Liu Qi’an received a warm welcome from Song Qing. The two sat at a table, holding fragrant tea, and engaged in friendly conversation.

“To be honest, I had some doubts about you,” Song Qing said, taking a small sip. “I’ve thoroughly investigated your family history these past few days.”

Is it appropriate to tell someone you’ve investigated their ancestors? Liu Qi’an wasn’t surprised by this and smiled, asking in return, “What did you find?”

“Too clean,” Song Qing shook his head and changed the subject, pulling out a stack of paper. “Take a look at my recent research.”

Liu Qi’an thought to himself, I had prepared a whole story about being a wandering expert, and you’re not even asking… You tech enthusiasts don’t care about these things.

He took the manuscript and glanced at it, nearly spitting out his tea.

Apart from the plant grafting theory Liu Qi’an had told Song Qing about, this fellow had extrapolated several case studies. For example:

Grafting humans and horses.

He listed many advantages, such as Da Feng no longer needing to worry about war horse resources, and soldiers not having to worry about lacking excellent steeds. Because we are mature soldiers, we can be our war horses…

Another example is capturing avian beast tribes and breeding them with humans to create half-beasts that could serve as an air force.

Monster girls, anyone? No, no, genetic isolation… Liu Qi’an put down the paper, took a moment to recover from the shock to his worldview, and said, “I came to the Celestial Yamen this time because I need Elder Brother Song’s help with something.”

“Feel free to ask.”

“You should know about my conflict with Vice Minister Zhou.”

“Caiwei told me,” Song Qing put down his teacup and said seriously, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. The Celestial Yamen doesn’t interfere with court politics. His Majesty doesn’t allow it. Besides, a vice minister with real power is beyond my capabilities.”

“Don’t rush, Elder Brother Song. What I need you to do is simple…” Liu Qi’an explained his idea.

“That’s impossible,” Song Qing refused outright. “I, Song, am upright and honorable. I absolutely won’t do such a thing.”

Liu Qi’an thought for a moment, then said apologetically, “I didn’t consider it thoroughly… Elder Brother Song, let’s continue discussing your grafting theory. If I may be frank, it’s impossible to succeed.”

Song Qing frowned, sat up straight, and adopted a serious attitude for academic discussion.

“You must know in your heart that the cat that must be kept in a glass bottle is an example. But you’re surely puzzled about why it failed and where the problem lies.”

Song Qing leaned forward, his breathing quickening as he stared at Liu Qi’an with wide eyes. “You know?”

Liu Qi’an said, “I haven’t participated in the research, so I don’t know the real reason for the failure, but I can provide you with a theoretical basis.”

A theoretical basis?!

What Song Qing lacked most was a theoretical basis. Great masters who could establish schools of thought were rare, and alchemy was profound and extensive. To make further progress, theoretical support was indispensable.

Under Song Qing’s suddenly bright gaze, Liu Qi’an slowly said:

“Have you heard of the periodic table of elements?”

What periodic table of elements? What does this have to do with my experiments? A thousand questions flashed through Song Qing’s mind.

His breathing became more rapid, feeling he was about to touch the door of truth in alchemy. As an alchemy enthusiast, every hair on his body stood up in excitement.

Before he could ask, Liu Qi’an continued languidly, “The principle of alchemy is equivalent exchange…”

…

The Mighty Marquis’s mansion was on Quefu Street in the inner city, a street dominated by nobility. Walking along it, one saw nothing but marquises, earls, and dukes.

The title of Mighty Marquis was hereditary, rising to prominence during the struggle for the throne three hundred years ago. Though the title had been passed down unchanged until now, in reality, they no longer held much power.

The side door opened, and a young lady with slightly round cheeks emerged, surrounded by maids and escorts. She wore an elegant gauze dress that reached her ankles, her embroidered shoes peeking out as she walked.

At sixteen or seventeen years old, she was beautiful, with bright, spirited eyes. Her proud demeanor and the lively expression between her brows added to her presence, attracting attention.

Zhang Yuying entered the sedan chair at the entrance. The bearers lifted it and slowly headed towards the City God Temple.

She was going to the City God Temple today to offer incense and eat a vegetarian meal, then to the Wen Yuan Earl’s mansion to have tea and chat with her close friend.

They would look at forbidden books secretly circulated among young ladies, discuss which families had sons of marriageable age, comment on the excellent scholars who had passed the autumn provincial examination, and guess whether they would succeed in next year’s spring imperial examination.

Perhaps her future husband was among them.

After traveling two streets, the maid following beside the sedan chair suddenly heard a commotion.

Two horse-drawn carriages behind them had somehow lost control. The drivers were desperately pulling on the reins, waving their whips in panic:

“Make way, everyone make way…”

Pedestrians scattered to avoid them.

“Quick, stop the carriages!” The maid was terrified, ordering the escorts to intercept the carriages while commanding the sedan bearers to take evasion.

There weren’t enough escorts; they only managed to stop one carriage. The other crashed into two sedan bearers, instantly overturning the sedan chair.

The remaining two bearers and the maid instinctively saved themselves, diving to the side. The scene instantly descended into chaos.

After a brief moment of confusion, the two carriages continued their wild rush. The maid, anxious and flustered, got up and ran to check the sedan chair:

“Second Young Lady, Second Young Lady, are you alright?”

There was no response.

The maid’s heart sank. She quickly lifted the curtain and froze. A few seconds later, she screamed, “The Second Young Lady is gone!!”

The sedan chair was empty.

…

Inner city, a small courtyard.

Zhang Yuying knew she had been kidnapped, though she didn’t know by whom.

She had been awake for a while, and after the initial headache subsided, she remained in a state of fear.

