Translator: 549690339
Lin Jing finished his assessment, left the alchemy room, and returned to his own small courtyard.
Not even half an hour had passed before there was a knock at the door. Lin Jing opened the courtyard door to find Huang Qingling standing at the entrance.
And it wasnât just Huang Qingling by herself; the siblings Li Tan and Li Qingqing had also come along.
As soon as Huang Qingling saw Lin Jing, she directly asked:
âLin Jing, how did it go? Did you pass the assessment?â
Lin Jing nodded, then replied:n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âFortunately, I barely passedâ¦â
âI also have to thank Brother Li for his guidanceâ¦â
Lin Jing looked toward Li Tangyu and quickly gave him the credit.
âBrother Lin is too modest. Actually, I didnât help much; it was mainly down to your own efforts.â Li Tangyu said with a smile.
Huang Qingling pursed her lips and said:
âYou two donât need to be so modest with each other. Itâs good that you passed.
We were worried before, but thankfully, you made it through smoothly.â âLin Jingâs passing of the assessment is cause for celebration.â
âHowever, itâs a bit of a shameâ¦â Li Qingqing spoke up at this point.
Everyone turned to look at her, not understanding her meaning.
âWhatâs so regrettable about Lin Jing passing the assessment?â Huang Qingling asked.
Li Qingqing took two steps back and then said:
âItâs a shame thatâ¦â
âNow that Brother Lin has passed, he has no reason to live with you anymoreâ¦â âYouâ¦â Li Qingqing saw Huang Qingling reach out, about to slap her.
âGiggleâ¦â
She quickly giggled and ran off.
Lin Jing and Li Tangyu both had a deadpan expression on their faces.
âOkay, letâs not fool aroundâ¦â
âSeriously, Lin Jingâs passing is indeed worth celebrating.â Huang Qingling spoke up again at this moment.
âWhat do you guys think?â
After speaking, Huang Qingling turned to look at everyone.
âI think so too.â
Li Qingqing immediately agreed.
âI havenât used up the ingredients I prepared earlier. Could you two possiblyâ¦â Huang Qingling looked toward Lin Jing and Li Tangyu.
Originally, there was only Lin Jing, the one chef, but now with Li Tangyu added, there was finally someone to share the cooking duties.
âThose ingredients probably werenât prepared earlierâ¦â
Obviously, Huang Qinglingâs ulterior motives couldnât escape either of them.
âThatâs not importantâ¦â
Huang Qingling said cheerfully, without a hint of embarrassment.
âAs expectedâ¦â
Lin Jing and Li Tangyu exchanged glances.
Then Lin Jing said:
âAlright, bring them out then.â After speaking, he added:
âBut letâs agree on one thing in advanceâ¦â
âAfter this time, Iâm afraid there will be quite a long period when I wonât be able to join you all for gatherings like this.â
âWhat happened?â
Huang Qingling looked at Lin Jing, full of confusion.
âAfter this assessment, Steward Zheng has increased the number of elixir medicines I need to submit to fifty. Now Iâll be just like the other offering priests.â
âSo, Iâll need to devote more time to alchemy and probably wonât have any free time left.â
âWhy would that happen?â
Huang Qinglingâs eyebrows shot up as she spoke angrily:
âYou were permitted to submit thirty elixirs by Old Man Bai himself; how could he just change that on a whim?â
Lin Jing spread his hands and then began explaining:
âBut now with Elder Bai not here, the entire Yuebaolou in Nanshan Market is being managed by this Steward Zheng. Naturally, what he says goes.â
âBrother Linâ¦â
Li Tangyu pondered for a moment and then said:
âI remember that the offering priests of Yuebaolou are required to submit ten superior elixir medicines, right?â
âYesâ¦â Lin Jing nodded.
Li Tangyu looked at Lin Jing and continued to ask:
âNow your submission task is the same as the other offering priests, you must also need to submit ten superior elixir medicines, right?â
Lin Jing nodded his head:
âBrother Li guessed it right, indeedâ¦â
âI also need to submit ten superior elixir medicines every month to be considered qualified.â Hearing this, Li Tangyu frowned.
Then, he said to Huang Qingling:
âThose fifty elixir medicines should still be easy.â
âBut these ten second-rank superior elixir medicines, Iâm afraid they wonât be easy for Brother Lin!â
âWhat should we do?â Huang Qingling frowned and asked.
Li Tangyu did not answer Huang Qingling but turned his head to look at Lin Jing with a serious expression:
âBrother Lin, if you need help, just speak up.â
âYeahâ¦â Huang Qinglingâs eyes lit up as she said.
âIf Lin Jingâs alchemy isnât enough, Tan Yuyi can help make a few superior elixir medicinesâ¦â
Lin Jing clasped his fists and said:
âThank you, Brother Li. I want to try on my own, after all, this is also my personal training. If I really canât cope and need Brother Liâs assistance, I wonât hesitate to trouble Brother Li then.â
âHmmâ¦â
Li Tangyu spoke:
âIndeed, actually, itâs in situations like these that oneâs alchemy skills improve the fastest.â
âThis was the case for me before. In order to practice alchemy, I locked myself in the alchemy room for half a year. It was with this dedication that I was able to advance to a third-rank alchemist.â
âYes, I can testify to that. During that time, I even delivered alchemy ingredients to her.â
Li Qingqing came over and hastily said.
At that momentâ¦
Huang Qingling seemed to suddenly remember something, looked at everyone, and asked:
âDo you think Steward Zheng is settling personal vendettas under the guise of official business?â
âPersonal vendettas under the guise of official business? What does that mean?â
Li Qingqing asked in confusion.
âSteward Zheng only just arrived in Nanshan Market, right? He didnât know Lin
Jing before, so where does the idea heâs settling personal vendettas come
from?â
Huang Qingling then began explaining:
âYou donât know, when Steward Zheng first came, he actually visited the Liu Clan immediately.â
âHe must be on good terms with the old ancestor of the Liu Clan.â
âAnd due to my relationship, that Liu Yiyuan must definitely harbor dislike for Lin Jing.â
âSo the old ancestor of the Liu Clan, for the sake of his grandson, might have asked Steward Zheng to throw obstacles in Lin Jingâs way and expel him from Yuebaolou, then seize this courtyard.â âThat way, he would have no way to continue living in the Inner Fang Market.â
âCome to think of it, you might be rightâ¦â
Li Qingqingâs eyes brightened, and she said:
âThat Liu Yiyuan has been pursuing you for so long. Now, Brother Lin Jing lives so close to you, so thatâs why heâs unsettled.â Huang Qingling nodded and said:
âI think so tooâ¦â
âLast time, he saw the two of us holding hands. It was after that time that he didnât show up againâ¦â
âItâs likely because of that incident he became jealous, and thatâs why heâs doing this.â
Li Qingqing was stunned at first, then quickly seized the key information and turned to the two:
âThe two of you were holding hands?â
Then, with her gossip spirit ignited, she leaned in towards Huang Qingling and said:
âCome onâ¦â
âSpill the beans, what happened?â
âCould it be that the two of you actually have something going on?â Huang Qingling immediately gave her an annoyed look:
âWhat are you thinking aboutâ¦â
Then, she began to explain.
As the other party involved, Lin Jing could only shake his head and smile wryly under Li Tangyuâs strange gaze..