Too high to reach

Chapter 280 There is a Medicine God
Discussing the marriage with the Mo family with the Zhou family was indeed not difficult.

The old man acquired a fine piece of calligraphy and painting.

My eldest uncle got a good job.

As for Zhou Jiu's biological father, Li Jing discussed with Consort Feng: "Are there any shops in Zhou Li's dowry that are currently rented out?"

Princess Zhou's dowry was all managed by Consort Feng.

"There are two places, Your Highness, that's what you're asking about..."

"Oh, give it to me first!"

"Sir, the lease on that shop hasn't expired yet. Do you want it now?"

"Just give her the money she has now until the lease expires. Return it to the Zhou family first. When Xiangxiang is old enough to manage her dowry in the future, I'll give her two better ones."

"Oh...okay." Consort Feng went to find the property deeds for the shop, feeling both dissatisfied and puzzled.

She was in charge of the Princess Zhou's dowry, which allowed for a lot of theft.

For example, the rent for the shop was the interest from her dowry. But how to dispose of the collected silver was entirely up to Consort Feng.

She would take the money and let her cousin and her husband do business, lend money, and also hoard houses, land, and the like, then resell them to make money.

For example, at Wenquan Zhuangzi, she can keep only 70% of the profits and keep 30% for herself.

All of this has its advantages; otherwise, why would she bother with all this effort?

Once these two shops are put away, the rent will be lower. We need to refund some more...

She's not exactly flush with cash lately. Her cousin has a lot of unsold inventory.

She gave Zhou Dong a lot of money, asking him to help her train people and prepare some things, including medicine that she might need in the future.

……

Mo Fan, who was far away in the western suburbs, received two letters at once.

The first letter he opened was written by his mother, and it surprisingly mentioned his marriage to Miss Zhou Jiu.

"My God! My God..." Mo Fan's hands trembled as he held the letter, making a rustling sound... "I simply can't believe it's true..."

He held onto Zhang Debao, who was lying slumped on the bed, tightly, sharing his joy.

After reading the letter, Zhang Debao finally smiled, a smile he hadn't shown in a long time. "You're something else! You've met Miss Zhou Jiu twice. She's extremely beautiful and has a very gentle temperament. You're not good enough for her! You've hit the jackpot!"

"Yes! But..." Mo Fan said hesitantly, "She's so delicate, and I only have this much salary a year. How can I afford to support her? She's already marrying down. If she suffers with me, wouldn't that be a sin?"

My inferiority complex resurfaced once again.

"Alas, you don't understand! In this world, regardless of status or wealth, the key is whether that person suits your heart..." The beautiful figure that floated into his mind made him sigh again and again.

Mo Fan spun around in place, grinning foolishly for a long time, before finally opening another letter.

"Yuanyuan is here?" he asked in surprise.

Zhang Debao snatched it away and looked at it with utmost seriousness. The letter was addressed to "Second Brother".

But judging from the content, it was written for him.

Upon seeing this, my heart clenched, and my face darkened.

"What's wrong?" Mo Fan also came over.

“She didn’t say it specifically, but I know…” After reading it, Zhang Debao sighed, “She asked me to find out about Consort Zhang’s family.”

"Consort Zhang? Why are you asking about her? Shouldn't you be asking about the Crown Princess?" Mo Fan had no idea about the intricacies of the situation.
"Don't you understand? She suffered at the hands of Consort Zhang..." Zhang Debao knew perfectly well.

"It's not written in the official document! Good heavens, I wonder what wronged she suffered. Is it because..." Mo Fan wanted to ask, was it because the Crown Prince doted on her, and that made others jealous?

But he was too embarrassed to say it.

Zhang Debao stood up. "I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Mo Fan quickly pulled him away.

"Consort Zhang's younger brother is right here!"

"Which one?"

"Zhang Jiyuan, people usually call him Little Brother Zhang, you've met him."

Back when Zhang Debao was still a playboy, he loved to join in the fun and often went out with a large group of people. He had a good temper, knew how to have fun, and most importantly, was generous. Therefore, he was very popular.

Zhang Xiaodi was also a member of the gang. The two weren't exactly close, but they could still get along.

Later, Zhang Debao took the "right path," and their contact decreased.

