Chapter 91: A Gift of a Fine Horse

So that is how it is. The prince consort’s life is truly a legend. In barely half a year, he not only became a top-tier master, but also took four wives, Wu Lanxin said admiringly from the side.

"Brother Fang, with your cultivation advancing so quickly, it must be thanks to the Foundation-Strengthening Elixir and the Body-Refining Elixir you prepare yourself, right?" Wu Qingluan asked at once.

"That’s right. The Foundation-Strengthening Elixir mainly lays a solid foundation and is of great help to martial artists who have only just entered the ranks, as well as to cultivators below the top tier. The Body-Refining Elixir, on the other hand, is immensely beneficial for top-tier masters. Add to that an ancient technique I happened to cultivate by chance, and that is why my progress has been so fast," Fang Xian said with a nod.

"Then, Brother Fang, if you were to prepare large quantities of the Foundation-Strengthening Elixir and the Body-Refining Elixir, wouldn’t it be possible to train a great many top-tier masters? Perhaps even forge an army of them?" Wu Qingluan asked.

"It’s not that easy. The Foundation-Strengthening Elixir is somewhat easier to make, but even then I can only prepare several dozen pills in a day. The Body-Refining Elixir is far more troublesome; it takes three days to make a single batch, only about five or six pills, and it must be paired with the ancient technique I cultivate. It cannot be handed to others to do for me.

"So, occasionally setting aside time to prepare some pills for those around me is still manageable. But if I were to use them to train an army, then even if I did nothing else and spent day and night making elixirs, it still wouldn’t be enough.

"Of course, since we are now one family, I can make time to prepare some Foundation-Strengthening Elixirs and Body-Refining Elixirs for the princess to use in training your personal guards. But the quantity cannot be too large, and only those of excellent talent and absolute loyalty may be chosen," Fang Xian said, shaking his head.

"That is already more than enough. Brother Fang still has so many things to do; how could I be so inconsiderate as to force you to make pills especially for me? To be able to train a batch of powerful personal guards is already plenty," Wu Qingluan said hurriedly.

"Then I’ll write out a list later and have Lanxin send people to prepare the herbs and bring them over. Ah, Princess, there are about twenty days left until the autumn examinations. By now, has the capital already gathered a great many scholars from all over the realm?" Fang Xian nodded, then asked.

"Prince Consort, the inns around the Imperial Academy and the Examination Hall are already full of scholars who have come from every direction. Some shut themselves in to study, some make friends and build connections, some compose poems and antiphons, and some visit powerful officials, all of them laying their own groundwork," Lanxin hurriedly said from the side.

"No matter how they lay their groundwork, none of them can compare with mine. Aside from me, who else could lay a road all the way to the Grand Princess’s bedchamber?" Fang Xian laughed.

"You’re asking for trouble, saying something so shameful!" Wu Qingluan flushed crimson at once.

"Not only shameful words; we’ve done even more shameful things. Besides, there’s no one else here. What’s wrong with saying a few shameful things?" Fang Xian said teasingly as he saw the princess’s delicate face turn bright red, though Lanxin’s little face was not doing much better either.

His remark about there being no outsiders made Lanxin think of how, if she ever became a bedchamber maid, she would inevitably have to accompany Fang Xian in doing those shameful things. Her own face burned hot with embarrassment.

"Brother Fang, are you really so certain you can take first place in the imperial examinations? You should know that among the scholars from all over the world, there are many with distinguished reputations, some of whom have even been heard of by His Majesty. That first place is not so easy to win," Wu Qingluan asked after a while.

"Rest assured, Grand Princess. As long as I take it seriously, first place won’t escape me," Fang Xian said with a smile. The reason he was so confident was the scripture volume bestowed by the system.

After studying the complete volume of that classic, and with the matter of the Grand Princess weighing on his mind, Fang Xian had changed his mind and decided to take part in the autumn examinations to win first place, thereby proving that he was not merely a miraculous physician, but also a man of extraordinary talent. Perhaps then he could gain the Emperor’s approval and have the Grand Princess married to him.

Hearing Fang Xian speak so firmly, Wu Qingluan and Lanxin were both somewhat skeptical. But both of them were clever enough not to voice it aloud. Besides, Fang Xian had already done so many inconceivable things; if he really did win first place, it would not seem all that strange.

That night, Fang Xian naturally stayed over with the Grand Princess. Lanxin had originally planned to remain and serve them, but Wu Qingluan sent her back to the princess’s residence instead. There were still many matters there that required Lanxin’s attention, and besides, she did not wish for someone to remain by the bedside listening the whole time while she and Fang Xian were making love.

"Brother Fang, I plan to give you something," Wu Qingluan said, lying in Fang Xian’s arms after their passion subsided.

"Not a vulgar thing like a big house, an estate, or land, is it?" Fang Xian teased.

"Of course not. My people acquired two Ferghana horses from beyond the frontier, one male and one female, both wild and difficult to tame. However, I have already tamed the mare, so I plan to give you the stallion. Whether you can tame it or not will depend on your own skill," Wu Qingluan said with a smile.

"Oh? So my wife intends to test me. Rest assured, if I can tame a wild steed like you, what is a mere ordinary horse?" Fang Xian whispered in her ear while gently caressing her most sensitive places.

"You’re horrible," Wu Qingluan said coquettishly, wriggling her body.

"Hmph. Then let your husband show you how to tame this wild mare of yours," Fang Xian said, rolling over and pinning the noble Grand Princess beneath him once more, beginning his battle of conquest.

The next day, Wu Qingluan took Fang Xian out of the city and went to the Wu Guard Army camp ten li outside the capital. By then, Wu Ji had already been transferred to serve as deputy commander of the Wu Guard Army and personally came to greet them at the camp entrance.

"This humble one pays respects to the commander. Mister Fang, why have you come as well?" Wu Ji stepped forward to salute, greatly surprised that the Grand Princess had brought Fang Xian into the military camp.

"General Wu, the Grand Princess said she would give me a Ferghana horse, so I came to take a look," Fang Xian said, returning the courtesy with clasped hands.

"So Mister Fang wishes to try that wild horse. It is in the training grounds, but it has a solitary temperament and refuses to associate with the other horses. Many officers in the camp have wanted to tame it, but to this day, more than a dozen have been injured, and not one has succeeded in mounting it," Wu Ji said.

"Have you ever tried, General Wu? Just how wild is that horse?" Fang Xian chatted with Wu Ji as they walked toward the training grounds.

"I have tried more than once and was injured several times. The worst time nearly broke one of my legs. That horse is even larger and more powerful than an ordinary warhorse. When it runs, its four hooves seem to ride the wind, as though it could take to the sky at any moment. It is as fast as lightning, and its neigh is like thunder. The other warhorses are terrified of it," Wu Ji explained.

"Good. I like treasures like that. It’s mine now," Fang Xian said joyfully. He had long since prepared Blood Oath Elixir on his person. No matter how fierce the horse might be, he believed that once it swallowed the Blood Oath Elixir, it would be tamed by him.

The Wu Guard Army’s training grounds were beside the Imperial Forest Park, covering several hundred mu. More than fifty thousand warhorses were kept there, along with over twenty thousand mares and foals. Among the herds of horses, a blood-red figure moved with sweeping dominance, like a fire dragon dividing the boundaries of each herd. It occupied the richest grazing land and the best water, and no stallion dared approach it or challenge it.