"Let her in quickly, I just happened to miss her scent."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wenjian's face immediately lit up with a delighted smile.

Upon seeing this, Zi Xing respectfully stood up.

"Your Majesty, then I shall take my leave so as not to disturb Your Majesty and the Empress's time together."

"Hmm, someone, go to the storeroom and fetch a jade ruyi as a reward for the Divine Physician Zixing!"

Emperor Wenjian nodded, and then generously ordered his men to fetch a reward for Zixing.

Consort Zhang was dressed in flamboyant clothes and had heavy makeup on her face. In fact, she was not particularly good-looking, and now that she was old, even with makeup, she was not as pretty as the young palace maids around her.

However, Emperor Wenjian was so captivated by her fragrance that he completely ignored Consort Zhang's beauty and was instead engrossed in her scent.

Every time he smelled Zhang Pin's scent, he felt as if his body and mind were nourished, giving him a feeling of euphoria.

"emperor."

Consort Zhang called out coquettishly, and deliberately pushed Wen Jian away with a hint of embarrassment.

"There are still people watching over here!"

"All of you, get out of my sight! You are not to be brought in without my summons!"

Emperor Wenjian buried his head in Consort Zhang's neck and waved away the palace servants around him.

Before long, only Emperor Wenjian and Consort Zhang remained in the vast palace, and some indescribable sounds could be heard from within.

When Xiao Ye arrived at the palace to request an audience with Emperor Wenjian, he was naturally refused by the eunuchs.

"Your Highness, the Emperor has said that no one is allowed to enter and disturb him without his summons."

"Is His Majesty inside alone now?"

Su Liluo sensed something was amiss and frowned as she questioned the eunuch.

"And then there's Consort Zhang."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, then realized there was nothing wrong with saying it. Although they couldn't understand why the Emperor would abandon the young and beautiful Consort Yao and instead favor the aging Consort Zhang, it didn't change the fact that Consort Zhang was now the Emperor's most beloved concubine.

"Consort Zhang?"

Su Liluo and Xiao Ye both expressed their doubts at the same time. They looked at each other and both felt that something was strange.

Before they could figure out the reason, the sound of a woman laughing and moaning came from inside the hall.

Immediately, Su Liluo and Xiao Ye exchanged an awkward and bewildered glance.

Is this the Emperor and Consort Zhang?

They're both almost a hundred years old combined, yet they're still so passionate?

They stood at the door for a while but did not see Emperor Wenjian. They then decided to go see the Empress first.

*

"Ye'er, when did you get back?"

Phoenix Palace.

When the Empress saw Xiao Ye and Su Liluo suddenly appear in front of her, her expression was both shocked and delighted.

"Mother, Luo'er and I returned from Youyun Prefecture today. I sent a message to Father Emperor many days ago. How come you didn't know?"

Xiao Ye looked at the Empress with a puzzled expression.

"Really? You came back from Youyun Prefecture. Wasn't it the place where the King of Chu and the Liu family rebelled?"

The Empress also looked at Xiao Ye with a puzzled expression.

She really hadn't received any word that Xiao Ye and the others were coming back.

"Mother, I have reclaimed Youyun Prefecture and escorted the Prince of Chu and the Liu family back to the city. However, Father has not summoned us, so we came to see him, but just now..."

Xiao Ye briefly told the Empress about their trip to see Emperor Wenjian.

Upon hearing this, the Empress's face darkened, but it was quickly replaced by helplessness.

Finally, she frowned, still puzzled, and sighed, "Recently, your father has lost his mind and started to favor that middle-aged Consort Zhang."

"Don't even mention you, many young and beautiful concubines in the harem now find it difficult to even catch a glimpse of the Emperor. Besides discussing longevity and health with that divine physician, the Emperor spends his days favoring Consort Zhang."

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Household Department has delivered this month's silk and jewelry."

At this moment, a tall palace maid walked in from outside, followed by several eunuchs carrying trays.

Su Liluo and the others followed their gaze, and what they saw made her even more astonished.

On the tray were two pieces of ordinary brocade with a dark color and simple patterns, and the jewelry beside them were also inconspicuous hairpins and low-grade jade.

"Mother, is this all the stuff the Imperial Household Department gave you?"

Su Liluo's tone carried a hint of anger.

You must know that the Empress is the most precious woman in the harem. According to the rules, the brocade sent to the Empress's palace must not only be the finest silk, but it must be the best in the harem.

The brocade on this plate is not silk, nor even Shu brocade or Yun brocade; it's the kind of brocade that looks very ordinary.

If even the Empress uses such poor-quality items, what do the other concubines in the harem use?

She thought that the Liang national treasury was not empty, and there had been no natural disasters or man-made calamities, so it shouldn't be this poor.

"Your Highness, this is an order from His Majesty. Originally, the Empress was supposed to receive a silk fabric made of golden silkworms, but Consort Zhang preferred it, so His Majesty switched it with the Empress's."

The eunuch leading the delivery of the items offered an explanation.

"This is outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but stand up angrily.

"A mere concubine in the harem was able to exchange things for the Empress's!"

Is his father out of his mind?!

"Your Highness, this...this is all the Emperor's will."

Seeing Xiao Ye's anger, the eunuch was slightly frightened and lowered his head to explain.

The Empress didn't react so strongly. Instead, she stepped forward to persuade Xiao Ye, "In the time you've been away, the harem has almost become Zhang Pin's domain."

The Emperor not only showered her with the best things, but also forbade me from punishing her. Now she doesn't even need to come to pay her respects to me. I found this rather strange, so I had someone investigate, and it seems that…”

As she spoke, the Empress dismissed all the other palace maids and eunuchs in the hall before revealing that she had discovered the Emperor was infatuated with a particular scent emanating from Consort Zhang.

"Mother, I'm afraid there's something wrong with the smell on Consort Zhang."

After hearing this, Su Lilu could guess what methods Consort Zhang had used to gain favor.

"But Consort Zhang's scent doesn't work on others. I've met Consort Zhang myself, and I found the smell quite unpleasant. I don't know why Your Majesty likes it."

Furthermore, I also inquired with the imperial physicians who had contact with Consort Zhang, and they shared the same feeling as me.

The Empress asked in confusion.

"Does Mother mean that Consort Zhang's scent is only liked by the Emperor and is only effective for him?"

That's strange!

Su Liluo became increasingly puzzled; it seemed the fragrance was not as simple as she had thought.