Chapter 7 I Can't Give It Back to You
Outside the main hall of the palace banquet, the surroundings were still brightly lit. The summer breeze at night was gentle, and the palace lanterns in the long corridor cast soft shadows on the ground.
In a quiet corner of the spacious palace corridor, behind a pillar, a corner of a girl's smoky blue skirt peeks out.
There was no one else around except her, but Shen You still looked around nervously.
Chu Xiao's gaze softened considerably as he watched her habitual pursing of her lips.
Shen You had obviously seen him too. He stepped forward and, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, reached out his hand to him, saying, "Please trouble the Duke to return my sachet."
Once they obtain the sachet, the two will have no further connection.
As soon as he finished speaking, the gentleness between the man's brows dissipated, and his aura turned slightly somber.
Between her and him, was there nothing more to say besides the sachet when they met?
Seeing that he did not move, Shen You's eyes flickered slightly, and his voice became colder as he spoke, "I hope that the Duke will keep his word."
This is, after all, the palace. If the two of them were to be alone together and someone saw them, no amount of explanation could clear their names.
Chu Xiao didn't know what she was thinking at that moment, but he did know her eagerness to get the sachet back.
Finally, he reached into his wide sleeve and touched the sachet he had been carrying every day for the past few days, then handed it back to her.
Shen You's face lit up with joy, and he was about to reach for the sachet when he heard a shrill voice coming from the direction of the palace banquet hall.
"My lord, so you've been here all along! I've finally found you."
Footsteps sounded.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively hid behind a pillar.
Chu Xiao took a big step forward, his tall figure looming over her, then turned around, completely hiding her behind him.
The eunuch who came to find him was Qi Jincheng's attendant. He swung his whisk and walked over quickly, smiling as he said, "Lord Duke, the princess suggested playing games, and His Majesty is looking for you."
"Games?" Chu Xiao's brows furrowed slightly. "What games?"
“You can tell a person by their scent,” the eunuch said chuckled. “Her Highness said she would use scent to find the person she was looking for.”
Chu Xiao suddenly remembered that Qi Zhaoyan had mentioned that she smelled of osmanthus flowers in the palace.
He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the sachet in his palm that he hadn't yet returned to Shen You.
After a moment of silence, he said, "You go back first, I'll be there in a bit."
“Yes, sir,” the eunuch replied, then turned and left.
Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Shen You step out from behind the pillar, her heart still beating a little fast.
That was close; we almost got discovered.
She breathed a sigh of relief, unaware that the distance between them had been shortened.
Until Chu Xiao turned around, the two faced each other.
The hidden gold thread pattern on the man's brocade robe was clearly exposed to her eyes, and Shen You suddenly realized what it meant.
She instinctively took a large step back, widening the distance between them again.
"My lord..."
"I can't return this sachet to you for now," she said, but was interrupted by Chu Xiao.
Shen You frowned slightly, her rapid heartbeat had calmed down, and her voice was slightly cold, "Why?"
Chu Xiao had no choice but to explain to her, "Princess Zhaoyan is skilled at recognizing fragrances. She just smelled the same osmanthus scent on me as this sachet. If you take it back now, then later..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Shen You understood what he meant.
Princess Zhaoyan is playing a game of identifying people by their scent. Although the rules weren't explained in detail, if someone carries the same scent, she might be able to identify them later.
Others may not know, but Shen You knows it in his heart.
The fragrance in the sachet is not just the scent of osmanthus.
She also added Longjing tea to it.
The delicate and refreshing fragrance of osmanthus paired with the crisp and pure aroma of Longjing tea creates a more elegant and comfortable scent.
Osmanthus is the main ingredient, with Longjing tea as a secondary ingredient.
This is the difference between her osmanthus fragrance and the osmanthus fragrance of others.
If the little princess's ability to identify fragrances is truly remarkable, then it wouldn't be difficult for her to smell this particular scent.
Then...
"If you want to take it back right now, that's fine too."
Shen You's thoughts were interrupted.
She pursed her lips and finally said, "In that case, I will trouble the Duke to keep the sachet safe for a while longer. I will find an opportunity to retrieve it after the banquet."
The sachet returned to her hands just as she was about to be returned, ultimately because she didn't want to have any entanglement with herself.
A dark, unreadable light appeared in Chu Xiao's eyes as he nodded in agreement, "Okay."
Because Qi Zhaoyan suggested playing games, everyone at the banquet got up and moved around. Taking advantage of the crowd, Shen You entered through the palace gate and followed the flow of people back to his seat.
Chen Xiangning glanced at her but said nothing.
Princess Zhaoyan, despite her small stature, stood on the jade steps, directing everyone in the hall to line up.
Qi Jincheng and Ye Mingyu sat upright in the high positions, watching her "mess around" with smiles in their eyes.
The tyrannical former emperor Qi Wulin was Qi Jincheng's uncle. He seized the opportunity to usurp the throne when the late emperor was seriously ill, and kept sending people to hunt down Qi Jincheng, who was the crown prince at the time.
Although Qi Wulin's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, he still held great power. Qi Jincheng had no choice but to go into hiding and bide his time.
During Qi Wulin's reign, he was tyrannical and lawless, and treated human life with contempt. Not only were the concubines and princes in the palace harmed, but many ministers and nobles also suffered.
