Page 145 of DATE
Hedy straightened up, looking at him more firmly. “Blood and wood ash mixed together and roasted, then adding iron chloride—”
In the past few days, she had been experiencing recurring dreams, flashes of old memories and words that kept cycling through her mind.
The components of Prussian blue were ferrous ferrocyanide, which could be created through a reaction of potassium carbonate and carbon-nitrogen compounds—she had even done a related experiment before graduation.
“You mean—” Da Vinci, still processing, found himself following her lead in the conversation for the first time.
“Human blood can’t be used, so use cow blood, that is, mixing cow blood with wood ash and roasting it, then reacting with iron chloride solution…”
Seeing him still confused, she immediately got up and began writing out the chemical reaction process, organizing the fleeting memory in full.
The apothecary had hydrochloric acid readily available, and by adding iron filings, she could obtain ferrous chloride.
Although it wasn’t quite the same as ferric chloride, it would be enough to react with the previous substance to produce some of the ferrocyanide iron—the very thing they had been seeking all along.
If the experiment succeeded... then the Prussian blue would finally lose the painter’s favor.
As she leaned over, her black hair cascaded down, and the curve of her clavicle and the long neck, like a swan's, became visible.
But Da Vinci didn’t glance at her for even a second. Instead, he immediately picked up the paper and stood up.
“Wait—”
He said this as he rushed out, seemingly to buy cow’s blood.
Botticelli was working on a sketch when he saw Da Vinci outside, carrying a bundle of dry hay and burning it to create ash. Then, he squatted by a barrel, mixing the wood ash and cow blood together, looking like a craftsman covered in soot and dust.
Botticelli watched for a while, noticing that Da Vinci didn’t seem to acknowledge his presence. He cleared his throat.
Da Vinci looked up at him. “What’s the matter?”
“What… what are you doing?”
“Not sure yet, I’ll tell you when I’m done.”
“But… I remember you told me this afternoon, before you went upstairs, that you were going to spend time with Miss Hedy?” Botticelli tried to give him a hint. “And she doesn’t seem to have gotten out of bed recently. She’s been having nightmares, right?”
Da Vinci mixed the cow’s blood and began to think about how to roast the mixture. After a moment, he looked at Botticelli and said, “I’ve already seen her.”
“You mean?”
“I’ve given her the gift and said the comforting words. Thatshould be enough, right?” Da Vinci raised both hands, covered in the foul-smelling paste. “That’s no longer the focus.”
——
Prussian blue has truly been born.
When Da Vinci brought the tube of paint over, Hedy was flipping through a new book borrowed from the Academy of Florence.
She glanced up and didn’t see the painter with his dirty hand, but the tube of paint in his hand.
It was the Prussian blue, purified and filtered, without any impurities.
It was so deep and magnificent that it reminded one of the unfathomable deep sea and the tea-scented rose, known as the blue enchantress.
No language could adequately describe such a color; all descriptions seemed pale and powerless.
"You made it..." She felt her spirits lift, and at that moment, she even wanted to jump up from the bed and hug him. "It’s exactly like I remembered!"
