Chapter 1188 There is something wrong with this sachet
Ran Xiaoyu immediately went to the inner room, carefully took out a purse from the cabinet, and placed the sachet in front of them.
Zhu Chengxuan said: "This is——"
Nan Yan said, "This sachet is quite old. I want to remix the spices inside, but there are a few I can't distinguish. So I'd like to ask Your Highness for help to see if you can figure out what other spices are inside."
"oh."
Zhu Chengxuan nodded, carefully picked up the sachet, looked at it twice, then put it under his nose and smelled it carefully.
Nan Yan held her breath, as if this would avoid disturbing him.
After a long while, she asked softly, "How is it?"
Zhu Chengxuan looked up at her and said, "What spices did the Imperial Concubine identify?"
Nan Yan said, "What I smell should be citron, mugwort, magnolia, and a small amount of borneol and Chuanxiong."
Zhu Chengxuan nodded and said, "That's right, but there's another thing. The smell is very faint, and the queen didn't smell it."
Nan Yan asked hurriedly, "What is it?"
"Benzoin."
"Benzoin?"
"Yes," Zhu Chengxuan said, bringing the sachet up to his nose and sniffing it. "This fragrance has a very unique aroma. It has a spicy flavor. Although it has faded over time, the spicy flavor still remains. Your Majesty, please smell it."
After saying that, he handed the sachet to her.
Nan Yan took it and took a deep sniff. Sure enough, among those complex fragrances, she felt a special fragrance, which contained a faint hint of spicy smell.
“It’s true.”
As she spoke, she smiled at Zhu Chengxuan, "Your Highness, it's still helpful for you to come here. We've been smelling it for a while, but we still can't figure out what this fragrance is."
Zhu Chengxuan smiled and said, "This kind of incense is very rare. It has only been available on the market in the past two years, and I just learned about it."
"Then," Nan Yan asked carefully, "what if it was ten or twenty years ago?"
"Ten or twenty years ago? That was when Grandpa Huang was in power."
"Um."
"Then there shouldn't be any such incense. When Grandpa Emperor was in power, he cut off trade with the Western Regions, and spices from there were almost impossible to enter the Central Plains."
He looked at the sachet and said, "Strange, this sachet looks like it was made here."
“…”
“There’s actually benzoin.”
He felt strange, and Nan Yan felt even stranger.
Although Emperor Gaozu banned trade with the Western Regions, merchants were profit-driven. As long as there was profit, there was no guarantee that someone would risk being beheaded to smuggle spices to the Central Plains. Of course, in this case, the quantity must be very small and the price must be relatively high, which was not affordable for ordinary people.
However, this sachet is a relic of the late Queen Chen.
Of course she could afford it, but normally she would not dare to buy this spice banned by the emperor to make sachets.
Unless it is——
Someone gave it to her.
However, knowing that this spice was prohibited, who would dare to give it to the queen openly?
Nan Yan had a vague feeling that the origin of this sachet was not simple.
Even if it has nothing to do with Zhu Feng's life experience, there must be some other twists and turns in the story.
Princess Tana, would you use spices like this?
She couldn't help but stare at the small sachet in a trance. Zhu Chengxuan watched from the side and asked softly, "My Lady, is there anything wrong with this sachet?"
"ah?"
Nan Yan raised her head and looked at him, shook her head hurriedly, and said with a smile: "Nothing, I just asked."
“…”
After all, Zhu Chengxuan is no longer a child.
One can tell at first glance that the imperial concubine attaches great importance to the origin of this sachet, as if she is investigating something.
But he also knew that in this palace, one should not ask questions that should not be asked.
This is the only way to protect yourself.
So he nodded, turned his head and looked outside, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'll take my leave first. I still have to go to Yonghe Palace to find my mother."
Nan Yan also stood up: "Your Highness, take care."
Zhu Chengxuan walked to the door, thought of something, and stopped to look back at her: "My Lady, can I still come to see you?"
“…”
Meeting his gentle and cautious gaze, Nan Yan felt a little sad for some reason.
It was Qin Ruolan who did something wrong. What does it have to do with this child?
It's really pitiful that he was abandoned by the queen like this.
So he smiled and said, "Of course. However, aren't we leaving the day after tomorrow? There will be plenty of opportunities to meet along the way. Your Highness, go back and make good preparations."
Zhu Chengxuan immediately smiled until his eyes curved up, and replied, "Yes."
After saying that, he turned and ran out.
When his back disappeared outside, Nan Yan sighed softly. At this time, Ran Xiaoyu came over and said, "Your Majesty, you still can't bear to treat him."
Nan Yan said: "No matter what Qin Ruolan does, I won't do anything to him."
"But I heard that Madam Qin has been having a harder time lately."
"oh?"
Nan Yan raised her eyebrows and turned to look at her: "Did Concubine Kang and the others cause trouble for her again?"
Ran Xiaoyu said, "This kind of thing has never stopped. She can endure it, with all the injuries on her body, as if she is just waiting for the emperor to pass away so that she can ask for an explanation in front of him. But your majesty, do you know that the emperor has not visited her once in these days?"
"oh?"
"On two occasions, the Emperor went to visit Concubine De and didn't even step into her room."
Nan Yan was a little surprised by this.
It is undeniable that Qin Ruolan is Zhu Feng's woman. She appeared earlier than her and even gave birth to such a good son for Zhu Feng. This is an established fact. Therefore, it is natural for Zhu Feng to have pity on her and send charcoal to the Yanxi Palace.
But she didn't expect that he never visited her again.
You know, after he lost his memory, Qin Ruolan has always been by his side. Moreover, he has forgotten all the past, so naturally he has also forgotten Qin Ruolan's betrayal of him. Even if the two of them are not as close as honey, at least they will have the opportunity to start over.
Why did it become cold instead?
Nan Yan asked, "What's going on?"
Ran Xiaoyu said, "I asked Ye Zheng to sound out the situation. It seems that the Emperor has remembered their past."
"oh?"
Nan Yan was startled.
Zhu Feng recalled that Qin Ruolan was originally going to enter the palace, but she deliberately had a relationship with him and gave birth to Zhu Chengxuan, which also caused Emperor Gao to become estranged from Zhu Feng?
Nan Yan thought for a moment and said, "The Emperor probably didn't remember it. Maybe someone told him."
"oh?"
"After all, after knowing that Zhu Chengxuan is her child, she naturally wants to know how this child came about."
“…”
"I just don't know who said it."
Ran Xiaoyu said: "We really should be grateful to this person."
Nan Yan smiled.
At this moment, Eunuch Yu's voice came from the door: "Your Highness."
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