Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 471 Relying on Favor (16)

Everyone else stared wide-eyed.

Yan Zhen found their stares somewhat amusing, and ate a few more slices of potato before putting down his chopsticks.

"Stop staring at me. This is food, not poison. Even if it were poisonous, it wouldn't take effect so quickly."

The soldiers then sheepishly looked away.

Yan Zhen got up, instructed the cook to put the potatoes away, and then went back to her room.

While trying to salvage potatoes in a farmhouse courtyard, Yan Zhen got some boiling water splashed on the back of his hand, which now has blisters and looks red and swollen.

Yan Zhen opened the trunk he had brought to find medicine to treat his wounds. The door opened and Zhao Yuan walked in.

He held a bottle of burn ointment and a box of needles and thread in his hand, glanced at Yan Zhen, and said, "Come here."

Yan Zhen thought he hadn't noticed her burn, but he didn't expect that he not only noticed but also brought medicine.

Seeing that he seemed ready to help treat her wounds, Yan Zhen did not refuse and went over to sit down on the straw mat.

Zhao Yuan took out a small needle from the sewing box, sterilized it over a candle flame, and then held Yan Zhen's hand: "It will hurt a little, just bear with it."

Yan Zhen nodded.

Zhao Yuan began to pop the blisters on the back of her hand.

Before he started, Zhao Yuan was prepared for the delicate princess to scream and cry in pain, but after he punctured three or four blisters, she trembled a couple of times in pain but didn't utter a sound.

Zhao Yuan looked up at her.

Seeing her calm expression, without even frowning, she even asked when she met his gaze, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Yuan: "If it hurts, you can cry out. I won't laugh at you."

Yan Zhen: "...Thank you so much."

She did feel pain, but that was because the original owner's body had low tolerance.

She didn't take this minor injury to heart at all.

The blister was popped, the oozing fluid was wiped away with a clean cloth, and burn ointment was applied. The wound was considered treated.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Majesty," Yan Zhen said, yawning.

She spent the whole day looking for potatoes, and now she feels sleepy and tired.

"You're welcome." Zhao Yuan put away the burn ointment and sewing kit, but showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he sat down on a straw mat next to him.

Yan Zhen: "...Aren't you going back to your room to sleep?"

I'll be staying here tonight.

Yan Zhen quickly realized why Zhao Yuan had done this.

It's simply because she ate potatoes, and I'm worried she might get poisoned in the middle of the night, so I want to stay here and watch over her.

"Alright then." Yan Zhen didn't send him away. "You should lie down and sleep too. I'll call you if my stomach hurts or I feel uncomfortable."

"Mm," Zhao Yuan replied, but he remained seated against the wall, his eyes still open.

Yan Zhen fell into a deep sleep not long after lying down.

Yan Zhen didn't know how long she had been asleep when she felt a hand quietly reach out to her nose. It paused for a few moments, as if to check if she was still breathing.

Upon discovering that she was still alive, the hand quickly withdrew.

Yan Zhen found Zhao Yuan's actions somewhat amusing in her drowsy state, but she was so sleepy that she quickly fell asleep again.

The next day, Yan Zhen got up early as usual.

When she went out to wash up, she could clearly feel the soldiers in the courtyard glancing at her intentionally or unintentionally.

As soon as she looked over, the soldiers immediately looked away.

Yan Zhen could guess what they were thinking, so he simply spread his hands and let them look at him openly.

"I'm not poisoned."

Soldiers: “…”

After breakfast, Yan Zhen gathered all the soldiers together and explained to them the reason why "potatoes are poisonous".

"Only potatoes with bluish-purple skin, sprouts, or that are unripe are poisonous. Other potatoes are safe to eat once cooked. Potatoes have only been introduced to Northern Jurchens for a year, so the local people probably couldn't tell which potatoes were edible and which were poisonous, which is why they thought these potatoes were inedible."

After saying that, she told Zhao Yuan to distribute the potatoes, two for each person to use as templates, and to go to a farm outside the city to buy potatoes.

"You'll have a higher chance of buying one if you ask the sheep farmers."

Having received instructions, the soldiers took the potatoes and went their separate ways.

Yan Zhen decided not to leave the city again. Yesterday, she spent the whole day under the scorching sun. Her exposed skin was not only red from the sun, but when she woke up, it was itchy, painful, and peeling.

She plans to rest today and take a stroll around the city to buy some delicious food and fun things.

Before leaving, Yan Zhen went to find Zhao Yuan and said, "Give me some money."

Zhao Yuan was wiping his sword when he heard this and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

"walk around."

Zhao Yuan didn't give her the money, but instead got up and said, "I'll go with you."

Yan Zhen initially didn't want to bring him along, but considering the risks of traveling alone outside the Great Wall with her stunningly beautiful face, she agreed.

The two went out together, and Yan Zhen strolled around, buying a lot of little trinkets for girls for Hong Fu and Fu Xue.

The two unknowingly walked to a place where merchants gathered to sell their goods. There were merchants from all over the country, and the goods they displayed for sale were all kinds of things.

From camels and horses to novel toys for children, they have everything.

Yan Zhen spotted a century-old ginseng root at a merchant's stall selling medicinal herbs. She picked it up, examined it closely, and then asked Zhao Yuan to pay for it.

Zhao Yuan was carrying a lot of things she had bought along the way in both hands, and struggled to free his hands to reach for his purse.

As he paid, Yan Zhen noticed an inconspicuous gray bag placed next to the ginseng.

She reached out and rummaged through the bag, and Yan Zhen was stunned when she saw what was inside.

She picked up the bag and asked the merchant, "What is this?"

The merchant, busy collecting money, glanced at the seeds and replied dismissively, "Seeds."

"What seed?"

"do not know."

Yan Zhen took out the seed and looked at it again and again.

Zhao Yuan noticed her unusual expression and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Yan Zhen gestured with her lips, indicating that he should not speak.

Once he confirmed that the bag contained cottonseed, Yan Zhen suppressed his elation, picked up the bag, and asked the merchant, "How much is this?"

The businessman looked her up and down.

Yan Zhen added, "I'll take them home and fry them; they'll definitely taste better than sunflower seeds."

merchant:"……"

He casually quoted a price.

It was much lower than Yan Zhen had expected.

Yan Zhen urged Zhao Yuan, "Give me the money."

After paying, Yan Zhen strolled away with the bag of cotton seeds.

Once she was out of the merchant's sight, she quickened her pace, almost running, towards the residential area.

Zhao Yuan caught up with him, carrying two hands full of things: "What happened?"

"I've found something amazing!" Yan Zhen said mysteriously. "If this stuff is still viable and can be grown, then the people and soldiers of Tingzhou will no longer have to go hungry or suffer from the cold."

"Really?" Zhao Yuan glanced at the gray bag in her hand.

Yan Zhen was in a great mood. Seeing that Zhao Yuan's hands were full of things and he couldn't free up any space, she took the opportunity to pinch his cheek: "Just you wait and see. With me, your good days are just around the corner."

After saying that, she let go of his hand and turned to leave.

As Zhao Yuan watched her retreating figure, he pondered her words, "our Tingzhou," and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.