Chapter 9: Xiaoer

After being punished in the ancestral hall, Zhu Wansheng was confined for a full three days.

With nothing to do during the day, when night came, because the day had been too idle, her sleep was light, and it was common for her to have all kinds of dreams.

At this time, in her dreams, she was either adjusting the proportion of pigments or doing synthesis. She was truly obsessed; in the past, this only happened when she was about to submit an article.

The night was quiet, without the hum of air conditioning or the occasional buzz of car engines passing by. It was an environment suitable for deep sleep, but she just couldn’t fall asleep no matter how she tried.

She might as well get up, light a lamp, and sit at the dressing table.

The so-called mirror was made of bronze with a high tin content. It wasn’t very clear to begin with, and with the dim environment, it had a kind of eerie feeling.

Even so, Zhu Wansheng could still see the dark circles under her eyes, her pale face, and her extremely pallid lips.

Was it because the original owner had poor complexion, or because she hadn’t rested well?

Zhu Wansheng casually grabbed a bottle of rouge she had made and applied it to her face.

She applied a layer to her cheeks, looked in the bronze mirror, and found it lacking. Unable to see clearly, she applied another layer, but still didn’t achieve the desired effect.

Where was the problem?

Zhu Wansheng applied a layer to the back of her hand. The effect was visibly good, an orange tone suitable for autumn and winter. So why in the bronze mirror?

Bronze mirror?

Her heart suddenly leaped. Yes, the reflection effect of a bronze mirror was far inferior to a glass mirror.

Glass mirror—if she could make some and place them in the shop, when customers came to buy rouge and powder, they would certainly discover the wonders of these glass mirrors.

This could be a business opportunity, couldn’t it?

Zhu Wansheng was so excited that she wanted to jump up and run two laps, but it was still the middle of the night, and she didn’t want people to think she had gone mad again.

Having an idea, she wanted to put it into action. Glass mirror, how to make it again?

The currently commonly used vacuum evaporation method certainly couldn’t be done here. There was no way to electrify or create a vacuum, so it could only be achieved through a simple silver mirror reaction.

Zhu Wansheng silently recited: Little Chemistry, are you there?

[Hello, I’m here.]

In the quiet of the night, Little Chemistry’s voice seemed to carry a touch of etherealness. She was growing fonder of this research assistant: dedicated, online 24 hours a day, available at a moment’s notice. She wondered what its operating mechanism was.

Was it in a parallel universe or floating in space? If she could research its operating mechanism, it would at least be worth publishing in a journal…

Zhu Wansheng felt she had become obsessed… She patted her face and got to the point.

After organizing her thoughts, she casually grabbed some indigo and sketched on a white cloth, then silently recited: I need a piece of colorless transparent glass, 3mm thick, 20cm long and 18cm wide, and another piece of the same thickness, but oval, with a diameter of 20cm.

As for the rest, 20 grams of tin chloride, 20 grams of silver nitrate, 10 milliliters of 25% ammonia water, 10 grams each of sodium hydroxide and glucose, 500 milliliters of deionized water, all placed on the table in front of me.

[Received. Silver nitrate is a controlled substance. You need to provide an equal mass of pure silver for purchase. The other reagents will be prepared for you.]

What? Controlled substance?

This system was playing for real. Even in the lab, buying silver nitrate required layers of control. Now that she was in ancient times, they were still doing this.

But an equal mass of pure silver wasn’t difficult for her. The currency of this era was pure silver, 20 grams in a minute…

It really couldn’t be solved in a minute. The original owner only cared about having fun, not keeping accounts or saving. Her maid Lanfan managed all the money for her.

She just asked: Where do I put the equivalent exchange item?

She had never thought about how this system would take things from here. It couldn’t just reach out a pair of hands from her brain and take things away, could it?

[You can place it where you receive the goods. When the reagents appear, the raw materials will be taken away at the same time.]

So that’s how it works…

It’s truly marvelous, can’t be explained by science, but who cares.

In the few seconds of her brief contemplation, her drugs and glass had already appeared neatly before her eyes. She was eager to try, but with incomplete reagents, she had to give up.

After all this fuss, not only was she wide awake, but she felt even more energetic. Zhu Wansheng casually threw on an outer garment and walked out.

