Chapter 268 Sachet
He Ling felt a heavy responsibility on her shoulders as soon as she left Weiyang Palace, and the red scarf on her chest became even brighter.
She is no longer cannon fodder, but the Empress's trusted confidante.
She felt both nervous and a little excited, and felt she should do something, so she decided to take a walk around the palace.
Well, let's just treat it as a patrol; we might just find some clues.
She wandered aimlessly and unknowingly walked into the Imperial Garden. Admiring the blooming flowers, she couldn't feel relaxed.
System, system, you should at least give me some clear hints...
Where is Princess Mingzhu now? Is she in danger?
The Empress told her to be careful, but is wandering around aimlessly really helpful?
As she was lost in thought, she turned past a lush flowerbed and saw Princess Mingzhu sitting on a swing not far away, sighing and looking gloomy.
He Ling's eyes lit up; what a coincidence!
We need to find a way to get Princess Mingzhu to a safe place, preferably near Weiyang Palace. The Empress might still be looking for her.
She walked over quickly, a smile on her face: "Princess."
Mingzhu looked up, saw it was her, and forced a smile: "It's Sister Ling."
He Ling pressed her advantage, tentatively asking with concern, "Why is the princess here all alone? She doesn't seem to be in a good mood?"
Mingzhu pouted and kicked at the pebbles at her feet.
"Nothing, I was just feeling down and came out for some fresh air."
Seeing her listless appearance, He Ling felt anxious.
Whenever a character is left alone in a novel, all sorts of bizarre and terrible things always happen.
Her mind raced, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding flowers and plants, trying to find an excuse.
"Yes, it can be quite boring sometimes, but I just passed by the chrysanthemum garden and saw the gardener carrying several pots of chrysanthemums I've never seen before. The colors are really beautiful. Would you like to go take a look, Princess? It would be good to clear your head."
Mingzhu shook her head with little interest: "Chrysanthemums are appreciated every year, they're just the same, nothing new."
"Then...then let's go to Listening to Rain Pavilion? We can feed the fish there..."
"I don't want to move." Mingzhu sighed, remaining unmoved, and even swaying the swing less.
He Ling was getting a little anxious.
What should we do? What should we do?
If I can't get her to do something, I'll definitely mess up my job.
Most importantly, she couldn't just stand by and watch Mingzhu fall into the trap.
In a flash, He Ling had a sudden inspiration.
She clapped her hands suddenly and looked at Mingzhu: "Ah! That's right, I passed by Weiyang Palace before I came here and I vaguely smelled a fragrance that was both sweet and delicious, making my stomach rumble. It must be that Your Majesty has come up with some divine dessert again."
"Let's go check it out now, maybe we can even get some freshly baked ones!"
Sure enough, Mingzhu's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing Jiang Huan's name: "Really?"
He Ling nodded vigorously: "I'd be a dog if I lied to you."
Upon receiving a definite response, Mingzhu's gloomy expression vanished, and she immediately jumped off the swing.
"Then I'll go with you to take a look first. After we've eaten, I'll come back and sit down."
He Ling breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smiled as she helped her up, saying, "Alright, alright, let's go to Weiyang Palace now."
At crucial moments, we'll have to rely on our Goddess Chef to shine!
But just as the two turned around, before they had taken more than a few steps, a young man in a brocade robe suddenly appeared from the path beside them.
The man was handsome, with elegant manners and a smile on his lips, and walked straight toward Princess Mingzhu.
"Greetings, Princess."
He bowed respectfully to Mingzhu, his attitude humble, "I have long heard that the princess is innocent and witty, and seeing her today, I can confirm that her reputation is well-deserved."
He Ling's mind immediately went into overdrive.
They look respectable, but you can't trust them!
The system immediately issued a stern alarm.
"Warning! High-risk target detected! Extremely dangerous! Host, please remove the protected object immediately!"
The electronic sound pierced He Ling's nerves like needles. Looking at the elegant man in front of her, she felt a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
They must be people arranged by the Empress Dowager.
If he gets close to the princess, everything the empress has painstakingly planned and protected will be for naught.
Almost instinctively, He Ling pulled Mingzhu behind her: "Princess, you are about to accompany me to Weiyang Palace to find Consort Zhuang. I'm afraid it's inconvenient for you to stay any longer. Please forgive me, young master."
