Ch. 1251..1260

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1251--Alexander had been busy with work recently and felt terrible about it because he did not accompany Lily that much. After all, she was pregnant, and he felt he should stay by her side more often.

However, he had no choice this time around as it did not only involve his company but something else much more important. Today, he came home slightly earlier, a rare occasion, but he did not see the woman he had been missing.

"Where's Lily?"

After washing his hands, he went to pick Galen up. ‘He seems to have gained weight again.’

"Mrs. Russell went out early in the morning and hasn't returned yet," Daisy replied.

Hearing that made Alexander frown. He carried Galen with one hand and used the other to make a call. He vaguely remembered Lily telling him that she needed to visit the institute, so he wondered if she was still there this late at night.

The call went unanswered, which was a usual thing. When Lily conducted her experiments, she would not pick up any calls, and her phone would also be silent. Hence, Alexander just sat on the couch to play with Galen, trying to make the little boy call him.

"Who am I?"

The little boy stared back at Alexander with his big, round eyes as he patted Alexander’s cheeks before calling out with a bright smile. “Mama!”

Alexander was speechless. "No, that’s wrong. It's papa!”

"Mama! Mama!" Galen chuckled, clapping his hands.

"No, mama isn’t back yet. Call me papa!" Alexander put on a straight face and tried to make his son call him his father.

‘How dare this brat go against me at such a young age?’

"Mama! Mama! Hahaha!”

Alexander just frowned. He had never been so frustrated in his entire life. His words and orders were absolute, whether in the business world or the Russell family, so he never expected to lose to a baby boy today. Still, the boy was his son, so Alexander could not get mad at him.

"Bad boy." He flipped Galen over and patted lightly on his butt. Of course, he would not bear to hit him for real.

However, that made the little boy open his mouth and cry.

"It's not even painful. Why are you crying?” Alexander was speechless and carried Galen to coax him. At the same time, he heard Lily’s voice behind his back. "Hey, what happened to my baby?”

"Oh, you're back!" Alexander turned and saw Lily, his lips curving into a smile without realizing it.

"M-Mama...” Galen cried his heart out as if his father had bullied him terribly. Hence, Lily took him from Alexander’s arms and lowered her head to ask softly, "What's wrong, my baby boy?"

Before Alexander could say anything, he saw Galen directly pointing his tiny finger at him. "Papa hit me!"

Alexander wanted to scream at that moment. ‘That brat! He didn't call me papa even after I taught him for so long earlier but look at him now. He can even make a sentence with it!"

"No, it wasn't me! I didn't!” When he saw Lily’s surprised gaze, he explained himself right away. Lily was not very surprised about Alexander hitting Galen because he was their son. She was shocked by how Galen could now speak clearly, so she tried to ask again. “Who?”

Galen pouted and pointed at Alexander again. "Papa!"

Alexander was speechless. ‘That sounded so smooth!’

"Where did he hit you?” Lily suppressed her laughter and asked, finding it hilarious when she saw Alexander's expression.

The little boy hesitated, probably trying to understand what Lily said. After a moment, he pointed to his butt. "Umm..."

He did not know what the word was yet, but he could already give Lily an answer to her question.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1252--"You brat! How dare you make false accusations to your mama?" Alexander found the situation hilarious. "Was it painful when papa hit you?"

This time, Galen nodded hard, and when coupled with his pursed lips, he looked like he was about to burst into tears again.

‘‘How dramatic!’

Alexander and Lily met gazes and saw helplessness in each other's eyes. Then Lily sat with Galen in her arms while rubbing his butt softly as a form of comfort for the little boy. While looking at him, she smiled. "Then should mama help you take revenge?"

Although Galen did not quite understand what "revenge" meant, he probably understood that Lily was going to help him with something, so he nodded quickly again. He was all smiles as he averted his gaze to Alexander. His eyes shone since he had just cried, and Alexander even saw a hint of cunning in them.

Galen opened his arms wide before circling them around Lily's neck and buried his head into the crook of her neck. Tilting his head, he looked at Alexander, appearing to be provoking his father or declaring his sovereignty.

