Secret Weapon

Lamarck looked somewhat uneasy as he glanced at Doctor Lasenne beside him. The latter hurriedly stepped forward. "Your Highness, leave the rest to me. Well... Monsieur Lamarck will be leaving here in the next few days."

"Leaving?"

Lasenne said, "In fact, Monsieur Lamarck has received special funding from the France Medical Association and is preparing to conduct botanical research in South America. As you know, there are many astonishing plants there, and perhaps he may discover new medicines. Ah, actually, he has already resigned from his position as court physician."

"As for the technique of purifying salicin, he has already taught me everything in detail. In other words, he has nothing more to do at the workshop."

Lamarck hurriedly coughed lightly and bowed with great sincerity. "Your Highness, I truly am very sorry."

"To be honest, a large part of the reason I received this funding was that the Medical Association read my paper on the medicinal effects of salicin. Oh, and you were the first-listed author on that paper. But the opportunity to go to South America is truly rare. I want to..."

Only then did Joseph remember that he had indeed received a letter from the Medical Association two days ago, commending his contribution to salicin. He had not paid much attention to it at the time. So it had been because of Lamarck's paper.

If it had been before, he would certainly have congratulated Lamarck and personally seen him off to South America. But today, after seeing the workshop's professional processing equipment, laboratory apparatus, and large number of skilled technical workers, he had another idea.

He wanted to attempt the production of the legendary drug that had occupied his mind ever since arriving in this world—Penicillin.

With Penicillin, his pneumonia could first be cured completely. Second, this miracle drug had immense military value—in eighteenth-century wars, a wound infection meant that being injured was practically a death sentence, while Penicillin could bring the wounded back to life. One could easily imagine it: the wounded on one side returned to the battlefield in an endless stream, while the other side continued losing men. How could the latter possibly keep fighting?

He had long considered making Penicillin, but its manufacturing process and techniques were exceedingly complex. It required not only an extremely professional laboratory and experimental and cultivation equipment, but also a professional research team to operate everything before even a chance of successful trial production existed.

Those conditions had not existed before, but now there was a possibility—the Pharmaceutical Workshop before him.

As long as they added some more laboratory equipment, along with Lamarck, this giant of biomedicine, and the workers here, perhaps Penicillin could appear more than a century ahead of time!

So he absolutely could not let Lamarck leave now.

With that thought, Joseph shook his head. "No, you need not apologize. It was I who failed to consider things properly. Your stage should not be confined to this tiny pharmaceutical factory. Those unknown realms of biomedicine are where you should display your talents."

Lamarck was deeply moved. "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness. Please believe me—whenever I am needed here, I will return at once."

Joseph merely smiled faintly and said as though in passing, "It is just a pity. I had originally wanted you to help me trial-produce a new medicine, but it seems I can only wait until you return from South America."

At the mention of a new medicine, Lamarck immediately became interested. "Oh? What medicine does Your Highness mean?"

Joseph had intended to say Penicillin directly, but then remembered that the preliminary preparations for making it would take quite some time. It would be better to first bring out a small trinket to let Lamarck warm up, while also training the experimental team.

So he temporarily set Penicillin aside. "I have heard of a medicine that can delay aging, treat miscarriage, and even make that thing of a man's... ahem, more formidable."

Lamarck searched through the database in his mind and found nothing that matched such a description. Just as he was about to shake his head and deny it, he suddenly recalled the miraculous salicin. He hurriedly put away his contempt and asked, "That is too unbelievable. Are you certain such a thing truly exists?"

"There can be no mistake." Joseph nodded. "It also has a special name: Tocopherol."

Tocopherol was Vitamin E, something exceedingly common in later generations that had not yet been extracted in the eighteenth century.

He had chosen Vitamin E for two reasons. First, it was relatively simple to extract and had a high chance of success. Second, it could be mixed into cosmetics. In later generations, nearly all skincare products related to anti-aging and inhibiting dark spots contained Vitamin E.

This would be the second secret weapon Paris Angel Company used to squeeze the wallets of noble ladies dry.

Hearing such a professional name, Lamarck became even more serious. "Your Highness, do you know how to obtain this... ah, Tocopherol?"

Joseph answered with certainty, "I know a method of extracting Tocopherol from corn cobs. It will require purchasing some additional equipment, such as a Centrifuge and Sedimentation Dishes. Oh, and a Constant Temperature Room must also be built."

"A Constant Temperature Room? A laboratory that maintains a fixed temperature? How could that possibly be done?"

There was no air conditioning in this era, so maintaining a constant temperature truly was not easy.

Joseph considered it, then said, "Lay dense water pipes beneath the room's floor and within its walls, then build a large water tank outside and connect it to those pipes. When heating is needed, heat the tank. When cooling is needed, bring in water from the Seine River. That Waterwheel will come in handy for this."

Even in summer, the river water could remain below twenty degrees Celsius. That was more than sufficient for biological cultivation.

Lamarck had clearly become interested in this substance that could delay aging, but investigating South American plants was also his lifelong wish. For a moment, he stood there, caught between two fires.

Joseph saw his hesitation and immediately cast out an even larger bait.

"Monsieur Lamarck, once we have facilities such as the Constant Temperature Room, I actually have an even more miraculous medicine that I need your help to trial-produce."

"This medicine can treat pneumonia, wound infections, puerperal fever, and other illnesses. It can even cure supposedly terminal diseases such as the Black Death, syphilis, and sepsis."

Lamarck froze on the spot!

If such a medicine truly existed, would it not fulfill his lifelong dream—to ensure that no one in the world would ever again suffer and die because of disease?

He was so excited that even his breathing became rapid. "Your Highness, you... you are not joking, are you?"

Seeing that he had bitten the hook, Joseph smiled. "Once you make the medicine, would you not know after trying it?"

"Oh, and regarding South America, I will fund you in the future. The amount will definitely be greater than what the Medical Association offered, and you will have far greater freedom as well."

At those words, how could Lamarck still hesitate? He nodded forcefully. "Your Highness, I will certainly devote all my strength to producing that miracle medicine with you!"

After leaving Lamarck the extraction method for Vitamin E, Joseph departed the workshop. By the time his carriage reached Paris City Hall, it was already past three in the afternoon.

Eman came out of City Hall and waved at the slightly plump, large-eared man behind him. "There is no need to trouble yourself. Please go back."

The man could only turn around and return to City Hall dejectedly. Eman, meanwhile, walked to the carriage across the road and bowed to Joseph. "Your Highness, I have found out. Among the properties registered for sale in Paris, fourteen meet your requirements."

Joseph did not hesitate. "Take the best one."

"Your Highness, that should be Nagel Jewelry Store on the Champs-Élysées."