Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Marvin was very confident that the snake consort was probably bankrupt and had no chance of matching his offer.

If it was someone else, the elf wouldn't have dared to act this way, because even if he was the grandmaster alchemist's only son, he wasn't favored by his father at all and only had very few resources at his disposal.

So Marvin secretly hoped that this amount of gold was enough to scare Tang Yue away.

But unfortunately for him, there was no fear or defeat in Tang Yue's eyes.

She simply had a pleasant smile plastered on her face, as she gracefully walked over and placed a bead sized sparkling gem on the metallic table.

"I believe this should cover it?" She smirked.

The vendor blankly stared and couldn't believe his eyes, but he quickly nodded and pocketed the gem, afraid that the princess might change her mind.

Tang Yue smiled and turned around.

The wastrel son and his lackeys were frozen still, with their jaw dropped on the floor, so she pushed aside on of the lackeys and nonchalantly walked away.

"You... Are you crazy??? Why would you spend a thousand gold coins on these useless birds??" Marvin yelled with the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Why not?" Tang Yue replied without turning back.

"How do you have so much money?? Why are you so wasteful? Does gold grow in trees for you?! Dumb snake!"

Marvin couldn't hold his anger and shouted at the slowly disappearing thick figure of the snake consort.

Tang Yue lightly chuckled. She could very well relate to the wastrel son's anger. After all, once upon a time, she was also a wastrel daughter.

"Pfft... Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows on beautiful female elves!"

Leaving behind the dumbfounded Marvin, Tang Yue quickened her pace and fled the scene.

Though she didn't intend to lock heads with anyone, she had ended up shamelessly bulling the grandmaster alchemist's son today.

She had a nagging feeling that the fatty might come back and haunt her.

"Sigh... I have only one friend in this damned place, but the enemies are growing in numbers every day."

She wiped the sweat off her forehead and walked out of the beast trading sector, with Lotte closely following her.

Before heading back to the royal palace, she still had one more chore left to complete, a very problematic chore.

Now that she had enough gold in her hands, Tang Yue wanted to buy a few herbs to boost her other attributes.

Maybe because the attribute quest was still incomplete, she hadn't been receiving any more quests from the damned system.

So Tang Yue braced herself for an accidental run-in with the nasty old codger Dranuk and decided to buy some herbs.

It was time to include some greens in her meat diet and buff up the various resistances.

She hurriedly barged into the nearest herbal shop and ordered a bunch of different herbs with decent lightning, fire, ice, and poison affinities.

The potency of the herbs was actually not utilized entirely when they are eaten in this form.

They were best consumed after being concocted into pills or potions, but Tang Yue couldn't afford the pills right now.

This was merely to complete the quest, so she just bought the cheap low-grade herbs.

When they eventually lose their effectiveness as the leftover dregs did, she could then splurge and buy pills for satiating her insatiable tummy.

While she was busily eyeing the parchment in her hands, with all the herb details, a familiar figure materialized behind her and tapped her on her shoulders.

Damn it!

Tang Yue instantly sensed trouble and swiveled around, but thankfully it was not that hateful person.

Adriana's smiling face greeted the snake woman, as the beautiful elf curiously peered at the parchment in Tang Yue's hands.

"Waah! Sister is so hardworking." She chuckled.

"Ha. Ha. I am still stuck on understanding the basic herbs." Tang Yue explained.

Adriana gave her a beaming thumbs up and proceeded to place her own orders.

Though she couldn't help herself and turned around to ask. "Why are you working so hard? Considering your situation, you don't have to worry about these things."

I guess the news about my crippled meridians is finally out! Tang Yue smirked.

"Ah. Ha Ha. Otherwise, I would be bored to death." She awkwardly answered Adriana's question.

"OK. Don't worry too much. Take care of your health." Adriana smiled and busied herself with her work.

Tang Yue as well, received her packaged herbs, and left the shop.

But she couldn't stop thinking about Adriana's question. Why was she working so hard?

What exactly was her end game here?

It is not as if she can leave this place, once she becomes strong enough to brave the wilderness.

If she leaves, then what would become of the fate of her clan members??

She might be selfish and nonchalant about her family members but she could never be heartless enough to jeopardize her entire clan's well-being.

She was a political hostage stuck in a hostile Empire. She could neither go back home nor live here freely. She was forever doomed to be stuck in this captivity.

So why was she working so hard?

Actually, now that she was thinking about it. Becoming stronger might end up making her life worse, rather than helping her situation.

Would the tyrannical cold-blooded elven Crown Prince tolerate a consort who is strong enough to topple his regime?

Tang Yue's pensive eyes gazed absent-mindedly as she walked back to her ornate prison in the royal palace.