Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Shopkeeper Hu said, "I only have this one here. If you want two, young master, please allow me to go and look for them."

Xu Yuan waved his hand and said, "Go."

Shopkeeper Hu put away the box and went out again.

Zhou Chu took a sip of tea and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this Manager Hu will come over later and say that someone else has another one, and you'll have to pay extra if you want it."

Chen Xiangzi nodded and said, "He's taking advantage of us outsiders who haven't seen much of the world. I also have some knowledge of alchemy, and if there's enough time, I can refine a few for you."

"I see, but unfortunately time waits for no one," Xu Yuan said helplessly.

Manager Hu didn't leave the door at all; he heard the conversation inside and felt quite pleased with himself.

So what if you guys figured it out? You still have to obediently pay a high price to buy it.

How much should I charge later? Three hundred taels per piece? Five hundred taels? Seven hundred taels?

Alright, five hundred taels is just right. Let's not scare away those bumpkins.

Manager Hu went downstairs, pondering his next move.

"Let's go." Zhou Chu pointed to the door.

Xu Yuan said, "To be honest, I can afford five hundred taels, but if it's more than that, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you two for help."

"I only have about a hundred taels of silver here," Chen Xiangzi said, patting his satchel. "This money is a real waste."

Zhou Chu patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder and said, "It's nothing, I'll cover whatever taels you're short."

Xu Yuan looked at the two men gratefully and said, "I don't want to borrow money, but I would like to ask you two brothers to help me put on a play."

"acting?"

"That's right." Xu Yuan got up and moved closer to the two of them, lowering his voice to say a few words.

Zhou Chu and Chen Xiangzi smiled and nodded repeatedly.

Before long, Manager Hu came running up, panting heavily, in a very exaggerated manner.

He sat down directly and said, "It's done. I had to use a lot of persuasion to convince Manager Liu to sell that mid-grade Qi-stabilizing pill he had, but..."

"Just what?" Xu Yuan asked anxiously.

Manager Hu said, "But Manager Liu originally reserved it for 250 taels. If he goes back on his word, I'm afraid he'll have to compensate the other party double..."

"You mean you want me to pay five hundred taels?" Xu Yuan asked calmly.

Shopkeeper Hu said, "That's entirely up to you, young master. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait another month and a half."

Xu Yuan said, "Seven hundred and fifty taels of silver, right? Give it to me."

Shopkeeper Hu took the box out of his pocket, his arm trembling uncontrollably.

He could only buy three or four Qi-stabilizing pills on the black market a year at most, earning two or three hundred taels.

These two pills sold for 750 taels of silver, equivalent to two years' worth of earnings.

Xu Yuan took the box, opened it, and found two Qi-stabilizing pills inside, one of medium grade and one of low grade.

After looking at it, he respectfully handed the box to Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu picked up the box.

Snapped!

He slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Caught red-handed! Take him down!"

"Yes!" Xu Yuan and Chen Xiangzi responded in unison, and then captured the stunned Manager Hu from the left and right.

"Who...who are you people!" Manager Hu asked tremblingly.

Zhou Chu took out a silk scroll from his bosom, unfolded it to reveal a red seal, flashed it in front of him, and then put it away: "The Crown Prince's edict! He has specially dispatched us to secretly investigate the elixir workshop."

Shopkeeper Hu couldn't make out what was written on it, only seeing the bright red seal of the Crown Prince. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, pleading, "Please spare me, please spare me! This is the first time I've ever done something like this..."

Without saying a word, Xu Yuan slapped him across the face.

A handprint immediately appeared on Manager Hu's plump face.

"The second time! Absolutely the second time, if there's even a hint of falsehood..." Perhaps because his teeth had been knocked out, Manager Hu's speech was somewhat slurred.

Zhou Chu said sternly, "Enough nonsense! Come with me to see the Crown Prince!"

"Shangguan, spare my life! Spare my life! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and eighteen concubines to care for..."

……

A moment later, Zhou Chu and the other two walked out of the pill shop with satisfaction.

Manager Hu bowed and scraped as he saw him off at the door.

After the three men had gone far away, Manager Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead and returned to the main hall with lingering fear.

After he calmed down, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

He simply feigned pitifulness in front of the three men, and they softened, offering only a few words of advice before leaving.

That's way too simplistic.

The Crown Prince is indeed kind-hearted, but his subordinates are not so soft-hearted.

Something's not right, something's really not right!

He called over a young waiter and whispered, "Follow those three men and see where they settle down..."

The young man obeyed and left.

"If you lads are truly under the Crown Prince's command, then so be it. But if not, don't blame me for being ruthless." Manager Hu gulped down a mouthful of tea, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

The young shop assistant he sent had no idea what had happened, but whatever Manager Hu ordered was of utmost importance and had to be carried out strictly.

So the young man obediently followed the three of them all the way.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the inn, the young waiter saw a familiar face greeting the three at the door.

The shop assistant had seen that man before, more than once. He was clearly Mr. Cheng, who often came to the pill shop to relay orders for the Crown Prince!

……

"Mr. Cheng?" Shopkeeper Hu's eyes widened.

"That's right, I saw it with my own eyes," the waiter said with absolute certainty.

Manager Hu stood up without saying a word and paced back and forth in the room.

Mr. Cheng, the inn, a complete stranger...

The person whom Mr. Cheng would receive must be related to the Crown Prince and must be of a high status; otherwise, Mr. Cheng would not need to make an appearance.

Staying at an inn indicates that one has only recently arrived in the capital, so...

After pondering for a long time, Manager Hu said to the young shop assistant:

"Go and prepare some gifts for me first thing tomorrow morning..."

The next morning, Manager Hu arrived at the inn carrying gifts.

Just as they were about to ask someone where Zhou Chu and the other two were staying, they saw Zhou Chu walk out of the inn.

Manager Hu hurriedly went to greet him: "Is Shangguan heading out?"

Last night, Mr. Cheng relayed a message that the Crown Prince summoned them this afternoon.

With nothing to do in the morning, Zhou Chu prepared to go out to find a brokerage firm to choose a house. As soon as he stepped out, he bumped into Manager Hu.

The saying goes, "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake," and Manager Hu was indeed a local snake with an official position.

Zhou Chu felt that yesterday's performance was a bit over the top and was worried that Manager Hu would realize what was happening and cause trouble.

However, judging from the large and small boxes that Manager Hu was carrying, he didn't seem to be there to cause trouble, but rather to give gifts and build relationships.

To put on a convincing act, Zhou Chu adopted the air of a superior and asked, "Manager Hu, what brings you here?"

Shopkeeper Hu said, "I haven't seen any of them around the Crown Prince, so they must have just been summoned to the capital by him. I've specially prepared some daily necessities for them, and I hope they won't find them too cheap."

This Manager Hu is quite sensible.

"Manager Hu, thank you for your thoughtfulness." Zhou Chu pointed inside and said, "Go find that Master Xu and give him the things."

Having said that, he left the inn and boarded the carriage.

When Xu Yuan returned yesterday, he took Zhou Chu to a brokerage firm and made an appointment with the broker to go to the West City to look at houses today.

Originally, houses in the West City were extremely rare and expensive; even with money, one might not be able to buy one.

But the broker said that there was a house for sale in the western part of the city, and the price wasn't too high. If Zhou Chu was interested, the price was negotiable.