Resplendent – Chapter 481

Chapter 481 – Marriage Alliance

The Duke’s family was enjoying themselves leisurely at the manor, but in the palace, Emperor Zhao Rong found himself in a dilemma.

The envoy of Yan Kingdom had proposed a marriage alliance. Dongling Kingdom was a vassal state of Yan, and historically, marriage alliances had always existed, so in theory, there should be no difficulty in agreeing. The problem was that they weren’t interested in any of his eligible princesses. They wanted the daughter that the Defender Duke had just recovered.

Emperor Zhao  Rong knew how much the Duke treasured this daughter, holding her as if she were made of sugar that might melt in his mouth, or a delicate bird that might fly away if not cupped gently in his hands. If he agreed, wouldn’t the Duke storm the audience hall and confront him? Moreover, the girl had once saved his life. If he consented to send her off in a marriage alliance, wouldn’t it seem like repaying kindness with ingratitude?

Yet, if he refused, he risked angering the powerful nation of Yan. Dongling lay to the east, with excellent geographical conditions, making it a wealthy and prosperous land. It bordered Yan, and the Yan emperor was ambitious and warlike. Otherwise, a small country like Dongling would not stand a chance against the Yan Kingdom.

The proposal for the marriage alliance came from the Fourth Prince. If nothing unexpected happened, the Fourth Prince would one day succeed Emperor Shengde and ascend to the throne of Yan Kingdom. 

Offending him would put Dongling’s future in jeopardy! It should be noted that Yan Kingdom had a renowned war god, who had even defeated the Li Kingdom, so what chance did a small nation like Dongling have?

On one side was a life-saving debt, and on the other was the fate of the nation! Emperor Zhao Rong was caught in a dilemma and couldn’t sleep night after night. Seeing this, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but say, “Father, the Duke is loyal and patriotic. Perhaps you could discuss this matter with him; he should be able to understand your difficulty!”

Thus, Chu Bufan, who had been leisurely enjoying himself at the manor with his children, received the emperor’s imperial summons and had to go to the palace. When he returned, his face was clouded, and his fists were clenched tightly. Once home, he locked himself in his study and stayed awake all night. Even the next day, when his beloved daughter was attending the intermediate pharmacist examination, he didn’t come out to see her off.

Gu Ye, though a bit surprised, assumed he had affairs to attend to at court, and cheerfully went to take the exam. The weather today was good: No sun, with a cool breeze. Heaven is on my side!

“See? I told you! That little girl’s here again!” Pharmacist Li gestured toward her. 

Today, the little girl wore a light pink, narrow-sleeved floral dress and styled her hair in a pair of flower bud buns. Tiny, translucent blue bead ornaments adorned her hair, so exquisite that one couldn’t tell what material they were made of. With her delicate appearance, she looked nothing like someone attending a pharmacist examination; she seemed like a refined young lady out for a countryside outing.

Since the intermediate pharmacist exam was relatively complex, each candidate was allowed to bring one assistant. To prevent cheating, assistants could only perform simple tasks like washing herbs, slicing, or tending the fire; they weren’t supposed to communicate much. Intermediate or senior pharmacists patrolled the workstations, and anyone caught cheating would have their pharmacist qualifications revoked immediately and be forbidden from practicing pharmacy for life.

Gu Ye understood the exam rules and knew she could directly produce a level-six herb. After some thought, she still chose hare’s ear. Today, she planned to prepare Turtle Blood with Hare’s Ear but there was a problem: the provided raw materials did not include turtle blood. Fortunately, pharmacists taking the intermediate exam were allowed to bring one additional ingredient of their own.

The judges panel, which had been keeping an eye on the little girl, saw her raise her right hand, as if she had something to say. Pharmacist Fang from a prominent medicine merchant family, had been looking for an opportunity to speak to her and quickly said, “I’ll go see what it is!”

“I need a turtle. Can my family go buy one now?” Gu Ye asked cautiously, her large, sparkling eyes fixed on the slightly plump, kindly-looking pharmacist in front of her.

Pharmacist Fang was silent for a moment, then asked incredulously, “You… didn’t you prepare the supplementary ingredient in advance?”

Gu Ye smiled sheepishly. “I decided on it after entering the venue. Is that okay…”

“It’s okay, yes. But aren’t you worried about finishing the preparation within the allotted time?” Pharmacist Fang asked, appearing casual but actually giving her a subtle warning.

Gu Ye scratched the back of her head and asked carefully, “I heard that for the intermediate pharmacist exam, the work can be completed as late as the next day. Is that true?”

When he nodded affirmatively, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Then there’s no problem!”

Pharmacist Fang glanced at her selected ingredients and asked hesitantly, “You… Are you planning to make Turtle Blood with Hare’s Ear?”

Turtle Blood with Hare’s Ear is notoriously difficult to prepare, and its cost is extremely high, making it almost impossible to find on the market. Pharmacists who could actually prepare this type of hare’s ear were exceedingly rare, and its price had been driven to exorbitant levels. Seeing the little girl nod at him, Pharmacist Fang’s emotions became complicated.

He hadn’t expected her to attempt Turtle Blood with Hare’s Ear for the exam. If she truly succeeded, there would be no way to avoid awarding her a sixth-level pharmacist qualification. An eleven or twelve-year-old (the girl was thirteen!) sixth-level pharmacist was someone even prominent medicine families could barely find. 

Gu Ye had brought her meticulous assistant, Hua Hao. She gave a single instruction, and Hua Hao quickly ran to the entrance, where Yue Yuan was stationed, to buy live turtles: “Find several people and split up to search. Go to the nearest markets and nearby restaurants, no matter the price, just get them! If you really can’t find any, go to Qingfeng Pavilion. Its manager will definitely have a way!”

On the stands, the Chu brothers saw their sister’s maid hurry off and return in a rush. Thinking she had encountered some difficulty, they quickly ran toward the entrance to see what was happening. After learning from Yue Yuan that their sister urgently needed live turtles, the Chu brothers immediately split up to act.

In less than half an hour, the Chu brothers actually brought back three live turtles. Seeing the ample auxiliary ingredients, Gu Ye’s mind began to make calculations.

The judges, upon learning that the little girl intended to prepare Turtle Blood with Hare’s Ear, felt an itchy curiosity, stretching their necks to watch. Not enough—they also knew that during the preparation exam, secrecy must be observed, and they couldn’t linger too long to spy…

While waiting, Hua Hao had already sorted the hare’s ear, sifted out dust and fragments, and placed it in a basin ready for use. Gu Ye took a bowl, poured a little water into it, and skillfully flipped the turtle over. When its head emerged, she hooked its chin with a small tool, pulled the head from the shell, and used scissors to cut the head’s trachea and blood vessels. Holding its tail with one hand, she tilted it to drain the blood into the bowl, then stirred it evenly. Once collected, the turtle blood had to be stirred quickly to prevent coagulation.

Although this step was bloody and carried the risk of scratches, for someone accustomed to surgical knives like Gu Ye, it was second nature.

The first preparation she made was a mixture of turtle blood and hare’s ear. She quickly poured the well-stirred turtle blood into the prepared hare’s ear, using both hands to mix it thoroughly until the herb had fully absorbed the liquid. Then she set it out to dry.

During the drying process, she killed another live turtle to complete a batch of Turtle Blood with Stir-Fried Hare’s ear: mixing the turtle blood with water, blending it evenly with the herb, letting it soak for half an hour, and then stir-frying it over low heat until it just showed a hint of color.