Alexander was stunned to see that look on his son. ‘Is he fighting over her attention with me at such a young age?’ "Papa is a bad boy for hitting my baby, isn’t he?" Lily asked seriously and had even raised an arm, looking like she was ready to beat Alexander up.

“Papa, bad boy!” Galen repeated after Lily.

Chuckling, she continued, "Baby, I'll avenge you! Since papa hit my baby, then I'll...”

"Honey..." Before Alexander could defend himself, he saw Lily landing a slap on Galen's butt.

"Then I'll hit his baby!" Lily exclaimed playfully.

Both Alexander and Galen were stunned. When Galen realized what had happened, he broke out in tears. This time, he was distraught. After all, Galen was only slightly over one year old, and it was still slightly difficult for him to understand why he got beaten again. All he knew was that he got hit twice.

Alexander could not bear to see Galen crying his heart out. He stretched his arms out, wanting to take Galen into his arms, but Lily stopped him. She held Galen up, her hands placed under his armpits to keep him stable as she asked seriously, "Are you happy that I took revenge for you?"

Alexander had no words, but Galen had something to say." Boohoo... Mama, bad guy."

“Let me ask you this again. Was it painful when papa hit you?” She rephrased her question, allowing Galen to understand her better.

Subconsciously, he wanted to nod, but after realizing what Lily meant with her question, he shook his head. "Mama, painful.”

"It was painful when I hit you, but it was not painful when papa hit you, is that it?" She continued to ask.

Lily did not put in much force earlier, but it was harder than how Alexander did it, as he did it just for show.

When she entered the door, she saw what Alexander had done. He was so soft that it could not even brush the dust off Galen's pants. However, she did not expect Galen to cry because of that and had even complained about it to her.

She could feel Galen's possessiveness over her, but she did not take it seriously because Galen was still a baby.

However, when she saw him putting up an act and making a false accusation, she knew she had to teach him a lesson before it was too late.

With tears welling in his eyes, he nodded pitifully.

“Papa was just playing around with you, so why did you cry? Why did you blame papa? Do you know that you're wrong now?"

"Lily, he’s still a baby." Alexander could not bear to watch anymore, but Lily stopped him again.

"We must teach him right from wrong, starting now. His age is not an excuse for his ill-manners because he can learn good things, and we can teach him that too. It'll be too late to do anything once he grows up!”

Galen was frowning, apparently figuring out what his parents were discussing. He knew it seemed to have something to do with him.

"Do you know you're wrong now?" Lily asked again. When Galen pursed his lios and nodded, Lily said, "Go on.

Apologize to papa.” "Cough..." Alexander curled his fingers into a fist and placed it in front of his mouth as he coughed, feeling slightly awkward for no reason.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1253--It was strange for Alexander to get an apology from a baby.

However, when Galen was just born, the couple agreed that they would not argue in front of their children, even when they had different opinions on how to educate their children.

They had to look like they were on the same team, at least in front of their children. If one side felt that the other was wrong, they would discuss that privately. After all, nothing would work out if they treated their children differently.

With puffed cheeks and pouted lips, Galen looked highly adorable.

First, he looked at his mother’s stern expression, then at his indifferent father before finally saying softly, “Sorry.”

“who are you saying sorry to?” Lily asked deliberately, slightly tilting her head as if she did not hear him.

“Papal n

Alexander was stunned once again. ‘He knew how to address me, after all. He was just going against my words earlier.’

“Don’t pretend to cry and make false accusations anymore!” This time, Lily patted Galen’s butt lightly. As it felt good on the palm, Lily could not help but squeeze his fleshy butt, making the boy chuckle.

As there were still tears hanging at the corners of Galen's eyes, he looked adorable when he looked like he was crying and laughing simultaneously.

The couple continued to play with Galen, and since Galen was still a baby, he got tired and fell asleep after a while. The couple got Daisy to bring Galen back to his room, and Lily could finally stretch her arms. “I’m so tired! It's even more exhausting than being in the lab all day!”

