Chapter 90: I Am a Provincial Graduate (Please Subscribe)

Wu Lanxin had only broken through to the level of a first-rate expert at the end of last year. The first time she took the Foundation Strengthening Pill, the effect was the strongest; it was estimated that only after taking more than ten of them would the true benefits be fully unleashed, and by then there would also be the Body Forging Pill.

“I’m telling you, the prince consort is no ordinary man. Though his cultivation has only reached the pinnacle of the first-rate realm, his strength is absolutely comparable to that of a grandmaster of the Transforming Realm. Since we started sparring last night, he has been suppressing me the entire time. I suspect he was still holding back.

“And there is another kind of pill, the Body Forging Pill. It is the upgraded version of the Foundation Strengthening Pill, and it is of great use even to grandmasters of the Transforming Realm. Once the Foundation Strengthening Pill no longer has any effect on you, take the Body Forging Pill instead. It can at least let you and the others break through to the Transforming Realm several years earlier.

“Also, I’ve already sent a homing pigeon to the Flying Phoenix Army. Lanxiang will bring the remaining personal guards back, and before long you sisters will be reunited.” Wu Qingluan said with a smile, looking every inch like a woman bragging about her own man.

“This time, when Lanxiang comes back, I’m definitely going to beat her. That way she won’t keep refusing to listen to me, her elder sister.”

Lanxin and Lanxiang were twin sisters, but Lanxiang had a slightly better gift and had also broken through to first-rate expert half a year earlier than Lanxin last year, so she had stayed with the princess in the army. Still, Lanxin, as the elder sister, had never been willing to accept it.

Now that she had the prince consort’s Foundation Strengthening Pill, if she took it a few days earlier, her cultivation might surpass her younger sister’s. When Lanxiang returned, she would have another fight and teach that girl a lesson.

“Your Highness, how have you been feeling these past two days?” In the clinic, after Fang Xian finished a course of treatment for the Crown Prince, Wu Yunxiao, he chatted with him for a while.

“Many thanks, Mr. Fang. I feel as if the shackles within my body have completely vanished. I am extraordinarily light and relaxed now, better than I have ever been,” Wu Yunxiao said with a smile.

“Mm. The sinister poison has been entirely eliminated, and the wasting illness has been brought under control as well. With another half month of treatment and recovery, you should be basically cured. The key after recovery is long-term conditioning; you should avoid anger and focus on quiet rest,” Fang Xian said with a smile.

“Mr. Fang, your life-saving kindness is beyond anything I can repay. I have several younger sisters; if you are willing, I can report to my father and choose one princess for you to marry as prince consort.” Wu Yunxiao actually wanted to repay Fang Xian by offering him one of his sisters.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s kind intentions. As a physician, saving the dying and healing the wounded is only my duty. How could I ask for repayment because of it? Besides, I already have several wives, so I do not meet the requirements for marrying a princess,” Fang Xian hurriedly refused with solemn words.

Still, in his heart he was thinking about what expression Wu Yunxiao would have in the future when he learned he would have to call him uncle by marriage, and whether he would resent him for it.

In the afternoon, the small courtyard where the Grand Princess lived had already been repaired and restored. There was no sign at all that it had ever been damaged. Wu Qingluan had also come over from the princess’s residence, and she had brought Wu Lanxin with her, mainly to fulfill the little girl’s wish to see Fang Lang.

“Lanxin pays respects to the prince consort.” When Fang Xian came after being notified by the personal guards, he met a graceful young woman at the entrance to the courtyard, and she curtseyed respectfully to him.

“So you are Lanxin, the chief steward by Qingluan’s side? Rise, rise. From now on, we’re all family, so there’s no need for so much ceremony.” Fang Xian had already heard Wu Qingluan speak of the Lanxin and Lanxiang sisters the previous night. He stepped forward to help her up, and felt how smooth her wrist was, soft and slick like silk.

“Yes, Prince Consort.” Lanxin’s face reddened, and whether it was because of her bodily contact with Fang Xian or because of his words, she rose quickly and followed behind him toward the main hall.

