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However, with the war approaching, these shops could indeed be repurposed into weaponry workshops.
"We can't do these things within Milan," Da Vinci murmured. "Sforza is a cautious and greedy man. If he finds out, he might try to swallow up all our assets."
Hedy nodded in agreement and marked a ranch on the map in the southwest direction. "We can use this as our base. Half of the area for training soldiers, and the other half for weapon testing. What do you think?"
"And we need to control the movement of people," Da Vinci added, pulling out a pencil. "If any opportunist tries to inform on us, things will get even more troublesome."
Though the carriage was quite bumpy, it didn't hinder their overall planning.
Collaborating with Leonardo was truly a pleasant experience—
Hedy often didn't need to add much, sometimes just giving a hint or two, and he would quickly understand her full meaning.
After years of repeated collaboration, he had become completely accustomed to modern thinking methods, and he was quite adept with things like icons and budget sheets.
"But—there's something else very important," Da Vinci looked at her and asked, "Do you know what 'Cantarella' is?"
Hedy was somewhat puzzled. "Who is that?"
"It’s not a person, it’s a poison." Da Vinci spoke with some concern. "Botticelli told me about it."
It was said that the Borgia family had inherited a poison passed down through generations, used to secretly eliminate or threaten political enemies.
This poison was colorless, tasteless, and no one had ever seen its exact form. But it was said that those who ingested it would soon meet their end.
Da Vinci wasn’t sure how true these legends were, but he still explained what he knew.
Is it... arsenic?
Or perhaps a mixture related to arsenic?
Hedy thought for a moment, then spoke up. "From now on, you should always carry a silver needle with you and stir your food with it before eating."
"Because... silver is sacred?" Leonardo raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What about a cross?"
"Not like that. If the water or food is poisoned, stirring it with the silver needle will cause it to turn black immediately."
At this time, extracts were often impure, and the presence of impurities would cause a reaction in silver, turning it black.
Hedy had never directly encountered this part of history, but she had a general understanding of the technological level of the time.
The tools people used for poisoning mainly relied on arsenic trioxide, also known as arsenic.
"Just in case, I mean, just in case," she emphasized, "if, after eating something, you start feeling short of breath and your throat begins to hurt, immediately induce vomiting and get all the food out."
Da Vinci looked at her with surprise. "Did alchemy teach you these things?"
Over the years, he had grown more and more curious about visiting her teacher and learning some of these new things.
"You must continue vomiting until only clear water comes out, and then supplement with eggs and milk." Hedy confirmed seriously. "Did you hear that?"
"Mm, got it." Leonardo chuckled. "We should bring a silver needle for Atalante as well."
Hedy watched as he continued organizing the charts, faintly sensing that he had completely adapted to her various strange ideas.
The knowledge from the modern world and the things that had never existed in this era had all come into being centuries ahead of time, thanks to her.
If it weren’t for her identity and the many lies protecting her, she might have already been burned at the stake as a witch in the town square.
