The young lady sitting across from him had a leisurely manner and gentle tone. “Your Highness knows that Da Bai isn’t a goose raised for eating, right?”

“I know.” Wei Han had an ominous premonition.

The young lady smiled as she uttered a few words: “So I won’t sell.”

Wei Han was so choked up he couldn’t speak for a while, drinking bitter tea sip after sip.

But there was no help for it—the illness still needed to be treated.

“I won’t hide it from Miss Luo—I truly need that white goose.” Wei Han gripped his teacup, choosing his words carefully. “If it’s a matter of money, anything can be discussed.”

Say too little, and the other party wouldn’t listen. Say too much, and he’d easily be taken advantage of. Having something to ask for was just this frustrating.

Speaking of the most convenient method, it was indeed as Shi Yan had said—secretly sneak into the Grand Commandant’s manor and take some blood from that white goose.

But using such methods against a young lady—he couldn’t do it.

Luo Sheng shook her head. “I won’t sell for any amount of money. I’m not short of cash.”

Wei Han: “…”

Luo Sheng took a sip of tea and asked, “Why does Your Highness want to buy a white goose?”

Before Wei Han could speak, she toyed with her cup and smiled. “Let me guess. Your Highness doesn’t spare gold or silver, and specifically asked about Da Bai’s age—it shouldn’t be purely to buy it for meat. Could it be—”

She met the cold-faced man’s gaze, her expression half-smiling. “Could it be that Da Bai is a medicinal ingredient prescribed by the divine physician that can cure some rare condition?”

Wei Han’s brow furrowed instantly.

He hadn’t anticipated that Miss Luo would be such a perceptive person.

After all, using a white goose as medicine was too absurd.

The young lady’s voice grew slightly colder as she continued, “Your Highness’s mother passed away early, you haven’t married, and could be called solitary. For you to personally approach me to buy a white goose, I imagine the person who needs this item is Your Highness yourself, correct?”

Wei Han’s brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.

Why did this description of being “solitary” sound so uncomfortable?

“Your Highness, am I guessing correctly?” Luo Sheng asked calmly.

Prince Kaiyang had visited the divine physician many times. There was speculation in the capital that it was to seek treatment for the wet nurse who raised him, but she felt the so-called wet nurse was just a cover.

The one truly ill was the man sitting across from her.

Seeing that Luo Sheng had guessed correctly, Wei Han no longer concealed it. “Miss Luo is ice-snow clever. However, I only need a bit of goose blood as a medicinal catalyst—it won’t harm Da Bai’s life.”

Luo Sheng smiled. “Even if Your Highness flatters me, I still won’t sell Da Bai, much less sell Da Bai’s blood. Since Your Highness inquired about Da Bai, you should know I’ve raised Da Bai for several years. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Da Bai is a member of the Luo manor. Your Highness has heard of poor families selling sons and daughters, but have you heard of selling children’s blood?”

Could a goose be compared to children?

Wei Han didn’t know if he was overthinking it, but he felt Miss Luo was mocking him for being solitary—not even as good as a goose.

Where had he offended Miss Luo?

If not for his intact memory, he would have thought he was the one who pulled off Miss Luo’s belt, rather than the other way around.

“However—” Seeing the other party fall silent, Luo Sheng’s tone shifted. “Since it won’t harm Da Bai’s life and only requires some goose blood, I can give Your Highness some.”

“Give me?” Wei Han was startled.

His instinct told him there was no such free lunch.

The young lady across from him smiled. “Of course, I know Your Highness is a person of noble integrity and would feel uneasy taking something from others for free, so I’ll just make one small condition.”

The corner of Wei Han’s mouth twitched.

He didn’t mind taking it for free. He’d feel very at ease.

Luo Sheng looked deeply at Wei Han and smiled. “Just like last time—Your Highness can help me with something in the future. What does Your Highness think?”

What could Wei Han think? Da Bai was in her hands—he could only agree.

