2026-07-30 00:02:40
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Caelum felt he had expressed his suggestions as tactfully as possible, but watching the smile slowly fade from Celeste's face, he couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.At the end of his words, he gestured for Butterfly to pour tea and water, cleared his throat, and said:"This proposal is actually quite commendable, but right now, the Sterling family's few pharmacies are overburdened. Compared to the Hundred Herbs Pharmacy, they simply don't possess the conditions for outward expansion."And that was the reality.For a traditional pharmacy wanting to expand, it required not only physicians and apprentices capable of holding down the storefronts, but also a reliable supply chain of various medicinal herbs.It couldn't possibly compare to the simplified model of the Hundred Herbs Pharmacy, which mainly relied on herbal teas and common medicinal formulas.Training physicians alone wasn't something that could be achieved overnight, let alone consuming vast sums of silver to stock up o
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Jace withdrew a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, smiling sinisterly as he whispered: "This is the Five Poisons Powder I've prepared for you. You only need to have your second brother ingest it continuously for seven days straight, and he will die quietly without a trace."Seraphina glanced at the porcelain bottle without taking it, still shaking her head:"You don't understand my meaning.""Even if my second brother dies without any clues pointing anywhere, or even if all clues point to the Sterling family, I will still be suspected."Jace's eyes flickered: "Is your father truly that suspicious?"Seraphina nodded: "Father never believes in unprovoked accidents, because he is an expert at orchestrating plans and maneuvers to look like coincidences and accidents.""Just like back then when he had my aunt married into the imperial palace—he used the occasion of the Emperor leaving the palace to arrange an accidental encounter between my aunt and the Emperor, allowing her to rise st
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It wasn't hard for Caelum to guess what kind of mood Vesper was in right now.He figured she probably wished she could kill him at that very moment.Yet he wasn't worried at all.For one, his identity was sufficiently concealed.The only two who knew were Jared and Dabao; even Jace only knew of the existence of "Liu Five."For Vesper to pin down that "Liu Five" was him stood two layers apart.The difficulty wasn't high, but before Vesper could break through Jace's line of defense, Caelum had plenty of time to come up with a remedy.And the second reason was simple—Vesper wouldn't dare make a move against him.At least, not for the moment.With the prior incident of "burning the summer grain of the three prefectures" and that sum of three hundred thousand silver taels, alongside the Moon-Bright Tower and the covert guards, Vesper had too many misgivings."Hesitant and overcautious" would not be an exaggeration to describe her state.In short, Caelum had indeed placed himself on the che
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Vesper's expression shifted slightly. While exchanging idle chatter with Caelum on the surface, she continued communicating in writing on the table.[Who are you?][Guess?][You are definitely not from the Liu family!][Why not?][What is your purpose in coming here?][Naturally, to burn the summer grain of the three prefectures.][You...]The two bantered back and forth for a long time, but Vesper managed to squeeze out zero useful information.It made her breathing ragged, her chest heaving in an exaggerated curve from sheer frustration. She had suspected Caelum hailed from the Valerius family.Yet all signs indicated that the Valerius family was still completely in the dark regarding the Moon-Bright Tower's plot.The Old Marquis even had the leisure to meddle in matters concerning the Hundred Herbs Pharmacy and the Valerius family's medical shop.The same went for the mutual market side; Celeste remained stationed there with no unusual movements.If Liu Five wasn't from the Valer
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As luck would have it, the newcomer was Jared.At this moment, his attire was quite similar to Caelum's—both wore black robes, with a black iron mask hidden beneath their hoods.The only difference was that Caelum wore an additional black cloak and a conical bamboo hat on his head.Nevertheless, both of them paused for a moment upon hearing Jared's words.Only Vesper was slightly stunned, while Caelum immediately held his breath and hid carefully.Had Jared not failed to conceal his presence when he arrived, and had his eyes been focused solely on Vesper, Caelum would likely have been cornered by him as well.On the other hand, after recovering from her momentary shock, a charming smile instantly bloomed on Vesper's face. Shifting her gaze toward him, she coquettishly said:"I was wondering who was out here scaring people in the middle of the night, and it turns out to be Elder Jared~""Weren't you goi
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Not long after,Caelum sent Silas to Chunyu Tower to look for Black Tooth, while he headed straight for the tailoring shop in the Western Market.The two split up, heading south and west respectively, parting ways on Kangning Street.Caelum quickly reached the outskirts of the Western Market, carefully avoiding Vane and other persistent investigators, and arrived at the residence directly behind the tailoring shop.The progress on what he had instructed Finn to do during the day was neither fast nor slow. The two storefronts of the tailoring shop hadn't been negotiated yet, but someone behind the residential property couldn't resist the high price and handed the land deed over to Finn the very same day.The place where Caelum stood was precisely that residence.It was just turning Hai hour.Although the rain had eased slightly, heavy clouds still blanketed the sky, and amidst the dim surroundings, it provided enough cover to shield his silhouette.Roughly two quarters passed,Caelum h
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