Chapter 154: Quietly Inheriting the Title (Part I)

Yang Xin smiled silently. It seemed that the power struggles within the Rong Residence were omnipresent, existing even in the subtle undercurrents between masters and servants.

"Good Ping'er, truly my good Ping'er!" Wang Xifeng said with lingering bitterness.

"If the Madame fails to cultivate it," Yang Xin casually produced ten taels of silver and tossed them, "I shall reward you with just ten taels of silver as a token for tutoring the Madame in learning to read."

Between ten taels of silver and a priceless pearl, anyone could easily tell the right choice. Just as Ping'er bit her lip and secretly resolved that she must somehow help Wang Xifeng sense her inner Qi, Wang Xifeng suddenly asked, "The Second Master made such a grand and imposing display at the treasury today. Aren't you afraid of being reprimarded by our aunt?"

"Not at all!"

"Why?" Wang Xifeng was baffled. Today's events had completely shattered her understanding of Jia Lian, whether it was forcibly extracting ten thousand taels of silver from the treasury or casually pulling out a priceless luminous pearl.

"There are two reasons. First, at this very moment, whether I demand ten thousand taels or twenty thousand taels, the Second House and Lady Jia must swallow their anger and bear it in silence, because they are still counting on me to transport Cousin Lin's dowry and the Lin family's estate into the Rong Residence."

"The Second House and Lady Jia?" Hearing these names, Wang Xifeng subconsciously glanced at Yang Xin, thinking, "It seems Jia Lian has completely broken away from the Second House and Rongxi Hall. Could it be because of this trip to Yangzhou?"

"Aunt and the others are planning to lay their hands on Cousin Lin's dowry and the Lin family's property?" Wang Xifeng drew a sharp breath. "But they are all blood relatives..."

"What is there to be surprised about? Your aunt appears benevolent on the surface, but she is utterly venomous at heart. You bear the title of steward, but in reality, you are nothing more than your aunt's running dog. You seem to hold immense power, but all the dirty work of offending people falls on you, while others reap the benefits..." Yang Xin shook his head. Knowing that Wang Xifeng lacked a broad perspective and could not see through her aunt's true nature overnight, he simply cut the topic short.

"And the second reason?" Wang Xifeng asked.

"I am about to inherit the title. Didn't you notice that the First Master was absent?" Yang Xin said calmly.

"The Second Master is going to inherit the title!" Wang Xifeng was so startled that she sprang to her feet. "What about Bao Er Ye?"

"What Bao Er Ye? Where did this Bao Er Ye come from? Jia Baoyu is merely the son born to the secondary branch of our Rong Residence; what qualifications does he have to inherit a peerage? I am the legitimate eldest son of the Rong Residence's direct lineage. Do they really think that just because people call him 'Second Master' he stands on equal footing with me?" Yang Xin retorted bluntly.

Just as they were speaking, Jia赦 returned, accompanied not only by his own retinue but also by a palace eunuch.

***

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er hurriedly withdrew.

"Remember, you have only until tonight. If, by the time I step out of the mansion, the Madame has failed to sense her inner Qi, this pearl will belong entirely to the First Master." Yang Xin tossed the pearl in his hand and shrugged.

"Ping'er, let's go!" Gritting her teeth, Wang Xifeng picked up the copy of *Huashan Internal Kung Fu: From Novice to Master* and strode away.

Enticed by the pearl, Wang Xifeng made up her mind: even if she did not sleep a wink tonight, she had to cultivate the sensation of Qi. As for the pearl promised to Ping'er, it would naturally become hers as well; she could simply compensate Ping'er with two lesser beads from her own private pouch. Two beads in exchange for one—Ping'er wouldn't be losing out...

Had Ping'er known what Wang Xifeng was plotting, she probably would have deliberately misread the characters just to cause Wang Xifeng to suffer a deviation in her Qi cultivation...

After the two women left, Yang Xin walked toward the main parlor to meet Jia She.

"This is Eunuch Dai," Jia She hurriedly introduced.

"Greetings, Eunuch Dai." Yang Xin offered a perfunctory cupped-hand salute, speaking with a condescending tone, before tossing the glass sphere in his hand toward the eunuch. "A mere trinket for the Eunuch to amuse himself with during his leisure time."

