The maids had prepared hot water, and Xu Qi'an reluctantly bathed under their service. As each piece of clothing was removed, what was revealed to the two maids was a long and lean, muscular and powerful body exuding the charm of a strong man. The two maids were not inexperienced and had served many officials before, but they had never seen a body as well-proportioned and muscular as Xu Qi'an's.

This was the result of reaching the pinnacle of the Refinement Realm, bestowing upon him a divine physique in the most suitable state for battle, without excess fat or overly bulky muscles that would affect his flexibility.

When Xu Qi'an arrived at the bed wearing only his underpants, Fu Xiang, the courtesan, who was sitting on the brocade mattress wrapped in a thin veil, became infatuated with his chest and abdominal muscles.

The maids left the main bedroom, and as Xu Qi'an lifted the embroidered quilt and got into bed, Fu Xiang approached him, her plump and soft body hanging on him, and whispered in his ear with a fragrant breath, "Master."

The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils, and Xu Qi'an's face became serious, his body tense.

The courtesan was surprised and giggled, "Young Master, are you still a virgin?"

Thinking of this possibility, she softened her body.

"No, I have experienced women in my previous life... but I have never slept with a beauty like you," Xu Qi'an pondered and said, "Have you heard of a divine technique called 'Pillow Touch,' which can make you fall asleep in three seconds?"

"What kind of divine technique is that?"

"Just watch me perform it."

After three seconds...

"Snoooore..."

Fu Xiang pushed him, "Young Master Yang..."

"Snoooore..."

Fu Xiang: "???"

...

At night, Xu Qi'an woke up with a start. After a silent sigh, he heard the long breathing beside him and felt the silky and soft body snuggled up against him. He forced himself to fall asleep again with great determination.

The next day, at dawn, Xu Qi'an's biological clock naturally woke him up. He felt something heavy on him, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the courtesan sleeping soundly next to him, with one long, white leg draped over his waist and a snow-white arm resting on his chest.

Xu Qi'an carefully removed her hands and feet, got out of bed, quickly dressed, and when he was tidying up his clothes, he angrily discovered that his money pouch was missing, leaving only a small jade mirror that was not even the size of his palm.

Xu Qi'an's first reaction was that the maids in the brothel had stolen his silver while he was asleep, which was not impossible. Yang Ling was just a scholar, although his social status was not low (in name only), but the brothel was an official brothel, and the Ministry of Rites supported it.

As a mere scholar, even if he accused them of stealing, they would deny it. What could Xu Qi'an do?The Brothel Sector doesn't care about reputation.

The Brothel Sector doesn't care about reputation, but Fu Xiang cares. If this matter spreads, which customer would dare to come to her for services? Xu Qi'an judged that the courtesan lady was probably unaware of this and that it was the maid who was tempted by the silver ticket and couldn't resist.

He was regretful for being careless and not keeping the silver ticket safe, and walked towards the bed, intending to wake Fu Xiang. But at that moment, his gaze casually swept the mirror and Xu Qi'an's face suddenly froze.

Something faintly appeared on the originally clean jade mirror, and upon closer inspection, it was a few silver tickets that were faintly visible. The texture was light, like a carving in the mirror.

What? Xu Qi'an's mind was full of question marks.

How did my silver tickets end up in the mirror? This is the hard-earned money I've earned... Spit it out, or I'll smash you...

He held the jade mirror tightly and shook it hard, as if pouring out the contents.

With a "clatter" sound, the silver tickets appeared out of nowhere and floated in the air for a moment before slowly falling to the ground.

In the silent room, Xu Qi'an held the mirror and didn't speak for a long time.

So, this mirror is really a treasure? Is it because of my good luck, or did the Taoist intentionally give me the mirror? What is his purpose, and why did he give me this treasure? Did he discover my inexplicable good fortune?