It was a tough job to care for a kid. Fortunately, the couple had a nanny to care for Galen. Otherwise, Lily could not handle things on her own.

“Stop with your experiments then. You can have a good rest at home,” Alexander joked, which earned him an eye roll from Lily.

She said, “I said it’s tiring to play with Galen. When did I ever say anything about being exhausted by experiments?”

“You're right. Galen is growing up, and I can see that he’s going to be lively and restless, just like you!” He nodded, agreeing that taking care of a child was challenging. “I think it’s time we find a teacher for him.”

“A teacher?” Initially, Lily was enjoying the shoulder massage Alexander was giving her, but the mention of a teacher made her suddenly turn her head, pulling on a particular muscle of hers. “ Ouch! That hurt!”

“You need to stop turning your head back so suddenly!” Alexander quickly massaged her neck to soothe her pain and reprimanded her in feigned anger, “You're going to get hurt.”

“I’m not sure if that would hurt me every time, but your words did shock me! Galen is still a baby! Why do you need to find a teacher for him?”

Alexander did not find anything strange about his suggestion and just nodded. “He’s already slightly over one year old. I remember that I started understanding things at an early age. When I was three, I could memorize many classic poems and solve math problems for grade one students. Don’t people teach their kids early these days?”

He did his research about a child’s early education. Hence, he wished to hire a professional tutor to educate their son.

A private tutor taught Alexander when he was a child, so when he entered elementary school, he was already much ahead of everyone else. Throughout his years in school, he would always skip grades and be exempted from examinations, allowing him to graduate from university at seventeen.

Regarding learning about the family’s business, Alexander started that at an even younger age, as Hugo had trained him as the family’s heir.

“So, when you're doing business now, do you still need all those classic poems?” Lily leaned her head forward and asked in return, rendering Alexander speechless.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1254--"You're twisting my words on purpose. You know that's not what I meant." Alexander leaned forward as well until the tips of their noses met. "Galen will take over the Russell family in the future, so he needs to be trained from a young age. You said we shouldn't pamper our children too much, didn't you? Hmm?"

He rubbed the tip of his nose against hers and lowered his gaze to her lips. Her lips would part and close again when she spoke, looking extremely seductive to him.

"Yeah. We can’t pamper him too much, but we shouldn't torture him. I still think it's too early for him to start, and...” Lily paused and placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him slightly further away. "What if he's not interested in business and doesn't want to take over the family?"

‘This man is always moving closer to me without my realizing it. When I look at his face, which is close to perfection, I lose my ability to think. Also, he would talk about serious topics every time, which would always end up with us locking lips with each other, then later... we would need to discuss the topic again.’

Although Galen was only one year old, and it was too early to comment on his future career development, they had to consider every possibility.

For instance, Benedict was not interested in business at all, and all he wanted was to focus on his wooden carvings. Due to that, he had a long-standing conflict with his family.

Lily wished for Galen to succeed, but she did not want him to grow up with stress on the path she paved for him.

"He's my eldest son, destined to take over the Russell family from the moment he was born! He's destined to take over the company!” Alexander, who was suddenly pushed away, was dissatisfied. He tried to get closer to Lily as he said," I'm sure he can do it."

"Being able to do it and his willingness to do it are two different things!" Lily's hands dropped from Alexander's shoulders to his chest as she kept him away from her. "You told me you were stressed and felt burdened since you were young. Do you want Galen to go through the same things that you did? Do you want him to suffer so much?"

That made Alexander silent for a moment. Indeed, he had been carrying those burdens since a young age and knew those were his responsibilities. Hence, he worked hard and learned everything as though his life depended on it. The other kids had time to play, but that was not the case for him. Even when he went on vacation, it was just a trip to learn about all the business alliances and how things were done in the industry.

He had seen too much and had gone through many dangers and frame-ups. No one had ever asked him what he wanted to do because his life had been set since the moment he came into this world.