Eunuch Dai had initially been extremely displeased with Yang Xin's attitude. However, the moment he saw the enormous glazed luminous pearl hurtling toward him, his displeasure vanished to the ends of the earth. He scrambled clumsily to catch the pearl, inspected it closely, and burst into endless praise: "A magnificent treasure! A truly magnificent treasure!"

"This item is called the Pearl of the Vast Sea. Under direct sunlight, it radiates a seven-colored brilliance." Yang Xin sat down uninvited, leisurely sipping his tea.

For a guest to be seated before the host was already a breach of etiquette, let alone the fact that Eunuch Dai was a deeply favored confidant right by the Emperor's side. Yang Xin had committed a grave breach of protocol, but at this moment, Eunuch Dai could not spare any attention for Yang Xin's manners. He hurriedly held the glass sphere up to the sunlight, and true to the description, it refracted a dazzling seven-colored spectrum.

Living deep within the inner palace and serving as the Emperor's favored intimate, what kind of treasures had Eunuch Dai not laid eyes on? Yet, he had never laid eyes on a glass sphere like this. All his usual poise and composure vanished completely, leaving him solely focused on caressing the smooth, lustrous surface of the jewel.

Jia She was also staring with unblinking eyes. If Eunuch Dai had not been present, Jia She would likely have jumped three feet high and snatched the pearl into his own grasp.

"Ahem... ahem..." Jia She coughed twice, preparing to look away to spare himself the agony.

Eunuch Dai hurriedly tucked the pearl into his robe, entirely unoffended by Yang Xin's lack of courtesy. His face blossomed into a wide smile as he asked in the gentlest tone imaginable, "May I dare ask the Deputy Magistrate, was that miraculous penicillin supplied by your esteemed self?"

***

"Deputy Magistrate?" Yang Xin paused, only then remembering that Jia Lian did indeed hold an official post—albeit a fifth-rank deputy magistrate obtained through a monetary contribution, devoid of any real executive power, but an official title nonetheless.

"Indeed."

"Are there any more such miraculous medicines available?" Eunuch Dai's joy deepened.

"Did I not already hand over the manufacturing techniques?" Yang Xin asked, puzzled.

Eunuch Dai blinked, uncertain how to answer Yang Xin, and instead cast a meaningful look at Jia She.

Jia She quickly offered an apologetic bow, pulled Yang Xin aside, and recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

When Jia She had submitted the penicillin in exchange for merits so that Yang Xin could inherit the peerage, it coincided with an outbreak of a severe cold among the Empress and several imperial concubines. The imperial physicians had been at their wits' end, exhausting every possible method without managing to control the illnesses.

A cold was a minor ailment in the modern era, easily cured with a couple of injections or some medicine, but in ancient times, it was a grave disease—one that could easily cost lives. Just as the physicians were utterly helpless, Jia She had presented himself before the Emperor with the penicillin. After consulting among themselves, the imperial physicians had boldly decided to administer it.

They had no other choice; if they did not use it, people would die. If the Empress or a concubine were to perish, the physicians would certainly face execution. The Emperor himself was furious, condemning them as incompetent quacks and threatening to have them buried alive alongside the deceased if the illnesses could not be cured.

Clinging to the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were still alive, the physicians administered the drug boldly. To their astonishment, the conditions stabilized rapidly, the inflammation subsided, and the high fevers slowly receded. Stunned as if witnessing a miracle, the physicians hailed penicillin as a divine medicine. However, when they attempted to produce it in large quantities, they hit a brick wall: the manufacturing techniques provided by Yang Xin were based on modern industrial processes, which were completely unfeasible under the technological conditions of that era. Left blinking at one another in embarrassment, the physicians had no choice but to report the truth.

The Emperor had also been left at his wit's end, trapped by the sensation of entering a mountain of treasures only to return empty-handed. The Emperor had instantly recognized the colossal value of penicillin—it was a peerless treasure of vital importance to the state, the military, and the populace. Yet, with no way to manufacture it, he was driven nearly frantic with anxiety.

In the end, it was Eunuch Dai, the favored confidant by the Emperor's side, who stepped forward, declaring that beheading the entire Ministry of Works and the Directorate for Imperial Manufactures would accomplish nothing; to untie a knot, one must turn to the person who tied it. The resolution of this matter ultimately rested upon Yang Xin.