Chapter 243 - 97: Calamity Stirs from the Poison Pill

Words : 1551 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Lie Sisi was carried away while repeatedly muttering that name. No one asked why she spontaneously combusted without cause. When Lie Sisi was rolling on the ground, it was as if she was cursed by the most evil devil, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Moreover, she was constantly shouting "Xiaoqi," but no one knew who that was. On the other side, the results of Yue Jinghua’s alchemy had also come out. From the moment Lie Sisi caught fire to the success of her alchemy, Yue Jinghua showed no signs of joy. "Congratulations Miss Yue, these are High-level Spirit Pills, the Jade Infant Pills. To think that you used ordinary baby ginseng to produce Jade Infant Pills, and not just that but ten of them, each nearly perfect; truly a rare alchemy genius. Miss Yue, no, it’s time to call you Alchemist Yue now," Qin Gang, ever the opportunist, hurried forward to offer his repeated congratulations to Yue Jinghua. "Indeed, these are Jade Infant Pills. How did Miss Yue manage to produce them just now?" Lady Yao was both jealous and wary of Yue Jinghua. "Lady Yao, if someone asks you how much the nightclub earns in a year, would you honestly tell them?" Yue Jinghua retorted sarcastically. She certainly wouldn’t tell Lady Yao that the secret to producing the Jade Infant Pills lay in the Green Liquid. "Congratulations to the Emperor, congratulations to Princess Sha Fei, having such an outstanding talent as Alchemist Yue in the palace is truly great news. The Elixir Pills are ready, please take a look, Princess Sha Fei, and see how these compare to those previously made by the Imperial Alchemist," Fa Xiaoyi, the calmest among them, said, having Lady Yao verify Yue Jinghua’s pills before passing them to Sha Fei. Sha Fei took the pill bottle, opened it, and seeing those ten porcelain doll-like, smooth and adorable Jade Infant Pills, she laughed: "Sister, look at your destructive alchemy skills, making the pills so exquisite, how could anyone bear to swallow them." After laughing, Sha Fei took one and swallowed it. When the Elixir Pill was ingested, a rich fragrance immediately invaded Sha Fei’s mouth and tongue. She had been experiencing poor appetite these past few days, but after swallowing this pill, she felt instantly refreshed. Sha Fei nodded, about to offer praise, when suddenly, she clasped her stomach, and vomited blood, crying out, "My stomach, this concubine, this concubine’s stomach." Upon hearing this, Fa Xiaoyun immediately stepped forward to support Sha Fei, and angrily shouted, "Yue Jinghua, you have some nerve, daring to harm my beloved consort with a Poison Pill! Guards, seize Yue Jinghua immediately and throw her into the Heavenly Prison." Yue Jinghua was shocked, yet did not resist as she was taken away. Shortly after noon, at the Puji Temple in the outskirts, Lie Rou knelt devoutly in front of a Buddha statue, holding a divination cylinder in her hands, silently praying: "Devout believer Lie Rou, praying for peace at home, for my eldest son Yue Minzhi, second daughter Yue Jinghua, and third son Yue Chen to be healthy, for a reversal of fortune. For my husband Yue Nian to send good news soon. If the gods grant my wishes, I pledge to spend my life in vegetarian devotion and praying to Buddha in gratitude." After finishing her prayer, Lie Rou shook the divination cylinder, and after a moment, a divination slip jumped out. Lie Rou hurriedly picked up the divination slip and studied it closely. "Great misfortune," the words on the divination slip made Lie Rou’s heart tremble, wondering who it could be referring to, her sense of foreboding intensifying. "Lady, Lady," Hongling ran in eagerly from outside the temple, knelt beside Lie Rou and said, "It’s not good, miss has been captured." "Captured?" Lie Rou clenched the divination slip and asked in disbelief, "Why has she been captured? Wasn’t Jinghua at the palace to participate in the Imperial Alchemist assessment? How could she be captured? No, I must go to Empress Dowager." "Lady, I’m afraid even the Empress Dowager will not be willing to help our miss this time. The Elixir Pills that miss made nearly took Princess Sha Fei’s life," Hongling, who had just received the news, spoke as the entire Polo City was already aware that Yue Jinghua was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for poisoning Princess Sha Fei. Lie Rou went limp and collapsed to the ground, she stared blankly at the divination slip in her hands and for a long time, could not utter a word. Time flew by, and three days