Chapter 67: Nurturing Energy

Chapter 67: Nurturing Energy

It was you, Third Miss, who asked me to seek teachings from Du Gu Kang, and now you're indirectly saying that Du Gu Kang's scholarship is lacking and that I should seek out a master. Where am I supposed to find such a master? Xiang Ling, perhaps?

Well, whatever he says goes. Meng Yuan is an honest man and won't argue.

Moreover, after ten days of abstaining from meat and alcohol, Meng Yuan has been living on simple meals, eagerly anticipating his return to a diet of rich food.

Upon receiving the order, Meng Yuan immediately went to find Nie Yinian.

Nie Yinian also seemed relieved, "I'll inform my old buddies, and you go find your poetic friend. Don't sleep in tomorrow morning when we're supposed to leave!"

It was already the middle of the night, with the bright moon hanging high, a cool and quiet breeze bringing the sound of waves.

Meng Yuan made his way to the entrance of Tranquil Void Temple, and he saw flickering candlelight in the reception pavilion where Du Gu Kang resided.

Over the past ten days, Meng Yuan had been seeking teachings from Du Gu Kang daily, and he realized that this Crown Prince had some poetic talent, but not much.

Meng Yuan couldn't spot any flaws in Du Gu Kang. Moreover, Du Gu Kang was indeed decent, refraining from foul language and nonsense, and he didn't have the arrogant and commanding demeanor of a spoiled young master. Instead, he was very polite.

Although he sometimes showed impatience with Meng Yuan, he managed to hold it in and even taught some techniques for composing folk rhymes.

But he always seemed listless, lacking vitality and rarely going out.

Meng Yuan knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Du Gu Kang asked.

"It's me," Meng Yuan replied through the door. "We're returning to the city tomorrow, so the Crown Prince should prepare."

The door creaked open, and Du Gu Kang widened his eyes, asking, "We can go back?"

Meng Yuan nodded with a smile.

"Oh my! Wonderful!" Du Gu Kang couldn't contain his joy and quickly invited Meng Yuan in for tea. With nothing better to do, Meng Yuan gladly accepted.

Since they were leaving tomorrow, both were in high spirits. After sipping some leftover tea from the previous night, they stepped outside to compose poems under the bright moon.

Du Gu Kang, with his exceptional poetic talent, naturally took the lead, reciting a line about a jade plate in the sky and wondering if the gods were having a meal.

Meng Yuan's talent was slightly inferior, but having spent time in the Chamber of Fragrant Orchids, he had improved. He reciprocated with a line about the gods having a meal and the reason for the jade plate.

The two took turns praising each other's poems and then recited two more poems before parting ways.

"This Crown Prince truly has no flaws. If it weren't for the presence of the Empress Consort and Daoist Master Xuan Ji, he'd probably be running wild all over the world by now."

"In that case, I guess I won't borrow money from him for now."

Meng Yuan didn't deliberately test Du Gu Kang, but he couldn't detect any flaws in Du Gu Kang, so he could only slightly suspect him.

Upon returning to the Empress Consort's residence, Meng Yuan stood at the door, deep in thought about important matters.

After following Master Nie on this trip, he finally met the Empress Consort and became somewhat familiar with her.

More importantly, Master Nie had asked him to address her as 'Third Miss' instead of 'Empress Consort,' and she had agreed, clearly using Master Nie's influence to become a confidant.

The Empress Consort was not only beautiful but also intelligent, though a bit mischievous, making her difficult to serve.

Although Meng Yuan was caught looking at Xiang Ling, the Empress Consort didn't say anything and even offered some guidance.

Meng Yuan thought that the Empress Consort would probably assign him some tasks, and if he performed well, she might value him more.

Additionally, there was the matter of his progress in the martial path. Now that he had the Hundred Herbs Pill, he needed to take it and observe its effectiveness. If it proved beneficial for nurturing essence fire, he should find a way to obtain more.

