But Zhao Ci immediately turned and berated himself. 'Am I really starting to think I'm some kind of chosen one?'
Kan Luotang continued, "My life's ambition is to help the common people. I have little interest in romance, so I don't have any strict requirements for a husband. But since this is a lifelong commitment, I would still like to ask Your Highness two questions."
Zhao Ci breathed a sigh of relief and made a welcoming gesture. "Please, go ahead."
Kan Luotang took a deep breath. "First question. If I marry Your Highness, I will naturally fulfill my duties as a wife. But in my spare time, I still wish to walk among the common people as I do now. Would Your Highness try to stop me?"
'Duties as a wife?'
'Are we talking about *those* kinds of duties?'
Zhao Ci subconsciously glanced at Kan Luotang's beautiful face and quickly suppressed his lewd thoughts. He countered, "For you to have such an aspiration is a good thing, both for you personally and for the people. Why would I stop you? Go ahead and ask your second question."
Kan Luotang was overjoyed, not expecting him to agree so readily.
But when she thought of the second question, she couldn't help but show a trace of worry. "The second question is about Your Highness establishing your own residence. This matter... the Kan Mansion, well..."
She stammered, unsure where to begin.
After all, her impression of Zhao Ci had always been that of a weak and worldly-ignorant prince, obsessed with trifles like birds and insects. He probably didn't even understand his own situation.
Seeing her expression, Zhao Ci connected it to her wish and finally understood. 'No wonder the Kan grandfather and granddaughter duo showed up at my door first thing in the morning. It was about this.' He blamed himself for being so preoccupied with stirring up trouble. If he had just put himself in their shoes for a moment, he would have realized how panicked the Kan Mansion must be.
So he asked, "Miss Kan, are you worried that after I establish my residence, the Kan Mansion will be dragged into the political turmoil?"
Kan Luotang was a little surprised. She nodded and said, "Yes! We came here today hoping that Your Highness would also choose to play it safe and protect yourself. That way..."
Zhao Ci interrupted her with a smile. "Although the Great Yu is prosperous now, it is also rife with chaos. I only wish to ease my father's burdens. I have never had any ambitions or ill intentions. As long as one acts with integrity, what need is there to 'play it safe' or 'protect oneself'?
"However, the Kan Mansion's worries are valid. How about this? Although the Emperor has decreed our marriage, it hasn't been publicly announced, nor has a date been set.
I'll go to the Imperial Palace now to request an audience with my father. I'll use the excuse that I'll be busy with official duties after establishing my residence to postpone the wedding for three years. The Emperor shouldn't object.
During these three years, we can draw a clear line between us. With three years, we can always find a suitable reason to call off the engagement if we wish.
Perhaps... I might not even live for another three years!"
"Ah!"
Kan Luotang was truly astonished. She hadn't expected him to see his own situation and the Kan Mansion's concerns so clearly.
Not only that, but he had even taken the initiative to postpone the wedding, and even suggested calling it off entirely.
And his last sentence clearly showed that he was aware of the dangers involved, yet he was still charging ahead without a second thought.
'This... doesn't match the impression of that weak, good-for-nothing playboy at all.'
She couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, are you serious?"
"Of course!"
Zhao Ci stood up. "I was just about to head to the palace anyway. I'll mention the wedding date to the Emperor. Perhaps he'll summon Scholar Kan this afternoon."
With that, he made a gesture for them to see themselves out.
After leaving the study, he gave Kan Tianji and Zhu Li a quick salute from a distance before heading straight out of the mansion and into his carriage.
Zhu Li came pattering over. "Luotang! Why did he run off? How did your talk go?"
Kan Luotang was in a daze. "Well..."
She had expected a battle of wits, but it turned out to be more like a friendly meeting. It felt like she'd gone into town to offer her medical services and simply ended up coordinating the details of a charity clinic with the local physicians.
And Zhao Ci had seemed like he had important business to attend to and just wanted to settle this matter quickly so he could get on with it.
She briefly explained the outcome of their discussion.
Both Kan Tianji and Zhu Li looked astonished to hear it. They hadn't expected it to go so smoothly and were momentarily at a loss for words.
Kan Luotang, however, remained in a trance, looking absent-minded all the way until she was seated in the carriage.
After a long hesitation, she finally spoke up. "Grandfather! Just now, the Prince said something... he said that as long as one acts with integrity, there's no need to worry about 'playing it safe' or 'protecting oneself.' What do you make of that?"
Kan Tianji had been thinking about something with his eyes closed. Hearing her words, his brow suddenly twitched. "He really said that?"
"Yes!"
Kan Luotang nodded. His words had struck a chord with her. Before, she had always thought that playing it safe was a sign of worldly wisdom, but now it felt more like a passive avoidance of power.
Kan Tianji didn't answer her question. His face was full of shock and suspicion, and his hand, hidden in his sleeve, secretly began to form a hand seal.
But before he could finish, Zhu Li lifted his sleeve.
"Grandmaster Kan, don't you only divine the fate of the nation? What are you calculating now?"
"Just fiddling, just fiddling for fun, haha..."
"..."
...
[System Prompt]: Wish fulfilled. Reward acqui—
A series of prompts sounded. 30 Comprehension Value and three sheets of Talisman Paper were all credited to his account.
The Self-reflection Talisman could enhance his perception of his own body, which would be of great benefit to his martial arts training.
The Limitation Removal Talisman could remove negative statuses affecting him, making it roughly equivalent to a Mercury Scimitar.
The Goodness Talisman could inspire benevolent thoughts in people's hearts.
