After two months, Lin Miao once again received a letter from Wan Bin, who sent it from Li Jing.

The letter was sent before the New Year, but it was delayed for too long on the road; regular postal services do take quite a long time.

Especially in the dead of winter, the roads are hard to traverse. It’s already quite fortunate that it hasn’t been lost and has reached him.

Wan Bin’s days in Li Jing are going quite well, though he is restricted from leaving the city; as a inspector, he still receives quite decent treatment.

It’s nothing more than sitting in the cold for a year.

As long as Lin Miao can pass the "Path to Sainthood" trials, as his nominator, he will undoubtedly receive extraordinarily generous rewards.

These rewards are explicitly written in the Imperial Pharmacy’s reward system, and no one can take them away.

Therefore, the letter naturally brimmed with high hopes for him and included many reminders from Wan Bin about his interactions with Mr. Jia and Guan Biyun; evidently, he regards him as his own kin.

Upon receiving the letter, Lin Miao naturally had to reply, although he also sent a letter before the New Year, but he didn’t know if the other party received it.

The distance between Dongshan and Li Jing is too far, communication is untimely, and he doesn’t know Wan Bin’s situation in Li Jing at the moment.

He briefly reported his achievements over the past month in the letter but omitted many details.

Especially regarding the conflict with Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion, he glossed over it as a misunderstanding, not knowing if the letter would be opened during its journey to Li Jing, so he had to be careful.

...

"Ye Shengyuan sent someone to find me, saying he wanted to join forces against you." Si Miaoxue said with satisfaction as she lay in Lin Miao’s arms.

"Did you agree?"

"Yes, isn’t it all according to your request?" Si Miaoxue said slyly, "Who would have thought that we seem to be at odds outwardly, yet secretly in cahoots?"

"I don’t think ’in cahoots’ is the right term for us?"

"Then what do you think would be a good term?" Si Miaoxue asked, slowly tracing circles on Lin Miao’s chest with her delicate finger.

"Husband and wife acting in unison."

"Then you must marry me, won’t you?"

"You’ve thought it over; marrying into the Lin Family means your freedom will be restricted, and what about your status? Are sect rules being neglected?"

"As long as you join my Moon Worship Sect, then I won’t be breaking any sect rules."

"Are you trying to recruit me into the sect?"

"I’m just saying hypothetically. In fact, your future is bright, and if you join the Moon Worship Sect, once your identity is exposed, I’m afraid the impact will be even greater." Si Miaoxue is not a woman who doesn’t understand; once Lin Miao joins the sect, can it remain a secret for life?

Clearly impossible, once exposed, given the sect’s infamous reputation, he might end up disgraced.

"How about you leave the Moon Worship Sect?"

"I’ve grown up in the Moon Worship Sect since childhood, how can I leave?" Si Miaoxue sighed.

"Change your face, change your identity, hide for a while, naturally people will forget you." Lin Miao said slowly.

"Makes sense, but it’s not feasible now."

"Hmm, whenever you have this idea, let’s think of a plan together."

"Do you need me to keep an eye on Shen Haidong?" Si Miaoxue suddenly asked.

"What’s wrong with him?"

"People from the Ye Family have contacted him multiple times, especially the eldest son Ye Xiyuan, inviting him to drink and dine several times, even went to Qunfang Courtyard." Si Miaoxue said.

"He’s Xia Zhu’s fiancé; I can’t let him go astray, it’s better to keep an eye on him." Lin Miao nodded, Shen Haidong is not like him, once pulled in, it would be troublesome.

It was he who let Shen Haidong act opposites with Xia Zhu and break up, if he really separates them, he would feel troubled.

Shen Haidong is no match for Ye Xiyuan, once trapped by him, coerced, the issue will be significant.

"Alright, I’ll listen to you, I’ll arrange someone to help you keep an eye on him."

"Do you have someone in Qunfang Courtyard?"

"Of course, since I run this business, naturally I must know the enemy as myself, otherwise, Huaye Tower would have long ceased to exist, the competition in our industry is cruel." Si Miaoxue said, "That’s why I truly don’t want to do it any longer, switching to another business might be good."

"Have you learned the glass blowing technique?"

"Almost done, following your method, we’ve already produced a batch of quality pieces. When do you plan to release them to the market?" Si Miaoxue asked.

"I plan to ship this batch of glassware to Great Yue Country, and first make some money." Lin Miao said.

"Why go far when you can sell nearby?"

"If we sell this batch of glassware in Da Li, once mass production starts in the future, the price of glassware will inevitably fall, and the quality will improve, then won’t those who bought our glassware resent us?" Lin Miao asked.

"That’s for sure. Things that weren’t expensive ended up costing me a fortune; I’d hold a grudge too..."

"The glass trade, we’re planning to do long-term business in Da Li. Great Yue is just incidental for exports. It’s still expensive shipping over there, so even if they resent us, there’s nothing they can do. Besides, glassware suffers significant damage during transport, so they’re able to accept high prices."

"But, with our current strength alone, we can’t transport this batch of glassware to Great Yue."

"That’s why we need to leverage the power of the Su Family and the Snow Mountain Sect," Lin Miao said. "It’s been over a month since I sent a letter to Su Chen, and I don’t know if he received it yet. Why hasn’t he come back?"

"You want to help the Su Family?"

Lin Miao nodded: "Yes, to deal with the Green Blade Sect and the Marquis Lingyang, I need allies. The growth of the Green Blade Sect will inevitably threaten the Snow Mountain Sect’s position in Da Li’s northwest martial world, so the Snow Mountain Sect is our potential ally. I’m friends with Su Chen, helping Su Chen is helping the Su Family. Moreover, we are currently at a disadvantage and need the Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect’s assistance."

