Some tasks are better left to the secret guards, while others are more convenient to be done by palace maids.
For example, they could inquire about the scented balm used by the four imperial concubines present today and the palace servants accompanying them.
Ye Jingchen called Fangfei over and gave her some instructions.
"And the person who rushed out and hugged me later, she also had a fragrance on her, and my headache lessened after smelling it," Ye Jinghe added.
Ye Jingchen's heart stirred.
Indeed, after Fangzhi rushed over and hugged Ye Jinghe, Ye Jinghe fainted shortly afterward.
When he took Ye Jinghe back from Fangzhi's arms, he seemed to smell a very familiar fragrance.
It was a floral fragrance, very strong, and felt very familiar to Ye Jingchen, as if he could smell it often, but he couldn't remember what kind of flower it was for the moment.
“Fangzhi—the fragrance on Consort Zhi’s body must be from lotus flowers,” Fangrong said.
"What kind of flower is the Jade Lotus?" Ye Jingchen asked.
It couldn't possibly be a lotus flower made of jade, could it?
"I know, I know! Jade Lotus is actually just Gardenia! Why give it such an elegant name?" Fangcao said excitedly.
Gardenia?
Before transmigrating into the book, Ye Jingchen's family had a gardenia planted in their old home. After it bloomed, the whole courtyard was filled with fragrance.
After Fangcao's explanation, Ye Jingchen confirmed that the scent emanating from Fangzhi was indeed that of gardenias.
Because the elders in the family liked it and planted it at home, they would come into contact with it every day after it bloomed. Its fragrance was also particularly strong, so Ye Jingchen made a special effort to learn about this flower.
The gardenia symbolizes strength, eternal love, and a lifetime of waiting.
Gardenias have a very romantic meaning. Their flowers are white, which gives people a sense of purity, and therefore symbolize purity.
Gardenia flowers themselves can also be used medicinally. They have a pleasant fragrance and detoxifying properties, and can also improve air quality and promote sleep and calm the nerves.
Detoxification and calming effects...
Was it a coincidence or intentional?
Ye Jingchen had a bold guess in his mind.
First of all, Fangzhi herself is not a simple and kind-hearted innocent girl, otherwise she would not have been able to climb into the emperor's bed, succeed in doing so, and even give birth to a prince and survive to this day.
Secondly, her performance in the Imperial Garden today was excellent. Although she failed to fool him, if it were the original owner of this body, she would definitely have abandoned Ye Jinghe under those circumstances.
Although her actions could be explained from the perspective of a mother longing for her son, but—
If you have doubts, shouldn't you go and verify them?
It was precisely because it was difficult to find a breakthrough from Tao Zhi's side.
It's early spring now, not yet the season for gardenias to bloom, so there aren't any fresh petals, but you should still be able to find some well-preserved fragrance powder.
"Fangrong, go and find me some gardenia balm," Ye Jingchen instructed.
"I'll go too! I know who has it!" Fangcao said eagerly.
"Go ahead." Ye Jingchen waved his hand, and Fangcao pulled Fangrong and ran out.
Looking at the obedient Ye Jinghe in his arms, Ye Jingchen thought for a moment and said to him, "Jinghe, the person who suddenly rushed out and hugged you in the Imperial Garden today is actually your birth mother. Do you want to acknowledge her as your mother?"
To prevent Fangzhi from causing trouble, Ye Jingchen decided to tell Ye Jinghe his identity first. As for Ye Jinghe's choice, that was his own business. This also eliminated the possibility of Fangzhi making a fuss about this matter later!
Ye Jinghe's heart skipped a beat, and the hand gripping Ye Jingchen's collar tightened unconsciously. When she looked up again, her eyes were red and brimming with tears. She choked out, "Brother, don't you want me anymore either?"
"No! I didn't!" Ye Jingchen quickly denied. "I just thought that children might prefer their mothers and want to live with them, so I asked you that. It's not that I don't want you. I love you so much, how could I not want you?"
"I love my brother too! I love my brother the most!" Ye Jinghe said, and happily kissed Ye Jingchen on the cheek.
The soft, moist touch was fleeting. Ye Jingchen was stunned for a moment before realizing that Ye Jinghe had kissed him first. He was overjoyed and immediately turned into a kissing monster, covering Ye Jinghe's face with drool.
"Your Highness, the perfume balm and perfume powder have arrived! We've also found several kinds of perfume powder mixed with other floral scents!" Fangcao rushed in excitedly, carrying several exquisite bottles and jars.
"Well done!" Ye Jingchen praised.
Fangcao was overjoyed.
"Which ones are pure gardenia fragrance powder?" Ye Jingchen asked.
“These few—” Fangcao selected three small porcelain bottles and placed them on the table in front of Ye Jingchen. She opened them one by one. Two of the bottles contained white powder, and one contained a paste.
A rich yet sweet fragrance immediately filled the entire bedroom.
"Perfume balms don't keep well and don't last long, so we usually dry our favorite flowers, grind them into powder, and then mix them with honey to make perfume balms when we need them," Fangcao explained.
Ye Jingchen nodded and first placed the bottle of perfume under Ye Jinghe's nose, "Take a sniff and see if it can relieve your headache."
Ye Jinghe obediently leaned closer, sniffed with his little nose, and then closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened his eyes. "It has some effect, but it's not as good as—" He paused, then vaguely replaced Fangzhi with the words "that person," "It's not as effective as the fragrance on her body."
Ye Jingchen replaced the perfume balm with perfume powder and then let Ye Jinghe smell it.
"The effect is about the same as before."
The other bottle of face powder was the same.
Then Ye Jingchen changed to a fragrance powder mixed with gardenia and other flowers. Some of them had the same effect as pure gardenia, some were not as good, and some had no effect at all.
This test failed to find a fragrance that could alleviate Ye Jing's symptoms, which only made Fang Zhi seem more suspicious.
The perfumes and balms that Fangrong and Fangcao collected were commonly used by palace maids, and the imperial concubines used similar products, only they were more refined and made with more precious ingredients. However, Fangzhi lived a life in the palace worse than even a third-class cleaning maid in the East Palace, so she probably couldn't afford those.
Ye Jingchen has always preferred to be straightforward and dislikes beating around the bush.
"Jinghe, little brother, shall I take you to play with Zhiying tomorrow?" Ye Jingchen said to Ye Jinghe.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinghe's eyes widened suddenly, and he shook his head vigorously, protesting, "I'm not going!"
"I don't want to see her!"
"I want to go with my brother!"
“Jinghe, don’t be afraid. I’m just taking you to see her, not giving you away to her,” Ye Jingchen explained patiently.
"Really?" Ye Jinghe's face was full of disbelief.
"When has your brother ever lied to you?" Ye Jingchen asked with amusement.
Ye Jinghe thought to himself, "That's too much!"
However, those were things the bad older brother did in the past, so they can't be attributed to the good older brother.
"I want to be with my brother!"
"Brother can't abandon me!" Ye Jinghe emphasized.
"No, no! Jinghe is so cute, how could your brother bear to leave you?" Ye Jingchen smiled.
"Brother is cute too, and I won't abandon him!" Ye Jinghe nestled in Ye Jingchen's arms, mimicking Ye Jingchen's words.
Ye Jingchen: ...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