As the heir to the Russell family, he would be the one to lead the Russell family in the future. Hugo had high hopes for him back then, but Margaret had always tried to pull him down from that position.

‘Was that really what you wanted?’ It was his first time getting that question today, and he had no idea how to reply.

"Okay then. I promise you I won't force our son to do things he doesn't want. When he's old enough to make decisions for himself, I won't force him to take over the company if it's against his wishes." Alexander raised his hand as a promise to her.

"What will happen to all your businesses then? What will happen to the company?” Lily asked again.

Alexander just smiled bitterly. "What do you think? I said that Galen should take over the company, but you're worried he doesn't want to do it. I said I wouldn't force him to do it, and now you're concerned about my business? What about 19

"What?"

"Let's have a few more children. I'm sure one of them will be capable enough and willing to accept this responsibility. What a perfect solution, don't you think?"

Finally, he found the chance to pull her into his embrace. When he hugged her, that was when he felt the most content.

"I shouldn't have expected anything from you!” Lily hit his shoulder lightly, but she did not resist his touch anymore. Slowly, she rubbed her belly. "I was overthinking, and there’s still a long time until Galen grows up. Perhaps he'd be willing to take over the family and the company. All of our arguments and concerns would be pointless in that case.”

"Why are you feeling so many things at once today? Didn't you go to the institute earlier? What happened?” Alexander could tell Lily was worrying more than she usually would.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1255--“It's nothing.” Lily shook her head and leaned into his arms. Suddenly, she asked, "I went to try it today, and it’s as I had expected. After adding the essential oil, the evaporation time of the medicinal herbs will be delayed."

“Yeah.” Alexander nodded in response. He knew little but was willing to listen to everything she said. "What's the implication of that?"

"If I try it a few more times, I'll be able to convince them that the experiment was successful and the desired outcome was obtained."

Lily stretched out her arms and fiddled with her fingers. When she was in the institute, the smell of medicinal herbs got on her, but fortunately, Galen was used to her body smelling like all sorts of things and was not repelled by it.

“You still think they have other motives for doing this experiment, don't you?" Alexander added after a moment of silence, "Why don't I get someone to find out what they're up to?"

Lily shook her head and said, "It's not that I don't want you to investigate them, but there isn't anything you can find. I've looked around the lab and didn't notice any secret doors, rooms, or anything. Before this, the lab was an abandoned lecture building at the university.

“Professor Thompson is cautious and doesn't say much either. I've tried to ask him about this a few times, but he just told me to focus on the experiment and nothing else. When I was there today, I asked him again about the tests should the experiment succeed. He gave me a vague answer before switching the topic."

Every time Lily thought about this, she would feel anxious.

“You're afraid they would test it on humans?" Alexander hit the nail on the head.

“Yeah.” Lily nodded without any hesitation. “Before this, they said they would test it on lab rats or rabbits, but I'm sure you know that medicinal herbs are not like other medicines since it takes a longer time to see their effects.’

“Hence, it'll be difficult to monitor it from the data. As for the fragrance part, it'll be even harder to test. It's not like the lab rats or rabbits could tell us what they smelled, so I suspect they'll test it on humans."

Alexander lowered his head to look at Lily, who was all worried, obviously troubled by this matter. He raised his hand to caress her cheek lightly as a form of comfort. "You don’t need to worry too much about that. Since medicinal herbs save lives, they shouldn't cause too many negative effects even if they test them on humans, right?"

“It's not like that!"

Lily pulled his hand away from her and sat up straight to say seriously, “There are many types of medicinal herbs, and we can't experiment on all of them simultaneously. The lab is only experimenting with three types of herbs now."

"Three types?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "One is for anesthetic purposes, similar to the anesthesia used in hospitals. We hope the process can happen by using scented candles without the patients realizing it and having a stronger anesthetic effect.”

"An aesthesia?" Alexander was curious. "That's something the hospital already has, so why bother creating another type?"

"The research team said we should start with the simpler ones and observe their results. If it successfully creates the outcome we want through scented candles, it'll be easier for the patients to accept this innovation and feel at ease.”