"Nice!"
Zhao Ci glanced at his status panel. His Comprehension Value had reached 199. The progress wasn't too slow. He went ahead and allocated a point.
[Comprehension Value]: 99
[Current Items]: Money-Eyed Talisman x22, On-Spot Relief Charm, Suffocation Talisman, Illusion Step Talisman, Secret Manual of Organ Exchange, Insult Talisman, Rash Man Talisman, Reconnection Talisman, Binding Talisman, Rubbing Talisman, Self-reflection Talisman, Limitation Removal Talisman, Goodness Talisman.
[Xiang's Spear Technique]: Proficient (0/1000)
[Emperor's Extreme Body Refining Technique]: Muscle Strengthening Stage (0/1000)
He had upgraded the Emperor's Extreme Body Refining Technique. Although his cultivation was still at the Qi Recognition Stage, as long as he put in the time, he now had a clear, unobstructed path to the Muscle Strengthening Stage.
This rate of comprehension was quite fast.
However, progressing further down the line would be more difficult. Exponential growth was no joke.
To keep breaking through, he would have to either grind high-level wishes or pull off something big to complete a batch of low-level wishes all at once.
Previously, Zhao Ci wouldn't have dared to think about it, but now with his new idea for Alchemy...
A bold idea began to form in his mind.
'Things are already this awkward anyway. I might as well go for broke. If the gamble pays off, I'll ascend to the heavens. If it fails, I'll just resign myself to being an alcohol dealer.'
He first made a trip to an Artifact Refining Shop under the Xiang Clan's name. He handed over a blueprint to a trusted craftsman, instructing him that there were to be no leaks whatsoever—not even to the Emperor or Princess Consort Jing.
Afterward, he hurried to the Imperial Palace. This time, Huang Duzhe was on a break, and his shift was about to start, so Zhao Ci instructed his driver to stop by Diansu Manor to pick up some Yangzhi Ganlu for them before finally heading toward the Imperial Study.
When he heard Zhao Ci's proposal to postpone the wedding,
Zhao Huan was only slightly surprised before nodding in agreement. After all, it wasn't uncommon for a prince who was establishing his own residence to delay his marriage.
He just found it strange that Zhao Ci's career ambitions were suddenly so strong that he wasn't even in a hurry to marry the "white moonlight" in the hearts of all the young talents in Lingge.
"But Ci!"
Zhao Huan's smile was benevolent. "After you establish your residence, how do you plan to accumulate merits?"
Zhao Ci glanced at the top of his head.
[Zhao Huan's Current Wish]: For the Royal Pill Workshop to rise and no longer be constrained by the great families. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Comprehension Value +1000, Top-Grade Imperial Extreme Pill x1.
A purple-level wish, with a four-digit reward.
It made him drool.
But he was greedy now. He wanted more than just this one reward.
He put on a bashful expression. "Reporting to Father Emperor, your son actually wishes to make a name for himself in the Alchemy Realm."
"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"
A gratified smile appeared on Zhao Huan's face, as if he were watching his foolish son suddenly vow that starting tomorrow, he would use the toilet all by himself.
He knew the boy had been kicked out of the Feng Family Pill Workshop after visiting last night. He didn't expect him to have the guts to try and start his own Pill Workshop.
'He's still a bit of a fool, but at least he's filial.'
Zhao Ci put on a look of ambitious determination. "Father Emperor! I heard something among the common folk. They say that alcohol can be used for Medicine Extraction on Qi Nourishing Grass. Isn't that the same as an Alchemist's fire-based Quenching Medicine? So, your son plans to use this method to increase the production of Qi Cultivation Pills."
Zhao Huan adopted a caring expression. "We find this matter quite ingenious. You have Our permission to proceed as you see fit."
'Yep.'
'Still the same foolish son as before.'
'If it were really that simple, would it be your turn to discover it?'
But Zhao Ci looked troubled. "But, Father Emperor..."
Zhao Huan asked, "Are there any other difficulties?"
Zhao Ci sighed. "But the efficiency of extracting medicine with alcohol is too low. It's hard to match the standards of Alchemy."
Zhao Huan gave a perfunctory reply. "The stronger the alcohol, the better the effect. Perhaps you could try to see if you can make the alcohol even stronger."
"So that's how it works!"
Zhao Ci's eyes lit up, and his voice grew excited. "Thank you for your guidance, Father Emperor! When your son's new pill is complete, a large part of the credit will be yours!"
Zhao Huan: "..."
'He's already giving me credit.'
He couldn't help but chuckle. 'History really does repeat itself,' he thought. 'The same things I played around with as a child have now fallen to my son.'
'But he's already seventeen. He should know better!'
He offered a few more perfunctory words to Zhao Ci before sending him away, telling him to go to his Mother Consort if he ran into any trouble, as she had many Alchemists under her command.
As he left the Imperial Study, a smile appeared on Zhao Ci's face.
'If the alcohol extraction method works, I can definitely make some money.'
'But I'm not content with just being an alcohol supplier. The Pill Workshops are where the real money is made.'
'But whether I cooperate with Zhao Huan or Gu Xiangzhu, I'd just end up working for free.'
He couldn't accept either of those outcomes.
'So...'
'I have to play them off each other.'
'I need to take advantage of this window of time, right after my supposed "personality change," while their "filial son filter" is still fully intact.'
'And I'll manipulate them for all I'm worth!'
Zhao Ci glanced at his panel. The Insult Talisman and the Rubbing Talisman seemed to be waving at him.
'Target:'
'Wangshu Palace, Gu Xiangzhu.'