Chapter 71
Chapter 71: Top-Tier Spirit-Congealing Grass! Princess Yong Ning’s Inheritance
Lin Wei Lan couldn’t look away from that label.
“Mom,” Lin Wo Yu said with a laugh, “is this some kid from Yun Jing sending you something? Why is the sender name so cute?”
She didn’t know what had happened to Lin Wei Lan back in Yun Jing. But over the years, she’d sensed it—their branch was different from the others. Lin Wei Lan hadn’t been chased out because she lacked skill on the guqin.
If anything, Lin Wei Lan’s talent might be stronger than even the main family’s core disciples.
Lin Wei Lan suddenly stood. Without a word, she hurried upstairs, the box clutched against her chest.
Only when she reached her study did she open it.
Inside was a carefully wrapped flowerpot. In the center grew a single stalk of green grass, the tips shimmering with a faint blue glow under the lamplight.
Spirit-Congealing Grass—nearly mature, on the verge of blooming.
With Lin Wei Lan’s knowledge, she recognized it instantly.
Her fingers trembled. She drew in a sharp breath.
The Spirit-Congealing Grass she’d searched for for three full months—just like that, it had appeared in front of her.
As if struck by a second thought, she grabbed the packaging again and stared at the sender name.
Hands Off My Cabbage…
Could it really be…
Lin Wei Lan’s heart lurched. She sank into her chair and didn’t move for a long time.
Downstairs, the front door opened.
Steward Lin stepped forward. “Miss Wan Lan. Young Master Wen Li.”
“Aunt,” Ye Wan Lan greeted with a nod. Her gaze swept the hall. “Where’s Grandmother?”
“Your grandmother received a package and went to her study,” Lin Wo Yu said, still puzzled. “No idea who sent it.”
Ye Wan Lan smiled. “I asked someone to send it. I’ll go take a look.”
Lin Wo Yu blinked. She turned to Lin Wen Li. “A Lan even knows people in Yun Jing?”
Lin Wen Li shook his head.
The Ye Wan Lan of now was nothing like the girl from four years ago. She carried too many secrets. He couldn’t see through her at all.
Upstairs, Ye Wan Lan knocked lightly.
“Grandmother, may I come in?”
Lin Wei Lan startled back to herself. “A Lan is here. Come in.”
Ye Wan Lan entered and immediately noticed the Spirit-Congealing Grass on the desk. “The quality is excellent.”
“Excellent?” Lin Wei Lan’s voice actually shook with rare excitement. “It’s far beyond excellent. This grade of Spirit-Congealing Grass is priceless even in Yun Jing!”
She reached out and clasped Ye Wan Lan’s hand. “A Lan, look at this sender name. I suspect the person who mailed it is that eccentric old man in Yun Jing who grows herbs.”
At the words Hands Off My Cabbage, Ye Wan Lan fell silent for a moment.
Then she lifted her brows. “It might also be his grandson—someone from the same line. Grandmother, I told you I’d handle Spirit-Congealing Grass. I promised I’d get it for you.”
Lin Wei Lan stared at her. “A Lan… is this your doing?”
Ye Wan Lan gave a small nod. “My deskmate’s surname is Su. She has connections.”
“Surnamed Su?” Lin Wei Lan’s surprise deepened. “Why would the Su Family send their children to River City?”
River City was a wealthy metropolis in Shen Zhou, yes, but it still couldn’t compare to Yun Jing—the capital where economy, culture, politics, and geography gathered in one place.
Even beyond the Su Family, and even beyond descendants of the Six Great Sects, the other elite families in Yun Jing all wanted to squeeze into the Global Center.
Ye Wan Lan’s voice softened. “Maybe, like you, they all have reasons they can’t speak of.”
Lin Wei Lan went still. After a long moment, she sighed. “Every family has its own hard scripture to read. A Lan, we have to thank your deskmate properly. Tomorrow, I’ll go to school with you. I’ll thank her in person.”
“Don’t worry, Grandmother,” Ye Wan Lan said. “I already sent a return gift. It’s not worse than Spirit-Congealing Grass.”
“That’s good.” Lin Wei Lan squeezed her hand. “But I heard Spirit-Congealing Grass needs a special medicine sprayed before it blooms. That medicine…”
“I’ll mix it,” Ye Wan Lan said, a hand resting gently on Lin Wei Lan’s shoulder. “You just need to rest. When your health improves, we can finally breathe.”
“My health…” Lin Wei Lan fell quiet, then nodded. “All right. Grandmother understands.”
She lowered her gaze to her palm, heaviness settling in her chest.
Her body was like a plant that had withered completely. It could never return to full vitality. But for the Lin Family, for Ye Wan Lan’s generation, she would keep holding on.
At seven that evening, dinner began.
Lin Qing Wen and Madam Lin finally came down to the dining room. Neither looked pleased.
When Madam Lin saw Ye Wan Lan, her face darkened further.
Everything had reached this point because of Ye Wan Lan.
If Ye Wan Lan hadn’t targeted that client, how would they have lost all room to maneuver?
With Spirit-Congealing Grass still unfound, Madam Lin’s anxiety gnawed at her. She gripped her chopsticks and couldn’t swallow a bite.
Lin Wei Lan’s eyes were sharp. One glance and she understood exactly what Madam Lin was thinking. She didn’t reveal that Ye Wan Lan had already brought Spirit-Congealing Grass. She only asked, “The seven-day deadline is almost here. Do you have anything to say?”
