The Marshal’s Wife is Wild
Chapter 406 - 405 The Shield is Also a Shackle

Chapter 406: Chapter 405 The Shield is Also a Shackle

The luncheon was a great satisfaction for everyone, and the Crown Prince hadn’t expected that a visit would grant him such delightful cuisine, particularly the chicken dish with its lotus fragrance thoroughly infused, tender and not greasy at all; no wonder Her Majesty praised the sister-in-law’s culinary skills as even better than those of the Imperial Chefs.

Sincerely lauding Qu Tong’s cooking, they then began to discuss serious matters.

"Thank you, Prince Consort, for bestowing upon us such a precious elixir," the head of the Bai Family prioritized clearly, even though the elixir had been given to him by his own daughter, the favor was indeed from the Prince Consort.

"You’re too kind, Head Bai," Qu Tong modestly replied.

Since Si Yuting had given her the credit, she had no desire to refuse it.

"In my younger days, a good friend was lucky enough to obtain a Spiritual Essence Potion and advanced from an ordinary person to a C-rank physique. I thought I would experience the same, but to my surprise, the potency of Prince Consort’s elixir was so great that it directly elevated me to B-rank," the head of the Bai Family said with an undertone of excitement.

"Is it truly that miraculous?" the Crown Prince expressed great amazement.

He had been busy with state affairs these past days, making time to attend the celebration in the neighboring country, only aware that the head of the Bai Family had taken the elixir, unaware of the specifics.

He had not yet consumed his potion, not out of disbelief in its effectiveness, but precisely because the elixir was too precious; he had previously taken a Spiritual Essence Potion, and taking a second would see nearly 90% of its efficacy lost, so he dared not waste it lightly.

Now, with the head of the Bai Family saying so, the Crown Prince felt a mix of regret and pain.

After all, when he had taken the Spiritual Essence Potion, he had only advanced from B to B+; if he had the elixir he now possessed, could he have reached A-rank?

"Didn’t His Highness tell you?" Qu Tong found their reactions somewhat puzzling.

"The elixir was brought into the palace by Gu Xiu, who only mentioned it was for enhancing the physique," the Crown Prince explained, adding his own situation, "I’ve taken a Spiritual Essence Potion before, truly a pity."

Qu Tong made an "Oh" sound, no wonder both of them seemed totally unaware.

"This is not a Spiritual Essence Potion, they don’t conflict," Qu Tong clarified calmly.

"Not?" both the Crown Prince and the head of the Bai Family exclaimed in unison, the Crown Prince almost rising to his feet.

"Correct."

"Could this be a newly developed elixir?"

Asking his question, the head of the Bai Family cast sidelong glances towards Old Yuan at the side.

However, after Old Yuan had bragged about watermelons and strawberries and then lychees, with a small mountain of lychee shells piled up in front of him, he showed not the slightest interest in their conversation, serving simply as a live wallpaper.

Qu Tong kicked Old Yuan under the table, signaling for him to say something.

Old Yuan lifted his head from the pile, nodding perfunctorily: "Ah! Right, right, right!"

The Crown Prince: "..."

Crown Princess Consort: "..."

Head Bai: "..."

Qu Tong: "..."

They had seen perfunctory before, but never to this degree.

She even doubted if he had actually listened to the question.

Nevertheless, with both the head of the Bai Family and the Crown Prince exhilarated, their minds were not on lingering, hurriedly making small talk before preparing to bid farewell and head home.

Qu Tong escorted the three to the door, softly calling out, "Master."

Her eyes signaled towards their departing figures.

Old Yuan, impatient, pursed his lips and called out to the Crown Princess Consort.

"Old Yuan, is there something else?" Bai Shuixin turned back in confusion.

"This Grandmaster feels you are quite to my liking, here’s a little gift for you," Old Yuan said arrogantly, tossing an item her way.

Bai Shuixin caught it in a fluster.

Looking down, she saw it was a golden elixir!!

Bai Shuixin was thrilled, relieved that she had caught it, because if it had broken, her heart would have been in pieces.

"Thank you, Elder Yuan." Bai Shuixin clenched the elixir and bowed deeply to Elder Yuan.

"Alright, go back now," said Elder Yuan as he waved his hand nonchalantly and scurried after Qu Tong, returning with her.

Beyond Elder Yuan, Bai Shuixin’s gaze followed Qu Tong’s retreating figure, and she silently mouthed a thank-you.

She had not spoken a single word with Elder Yuan throughout the process, how could there be any talk of ’fate at first sight’?

The three of them returned joyfully.

The Crown Prince could hardly wait to break through to A-rank, and although A-rank was far from his Imperial brother’s SSS-rank, it was already very important to him.

The Master of the Bai Family was also eager to get back to mecha development; he could finally experience for himself the difference between a Spirit Power Mecha and a Sky-roaming Prime Mecha. No matter how much he heard from others, it was never as useful as firsthand experience.

Inside Stia Manor, Qu Tong looked over the gifts from the Master of the Bai Family and the Crown Prince—two mechas, both operated by spiritual power, one a growth-type A-rank mecha, and the other an S-rank mecha.

Although she had SSS-rank strength, because Qu Tong had always used the school-provided AB-rank and Sky-roaming Prime mechas at school, they deliberately sent two mechas for her to practice with.

Using lower grade mechas to train had two benefits: it saved spiritual power and the repair costs were not as high if they were damaged.

"I’ll give you one," Qu Tong said, tossing one of the S-ranks to Elder Yuan.

The other was intended as a year-end bonus for Xiang Bin.

"But I don’t know how to use it either," Elder Yuan said, though his hands honestly accepted the mecha.

Most pharmacists spent all their energy on elixirs and simply had no time or spiritual power to practice with mechas; their spiritual power wasn’t suited for combat either.

Elder Yuan was the most typical example of this.

Everyone knew Elder Yuan was a Potion Grandmaster, but very few people mentioned that he had S-rank spiritual power.

Out in the field, Elder Yuan might not even be able to beat a B-rank military academy student.

*

Within a couple of days, Qu Tong boarded a flyer, arriving at E12 Star ahead of Lan Weiying.

The auction on E12 Star featured a Special Grade Potion again, attracting quite a crowd.

E12 Star was also an important transit hub between two countries’ borders, and some visiting the Kasa Empire passed through here.

Qu Tong stood in front of the viewing window with the best view, watching the surging crowds below and the dazzle of lights.

The most prosperous part of the area was worth its weight in gold, and every second she stood there was filled with the intoxicating scent of money.

Elder Yuan, dazzled by the scene, chose to look away and turned to ask Qu Tong, "Are you sure Lan Weiying will come here? If I remember correctly, their transaction was supposed to be on another planet, wasn’t it?"

Even though they were both in the Southern Border, the distance between planets was vast, wasn’t it?

"She will," said Qu Tong, leaning her hands on the railing without turning her head, her demeanor confident, "because Rong Chengjue told me that the second prince of the Casa Empire has come to E12 Star."

"It’s amazing he still has the time to pass information to you as he’s about to ascend to the throne," Elder Yuan said with a sneer.

"All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit," Qu Tong replied, her melodious voice drifting on the breeze, stirring the silvery strands by her ears.

He also said that, if possible, no survivors needed to be left.

Being a Crown Princess Consort was a shield but also a shackle; on Capital Star, she couldn’t kill at will.

But in a different identity, on E12 Star she could, as long as nobody discovered it.

No one could plot against her life and still live well.

If there was such a person, they must be close to death.

For some reason, Elder Yuan felt a chill, shivered twice, and hurried back to his room.

It must be the approach of winter, and the balcony was drafty.