"It sounds a little redundant.” Alexander finally found the word after thinking for a moment.

“Exactly!” Lily nodded in agreement.

“There's another kind, which will have the exact opposite effect with the anesthesia. It'll excite its users, so it's something like a stimulant. It'll also be added to the ingredients used to make scented candles, which can create a comparison between the two types of candles. If they could succeed with the medicinal herbs with the exact opposite effect, they believe the following experiments will succeed easily.”

"What about the third kind?"

At this point, Alexander was also interested in the topic and asked, "It’s not the kind to make someone's head hazy, making them believe they're on cloud nine, is it?"

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1256--The first two types were to make someone sink into a deep sleep and make someone excited, respectively, so Alexander guessed that the third kind should have an effect in the middle of the spectrum.

That was only his guess, to which Lily shook her head decisively. "No! You won't be able to guess it. The third kind is poison."

"Poi-” Alexander's eyes grew wider as he tilted his head to look at her, unable to joke about it. "Didn't you say the experiment was to create something that would save lives, lessen the patient's pain, and expose the public to the benefits of medicinal herbs?"

"That's what they said, but they also said that poison is a type of medication."

"Nonsense!" Alexander was furious. ‘What's all that cr*p they're talking about?’

Lily chuckled. "Not entirely. Some medicinal herbs are poisonous, but that doesn't mean they can't be used to treat illnesses. If it's used correctly, it'll be able to save lives as well. We're trying to add a medicinal herb with poisonous properties to the fragrances. The idea is to completely cover up the smell of the herb to the point where consumers won't even detect it. I just feel uncomfortable about this idea."

“Anyone would feel the same as you! It'll be great if it can save someone's life, but what if it's used to harm other people? This invention will turn out to be an invisible weapon."

When Lily mentioned that the institute's project had some problems and that she wanted to stop it because she felt that something was off, he just listened to her and respected her opinions. However, he did not expect this to be what the experiment was truly about!

Although he was no expert in the field, the idea sounded dangerous.

"No, the experiment has to stop! I'm going to withdraw my investment immediately!"

After all, his company invested money in this project. If he were to withdraw his investment now, they would need to stop the experiment, regardless of their willingness.

"I don't think they'll stop even if you do that. They'll probably try to get other investors or find other ways to fund the project. It's been a long time since the experiment's conception until today, when its research phase began. I can see Professor Thompson's determination about this, and I'm sure he wouldn't give up so easily."

“Let them find other investors then. I wonder if anyone dares invest in their project without my permission!"

That was the truth. With Alexander’s influence in the industry, no one would dare to invest in that without his green light.

"I saw someone when I exited the lab today. Guess who it was." Suddenly, Lily changed the topic and became all mysterious. Alexander was puzzled and just looked at her with silent confusion.

"Mike Gorden.”

"Him?" After considering it, he did not find it surprising for Mike to be there. "He wanted to be part of the project initially. Are you saying that he'll invest in it? That's not a big deal. I need to talk to him about it, and it'll be settled."

After all, Alexander and Mike had known each other for years. Even if Mike wanted to be a part of the project, he was a businessman and would give up after assessing the situation, as it was a high-risk project with an unclear direction, not to mention dangerous.

However, Lily had a different opinion. "He seems to be pretty interested and persistent about this project. I thought he had given up on it because he didn't mention it this time, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. He must have reasons for visiting the institute, and it won't be as simple as what we think it is."

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1257 --Alexander did not want Lily to worry too much. After all, pregnant mothers were relatively weaker, and overthinking would not be suitable for her health.

However, Lily was too bright. She could figure out many things without needing him to tell her about them.

Sighing, he said, "I'll find out about Mike's situation while you stop overthinking the matter. Since this is how the project is, we should stop it. I'll withdraw my investment, and you'll leave the team. Let's see how they're going to move forward after that!"

“But...”

"No buts!” Alexander placed both his hands on Lily's shoulders. That was his first time stopping her from doing something in such a severe manner.

