The Demon Prince

In front of the North Hall Mansion.

As soon as Xiao Xingyue got off the carriage, he saw Ning Jing standing on the stone steps.

The disciple from the North Hall had a sour face; he stared at him, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Xiao Xingyue, don't think that just because you entered the Beitang Mansion last night, you can curry favor with us."

The decline of your Xiao family was inevitable. Medicine is easy to learn but difficult to master; someone like you is better off giving up sooner rather than later.

Xiao Xingyue glanced at him:

"Didn't you get enough last night?"

Ning Jing's facial muscles twitched; the slap from last night still stung, but seeing Xiao Xingyue's smug look only fueled his anger.

"If I were you... ah!"

A slap landed on Ning Jing's head, causing him to stagger forward two steps and nearly fall down the steps.

Li Miaoqing appeared behind him.

Today she was wearing a plain-colored herbal dress, with a new medicine pouch hanging from her waist, though the pouch was noticeably smaller than the previous one.

It's clear that they haven't made up for their losses yet.

Her face was cold, and a fire burned between her brows:

"Grandpa just disciplined you yesterday, and you've already forgotten about it today?"

"If you dare to disgrace the Beitang Manor again, see how I deal with you."

Ning Jing clutched the back of his head, his face turning green:

"Seventh Princess, I just..."

Li Miaoqing interrupted him: "Shut up."

Ning Jing gritted his teeth, not daring to talk back, but when he looked at Xiao Xingyue, the resentment in his eyes was even stronger.

Li Miaoqing turned to look at Xiao Xingyue. The fierce aura she had shown towards Ning Jing was still there, but when she looked at Xiao Xingyue, she seemed a bit awkward.

"Come in with me."

Xiao Xingyue smiled.

The two entered the mansion, and a group of disciples of the Medical King gathered behind them, whispering among themselves.

"Poor Senior Brother Ning."

"He used to say he wanted to be the prince consort of the seventh princess."

"Now that Xiao Xingyue has arrived, the Seventh Princess treats him like a roadside shovel."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

"Don't let Senior Brother Ning hear this."

Ning Jing suddenly turned around:

"Shut up!"

The disciples immediately lowered their heads and pretended to be busy.

Ning Jing's face was grim:

"What do you know? Let's see how long Xiao Xingyue can be so arrogant."

The guest house is located on the east side of the North Hall Mansion, and several medicinal trees are planted in the courtyard.

The room smelled strongly of medicine. Shen Yan lay on the couch, his face still pale, but his breathing was no longer as disordered as it had been the night before.

He heard footsteps, tried to get up by supporting himself with his hands, but his throat was hoarse.

"Your Highness, I am deeply grateful to Shen Yan for saving my life..."

Xiao Xingyue raised her hand and pressed it down:

"Don't thank me yet. It was the King of Healers who saved you, who is also the maternal grandfather of this seventh princess."

Shen Yan's expression changed, and he struggled to get up again:

"Your Highness, I have been rude."

Seeing that he was seriously injured yet still bowed, Li Miaoqing felt a little better. At least this second-place scholar was more polite than Xiao Xingyue.

She raised her hand to stop her:

"No need, your injury hasn't healed yet, just lie down."

After speaking, she glanced at Xiao Xingyue:

"You still have some integrity; you didn't take all the credit for yourself."

Xiao Xingyue looked completely at ease:

"Although it was the Seventh Princess's maternal grandfather who saved you, the Seventh Princess is also my Xiao family's betrothed. So thanking me is the same as thanking her."

The room fell silent.

Shen Yan, who had just caught his breath, almost lost his composure again.

Li Miaoqing's face flushed red in an instant:

"Xiao Xingyue, will you die if you don't spout nonsense?"

Xiao Xingyue pondered for a moment:

"Not really, but life would be much less fun."

Li Miaoqing was too lazy to waste any more words with him, so she reached out and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him outside:

"Go out and do some work, don't go crazy in front of the patients."

Xiao Xingyue was pulled out of the guest courtyard by her.

When he arrived at the pharmacy, he looked around. Beitang Jimin was not there; only a gray-robed doctor stood by the stove, expressionless.

On the table was a prescription and a row of medicinal herbs.

Xiao Xingyue looked at Li Miaoqing: "Where is the King of Medicine? You're going to teach me?"

