Upon hearing this, Prince Xiu nodded in understanding. He trusted He Yunce's character and therefore did not object: "Since this is Lord He's family matter, it is not appropriate for me to interfere."

However, considering the Su family's feelings, he still tried to mediate: "We are all family. Lord He, please persuade them gently and don't hurt our harmony."

He Yunze nodded respectfully on the surface, but that was not what he really thought. He strode out of the Xiuwang Mansion and saw Song Xizhi waiting at the door.

Without Su Mingli, there was only Song Xizhi, dressed very nicely, carrying a box in her hand.

Upon seeing Song Xizhi's meticulously dressed appearance, and recalling everything from his past life, He Yunze's anger flared up. He grabbed Song Xizhi's hand and questioned her sharply:

"Song Xizhi! You said you came with Su Mingli, but you actually came alone? Are you trying to go out and seduce men again?"

"Go back quickly, don't embarrass yourself here. Is such a fickle woman really so unable to stand being alone?"

He Yunze's sudden approach caused a familiar fragrance to fill Song Xizhi's nose—a woody scent of herbs and plants, as if one were in a forest.

This incense also has a beautiful name, "Grass and Trees in the Human World," a name given by my mother, and it is also the most outstanding incense she has ever made.

So when she instructed Qing Tong to change the recipe, she deliberately replaced one of the ingredients with an extinct medicinal herb, making it impossible for Song Ruo'an to develop the medicine herself using the recipe.

Besides these, she also made some modifications to the other incense recipes.

Recipes are like that; even the slightest error can lead to a huge difference. Every single ingredient is precisely measured, and if the amounts are different, she cannot recreate the exact same recipe.

She had originally discussed with Madam Xin the idea of ​​making "Plants and Trees in the World" the first product of Pinxianglou, to be launched at the poetry gathering, in memory of her mother.

Unexpectedly, he gave the incense to Prince Xiu.

Song Xizhi thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, a hint of amusement in his eyes, but his gaze slowly locked onto He Yunce's hand: "I came with my uncle."

"Uncle, don't forget your place. You have no evidence that I'm seducing men, and you're currently pulling at your sister-in-law. What kind of behavior is that?"

Upon hearing this, He Yunze seemed to snap out of a daze, releasing Song Xizhi's hand and taking two steps back: "If you hadn't gone too far, do you think I wanted to touch you? I was just stopping you!"

He only saw Song Xizhi's familiar face and watched her outrageous behavior, and subconsciously thought that he was still in his previous life.

As He Yunze thought this, he wiped his hands with a handkerchief again: "It's disgusting."

Su Mingli had just run into a colleague, and the two chatted for a few minutes. When he returned, he heard He Yunce say these words.

He took a long stride and blocked Song Xizhi's path, his expression somewhat angry: "May I ask what Lord He's intention is?"

"Xi Zhi is merely accompanying me to deliver incense and pay a visit to Prince Xiu. This was at Prince Xiu's invitation. If you can do it, why can't she?"

As he spoke, he scanned He Yunce's face from head to toe, his cold eyes full of scrutiny: "If Lord He is truly well-behaved, then he should respect your sister-in-law and be courteous in every gesture."

"And every time you see her, you lose your temper and talk back to her so rudely, Lord He. Don't you think you have too much affection and attention for your sister-in-law?"

He Yunze thought Su Mingli's words were a joke. He wished Song Xizhi were dead, so why would he have any attention or feelings for her?

He was just afraid she would embarrass herself again, so he lost his temper.

He raised his head and met Su Mingli's gaze without fear: "Since Lord Su is here, then I don't need to worry about Song Xizhi. Lord Su, you should keep a close eye on your niece."

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to Song Xizhi's hands: "You want to send incense? But Prince Xiu is arrogant and doesn't care about being easily satisfied with incense that can be bought anywhere outside."

“He doesn’t like the inferior incense you sent. He prefers unique, one-of-a-kind items, so please leave. These are the exact words of the Prince Xiu.”

Even a gentle and refined gentleman like Su Mingli was amused by his attitude: "Young Master He, don't look down on people. How do you know that the incense we brought isn't a unique item?"

He Yunze smiled, as if everything was under his control: "Because I know Song Xizhi well."

"You rushed over to bring incense, isn't it because you heard from Grandmother that Ruo'an can make incense, so you frantically bought something that can be found anywhere, wanting to compete with her?"

"You're just humiliating yourself."

He had seen this kind of trick hundreds of times in his previous life.

After saying this, he turned and left without any hesitation.

Seeing He Yunze's triumphant and high-spirited appearance, Song Xizhi knew that Prince Xiu had greatly praised the "Plant and Tree in the Human World" gifted to He Yunze and promised him many benefits.

The reason why Prince Xiu was so happy to receive this rare incense was undoubtedly because of the poetry gathering that would take place in a few days.

Since that's the case...

Thinking of this, Song Xizhi smiled slightly. She turned her head, glanced at Su Mingli, and said in a cheerful tone, "Uncle, let's go back."

Su Mingli still looked furious, his chest heaving violently: "But Prince Xiu..."

Song Xizhi shook his head: "After hearing He Yunce's slander, Prince Xiu will no longer see us."

It's strange, really. If Prince Xiu wanted to test them because of his mother's past experience with incense making, he wouldn't have listened to He Yunze's words and refused to see them after receiving the incense.

Unless King Xiu was unaware of the past events and genuinely wanted a special incense for this poetry gathering.

Thinking of this, after the two got into the carriage, Song Xizhi looked up and asked Su Mingli, "How old is Prince Xiu now?"

Su Mingli pondered for a moment: "I'm not yet twenty, and I'm not married yet."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi knew that this was the problem.

"Since Prince Xiu is young, how did he know about his mother's incense-making more than ten years ago? Who told him about it, and why was he so eager to ask for incense?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mingli also felt that it made sense. It was possible that Prince Xiu simply wanted to burn incense and knew nothing about what happened back then. It was only by telling Prince Xiu that the Su family had someone who burned incense that he might learn the truth.

"This question will probably have to be answered by the King himself. It's a pity we returned empty-handed this time."

Song Xizhi gave Su Mingli a sly smile: "It wasn't a fruitless trip. We've achieved the desired results, killing two birds with one stone."

First, he learned that someone had told him about the incense incident; second, he learned what kind of incense He Yunze had sent to Prince Xiu.

Hearing her confident words, Su Mingli looked at her with some surprise: "The most important thing now is how to see Prince Xiu and get him to answer our questions. Do you have a way to do that?"

Song Xizhi nodded and gave him a reassuring look: "Don't worry, Prince Xiu will come to see me on his own initiative later."