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They placed the lotus seeds in a bowl and poured in hot water. The heat dissolved the glue, while the lotus seeds and pith swelled as they absorbed the water. The pith floated to the surface like lotus blossoms, but the lead pellets kept the seeds at the bottom of the bowl.

It was less chemistry than magic—a simple trick of the eye.

Retrieving Objects from a Boiling Oil Pot was even simpler. All they had to do was rub vinegar on their hands.

Seeing her reproduce Xuanxin's sorcery, Xie Heng grew far more confident. He smiled and said, "Good. If you need anything else, tell Zhang You. How many more days will you need to finish the remaining tests?"

Shen Lantang thought for a moment. "Once I have all the materials, two days will do."

"That's quick. This 'chemistry' of yours does have some remarkable tricks."

Shen Lantang smiled. "Chemistry is merely the study of natural laws people haven't yet understood. A thousand years ago, people didn't know how rubbing wood could make fire and took it for a miracle. Only charlatans use such things to play at being gods and chase hollow fame."

"Hollow fame can still be very useful."

"What are you two, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, joking about?"

Xie Madam approached carrying a food box.

Xie Heng said, "We were discussing how our Lantang scorns hollow fame and stands firm in her principles."

Xie Madam laughed. "If Lantang cared about fame, the Xie Family would hardly enjoy the peace it does today."

It was true. Since marrying into the Xie Family, Shen Lantang had never used her position to seek personal gain. That was why their household remained undisturbed.

Xie Heng changed the subject. "Has anyone tried to find out what's happening in the courtyard?"

"Of course," Xie Madam said. "But who do you take me for? I can sort everyone in this household into three tiers by loyalty. Besides, we've set up a diversion in the outer courtyard. Anyone who isn't skilled at deduction and investigation won't know what to make of it."

The small courtyard was heavily guarded, and the outer courtyard was under watch as well. But people came and went there every day. Those people belonged to Xie Madam's most trusted tier: they would never let word get out, and their presence obscured where the real secret lay. They included Xie Ying, Madam Zhou, Madam Qian, and, of course, Shen Lantang.

Shen Lantang thought that someone like her had surely been cast as part of the "diversion."

After they finished the snacks, Xie Heng rose with renewed energy. "Then it's time for me to act."

A clear moon shone like a white pearl, and a gentle breeze brushed their faces. August had finally arrived. The worst of the heat was fading, and a hint of coolness could already be felt at night.

Several slices of watermelon sat untouched on the stone table in the courtyard. Steam curled from the ceramic teacups like a faint, lingering worry, drawing a sigh from one of the men seated there.

"What troubles you so, Brother Yulin?"

"What else? Affairs of state."

The man beside him smiled. "Is it Xuanxin?"

At the mention of that name, Zhang Yulin felt a headache coming on. "Why would His Majesty... No, those treacherous ministers must have led His Majesty astray!"

He couldn't curse the emperor, so he cursed the emperor's ministers instead. So what if one of them was the emperor's son? He was still a minister, wasn't he?

The man laughed. "It seems the pursuit of immortality has tempted emperors throughout history."

Zhang Yulin bristled. "Brother Gao, how can you laugh?"

The two men drinking tea beneath the moonlight had passed the imperial examination in the same year and entered the Hanlin Academy together. Later, both had been sent to serve as local officials. After more than a decade, they had returned to Zhaojing. Their shared beginnings and similar careers had fostered a friendship built on mutual respect, though one served in the Ministry of War and the other in the Censorate, so they seldom met privately to avoid suspicion.

"Speaking of which, why did you invite me here for tea today?"

Gao Qingyang smiled faintly. "I had my reasons."

Zhang Yulin was about to press him when a handsome, refined man in white and red entered the courtyard. In plain clothes, Xie Heng looked much more approachable than usual, though his wise, deep-set eyes still carried an authority that could not be defied.

Zhang Yulin hurried to his feet. "Censor Xie!"

Xie Heng waved a hand. "Sit, Lord Zhang."

"I invited you here today to discuss something. What do you think of the Daoist Xuanxin?"

Zhang Yulin gave a wry smile. "Must you ask? Isn't my opinion obvious?"

Xie Heng smiled. "You speak plainly indeed, Lord Zhang. His Majesty has been deceived by Xuanxin only because the man has a few tricks ordinary people cannot explain. What if I told you I could expose him for what he is?"

Zhang Yulin was both startled and delighted. "You have a way?"

Xie Heng only smiled.

"To expose Xuanxin, we'll need the right time, the right place, and the right people. I'll need your help."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Yulin raised his head and cupped his fists. "Just say the word!"

--

Two days passed, and Shen Lantang's experiments were in full swing. Meanwhile, another matter was close at hand: Xie Jin was due to return.

Xie Heng said calmly, "Tell him not to come back. What would he come back for? There's nothing for him to do."

Shen Lantang saw the mixture of wistfulness and agreement on her mother-in-law's face and clutched her stomach to keep from laughing.

And so, a day later, Xie Jin received a letter from home while he was at the military camp. He was due back the next day. His family rarely wrote to explain things at a time like this, even when something had happened. Could it be serious?

His heart tightened, and he tore open the envelope.

Song Qi leaned over. "Brother, is that a letter from home? Has something happened?"

Song Qi's father had once served under Xie Heng and had died saving him. Song Qi had grown up in the Xie household, and he and Xie Jin were as close as brothers.

Xie Jin skimmed the letter. By the time he finished, the expression on his face was impossible to describe.

Rankings

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Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

One and Only

Jiang Ciyu

Mind Reading

Salty Fish