Cyan Pine Guest Hall, from the main gate of the Qin Mansion, past the screen wall and through the garden, you will arrive at this place.
The Guest Hall is decorated with a large number of potted pine trees, and the walls are embedded with reliefs of welcoming pines, making it quite elegant, specifically used by Qin Feng to entertain guests.
When Qin Yuesheng entered the Guest Hall from a side door, he saw his father Qin Feng sitting at the main seat, chatting with a young girl who was seated at the guest's seat. The little girl was at most just over ten years old, yet she looked very fair and clean, with delicate features, like a porcelain doll meticulously crafted by an artisan.
"Yuesheng, come and sit." As soon as Qin Feng saw Qin Yuesheng, he immediately waved him over.
Qin Yuesheng's father was rather thin, with a kind face, and one glance could tell he was a good man. Since Qin Yuesheng's mother died after giving birth to him, he had always been his father Qin Feng's only hope. As long as Qin Yuesheng wanted something, Qin Feng would go to great lengths to get it for him, satisfying his every demand. It was this kind of unreasonable spoiling that turned Qin Yuesheng into a good-for-nothing indulging in pleasure.
"Dad." Qin Yuesheng quickly feigned innocence as he walked over.
In the memories he received, the impression of this fiancée was quite vague. Other than knowing her name was Su Lanyin, the third young lady of the Su family, who had taken the initiative to bring a few medicinal meals to him each month for the past few years, there wasn't much else.
"Brother Yuesheng, you're here." The porcelain doll, Su Lanyin, quickly stood up and called out sweetly.
"Uh, hello, hello." Qin Yuesheng nodded repeatedly. Being born into a wealthy family really has its perks; he didn't even need to find a wife himself, and one was already arranged for him. This kind of arrangement was quite satisfying, though the fiancé seemed a bit too young for his taste; he preferred mature women with shapely figures and long legs.
"Brother Yuesheng, this is the chicken and ginseng soup I personally made. It's very good for your health; you must finish it." Su Lanyin said earnestly as she carefully brought over a clay pot from the small table nearby.
In Cyan Yang City, there are three prominent families and five distinguished clans. The Qin family is among the prominent, while Su Lanyin's family is one of the five notable clans.
This distinction between prominent families and notable clans is not based on wealth but established since the founding of the Great Tang; only families with members holding fifth-rank or above official positions are titled as prominent families. Those who do not meet this criterion are considered notable clans.
For the Qin family, with Qin Yuesheng being its sole heir, the Su family eagerly sought connections by frequently sending gifts during holidays and having Su Lanyin visit to care for him and nurture their relationship.
Unfortunately, the original owner of Yuesheng's body was someone enamored with brothels and gambling, showing little interest in his fiancée, Su Lanyin.
Qin Feng said, "Housekeeper."
"Yes." Qin Zheng, the head housekeeper standing behind Qin Feng, immediately stepped forward to take the clay pot and approached Qin Yuesheng. While Su Lanyin couldn't see his actions, Qin Zheng swiftly and discreetly produced a silver needle from somewhere and inserted it into the seam of the pot's lid.
The needle showed no reaction. He tasted the chicken soup with the needle and showed no reaction himself.
After confirming the soup was non-toxic, he handed it over to Qin Yuesheng.
The entire process left Qin Yuesheng impressed. With such fluid and practiced movements, Housekeeper Qin must have done this many times, becoming highly skilled at it.
"Yuesheng, Lanyin worked hard to make this soup for you and brought it here herself. It wasn't easy for her, so try the soup and don't waste her good intentions." Qin Feng remarked with a calm smile.
As the sole heir of the Qin family, every aspect of Qin Yuesheng's life required caution to avoid any mishaps. Even though Su Lanyin was engaged to him by Qin Feng himself and grew up under their eyes, they couldn't lower their guards.
"Oh, okay." Qin Yuesheng didn't mind much at all, directly taking the porcelain spoon handed by a maid and slowly starting to sip the soup from the clay pot.
Inside the pot, the chicken soup was golden, with a whole chicken without its head and tail immersed at the bottom, floating pieces of red goji berries and white ginseng. The appearance was quite appealing.
The flavor was indeed delicious, and Qin Yuesheng couldn't help but drink a few more mouthfuls, looking very satisfied with it. Seeing him drink so eagerly, Su Lanyin couldn't help but smile even more happily.
****
Personal Attributes:
Strength: 0.4 (Weak) (+)
Agility: 0.3 (Slow) (+)
Physique: 0.3 (Poor) (+)
Spirit: 0.9 (Normal) (+)
Charm: 0.8 (Average Appearance) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 1
...
