83: Ming Cheng was shocked when he rubbed the third-grade elixir with his hands.

Ming Cheng felt a surge of emotion, lamenting her own fate, having entered the Imperial Palace from a young age to be trained.

She would either spend her life alone in the Imperial Palace, or be favored by His Majesty and, with good luck, be made a concubine—though likely only for His Majesty's fleeting interest, leading to a solitary old age—or be sent away as a dowry for a princess to another country, or to a meritorious official.

Ming Cheng knew such a day would come for her eventually, and she had no complaints; the path was her own choice, and the outcome was known the moment she stepped into the Imperial Palace. Such was her fate.

Compared to being given to something inhuman, not being treated as a person, or being married off to another country and unable to return to her roots, Ming Cheng felt fortunate that her fate was quite lucky.

Taking care of a child is simple; just give him a piece of candy to appease him. There are no other ill intentions.

Moreover, Young Master Li Yi is so adorable and interesting.

“The water’s getting cold. Should I change the bucket for Young Master again?” Ming Cheng asked Wan Ning.

“You should take Young Madam to wash first. It’s getting late. If you’re tired, go rest. You don’t need to worry about Young Master and me; I’ll take good care of Young Master.”

“Understood.” Ming Cheng nodded, first taking Qiu Lingmeng to bathe and rest.

Li Yi pulled off two handfuls of herbs.

Essence of Alchemy and Grass and Wood Affinity complemented each other, helping Li Yi better understand the fundamental properties of medicinal ingredients, making Alchemy effortless.

He began to hand-roll Medicinal Pills.

As the grade of the Medicinal Pills increased, the Alchemy process became more difficult, requiring more time and the refinement of more Medicinal Pills.

Besides hand-rolling Medicinal Pills, Li Yi also wanted to try refining Medicinal Pills using a Pill Furnace.

The advantage of hand-rolling Medicinal Pills was its convenience and simplicity; though somewhat crude and rough, it allowed for hand-rolling anywhere, anytime, skipping the complex process.

Medicinal Pills refined in a Pill Furnace were more delicate and aesthetically pleasing. With flame smelting, refining herbs was definitely faster than hand-rolling, and certain excellent flames and Pill Furnaces also provided unique enhancements to Medicinal Pills.

Li Yi thought, if he mastered a type of flame, wouldn't he be able to use fire as a cauldron, allowing his hand-rolled Medicinal Pills to advance further, perhaps even completely replacing the Pill Furnace?

Unbeknownst to them, night had fallen deep.

Ming Cheng looked at Li Yi, who was still in the courtyard, continuously rubbing a handful of grass in his hand, wondering, ‘Is this what Wan Ning meant by Alchemy?’

‘Could he really be trying to rub this handful of grass into a Medicinal Pill? How incredibly fanciful; but he’s a child, so it’s normal.’

“Young Master isn’t sleeping yet? It’s so late. Do you need me to make something to eat?” Ming Cheng asked Wan Ning.

Wan Ning had always taken care of Li Yi, and Ming Cheng would also be caring for Li Yi long-term in the future, so she needed to consult Wan Ning often about Li Yi’s habits.

“You can make some pastries. Young Master likes to eat, especially drinking milk.”

“Drinking milk?” Ming Cheng wondered, looking down at her chest. ‘Is it that kind of milk?’

Wan Ning chuckled awkwardly: “Young Master hasn’t been weaned yet.”

Ming Cheng: “!”

It really was!

She hadn’t expected Li Yi to be so old yet still unweaned. This… how would she feed him?

Wan Ning explained: “Just buy some beast milk.”

“Okay, I understand.” Ming Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, having been startled.

“There’s basically nothing else. Just leave the rest to me. You can go back to sleep.” Wan Ning saw Ming Cheng standing beside her, waiting.

“Young Master hasn’t fallen asleep yet. If he needs anything, I can help. Besides, I’ll be taking care of Young Master with Sister Wan Ning in the future, so I want to learn more about him,” Ming Cheng said with a smile.

“Don’t call me sister. I’m younger than you. Just call me Wan Ning.”

