Hearing this, everyone present grew indignant, but they held their tongues when they saw who had arrived.
"Ninth Prince!"
Everyone in the Pill Workshop bowed respectfully.
Zhao Ci's brow twitched. 'This guy is like a damn leech,' he thought, 'impossible to shake off.'
Zhao Yong smiled faintly. "Imperial Brother, it's been a while! I heard you established your own mansion a few days ago, and I was just thinking of helping you scout some candidates for your Mansion Officials. But to think you haven't stepped out for seven straight days... you must have already recruited plenty of talent."
As he spoke, he eyed Zhao Ci mockingly, hoping to see a flicker of embarrassment.
But he never expected it.
Zhao Ci simply pursed his lips and said with perfect clarity, "Two-faced pricks have rotten asses!"
*Hiss...*
The entire Pill Workshop fell silent.
Li Fugui: "..."
Zhu Yan: "..."
Zhao Yong: "???"
They were all stunned. They never thought Zhao Ci would be so merciless. His language was cruder than any street ruffian's.
Especially Zhao Yong. The look on his face was absolutely priceless. For a moment, he was at a complete loss. He had spent his entire life in high society and had never encountered tactics like these.
He reined in his expression from the brink of collapse and cleared his throat. "It seems I have misspoken to make you spout such nonsense. If I have touched a sore spot, I apologize!"
"No, no, no!"
Zhao Ci cut him off. "You didn't misspeak, and I'm not spouting nonsense. You were just born with a nasty mouth, and you did indeed pinpoint my predicament. As for the 'rotten ass' bit, I wasn't making that up either. Otherwise, care to explain why you took a dump at the gate of my Tenth Prince's Mansion?"
He glanced at Zhao Yong's impossibly dark face, then his gaze swept over his forehead.
[Zhao Yong's Current Wish: Crush Zhao Ci, shatter his confidence, make him give up on his mansion, and go home to continue being a good-for-nothing. Reward for completion: +10 Insight, Heart Attack Talisman x1.]
'Tch...'
'As a veteran keyboard warrior, Zhao Ci knew that the 'passive-aggressive' archetype had high attack and high defense. Most people found them a total pain to deal with.'
'The one thing they fear is someone with no class. As long as you're crude enough, a passive-aggressive person's defenses crumble to nothing.'
Zhu Yan: "*Hiss...*"
Li Fugui: "*Hiss...*"
The alchemists: "*Hiss...*"
Their scalps tingled. They'd seen plenty of verbal sparring, but never anything this foul.
'Is this like dipping a spear in shit? Whoever it touches just dies?'
'Is this how Princes argue?'
Zhu Yan was dazed. He looked at Zhao Yong and saw that his face was already livid, his lips trembling.
Zhao Yong felt like he was about to have an aneurysm. "You... you!" he snarled, his voice turning shrill. "You're a disgrace to civilized society! The Great Yu Academy Palace, the court's teachings... how could they produce someone like you?!"
Zhao Ci cut in, "And the Great Yu Academy Palace and the court's teachings taught my Imperial Brother to relieve himself at another's doorstep?"
Zhao Yong: "..."
He felt like his head was about to explode. It was as if something was squeezing his eyeballs, about to pop them.
'This is outrageous!'
He considered himself a veteran of verbal sparring, so how was it he had absolutely no experience with this kind of combat?
For a moment, he was transported back to the scene from seven days ago at the gate of the Tenth Prince's Mansion—equally embarrassed and helpless.
But he wasn't a complete pushover. He quickly recovered.
He snorted. "If this is what amuses you, then so be it. However, Imperial Brother, I must offer you a word of advice. The pill business is a lucrative prize, but not one you're equipped to handle. It took me months after establishing my mansion to gain even a tenuous foothold in this field. You..."
Zhao Ci acted surprised. "Oh, so my Imperial Brother has already found his footing! It seems you've poached plenty of talent from your mother's family. I'm so envious that you have a maternal family to leech off of. Unlike me, I can only start from scratch with my mother consort, finding new ways for the Imperial Family to make and save money."
At these words, Zhao Yong's breath caught in his throat.
Even Zhu Yan, standing nearby, nearly lost his composure. 'He's not wrong,' he thought. 'As part of the Crown Prince Faction, we have to concede certain benefits to bolster the Crown Prince's position. We can always figure out how to recoup them after he ascends the throne.'
'But to say it so bluntly...'
Zhao Yong snorted. "Say whatever you wish, Imperial Brother! Pills aren't refined with clever words. I'd like to see how you plan to secure a quota at the Gongdan Conference with just these alchemists."
"And let me add, I've taken a liking to that batch of Pill Furnaces from the Zhuge Family. Whether you can get your hands on them depends on if you have the means!"
"Hmph!"
With that, he flicked his sleeves and stormed off.
Zhu Yan and the others hurried to follow.
Zhao Ci felt a little disappointed. "What league does he think he's in, trying to start a flame war with me?"
Li Fugui: "..."
「Outside the door.」
"HUFF..."
"HUFF..."
"HUFF..."
Zhao Yong took several deep breaths before the pressure in his head finally began to subside.
Noticing Zhu Yan staring at him, he quickly composed himself. "Among our peers in Lingge, few can hold their own against me in a debate. I didn't expect that Zhao Ci could barely withstand my assault by resorting to shameless pestering and vulgarities."
Zhu Yan: "..."
Zhao Yong turned away aloofly. "Let's go. In a few days, the Zhuge Family's Pill Furnaces will arrive. We must secure that deal. We'll let Zhao Ci see what kind of garbage his alchemists can produce without them. As the ancients said, words are wind, but a broken bone is the best teacher."