Seeing Wei Han agree readily, Luo Sheng was also forthright. “How much goose blood does Your Highness need? I’ll go back right now and draw blood from Da Bai.”

Wei Han: “…” Didn’t you say Da Bai was a member of the Luo manor? Looking at Miss Luo’s decisive manner, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

“Has Da Bai lived past twelve years?” Wei Han asked the crucial question.

Luo Sheng hesitated. “I’m not quite certain. When I bought Da Bai, they said it had been raised for seven or eight years. Now, even if it hasn’t reached twelve years, it’s probably only a few months short.”

Speaking of this, she smiled. “However, they say medicinal catalysts are such that the slightest error makes all the difference. I imagine being off by even a day won’t work, will it?”

Wei Han fell silent.

Miss Luo’s words were identical to the divine physician’s. Could it be that the divine physician knew Miss Luo raised such a goose and was deliberately setting him up?

Thinking of the divine physician’s legendary deeds he’d heard, Wei Han suppressed this disrespectful thought.

Though the divine physician’s actions were somewhat unpredictable, his medical ethics when truly treating people needed no comment.

“That’s indeed the case. To be safe, I’d like to wait half a year.”

The young lady across from him showed an understanding smile. “Then I’ll go back and have someone take good care of Da Bai. Lest something happen to Da Bai and Your Highness loses this precious medicinal catalyst.”

Wei Han set his teacup on the stone table and silently refilled Luo Sheng’s cup.

“I was just about to make an unreasonable request of Miss Luo.”

“Please speak, Your Highness.” Luo Sheng deeply understood the principle of not draining the pond to catch fish, so she didn’t raise new conditions.

Of course, most importantly, she should first hear what the other party had to say. If it was a difficult request, she should still raise conditions when necessary.

She couldn’t do business at a loss—that was her bottom line.

“I’d like to send a maid to stay at your manor temporarily to look after Da Bai.” Wei Han stated his request.

Just as Miss Luo had said, Da Bai wasn’t just an ordinary goose to him, but a precious medicinal catalyst.

Such a precious medicinal catalyst needed to wait half a year before it could be used—how could he feel at ease without sending his own person to watch over it?

Luo Sheng frowned. “I can understand Your Highness’s thinking, but sending a maid to my place to look after Da Bai might be inappropriate.”

“Miss Luo can claim publicly that she’s a maid you purchased.”

Wei Han didn’t understand what was inappropriate about this.

The maid he sent would certainly be unfamiliar—no one would know she came from Prince Kaiyang’s manor.

Luo Sheng smiled. “It’s not about the maid’s origins.”

“Then what—”

Luo Sheng looked at Wei Han, her expression candid. “Your Highness may not know, but Da Bai is currently being cared for by two of my male favorites. If you send a maid over, having her together with them wouldn’t be quite appropriate, would it?”

This time Wei Han’s silence lasted quite a while.

His first thought was a question: When Miss Luo mentioned her own male favorites, could she really be this matter-of-fact about it?

He shouldn’t comment on others’ private affairs, but having two of one’s male favorites care for a white goose—didn’t that test one’s imagination a bit?

Seeing the other party fall silent, Luo Sheng was very considerate and didn’t speak.

Two male favorites caring for a goose was indeed rather shocking. She should give him time to adjust.

What the man across from her said next, however, was beyond Luo Sheng’s expectations.

“How about this—I’ll send a personal guard to look after Da Bai. What does Miss Luo think?” After pondering for a long while, Wei Han asked tentatively.

If a maid together with Miss Luo’s male favorites wasn’t appropriate, a personal guard should be acceptable, right?

Luo Sheng’s eyes flickered as she smiled and nodded. “That’s acceptable.”

There was nothing wrong with it. To become Prince Kaiyang’s personal guard, one’s martial skills must at least be passable. Who knew when they might come in handy?

Seeing Luo Sheng agree, Wei Han felt slightly relieved. His peripheral vision swept over Shi Yan guarding at the courtyard gate, and he instantly made a decision.