"Xin'er... you should go rest first. I know you're concerned about Ning Ying, but she's fine now." Ning Zhiyuan looked at Ning Xin'er with some heartache, seeming to blame himself for being too careless and not noticing that Ning Xin'er had also just recovered, yet letting her wait outside the great hall for two nights and one day.
This situation made a group of people jealous again. No one had expected that because of Xiaoyao's single remark, Ning Zhiyuan would notice Ning Xin'er and her status in Ning Zhiyuan's heart would rise.
Ning Zhiyuan spoke again at this time, addressing Xiaoyao, "I truly thank you this time, Xiaoyao. I'll have someone deliver the library access token to you. Although you're also very tired and need rest, I still want to ask you a question, what is your cultivation level?"
Everyone surely wanted to know the answer to this question. If they didn't ask, no one would be able to sleep tonight. In fact, they hadn't slept well for two days already.
"Still working hard on cultivating basic skills," Xiaoyao replied.
"You already possess such deep internal energy, why do you still continue cultivating basic skills?" Ning Zhiyuan asked.
"Deep?" Xiaoyao said with a somewhat bitter smile: "What you see is only the surface appearance. Although I can output so much energy to others, I myself can only control a small amount. This is the consequence of qi deviation, a lesson from trying to reach the sky in one step. What I need to do now is stand firm and cultivate bit by bit, without any rash advancement."
"??" Ning Zhiyuan was somewhat confused, and everyone present was equally confused. Clearly he could output so much internal energy, but why did he say he could only control a small amount? Could it be that this internal energy wasn't under his control?
If that was the case, wouldn't his body still be in a state of qi deviation? But it didn't look like it. What exactly was going on?
"You don't need to ask. I haven't figured out this situation myself. When I understand it someday, I'll tell everyone," Xiaoyao knew everyone's confusion, but he was confused about it too. His bodily condition was very, very special, so special that there was no reasoning that could explain it.
This continuous internal energy output for two nights and one day might be very arduous for others, but for Xiaoyao, it wasn't difficult at all. In fact, it was something he had to do every day, and he couldn't ask for anything better.
Every day, Xiaoyao would have internal energy overflow, and the amount was frighteningly large. If the internal energy didn't overflow, Xiaoyao would have problems instead, the internal energy would rampage through his body and damage it.
Therefore, Xiaoyao was always thinking of ways to release this internal energy. Previously, his method was to give it to Chi Chi. Chi Chi could absorb his excess internal energy, which was why Xiaoyao kept Chi Chi. He had to keep it, otherwise his internal energy would have gone out of control long ago.
Because of this, Xiaoyao's two nights and one day of treatment not only didn't exhaust his body, but actually let him release excess internal energy. Apart from some fatigue, there were no ill effects.
"In other words, the reason your internal energy can sustain such continuous output isn't because your internal energy is deep, but because you have qi deviation, and this internal energy staying in your body is useless and even harmful." Le Youran said after a moment of silence.
"Yes, you could say that!" Xiaoyao nodded.
"I see..." Ning Zhiyuan was somewhat disappointed. He had originally wanted to win over Xiaoyao, but now with Xiaoyao's condition being so special, he might even explode from energy buildup in the future, this greatly reduced Xiaoyao's value.
Of course, he would still show goodwill toward Xiaoyao, whether out of gratitude or to give himself some security. Even if this security was very weak, it was still some security.
At times like this, people seemed to easily overlook one thing, if Xiaoyao could utilize his body's special condition, wouldn't that be equivalent to possessing such abilities?
People wanted the Divine Farmer's Art not for its attack power. Xiaoyao might not be able to use this power to attack others, but he could definitely use this ability to heal others, and naturally, to heal himself too.
As long as it was a method that could consume energy, Xiaoyao could do it.
There was another matter - Chi Chi's special nature might also be due to absorbing too much internal energy. If the daily amount was already so much, one could imagine how much internal energy Chi Chi had "consumed" from absorbing it every day.
"Is there anything else?" Ning Zhiyuan asked curiously, seeing that Xiaoyao was looking at him without leaving to rest.
"I need to write a prescription for Princess Ning Ying." Xiaoyao said.
"Oh, then write it quickly so you can rest soon." Ning Zhiyuan said gently.
"..., Your Majesty, I also want to write it quickly, but I don't have the Four Treasures of the Study. Could you please bring them over," Xiaoyao said somewhat helplessly. This was what he was waiting for. He hadn't expected that people in the imperial palace would be so negligent, he had clearly stated he needed to write a prescription, yet no one had brought the materials over.
