away, more and more people went to listen to Hua Changxi’s explanations.
Time flew by, and it was already February.
On the first day of February, Hua Changxi finished her duties and taught Zhou Qiuyu and the others how to wash the medicinal herbs they received that day. After confirming they could handle it, she returned to her residence.
As soon as she returned to her residence, Hua Changxi checked her cultivation data.
『Realm: Core Formation Realm 20,001,000 / 10,000,000』
Realm Points have broken through 20 million!
Seeing that her Realm Points had increased by ten million in just over a month, Hua Changxi was undoubtedly happy.
The Fire Lotus Hall was put into use on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month last year. From that day on, her cultivation speed had been continuously increasing.
By now, she could gain forty thousand points of cultivation in one hour of cultivation.
However, after more than a month since Five Finger Mountain opened, the initial explosive influx of people has subsided. The number of people entering and exiting Five Finger Mountain daily has stabilized, and her cultivation speed is no longer increasing significantly.
She was quite satisfied with this.
Although there were many resources in Five Finger Mountain, too many people entering and exiting would certainly lead to the rapid depletion of resources. With the decrease in numbers now, she felt it was a good thing.
Although Five Finger Mountain could no longer bring a significant increase in cultivation speed, she had confirmed that teaching medicinal knowledge could also improve cultivation speed.
Initially, because she only taught the ten people under her, Hua Changxi hadn’t clearly felt this. But later, as more and more female laborers came to listen in, she became certain that this could indeed improve cultivation speed.
“Opening Five Finger Mountain, teaching medicinal knowledge…”
“The general trend of Spiritual Energy Revival is to let more people participate?”
Through these two events, Hua Changxi realized she seemed to have discovered a remarkable rule.
As long as one does things that are beneficial to the Spiritual Energy Revival, one will receive benefits.
Hua Changxi understood this point, and her heart burned with excitement.
As long as her cultivation speed was fast enough, she could quickly improve her realm. As long as her realm was high enough, no one could restrain or harm her, and she could live freely and unrestrainedly.
Hua Changxi imagined herself being invincible, her mood greatly improved. When her mood was good, she wanted to eat delicious food, so she went to the canteen kitchen to find Granny Sun.
“Granny Sun, I want to eat your tofu skin buns.”
Last year, when Hua Changxi was punished and sent to Sancha Medicine Farm, Granny Sun had a chat with her. After she returned, Granny Sun began to befriend her without any reservations.
Hua Changxi didn’t feel any malice from Granny Sun and wanted to see what she was up to, so she allowed her to approach.
Now, when she came to the canteen to eat, she ate from the special meals Granny Sun prepared for her.
Granny Sun saw Hua Changxi with a smile on her face and asked with a smile, “What good thing happened today that you’re so happy?”
Hua Changxi smiled, “Now many people in the Sixth Bureau come to listen to me teach the method of washing medicinal herbs. I can feel their admiration for me, and they no longer point fingers behind my back like before. Of course, I’m happy.”
Granny Sun, while preparing ingredients, looked at her curiously, “I thought you didn’t care about these things.”
Hua Changxi paused, “Being liked is naturally better than being disliked. I’m human too. While external opinions can’t dictate my actions, being recognized and liked makes me happy.”
Granny Sun smiled and was about to say something when Steward Qin entered.
Seeing Hua Changxi there, Steward Qin quickly asked her to examine his wrist. He had fallen during the New Year, and his wrist had been hurting ever since.
The lighting in the kitchen was poor, so Hua Changxi and Steward Qin went to the front hall.
“Huh, isn’t that Steward Leng? Why is she in the backyard?”
Hua Changxi was massaging Steward Qin’s wrist when she suddenly heard the discussions of others in the canteen. She looked up and saw Steward Leng’s retreating back as she walked away quickly.
Although Hua Changxi found Steward Leng’s sudden appearance in the Sixth Bureau’s backyard strange, she didn’t think much of it. However, a quarter of an hour later, chaos suddenly erupted in the front yard of the Sixth Bureau.
“Bad news, bad news! The Imperial Guards have surrounded the Sixth Bureau.”
A servant from the canteen ran in with a panicked expression.
“Who surrounded the Sixth Bureau?”
“The Imperial Guards!”
“What are the Imperial Guards doing at the Sixth Bureau?”
“I don’t know! They’ve rounded everyone up and are coming towards the backyard.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi and everyone else in the canteen turned pale.
Hua Changxi thought of Steward Leng who had just been in the backyard and quickly left the canteen, returning to her residence.
As soon as she entered the room, she noticed something was wrong. She leaped up and quickly found a palm-sized wooden box from a gap in the eaves.
Hua Changxi opened the wooden box and saw three pills inside. Unfortunately, the final step of refining, sealing, was not done well, and the spiritual energy of the pills had leaked out, alerting her.
“Imperial Guards investigating a case, everyone in the backyard, come out and stand properly!”
Hearing the commotion outside the house, Hua Changxi quickly put the wooden box into the Shen Nong Cauldron. After checking that there were no other foreign objects in the room, she went out.
