Complete one practice method every day

Only then did everyone realize that Steward Tu, who always had an indifferent look in his eyes, had not shown up for several days.

"The master has other important matters to attend to and has been temporarily transferred. Please don't be surprised, just focus on doing your own work well," Chen Lin explained with a smile.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their minds filled with speculation, but none dared to ask further.

Afterwards, Chen Yue heard some inside information from Lin Quan.

"That girl, Chen Yuqing,"

Lin Quan wiped several medicine spoons with a special medicine cloth while saying casually, "She is a distant relative of the master's family. This time, the rebels caused a lot of trouble, and her branch of the family suffered a disaster. I heard that they suffered considerable losses and fled here to seek refuge. The master's family then settled her here to manage this matter in the backyard."

"Then Manager Tu..." Chen Yue pressed.

"Tushan?"

Lin Quan chuckled and shook his head. "They sent him to one of our Chen family's old medicine shops outside the city. The original manager there was getting old and his energy was failing. This time, they just transferred Tu Shan there. That place is really remote."

Chen Yue remained silent. The manager of the pharmacy?

It sounds like a lateral transfer, but the implications of moving from the second manager of a pharmacy in the county town to a remote and impoverished pharmacy are clear to anyone with eyes to see.

It's unclear whether this is simply to make way for Chen Yuqing, or if Tushan itself has made some mistake.

Chen Yuqing's arrival was far more than just replacing a manager.

Having been in office for only a few days, she summoned the apprentices from the backyard once again, carrying a roster. She was still wearing that simple, moon-white dress, her black hair adorned with a wooden hairpin, her gaze calmly sweeping over everyone.

"Pharmacies do not support idlers or useless people."

Her voice was clear and cold, ringing out in the quiet backyard. "The pharmacy outside the city is in dire need of manpower due to recent events. Those on the list, please pack your bags and head to the pharmacy tomorrow morning to assist. The term is... tentatively set for six months."

She began to call out names, and with each name she called out, one apprentice's face darkened slightly.

The medicine market outside the city was remote, harsh, and monotonous, far from the protection of the county seat. With refugees roaming outside and rebels on high alert, even staying in the city felt uneasy; going to the medicine market outside the city felt like being exiled.

A low murmur arose, and Chen Yuqing merely glanced up. Her gaze held no anger, but rather a chilling indifference that sent shivers down one's spine.

"The pharmacy's arrangement has its reasons. If you don't want to go, that's fine too. Settle your wages immediately and leave Huichuntang."

A single, casual remark sealed off all escape routes. Leaving the pharmacy in these chaotic times might have led to even worse consequences.

The atmosphere in the backyard instantly plummeted to freezing point. The apprentices who were left behind didn't feel much relief, because Chen Yuqing immediately announced that even if these people left, the work in the backyard would not be reduced, and everyone's workload would immediately nearly double.

Complaints and lamentations were swallowed back down their throats; no one dared to utter a sound.

Shortly after the meeting ended, Liu Jing found Chen Yue sorting medicinal herbs outside the alchemy room.

"Brother Chen, I'm being sent to the medicine market outside the city."

Chen Yue stopped what he was doing and looked at him. He knew Liu Jing's fear; things outside the city were indeed not peaceful right now.

"Brother Chen, you...you're an alchemist now, could you talk to the manager and let me stay? Let me help you in the alchemy room. You know me, I can learn anything, I definitely won't be a burden to you!"

Chen Yue pondered for a moment, then nodded: "I'll give it a try, but the backyard is currently managed by a new steward, so I can't guarantee anything."

Fifteen minutes later, Chen Yue found Chen Lin, the manager of the front hall, and explained the situation.

"You want Liu Jing to go to the alchemy room?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Lin looked troubled, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. "Chen Yue, it's not that I don't want to help you. Miss Yu Qing is now in full charge of the backyard. If I were to forcibly interfere with the people she wants to transfer, it would be neither reasonable nor ethical, and it would put her in a difficult position."