He also needed to check on Xiang Ling, who couldn't return home and could only seek education elsewhere, which was rather pitiful.

Of course, with Xiang Ling's carefree nature, she probably wouldn't feel pitiful; instead, she would embrace her situation.

After dawn, the Empress Dowager changed into a new outfit, a different style from the one she wore when leaving the city, and more fashionable than Xiang Ling's.

Xuanji Zi escorted the Empress Dowager out of the Tranquil Void Temple, and the two chatted by the river for a while before finally parting ways.

By the time they returned to the royal manor, it was already past noon.

"You've all worked hard. Please take five days to rest and recuperate. The travel expenses can be reimbursed from the accounts room," the Empress Dowager said as she returned to the Tranquil Garden. Xun Mei came to handle the aftermath and waved to Meng Yuan with a smile, "Little Meng, follow me."

Meng Yuan immediately agreed.

"Don't run around. Come to the Intoxicating Moon Tower for dinner tonight. Everyone will eat together," Nie Yanian patted Meng Yuan and went to talk to the other guards.

Meng Yuan obediently listened, but Xun Mei didn't seem too happy after hearing this.

In Xun Mei's office, she said, "I know you've all been working hard these days, and it's fine to drink and chat, but you must not indulge in alcohol, and don't go to brothels afterward."

"Teacher Nie has invited me several times, but I refused. I don't like watching those flirtatious people," Meng Yuan replied.

"Seeing you so sensible, I'm relieved," Xun Mei praised, taking out several silver notes from her sleeve, "The Empress Dowager learned about the matter with Lu Mu and praised you for eliminating a harm to the people. She asked me to give you some silver as a subsidy for your family expenses. Don't tell anyone about this, especially Uncle Nie."

Meng Yuan took the notes, clearly two hundred taels, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister, the Empress Dowager has been so good to me. I really don't know how to repay her."

"Doing your job well is the best repayment," Xun Mei smiled.

After some small talk, Meng Yuan finally returned home.

Only Jiang Tang was at home, and she didn't know that the Empress Dowager had returned. She was studying.

Seeing Meng Yuan return, she was overjoyed, "Are you hungry? I've prepared food."

"I'm not hungry," Meng Yuan stopped her, "While I was away these past few days, was there anything going on at home?"

"Nothing, everything's fine," Jiang Tang smiled and looked up at Meng Yuan.

Recently, she had a heart-to-heart talk with Hu Qianniang, and she had become quite sensible, with a hint of shyness added to her demeanor.

Meng Yuan took out a silver note and gave it to her, also reminding her not to skimp on expenses.

"I won't be eating at home tonight. Go find Xun Mei first. She just returned, and she probably has a lot to do. Help her as much as you can. She's a virtuous person, and it won't hurt to learn from her," Meng Yuan squeezed her hand.

Jiang Tang nodded obediently and just as she left, she turned back, "Brother, I made you new shoes and an inner garment. They're on your bedside. Try them on later."

Meng Yuan smiled and nodded.

After Jiang Tang left, Meng Yuan returned to his room, sat quietly for a while, and then took out the Hundred Herbs Pill.

He poured out a pill and swallowed it, feeling that most of the nutrients were absorbed by the Essence Fire.

The Essence Fire slowly absorbed the nutrients, but not by much. It was roughly equivalent to Meng Yuan eating for about three days, which was already quite good.

According to Meng Yuan's estimation, if he only ate ordinary meat, it would take about five or six months for the Essence Fire to reach the third level of fullness.

But now, with this pill, he could significantly shorten the time.

"One pill is equivalent to three days of normal eating. In total, twenty pills can save about two months' worth of time."

Meng Yuan didn't plan to consume all the pills at once but decided to take it slow. Of course, he also needed to keep some in reserve, just in case of emergencies, to quickly restore his essence energy.

"I'll ask Teacher Nie to inquire about getting more Hundred Herbs Pills. I'm willing to pay for them!"

Meng Yuan made up his mind.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end