Generally speaking, in this kind of situation, someone would definitely arrange to bring the Four Treasures of the Study. However, the current situation was somewhat special and chaotic, so Xiaoyao's words had been overlooked.
"..., This is our oversight. A Gui, quickly go get the Four Treasures of the Study," Ning Zhiyuan said somewhat embarrassedly. He should have thought of this matter himself, but he needed the other party to remind him.
When Xiaoyao picked up the brush to write the prescription, many people were waiting. Most of these people studied medicine, including the old monk, because they were most interested in knowing what Xiaoyao would write and what kind of ingenious prescription he would produce.
This was a learning opportunity, and they already had confidence in Xiaoyao's medical skills.
When everyone saw Xiaoyao's prescription, the first thing they felt was two words - "Good calligraphy!"
What Xiaoyao's prescription contained wouldn't be noticed at first, but his powerful, penetrating brushwork was amazing. Not many people could write such characters. This little servant really kept surprising people.
But soon, this calligraphy was ignored by everyone, because all of them were shocked by the prescription's content. Their expressions varied, some were surprised, some couldn't believe it, and some had twitching faces...
"Xiaoyao, are you joking?" The old monk once again asked the same question.
"No," Xiaoyao shook his head.
"But your prescription doesn't contain a single medicinal ingredient. Rather than calling it a medical prescription, it would be better to call it a menu! Everything you wrote above are dish names," The old monk said irritably.
Dish names?!
Le Youran and the others were puzzled. She didn't understand what the old monk meant by this, so they gathered around to look at the prescription. Sure enough, what was written were dish names, various dishes, and quite ordinary ones at that, the kind that even common people could afford.
"Le Xiaoyao, did you write the wrong prescription?" Le Youran directly questioned.
"No, this is the right prescription. Medicinal supplements are not as good as food supplements. Princess Ning Ying's body doesn't have major problems anymore and doesn't need medicine, she just needs to nourish her body well. For nourishing the body, daily diet is most important. This is also a kind of prescription, just one that doesn't use medicinal ingredients," Xiaoyao said with a smile. "Le Youran, let's go! I'm both sleepy and hungry. Next time I do something like this, I'll definitely raise my price, at minimum I'll need a big meal..."
"..."
Xiaoyao was speaking while walking outside. His words made Ning Zhiyuan feel very embarrassed, as if he hadn't even prepared basic meals this time, which was really lacking in hospitality.
However, at this time Ning Zhiyuan wouldn't call Xiaoyao back to stay for a meal. First, waiting would take time, which would further show that he hadn't prepared well. Second, even if he called, Xiaoyao might not stay. This was Ning Zhiyuan's feeling, he felt that Xiaoyao didn't much like staying in the imperial palace and liked socializing even less, preferring to leave as early as possible.
After Xiaoyao and Le Youran left, the old monk also departed. Ning Zhiyuan accompanied Princess Ning Ying back to her palace to rest and instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare three daily meals for Princess Ning Ying according to what Xiaoyao had written.
After these few days of observation, Ning Zhiyuan had developed trust in Xiaoyao's medical skills. He believed that Xiaoyao's approach must have reasoning and necessity. Xiaoyao had already saved the person, and even without prescribing anything there wouldn't be problems. Therefore, he shouldn't be doing anything unnecessary.
Because of this, Princess Ning Ying ate according to Xiaoyao's menu for several months. When she met Xiaoyao again, she learned that this menu only needed to be followed for about a month. Of course, continuing to eat it wouldn't cause any problems either.
After experiencing this event, although the matter didn't spread widely, because it concerned the royal family's dignity and needed to be kept secret, Xiaoyao's reputation also spread among some people, limited to their own knowledge.
However, because Xiaoyao never appeared afterward, only moving between the Le family and the imperial palace without being contacted by others, this bit of fame was gradually forgotten, unless someone brought it up.
There were also some people who would think of Xiaoyao when they reached life-and-death situations, because Xiaoyao's medical skills might help them escape from hovering between life and death.
Time passed another half year. A month ago, Guxing had successfully defeated Le Youran and "brought" Xiaoyao out of the Le family. However, it seemed that Xiaoyao had already been hanging around the imperial palace for a while before that, not spending much time at the Le family. Now he continued to stay in the imperial palace.
Xiaoyao's job in the imperial palace was managing the Imperial Library. Even without an access permit, he could now freely enter and exit this Imperial Library, because Xiaoyao was currently inside repairing books and organizing some obscure books that were rarely valued by people.
(End of Chapter)