Chen Lin thought for a moment and continued, "Well, I'll find an opportunity to mention it to Miss Yu Qing privately later, but don't get your hopes up too high."

Chen Yue thanked him and left, but his heart was not optimistic. Chen Lin's hesitation had already revealed the problem.

The next day, Chen Yuqing came to the small courtyard of the alchemy room on her own initiative. She was not alone; a pretty maid in a light green dress accompanied her.

"Master Lin."

Chen Yuqing first gave Lin Quan a slight nod, displaying impeccable manners, then walked out of the courtyard with Chen Yue and got straight to the point: "Master Chen, I heard that you mentioned to Steward Chen Lin yesterday that you wanted to transfer your apprentice Liu Jing to help in the alchemy room?"

"Yes." Chen Yue nodded.

"Now that the staff in the backyard has been adjusted and all the tasks have been rearranged, the apprentices are quite busy, each with their own responsibilities."

Chen Yuqing's tone was flat, revealing no emotion. "You are currently in charge of refining the Blood-Activating Pill, and Master Lin is also here to oversee things, so we have enough manpower for the time being. Liu Jing is on the transfer list, so he will be taken care of. There's no need to mention this matter again."

Just as Chen Yue was about to speak, saying that the alchemy room did indeed need manpower to handle medicinal herbs and other miscellaneous tasks, Chen Yuqing gently raised her hand.

The maid in the light green dress immediately stepped forward and said crisply, "Master Chen, Miss has a well-thought-out plan for the whole situation. Now everyone in the pharmacy needs to work together. Please prioritize the overall picture and focus on refining the pills."

This was almost a direct interruption and warning, and Chen Yue's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Chen Yuqing seemed oblivious, her phoenix eyes calmly fixed on Chen Yue, before suddenly changing the subject: "Furthermore, I've heard... that Master Chen had some disagreements with Master Li Lie a while ago?"

Chen Yue's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged: "Manager Chen has probably heard some untrue rumors. It was just a routine inquiry about cultivation techniques, and there was no disagreement whatsoever."

"Yeah?"

Chen Yuqing remained noncommittal, saying, "At this time of year, being able to refine elixirs is a good skill for making a living. But often, having that skill alone is not enough to protect oneself."

Her gaze lowered slightly, as if recalling: "In the past, my family also had several alchemists with remarkable talent, around your age, and perhaps even more skilled. However, when the rebellion broke out, the rebels broke down the gate, leaving them guarding the alchemy furnaces empty. In the end, they all fell into the hands of the thieves and their whereabouts are unknown."

The maid in the light green dress spoke up at the right moment, her tone admonishing: "Miss means well. Master Li Lie is an old hand at the pharmacy and a master of the Body Refining Realm. The outside world is not peaceful now, and the safety of the pharmacy depends on them."

The young lady thought that it was better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester, and planned to host a banquet at Zuiyue Tower tonight, inviting Master Chen and Master Li to join them, so that they could let bygones be bygones over a cup of wine.

Chen Yue looked at Chen Yuqing's calm and expressionless face, and then at the scrutinizing look in the maid's eyes. She wanted Chen Yue to bow down and admit his mistake to Li Lie!

"Manager Chen has misunderstood. There is indeed no conflict between me and Head Li. When I failed to get his guidance that day, I simply took the manual and studied it on my own, that's all. The so-called discord is probably just a rumor. As for reconciliation at the banquet, that's out of the question."

Chen Yuqing's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She looked at Chen Yue, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in her phoenix eyes. She hadn't expected Chen Yue to refuse so decisively.

"You don't want to reconcile?" Chen Yuqing asked.

"It's not that we don't want to, but there was no animosity to begin with, so how can we reconcile?"

Chen Yue's smile remained unchanged, and his tone was frank, "Manager Chen is new here, perhaps he has heard some untrue rumors. We are all just doing our jobs in the same pharmacy."