Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Evening

East Courtyard of Houfu

The microscope lay quietly on the table, cast entirely from brass. It felt heavy to the touch, exuding a cool, solid, and historic feel. Its arms were straight and sturdy, its thick eyepiece tube connected to a rotating, height-adjustable objective lens changer, though it only contained a single objective lens. In the center of the stage below was a small circular hole. Directly below the hole was a concave reflector, adjustable at various angles, used to focus the light.

Qian Ming leaned in closer to examine it carefully, then said as if suddenly realizing something, "Hey! I recognize this thing! A clairvoyant! Captain Fu once had a similar one. He tricked a Western merchant into giving it to him. It was said to be priceless and extremely valuable! Unfortunately, it was broken. He was heartbroken for a long time, and later couldn't buy another one."

Zhang Jingwei's fingers gently brushed across the cool copper tube, his voice filled with an indescribable complex emotion: "That's a telescope, and this is called... a monocular microscope."

Liang Dahai, who was standing nearby, pricked up his ears. He only caught the last few words and repeated in confusion, "Peony? What peony? What does this copper lump have to do with the peony flower?"

Zhang Jingwei didn't bother explaining. He simply sighed deeply, "Ah..." His eyes swept over the slides and cover slips on the table. He picked up one and carefully wiped it clean with a soft cloth. Then he walked to the well in the courtyard, drew some water from a small porcelain cup, and carefully dripped a drop onto the center of the slide. He then gently covered it with a thinner cover slip. His movements were a little awkward, as if he were recalling some distant junior high biology class.

He fixed his makeshift slide onto the stage and eagerly placed his eye close to the eyepiece. His vision was filled with blurry darkness. He paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered that in those days, before electric lights, he needed to adjust a reflector to collect light. He clumsily turned the objective lens and carefully adjusted the angle of the concave mirror, aiming to maximize the reflection of the setting sun outside the window.

Suddenly, the blurry darkness became clear! A microscopic world suddenly crashed into his eyes—in the transparent water droplets, countless tiny, translucent, bizarre life forms were frantically shuttling around!

An extremely complicated expression instantly appeared on Zhang Jingwei's face, a mixture of shock, but also with a strange smile that hinted at scientific success.

Liang Dahai was so curious that he couldn't help asking, "Master, Master! What did you see?"

Zhang Jingwei raised his head, looked at him strangely, and uttered two words: "Bugs."

"Bugs?" Liang Dahai pointed at the drop of well water with a look of disbelief. "We've dug this well for years and drink this water every day. How could there be bugs? And it's such a small drop..."

"Come and see for yourself!" Zhang Jingwei made way.

Liang Dahai approached with suspicion, imitating his gaze through the eyepiece. After just one glance, he let out a sharp "Ah!" and sprang back, his face turning green and his stomach churning. "Oh my god! What... what is that? Why are so many things moving?! No wonder... no wonder you, Master, never drink raw water, always asking me to boil it! I... I was so thirsty just now that I scooped a ladleful and drank it..." The more he thought about it, the more nauseous he felt, and he nearly vomited on the spot.

Qian Ming's curiosity was also piqued. He pushed Liang Dahai, who was still retching, away and said, "Open it, open it! Let me take a look!" He leaned in to take a look and gasped in amazement. "Wow! This is really eye-opening! There really is something hidden in this water! If those old scholars who keep saying 'clear water means no fish' came to see this, they would be scared to death!"

While Qian Ming and Liang Dahai were scrambling to observe the microscopic world and shouting loudly, Zhang Jingwei leaned on the edge of the table with his hands, lost in deep thought.

The discovery of the microscope, combined with the glassware inscribed with "Nine Months of the Ding Si Year," sparked a flurry of clues in his mind. The microscope was in excellent condition. Though dusty, its key optical components remained clear, and its metal parts, though worn, showed no signs of severe rust—a state hardly befitting an object forgotten for sixty years. Bronzes left unattended for long periods of time would have long since become rusty.

A terrifying and shocking thought struck his mind like lightning, making the hairs on his body stand on end!

His father, Zhang Lian, may not have died in the fire!

He had been hiding in that dark cellar! He had been secretly conducting some unknown research! The fact that these glassware had been cleaned so thoroughly, without any chemical residue or traces of samples, was itself extremely unusual, as if someone had deliberately erased all clues!

"It seems... I have to go to that secret cellar and take a look myself." Zhang Jingwei muttered to himself, his eyes becoming sharp and determined. He stood up suddenly.

"Qian Ming!" he shouted in a hurried voice.

"Hey! Young Master, what's the matter?" Qian Ming finally raised his head from the eyepiece, with an expression of surprise still on his face.

"Stop looking! Prepare the car immediately and come with me to the former site of the general's mansion! Let's go now!" Zhang Jingwei's tone was unquestionable, with an urgency and nervousness after discovering a shocking secret.

"Oh! Okay... okay!" Although Qian Ming didn't understand what was going on, when he saw the young master's unprecedented serious expression, he immediately realized that the matter was of great importance. He quickly responded and quickly caught up with Zhang Jingwei who was already walking out.

