My whole family time-traveled! I became a god during my exile in a famine.

Chapter 123: Good guy card

Xin Nian thought they were talking about making pills, so she told the Crown Prince as soon as they met, "I've been watching Young Master Cheng and the others every day. They're making the pills very diligently and haven't been slacking off at all. I estimate it will take another two days to finish."

"Fortunately, Wan'an Prefecture has a large stock of medicinal herbs, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome."

His Highness the Crown Prince slowly raised an eyebrow, his voice deliberate, "Young Master Cheng?"

"Yes, that's the young master of Physician Cheng's family. He inherited his medical skills from his father. Your Highness should have met him before."

"I have a vague recollection of it." Xiao Jinzhi said calmly, "During the treatment of Consort Qian, Imperial Physician Cheng was falsely accused of delaying treatment and his entire family was exiled from the capital."

"Consort Qian?" Xin Nian was somewhat interested in these royal secrets.

The desire to hear gossip is irresistible.

Among the exiled group, apart from Boss Sha and Boss Pi who committed robbery on the official road and deserved their fate, the rest were probably 99% innocent victims.

I was right.

Xiao Jinzhi smiled and poured her a cup of tea, inviting her to sit down and chat.

“Consort Qian is the mother of Prince Gong’s brother, and she has gained a lot of respect from the emperor over the years.”

Xin Nian had a good memory and immediately made the connection, "The current Lord Qian of the Capital Prefecture..."

Xiao Jinzhi nodded, "That's right. If you count, Lord Qian should be Prince Gong's cousin."

"It's not a kiss."

"No."

Xin Nian nodded, "No wonder he only became the Prefect of Jingzhao at his age, which isn't a particularly high-ranking official position. It seems his relationship with Consort Zhaoyi isn't very close."

"Qian Zhaoyi really supported this cousin. Their Qian family was not a famous family to begin with. They hadn't produced many talented people in several generations. It was not easy to get this Qian Renguang into the circle of the capital, so naturally the whole family did their best to support him."

"But Lord Qian's talents are limited, and for years he's been stuck in a rut, neither high nor low rank. After Lord Si's family was exiled, he seized the opportunity and finally managed to climb the social ladder. Who would have thought..."

Unexpectedly, the city of Shengjing was submerged after only a few days in office, and Xin Nian wanted to shed a tear of sympathy for this Lord Qian.

Oh no, hahaha.

His Highness the Crown Prince was very good at gossiping, and Xin Nian listened with great interest, sipping her tea.

"However, there is another rumor circulating in the capital about the exile of Physician Cheng's family. It is said that Miss Qian has taken a fancy to the young master of the Cheng family and wants to take him as her son-in-law."

"Doctor Cheng refused sternly, and not long after he returned home, the charges against him were brought down."

Xin Nian opened her mouth, then exclaimed in astonishment, "Isn't that just the same logic as that scoundrel young master of the Si family?"

The ladies and young women in the capital are all so ruthless; if they want something but can't have it, they'll destroy it without restraint.

“It’s different.” His Highness the Crown Prince shook his head, his face serious.

“Princess Jiu Ni is practically royalty. Her father, Prince Su Bei, Xiao Buni, commands an army of 100,000 in Wu Bei. Although Princess Jiu Ni is usually dissolute, arrogant, and domineering, she is not yet married. Her marriage to Si Nanfeng is also a union of the two families, with both families sharing the same surname. After the marriage, Si Nanfeng will become the princess’s husband and move into the princess’s residence, thus elevating his status.”

“The daughter of Master Qian is different. Master Qian’s daughter has returned home after her marriage and is now remarrying. She wants to take Young Master Cheng as her son-in-law, but even ordinary poor families would not agree to this, let alone Young Master Cheng, who comes from a family of doctors. His status is much lower.”

“The crime of delaying treatment can be serious or minor. If I hadn’t found someone to mediate, the Cheng family would probably have faced more than just exile.”

Xin Nian sighed with emotion, "Your Highness is truly a good person."

Xiao Jinzhi, who was given the "friend zone" card: ...

Did he say all this in order to get the girl to praise him as a good person?

No, he wanted the young girl to understand that people like Si Nanfeng and Cheng Xu were mostly womanizers in the capital, and were fundamentally different from him.

Why don't you understand? It's so frustrating.

Xin Nian rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at him, and asked with a smile, "Did you come to see me because of the pills?" Those workers were doing alright; young and old alike were working overtime to make the pills, putting in a lot of effort. Xin Nian suggested to the Crown Prince that they be given a little more bonus, since it was all hard work.

Xiao Jinzhi smiled and nodded. "Okay. I've come to you to tell you something."

"It's been drizzling again these past two days. I sent men out to patrol, and they found a little fog gathering about thirty miles south of the city gate. I wonder if Miss Niannian has noticed this."

Xin Nian frowned slightly. "I hadn't noticed."

"Thirty li away, is that the place we came from along the route from Heng County?"

Xiao Jinzhi nodded, "There are many villages near Heng County. If everyone is heading to Wan'an Prefecture, they will definitely have to pass through that section of the road."

"But now the fog is starting to dissipate over there?"

"Yes." Xiao Jinzhi pondered for a moment, "I have a bad feeling about this, so I wanted to discuss it with Miss Niannian. Do you think we should leave early?"

"No matter how much we compress the time, it will still take at least a day to basically make the pills." Xin Nian calculated the time for the doctors, her expression solemn.

"Should I go over and take a look?"

Xiao Jinzhi grabbed her wrist, "Too dangerous."

"What's so dangerous about this? It won't take me long to come and go." She can go and investigate in person, and even use an element detector to test it; maybe she can find some clues.

"Then I'll go with you."

"No need." Xin Nian pressed down his hand and smiled slightly. "I'll be right back. Take your medicine and get some rest."

The young man is exhausted from all the troubles he's had these past few days. He's still recovering from his injury, so why bother going back and forth with it on?

"Your injury is almost healed." Xiao Jinzhi said helplessly, but he couldn't refuse Xin Nian, so he could only get up and see her out.

Before she left, he gave her a few more fireworks, saying, "If you need help with anything, just send me a message."

"Rest assured." Xin Nian smiled at him and vanished on the spot, appearing as if she had reappeared.

*
"Father, Father~" A deep cry came from the light mist, mixed with scolding and reprimands.

The child's heart-wrenching cries.

Xin Nian stood at the edge of the mist and reached out her rubber-covered hand to touch the mist.

The element detector beeps.

She pressed a button, removed the device head, and took a look.

The levels of toxic elements were not exceeded, but being in a light fog for a long time is not good for the human body.

Furthermore, it's unknown whether the concentration of toxic elements will increase as the fog thickens.

In short, it's not a good sign.

Several disheveled men suddenly emerged from the thin mist.

It was pitch black, and the group only had half a pine branch burning in their hands.

Upon exiting, everyone was nearly scared to death when they saw Xin Nianbai standing silently not far away.

"Second Uncle, don't take my things. This is the last bit of food my brother and I have left."

"Get out of my way! Your father is dead. You and your brother won't live much longer either. You might as well give me the food and water."

"My dad isn't dead! He's not dead. You're not allowed to bully my sister, you're not allowed to bully her, you bad person."

"Get out of the way, you idiot!" Just as the skinny man was about to kick the child in the chest, Xin Nian flicked a pebble.

With a "smack," the man's leg was hit, and he cried out "Ouch!" and fell to the ground clutching his leg.