Resplendent – Chapter 478

Chapter 478: Are You Here on Vacation?

The threshold for becoming a junior pharmacist wasn’t high, which is why there were plenty of first and second-level pharmacists around. The herbs prepared by junior pharmacists sold for only slightly more than raw herbs. So, for a pharmacist to make a living from their craft, they needed to reach at least fourth-level.

This was also why Gu Ye’s newly recruited little apprentice, Lin Nuo, came from a poor family. 

Although talented, he lacked proper guidance. For him to reach third-level purely through trial and error was already remarkable. The amount of effort and money invested to reach that point was considerable. A family had to be reasonably well-off to support even one intermediate-level pharmacist; ordinary families couldn’t manage it.

The first-level assessment required apprentices to prepare any one qualified medicinal herb from the provided raw and auxiliary materials.

Gu Ye, flanked by her family, entered the assessment arena. The scale and spectacle naturally drew the attention of many on the viewing platform. The Imperial Viewing Platform, where Emperor Zhao Rong sat, had the best vantage point of all. By his side sat the Empress and several favored consorts. The Crown Prince and his younger siblings were rarely all gathered together. 

This once-a-decade Great Pharmacists Convention was such a grand event, so how could they possibly miss it?

The ten-year-old Princess Pinglan, her face sweet and innocent, tugged on her elder sister’s sleeve and blinked her bright eyes: “Sister, look! There’s even a female pharmacist taking the assessment!”

Princess Heyang wrinkled her nose, flicked her sleeve aside, and said disdainfully, “How naive. What’s so special about a female pharmacist? Isn’t it said there’s even a ninth-level female pharmacist who nearly reached the Grand Pharmacist level? That little pharmacist, on the other hand, is causing such a scene! So many people have come just to accompany her!”

Fifth Prince, Nangong Chenzhi, pressed his lips into a smile: “I bet she’s a favored daughter from some prominent family. I’ve heard that pharmacists are highly respected, so she probably insisted on learning it and was sent here for the assessment. We see examples like this all the time. How many children from noble families actually break through to the intermediate pharmacist level?”

An intermediate-level pharmacist was a real dividing line. Without years of focused, diligent practice, it was hardly possible to break through. Children from noble families couldn’t endure hardships, and since they didn’t need to make a living from pharmacy, very few put in the effort to truly study it. As a result, most pharmacists above the intermediate level were either children from established pharmaceutical families or disciples taken on by senior-level master pharmacists.

“Eh? Isn’t the Duke’s family coming today? There’s not a single person in the stands yet!” the Crown Prince asked, feeling puzzled.

Emperor Zhao Rong glanced at the little girl surrounded by her family and smiled: “Why wouldn’t they come? Isn’t that them?” The entrance for the pharmacists was far from the imperial viewing stand, so all one could see was a small girl encircled by seven or eight people.

The Empress followed his gaze and indeed, from the tall, strong figures of the Duke and his sons, she recognized them. She asked in surprise, “Someone from his household is taking the pharmacist assessment? I didn’t know the Duke’s family had anyone studying pharmacy.”

“The Duke just recently found his daughter!” the Emperor said, lifting his teacup to take a sip.

“I know that!” Princess Pinglan, sweet and charming, and the most favored among the princesses, was seated right next to the Crown Prince. Hearing her father’s words, she raised her soft, plump little face. “Yes! Father rewarded her with that silken fabric from the Divine Silkworm Silk. Father’s so biased. Your child hasn’t even received a single piece of Divine Silkworm Silk yet!”

Emperor Zhao Rong laughed heartily: “So Pinglan wants a dress made of Divine Silkworm Silk?  Done! When you get married, your father will make sure several pieces are made for you as part of your dowry!”

“Father—” Princess Pinglan twisted her body, pouted, and coaxed, “I don’t want to marry! I will always stay by Father’s side to serve you!”

“What a sweet little imp, your words are sweet enough to make anyone melt!” the Emperor said, waving his hand for her to come sit beside him. He handed her a bunch of grapes. 

Surrounded by the envious gazes of her brothers and sisters, Pinglan snuggled by her father’s side, eating the grapes he gave her. The girl had long since forgotten about the Divine Silkworm Silk dress!

The Crown Prince, who was also the Empress’s son, wiped his little sister’s grape-stained hands and couldn’t help but ask, “I heard that the Defender Duke’s long-lost daughter caught the eye of the Sage Apothecary and was taken in as his disciple. Has this disciple of the Sage not even participated in the basic pharmacist assessment?”

Fifth Prince, Nangong Chenzi, laughed: “Even the son of Grand Pharmacist Jiang had to start from the lowest-level assessment, didn’t he? I’ve heard that many children from pharmacist families choose this once-in-ten-years Great Pharmacists Convention to make a spectacular impression!”

“Indeed. If one wants to make a name for themselves, this Great Pharmacists Convention is the perfect opportunity!” the Crown Prince said with a smile. “I wonder how many will surprise us this year!”

After entering the assessment area, Gu Ye first glanced at the raw herbs section. There were about a dozen types of herbs, including her strongest suit: hare’s ear. Well, ‘strongest’ might be an exaggeration; she just had more experience with it in the past, so she was more familiar with its handling.

She carefully read the assessment rules. For the hare’s ear, all she had to do was produce the most basic raw hare’s ear slices to pass. The exam tested the fundamentals of preparation. It looked simple, but it revealed a practitioner’s knife skills, control of heat, and overall technique.

Gu Ye selected a stalk of hare’s ear, removed impurities and broken stems, washed it, and soaked it in clean water to let it fully hydrate. 

The sun was blazing overhead, with not a single cloud in sight. Though it was barely past nine in the morning, the heat already felt scorching. The spectator stands were covered with shades, but the assessment area itself had no protection whatsoever. 

Gu Ye felt a surge of resentment. No wonder her master said that some conventions lasted more than a month. If it rained for days on end, how would anyone even assess properly?! She hated the sun most of all; it always put her in a foul mood.

“Look at that little girl in red! Unlike the others who stay by their workstations, why is she wandering around the entrance? Could it be that the exam is too hard, she can’t handle it, and she’s going to cry to her family?” someone in the stands murmured.

Gu Ye, now the center of everyone’s attention, calmly picked up a parasol, a fan, and a small stool from the entrance, and leisurely made her way back to her workstation. She checked how well the hare’s ear had soaked, sat on the small stool, and opened her parasol.

“Haha, this little girl is hilarious!  Does she think she’s on vacation?  She even opened an umbrella!” On the first day, it was the exam for apprentice pharmacists. Everyone qualified to sit in the stands was a mid-level pharmacist or above. Seeing a defiant little pharmacist, some couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Who cares if she opens an umbrella?  As long as she can prepare a qualified herb, she passes. Who says you have to stand there foolishly baking in the sun?”

“Exactly, exactly! Haven’t you seen she’s a pretty little girl? If she gets tanned and isn’t pretty anymore, what would we do?” Most of the comments were made in good humor.

“I can’t agree more! It’s rare to see a cute little girl among us pharmacists. We should be understanding and protective. The process isn’t important—the result is what matters. And you, senior brother, don’t be so harsh and critical.”

Well, the pharmacist who spoke first immediately became the target of everyone’s criticism.