……

Study in the General's Mansion (formerly Zhang's Mansion)

into the night.

In the study of the general's mansion, candles were brightly lit. Huangfu Changshui was studying the sand table in front of the map of the northern border, his brows furrowed.

Zhang Jingwei rushed in, not even having time to greet him, and immediately asked, "Father-in-law! Did you find a secret cellar underneath the remote courtyard of my Zhang Mansion, the one that burned down? Where is that secret cellar now?"

Huangfu Changshui was taken aback by his son-in-law's impulsive question. He put down the small flag in his hand, turned around and said, "A secret cellar? Oh, there is such a thing. What's wrong? I've already sent someone to fill it up and tamp it down."

"What?! Filled it up?!" Zhang Jingwei was struck by lightning. His voice suddenly rose and the blood drained from his face. "You...how could you fill it up?!"

Huangfu Changshui was startled by his overreaction, his thick brows furrowed. "Jingwei, it's just an abandoned cellar, why are you making such a fuss? The mansion needs to be renovated, and the ground needs to be flat and stable. What's wrong with filling up a useless hole?"

Zhang Jingwei was so anxious he nearly leaped up. He suppressed his surging emotions, took a deep breath, and tried to make his words more convincing. "Father-in-law! You've fought on the battlefield for so many years and possess such profound insights. Haven't you ever found it strange? Why would such a hidden vault be hidden beneath the ruins of that bizarre fire?"

Huangfu Changshui was stunned by his question and pondered, "This... a wealthy country gentleman would have a secret cellar in his home to store valuables or for emergency shelter. It's not unusual, right? What's the problem with that?"

"This is a serious problem!" Zhang Jingwei stepped forward, his eyes burning. "Have you ever considered that the fire might not have been an accident at all? And my father, after lighting the fire to create the illusion of suicide, could have slipped away quietly through this unknown secret cellar!"

"Ridiculous!" Huangfu Changshui flatly denied it, but his eyes had already changed slightly. "I personally checked that secret cellar. There's no exit at all. It's a dead end! Besides, after the fire, I personally collected Big Brother's body... well, I personally collected his body! The charred remains were right there in the yard. How could they be fake?"

Zhang Jingwei's heart was pounding. He stared intently into his father-in-law's eyes and threw out an even more shocking guess: "You collected the body yourself? Father-in-law, please think carefully! The situation was chaotic, and the body had been burned beyond recognition. Are you absolutely sure that the charred corpse... was definitely my father?!"

Huangfu Changshui sucked in a breath of cold air, his eyes widening. He took a half step back at this extremely bold hypothesis, and his voice trembled slightly. "You...you mean...your father, he might not be dead at all?! He's still alive?!"

"Very likely!" Zhang Jingwei saw his father-in-law wavering. He immediately and carefully took out the engraved glass bottle from his arms and handed it to him with both hands. "Father-in-law, please look! This is the item we dug out from the secret cellar!"

Huangfu Changshui's attention was immediately drawn to the pure and translucent object. He took the bottle and felt it was cool and smooth in his hand. He exclaimed in amazement, "This... this is such exquisite colored glass! No, it's so pure and flawless, so shiny that you can even see through it. It's more like rare crystal! This thing is priceless!"

"Father-in-law! Look at the words! Look at the words on the bottom of the bottle!" Zhang Jingwei pointed at the bottom of the bottle anxiously.

Huangfu Changshui then held the bottle close to the candlelight, squinting his eyes to carefully identify the extremely fine carvings, and slowly read out: "Ding... Si... Year... September... Month..." After reading it, he raised his head, his eyes still full of confusion, "What does this date mean..."

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks! The color drained from his face. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes shooting at Zhang Jingwei like lightning: "September of the Dingsi year?! September of last year?! But your father...it was clearly June of last year! This...this bottle..."

Zhang Jingwei's voice was low and clear, and every word was like a hammer hitting Huangfu Changshui's heart: "September. A full three months after my father's 'death'. How could my father-in-law, a man who had been dead for three months, still be making or using this bottle last September?"

The study fell into a deathly silence, the only sound being the crackling candlelight. Huangfu Changshui gripped the cold bottle, his fingers trembling slightly as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. This seemingly insignificant date had now become the most damning evidence.

He struggled to find another explanation: "Could this... could this be some kind of coincidence? Perhaps the date was already engraved? Or... was it engraved later by someone else?"

Zhang Jingwei shook his head, his tone extremely certain. "Father-in-law, please look carefully at this carving. The material of this bottle is extremely hard (compared to ancient carving knives), and it is absolutely impossible for ordinary iron tools to carve it. The carving is smooth and flowing, and it penetrates deep into the glass. It is absolutely impossible to forge it later."

All the speculation, that terrifying conjecture, seemed to become incredibly real because of this small date. Huangfu Changshui, a veteran who had seen life and death and was as calm as a mountain, felt a chill running down his spine.

He opened his mouth for a long moment before uttering a sentence in a dejected tone of deep regret and disbelief:

"But... I've already sent people... to fill it up!"