Wan Ning looked up at Ming Cheng, who was half a head taller than her, and incidentally glanced at Ming Cheng’s chest. She was indeed smaller than Ming Cheng; it was an eternal pain!

“Mm.” Ming Cheng smiled and nodded. In the Imperial Palace, whoever had a good relationship with the master, or held a higher status, was called ‘sister,’ regardless of age.

“Aren’t you tired?” Wan Ning asked.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it. In the Imperial Palace, there were many times I slept later than this,” Ming Cheng explained.

“I see. Usually, I’m the one who puts Young Master to sleep. Young Master is used to sleeping with me, so I always have to wait until he falls asleep.”

Ming Cheng nodded thoughtfully.

They stopped chatting and looked at Li Yi, who was still rubbing the grass. At first glance, Li Yi seemed very cute.

His chubby, baby-fat cheeks made one want to poke them, but he was her master, so she wouldn't dare.

It wasn’t bad to be able to care for such an adorable young master.

She didn't know if she would be taking care of Li Yi permanently or just temporarily; that would depend on the higher-ups' intentions.

“Done!”

Li Yi exclaimed joyfully.

He opened his hand, revealing a completed, hand-rolled Medicinal Pill—a third-grade Medicinal Pill.

Through Li Yi's efforts, this Medicinal Pill had reached the mid-level of a third-grade, and its appearance was much better than the previous grass lumps, truly resembling a Medicinal Pill.

Wan Ning and Ming Cheng walked over.

“Young Master, what grade is this Medicinal Pill?” Wan Ning asked curiously.

“Third grade.”

“Young Master is amazing! You can even hand-roll a third-grade Medicinal Pill now,” Wan Ning said with admiration.

As expected of Young Master, at such a young age, he was already a third-grade Alchemist. The strongest Alchemist in the Li family, Duan Ye, was only fifth-grade.

In a few years, Young Master would surely surpass Duan Ye and become the strongest Alchemist in the Li family, and later, he would definitely become the strongest Alchemist in Great Qian, surpassing Pill Emperor.

Ming Cheng: “?”

Slightly puzzled, she heard them speaking as if Li Yi had truly hand-rolled a Medicinal Pill.

Her first thought was that Wan Ning might be humoring Li Yi.

She looked at the Medicinal Pill in Li Yi’s hand, and upon closer inspection, a look of surprise appeared on her face; it seemed to really be a Medicinal Pill.

Could Li Yi have really hand-rolled a Medicinal Pill? How was that possible!

She approached to examine it, feeling the medicinal power of a third-grade Medicinal Pill. It was easy to identify it as a third-grade Medicinal Pill. At this moment, Ming Cheng was incredibly shocked.

Hand-rolling a third-grade Medicinal Pill—what level of Alchemy was this? It was simply too outrageous!

It completely shattered Ming Cheng’s understanding of traditional Alchemy, leaving her dumbfounded. To not even need a Pill Furnace and directly hand-roll it—even Pill Emperor couldn't do that.

Who exactly was this young master, not yet three years old?

Ming Cheng even wondered if she was dreaming. She pinched herself; it hurt, so it was real.

Suddenly, Ming Cheng realized. No wonder His Majesty had sent her and her four younger sisters to take care of Li Yi. It turned out Young Master Li Yi was such a peerless Genius.

This method of Alchemy was truly astounding. Her gaze towards Li Yi filled with fervor and respect.

Li Yi threw the Medicinal Pill to Ming Cheng: “If you like it, take it. I see your Cultivation is at two-star Martial Master. If you take this Medicinal Pill and Cultivate diligently, you should be able to Breakthrough tomorrow.”

Ming Cheng: “!”

Surprised, how did Li Yi know her Cultivation? Did he see through it?

Palace maids were also divided into different ranks. Ming Cheng was the leader of those four palace maids; besides being sensible, her Cultivation talent was also decent.

Although a third-grade Medicinal Pill wasn’t considered extremely valuable, for a palace maid, it was a privilege she couldn't afford.

Wan Ning said: “Take it. Medicinal Pills are nothing to Young Master. He can hand-roll one anytime.”

“Yes.”