had already passed. The news of Yue Jinghua’s imprisonment had not spread within Polo City. In the small pharmacy on Fengqiao Lane within the city, Miss Hongyao had just seen off Hongling and was tallying up the day’s accounts. "Miss Hongyao," Feng Chuo hesitated by the counter, wanting to say something yet stopping himself. After a long hesitation, he finally muttered, "It’s been three days since Miss Yue was taken away, shouldn’t we think of some ways?" When Feng Chuo initially heard about Yue Jinghua’s arrest, he was totally clueless. When he found out that she was accused of poisoning Princess Sha Fei, he instantly thought of the strange incident when he produced a waste pill, Undoubtedly, someone had framed Yue Jinghua. "How many times have I said that you must call me ’boss’? In this pharmacy, everyone has their roles; the boss is the boss, I am the shopkeeper, Miss Hongling is the assistant shopkeeper, and you are the pill master. A pill master’s job is to perform Alchemy, not to gossip. Have you finished the Alchemy tasks assigned to you a few days ago? Otherwise, I’ll have to extend your indenture," scolded Miss Hongyao sternly. While saying this, she took out a ledger detailing the daily Alchemy tasks assigned to Feng Chuo. It must be said, Miss Hongyao’s exploitative methods were unparalleled, and the little Xuan Beasts behind Yue Jinghua had aptly given her the nickname "Red Tai Lang." Having only known Feng Chuo for a few days, she quickly grasped his family’s weaknesses. Upon catching wind of his urgent desire to build an alchemy hall for the village children, she promptly handed over a sum of money to the local village chief. As per Miss Hongyao’s words, the substantial sum plus daily interest meant that Feng Chuo would need to spend three lifetimes working day and night at the small pharmacy. Consequently, under Miss Hongyao’s persuasive words, Feng Chuo signed an indenture agreement, allowing him one day off per month to go back to the village to teach the children. For the remaining twenty or so days of the month, he would perform Alchemy for seven two-hour periods each day. The next day after signing the indenture agreement, Miss Hongyao deeply regretted her generosity, cursing herself for being too kind. It turned out that Feng Chuo was a madman for Alchemy; he could continuously work for ten two-hour periods a day without feeling tired. What was more peculiar was that Feng Chuo knew nothing about spiritual power and didn’t even possess a Dark Rank; he solely relied on the Alchemy Fire Array, specifically the Nourishing Yuan Fire Array, a continental product so cheap that one could purchase ten for a silver coin. Furthermore, he never showed any fear regarding the grade of Elixir Pills. Ignorance is bliss, so he fearlessly made even High-level Spiritual Item Elixir Pills. This greatly exceeded Miss Hongyao’s expectations. Previously, when urging the boss to perform Alchemy, it was like coaxing a child; if she was willing, she could produce more than a dozen batches of Elixir Pills a day. But if she wasn’t in the mood, not even a single residue of a pill would emerge, leading to the earlier scramble by mercenaries. "The pills have been made, but the boss has been thrown into the Heavenly Prison. Compared to Elixir Pills, doesn’t the shopkeeper care at all about the boss’s safety," thought Feng Chuo. To him, a civilian who had never left the outskirts of Polo City in over twenty years, the Heavenly Prison was a place notorious for being ruthlessly unforgiving. He heard that the boss’s mother, Lady Lie, had visited the palace for several days in a row attempting to see the Empress Dowager and plea for her daughter, but unfortunately, was ruthlessly turned away at the palace gates. From the situation recounted by Feng Chuo about the Imperial Alchemist exam, Miss Hongyao deduced that the people most likely to have framed Yue Jinghua were Fa Xiaoyi and Lady Yao. Whoever it was, the boss had managed to handle them before and could surely do so again this time. Neither Miss Hongyao nor Hongling were worried about the boss’s safety at all. "If you really want to help the boss, just make more pills recently. I believe it’s only a matter of time before the boss gets out, and when she does, there will be a big commotion." Miss Hongyao already sensed that, regardless of who was behind framing the boss, this prison disaster was going to be an instance of ’easy to invite the devil in but hard to send it away’, and the boss surely wouldn’t let them off easily.

Chapter 243 - 97: Calamity Stirs from the Poison Pill

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