Chapter 50

"However, there is one more thing I can do. With your permission, I would like to show it to you, my lords."

The experiment Shen Lantang had taught him was called "Underwater Garden."

An assistant brought over a medium-sized fish tank and poured several cups of "water" into it. The man then added some crystalline grains. After those few simple steps, he cupped his hands and said, "Please wait a quarter of an hour."

Before a quarter of an hour had even passed, branches of different thicknesses and colors began racing up through the still water!

The branches crisscrossed as green leaves sprouted from them, filling the entire tank. Deep-red coral even grew from the bottom!

What a lush, brilliantly colored underwater garden!

Consort Chen stared in astonishment. "This is chemistry too?! It's like a miracle!"

And it was. A garden had sprung up beneath still water in the blink of an eye. What else could it be?

If Xuanxin's experiment had inspired fear, the man's Underwater Garden inspired surprise, wonder, and awe. Its greater size made it more striking to behold—and all the more delightful.

Hearing the consort's words, one of the emperor's attendants realized she was curious and sent a young eunuch to ask how it had happened. The gray-robed man smiled faintly and answered with utmost respect:

"My lord, what we first poured into the tank was not water. It was a solution made from a chemical substance extracted and refined from quartz. It looks just like water, so I call it Aqueous Solution. When crystalline grains of metal salts are added, the metal ions form crystals with the solution. More crystals grow from those crystals, building layer upon layer into beautiful columns of branching crystal, like an underwater garden."

"I see," Consort Chen said.

"This book on chemistry is fascinating indeed."

"Daoist Master Xuanxin, can you explain it?"

Xuanxin's face darkened. He glared at the gray-robed man as though he wanted to bore a hole through him.

"Father." Seeing the tide turn, the Fourth Prince said urgently, "This Daoist used trickery. Given time, the master could reproduce the miracle too!"

Scorn flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes. The instant the Fourth Prince finished speaking, he realized his mistake and fell silent, his face stiffening.

If this had been a contest of divine powers, they would have traded marvelous feats back and forth. Even if Xuanxin could not explain this one at once, he could have displayed another. Only a petty charlatan would need time to work out how to copy someone else's trick.

And if it could be copied, then none of it had been a miracle. It was merely the "chemical reaction" the gray-robed man had described.

"F-Father..." the Fourth Prince murmured.

Consort Chen dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief and said in a frail voice:

"The contest is over, and the officials must be tired. This sun is giving me a headache. Your Majesty, let's return to the palace."

"Mm." The emperor gave a soft acknowledgment. His expression was unreadable, but as his son, the Fourth Prince knew fury was already raging inside him.

At those words, several attendants and close officials began to stir.

The Crown Prince chuckled and stepped out from behind the screen.

"Both Daoist masters gave splendid demonstrations, each with his own strengths. The officials and I enjoyed them greatly. Someone, bring them rewards."

The gray-robed man cupped his hands. "Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."

Xuanxin stood in a daze. Only after several guards urged him did he shakily give thanks for his reward.

The Crown Prince paid him no further attention and turned back.

Everyone in the courtyard began moving. Some left, others packed up, as though the farce had come to an end.

Shen Lantang took one last look at Xuanxin, who stood dazed amid the crowd. He seemed desperate to say something to the Fourth Prince's retinue, but one of them waved him away.

She looked away and, shielded by two household servants, quickly left the courtyard.

The emperor's procession had already departed. Since this visit had not been public, its trappings were modest; it looked more like an ordinary nobleman's outing. Some close officials had gone back with him, while others returned to the city in their own carriages.

Moving lightly, Shen Lantang slipped around the others without a sound and entered a carriage.

"Father."

Xie Heng nodded. "Thank you for your efforts."

"It was no trouble. As long as Xuanxin was exposed, any hardship would have been worth it. And I truly didn't suffer."

From the moment she had told Xie Heng about chemistry to all the preparations for today, the Xie Residence had handled everything. At most, she had performed the experiments a few times to make the demonstrations run more smoothly. Now that everything had ended well, she had never felt more relieved!

Xie Heng looked at his daughter-in-law's bright, easy smile and nodded. Though he could not hear her thoughts, he believed she meant every word.

"Take this carriage home in a little while. I'll go with the others."

"All right." Shen Lantang paused, then asked, "Father, what will happen to Xuanxin?"

Xie Heng's expression remained calm. "He has his own fate to face."

Xuanxin had embarrassed both the emperor and the Fourth Prince and earned the Crown Prince's resentment besides. It was hard to imagine things ending well for him. But that was how the world worked. If you tried to use underhanded tricks to ride the power of its most exalted family to the top, you had to be ready to be cast down at any moment.

Shen Lantang had considered his likely fate before taking action. She put it out of her mind and said:

"Then I'll head home first, Father."

"All right."

Xie Heng stepped down from the carriage. No sooner had he done so than the Crown Prince approached from nearby. Glancing at the carriage, whose curtain was lifted on one side, he asked with a smile:

"Did you have family here to watch as well, Lord Xie?"

"I ran into a friend and chatted for a moment, that's all. Your Highness, aren't you returning to the palace with His Majesty?"

The Crown Prince laughed. "I'm leaving now. Thank you for today, Lord Xie."

"I was merely doing my duty for His Majesty. Your Highness need not thank me."

Ranking List

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