Only a dim lamp was left in the inner courtyard. Under the soft candlelight, one could vaguely see the damp flowers and grass, hazy shrubs, and low-hanging stratus clouds.

Zhu Wansheng didn’t light a lamp, following the bluestone path. Suddenly, she felt a bit homesick, even missing the bacteria and cells she had been cultivating.

They had probably all been cleared away by now, and her materials redistributed to others by her doctoral supervisor.

She suddenly felt sad and kicked a small pebble at her feet. It rolled and rolled, finally stopping at the stairs of a pavilion.

Zhu Wansheng also trembled at this moment, rubbing her eyes.

She hadn’t seen wrong, there was someone sitting in that pavilion. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, just a white shadow sitting motionless there.

In the middle of the night, who would come to her courtyard to space out? Zhu Wansheng hesitated for a moment, but still took a few steps forward, deliberately lightening her footsteps: I hope it’s not someone wanting to throw themselves into the lake.

She had experienced her senior’s suicide in her previous life, which was a psychological demon for her, and she couldn’t get over it for a long time…

In the warm candlelight of the pavilion, she could see it was a woman, leaning against a pillar, with hair reaching her waist, her chin resting on her arm, her gaze lowered towards the water below.

It was so dark, and the water was a pitch-black mass. What was there for her to look at?

After stepping onto the platform, the woman’s features became faintly visible. She had no impression of anyone with similar features.

Who could it be?

A sudden gust of wind came, the lamp in the pavilion flickered, and the woman’s long hair fluttered with it. Along with her flowing white clothes, Zhu Wansheng, this firm materialist, couldn’t help but shudder.

Suddenly, she felt a bit scared.

At this moment, the woman suddenly turned her head. Their eyes met, and both were startled.

The air was silent for a moment, Zhu Wansheng’s palms were sweaty, and she nervously grabbed at her dress.

In an instant, the woman sprang up, hurriedly wiped her eyes with her hand, and bowed slightly to Zhu Wansheng.

“My lady, I didn’t mean to come to your pavilion. I just love this pavilion so much that I unknowingly came here while walking. Please don’t punish me.”

The woman’s voice was weak and trembling, as if she was very afraid of her.

Zhu Wansheng stopped five steps away from the woman. They were standing on the same level platform, but Zhu Wansheng was instantly a head shorter than her.

Zhu Wansheng looked up at her slightly, and her eyes immediately brightened. Beautiful, truly beautiful. Her skin was as white as porcelain, with delicate eyebrows and large eyes, the corners of her eyes red and hanging with tears, cherry-red lips, every move exuding gentleness, making one want to protect her.

“It’s alright.” Her hand hadn’t even touched the woman’s arm when she extremely resistantly retreated several steps straight back.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, my lady. Xiaoer will leave now. My lady should also rest early.”

The woman ran away from the other side, running so fast that when she stepped down the stairs, her foot slipped, and she fell.

Zhu Wansheng’s legs moved before her brain, wanting to help her up.

But seeing her approach, the woman said in fear, “My lady, Xiaoer is fine, fine… Xiaoer can manage on her own.”

Seeing her so afraid, Zhu Wansheng’s feet felt like they were filled with lead, her brows unconsciously furrowing.

Watching her hurriedly get up and gradually disappear into the distance, she couldn’t understand. Xiaoer? There was no such person in the original owner’s memories.

Why would someone she didn’t even know be afraid of her?

Pondering this, Zhu Wansheng returned to the main house. The door was wide open, swaying in the wind, but inside was pitch black.

She remembered closing the door when she left. Why was it open now? Had she forgotten? That shouldn’t be; she was always cautious and habitually closed doors when leaving.

The closer she got to the house, the more Zhu Wansheng felt her hair standing on end, her heartbeat also quickening. She felt something was strange but couldn’t pinpoint what.

Her sixth sense told her something was off in this room. Not just the room, everything tonight was off. She must have closed the door when she left.

Slowing her steps, she observed her surroundings: She could go to the side and wake up Lanfan to enter the room together, but what if it was just her imagination? It wouldn’t be right to wake someone up for no reason, would it?

Besides, if there was an assassin inside, should Lanfan die for her?