Chapter 422: You Can Only Save Yourself
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He Chun’s three brothers’ asthma was much worse than his.
If he could bring this medicine back, his mother would not have to worry all day.
When his brothers recovered, their lives would no longer be so difficult.
At the thought of this, He Chun’s tears streamed down his face. He cried and asked, “Divine doctor, what medicine is this?”
He wanted to buy many, many of this. When he received his monthly salary, he would get someone to help him bring the medicine back to his hometown.
Doctor Xiao said, “This is called Shuning Medicine. It can only suppress the onset of asthma and can’t cure it completely.”
Even if it could only be suppressed, the effect of this medicine was too good.
In just 10 seconds, He Chun felt that his condition was under control.
The medicine prescribed by those doctors in the past had no effect at all.
He Chun wiped his tears. “That’s good too. Then, Divine Doctor, is this medicine expensive?”
Doctor Xiao smiled. “It’s not expensive. It’s just one tael of silver.”
One tael of silver was already considered expensive for He Chun, but with this medicine, he did not have to worry about being fired from the workshop.
If he was not fired, his monthly salary could slowly increase and he could buy more medicine.
Moreover, looking at the dosage of a bottle, as long as his relapse was reduced, a bottle could last for at least a few months, or even a year.
He Chun immediately said happily, “Thank you, Doctor. When I have money, I’ll come to buy medicine immediately!”
His monthly salary was on credit now. If he ate two meals a day at the workshop, he would only get the silver next month.
He Chun looked like a half-grown child. He was thin and pitiful. The man who had knocked him to the ground immediately said, “This medicine has been unsealed. I will buy it for you.”
As soon as he said this, everyone around him cheered enthusiastically.
He Chun wanted to refuse. He was sick to begin with, and it might not be because of the man. However, the man had already said it in front of so many people, so how could he go back on his word?
He Chun came out of the pharmacy with the medicine and saw a row of valiant soldiers who had finished their training walking past him. He couldn’t help but say to himself, “If there’s a war, won’t my brothers be dragged to join the military? It would be nice if I can just let them move to Carefree Kingdom now.”
Their family was very close to the southern frontier. Before Gu Chilie took down the southern frontier, he often recruited soldiers in their hometown.
Although Carefree Kingdom was still very small, those weapons called grenades were quite shocking. He was very afraid that his brothers would be dragged into the battlefield and injured by the grenades.
Coincidentally, He Chun’s fellow villagers heard this and could not help but worry. “That’s right. If only there was a way to send a letter back.”
Most of the people who chose to come to the southern frontier had no way out or were forced into a corner.
In the end, there were still a few people who had worries in their hearts.
As long as the war did not affect their lives now, it was fine.
The business in the pharmacy was very good. Ordinary minor illnesses could be treated after buying medicine from the pharmacy.
The doctors at the medical halls had much reduced workload and could use more energy to treat patients who were seriously ill.
When Bai Wutong saw the revenue of the pharmacy, she couldn’t help but sign. If the entire Ling Kingdom was their territory, all the citizens would gain access to cheap and good medicine.
Unfortunately, the Ling Kingdom was not like their Carefree Kingdom. With the Ling Kingdom’s policies and local officials around, even if they could produce a large amount of cheap medicine, the price they would sell to the commoners would not be much cheaper. They would probably benefit more from the sales.
Xu Ke was a direct descendant of the Xu family, one of the 30 families of Qinghe. He was quite talented and had a bright future. However, his wife and concubines had all run away because of the new marriage law.
He could not take it anymore and took the lead in deliberately causing trouble and insulting the Great Empress. He had been locked up in prison for a long time to wait for a verdict.
He had thought that Master Xu would speak up for him and get him out, but after so long, he was almost rotting in jail, and no one had come to see him.
This prison was not a place where one could lie flat just because they wanted to. There were three meals a day at a fixed time. Apart from the time they slept, they had to work. The previous day, when he went to the mountains to carry wood, his shoulders were sc.r.a.ped.
Even though he had experienced the escape, as a master, it was not too difficult for him.
However, after being in jail for a short ten days, he had experienced what it meant to be better off dead!
He wanted to run, but he was surrounded by guards or in the deep mountains and forests. He didn’t even know how to catch a chicken, so how could he survive in the forest?
Moreover, it was fine if he escaped successfully. If he failed, he would only die.
Xu Ke was unwilling to be tortured to death just like that. When he leaned against the pharmacy to check his wound, a guard said to another guard, “The army is about to set off. If only we could go too.”
“1 want to go too. I still have a few uncles in my hometown who refused to move to the southern frontier. If there’s a war, they’ll be conscripted too. That’ll be terrible.”
“Although our weapons are powerful, we don’t have many people, right?”
They had only seen the grenades explode from afar, but they did not know how lethal they were. Therefore, everyone was still a little worried about the total number of troops.
The other guard comforted him. “Your hometown is so far away. There should not be any conscription.”
“Aye, I hope so.”
If they really joined the army, he would not know what to do if they met on the battlefield.
It was impossible for him to run in front of the cannon fire and shout, “This is my relative. Stop fighting.”
When Xu Ke heard the two soldiers’ words, he suddenly had an idea, and his heart beat violently.
When it was time to eat, Xu Ke packed his food and sat in front of Yan Da.
Yan Da knew that he had been imprisoned because he had insulted the Great Empress. He subconsciously wanted to change seats, but Xu Ke had already placed the steamed bun and the only fried fish onto his plate. He said with concern, “I see that you haven’t been full. My appet.i.te is small. You can eat.”
Yan Da’s eyes lit up. Who cared what Xu Ke’s motive was? He would eat it first.
He ate the steamed bun and chewed the fried fish. Xu Ke drank the kelp soup and silently swallowed his saliva, waiting for the fish to take the bait.
After eating and drinking their fill, they still had an hour of lunch break before they had to continue working.
Yan Da’s cell was next to Xu Ke’s. After eating Xu Ke’s food, Yan Da’s guard naturally lowered. He even took the initiative to chat with him. He lowered his voice and asked curiously, “What did you take so hard that you even insulted the Great Empress?”
To be honest, apart from the fact that Bai Wutong was a woman, there was nothing wrong with her being the emperor.
If their family had not followed Bai Wutong from Zhao Village, they would probably not even have been able to eat the corn flour steamed buns in prison.
If he hadn’t accidentally caused Yan Tingting’s miscarriage, he wouldn’t have entered this place and even lost his house.
Xu Ke lowered his head. In order to achieve his goal, he revealed the sore spot that he did not want to be mentioned. “As soon as the marriage law came out, my wife and children ran away.”
As soon as he said that, Yan Da looked at him sympathetically. “No wonder you would do such a stupid thing.”
“However, you’re a master after all. You can still find another woman if she’s gone. Why do you have to ask for trouble?”
Xu Ke also regretted it, but what could he do? He had already committed a capital crime!
Now, he could only rely on himself to save him!