At this moment, Song Xizhi was chatting with Prince Ning in a side room on the second floor of the Xianglou.
Although she orchestrated everything today, even Song Xizhi herself did not expect things to go so smoothly.
Even in full view of everyone, the Prefect of Jingzhao personally brought Song Ruoan back to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
All of this was thanks to the secret help of Prince Ning, who both intimidated and supported him.
In fact, the extinct Tianhua Ningzhi was prepared by her herself. She happened to have the last ingredient on hand, and it would interact with the other ingredients in the recipe, so she finally decided to write Tianhua Ningzhi on the recipe.
However, she did not expect that Prince Ning would directly say in front of everyone that he had prepared the Tianhua Ningzhi, leaving He Yunce speechless and with no chance to question it.
Thinking it over, Song Xizhi stood up and respectfully offered a cup of tea to Prince Ning: "Thank you for today's matter, Your Highness. I offer you this cup of tea instead of wine."
Prince Ning smiled, his eyes narrowed. He leaned back and drank the tea that Song Xizhi had brought him in one gulp.
"It was just a small favor. I can tell that there's nothing wrong with what you gave me, so whether the Tianhua Ningzhi belongs to me or not is completely unimportant."
"If you wish to repay..."
Song Xizhi craned her neck, somewhat stunned, when she heard Prince Ning continue, "From now on, you no longer need to refer to yourself as your subject in front of me."
Upon hearing Prince Ning's words, Song Xizhi smiled and nodded: "However, you are so eager to see me..."
Before she could finish speaking, a commotion came from outside the door, and through the wooden door, she could faintly hear He Yunce's heart-wrenching cries.
"Song Xizhi, please see me, please see me..."
Prince Ning raised his eyebrows and looked at Song Xizhi, but Song Xizhi simply opened the door and said to the outside, "Let the person in."
Actually, she really wants to see He Yunce now.
When He Yunze stumbled into the room, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were red.
He was so dejected, like a black boulder from a steep jade mountain, collapsing in an instant.
He was still holding a thick stack of papers in his hand.
He leaned against the doorframe, looking at Prince Ning, his bloodshot eyes filled with the vicissitudes of life:
"Your Highness, I know that you are not only an expert in incense, but also have a deep knowledge of historical artifacts. I would like to ask you to verify whether these formulas are genuine?"
Prince Ning then looked at Song Xizhi, and seeing Song Xizhi nod with his lips pursed, Prince Ning took the paper from He Yunce's hand.
He carefully examined the fragile recipes in the sunlight for a moment, then cut off a corner, soaked it in water, and held it to his nose to smell it.
After a long time, they finally came to the conclusion: "These artifacts may seem to be more than ten years old, but that is not necessarily the case."
"These are all antique replicas, made with special chemicals. The imitation techniques are extremely sophisticated. They are probably from about a month ago."
Song Xizhi remained seated, listening to Prince Ning's assessment, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Prince Ning was able to figure out even this. This thing was made last month, but it was made by the younger uncle who tricked the older uncle.
Even the eldest uncle himself didn't know what use it was.
Upon hearing this, He Yunze did not burst into tears of grief; he simply nodded stiffly, a mocking smile on his face.
Prince Ning handed the stack of prescriptions back to him, still somewhat curious: "What? You're not surprised at all now?"
He pointed to the prescription in He Yunce's hand: "These are all evidence. The Jingzhao Prefecture probably needs them. But how you want to deal with them is up to you."
He Yunze slowly raised his head and looked in Song Xizhi's direction: "Do you really know how to make incense?"
Before Song Xizhi could answer, Prince Ning took a long stride and sat back down on the round stool. He nodded and said, "She can make incense. Her skills are a natural talent, honed since childhood. I admire her."
He Yunze's dark eyes remained fixed on Song Xizhi's face, as if he were looking at his wife from his past life through her: "But why did I never know you made incense?"
Song Xizhi knew he was asking about his past life, and inwardly he wanted to sneer: "How do you know about my past?"
"You never remember the good things I've done for you, you have a preconceived aversion to me. You don't know what I like or dislike, and you think every word I've said is a deception or a lie..."
Song Xizhi's tone became increasingly agitated halfway through her sentence, but she suddenly calmed down and shrugged: "Never mind, I don't care."
He Yunze blurted out his thoughts in an instant: "But you've been unruly since you were little! You're never at the Song residence! Instead, you like to associate with all sorts of shady characters!"
"If it weren't for Madam Zhao keeping you in check, you would have been tricked into selling yourself in a brothel! You say I don't understand you, but are these things true?"
Song Xizhi took a deep breath, losing all desire to speak, and immediately ordered someone to throw He Yunce out.
But Prince Ning's eyes lit up in an instant: "If this is true, then you started learning incense around that time?"
He spoke almost as if suddenly realizing something: "That's right. How could a well-behaved young lady who stays in her boudoir possibly learn medicine and incense? Even I have to travel over mountains and rivers to learn."
Song Xizhi chuckled: "No matter how much research is done, some people will still think I'm promiscuous and self-degrading. Not only did I frequent brothels in my youth, but I also had secret affairs with other men after I got married."
Prince Ning's eyes widened, and he raised his hands, a hint of innocence appearing on his handsome face: "Do you think I'm an outsider? When I go out to do business, I inevitably encounter men. Fortunately, your husband understands."
Upon hearing this, He Yunze was horrified. He took a few steps back, his face even paler than before.
The conversation between Song Xizhi and Prince Ning that had just taken place was echoing in his ears.
Scenes from his heart-wrenching arguments with Song Xizhi in his past life flashed before his eyes.
He Yunze felt that the things he didn't understand in his previous life had all been answered at this moment.
If a woman is well-behaved, dutiful, gentle, virtuous, and ignorant, how can you expect her to have medical skills, make incense, and make decisive decisions during times of epidemics, unlike other women?
"Zhizhi... was everything in our past life just a misunderstanding on my part?"
He Yunze's eyes were fixed on Song Xizhi's profile. He murmured to himself, his voice soft, but his heart was pounding.
He was filled with remorse: "Why was it that no matter how you tried to explain yourself in my past life, I refused to believe you...?"
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