Chapter 176 — The Chancellor

Ling Yushu's expression shifted unpredictably; Shen Mu had struck upon his very worry.

Pei Wujiu had been the Crown Prince's tutor in his youth. The Crown Prince was older than he was and occupied the position of heir apparent. If the gulf between an imperial prince and a commoner was as vast as heaven from earth, then the gulf between the Crown Prince and an imperial prince was no less vast. Pei Wujiu would not do him any favors—far from it, he would trip him up at every turn. Of this he was certain now.

"I will not interfere in your affairs with Pei Wujiu," Ling Yushu said, having made up his mind. "But you must be careful yourself.

Pei Wujiu does not conduct himself like the Grand Chancellor of the previous generation; he lacks that nurturing, spring-breeze-and-gentle-rain magnanimity.

" Shen Mu nodded.

"Rest assured. At most, Pei Wujiu will only dare to trip me up—he won't go too far. " Ling Yushu's expression turned strange.

Shen Mu's tone was rather too bold—where did such confidence come from? "Could it be that he and Seventh Sister have already.

. .

" An unpleasant association arose in his mind.

If Shen Mu had become a prince consort, then indeed there would be no need to fear Pei Wujiu. Ling Yushu was silent a moment, then said, "I intend to leave the Academy and go to the frontier to command troops.

I am a General of Roaming Cavalry, I hold an official post, and I have reached the age for leading troops afield. It is only that I worry about Seventh Sister. . .

" Shen Mu consoled him, "Second Prince, rest assured—I am here.

" Ling Yushu's eye twitched. He thought to himself: "It is precisely because you are here that I worry.

" Shen Mu chatted briefly with the siblings, then rose to take his leave. "I have just returned from afar and have not even set down my luggage. I must first return to the Scholars' Residence.

" Ling Yushu escorted him out of the Princes' Court. After a moment of silence, he said to Ling Yuxiu, "Doctor Shen's state of mind is not that of a youth. He sees things very accurately and will surely accomplish great things in the future. That speech of his just now struck right at my heart.

" Ling Yuxiu giggled. "Who says he's a grown man? He understands nothing, always calling me fat, and he doesn't even know how to say anything romantic.

" Ling Yushu shook his head. "I will soon memorialize Father Emperor and leave the Academy, no longer a scholar. Pei Wujiu becoming Grand Chancellor means he will likely not show you a kind face either. If you cannot endure it at the Academy, you may as well come with me to the frontier pass. " Ling Yuxiu nodded.

"Second Brother, rest assured—if I cannot endure it, I will certainly come find you at the frontier pass. But I still want to study under Chancellor Bashan. " Ling Yushu glanced at her, fully aware of her little scheme, but could not say much and merely shook his head.

Shen Mu returned to the Scholars' Residence with the massive Dragon-Qilin following behind him. Along the way, many scholars of the Residence watched and envied him greatly.

Yun Que came forward with a fawning smile. "Sister Fox, I've earned the ransom money—may I redeem my set of clothes? " Snow Fox took the money pouch, weighed it in her hand, and nodded.

"Wait a moment, I'll fetch it for you. " Yun Que thanked her profusely.

Snow Fox returned to the room and brought back his clothes, then called out loudly, "Anyone who owes me money, hurry up and bring your money to redeem your IOUs. " After a moment, several scholars came over looking disgruntled and redeemed their IOUs.

Snow Fox was quite pleased.

"Next time you're defeated by the young master, I can give you a twenty percent discount. " One scholar shook his head.

"The Doctor of the Academy is a sixth-rank official—who would dare lay a hand on him? " Snow Fox was stunned for a moment, then turned to Shen Mu. "Young master, our source of income is cut off. We'll be eating into our savings—we can't afford to keep this big fellow!

" The Dragon-Qilin shrank its head and mumbled, "One sheng of Crimson Fire Spirit Pills a day is fine too, as long as I get something to eat. .

. " Shen Mu consoled it, "Don't worry, I can afford to keep you. By the way, do you have any water?

Fill me a bottle—I'll take it and see if it can be traded for money. " Snow Fox fetched a jade bottle and filled it with a bottle of dragon saliva.

Shen Mu put the bottle away and instructed them to stay home, while he himself went to the Imperial Physicians' Hall. Several old imperial physicians were inside studying pill formulas. Seeing him, they all brightened with delight.

"The little divine physician has finally returned! What spirit pills do you plan to refine this time? If it's anesthetic or poison, you must give us advance notice! " Shen Mu greeted the physicians with a salute. "This time I've come to ask you to test a medicine. " With that, he produced the small jade bottle. When the physicians saw the little jade bottle, their expressions changed drastically.

Physician Yu said with trembling voice, "I recognize this bottle—surely it's not anesthetic again? " "No, it's a sacred medicine for healing wounds.

" Shen Mu had barely finished speaking when Physician You produced a small knife, hesitated a moment, then slashed Physician Ding across the arm, drawing blood. Physician Ding was furious and about to erupt when Shen Mu hurried forward, opened the jade bottle, took a bit of the dragon saliva, and applied it to the wound. The wound immediately began to heal, and within a few breaths it was restored as before, without even a scar.

The physicians were astonished and crowded forward.

Physician Yu said, "What degree of injury can this sacred healing medicine treat? Can it reattach a severed limb? " Shen Mu nodded.

"It can. I once used this medicine to reconnect a man whose waist had been severed, restoring him completely. But the medicine is only auxiliary—you still need to reconnect muscle, sinew, and nerves. It places extreme demands on technique.

" Physician Ding caught sight of Physician You raising his knife again and hastily shouted, "If you dare cut me, I'll poison your entire family! " Physician You could not bring himself to do it, so he walked outside the hall and after a moment returned with a scholar. The physicians hastily shook their heads.

Physician Yu stamped his foot. "Old You, are you mad? Even to test a medicine, you cannot chop off his hands and feet! " Hearing this, the scholar was frightened out of his wits and bolted.

Physician You wanted to catch him and bring him back, but the other physicians hurriedly blocked him. "No, absolutely not.

Scholars are all eighth-rank officials—cutting off his hands and feet will land you in court. A few days ago, Daoist Lingyun's crane fought with Chancellor Bashan's green ox and had its leg broken by the ox. Go get that crane and cut off her leg, then reattach it! " Physician You went out and after a moment returned with the crane. Physician Qu gripped the crane's beak.

The crane was terrified beyond measure but could not struggle free, and Physician You chopped off its leg along the injured limb. The physicians cleaned the shattered bone and waited for Shen Mu to treat it. After a moment, just then, Daoist Lingyun burst in, about to fly into a rage, but saw that Shen Mu was reconnecting the crane's broken bone, joining muscle and nerve, and clearing the marrow. Daoist Lingyun did not dare speak. Only when Shen Mu had reattached the injured leg did the physicians release their hold. The crane hastily stood up, tested its leg, and was astonished beyond measure. Then it bowed gracefully to Shen Mu in thanks, its voice crisp and clear—the voice of a little girl. Shen Mu wrote out another prescription and handed it to Daoist Lingyun.