A late spring breeze, wrapped in the scent of roses, drifted through the carved window lattices of the west wing of the General's Mansion, striking the bronze bells beneath the eaves with a series of clear jingles. Chen Weiwan sat cross-legged on the window couch, a square goose-yellow brocade cushion resting on her knees. In her hand, she clutched a palm-sized gilded lacquer box, shaking it against the slanting sunlight. The oriental pearls inlaid on the box's surface shone in the light and shadow, reflecting a delicate iridescence that made the white cat, dozing beside the couch, squint.
"Miss, you've been looking at it all morning!" Chuntao squatted by the footstool, inserting a newly picked rouge rose into a blue and white porcelain vase. Seeing her young lady grinning at the lacquer box like a fox stealing fish, she couldn't help but straighten up and lean over. "This rouge is an evil red, it's creepy just to look at it."
Chen Weiwan slammed the lacquer box down on the brocade mat, shaking the pearls on the box. "What do you know?" She used the tip of her silver hairpin to pick up a little cream. The color was as red as congealed blood in late autumn, and it had an eerie metallic luster in the sunlight. "It was slipped in through the crack of the door this morning. There was not even a note. If this isn't something fishy, what is it?"
Chuntao leaned in to smell it, then immediately wrinkled her nose and stepped back. "It smells like rust. It doesn't smell like the rose rouge we usually use. It smells more like the oil paint that opera troupes use to paint their faces."
"It smells weird!" Shen Weiwan's eyes were as bright as falling stars. She rolled off the bed holding the lacquer box, and her brocade shoes almost stepped on the cat's paw. "Let's go! Let's go find His Highness to try the color!"
"Ah?" Chun Tao was so frightened that her hands trembled, and the rose she had just inserted was half crooked. "Miss! How can you let His Highness try this thing of unknown origin? If it is poisonous..."
"What are you afraid of?" Chen Weiwan shook the lacquer box, and the ebony hairpin knocked on the box surface, "Your Highness has thick skin and flesh, this little lead powder will not kill you." As she spoke, she had already dragged Chuntao out of the courtyard. The hem of her skirt swept across the tangerine peels drying in the corridor, startling two fluttering sparrows.
At the waterside pavilion of the Seventh Prince's Mansion, Xiao Yu was leaning against a vermilion pillar, reading a military tome. His moon-white brocade robe was loosely tied with a jade belt, and his black hair was loosely bound with a jade crown, with a few strands of hair hanging in front of his forehead. Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps on the stone road, he looked up and saw Shen Weiwan rushing towards him like a happy little rabbit, the pearl tassels on the jade hairpin in her hair dazzling.
"What trouble have you gotten yourself into again?" He put down the book and reached out to brush away the willow catkins in her hair. His fingertips touched her warm earlobe, causing her to subconsciously shrink her neck.
Shen Weiwan slammed the lacquer box on the stone table, shaking the jasmine petals in the teacup next to it and making them float up: "Your Highness, please help me!"
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow and looked at the box of glittering Dongzhu: "Who are you trying to trick again?"
"This time it's a poison test!" Shen Weiwan opened the lid of the box and used a silver hairpin to scoop out a large piece of paste and handed it over. The blood-red paste trembled on the tip of the hairpin. "Look at how bright the color is. Help me test whether there is arsenic mixed in."
Xiao Yu stared at the blood-red paste, then looked at Shen Weiwan's sparkling almond eyes, and sighed helplessly: "Is this the king who became your poison-testing eunuch?"
"How can your Highness compare to a eunuch!" Shen Weiwan rubbed against him, her moon-white skirt sweeping across his black boots. "Look at this color, doesn't it look like the fiery clouds at sunset in the West Market? If you apply it on your lips, you'll definitely look more majestic than a martial artist on the stage!"
Chun Tao hid behind the pillars, biting her handkerchief to stifle laughter, her shoulders shaking like sieves. Xiao Yu looked at Shen Weiwan's eyes, which were almost shining with anticipation, and ultimately couldn't resist. He deliberately raised his eyebrows as he took the silver hairpin and said, "If this prince is poisoned, you will be held responsible."
"Take responsibility!" Shen Weiwan nodded hurriedly, staring at him without blinking.
Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, then brought the silver hairpin to his lips and smeared it. The paste was thick and had a faint fishy smell. As it was applied, its color slowly changed from blood red to dark purple, looking particularly strange on his pale lips.
Shen Weiwan was stunned at first, then laughed out loud "Hahahaha" and slapped her thigh, pointing at his lips: "Your Highness! You chose this color really well, like a hanged ghost crawling out of the City of the Dead!"
Xiao Yu took the bronze mirror on the small table next to him and looked in the mirror. The person in the mirror had dark purple lips and a moon-white brocade robe. She really looked like she had just walked through the underworld. He put the mirror down helplessly and reached out to pinch Shen Weiwan's cheek, but she nimbly dodged and made a face at him.
"Still laughing?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow and wiped his lips with a handkerchief, leaving a dark purple smear where his fingertips passed. "There's something wrong with this rouge."
"I knew it!" Shen Weiwan shook her head proudly and leaned over to look at his lips carefully. "Tell me quickly, how do you feel? Is it numb? Is your tongue curled?"
"It's not numb," Xiao Yu wiped most of the cream off his lips, frowning slightly, "but it's very astringent." He picked up a little of the remaining cream with his fingertips and held it up to the light, "I'm afraid there's a lot of lead powder mixed in."
Chun Tao exclaimed in shock: "Lead powder? That can disfigure your face!"
Shen Weiwan put away her smile, touched her chin and pondered: "Who is so wicked as to send me poisonous rouge?"
Xiao Yu wiped his fingers clean, his eyes cold. "Who else could it be?" He waved to the servant standing beside him, "Go to the accounting office and withdraw ten taels of silver. Find out who slipped this box through the crack in the door of the general's mansion this morning. Report back within half an hour."
The servant left in response. Shen Weiwan lay on the stone table, holding her chin and looking at Xiao Yu: "Your Highness, do you think Lin Wanrou is stupid? Giving poisonous rouge is too blatant, isn't it?"
"She's anxious." Xiao Yu smoothed her wind-twisted hair, his fingertips brushing against the delicate skin behind her ear. "The Royal Hunting Grounds post has already been sent out, and she's afraid you'll steal the spotlight."
As he spoke, the servant had hurried back, breathlessly reporting, "Your Highness, we've investigated! It was the servant from the Grand Tutor's residence who did it. He accepted five taels of silver from Miss Lin and said he dropped the box at the corner gate of the General's residence as instructed."
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