Zhu Yan: "..."
'Indeed, words are wind.'
'But Your Highness, you seem to be doing plenty of talking yourself.'
...
「Inside the room.」
Zhao Ci looked at the dejected crowd in confusion. "Why the long faces? I thought I won that argument for you?"
The alchemists exchanged glances.
Li Fugui's expression was grim. "Your Highness! If the Ninth Prince is determined to get his hands on that batch of Pill Furnaces, I'm afraid we can't outbid him."
"Hm?"
Zhao Ci frowned slightly. "The money my mother consort gave me isn't enough?"
'As I recall, that Demon Sect woman, Gu Xiangzhu, is loaded. She made a fortune in the silk trade a few years back. There's no way she's short on cash.'
Li Fugui shook his head helplessly. "Her Ladyship is certainly willing to spend the money, but the Zhuge Family has already put this batch of Pill Furnaces up for auction. It will likely cost a fortune to acquire them."
"Besides, it's not just a matter of money. According to Great Yu Laws, the price of any item cannot exceed a certain cap, and that includes the Zhuge Family's Pill Furnaces."
"Even if both we and the Ninth Prince bid the maximum price, he would still have the advantage..."
Zhao Ci asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Li Fugui sighed. "The Zhuge Family has no trouble selling their Pill Furnaces; what they care about is reputation. The Ninth Prince is backed by the Zhu Family, whose pills are of high quality. Having them use the furnaces would, in turn, boost the furnaces' reputation. As for us..."
"I see!" Zhao Ci said, realization dawning on him. "But... are these Pill Furnaces really that big of a deal?"
"Of course they are!"
The alchemists' eyes lit up as they all began talking at once, expressing their longing for the Zhuge Family's Pill Furnaces. Having Zhao Yong show up to snatch the furnaces away was more devastating than having a rich, handsome rival appear to steal their wives.
'It seems these Pill Furnaces really do have the power to turn dross into gold.'
Zhao Ci cut them off with a light sigh. "Don't be too discouraged. This isn't something we can control. Just do your best and leave the rest to fate."
The men exchanged glances, a little touched.
They never expected that a Prince like him would take the initiative to comfort them.
Zhao Ci added, "Your alchemy is subpar mainly because of your own skill level. A new batch of Pill Furnaces isn't going to fix that."
Li Fugui: "..."
The alchemists: "..."
'Your Highness...'
'You sure have a way with words.'
Zhao Ci smiled. "Who here is the best alchemist?"
Li Fugui immediately pulled a middle-aged man forward. "Your Highness! This is our Li Family's Tributor. All the Qi Cultivation Pills for the Li Family's Household Servants are refined by Tributor Zhang here!"
"Ah, Tributor Zhang. A pleasure."
Zhao Ci clasped his hands in a polite gesture, then motioned for him to come forward.
Li Fugui told the other alchemists to take a break, then led Zhao Ci and Tributor Zhang into the Alchemy Room.
"BANG!"
The iron door slammed shut, and the room suddenly felt much quieter.
Tributor Zhang asked enthusiastically, "Your Highness! What pill did you wish for me to refine?"
Zhao Ci said bluntly, "A Qi Cultivation Pill."
"Ah?"
Tributor Zhang was taken aback. "Your Highness shouldn't be short on Qi Cultivation Pills, should you?"
Zhao Ci: "..."
Tributor Zhang caught on and flushed with shame. "Even if you were, you wouldn't come to someone like me. Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I'll refine one for you right away."
With that, he moved to open the medicine cabinet and take out some Qi Nourishing Grass.
But Zhao Ci stopped him.
"Your Highness?"
"Quenching Medicine with fire is too much trouble."
Zhao Ci smiled and pulled a small jade vial from his robes. "Quench this instead."
Tributor Zhang was confused. He uncorked the vial and took a sniff. Li Fugui leaned in as well.
The moment the scent of alcohol and medicinal herbs wafted out...
...both men's eyes lit up.
"Th-th-this is...!"
Tributor Zhang was so excited he could barely speak. "The medicinal essence of Qi Nourishing Grass... it's been extracted to be this pure and concentrated?"
As an alchemist, he knew exactly what this meant.
The most troublesome step of Quenching Medicine was removing impurities and dregs.
It was the most fundamental step, yet it consumed nearly fifty percent of an alchemist's energy and seventy percent of their time.
But with the liquid in this jade vial...
...all he had to do was burn off the strong alcohol to obtain a pure, rich medicinal powder.
Tributor Zhang trembled with excitement just thinking about what this represented.
"Don't get ahead of yourself,"
Zhao Ci said in a low voice. "Refine it first."
Tributor Zhang could only suppress his excitement and nod repeatedly. "Yes, yes, of course!"
Then, he ignited the Pill Furnace and prepared to begin the alchemy.
Zhao Ci found a spot to sit and quietly watched Tributor Zhang use his True Qi to light a fire and heat the Pill Furnace.
'He might not be on the level of the Feng, Zhu, and Yang families...'
'...but he's a genuine alchemist all the same!'
'These guys are all treasures.'
'Unfortunately, right now, they all belong to Gu Xiangzhu.'
Zhao Ci wanted them all to be his.
'I'll find a way to make them mine.'
He mulled it over for a moment, then turned to Li Fugui with a grave expression. "Shopkeeper Li, this matter is incredibly important to me. You absolutely must not tell my mother consort!!!"
Li Fugui replied with righteous conviction, "Rest assured, Your Highness. My lips are sealed!"
'Yeah, right.'
'Her Ladyship is the one paying our salaries.'
'Who do you think you are, Your Highness? Trying to keep secrets from her?'