On the fifth day of the tenth month, the grand incense-tasting banquet held by the Lu family at the Yuxuan Pavilion in the capital officially began.

The Fragrance Appreciation Banquet is held every three years and is hosted by the Lu family. Invitations are extended to perfumers from all over the world.

At that banquet, perfumers could freely use the prepared spices, and the final perfumes or fragrances would be auctioned off, with the proceeds donated to impoverished areas.

It was a very meaningful event.

Shen Bei'an himself also liked making incense. Although he knew that this event would expose the identity of the female lead, the incense master "Banxia", it was a free show, so why not come and watch?

And the spices here are really complete.

However, the incense-making room at Biluo Xiaozhu appears to be more complete.

However, such a fragrance appreciation banquet is attended by fragrance masters from all over the world, and they can learn a lot from each other through exchanges. This is one of the few times that Shen Beian, a lazy bum, is actively engaged.

Upon entering, one is greeted by the aroma of various precious spices.

There was no pungent smell at all; it was simply refreshing and pleasant.

It seems they even hired a band, with the sounds of the guqin and xiao harmonizing beautifully.

"Beibei." A familiar voice reached Shen Bei'an's ears.

Shen Bei'an looked up and saw Ye Lin.

She wore a silver-embroidered dress with butterflies and flowers, her hair styled in a clever and lively updo, and a sachet and a brocade pouch were pinned to her waist.

They seem quite active.

"Little Yezi, why are you here so early?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Beian realized that he had asked a stupid question.

This incense appreciation banquet was hosted by the Lu family, and Xiao Yezi is the Lu family's daughter-in-law, so she naturally had to arrive early.

Ye Lin's answer was similar to what Shen Bei'an said, "Oh dear, I'm not early at all. My sister-in-law is the early one. She and my brother are still entertaining some guests. My brother should have been the one to greet you, but I figured you wouldn't like that kind of flattering and fawning scene, so he took the initiative to do it."

They knew Shen Bei'an's personality all too well.

In terms of the empire's empty rhetoric, this Fifth Master Shen always manages to surprise people.

Shen Bei'an nodded, "Of course, I won't say those polite words." He was used to being casual.

"Will some elderly people also come?" Ye Lin asked mysteriously, pulling him aside.

“That’s natural. The Lu family holds this Fragrance Appreciation Banquet every three years, and an auction is held after each banquet, a great opportunity to enhance their reputation. Although some elders don’t care about such empty fame, it’s still quite good to take on a disciple or something at this banquet,” Ye Lin replied affirmatively.

"Not to mention that the Lu family paid for all these ingredients themselves, and they were all free. Many of the spices can't be found on the market."

As he spoke, Ye Lin raised his chin and said, "That piece of camphor over there seems to have a history of over a hundred years. If you want to use it, the price will be quite high."

Although everyone can use these spices for free, some of the more expensive spices are not so easy to obtain.

After all, the Lu family isn't going to be taken advantage of.

Biluo Xiaozhu has many spices, including camphor, and it's even bigger than that piece.

“I know you don’t lack them, but for other perfumers, even seeing them is difficult, let alone using them.” Ye Lin certainly knew about the spices that the eldest son had prepared for his friend.

It's no exaggeration to say that if the spices in Shen Bei'an's possession were auctioned, they would fetch astronomical prices!

Shen Bei'an shrugged helplessly. He only used the best spices and wouldn't even look at the inferior ones. "Do you have any white agarwood?"

The spices her daughter-in-law wore were these.

Ye Lin looked conflicted. "Fifth Master, white agarwood is a fragrance that only royalty and nobility could afford in ancient times. And the one used by the eldest son must be of very high quality. How could we possibly have it here? We only have some lower-grade white agarwood that is a little younger."

This spice is definitely not something Shen Bei'an uses. The only one who could make Shen Bei'an ask about it is the eldest son.

But what the eldest son uses goes without saying.

Shen Beian nodded in agreement. He had seen a piece of white agarwood a while ago, and after smelling it, he felt that it didn't smell as good as the one on Yan Yan.

It really is a matter of the year.

He'll go back and look for it, then make a sachet for Yan Yan to wear.

While perfume was common in the empire, many people preferred to wear sachets around their waists.

The citizens of the empire all knew a little about sachets.

This sachet is also a small gift between lovers.

Many married people wear sachets embroidered by their spouses.

It's inevitable that some of them may look rough, but they are well protected and cherished by their owners.

Shen Bei'an's needlework is quite good; the material for the sachets was chosen long ago, but she hasn't decided what to put inside yet.

This is also a very important reason why he came to this incense appreciation banquet.

The main thing!

Gu Nanyan's birthday is in the twelfth lunar month, and he has already given it to her himself.

We can't just send it again, that would be so insincere.

I want to give something that shows affection.

It's a comb, I think it's a cow horn comb they made together before.

hairpin?

They both have short hair, so it's completely unnecessary.

It seems his wife doesn't use the brocade pouch much either.

Therefore, after much thought, I still felt that a sachet was the most suitable.

In this way, the scent on her body was created by his own hands, and anyone could tell at a glance that she was taken!

However, given Gu Nanyan's status, making a suitable spice blend is truly not easy.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep looking and see if I can find any inspiration," Shen Bei'an said. "Little Yezi, will you come with me, or continue to entertain the guests?"

Ye Lin said casually, "I'll go with you. I don't need to entertain any guests; that's their job."

She had told Lu Ming before their marriage that she didn't like these kinds of scenes and didn't want to pretend at all.

Don't even think about it after marriage.

Lu Ming agreed, and the Lu family was aware of this.

So naturally she should do what she wants, since Lu Ming isn't the heir anyway.

They usually don't go back to their old house; they live a very leisurely life.

Shen Bei'an raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have it easy. Come on, I'm free today, I'll make a separate incense for each of you."

Compared to the other two, Xiao Yezi is indeed lucky.

Ye Lin waved her hand, "Forget it, no one has it as easy as you, Master Shen." To be honest, who in the capital can live a more comfortable life than her friend?

"However, making incense separately is possible!" he said with a smile.

"So, in that case, you're not planning to auction off the incense you made?"

Shen Beian nodded in response, “Yes, charitable donations are something that both the Gu family and the Shen family do every year, and they have dedicated foundations. Moreover, when we were both twelve or thirteen years old, Ayan had already set up a foundation named after us to help children in some impoverished areas of the empire. So these are unnecessary.”

Donating money is something many companies do.

But for some reason, Ah Yan seems to do more.

And then there are the relics.

Even though Yan Yan doesn't believe in any of this, I don't know why she's doing so much.

——

Mini-theater:

Eldest son: Would you mind delivering it again…

Fifth Master Shen (covering the eldest son's mouth): Shut up! I don't want to!