All Hail Cousin Brother

184 What a Mischievous Child!

Yu Youyao quickly put down her brush, tidied her clothes, and left the study for the reception pavilion.

When she saw Yu Youyao, Nanny Liu smiled and said, “On April 10th, a few disciples who are in the middle ranks of the clan’s examination will be participating in the second examination in front of the palace. Old Madam values it very much and asked me to come over to ask Eldest Miss for some medicinal tea and fragrances to nourish their bodies. She also asked me to send some medicinal recipes over. We can also help out a little and leave it to fate.”

Yu Youyao smiled. “I made a lot in my house, so Nanny can take them over.”

With that, she turned around and instructed Chun Xiao.

Chun Xiao entered the side room. Not long after, she came out with the medicinal tea that had already been wrapped neatly.

When Nanny Liu saw this, her smile deepened. Then, she heard Eldest Miss say, “There’s nothing taboo about medicinal tea and medicinal fragrances. Just use whatever you want. The medicinal cuisine is more important. It’s more appropriate to pick an old woman who knows medicinal cuisine from my courtyard and send her over to take care of it.”

Nanny Liu smiled and took the items. “Eldest Miss, you’re so thoughtful.”

After returning to An Shou Hall, Nanny Liu looked for Old Madam. “Once you mentioned it, Eldest Miss asked Chun Xiao to bring something over. As soon as I took a sip of tea, the things were already brought out. It’s obvious that Eldest Miss had already thought of this. She was already prepared and waiting for me to get it.”

Old Madam Yu was also happy to hear this. “Yao Yao is a meticulous person. She thinks of others in every way. Now that she’s grown up, she can also take care of her family’s affairs. It’s our family’s luck to have such a child.”

After sending Nanny Liu off, Yu Youyao did not plan to continue practicing her calligraphy. Thinking that there was still no news of the Essence Protection Pill, Yu Youyao inevitably felt a little anxious, so she went to the Green House to look for Uncle Sun.

At this moment, Uncle Sun did not close the door. He stayed in the pharmacy all day and did not even leave the house. He looked like he had gone crazy. His beard was disheveled, and his body was sloppy. There was a strong smell of sour herbs on him.

“Why is it still not working? It doesn’t make sense!”

“What went wrong?”

“Although the prescription for the Essence Protection Pill doesn’t record the steps to making it, doctors with brilliant medical skills have their own unique methods of making medicine. According to my many years of experience, it’s impossible for me not to be able to make it…”

Yu Youyou endured the smell on Uncle Sun’s body and said casually, “Could it be that the Essence Protection Pill was not concocted but made using other methods? The Daoists have alchemy skills, the Southern Barbarians have Miao doctors, and the Xie family has medicinal artifacts…”

Who knew!

“Why didn’t I think of this?” Uncle Sun’s eyes widened, and he slapped his forehead hard.

Yu Youyao looked at Uncle Sun in shock. What did I just say?

Uncle Sun looked excited. “I knew it. Why didn’t it work after trying more than ten methods in a row? It doesn’t make sense. It turns out that the method I made it with was wrong. The Essence Protection Pill is called the Essence Protection Pill. It’s obvious that it’s also refined with alchemy…”

Yu Youyao was stunned when she heard this. She couldn’t help but ask, “Alchemy is a Daoist method. Uncle Sun, do you know how to refine pills? Do you want me to find an alchemist…”

Uncle Sun’s eyes widened, and his white beard trembled. “Little girl, who are you looking down on? Haven’t you heard that medicine doesn’t differentiate between sects? My Sun family’s ancestor was the King of Medicine. Not only was that King of Medicine’s medical skills outstanding, but he was also an extremely powerful alchemy master. As a descendant, how could I not know how to refine pills?!”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Uncle Sun in disbelief. “Uncle Sun, you’re too amazing. You even know how to refine pills.”

Uncle Sun enjoyed the little girl’s shocked expression very much. He stroked his long beard and looked like an unfathomable expert as he pretended to be deep in thought. “Of course. Although I rarely refine pills, my alchemy skills are awesome.”

Seeing the little girl’s sly expression, Zhou Linghuai knew that she was fooling Uncle Sun again.

What a mischievous child!

Yu Youyao’s eyes darted around and she frowned. “I heard that there’s poison in the pills. It’s not good for one’s health to take too many pills. Cousin…”

Uncle Sun glanced at her from the corner of his eye and snorted. “The King of Medicine has recorded a method of refining pills using ‘fire suppression’ in the ‘Pill Scripture: Internal Sulphur Method’. It can reduce the toxicity of the pills. Then, using a traditional Chinese medicine formulation, the toxicity of the pills refined can be reduced to the minimum. I’ll also refine a special poison expelling medicine for Young Master to take. Then, I won’t have to worry that the pills will harm his body.”

The pill poison was accumulated in the body. If it couldn’t be completely removed with medicine, it would more or less damage Young Master’s body. However, compared to the effect of the Essence Protection Pill, that little pill poison was still acceptable to Young Master.

Yu Youyao was relieved when she heard this.

Spiritual dewdrop had the effect of purging poison. She used it to nourish her cousin’s body. Even if there was a trace of pill poison left, she was no longer afraid.

Hence, Yu Youyao hugged Uncle Sun’s arm. “Uncle Sun, tell me quickly what you need to refine pills. I’ll get someone to prepare it immediately.”

Uncle Sun nodded. “Sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal…”

Yu Youyao’s eyelids twitched when she heard this. She couldn’t help but ask, “These are all explosive items. Can they really be used to refine pills?” Why did she feel that Uncle Sun was a little unreliable?

Uncle Sun was so angry that his long eyebrows trembled a few times. “According to what I said, these are considered black powder used for alchemy. Black powder doesn’t explode easily.”

Yu Youyao was still worried, but since Uncle Sun had already said so, she did not dare to doubt him. She quickly nodded. “Whatever Uncle Sun says then. I’ll get someone to prepare it immediately.”

Uncle Sun snorted.

Yu Youyao ran out but retreated after a few steps. “Cousin, I’ll go prepare what Uncle Sun wants first. I think he’s very confident this time. He’ll definitely succeed.”

The little girl was clearly hesitant, but she still came to comfort him. Zhou Linghuai chuckled. “Go!”

When Yu Youyao returned to the Jade Courtyard, she was not in a hurry to prepare what Uncle Sun wanted. Instead, she first looked for Nanny Xu and asked about the medicinal pills.

Nanny Xu said, “In The Kinship of the Three, it’s said that gold is indestructible, so it’s a treasure. Most of the time, gold is used to refine longevity medicine.”

Yu Youyao was puzzled. “Aren’t all medicinal pills refined using gold?”

Nanny Xu shook her head. “There are also alchemists in the palace who can refine medicinal pills. Chinese medicine has a method to treat illnesses with ‘fire suppression’. It’s said that the fire suppression method can borrow the power of Yin and Yang, and the aura of the five elements. By following a traditional Chinese medicine formula, one can unleash the greatest effect of the medicinal herbs. It’s equivalent to brewing medicine properly when it is prepared. However, there is a water refinement method, and a fire refinement method. The methods are different, but they all lead to the same goal.”

Yu Youyao suddenly realized that she was too inexperienced.

Nanny Xu smiled and said, “You’re thinking too much. Uncle Sun is most likely going to refine medicinal pills, which are somewhat poisonous. For the effects of the pill refinement to be better, the amount of pill poison also has to be greater. However, it doesn’t hurt if a person nourishes his or her body more often. The Empress Dowager takes the medicinal pills refined by alchemists all year round to nourish her body. Back then, I specially arranged for her body to be nourished in the palace.”