Li Miaoqing put her hands on her hips:

"Xiao Xingyue, that's enough. You were the one who tricked me out of my medicine pouch, and you're here to apologize, but you're acting like you're just here to freeload off my medical knowledge?"

"You'll be in for a world of hurt when they concoct the medicine."

The gray-robed doctor coughed lightly:

"Master has instructed that today the Seventh Princess will guide Young Master Xiao in refining the Life-Sustaining Pill. I will be present to oversee the process, and if any serious error occurs, the furnace will be stopped immediately."

Xiao Xingyue looked at the prescription; the handwriting was very small, and the names of the medicines were densely packed. He stared at it for a long time before asking:

What is the principal ingredient (君药)?

Li Miaoqing's face darkened.

Xiao Xingyue continued to ask:

"What is the herb? How is the cooking time determined?"

What causes drug interactions?

Why isn't this life-extending elixir called a life-extending pill?

Li Miaoqing hardened her fist:

"You came here to be a beast of burden, not a student."

Xiao Xingyue nodded: "Understood."

He casually picked up a medicinal herb and threw it into the fire.

Li Miaoqing's eyes widened: "Stop!"

She snatched it back, but a corner of the herb was singed by the fire, and a burnt smell wafted out.

Li Miaoqing's hands trembled with heartache:

"This is the root of the cold ice plant. It will be destroyed by strong fire. It must first be warmed in a stove for half a day until the medicinal veins soften and open before adding it to the decoction."

Xiao Xingyue looked like he was being taught a lesson:

"I see. What about this?"

He picked up another piece of dark medicinal stone, preparing to throw it into the medicine jar.

Li Miaoqing lost her temper again:

"That can't be put directly into water! Grind it into powder first, then filter it three times, otherwise the dregs will clog the furnace holes."

Xiao Xingyue nodded: "Okay."

The next moment, he picked up another red herb:

"So, we can burn this whenever we want?"

Li Miaoqing closed her eyes briefly: "Xiao Xingyue, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Xiao Xingyue looked completely innocent:

"Seventh Princess, you're wronging me. I'm just plain stupid."

The gray-robed doctor stood to the side, his eyelids twitching.

Li Miaoqing took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress her anger, and gritted her teeth:

"This is Crimson Blood Leaf. If it is overcooked, it will become dry; if it is undercooked, it will become fishy. The Life-Sustaining Pill requires stabilizing the heart and pulse, and the most important thing is to avoid its dryness and disorder."

Xiao Xingyue listened and nodded.

He listened, but whether he understood is another matter.

He had already made up his mind; he would write it down and ask Manfu about it when he got back.

Over the next half hour, Xiao Xingyue made increasingly precise mistakes, each one hitting the crucial point.

He could do everything exactly the opposite of how he processed the medicinal materials, the order in which they were added to the furnace, and even the direction in which he stirred them.

Li Miaoqing's face turned red with anger. At first, she just cursed, but later she couldn't curse anymore, so she could only try to save the medicinal herbs while breaking down the reasons in detail:

"The principal drug is the main force, and the assistant drug is to help the principal drug achieve its effect."

The adjuvant medicine suppresses the bias and guides the medicinal power to the correct meridian. The control of the heat is not determined by the size of the fire, but by the medicinal properties.

Where's your nose? Go smell it.

Xiao Xingyue lowered his head and took a sniff. A bitter smell assaulted his nostrils, and he almost fainted on the spot.

Li Miaoqing then smiled smugly.

Xiao Xingyue immediately became obedient.

A moment later, Li Miaoqing suddenly stopped talking.

No, this is not right. Every time Xiao Xingyue makes a mistake, it's not a random mistake. It's as if he's forcing her to explain why she can't make a mistake at every step.

Li Miaoqing turned and stared at him:

"Are you trying to trick me into telling me something?"

Xiao Xingyue sighed and changed the subject:

"Alas, if Shen Yan loses a few years of his life because of this, it's all my fault for being too stupid. Seventh Princess, you are a kind-hearted doctor, so there's no need for you to feel guilty about it."

Li Miaoqing's vision went black: "Don't give me that."

Xiao Xingyue looked down at the prescription:

"Poor Shen Yan, he's only just become an official, he hasn't even warmed up his grip on the brush yet, what will happen if he can't hold it properly later..."

Li Miaoqing snatched the prescription:

"Shut up, I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"