Madam Lin had already made her plans, but she kept them to herself. She served Lin Wei Lan food with careful respect, smiling as if her lips didn’t hurt. “Mom, we’re all Lin Family. Of course we advance and retreat together.”
Lin Wei Lan gave a flat hum, then used her chopsticks to push the dish aside. She turned to Ye Wan Lan. “A Lan, eat more fish.”
Madam Lin’s smile finally cracked.
She forced down a few mouthfuls, claimed she was going for a walk, threw on an overcoat, and left the Lin Family home.
Thirty minutes later, she arrived at a hotel.
Madam Lin greeted the middle-aged man on the sofa. “Sir Luo, hello.”
“Madam Lin?” Sir Luo looked genuinely surprised. “It’s late. Why are you here?”
“Sir Luo, you know this.” Madam Lin spoke in a rush, voice trembling. “We really can’t find Spirit-Congealing Grass. We absolutely didn’t mean to offend you. It’s all that foolish junior—she acted on her own!”
She apologized over and over. “I just want to ask that when the deadline arrives, you show mercy to me and Qing Wen.”
Sir Luo laughed. “So you truly can’t get Spirit-Congealing Grass?”
He’d known the outcome all along.
Unless Lin Wei Lan returned to the Lin Family. With a temperament as stubborn as hers, she would never go back. In the end, she would have no choice but to fall into his trap.
And for that, he had to thank Lin Qing Wen—an idiot with a hollow head—for doing the last thing needed.
“Yes,” Madam Lin said, face full of shame. “Spirit-Congealing Grass is too precious. We really can’t obtain it. That’s why I had no choice but to come to you…”
“Fine. I understand.” Sir Luo waved a hand lazily. “Don’t worry. You and your husband helped me a great deal. I won’t treat you badly.”
With his promise, Madam Lin finally relaxed.
Protecting herself—she’d chosen correctly.
—
The next day.
Before morning reading, Su Xue Qing walked into the classroom, set down her bag, and asked, “A Lan, the package arrived, right?”
“It arrived,” Ye Wan Lan said. “Xue Qing, does your friend really love napa cabbage that much?”
Su Xue Qing snorted. “He has a sick obsession with it. He’s a little crazy. Ignore him.”
She pulled out her phone and typed.
[Su Xue Qing]: Can you leave me some dignity in front of my friend? Put away your cabbage obsession.
[Medicine Peddler]: What do you know? Do you have any idea how hard napa cabbage is to grow?!
[Medicine Peddler]: And those herbs? Aside from a few delicate ones, aren’t the rest just me scattering seeds in the soil and watering a bit, and they grow on their own? Of course they can’t compare to my napa cabbage!
Su Xue Qing stared at the screen, jaw tight.
Comparing people really did make you furious.
If the Su Family—and the foreign forces that bought medicinal materials—ever heard this, they’d probably cough up blood on the spot.
[Su Xue Qing]: Where did you even learn your growing methods?
[Medicine Peddler]: Heh. You don’t know this, do you? It’s fine, I’ll tell you. You know my ancestors, right? They used to manage the emperor’s vegetable garden and herb garden. One year, Princess Yong Ning returned to Feng Yuan from Penglai Mountain after traveling incognito and gave my ancestors the method for growing herbs.
[Medicine Peddler]: It’s such a pity she didn’t give them one for growing napa cabbage!
Su Xue Qing nearly blocked him on the spot. She endured it, snapped her screen off, and couldn’t help sighing. “Princess Yong Ning truly was an extraordinary person.”
Hearing her own title, Ye Wan Lan paused. “What?”
“It’s my herb-growing friend,” Su Xue Qing explained. “He said they used to struggle a lot with cultivation techniques too, but Princess Yong Ning traveled thousands of miles and brought back the method from Penglai Mountain.”
Her tone turned sincere. “She had real foresight. Otherwise, after the great war, we wouldn’t even have medicinal herbs.”
Ye Wan Lan’s gaze went distant. “That does sound familiar.”
Her memory had always been excellent, but she’d time-looped for 999 years. With multiple lifetimes layered together, unimportant things were inevitably washed away.
“Yeah.” Su Xue Qing nodded. “The history books do say Princess Yong Ning traveled incognito several times, but they never wrote the details. This kind of rumor only gets passed down by the families that actually lived it.”
“Right.” Ye Wan Lan smiled faintly. “As long as Shen Zhou’s bloodline doesn’t end, as long as Shen Zhou’s people are still here, the inheritance will never break.”
Shen Zhou’s backbone would never bend. Even if it shattered, it could be reforged.
“Is Ye Wan Lan here?”
A cold voice came from the doorway.
Su Xue Qing looked up and frowned. “Xue Yi Wei. What does she want now? She still won’t let you go? Her pride got challenged. She’s always been like that.”
Ye Wan Lan’s expression didn’t change. “Ignore her.”
“You can attend the Physics Competition Summer Training Camp,” Xue Yi Wei said flatly. “Fine. But I want to compete with you. Next week’s final exam—you don’t take history. You take our physics test paper.”
The moment she said it, the students of Class 1 stopped moving as one and stared at her.
“If you can pass,” Xue Yi Wei continued, eyes locked on Ye Wan Lan, “you win. So—do you dare?”