Chapter 47: Foundations of Chemistry
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Qingzhou City, Wang Residence.
Wang Chengchou and Sun Yuanzhi sat facing each other in the main hall, with Wang Shijie seated below them.
Ever since Wang Chengchou’s visit to the Prince of Qi’s residence, Sun Yuanzhi had been waiting at the Wang estate for news. Now that Wang Chengchou had returned and briefly recounted what had transpired, he slowly said, “Brother Wang, that was truly a close call. His Highness did not punish the Wang family, which shows that he still values your family.”
“Hmph, of course. Over the past five years, my Wang family has spent so much silver on him. The Prince of Qi will still remember old ties. However, I can no longer read him. This time, we were merely lucky,” Wang Chengchou said with lingering fear.
“You’re right. His Highness now bears the demeanor of a virtuous prince, and he seems quite close to Administrator Pang. No one understands why,” Sun Yuanzhi said, equally puzzled like many others.
Wang Chengchou furrowed his brows. “Such a drastic change in the Prince of Qi must be related to the recent assassination attempt. He must have realized the dangers of the imperial succession struggle and is now trying to build up his power to protect himself.”
“Hm, Brother Wang makes a good point. Back then, the Prince of Wei in the south was just as foolish as the Prince of Qi. But after experiencing the brutal reality of the succession struggle, he turned over a new leaf. Now, his fief is one of the most prosperous,” Sun Yuanzhi noted.
“Exactly. So the Prince of Qi is likely following the same path,” Wang Chengchou frowned. “But this means we can no longer manipulate him as we once did. Instead, we’ll have to tread carefully around him.”
“There’s no other choice. Right now, the Qin and Wei families are eyeing us like starving dogs over a bone—they are our true rivals,” Sun Yuanzhi remarked.
Wang Chengchou nodded and sighed. “Ah, so be it. The situation has changed, and we must adapt. Qin Chuanyun will surely try to win His Highness’s favor to counteract the illegal salt allegations. We can’t let them outshine us. I propose that our families each donate 500 plow oxen. What do you think?”
“500 oxen is acceptable, as long as it helps suppress the Qin and Wei families,” Sun Yuanzhi agreed.