In the past, he would support her no matter what she wanted to do, but he could not do that this time around.

“Although we're unsure what they're up to, it's a given that this is a dangerous project. It might involve more things and parties than you could've imagined. I know you're always interested in finding the answers to something, but it’s different this time. Listen to me and stay away from the project, alright?”

Lily looked at Alexander, noticing the determination and sincerity in his gaze. Ever since they got together, this was his first time stopping her from doing something so firmly.

After a moment of silence, she made up her mind. “Okay, I'll quit the team!"

Upon getting an answer from her, Alexander breathed a sigh of relief and looked less tense. He hugged her tightly in his embrace and said softly, "I’m not trying to stop you from doing something you like, but you must know that nothing is more important to me than your safety!"

Lily knew he had stopped her because he cared about her. Otherwise, she would have disagreed with his request more quickly. However, Lily was still worried even though she promised to quit the team.

"Do you think they'll stop once I quit the team and when you withdraw your investment? Aren't you curious about what they're trying to achieve through this experiment?" Lily looked at Alexander, frowning as her eyes were full of puzzlement.

Alexander gave her question some thought. "They didn’t make any progress when you left for about two months.

That's enough to prove they can't go anywhere without you and didn't find someone better to replace you either.

"Yeah, they could get other investors, but it's not that easy to find someone to replace your spot in the team. I'd think your departure from the team would be a huge blow to them, and they might not be able to continue with it.”

His words made sense, but Lily did not think she was capable enough to where she was the only one who had the potential to bring success to their experiment.

"What if they found someone to replace me?"

“There are a lot of what-ifs in this world. We can’t prepare ourselves for all of them, but the only thing I can do is keep you safe!”

Alexander promised.

They went through a lot together, and finally, they could enjoy the peaceful life they now had. He did not want any accidents to happen to either of them anymore. To him, nothing was more critical than Lily and their children.

Even though Lily had listened to his confession many times, his words still managed to warm her heart, helping her let go of those worries and give in to him.

"Okay, I promise you I'll quit!” Lily held his hand softly as she looked up at the ceiling and thought, ‘Perhaps I should stop overthinking this."

Somewhere about a hundred miles away from Kingsland, a vast grassland was lush and flat. A villa with an extraordinary land area was situated not far away from the vast land. The gate was closed all year round, and most would think it was an abandoned house.

However, this was where Dominic, the well-respected figure in the field of medicinal herbs, resided. He seldom left home, and only his maids would often leave the villa to purchase groceries and other necessities. On the outside, the villa looked simple yet mysterious.

When the gate to the villa opened, one would think they had entered another universe.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1258--Upon entering the gate, one could smell the faint scent of plants. All sorts of unique ferns and plants, from the gate to the residence, made it difficult to travel by car. The plants dotted a gravel path, so the maids would need to walk quite a distance whenever they were going out to purchase anything, as there was only a parking space for cars near the main gate.

Only a few would visit Dominic here most of the time. Initially, many would come over and seek Dominic's medical advice, but he refused to meet any of them.

After getting rejected several times, they started to understand that Dominic would not meet them. He was an older gentleman with a strange attitude. Besides his students, it was also difficult for his family members to meet him. As time passed, fewer people would visit, leaving the villa's surroundings quiet.

As Dominic loved the quiet atmosphere, he stayed home most days. Hence, this place appeared more deserted by the day.

However, two cars were parked in front of his gate today, a rare sight. Austin slowly stopped his car and stared at the red coupe before the gate for a few seconds in a daze.

In recent years, there were only a few people who came here. The few times Austin visited the place, he did not meet anyone, so who came today?

It was not an unusual thing to see another car here, either. After all, some would still be unwilling to give up on getting medical advice or learning a thing or two about medicinal herbs from Dominic.

However, Dominic would not meet anyone due to his strange behavior, so if Austin saw a car here, he should have seen its owner as well, but the situation now was that the red car was in front of the gate while its owner was nowhere in sight.

When Austin thought of it, he figured the guest wanted to visit Dominic but was sure the guest would fail.