"Alright then, I’ll let them continue stocking up." Si Miaoxue understood. Lin Miao never intended to face the Green Blade Sect and the Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion alone; he’s quietly strategizing.

Isn’t such a man exactly what she likes?

"Be careful of our glass workshop. With Yin Mei’Er having not shown up, I’m afraid she’s plotting something in secret," Lin Miao reminded.

"I know, I’ll be careful," Si Miaoxue nodded.

"Has Ye Shengyuan invested a lot in those medical clinics?" Lin Miao asked, pretending he wanted to buy clinics to compete with Ye Shengyuan for ’medicine notes’ and drive up prices.

"Spends two or three thousand taels of silver more than usual. It doesn’t mean much to the Ye Family."

"Try and see if you can get into this wholesale herb business. This time we are going to Great Yue Country, which produces numerous herbs..." Lin Miao reminded Si Miaoxue softly.

The Yaowang Sect is right there in Great Yue Country, practically monopolizing the concoction and sale of six to seventy percent of the herbs.

Si Miaoxue nodded knowingly.

...

Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion.

"I never thought that boy named Lin’s prescription would really work. After taking this medicine, Five Lang’s condition suddenly stabilized," Ye Shengyuan said while massaging Mrs. He’s shoulders and neck.

"Hmph, Ye Shengyuan, you call yourself a famous doctor, yet you had to use someone else’s prescription for Five Lang’s illness; don’t you feel ashamed?" Mrs. He mocked without mercy.

The sharp words caused Ye Shengyuan to suddenly apply force with his hands.

"What are you doing? You hurt me! If you don’t want to massage, then don’t. What do you intend to do?" Mrs. He showed no face to Ye Shengyuan, who was her "partner," and directly reprimanded him.

"I’m sorry, madam," Ye Shengyuan quickly apologized. He had no choice since he was now tethered to Mrs. He.

Mrs. He snorted coldly: "What do you plan to do with that boy named Lin? I want to make him suffer the same pain that Five Lang did."

"Lin Miao’s reputation is growing bigger, even spreading somewhat over in Li Jing. Our plans have failed several times. Unless we invite a senior-level expert from the Green Blade Sect to strike with a killing blow, otherwise we’ll have to postpone action and look for opportunities from other directions."

"Finding opportunities, I can’t wait. Five Lang’s injury will soon be impossible to hide, and once the Marquis knows, what will happen to me, you know well." Mrs. He suddenly turned fiercely, glaring at Ye Shengyuan. "If you can’t fix this, I’ll find someone else."

"He’s currently in the ’Path to Sainthood’ trial. I can’t openly target him. Although many in the Dongshan medical community dislike that Lin boy, if he passes the trial, it will benefit Dongshan Prefecture greatly. Especially Mr. Sang and even Prefecture Chief Pei have achievements because of it. They won’t let or want anyone to disrupt his trial. This time I withheld the medicine notes from them; on the surface, most supported it, but fundamentally, how many actually support it due to fear of opposing it, that’s hard to say," Ye Shengyuan explained.

"Does he have no faults at all?"

"Hard to find, especially since last time with Tang’s case, inquiring with the three inspectors from Li Jing, they all supported him."

"All three inspectors support?" Mrs. He was puzzled.

"Yes, all three expressed their support, and judging by the observations over these days, Guan Biyun has a great relationship with Lin, even letting Sun Youwei follow her to learn. Although Mr. Jia seems aloof and doesn’t often visit the clinic, his servant ’Hui’ is regularly stationed there. As for Mr. Cui, he’s not too close with Lin, but he enjoys playing."

"You can’t make any breakthrough here?"

"He is from Li Jing. I’m not sure about his origin or who he has behind him, so I dared not act rashly to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the Marquis," Ye Shengyuan said. Without understanding the background, rash actions shouldn’t be taken.

If Cui Wanquan is released by someone who’s against the Marquis Lingyang, acting on his initiative could offend the other party.

"Are you aware of the great emperor’s tomb theft case from three years ago?"

"Yes, the case angered His Majesty, leading to the dismissal and incarceration of Minister Huang Youliang responsible for constructing the imperial tomb. He was executed soon after, and the Yingchuan Huang Clan he represented also suffered greatly. Most of Huang’s estates were confiscated, offspring expelled from officialdom; those killed, exiled, or sent to the Imperial Music Bureau, the remainder were banished to frontier areas. Our Dongshan Prefecture accepted a branch of close family relatives." Ye Shengyuan said.

"These people now work for the Marquis."

"Madam implies Cui Wanquan came for the Huang family?" Ye Shengyuan quickly reacted, comprehending immediately.

"The imperial tomb was stolen, and some of its treasures are yet to be recovered. These are items buried with the former emperor and consorts, and naturally can’t remain lost. They must be recovered; the Huang Family was involved in the theft, inciting His Majesty’s wrath, hence the ensuing slaughter. But among the tens of thousands of Yingchuan Huang’s clan, they couldn’t all be killed, nor could they remain in place, so orders were given to scatter them far and wide, dispersing their forces."

"Cui Wanquan is from Yingchuan; he’s undoubtedly familiar with the Huang Clan. He came to Dongshan to investigate the branch exiled here, checking if they secreted treasures stolen from the tomb?"

"Imperial tomb treasures. Would you dare expose one to the public?"

"Absolutely not, that’s a crime punishable by death."

"Unless driven to desperation, those with treasures will never reveal them, so stolen treasures can’t be converted into wealth; what’s the point?"

"Then, those Huang family members aren’t foolish; why would they do such a thing?"

"The Huang Family supported the Third Prince, backed by Consort Yi." Mrs. He sneered disdainfully.