That child is of the Holy Emperor's bloodline. Her existence itself is a mistake. Only His Highness is worthy of the throne of Empress.
It’s worth spending 100,000 taels to dispel the doubts in my heart.
Tai Zhuo smiled and said, "Madam Su, the fragrant dew is rare. If I can find the secret today, I can easily earn back the 100,000 taels. This money is worth spending."
Xiao Lingyu nodded, "Okay, I'll start making incense now."
After he finished speaking, Mo Shu and the others moved the two screens closer together, leaving only a palm's distance between them. Tai Zhuo happened to be sitting on this gap, which was large enough for him to see Xiao Lingyu's movements clearly.
Because Tai Zhuo spent 100,000 taels to watch Xiao Lingyu make incense, the servants serving in the yard, including Mo Shu, Lu Ming, Zhu Xu and others, were fortunate enough to watch from five meters behind Tai Zhuo.
Xiao Lingyu went through a series of processes including weighing the petals, washing the petals, pounding the petals, pounding the peels, adding wine, filtering, etc. He did it slowly and without asking Su Xingyi for help. It took him a full hour.
Time was passing too long, and the sun was getting brighter and brighter. Fortunately, it was autumn, and the sun was not so scorching. However, Tai Zhuo, who was leaning forward in the armchair, had sweat on his forehead.
During this time, he didn't even bother to drink the tea that Lu Yuan handed to him. His brows were fixed on Xiao Lingyu's hands, not missing any details, not even daring to blink, for fear of missing any link and letting Xiao Lingyu do something under his nose.
When the incense making reached the final stage, Xiao Lingyu picked up the empty bottle on the table, opened the bottle cap, quickly turned it upside down on the table, and looked up at Tai Zhuo.
"Mr. Zhuo, we still have half a lamp's time left, and the Xihanxiang under the filter cloth will be ready."
Tai Zhuo was very confused. He had seen the entire incense-making process and there was nothing suspicious. Was Xihanxiang really made so easily?
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it."
Half a cup of tea passed in a flash. Xiao Lingyu picked up the empty bottle and put it upright, then inserted a bamboo funnel into the empty bottle. Su Xingyi stepped forward and poured the fragrant dew under the filter cloth into the empty bottle.
Not more, not less, just enough to fill the bottle.
Xiao Lingyu quickly put the cap back on the bottle. The air was already filled with the rich scent of Xi Hanxiang, and the faint Xixiang was almost inaudible.
"Ink writing."
Mo Shu and others quickly removed the screen, and a large bottle of freshly made perfume was placed on the table.
"Mr. Zhuo, the Xihanxiang is ready. Please taste it."
Lu Yuan approached, picked up the Xi Hanxiang from the table, and handed it to Tai Zhuo, "Master, please take a look."
Tai Zhuo's face was calm, showing no emotion. He just stared at the Xianglu in front of him for a long time without saying a word.
Seeing this, Xiao Lingyu pursed his lips and said with a smile, "Why? You don't dare to taste this newly made Xihanxiang? Don't want to admit that you are inferior to others?"
Tai Zhuo said, "I've already spent a hundred thousand taels of silver, how could I not appreciate it?"
After he finished speaking, Tai Zhuo opened the bottle cap, and the rich Xihan fragrance filled his nose, which was even stronger than the Xihan fragrance in the air.
"Mr. Zhuo, the aroma of this newly made Xihan fragrance is relatively strong. After it has been stored for a long time, the fragrance will dissipate and the taste will be slightly lighter."
I see.
Xiao Lingyu added, "This bottle of Xihanxiang is for Mr. Zhuo. After all, you spent 100,000 taels to get this bottle."
Lu Yuan felt that he had suffered a great loss when he heard this, "Master, it's getting late."
Tai Zhuo nodded and said, "Madam Su, you are still the best. I am convinced. It's getting late, so we will leave now."
"Lunch will be served soon. Would you like to stay and have lunch with us, Mr. Zhuo?" Xiao Lingyu asked politely.
"Thank you for your kindness, Madam Su. We have a long journey ahead of us, so we won't delay you any longer."
"Mr. Zhuo, let me see you off." Lu Ming escorted the man to the gate, watched the carriage go away, and went directly to the dining hall.
"Master Su, Madam Su."
"Manager Lu, please sit down and have your meal." After Su Xingyi finished speaking, Lu Ming sat in the first seat below Su Xingyi.
After a cup of tea, Lu Ming saw Xiao Lingyu put down his chopsticks and then said, "Madam Su, what should we do next?"
Xiao Lingyu pulled a silver note worth one thousand taels from his sleeve. Su Xingyi took it and handed it to Lu Ming.
"You've worked hard performing with us these past few days. Use this silver to give rewards to your subordinates and let them have a good meal."
"I would like to thank Madam Su on behalf of my brothers." Lu Ming took the banknote with a smile.
"Master Su and I will continue making incense in the yard this afternoon. We will have a new batch of four scented lotions ready before dinner. We will send this batch to the various counties tomorrow, and the last batch will be sent after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"So this time we're going directly back to Xishui County, Huayang Commandery?"
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Tai Zhuo will leave tomorrow at the latest and there's no need for him to come back."
After Lu Ming left, Su Xingyi said, "Let's arrange for someone to watch over the house and the village. We're not sure if Tai Zhuo will come here to look for us after he leaves and sneaks into Beiyi again..."
"Don't worry, he won't be so lucky next time. I wrote to Lu Yuan yesterday, asking her to arrange for us to meet the Meng family. If he comes again, he will be targeted by the government, and it won't be easy to escape. But they will suffer a lot on their return trip this time..."
Su Xingyi asked in confusion: "How could it be?"
"He must suffer for hurting Sister Huan!"
Wu's Restaurant.
"Sir, when will we return to Nankun?"
"Notify everyone that we will depart for Lingyun City and return to Nankun at 11:00 PM today...Ah!"
Tai Zhuo suddenly hugged his head and lay on the dining table with an extremely painful expression.
"Sir, what's wrong with you?" Lu Yuan was frightened and panicked for a moment.
Tai Zhuo stood up with his face flushed, holding his head, overturned the table, and reached out to grab Lu Yuan's throat.
"Sir, what's wrong with you? I'm Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan." Lu Yuan's face suddenly turned red, and he was about to suffocate. The strong desire to survive forced him to use all his strength to barely pry open Tai Zhuo's fingers so that he could breathe for a moment.
Seeing Tai Zhuo's bloodshot eyes, he had no choice but to commit a crime. A machete-wielding man knocked Tai Zhuo unconscious...
When Tai Zhuo woke up again, it was already past noon. With a splitting headache, he looked at Lu Yuan, who was standing by the bed with a cautious expression. He pressed his temples and said after a while, "How did I get back?"
Lu Yuan briefly recounted what happened at the restaurant, but of course he didn't mention the scene where he was knocked unconscious.
"Why does my neck hurt so much? Did I really faint from the pain?"
Lu Yuan nodded vigorously, "You pinched me, and I fainted. I've called a doctor, but they can't tell what's wrong. The master might have gone crazy from overwork."
Tai Zhuo quickly took his own pulse, which was very stable and showed no underlying disease.
This is strange, why did he suddenly have a splitting headache?
Tai Zhuo recalled what happened in the Su Mansion today. He didn't eat anything, only drank tea. Lu Yuan drank it but he didn't go crazy.
"Where's that bottle of Xihanxiang?"
"Here." Lu Yuan quickly handed Xi Hanxiang over.
Tai Zhuo opened the lid and sniffed it carefully, then took out a silver needle to check if there was anything wrong.
Could it be that he really has some difficult-to-complicated disease?
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