The Cold King Demands Love and Pleasure

Xia Tongsheng was only wearing an undershirt. The heat in the room had long since dissipated, and her sweat was still damp. "Cold!"

"Who asked you about your temperature? I'm asking how you're feeling right now."

Xia Tongsheng closed her eyes and took a moment to feel it. "I feel a little nauseous!"

"Then it's alright! You can leave once the nausea subsides!"

"Thank you, doctor!"

Cao Tian waved his hand, "Don't thank me yet, it's ten thousand taels of silver in total!"

Xia Tongsheng laughed, "Dr. Cao, we're so familiar with each other, don't joke like that!"

"I'm not kidding you. It's settled then, I'll treat your illness, and you'll pay me after I'm cured!"

"How would I know if you cured me or not? Other doctors can't tell either. If you didn't cure me, I wouldn't know either! Besides, I can't say I admire your character!"

"Didn't cure it? How dare you insult my medical skills, you little brat!"

Xia Tongsheng knew, of course, that he had cured her, because she could clearly feel the changes in her body from the moment the needles were removed.

"Since we're all so familiar with each other, I'll give you a discount: five thousand taels!"

Xia Tongsheng still felt a little sorry for him, "It doesn't need to cost that much money, it's just a few of your peach blossoms."

"I'm not charging you for the acupuncture, nor for the herbs in the pot, nor for the hard work of my son and me. You'll have to pay for the losses from closing down today, won't you?"

Cao Tian thought to himself that he couldn't just stand by and watch her die because she was the daughter of an old friend. However, he was also unwilling to save Min You'an's woman, so he could only make Min You'an pay him so that he could feel better.

But what he didn't know was that he was only ripping off Xia Tongsheng, because she wouldn't ask the prince for money.

After listening to him say so much, Xia Tongsheng stopped haggling. "Fine, five thousand taels it is, but I don't have that much money on me. I need to go back and get some!"

"Sure! But I have to go with you, otherwise what if you run away?"

"No, I want Yuqian to come with me!" Xia Tongsheng was afraid that Cao Tian would cause trouble in the Prince's mansion. Compared to him, Yuqian was much more worry-free.

"No, it must be me!"

Xia Tongsheng finally relented, "Alright! I'll take you!"

Before leaving, Cao Tian handed Yuqian a key and said a few words to her, but Xia Tongsheng couldn't hear them because of the distance.

Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, Xia Tongsheng asked Yingling to fetch five thousand taels of silver from his room while she stayed with him in the front hall. Recalling Cao Tian's calm demeanor from the moment she entered, Xia Tongsheng couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you surprised that I'm the Princess Consort?"

The old man looked at Xia Tongsheng with disdain, "I knew it all along! What's there to be surprised about!"

Xia Tongsheng snorted coldly, feigning anger, "Then you still dare to ask me for so much money? Aren't you afraid I'll punish you?"

"I didn't extort you, what are you afraid of!" Cao Tian stubbornly denied it. "By the way, is the Prince in the manor?"

Xia Tongsheng glanced at the sun. "They should be in the study at this time!"

"In that case, shall I go and take his pulse?"

Xia Tongsheng, fearing he would cause trouble, quickly stopped him, "No need, His Highness is in good health and everything is going well! It's fine if you blackmail me, but if you blackmail him! I can only pretend I don't know you!"

Just as she finished speaking, Min Youan arrived. "The Princess is back?"

When Cao Tian saw Min You'an, a glint of cunning flashed in his eyes. "This humble subject greets Your Highness!"

Upon seeing him, Min Youan concealed the expression in his eyes, "What is this?"

"The doctor who treated my illness is named Cao Tian!"

"Your Highness, please go and rest!"

"No, I still owe him money!"

Min Youan said to her, "I will pay for you. Would Doctor Cao do me the honor of coming to sit in my courtyard?"

Xia Tongsheng wondered, had Min Youan taken the wrong medicine? Why was he being so respectful to a doctor!

"Of course, I wish for it!"

Min Youan walked ahead, with Cao Tian following behind him. The two had already begun to subtly compete, though Xia Tongsheng was unaware of the undercurrents between them.

As soon as I entered the prince's courtyard, his imposing manner suddenly intensified. "Did you cure the princess's poison?"

"Yes!" After saying that, Cao Tian took advantage of the moment when Min You'an turned around and shot a row of silver needles towards Min You'an's neck!

Min Youan seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; he simply tilted his head slightly to the side and dodged his attack!

He wasn't annoyed. He turned and looked at Cao Tian indifferently, as if nothing had happened! He called out his name...

"Cao Tian! Cao Tian, ​​isn't that Miao?"

"Why does Your Highness say that?"

Min Youan sneered, "Stop pretending. The princess was poisoned by Man Sha. I had people investigate, and the only one who can cure Man Sha is Miao Renzhi, the chief of the Miao tribe!"

Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Cao Tian was neither worried nor afraid. "How do you know that the princess was poisoned by the slow-acting robe and not by something else?"

“I had the imperial physician examine her. At that time, the physician said that she was weak. Later, the physician came again and said that the princess might have been poisoned by the slow-acting robe! Moreover, you also told the princess that she had been poisoned by the slow-acting robe.”

"Haha, since you've guessed my identity, I won't hide it from you anymore! Kill me or do whatever you want, I'm already this old, living a few more years won't make a difference! But don't expect Miao territory to fall into chaos because of my death, the new Miao chieftain is already on his way to Miao territory!"

Cao Tian had prepared himself mentally before he came. At his age, life and death were no big deal to him!

Min Youan sat down, raising his eyes to look at Cao Tian. "Did I say I was going to kill you?"

"What do you mean?" Cao Tian asked, confused.

"I wish for your allegiance to Beimin!"

"Impossible! We Miao people have cooperated with Nanye for many years. We will not easily submit!"

"The Miao region must be having a hard time lately! Nan Ye is too far away to help you in your immediate crisis. If you submit to Bei Min, I will never touch the Miao region, and I can guarantee you a worry-free life!" Min You'an extended an olive branch that no one could refuse.

Is the prince's word credible?

"Of course it's believable!"

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Why are you offering such good terms?

"Because of your medical skills and medicinal herbs! Everyone knows that Miao territory is rich in medicinal herbs. I hope you will stop providing Nanye with support for witchcraft! At the same time, I hope you will pay tribute to the court with medicinal herbs every year!"

This would make it much easier for Beimin to attack Nanye!

Do you think I would agree?

You will say yes!

Then, Min You'an began to analyze the situation, "Miao Jiang is too small. Of the four countries—Nan Ye, Bei Min, Dong Chen, and Xi Jue—Xi Jue and Bei Min are the closest to you. Although Xi Jue wants to win you over, its national strength is weak, and it is afraid that it will offend the two major countries of Bei Min and Nan Ye because of you. Although Nan Ye is willing to protect you, it is too far away from you. Therefore, Miao Jiang can only rely on Bei Min!"

"You came here to avenge your people, didn't you? But why don't you consider that if you hadn't decided to help Nan Ye attack Bei Min, why would I have had to slaughter them all?"

Cao Tian hesitated. His original determination to kill Min You'an had been greatly diminished by this blow. "Let me think about it!"