The thought of the older gentleman's haughty and lofty appearance made Austin smirk. He was used to it anyway. After Austin parked his car, he got out and headed to the gate. A maid came up to him, saying, "Mr. Austin, you can't enter now.”

“Why?" Austin frowned. He was surprised to hear that. He knew Dominic preferred solidarity and disliked engaging in social interactions with others, so Austin would only visit him a few times a year. Although Dominic had rejected Austin before, it was rare for that to happen, and Dominic always had a reason for it.

It had been close to half a year since Austin last visited, and he was confident Dominic would meet him because he had something important to discuss with the older gentleman. That was why he specially traveled here. Hence, Austin felt slightly dissatisfied when the maid stopped him at the door. “I’m not here for a casual visit today, but I have something important to tell him!" Austin walked in as he spoke. However, the maid followed suit and stopped him once again. "Mr. Austin, you know the rules. If you insist on barging in, then in the future..."

Austin's expression had already turned dark before the maid could finish. He knew the rules, after all.

He could only enter the place with Dominic’s permission. If Dominic had already made it clear that he could not enter, but he insisted on doing so, he could forget about coming over again next time.

Moreover, Dominic would stop acknowledging Austin as his relative as well. Although Austin was frustrated, he dared not take another step forward. Hence, he gritted his teeth and walked the route he came in on.

"Fine, I'll wait here. Inform Granduncle Dominic that I'm here and will only enter once I have his permission! Just tell him I have something important to discuss and need his advice!”

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1259---Flower fragrances and birds chirping filled the backyard while the sun shone brightly in the sky.

An older gentleman was lying on a bamboo rattan chair, rocking it leisurely. He held a purple teacup in his hand, putting his mouth to it and sipping from time to time. He was free at this moment.

He wore a white wife beater, while a pair of woven slippers was on his feet, but only on one side. He used the other foot to sandwich the slipper between two of his toes as he shook his leg, with the slipper looking like it could fall any minute.

No one would have imagined that this older gentleman, who appeared to be just another older man, was Dominic Fike, the legendary doctor everyone wanted to meet.

He squinted his eyes and appeared to enjoy the moment. From time to time, he would open his eyes and look to his right. That appeared to be a casual gaze, but he was always anxious.On his right side was a vast herb field, and all the plants were his "babies." Besides himself and the professional gardeners, he typically did not let anyone else near the field.

However, a woman in a long-sleeved shirt and long pants walked on the field. She did not look that interested in the rare herbs in there and had a frown on her face, appearing to be looking for something. Suddenly, she bent down and looked to the side to observe something.

Perhaps she found the item she was looking for because she stretched out her arm the next second toward a plant with long green leaves and tiny yellow flowers. However, before touching it, she heard the old man exclaim, "Oh, my baby!”

The older gentleman hurriedly stood up, ignoring one of his slippers that had fallen, and hopped on one foot toward Lily. "Don't touch that! Don’t touch it!"

Upon hearing that voice, Lily stopped her hand mid-air and looked at him. "I can’t touch it?"

"You can't! Of course not!” He even used his hands to emphasize the seriousness of the matter, looking stressed out over what had almost happened.

Slowly, Lily retracted her hand. She was not planning to touch it in the first place and watched as Dominic rushed over to her earlier. He stood before her breathlessly and carefully checked on the herb to ensure it was not disturbed before turning to look at Lily's fingers.

When he was sure her fingers were clean, he breathed a breath of relief.

"Dear teacher, you're still as strong as ever!” Lily joked.

"Shut up! You're going to make me break all my bones one day!" Dominic tapped himself on the shoulder and bent down again, returning to his normal state of looking lifeless as he walked back to his chair, saying, "Alas, I've aged so much! I can’t do anything anymore!"

After taking a few steps, he turned back to look at Lily. "Lily! Don’t stay under the sun for such a long time. Come and have some tea!"

"This..." She pointed to the herb again, swaying in the wind like it was tempting her to touch it.

