Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

"Clang—!"

Several large wooden barrels slammed heavily onto the gold brick floor, and several gray, dark red stones rolled out and rolled all the way to Wang Gui's feet.

Wang Gui subconsciously took a step back, and after looking down and seeing the shape of the stone, the astonishment on his face instantly turned into extreme contempt and ecstasy.

He pointed at the pile of stones, laughing so hard his beard trembled, as if he had seen the funniest joke in the world.

"Rock salt? Hahahaha!"

"Your Majesty! Did you see that? This is what His Highness the Crown Prince called his 'method'!"

Wang Gui turned to Li Shimin, his voice shrill like a chicken whose tail had been stepped on, "This is mineral salt! It's highly poisonous! Ingesting it will cause mild abdominal pain and vomiting, or in severe cases, it will cause the whole body to fester and die! This is common knowledge even among country bumpkins!"

"Your Highness, did you bring this poison to court because you think the people aren't dying fast enough, or are you trying to poison His Majesty so you can ascend the throne sooner?!"

When this serious accusation was leveled, the faces of all the officials in the court changed.

"Chengqian! Stop fooling around!"

Li Shimin, also anxious, stood up from his dragon throne, his face full of worry. "I know you mean well, but this stuff is absolutely forbidden! When Emperor Yang of Sui was campaigning in Liaodong, he tried this when there was a salt shortage, and thousands of soldiers died of poisoning. This is a bloody lesson!"

Faced with a room full of doubts and ridicule, Li Chengqian calmly found a way to sit down and crossed his legs.

He reached out and picked up a piece of salt, tossed it in his hand, and looked at Wang Gui with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot.

"Lord Wang, do you know why your aristocratic family can monopolize the salt industry?"

Wang Gui proudly puffed out his chest: "Naturally, it's because we control all the major salt lakes and possess ancestral salt-making secrets, enabling us to produce the finest salt in the world!"

"Secret recipe? Green salt?"

Li Chengqian scoffed, his eyes full of disdain.

"Your shoddy stuff—just dried brine, a little sand removed, and you call that a secret recipe? You call that salt?"

"Here's a little-known fact for you: the salt you're so proud of is no different from the toxic ore on this ground in my eyes—it's all garbage."

"You... arrogant brat!" Wang Gui trembled with rage.

"Arrogance? No, this is science."

Li Chengqian stood up, dusted off his hands, and a sudden, imposing aura emanated from his youthful face.

He looked around, his voice clear and resonant.

"Do you think that by controlling supply and demand, you can manipulate the imperial court? That you can cause grain prices to skyrocket and make salt unaffordable for the common people?"

"This kind of trick can only fool you ancient people who are still playing in the mud."

"In my opinion, this is a case of 'dimensional reduction attack'."

Li Shimin was completely confused and couldn't help but interject, "Chengqian, what is... a dimensional reduction attack?"

"Father, to put it simply..."

Li Chengqian pointed at Wang Gui, then at himself, "I am a human, he is an ant. I can crush him without explaining why or reasoning with him. One stomp and he's gone."

"This is the absolute crushing advantage brought about by technological gap."

"Wang Gui said this mineral salt is poisonous, and that's true, it is indeed poisonous. But the poison isn't in the salt itself, but in the impurities within it."

"Once the impurities are removed, it becomes the purest and most delicious snowflake salt in the world!"

"How is that possible?!"

Minister of Revenue Dai Zhou was the first to jump out. He was in charge of money and grain and was most familiar with salt affairs. "Removing the poison from mineral salt is a divine skill! Countless alchemists throughout history have failed to achieve it, Your Highness..."

"Gods can't do it because they don't understand chemistry."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to explain further and simply waved his hand dismissively.

"Xu Xiao! Bring the things up!"

"promise!"

Xu Xiao, accompanied by several Imperial Guards, swiftly carried a strange set of equipment into the main hall.

Several large vats, several layers of thick linen, a large pile of black charcoal, and a large iron pot placed on the stove.

This display left the civil and military officials looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What are they trying to do? Refine pills right here in the palace?"

"I think it's just a charade! Has His Highness the Crown Prince been possessed?"

Wang Gui watched coldly, a sneer playing on his lips. He wanted to see what kind of trouble this eight-year-old could cause. It was a given that mineral salt was poisonous; did he think he could defy the law?

"Watch closely, I will only teach you once. If you can't learn it, it's because you're stupid."

Li Chengqian rolled up his sleeves and took charge himself.

"The first step is to dissolve."

He grabbed the smashed salt and dumped it all into a large vat filled with water, then vigorously stirred it with a large wooden stick.

The murky, muddy water churned in the vat, bubbling with nauseating dark red foam.

"Look at this poisonous water, anyone who drinks it will die!" Wang Gui couldn't help but mock.

Li Chengqian ignored him and waited until the salt had completely melted before picking up a wooden ladle.

"The second step is filtering."

wow-

The turbid brine was poured into a filter layer covered with charcoal and fine sand. After being adsorbed layer by layer, it finally flowed through a fine linen cloth.

Everyone craned their necks and held their breath.

The originally murky poisonous water, after going through this inexplicable process, became clear and transparent as it flowed out from below, like a mountain spring!

"this……"

Li Shimin's eyes widened suddenly, and he subconsciously took two steps forward.

"The water... has become clearer?"

Fang Xuanling was so excited that his beard trembled: "Unbelievable! Where are those red poisonous creatures? Where is that mud and sand? They've all disappeared?"

"Don't rush, this is just braising liquid, it's not safe to eat yet."

Li Chengqian poured the clear brine into the large iron pot, where a roaring fire had already been lit underneath.

"The third step is crystallization."

"That is—cook it!"

The raging fire licked at the bottom of the pot, and the braised water inside began to boil, with white steam rising and filling the air above the Taiji Hall.

Time passed by, second by second.

The main hall was eerily quiet, with only the gurgling of water and the crackling of firewood.

The cold smile on Wang Gui's face gradually froze, replaced by a hint of unease.

Looking at Li Chengqian's confident demeanor, he suddenly felt uncertain.

Could it be... that this kid can really turn trash into treasure?

No! Absolutely not!

This is a rule passed down from our ancestors. Mineral salt is poisonous salt. How could it be safe to eat after boiling it?

"The water's almost gone!"

Someone shouted.

Everyone's heart was in their throat, and hundreds of eyes were fixed on the huge iron pot.

As the moisture evaporated, a layer of white crystals began to appear at the bottom of the pot.

More and more, thicker and thicker.

Until the last drop of water is boiled away.

Li Chengqian picked up the pot lid and suddenly lifted it off.

"The moment to witness a miracle has arrived!"

A thick plume of white steam dissipated, revealing the true appearance of the bottom of the pot.

There was no black residue as I had imagined, and no toxic lumps as I had expected.

What greeted everyone's eyes was a dazzling, pure, and pristine white!

The white snow, illuminated by the candlelight, shimmered with a crystalline light, like the purest first snow of winter, breathtakingly beautiful.

"This...this is salt?"

Dai Zhou reached out his hand, trembling, wanting to touch it, yet he dared not, as if it were a fragile dream.

Li Chengqian dipped his finger in the mixture, put it in his mouth, and even smacked his lips.

Then, he turned around, looked at Wang Gui who had been completely petrified, and revealed a devilish smile.

"Lord Wang, this is the poison you mentioned."

"Come, open your mouth, and I'll grant you a taste of 'poison'?"