Those days when I exiled the paralyzed, deposed crown prince to farm

Chen Qiuyue's face was swollen from being slapped by Aman, and she started crying as soon as she got home.

"You still have the nerve to cry? You, a young lady, went to someone's door and got beaten up by a maid. Are you so desperate for a man that you can't even stand a cripple!"

Chen Qiurong was already used to her younger sister's pig-headedness.

"What do you know!"

Chen Qiuyue retorted, "Although he's crippled, he's a rare and good man, much better than your poor fiancé!"

"If you saw him, you might just fall for him too!"

"Shut up!" Chen Qiurong frowned. She had been engaged long ago, and the wedding was scheduled for the end of December.

The other party was a scholar who had studied for a few years, but failed the imperial examination. Now he worked in the county town writing letters and copying books for people, earning a little money each month.

As long as you have a skill, you won't starve these days. What's more, you're a scholar, refined and handsome, much better than those rough and uncouth men.

Chen Qiurong thought disdainfully, "Can good looks feed you?"

"He's a convict exiled here, unable to lift a finger or carry anything heavy. What use is a man like that!"

Chen Qiuyue was furious: "I won't allow you to talk about him like that!"

Her mind was now filled with Zhao Ye, especially the stunning impression she had of him at first sight, which was enough for Chen Qiuyue to remember for a lifetime.

"You're hopeless."

The sun was just beginning to shine, and it was another bright day. Ah Man went out early, and the air was filled with the faint scent of grass.

Zhao Ye was organizing medicinal herbs in the courtyard when someone gently knocked on the door: "Excuse me... is anyone home?"

The door was ajar. Chen Qiurong had arrived early in the morning, eager to see what kind of man could bewitch her arrogant younger sister to such an extent.

She couldn't believe that such a man existed in the world.

Zhao Ye didn't like to pay attention to people, except when Aman was at home.

"This young man..." Chen Qiurong had actually seen Zhao Ye, but only saw his back. He was slender but tall and sitting in a wheelchair.

With a winnowing basket on his lap, he bent down to sort the medicinal herbs, clearing away the mess. Ah Man said these could be taken to the county town to sell for money.

Seeing that the door was unlocked, Chen Qiurong pushed it open and went inside.

Zhao Ye still ignored her. Chen Qiurong had learned from her educated fiancé and was not like an ordinary village girl.

"My younger sister caused trouble for your family yesterday. I am her older sister, and I have come here specifically to apologize on her behalf."

Chen Qiurong found herself a good excuse; she mainly wanted to see what this man looked like.

"go out."

Zhao Ye's voice was cold, as if it contained a layer of ice.

Chen Qiurong's face immediately burned. This man was so rude. She had come over and spoken to him politely, so why was he treating a young lady like this?

"Why is my lord acting this way? Yesterday..."

"Get out."

Zhao Ye suddenly looked at Chen Qiurong, his eyes like knives.

At the same time, Chen Qiurong also saw Zhao Ye's face. She was stunned for a moment, her face turned even redder, and she couldn't utter a word for a long time.

After fleeing in disarray, his heart began to pound wildly.

Is this the young man my sister likes?

She is so elegant and refined, almost too beautiful.

Zhao Ye went over and bolted the door. He had just gone out for a while, and Aman had placed a board at the door, saying that if he wanted to go out for some fresh air, he could put the board down and his wheelchair could go out.

She has a very important matter to attend to today: to sell the Solomon's Seal that she dug up from the mountain.

Such a large Solomon's Seal should fetch a lot of money. Ah Man went to several pharmacies to inquire about the price, but she found that none of the Solomon's Seal sold in those shops were as good as hers.

Moreover, Ah Man discovered that the Solomon's Seal plant was growing in clusters, and she dug up a lot of them!

That nest of Solomon's Seal must weigh at least forty or fifty pounds!

Ah Man thought to herself, "Heaven really is looking out for her."

Polygonatum is a precious medicinal herb known as the "leftover food of immortals" and regarded as an elixir of immortality. In the capital, many high-ranking officials and nobles competed to buy it. However, the processing is complicated, requiring nine steaming and nine drying processes, which is very time-consuming.

However, Aman's was freshly dug up from the wild, without any processing, and was sold directly to the pharmacy.

"Little girl, did you dig all of these yourself?"

The pharmacy owner was stunned when he saw Ah Man carrying a basket full of Solomon's seal. What luck this little girl had! She actually managed to dig up a whole nest of Solomon's seal. Had she raided the Solomon's ancestral home?

"Yes, I dug them all up on the mountain."

The shop owner was startled: "Which mountain was it dug from?"

Ah Man knew that her boss wanted to know the origin of the Solomon's Seal so she could dig it up herself, so she didn't hide anything and said, "Waguan Village!"

Waguan Village?

How could such beautiful and high-quality Solomon's Seal grow in that poor, remote mountain village?

The best quality Solomon's Seal in their pharmacy is only five years old.

"I have about fifty catties of Polygonatum here. If you want it, I'll sell it all. What price are you willing to offer?"

"Young lady, what price are you looking for?"

They're all seasoned veterans; the boss certainly can't name a price first. He has to see what price this young girl is willing to pay.

But what she didn't know was that Ah Man had inquired at no fewer than six pharmacies and already knew the prices.

"At least this number!"

Ah Man gestured with his fingers.

"Fifty taels?"

The boss was taken aback; the little girl was really asking for an exorbitant amount.

"Yes! Fifty taels!" Ah Man was really asking for the moon. She had asked, and in Yong'an County, wild, unprocessed Solomon's Seal was worth at most twenty taels of silver.

If the processed nine-times-dried Solomon's Seal still weighs forty or fifty catties, it would be worth at least eighty or ninety taels of silver.

After all, the labor costs in the manufacturing process must also be taken into account.

"That won't do. Although your Polygonatum is excellent, I still need to process it. I can only give you twenty taels at most!"

His prices were similar to those of other shops.

"Twenty taels is too little, boss. This bunch of Solomon's seal plants can grow this big; they might even be a hundred-year-old one!"

Ah Man was telling the truth: "You should take a closer look, otherwise I'll have to sell it somewhere else, so we won't waste any more time."

It doesn't matter who I sell it to. This nest of Solomon's seal is the foundation for Aman's stability in this place. With a few dozen taels of silver in hand, the dilapidated house can be repaired.

She could also treat Zhao Ye's illness, buy herself some clothes, and store some cotton quilts to prepare for winter. It would be best to buy several hundred kilograms of rice.

She had a premonition that as the rains in Yong'an County continued to be delayed, rice prices would definitely continue to rise, especially if the magistrate of Yong'an County did nothing to lower rice prices. In the end, there would be no harvest in the fields, and the people would have nothing to eat.

The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and held up three fingers: "Thirty taels, that's the most I can offer. Any more and you'll have to sell it somewhere else!"