"No! Don't touch it!" Dominic waved and forced Lily to return to the backyard. Then he got one of the maids to refill the teapot with hot water and poured a new cup for her as he continued sipping his purple teacup.

"I realize you're becoming increasingly." Lily sat on a bamboo chair and held the cup in her hands. Pursing her lips, she looked at the lush greenery ahead of her.

Dominic shook his head. "I'm not being stingy. Don't you recognize what that is?”

"It's the Wilfordi root,” Lily said indifferently.

"Exactly!" Dominic patted his thigh, trusting his precious student to know what that herb was. However, he felt something was amiss after that. "Since you recognized it, why did you want to touch it? Don’t you want your life anymore? Don't you know it’s...”

"Its branches, leaves, and buds are highly poisonous," Lily interjected.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1260--"Since you know what it is, why did you want to touch it? You ..."” Dominic blinked his eyes, suddenly realizing something as he said sternly, “You did it on purpose!”

"I didn't do it on purpose. I was just curious if there were any exceptions, like perhaps it isn't as poisonous now that it has been improved and cultivated differently."

She held her cheek up with one hand and looked out over all the other ferns and plants, straight at the yellow flowers of the wilford root.

The herb looked average, similar to other plants. The tender, green buds looked like tea leaves, but who could have imagined this was the poisonous wilfordi root?

Most people might not be familiar with the wilfordi root. It belonged to the famous plant family-heartbreak grass!

According to the myths, a farmer had tasted all sorts of herbs and finally tried the wilfordi root, which brought about his death as it was something that could not be treated.

Although it was just a myth, it was a fact that the wilfordi root was poisonous. If one accidentally took in its buds, leaves, or branches, nausea and diarrhea would soon follow. It would also cause irreversible damage to its consumer's blood vessels and nervous system.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the wilfordi root is the most poisonous herb in the world.

"Cultivation and improvement?" Dominic found this idea to be fresh. After a moment, he asked, "Have you tried it?"

“Nope.” Lily shook her head, maintaining her posture.” However, I want to know if there's any possibility of that."

"Theoretically, we cannot deny the possibility of anything happening. After all, nothing is ever absolute in this world. However, according to my experience and judgment after being in this field for so long, it's impossible to do that!"

He pretended to be twirling his beard, forgetting that Galen had pulled those few strands of the beard off when Lily brought him over the other time. As half of it was gone, he decided that he might as well shave everything off after that.

His chin was smooth, but he could not eliminate his habit of twirling his beard.

‘Oh, I thought the institute was that capable that they had cultivated a non-poisonous type of wilfordi root,’ Lily said casually, lowering her head to play with the tea pet on Dominic's tea tray out of boredom.

"Hm?" Dominic could tell that there was a hidden meaning behind her words. Narrowing his eyes, he probed, “What do you mean?”

Lily tilted her head and threw him a sideways glance. "You insisted that I join the institute and said that there was some special meaning to the things they do, and maybe they could bring about a new era in the health industry. In one of the experiments at the institute, they used the wilfordi root.”

"Oh!" Dominic answered, then paused for thought. He added, “There's nothing strange about it. Although its branches, leaves, and buds are poisonous, they can be used in medicines. After all, poison is a kind of medication as well, and it all depends on how it's used. I told you this before. Since they're experimenting with new medications, they would use other poisonous herbs even if it was not the wilfordi root.”

Dominic did not take the matter seriously. To him, it was just a usual thing in the industry.

Lily curved her lips into a faint smile. "That's right. But they're not using its roots but its buds in the experiment!"

"Could they be trying to extract the portion of the poison with medicinal effects? Didn't you say that they wanted to mix the herbs with the fragrances so that the fragrances could cover up the special smell of the herbs?"

"Yeah." Lily continued to play with the tea pet and answered casually.

Dominic put the pieces of the puzzle together quickly." They're trying to make an odorless poison that could be used anywhere easily?"

"I didn’t say that!" Lily put the tea pet down and pointed at him, showing how innocent she was in this conversation.’ Those are your words!”