As the illegitimate daughter of the Mighty Marquis, her usual treatment was only slightly inferior to that of the legitimate daughter, far better than her other sisters. Her father and stepmother doted on her, and she had a close relationship with her half-sister, who was also her cousin.

Accustomed to a life of luxury and pampering, she had never experienced anything like this before.

All around was silence. Her hands and feet were bound, and her mouth was stuffed with cloth. She was terrified.

“Bang!”

Outside the courtyard, there was the sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps.

Zhang Yuying’s heart instantly leaped into her throat, fear exploding in her chest. She didn’t know what she was about to face, but it certainly wouldn’t be good.

“Hey,” the footsteps stopped outside the room, and someone chuckled, saying lecherously, “This woman is really beautiful. I secretly checked her out earlier. Her chest is big and soft, feels good.”

“You’re so despicable…” the other person said, then paused before adding, “And you didn’t call me to join.”

Zhang Yuying was both ashamed and angry, tears welling up in her eyes.

The two figures continued their conversation:

“She’s still a virgin.”

“Of course, this second daughter of the Mighty Marquis is still unmarried.”

Zhang Yuying was shocked. They know who I am, they know my father is the Mighty Marquis, yet they dare to kidnap me?

This meant that the mastermind behind this was no ordinary person.

“What do you think Young Master Zhou will do with this woman? Although she’s an exceptionally beautiful girl, keeping her around doesn’t seem very safe.”

“Heh, you’re overthinking it. Young Master Zhou will probably just play with her for a while. When he gets bored, he’ll strangle her, bury her in this courtyard, and who would know?”

“After Young Master Zhou is done with her, we can have a taste too. This girl’s skin is so soft and delicate, much more lively than those brothel girls.”

“Yeah, if it weren’t for Young Master Zhou wanting to have her first, we would have taken care of her already.”

“Well, who told him to be the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue? Come on, let’s go drink.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s almost dusk. We’ll buy some wine and come right back.”

The footsteps faded away, followed by the sound of the courtyard gate closing. The two seemed to have gone out to drink.

Young Master Zhou? The son of the Vice Minister of Revenue?

An image of a well-dressed young nobleman flashed through Zhang Yuying’s mind, reminding her of the incident during last year’s Lantern Festival.

He still hasn’t forgotten about me…

Play with her for a while… have a taste… kill and bury her in the courtyard to destroy the evidence… The delicate young lady, raised with care in a noble family, trembled in fear, tears streaming down her face.

“Mmph… mmph…” She tried to make sounds while twisting her limbs, attempting to break free from her bonds.

Suddenly, she felt the rope on her wrists loosen a bit.

Zhang Yuying froze, then quieted down, no longer making any noise, but her hands were working furiously at the ropes.

After what seemed like an eternity, the delicate skin on her wrists had been rubbed raw and was stinging with pain, but she had finally freed herself from the bonds.

She immediately sat up, untied the ropes on her feet, and tiptoed to the door. She listened patiently for a while, making sure there was no one in the courtyard, then carefully walked out.

After looking around, she gritted her teeth and ran faster than she ever had in her life, rushing to the courtyard gate and pulling at the bolt.

The door didn’t open; it was locked from the outside.

“Mmph…” Miss Zhang let out a cry of despair.

…

Across the street from the courtyard, Liu Qi’an held a bowl of noodles, with Xu Xinnian standing beside him.

“Not bad with the crude talk,” Elder Brother Liu habitually teased Second Brother.

Second Brother ignored him, his gaze fixed on the courtyard gate. “What if she can’t get out? Why did we lock the gate?”

“A strong will to survive can unleash a person’s potential. Trust me, she’ll get out. She can climb the wall,” Liu Qi’an slurped some noodles and explained in a low voice, “If we didn’t lock the door, the traces would be too obvious.”

This small courtyard was indeed the private residence Zhou Li had bought outside, where he kept a rather attractive woman. Now that woman and the maids, servants, and gatekeeper in the courtyard – four people in total – had all been confined in the mirror by Liu Qi’an.

That small jade mirror could contain objects and living beings. Liu Qi’an had tested it with the servants at home.

Without that mirror, the plan to kidnap Miss Zhang would have been extremely difficult and might have even backfired.

At this moment, they saw a head popping up at the edge of the wall. Zhang Yuying, with disheveled hair, peeked out.

After carefully surveying her surroundings, she climbed over the wall and jumped down.

She seemed to have sprained her ankle, lying on the ground motionless for a while. After a long time, she finally got up, crying and bravely moving forward. Supporting herself against the wall, she hopped to the street.

For a young lady raised in luxury, being able to do this much meant she had suffered a great injustice.

They went out to buy wine and will return at dusk… She glanced at the setting sun, knowing she wasn’t truly safe yet.

Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to run far before being caught, or maybe she would run into them after just a few more steps.

Just then, a group of heavily armed City Patrol Guards passed by.

Fearing she might encounter the kidnappers on the road or be caught up by them, Zhang Yuying saw the guards as her saviors and cried as she approached them.

Before the guards could draw their swords, she screamed, “I am the daughter of the Mighty Marquis. I’ve been kidnapped. Please save me!”

The guards exchanged glances and immediately surrounded her.

Passersby stopped to watch. The lead guard asked, “Who kidnapped you?”

“It was Zhou Li, the son of Vice Minister Zhou from the Ministry of Revenue,” Zhang Yuying broke down in tears.

Dong dong dong… The curfew drums sounded simultaneously.

Liu Qi’an put down his bowl on the street and said, “Let’s go. We’ll find an inn to rest. Tomorrow we’ll go home and wait for news.”