Personal Skills:
Theft (0/10) Beginner (+)
Flying Knife Skill (0/10) Beginner (+)
****
"Hmm!" At this moment, the suddenly auto-popup super-assistant caught Qin Yuesheng's attention, showing that the All-Purpose Essence, which was previously 0, had now risen to 1 point.
Clearly, this was closely linked to the nourishing chicken soup he was currently drinking.
Thinking of this, Qin Yuesheng immediately sped up his drinking. Under everyone's gaze, Qin Yuesheng put down the spoon, lifted the clay pot with both hands, and gulped down the chicken soup in big swigs.
This left Qin Feng completely stunned. Son, you've grown up, and yet your father has never seen you like this before.
Even Su Lanyin was a bit stunned. Is the chicken soup I made today really that delicious? Brother Yuesheng used to only take a couple of sips and considered himself done.
"Housekeeper, have the servants buy a hundred old hens later, and cook chicken soup for the young master at every meal from now on." Qin Feng said with a serious expression.
"Yes."
After Qin Yuesheng finished drinking an entire pot of chicken soup, the All-Purpose Essence in the attributes panel successfully increased to 3 points.
Qin Yuesheng pondered briefly.
"Is it the effect of the chicken soup, or is it the ingredients? If I eat this old hen, will it also increase the All-Purpose Essence?"
After a slight hesitation, Qin Yuesheng reached out and tore off a tender, boiled chicken leg, devouring it, but the attributes panel remained unchanged. Then, he turned his gaze to the two ginseng roots in the pot.
Dry and shriveled, not smooth at all.
Just try a bite.
"Yuesheng, you..."
Under Qin Feng's astonished gaze, Qin Yuesheng took out a palm-sized ginseng from the pot and took a fierce bite.
Ginseng is very nourishing, but the taste...
Chomp, chomp, chomp.
Qin Yuesheng chewed with a furrowed brow. If he weren't trying to figure out what could increase the All-Purpose Essence, he would have spat it out by now.
All-Purpose Essence +1
As expected, the All-Purpose Essence in the attributes panel showed a change again.
It's the ginseng! It's because Su Lanyin added ginseng to the chicken soup!
Qin Yuesheng suddenly realized.
No one present knew what Qin Yuesheng was thinking. They only saw the eldest son of the Qin family drink a whole pot of chicken soup, eat a chicken leg, and finally eat the ginseng.
If Qin Yuesheng's status wasn't clear, they might have thought he was abused and starved for days before coming here.
Qin Feng said slowly, "Housekeeper, in addition to the cows and sheep from earlier, bring all the ginseng from the Qin family's pharmacies to the mansion."
"Yes, sir."
"No, better yet, just buy me a slaughterhouse. From now on, whatever Yuesheng wants to eat, we'll kill it fresh."
Housekeeper Qin: "..."
Su Lanyin came back to her senses with her own thoughts: "I didn't expect Brother Yuesheng to like eating ginseng. I only added two roots this time, too few. Looks like next time I'll put in more when I make soup, so he doesn't think I'm stingy."
After swallowing a whole root of ginseng, Qin Yuesheng gained another point of All-Purpose Essence, now he had as many as 5 points.
Just as he was contemplating whether to eat the other root in the pot, a warm flow surged in his nasal passages, and suddenly two streams of hot nosebleed gushed from his nostrils, staining his white robe in seconds.
"Is the ginseng poisonous?"
Bam! Qin Yuesheng fell to the ground, this was his last thought before fainting.
...
"Doctor, is Yuesheng alright?"
"It's nothing serious, it's just that the eldest son indulges too much in wine and pleasures and doesn't exercise. Although he's not weak yet, he's a bit worse off than ordinary people. Eating ginseng, which is very nourishing, suddenly makes it normal that his body couldn't handle it."
"That's good, that's good."
"In the next few days, don't let the eldest son eat any supplements, just some plain porridge or noodles. Also, cut down on wine and pleasures, preferably for some time. Regular exercise will benefit his health."
"Yes, I have remembered it."
Once the room was quiet again and everyone had left, Qin Yuesheng slowly opened his eyes and couldn't help but sigh with relief.
"Eating ginseng can make a person faint, it's the first time I've heard that. Looks like even if I want to get All-Purpose Essence, I must consume ginseng in moderation, lest I risk my life."
Qin Yuesheng summoned his super aid, ready to spend the All-Purpose Essence he just gained.
Personal Attributes:
Strength: 0.4 (Weak) (+)
Agility: 0.3 (Slow) (+)
Constitution: 0.3 (Poor) (+)
Spirit: 0.9 (Normal) (+)
Charm: 0.8 (Plain) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 5
As the doctor mentioned earlier, because Qin Yuesheng's body often indulges in pleasure, it's now worse than normal. And a person's body condition determines how much nourishing things they can consume, so the first attribute Qin Yuesheng wanted to improve was constitution.