Therefore, after Qi Jincheng ascended the throne, there were not many masters in the palace. Qi Zhaoyan was the only child of Qi Jincheng and Ye Mingyu, so she was naturally a princess who was cherished and pampered.
Chu Xiao entered from outside the palace and was pulled to stand at the front by Qi Zhaoyan.
The little girl gave him a mischievous nod, "Uncle Chu, stand still, you're the most important person to me."
Chu Xiao lowered his brows slightly and asked in a low voice, "How would the princess like to play?"
"I'll smell the scent of your sachet, then blindfold myself and use the fragrance to find you in the crowd."
The little princess's clear, childlike voice rang out, and the nanny beside her brought over a strip of cloth and handed it to her.
The game wasn't too excessive; it was a palace banquet, and the main purpose was to have fun. Several respected senior officials below also happily let the little princess do whatever she wanted.
Qi Jincheng smiled and said, "If Yan Yan can find it, then Father will grant you one request, how about it?"
In the past, Qi Jincheng was almost always accommodating to Qi Zhaoyan's requests, except when she wanted to cling to Ye Mingyu.
Saying this now is just to make the game seem more interesting.
Qi Zhaoyan raised her round little face and nodded emphatically, "Father, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
She turned to look at Ye Mingyu, "And Mother, Mother is with us too."
Ye Mingyu glanced at her amusedly, "Fine, I agree."
"Thank you, Mother!"
As soon as the little princess finished speaking, she moved closer to Chu Xiao and sniffed the sachet he was hiding in his sleeve for a while. Then she asked the nanny next to her to blindfold her with a strip of cloth.
Chu Xiao silently retreated behind her.
Inside the main hall, the sounds of string and wind instruments were soft and gentle.
As the crowd stood up, their order was slightly disrupted in silence, and Qi Zhaoyan, guided by the nanny, sniffed around one by one.
One of the ministers jokingly asked, "Has Your Highness detected anything?"
Qi Zhaoyan kept everyone in suspense, saying, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
Hahahaha.
Everyone laughed, but Qi Zhaoyan continued.
Shen You lowered her eyes and stood behind Shen Yao, listening to the childish voice of the little princess in the front row. She was somewhat glad that she hadn't taken the sachet back directly.
However, as Qi Zhaoyan drew closer, a sense of uncertainty suddenly arose in her heart.
Osmanthus and Longjing tea fragrance was her usual incense. It wasn't just used in sachets; it was also used in the main room of Wen Gui Courtyard, and her clothes were scented with osmanthus and Longjing tea fragrance.
She subconsciously raised her hand, wanting to sniff her sleeve, but as soon as she made the movement, the figure of a child entered her field of vision.
Qi Zhaoyan had already come up to her, so she couldn't make any more moves and could only stand there, letting the little princess come closer and sniff her sleeve.
The little girl, about four or five years old, was exquisitely beautiful. Her eyes were covered, and she twitched her nose very forcefully. Then, as if sensing something, she smiled broadly, revealing her teeth.
Shen You's heart softened immediately, and the tension from before also dissipated somewhat.
However, Qi Zhaoyan stayed in front of her for too long, so long that many people in front of her curiously looked back.
All eyes were on her.
Shen You pursed her lips tightly, afraid to make a sound, lest Qi Zhaoyan smell the same scent on her as on Chu Xiao and mistake her for Chu Xiao.
"Yan Yan," Qi Jincheng deliberately spoke from the dragon throne, "Have you found the Duke of Zhenguo?"
Qi Zhaoyan twitched her nose before turning towards the source of the sound and said crisply, "Reporting to Father, it has not been found yet."
Shen You breathed a sigh of relief. Qi Zhaoyan, supported by the nanny, was already moving forward alone.
Even after walking around the entire area, Qi Zhaoyan still couldn't find Chu Xiao by following the scent in the crowd.
And indeed, the man was not among them.
Ever since Qi Zhaoyan was blindfolded, he had been standing by the pillars of the main hall, keeping his distance.
Qi Zhaoyan, supported by her nanny, returned to Qi Jincheng and Ye Mingyu.
Ye Mingyu said with a smile, "Yan Yan, you have to accept the consequences of your bet."
Qi Zhaoyan still had the blindfold on, and pouted defiantly, "Mother, the game isn't over yet."
Her voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried a hint of determination.
Qi Jincheng grasped Ye Mingyu's hand, but spoke to his daughter, "Does Yan Yan want to continue?"
“Of course!” The little girl raised her head. “This palace is so big, there must be places I haven’t found yet.”
Upon hearing this, Qi Jincheng and Ye Mingyu burst into laughter.
Qi Zhaoyan's words made sense, so everyone patiently watched her explore.
Sure enough, the next moment she headed towards where Chu Xiao was.
The old woman carefully reminded her, "Your Highness, there are pillars just ahead."
Qi Zhaoyan paused, stopped in front of the pillar, about four or five steps away from Chu Xiao, facing in his direction, and said loudly, "Uncle Chu, I've found you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen You, who was far away in the crowd, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This game, I suppose, isn't testing Princess Zhaoyan, but rather her?
God knows how nervous she was when the little princess stopped in front of her just now.
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