This time, with the Crown Prince taking the lead, it naturally benefits his relatives and friends.

Zhang Xiaodi was the younger brother of the Crown Prince's most favored person, so it was only natural that he came as well, basically playing around while accumulating merits.

"Then what can you do if you go to him now?"

Zhang Debao blinked, pondered for a moment, and said, "It's been a long time since we've been in touch. Let's see what's going on."

Many of the people here are children of officials; they're just here to coast along.

Detained in the wilderness, they spent their days fighting, drinking, and gambling.

As long as nothing major happens, the higher-ups don't care.

A group of people were gambling, and when they saw Zhang Debao arrive, they all invited him to join them.

Zhang Debao subtly moved closer to Zhang Xiaodi, and suddenly he realized that approaching someone with ulterior motives... was just like a hunter setting up a net, and the feeling was strangely exciting.

He was indeed interested, and after playing around for a few days, he actually got some news.

A young man from a family that wasn't particularly wealthy. His cousin was also a concubine in the Crown Prince's household, but she was of average looks and talent; her family had practically forced her into the position, making her practically invisible.

These past two days, this kid has lost a lot of money to Brother Zhang and has also been bullied by him.

Feeling depressed, I drank too much.

Zhang Debao secretly tossed him a silver note. He was so excited he bowed repeatedly. Then he started complaining: "Tch, Brother Zhang always acts like he's the Crown Prince's brother-in-law. He looks down on ordinary people and brags to me… Does he think he knows who he is?"

Zhang Debao didn't say anything, but smiled and poured him a glass of wine.

"Oh, his sister had some bad luck the other day."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Debao asked.

The man winked and said, "His sister used to be formidable because the Crown Princess couldn't bear him a son. She had no choice but to tolerate it. Now, she's pregnant. If she gives birth to a son, he'll be a legitimate heir! His sister's two illegitimate sons combined can't compare!"

"Hmm. You're right about that." Zhang Debao agreed without batting an eye.

"Really?! A new woman has entered the Crown Prince's residence, and she's said to be the eldest sister-in-law of Prince Qi!"

Zhang Debao's face turned ugly.

"Tsk! Consort Zhang went to cause trouble for that person and even hit him."

Zhang Debao slammed the wine pot down on the table, furious... He loved and pampered her so much, yet she beat and scolded him!

"What did you do? You scared me!" the man complained, clutching his chest.

"and after?"

"Later, the Crown Princess intervened, using this incident to severely punish Consort Zhang. It's said that when the Crown Prince returned, his sister couldn't even stand up. Heh, she fell seriously ill!"
As you know, the Crown Prince used to dote on his sister. But this time, when the Crown Prince entered the house, the royal physician was taking the Crown Princess's pulse. He said she couldn't get anxious or angry again, otherwise it would be troublesome if it affected the pregnancy. What could the Crown Prince do?

The Crown Princess always protected the one who was beaten. So her sister suffered in vain! Moreover, the one who did the beating had his hand chopped off, bled to death, and died. Everyone else was also punished.

"And then?" Zhang Debao asked with a deep expression.

"Hey..." The speaker smirked, "As the saying goes, a cornered dog will jump over the wall. In my opinion, they're courting death."

“…What do you mean?” Zhang Debao became nervous.

"Old Zheng knows someone... supposedly a medicine god, with a lot of all sorts of random medicines. Little Brother Zhang came to Old Zheng saying his maid is pregnant and he wants some. What a joke! A maid getting pregnant, why would he go to such lengths? Maybe the medicine is intended... for that person."

"You can't just say that!" Zhang Debao warned nervously.

"How am I talking nonsense? Tsk! You don't understand, all medicines have a strange smell. So it's not easy to get your hands on them. And the medicine this person has is said to be colorless and odorless. But in my opinion... it's just a bit bland. But it's not cheap! Do you think he would be willing to give such good medicine to his maid? Any random pharmacy on the street could get it!"

"So... there are ways to kill people?"

"Of course! I heard that they put the money and your request in some temple, and then retrieve it after ten days..."

……

That night, a person dressed in a black cloak took a small box from a shrine in a dilapidated temple.

Then he mounted his horse and rode away...