Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After settling Lu Min'er and Aunt Pan in, in a secluded spot, Da Niu asked Xia Yu, somewhat puzzled.

"Miss, why did you release them? Consort Lu did a lot for the rebel king before."

Hearing Da Niu's question, Xia Yu thought for a while before answering.

"Perhaps they were moved by the mother-daughter bond. Although Aunt Pan was weak, her subservience in the Lu household and Han Ru's forbearance were all for the sake of her daughter's better life. And Lu Min'er treated her mother the same way. If she died, Aunt Pan probably wouldn't be able to survive either." As she finished speaking, Xia Yu thought of her parents from her long-buried past life. Finally, she shook her head, dismissing those ridiculous thoughts, and shrugged.

"Let's just consider it as fulfilling their mother-daughter bond!"

Nineteen, leading a group of people, was halfway through the secret passage when they discovered that their path had been sealed off with mud. It was obvious that this was done by the Prince of Ding'an's men, to prevent anyone from chasing them through the passage. It seemed that he had never trusted Lu Min'er and knew she wouldn't keep the secret for him.

Upon hearing this news, Lu Min'er's initial sense of guilt vanished completely. If the secret passage hadn't been blocked, it meant the prince trusted her and had left her a way out. But now it seemed she held no place in his heart, and he had never considered her safety. So, everyone was equally guilty; neither had wronged the other.

After recapturing Dingcheng, the Black Armor Army suffered 2,100 dead, 1,500 seriously wounded, and 12,000 lightly wounded. They killed 15,000 enemy soldiers, seriously wounded 4,200, and the number of lightly wounded is unknown, while capturing 21,000. Upon tallying the casualties on both sides, Zhao Bei was overjoyed; this battle was a resounding victory for his side.

When Xia Yu saw these numbers, he only asked Zhao Bei what he needed, and told him to arrange the rest himself.

"Princess, the city still has enough food and weapons, but not enough medicine." Zhao Bei didn't stand on ceremony with Xia Yu. He knew that Xia Yu was no ordinary person and had abilities that ordinary people couldn't match.

"What medicines are missing? Have the doctor write a list and send it over. I'll think of a solution," Xia Yu said after a moment's thought.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and have the doctor write up the prescription right away." Zhao Bei was overjoyed when he heard Xia Yu's words. He knew that the princess would definitely have a solution.

Before long, Zhao Bei returned and handed Xia Yu the prescription written by the doctor. Xia Yu took it and looked at the herbs on it, feeling somewhat pleased.

What she saw was... the first item on the list was Golden Silk Grass. She still had a bunch of it in her spatial storage. This was the first pot of gold she had struck gold in ancient times. But later she planted far too much; she calculated that even if she dug up all the plants on the mountain, she might not have that many. To avoid arousing the suspicion of the pharmacy owner, she stopped selling it. Besides, later when her family became wealthy, she no longer needed to sell Golden Silk Grass for tens of coins per kilogram.

She didn't understand pharmacology, but since the doctor said it was needed, she would give it to him. Looking further down the list, she saw *Stinea corporis*, *Panax notoginseng*, and *Pox-reducing herb*. She had heard of *Panax notoginseng*, but she had never heard of the other two.

"Are these herbs found in the mountains outside the city?" Xia Yu asked Zhao Bei, raising her eyes.

"Well... I don't know either. Maybe I should call that young doctor over and ask him," Zhao Bei said, scratching his head.

"Okay, go ahead," Xia Yu nodded in response.

After Zhao Bei left, he quickly led in a young doctor carrying a medicine box.

"Princess, the doctor has arrived."

Xia Yu looked up at the man and saw that he was about to kneel down and pay his respects. She quickly stopped him.

"Doctor, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat!"

"Thank you, Princess." The young doctor bowed and then sat down on the armchair next to him.

"Doctor, I've never heard of the herbs you mentioned, such as stinky grass, Panax notoginseng, and Pus-inducing herb. I wonder if they can be found in the mountains outside the city."

Upon hearing Xia Yu's question, the doctor quickly stood up to answer.

