"An illusion?" Chang Lili suddenly realized that she had been foolishly trying to figure out what kind of material it was and what color it was.

Jiang Yingxue asked somewhat unwillingly, "Is she really that beautiful? After all, she's a mannequin. Can she really look like us?"

As she spoke, she touched her face. Her face was fair and flawless; after all, she was a young lady from a wealthy family, so her skin was naturally more delicate than others.

But when Chang Lili thought of Chan'er's stunning face, which was comparable to Chu Moyu's, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her skin was as white as snow.

"It's even better than that," she remarked.

Jiang Yingxue snorted dismissively, looking very unhappy.

"Leaving aside the materials used, I want to know why she can be as agile as a living person, and why she still has the motivation to continue working after all these years." Zhang Ziqing's brows furrowed even deeper.

Chang Lili's eyes lit up and she said, "I do have an idea about the power source. After Chan'er's level, there is another mechanism array. That mechanism array is very ingenious. It is set up using the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams array. The five elements are interlocked and mutually generating and restraining each other. That array uses the mutual generation of the five elements. As long as it encounters a little external force, it can keep running."

Zhang Ziqing pondered for a moment, a wise glint in his eyes: "You mean, the mechanical manipulator Chan'er may have the same principle in her body, so no matter how much time has passed, she can still move, even if thousands of years later, when we become centenarians."

Chang Lili felt that the boy's words had a rather profound tone, and there was a touch of sadness in them.

To avoid making the atmosphere heavy, she quickly interjected, "I don't think that's the point right now. The point and the difficulty right now is how the mechanical beings can be as flexible as us ordinary people, and even dance better than us living people. They're so lifelike!"

Jiang Yingxue, who was feeling rather annoyed at not being able to get a word in edgewise, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "She can dance?"

Chang Lili recalled the dance moves and nodded with a sigh.

So, after this conversation, the group seemed to suddenly grow closer. Although Jiang Yingxue still didn't like Chang Lili, she was always so captivated by her interesting remarks that she forgot to hold a grudge.

The more Chang Lili interacted with Zhang Ziqing, the more she felt that his mastery of mechanical arts was unfathomable.

She felt somewhat ashamed of her own shortcomings, but she was not discouraged and simply learned humbly.

The task of building mechanical legs became the responsibility of the entire Light Machinery Department. Zhou Lue was naturally unable to help, and the drunkard uncle continued to be in charge of drinking.

Chang Lili sometimes couldn't understand why the drunkard uncle had joined the Light Machine Department. Had he really overcome all the traps and obstacles?

However, she had a vague feeling that this person was unfathomable.

The mechanical legs look perfectly fine, but they always seem a bit stiff when they move.

"Is the material too hard?" Jiang Yingxue asked.

Mechanical legs cast from steel are indeed hard, but in theory, their structure, hardness, and brittleness are very similar to those of bone.

Zhang Ziqing remained silent. Seeing that she was staring at Zhang Ziqing expectantly without getting a reply, Chang Lili said, "That shouldn't be the reason."

After he finished speaking, he was glared at by Jiang Yingxue.

While making her mechanical bird, Chang Lili and the others began to study how to make the mechanical legs as flexible as real human legs.

She found life here quite enjoyable.

At noon, someone delivered food and two letters to Chang Lili.

The first letter was addressed to "Sister Lili" on the envelope, and Chang Lili naturally knew who it was. The second letter was placed in a food box containing the imperial delicacies, Eight Treasure Duck.

When the Eight Treasure Duck was served, it didn't look particularly unusual. But once it was cut open, a fragrant aroma filled the air. Lotus seeds, shiitake mushrooms, peanuts, green beans, candied dates, sausages, and other ingredients were steamed together with glutinous rice inside the duck's belly. Everyone at the table was drooling with anticipation.

Whether it was because they had become familiar with Chang Lili or because the charm of the Eight Treasure Duck was irresistible, everyone gathered around the table, and as soon as Chang Lili invited them, they started eating without any hesitation.

Despite being a wealthy young lady, Jiang Yingxue ate with such gusto that she stuffed her mouth full of glutinous rice, her lips sticky with rice grains. Her round, rosy cheeks looked incredibly cute, and she mumbled, "Delicious! So delicious!"

Chang Lili opened Lu Ming's letter and read it. As she read, she couldn't help but smile with her eyes crinkling.

In the letter, Lu Ming said that Chu Huan actually said he liked her. She told him that she was a boy, and Chu Huan actually said that he didn't know what was going on, but he just liked her and wanted to take care of her. Then he found her a lot of delicious food and fun things.

Chang Lili laughed so hard she almost couldn't stand up straight, but Lu Ming said she didn't like Chu Huan's behavior at all; she only considered him a brother.

Lu Ming said that according to what Chang Lili said in her letter, the Light Machinery Department seemed to be a very interesting place, and she also wanted to go and see it.

However, at the end of the letter, she still mentioned Su Ling, lamenting that she was destined to be apart from him in this life, but she could not forget him.

Chang Lili picked up her pen and wrote a reply, recounting some interesting stories from the Light Machinery Department: the perpetually half-drunk, half-awake drunkard uncle; the talkative senior Zhou Lue; the outwardly cold but inwardly warm Zhang Ziqing; and Jiang Yingxue, who resembled her somewhat.

Finally, in the letter, he advised Lu Ming that Chu Huan was actually a good boy and that she should cherish him and stop thinking about Su Ling.

When she opened the second letter and saw the neat handwriting, Chang Lili couldn't help but sigh, "Xiao Lingshou is truly a refined gentleman; even his handwriting is so elegant and graceful."

Unlike reading Lu Ming's letter, Xiao Lingshou's letter was full of ordinary words, asking how she was doing, but not revealing his own situation. It was somewhat distant and polite, yet so sincere.

She also wrote him a letter, casually mentioning that she was doing well lately, that the eight-treasure duck was delicious, and finally teasing him, saying that he knew how to be filial to his master, and that he should not forget what he was taught, and that she would test him in the future.

She specifically instructed the person delivering the meal to give this letter to Jingmei, who had delivered it once before and was so clever that she would surely know what to do.

Inside the general's mansion, Meng Yuxiu had been busy for a long time. With the accumulated affairs from the past few days, he was too busy to spare any time for Chang Lili.

She wasn't in the mansion, and now that they couldn't meet whenever they wanted, he felt a little empty inside.

His well-defined face, bearing the marks of time, made his already handsome features even more charming, and his physique was also perfectly proportioned.

His expression was somber, and he sighed almost imperceptibly. As if remembering something, he got up, walked to the bookshelf, and took down a small wooden box.

The wooden box contained the weapon for the second stage, a nine-section whip, which Chang Lili had made at his request.

But when he opened the wooden box, he didn't see any nine-section whip; the box was empty, there was nothing there.

His face instantly stiffened, and he said in a deep voice, "Keep guarding!"