Inside the hall, wine and dishes had long been prepared, and Wu Qingluan was waiting in full court dress. This was the first time Fang Xian had seen her in women’s clothing, and he could not help but feel somewhat dazzled. Her bearing was exactly that of a domineering female chief executive.

“Qingluan, you used to wear men’s clothing all the time. Though you had plenty of heroic spirit, there was not quite enough charm. Now that you have returned to women’s dress, you are still as valiant as ever, yet also enchantingly beautiful, enough to topple kingdoms. If you were to walk out there, every man in the capital would surely twist his neck off staring at you,” Fang Xian said with a sigh as he sat down, while Lanxin stood by pouring wine and serving dishes to the two of them.

Pfft.

Wu Qingluan was so amused by Fang Xian’s words that she could not help laughing out loud. In an instant, it was as though a hundred flowers had bloomed. The whole hall brightened like spring in a flash, and with her shoulders shaking in mirth, she was so lovely it was impossible to look away.

“Prince Consort, how would anyone break their neck from looking at me?” Lanxin, having long accompanied the princess and also managed the princess’s residence and its vast holdings by herself, was not timid in the least. She smiled as she asked.

“Think about it. Once they see the princess, they’ll keep twisting their necks to look, and keep looking and looking, until their necks have turned around a whole circle and then another. Wouldn’t that mean they’ve snapped?” Fang Xian gestured as he spoke.

Hee-hee-hee.

Wu Qingluan and Lanxin both laughed sweetly at that. Fang Xian’s metaphor was wonderfully novel, and with a few casual words he had praised the Grand Princess’s beauty, leaving her delighted beyond measure.

“Hmph. No wonder you have three wives. You must have talked them into it with just such silver-tongued flattery, mustn’t you?” Wu Qingluan soon cast him a sidelong glance and turned her head away.

“Flattery is certainly necessary, but I have never deceived them. Before marrying my later wives, I told them I already had a wife. It’s just that my charm is too great, and they all didn’t mind. There’s nothing to be done about that,” Fang Xian said shamelessly.

“Cough. Your Highness, Prince Consort, the dishes are getting cold,” Lanxin said, slightly startled at first, then admiring Fang Xian’s composure. She quickly reminded the two of them.

“Grand Princess, I toast to you. Rest assured, I will take responsibility for what happened last night,” Fang Xian said as he lifted his wine cup.

“And how exactly will you take responsibility? Even though I no longer command the army, my royal brother probably still would not agree to me marrying beneath myself to an ordinary man. But if I were to let you cast off those three wives and take a princess as your bride, you certainly would not agree either. So tell me, what should be done?” Wu Qingluan said anxiously.

“At worst, I’ll go and win the top scholar’s honor. With my medical skills as well, I should be able to catch His Majesty’s eye, shouldn’t I?” Fang Xian said with a smile.

“Win the top scholar’s honor? Fang Lang, do you think that’s so easy? You have to pass the county examination and the provincial examination first, and only after entering the final round are you qualified for the palace examination. Surely you don’t even know that, do you?” Wu Qingluan thought he was joking.

“Of course I know. Look at this. Do I have the qualifications?” Fang Xian took a folded document from his sleeve and placed it before Wu Qingluan.

Wu Qingluan opened it and saw that it was actually proof of his status as a licensed graduate from Kaiyang Prefecture, the credential that allowed Fang Xian to take the autumn examination. She was instantly overjoyed.

“Fang Lang, you really are a licensed graduate? You’re qualified to sit for the autumn examination?”

“Of course. If everything had followed the normal course, I should have arrived in the capital more than half a year ago. My original plan was to come here, find a quiet temple in the capital, and spend half a year studying in seclusion before taking the autumn examination.

“I never expected that encountering bandits would change my fate. Still, if it weren’t for that, I’m afraid I would never have met the Grand Princess. So perhaps this is our destiny.” Fang Xian nodded and said as he drank his wine.