"What kind of weapon is so mysterious?" Cheng An muttered to himself, not saying it out loud because the Empress Dowager had been too serious just now, and he felt it was better if she didn't know about it.
"Susu, do you also know a bit about weapons?" The Empress Dowager asked Granny Qin to fetch paper and pen, and then invited Qin Su to sit down in front of her.
Qin Su naturally did not refuse. She quickly sat down next to the Empress Dowager and said in a deep voice, "I know some things, but not much."
The Empress Dowager simply nodded, covered Qin Su with the blanket, and said to her, "Then do you know anything about crossbows?"
Qin Su nodded. "I've heard of it. It's used quite extensively on the battlefield because it's so big and heavy that even moving it requires a lot of manpower and resources."
"There is a type of hidden blade that is an improvement on this type of crossbow. It seems to be a short-range attack with a short range, but it is very powerful. I only remember the general blueprints. You can take a look after I draw them out."
Qin Su naturally wouldn't refuse.
“There is another weapon called a musket, which is relatively more troublesome. But its power is definitely not comparable to that of hidden arrows.” As she spoke, she took the brush handed to her by Granny Qin, and Qin Su ground the ink beside her.
As she wrote, she said, "It's been so long since I've written anything. I guess it's turned into something like a caterpillar or a dog's scratch again. The late emperor thought my handwriting was really ugly and insisted on making me learn to write. He just thought that calligraphy was really difficult to write."
As soon as she finished speaking, she wrote down all the materials she needed.
"Granny Qin," she called out, handing her the prescription and saying seriously, "This prescription cannot be given to anyone. Most of the ingredients can be found in the Imperial Hospital. You can decide what to do with the rest."
Granny Qin naturally agreed.
Qin Su had just noticed the materials on it as well, and she said, "Those look like materials needed for alchemy."
Alchemy was prevalent a hundred years ago, and Qin Su knew some of these materials.
"Yes. Those so-called alchemy practices are actually just combinations of heavy metals."
Qin Su didn't understand, but she didn't ask.
"Perhaps the time was not right, those Taoist priests and alchemists did not discover the gunpowder."
gunpowder?
Qin Su muttered to herself, but she had never heard of this thing before.
So what exactly is it?
Is it related to fire? Or medicinal herbs?
The Empress Dowager just sent Granny Qin to the Imperial Hospital to find materials, which may be related to these two things.
"I'll tell you the proportions; you can study them in private." The Empress Dowager wrote down another prescription and handed it directly to Qin Su.
She started drawing blueprints for the hidden blade again, but she didn't seem to remember the hidden blade very clearly, and only drew a rough outline.
Qin Su took it and looked at it, and actually figured out something about it.
"This seems to be similar to a weapon used in the martial arts world. Mother, please explain its power and range to me in detail, and perhaps I will understand it better."
The Empress Dowager recalled a short video she had seen in her previous life, and later, out of interest, she looked it up. She shared all this information with Qin Su.
Compared to the Empress Dowager's theoretical discussions, Qin Su understood even more how powerful the hidden arrow was.
Moreover, this weapon is small and easy to strap to the arm, making it suitable for assassinations.
Perhaps feeling that the musket still needed a casing and couldn't be made in a short time, the Empress Dowager simply drew up some simple drawings and asked Qin Su to experiment with them.
After achieving her goal, Qin Su didn't stay in Cining Palace for long. She went to the Imperial Hospital to retrieve the materials and then returned home with Yuanyuan in her arms.
After returning home, she called Lian Tao over and showed her the blueprints for the hidden arrow. The two of them gathered together and pondered it carefully.
"Sister, what are you looking at?" Luo Zhi was quite curious when she saw the two of them with their heads close together.
Qin Su accepted the blueprints, not because she trusted Luo Zhi, but mainly because Luo Zhi indeed had too many uncertainties. This person was a member of the martial arts world, and she had to be careful.
The fewer people who know about these things, the better.
Seeing her wary attitude, Luo Zhi didn't say anything, but smiled at Qin Su and said, "Sister, I heard that there is a poetry gathering at Heshan Academy tomorrow. May I go?"
Believe it or not, Qin Su had absolutely no idea which academy was organizing the poetry gathering.
"You can go as long as you don't cause trouble." Qin Su didn't hold Luo Zhi back. After all, she grew up in the martial arts world, how could she stand being restrained?
Steward Zhang rushed in from outside. He glanced at Luo Zhi but didn't pay her any attention. She was brought back by the Princess Consort, so she was practically one of their own.
"What's wrong?" Qin Su asked Zhang, the housekeeper, as he approached.
Steward Zhang is the head steward of the mansion, in charge of all matters, big and small. He has watched Yu Shuo grow up, and Yu Shuo usually calls him Uncle Zhang.
And this person certainly deserves to be treated this way; he has always respected Qin Su.
"It's like this, the Prince of Minzhou sent an invitation, saying that they are holding a banquet in three days and invite the Princess to attend." As he spoke, he handed over a red invitation.
Qin Su had never been interested in these things. She took it and looked at it, but didn't say anything for a moment.
"The Prince of Minzhou? If I remember correctly, he's not in the capital. Why would he suddenly send me a letter?"
Qin Su was not very familiar with the Prince of Minzhou. This person was a descendant of a prince of a different surname, but his grandfather offended the late emperor and was therefore demoted to a prince. His fief was said to be in the north, but Qin Su did not know exactly where it was.
Why would someone she'd never met before send her a letter?
Thinking about what she needed to research recently, Qin Su said to Butler Zhang, "Can I not go?"
Steward Zhang hurriedly smiled and said, "If you don't want to go, I can just go and give you a reply."
Qin Su then handed the invitation to Steward Zhang, asking him to decline it.
"Why isn't sister going?" Luo Zhi leaned closer and asked curiously.
Tuoba Yan also came in from outside, but he roughly understood why Qin Su didn't go.
“That kind of occasion must be very boring, maybe even less interesting than the poetry gathering at Heshan Academy. It’s better not to go.” Tuoba Yan also wanted to go to the poetry gathering, but he figured he would have to go back to Quegu afterward.
Qin Su did not answer that question, but simply told the two of them to get ready so they could go to the poetry gathering together the next day.
After sending everyone away, she and Lian Tao huddled together to look at the blueprints. Lian Tao knew more about weapons than she did. The two of them drew more detailed versions of the weapons based on the blueprints given by the Empress Dowager.
Because they were both so focused on Yu Shuo's return, they didn't notice.
Yu Shuo accepted the hot tea that Chongyang handed him and sat down at the table. He wanted to see how long these two would keep busy.
However, Yu Shuo was also curious about what could make these two people so focused.
I thought the two of them would stop in another hour or two, but... an hour has passed and they are still "fighting".
Yu Shuo could only cough lightly, as if that would attract their attention.
But Qin Su simply brought over the materials and assembled the hidden arrows with Lian Tao.
Seeing this, Yu Shuo had no choice but to shamelessly go over and take a look.
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