"Your Highness, these medicinal herbs can all be found in the mountains. However, there are many wounded soldiers in the army, and the required quantity is too large. Gathering herbs in the mountains takes time. I'm afraid the medicine will not be enough to meet the army's needs."

Xia Yu waved her hand to stop him from speaking, and said

“I understand what you mean. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll have someone escort you up the mountain. You can collect a few samples of each kind first, so everyone can see what the herbs look like. After that, I’ll send soldiers up the mountain to collect them. At the same time, we’ll have Jialing Pass transport them here. That way, we should be able to supply the wounded soldiers.”

"Yes, I will follow the princess's arrangements."

"Alright, I'll arrange for someone to escort you up the mountain to gather herbs right now. Is that convenient for you, Doctor?" Xia Yu asked again.

"It's convenient. There are still a few senior doctors in the army who are bandaging the soldiers. I can go up the mountain to collect herbs."

"Alright, Big Girl, Twelve, Seventeen, Twenty-Two, the four of you will lead two teams to escort the young doctor up the mountain to collect herbs. Make sure to protect the doctor's safety."

"Yes," the maids answered in unison.

At this moment, Xia Yu turned her gaze to the young doctor and asked gently.

"May I ask your surname and how shall I address you?"

"Your Highness, my humble surname is Li, and my given name is Sanqi," the young doctor replied respectfully, bowing his head.

Hearing his name reminded Xia Yu of an old friend, and looking at the young doctor in front of her, he seemed to be about the same age as that old friend. However, since he kept his head down, Xia Yu couldn't see his face clearly.

She wanted to tell him to look up, but then felt that was too ambiguous. After a moment's hesitation, Xia Yu simply asked him directly.

"Sanqi, that's the same name as an old friend of mine. May I ask if you're from Ming'an County, Zhongzhou Prefecture?"

After Xia Yu finished speaking, he clearly felt the other person's body stiffen for a moment. Then he heard him say...

"Your Highness, I did live there for a few years when I was young."

"Brother Sanqi, look up, do you still remember me?"

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Sanqi dared to look up and quickly glance at Xia Yu before quickly lowering his head again. Then, he composed himself and looked up carefully at the young girl sitting in the seat of honor.

After looking at him for a while, he frowned and thought carefully. He recognized the face, but he couldn't quite place it.

Xia Yu knew that her appearance had changed quite a bit in the past few years because she had eaten the petals of the space and the honey from the fruit. You see, when she first arrived, she was a complete country bumpkin with rosy cheeks, so it's no wonder that the other person didn't recognize her.

"Do you remember that year when a brother and sister came to your pharmacy carrying golden thread grass to sell?"

After Xia Yu reminded him, Sanqi suddenly realized that he remembered.

"Oh... I remember now, it's you." After saying that, she stared at Xia Yu carefully for a while before saying...

“You’ve definitely changed a lot since then. You were only this tall back then.” He gestured to his waist with his hand, then continued…

"The golden silk grass you brought back back then was of such high quality, it's just a pity you never went back to sell it again. Our shopkeeper regretted it for a long time!"

"Yes, I got too busy later and didn't have time to go up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs anymore," Xia Yu replied with a smile.

Only after she said that did Sanqi suddenly realize who he was talking to. He quickly lowered his head, resuming his previous posture, and said somewhat embarrassedly...

"Princess, I was rude just now, please forgive me."

"Brother Sanqi, there's no need to be so formal. You took good care of my siblings and me back then. I should be thanking you."

"No, no, the princess already gave me money as a reward."

Mentioning this reminded Xia Yu of the few copper coins she had given Sanqi back then. A nostalgic smile appeared on her face. Those were truly impoverished times; her only wish was to eat cornmeal every day. If she were to tell this story to everyone now, they would probably find it hilarious.

"Brother Sanqi, you take them up the mountain to gather herbs first. Don't worry about the rest, I'll figure something out." Not daring to waste any more time, Xia Yu said to Sanqi.

"Yes, I'll go right away." He then bowed to the luggage that Xia Yu had assigned to him.

"Thank you for your help, ladies."