She emphasized the words "Consort Zhuang" very heavily, which was tantamount to a warning.
But the man ignored him, his eyes fixed on Mingzhu, and took another half step forward.
"It was presumptuous of me, but I was so delighted to see the princess that I couldn't help but want to get closer to her..."
As the man approached, a faint fragrance wafted from him, unlike ordinary incense, with a slightly sweet scent.
He Ling's heart skipped a beat, and her bad premonition grew stronger.
"Next time, Your Majesty is really getting impatient."
She tugged at Mingzhu's sleeve forcefully, somewhat anxiously.
Mingzhu also felt a million times disgusted with this man, and took a step to leave following He Ling's lead.
Seeing this, the man's eyes darkened slightly, and he was about to step forward to stop him.
A pebble came hurtling through the air, whistling through the wind, and struck precisely the hand he was reaching for the pearl.
At the same time, a familiar voice came from not far away.
"Oh, who do we have here blocking our way? It's Young Master Li."
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw Shen Yi, dressed in a moon-white robe, leisurely emerging from behind a cluster of flowers in full bloom.
He walked with ease, a slight smile playing on his lips, and with a single glance, he took in the entire scene.
As if he hadn't thrown the angry and warning pebble, Shen Yi naturally walked to the young master Li's side, put his arm around the man's shoulder, and cleverly separated him from the two girls with his body.
“Brother Li, Brother Li,” Shen Yi smiled warmly, “It’s been a long time! Come, come, I just got a jar of fine wine and was worried about having no one to drink with.”
Young Master Li's hand was bruised and purple, and he was jumping up and down in pain. He wanted to say something more, but he was half-pushed and half-pulled, and was forcefully led to another path.
As he passed by He Ling, Shen Yi gave her a look.
He Ling immediately felt as if she had been granted a pardon and pulled Mingzhu away.
Behind the artificial hill, Shen Yi's smile remained, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
He closed his folding fan and tapped Young Master Li's shoulder with the handle.
"Brother Li, the fragrance on you is quite unique. It doesn't seem like ordinary incense; it's more like... something special has been added?"
Young Master Li's expression changed slightly, and he forced a smile, saying, "Brother Chen, you jest. It's just ordinary calming incense..."
"Oh? Calming incense?"
Shen Yi raised an eyebrow, flicked his wrist, and the tip of his fan precisely untied the brocade pouch at the other's waist, and the sachet fell into his hand.
He leaned in for a deep sniff, then turned his head away in disgust, the smile on his face vanishing instantly.
He was out there gathering intelligence for Huo Lin, and he had seen all sorts of things. He could tell there was something wrong with this sachet just by smelling it.
"Tranquility? I think you have ulterior motives!"
His voice suddenly turned cold, and without any politeness towards Young Master Li, he glanced at the two palace servants behind him and ordered, "Seize him! Take him back and interrogate him thoroughly!"
Two palace servants moved with lightning speed, immediately stepping forward to twist Li Gongzi's arms behind his back.
Young Master Li's expression changed drastically, and he struggled to his feet, shouting, "Shen Yi, how dare you!"
As he struggled, he shouted, "Shen Yi abuses his power and framed innocent people! Is there no law anymore? I want to see the Empress Dowager! I want to see the Emperor!"
Shen Yi snorted coldly, unmoved in the slightest.
He stepped forward and tapped the young master Li's shoulder with the handle of his fan.
"The law?" Shen Yi sneered. "You can talk about the law after you've explained what kind of filthy things are in this sachet. Take me away!"
Young Master Li was held down tightly by two palace servants, but he still twisted and turned unwillingly, cursing incessantly.
"Shen Yi, you wait! The Empress Dowager will not let you get away with this! You..."
Shen Yi was too lazy to listen to his nonsense anymore. With a glance, the palace servants immediately understood and covered Li Gongzi's mouth, forcibly dragging him away.
On the other side, He Ling pulled Mingzhu along, walking quickly until she felt completely safe, then slowed down and let out a long sigh of relief.
Looking up, he saw Jiang Huan standing in front of him.
"Your Majesty!"
He Ling exclaimed in surprise and immediately ran over.
She lowered her voice and said urgently, "Your Highness, it was a close call! A man came up to flirt with the princess, but luckily Lord Shen suddenly appeared and took him away!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Huan was not surprised at all: "I specially invited Shen Yi. It seems that I made this move at the right time."
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