Chemistry Lesson

Xu Qian's mind processed the new information. 'That Zhou boy is a hedonistic son of the rich. Was he acting under another person's instructions? Well, just because he's a spoiled child, doesn't mean he can't have brains. He utilized his social status to pick a fight with me and pulled strings to try to get rid of me.

'There were little consequences for the Zhou family. Although inspections are near, the death of a low-level official will not turn heads. A county constable can't hold a candle to the Assistant Minister of Revenue, a third-ranked official. They did not expect me to have ties with the Imperial Astronomers and the White Deer Academy.'

Xu Qian felt like he was walking on thin ice.

'I offended the Assistant Minister of Revenue when I solved the case. Now, I'm being dragged into this mess. And to think I wanted to distance myself from the courts and become a wealthy merchant, lead a normal life with a wife and children. If it weren't for Xu Xinnian's poetry recital and the chemistry knowledge I wrote down a few days ago, I might have died not knowing the truth… A meaningless death.'

A series of coincidences allowed Xu Qian to escape death. 'It was luck!' Xu Qian realized. "Lady Caiwei, may I know if you can read a person's fate?"

Chu Caiwei swallowed her food and said, "Yes. The eighth rank is Qi mastery. All the more flashy skills build upon it."

Mentions of her own discipline perked her up and she asked excitedly, "That said, do you know why the ninth rank is medicine and not Qi mastery?"

Xu Qian shook his head and said, "Can't be because all sorcerers have a heart of gold, right?"

Chu Caiwei sat up straight and put on a serious expression. She was enjoying her chance to educate someone about sorcery. "Every living thing in the world has Qi but humans exhibit it the most. Hardships, emotions, and desires are all reflected in a person's fate. While practicing medicine, one cannot avoid the old and the sickly, life and death. Long-term exposure to such conditions will cause one to develop the Clear Sight."

'I love a woman who can't shut up.' Xu Qian said, "Can you look into my fate?"

Chu Caiwei dabbed her lips with a handkerchief. Then, she stared into Xu Qian's eyes—bright spots appeared in her dark pupils.

Placed under the Clear Sight, Xu Qian felt his soul being touched. There were pins and needles on his spine and the experience was incredibly unsettling.

A moment later, Chu Caiwei's eyes returned to normal and she said, "I saw faint red with black smoke."

"What does that mean?"

"Red means you're involved in the courts. Faint, because you're a low-level official. The black smokes are a sign of your bad luck. I don't think you need an explanation for that."

Xu Qian frowned. "You saw no other colors? Maybe something that signifies I'm the Son of Destiny."

Chu Caiwei let out a gasp. She could tolerate Xu Qian's irreverence but to insinuate he was chosen by destiny was going too far. "You should be careful with your words. What you said can be construed as treason by others. No one but the Emperor can be the Son of Destiny."

'O' mighty dragon, perhaps you should rub your eyes and try again. Or maybe she's too low-ranking. Or my luck has nothing to do with my fate.' Xu Qian fell into deep thought. 

Chu Caiwei slapped away Xu Qian's sticky fingers and glowered at him. "Can you wait? I'll let you have the remaining food once I'm done."

Xu Qian surveyed the table—half of the food was gone. He wondered how far into the pregnancy she was.

"Right, how is the Assistant Minister of Revenue doing?" Xu Qian sat up straight and kept his eyes away from the table.

"The Revenue Advisor filed a complaint of misconduct against Assistant Minister Zhou but the Emperor shot it down." Chu Caiwei paused for a moment, then continued saying, "The two men killed themselves over the crime."

'So there's no evidence. The Emperor could sentence anyone to death, evidence, and the voice of the people be damned. This case could be the result of political infighting or the Emperor has other plans in motion. I have too little knowledge about the imperial courts. I should get to know some people on the inside…'

Xu Qian tried to pry the details from Chu Caiwei but she had little to contribute. The woman had no interest in politics.

"My goodness, you're annoying. The Imperial Astronomers do not mind the matters of the courts." The endless questions irritated her to no end.

Xu Qian knew better than to push. 'I might have offended her by asking questions that she didn't have the answers to.'

…

Xu Qian happily stuffed his mouth. "How much did this cost?"

Satiated with food and wine, Chu Caiwei raised her fingers and did some calculations.

No answer came. Xu Qian lifted his head to look at the woman.

"I gave them 4 silver taels and they returned me 1 silver tael, 3 silver maces, and 60 copper coins. How much is that?" Chu Caiwei asked with a frown.

She looked adorable—it reminded Xu Qian of a seven-year-old child learning arithmetic.

Xu Qian muttered, "I don't know either."

One silver tael was eight silver maces, one mace was 100 copper coins. The currency conversion did not follow a strict 1:10 ratio which complicated the calculations.

Xu Qian figured mathematics was not a part of Chu Caiwei's curriculum and decided to play dumb.

Chu Caiwei's eyes crinkled into half-moons, acknowledging Xu Qian as one of her kind.

"But you could count well when you were solving the case."

"I spent a long, long time thinking."

"Oh. You don't look very happy with the food." Chu Caiwei gave him a questioning look.

"No, no. The food tastes alright."

"Hey, this table is from Rhapsody Inn that serves the best food south of the city."

"I've had better."

Chu Caiwei's eyes lit up.

Xu Qian said, "You're invited to drop by my house if you're free. I can cook something up."

…

In the Red Room, a group of white robes was gathered around the experiment, eyes locked onto Song Qing's ministrations.

The eggshell-thin porcelain cup was placed above the flame. Steam was rising from the cup as the water evaporated—crystals formed at the bottom.

Song Qing flicked his finger and a flame wrapped around the crystals, melting them.

Xu Qian watched the sorcerer's performance in admiration. 'That would be such a great party trick. You probably can get all the girls' attention.'

The sodium chloride crystals melted. Song Qing had a look of concentration as he braced himself for the crucial step. He had been met with countless failures at this step.

Lightning!

Song Qing turned to Xu Qian.

The white robes and Chu Caiwei were also staring at the man.

Xu Qian's expression was neutral as he nodded.

'Not a word from him. That means every step to this point is correct,' Song Qing thought. He snapped his fingers.

A faint lightning strike arced across the room and shot toward the porcelain cup.

"Hold your breath."

Those were Xu Qian's first instructions. Everyone obeyed without hesitation.

'Honestly, I doubt you non-humans will suffer if you inhaled the poisonous gas.' Xu Qian only instructed them to do so out of habit.

The next scene had all the white robes in awe.

Inside the porcelain cup was a silvery solid that was identical to a silver fragment—a layer of untransformed salt coated the product.

"Su-Success!"

"Brother Song Qing, how did you do it?"

The white robes were shocked. After weeks of failure, the transformation was completed on the first try.

'As predicted, Lady Caiwei was also able to perform the transformation on the first try that day. It isn't luck… No, it is luck. It's because I was present on both occasions.' The experiment had confirmed his suspicions.

Song Qing glanced at the fake silver and turned to his celebrating disciples with a look of confusion.

'Every step was as per what I'd done before…' Bewildered, he looked to Xu Qian. The surprised expression on the man's face changed into one of realization.

Song Qing approached the man. "Xu Ningyan, what is the key?"

The question broke Chu Caiwei's reverie and she stared at Xu Qian.

Heads turned to look at the man.

Xu Qian folded his hands and stood straight. With a smile, he said, "That's a question for you to figure out. As an established alchemist, you should practice independent thinking. I believe the key point is obvious."