This is impossible. Even Cai Wei, who is proficient in astrology at the Bureau of Celestial Masters, didn't discover my special circumstances... I am completely unfamiliar with the Taoist system.

After a while, he took a deep breath.

This inexplicable gift is unsettling... Sigh, let's pick up the silver tickets first.

Xu Qi'an hid the jade mirror in his arms and put the silver tickets in his purse, keeping them separate. Then he quietly left the room and enjoyed his breakfast under the service of the maidservant.

"Don't you wait for the lady to wake up?" the little maid asked.

Usually, when a customer gets up, the lady who serves him will also get up with him. But this customer was a bit strange and came out secretly by himself.

"No, I'm afraid she'll scold me for being worse than a beast..." Xu Qi'an said calmly, "I have urgent matters."

...

A few hours later, at the Xu residence.

Xu Xinnian and Xu Cijiu sat in the study with hot tea by their side. Xu Pingzhi was energetic and not tired at all, while Xu Erlang looked a bit listless.

Father and son didn't speak, tacitly avoiding mentioning last night's incident, as if they had never been to the Brothel Sector.

The silent atmosphere was a bit stiff, until Xu Qi'an's arrival broke the awkwardness between father and son.

"Why did you take so long? You just came back and took a shower. Can't you do that at the Brothel Sector?" Uncle Xu complained.

Xu Xinnian coughed and didn't want to listen to his father talk about the Brothel Sector anymore. He asked, "Did you gain anything?"

Uncle Xu immediately stopped complaining and adopted a serious listening posture as Xu Qi'an told them the news he had obtained from Fu Xiang and his plan.

"The core of this problem lies in how you will kidnap the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis." Xu Xinnian pointed to the key point and hit the nail on the head."If we can't solve this step, the plan won't succeed."

Uncle Xu pondered and said, "Let's keep an eye on her first, and then find a chance to make a move. The Marquis's illegitimate daughter will have some attendants when she travels, but not too many since she's not the legitimate daughter. We can create chaos and then take the opportunity to abduct her."

Xu Qi'an and his brother listened, but Uncle Xu had more experience in handling affairs.

"But if we act during the day, it's difficult to abduct her in front of everyone. If we attract the attention of the Imperial Guards, we'll be in trouble. And at night, the two of us can't sneak into the Marquis's mansion."

Xu Qi'an smiled mysteriously. "What if I can solve this problem?"

...

In the front hall of the Xu family's residence, Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, passed by the flower bed and found a servant fainted inside. He hurriedly went over to check and found that the servant had only fainted.

Old Zhang woke him up and asked, "Why did you faint here?"

The servant looked confused for a moment, as if trying to remember who he was and where he was. He scratched his head and said, "I was just boiling water for the young master. He was taking a bath inside, and then he suddenly called me in...and then I can't remember anything."

Old Zhang looked at the servant for a moment and asked, "Do you feel any pain?"

"My head hurts a bit."

"Does your butt hurt?"

"...No."

Old Zhang and the servant looked at each other, relieved.

...

At the Bureau of Astrology, Song Qing, whose dark circles had become more pronounced, was lying on his desk with various bottles and jars scattered around him.

He didn't do any alchemy experiments today, but instead was writing furiously at his desk.

"Why are the grafted fruits superior? What kind of mysterious rules of heaven and earth are involved? If the grafted product is really better, then I'll graft humans and horses together, and the Great Feng won't have to worry about the scarcity of warhorses."

"Every soldier is a horse, capable of long-distance running and fighting bravely. This will enhance the combat capabilities of the Great Feng army..."

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He became more and more excited as he wrote, and his whole person was radiant.

At this moment, a white-clad person came in and excitedly shouted, "Senior Song, the alchemy genius Xu Qi'an is here and wants to see you."

The white-clad people at the Bureau of Astrology called Xu Qi'an the alchemy genius.

PS: Thanks to the leader "Salted Fish Doesn't Want to Speak" for the extra chapter, which will be kept after the book is published.