Saint of Fragrance
The maid in yellow, however, was not having it. Frowning, she stomped into the flowering trees, complaining, "Master, this girl has no taste at all. Not only is her makeup heavy and ugly, but she also said that mine is 'just a hibiscus flower'! It's infuriating!"
Ah Qiu broke out in a cold sweat when she thought about the makeup on her face.
Noble families generally value elegance and simplicity, and Gongye Fusu, the "Sage of Fragrance," who could transform the mundane into the extraordinary, was a man of exceptional taste. Compared to him, even Gongyi Xiu, the eldest disciple of Lanling Hall who was known for his superior taste, could probably only be considered a commoner.
And now, he had no choice but to wear such a clown-like makeup to pay homage to the King of Wanxiang, Prince Fusu, who was like a celestial being.
The Gongye family had been in the spice business for generations, and their influence extended west to Persia and Arabia, east to Ryukyu, south to the Baiyue people, and north to the Northern Qiang, surpassing the nominal territory of the Southern Dynasty. It could be said that the Gongye family had influence even in areas beyond the reach of the border armies.
In addition, most of the spices used by royal families and nobles of various countries were purchased from the "Kingdom of Ten Thousand Fragrances" of the Gongye family. The various famous fragrances such as "Poluo San" and "Bihua Chun" made by their family's secret recipes were also loved by nobles of various countries. As a result, the Gongye family has been a favored guest of the royal court for nearly a hundred years. They are truly "uncrowned kings" that transcend national boundaries, hence the elegant title of "Lord of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Fragrances".
The current head of the family, Gongye Fusu, was hailed as an unparalleled genius in the art of incense. It is said that he could distinguish the aroma of thousands of spices, and could tell their origin, aging degree, and extraction method with just one sniff. Most importantly, he had a boundless imagination. He could easily come up with a fragrance formula, and with slight modifications, he could create unique blends of incense with distinct moods and innovative designs.
Compared to his predecessors, this man's dislike of socializing could be described as bordering on reclusiveness or even eccentricity.
Whenever there was a social occasion, Gongye Fusu always preferred to remain hidden behind a silk screen. Even when traveling to banquets or visiting other people's homes, servants would first bring out a screen to shield him from view before he would sit down.
Since he usually attends to evaluate spices at the invitation of others, he only needs to give his judgment behind the screen. Everyone is used to his behavior and considers it an honor to have him visit. They don't find it strange that he refuses to show his face.
However, when A Qiu heard the young master's voice just now, it was gentle and calm, and she intuitively felt that Gongye Fusu was not the strange and pretentious person that was said to be.
Sure enough, the young master rebuked her again: "Only the wise and the foolish are unchangeable. How can you judge a girl of true character by the standards of ordinary people?"
A Qiu felt even more ashamed, but when he looked up, he saw a magnificent carriage, made entirely of sandalwood and nanmu wood with exquisite carvings, quietly parked under the flowering trees.
The car body is inlaid with a round, full-moon-shaped openwork floral decoration, which is carved with peony patterns. Lotus and orchids are set off in the lower left and right corners, forming a round and clustered pattern, which is the family emblem of the Gongye family of the legendary "Wanxiang Kingdom".
The young master's voice invited, "Miss Shi, please get in the carriage."
As A Qiu boarded the carriage, she inexplicably thought of the story of Luo Fu that her mistress, Sun, had explained. She thought that if her mistress saw her climbing into the carriage of a noble young man so voluntarily, she might punish her by making her copy the story of Luo Fu five hundred times.
Upon entering the car, A-Qiu was stunned again, for the interior was furnished with a level of luxury she had never seen before.
The floor shimmered with iridescent light, a carpet embroidered with gold and silver peonies. The walls were covered with silk screens, adorned with elegant paintings of landscapes, flowers, birds, and figures. A large bronze incense burner sat on the floor, from which wisps of smoke drifted gently.
The yellow-clad maid, Aqin, was kneeling angrily on one side of the carpet. Behind the screen behind her, a tall, elegant, and graceful figure could be vaguely seen standing with his hands behind his back. His refined and elegant demeanor was evident to the naked eye.
"Someone asked me to pass on a question and two sentences to Miss Shi."
A Qiu said in a low voice, "Please enlighten me, Master Gongye."
Gongye Fusu, behind the screen, smiled and said, "I've decided to take the liberty of saying those two sentences first, and then ask the last question. That way, the young lady won't lose her composure after hearing the question, and won't be able to listen to or remember what I'm about to say. Wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty on my part?"
Upon hearing this, A Qiu immediately bristled like a cat with its fur standing on end.
My first thought was, what terrible question did Gongyi Xiu have to ask her?
Her second thought was that this young master Gongye Fusu was not only not eccentric, but actually extremely understanding, considerate, and gentle! He seemed much better than her senior brother, who was known for his love and respect for women.
Gongye Fusu said in a gentle and refined voice, "The first sentence is: In times of emergency, expediency is the best policy."
He uttered those four simple words in a gentle and calm manner, but A Qiu heard the chilling atmosphere of bloodshed and carnage in them.
These must be Master's original words.
Her master had repeatedly warned her not to kill anyone in the palace. But now he changed his mind and told her that in an emergency, it was permissible to kill.
Gongye Fusu then said, "The second line is: 'White silk dance, resting in the Wutong Palace.'"
Based on recent events in the Yuefu (a type of classical Chinese poetry), A Qiu automatically filled in the blanks in her mind: "If you wish to revive the dance of the white silk robe, you should visit the palace of the perched parasol tree."
Madam Xue complained that her dancers were stiff and unable to capture the essence of the White Silk Dance of yesteryear. As for what that essence was, no one knows now.
Madam Xue and Instructor Sun had seen the original dance, but it was only passed down orally, so they might not have been able to explain it clearly and in detail. It's unlikely that Senior Brother would know about these matters from the previous dynasty. It was probably Master who instructed her to go to Qiwu Palace to search, where she might be able to find records of the White Silk Dance from the previous dynasty.
Gongyi Xiu, when having Gongye Fusu deliver the message, would certainly not explicitly tell her to break into Qiwu Palace, but would only use the three words "Qiwu Palace." Because Qiwu was a forbidden area, everyone knew that if Aqiu's trespassing was discovered, wouldn't Gongye Fusu, the messenger, become an instigator?
A Qiu repeated in a low voice, "A Qiu has memorized the first two sentences. First, in times of emergency, one should act expediently; second, the white silk dance, the Wutong Palace. Please enlighten me on the third question, young master."
At the same time, they must be on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Gongye Fusu chuckled and said, "This third question, although I am just a messenger, I can't help but be curious about it myself."
A Qiu was even more surprised.
What question did Gongyi Xiu want to ask her that would pique the curiosity of Gongye Fusu, the ruler of Wanxiang Kingdom?
The next moment, Gongye Fusu said slowly and deliberately, "What is your relationship with Junior Tutor Gu Yi?"
Ah Qiu nearly bumped into the carriage wall. Even the yellow-clad maid, Ah Qin, clearly perked up her ears. After all, the Junior Tutor Gu Yi was too famous, known to everyone, even a maid in a high-ranking family knew his name.
Judging from Gongye Fusu's tone, Aqiu could imagine that when the dashing and unrestrained Gongyi Xiu relayed the message to Gongye Fusu, he was quite unusual, hesitant and indecisive.
To be honest, when asked this question, A Qiu's mind went completely blank. What exactly was her relationship with Gu Yi?
In theory, they should actually be enemies. After all, the dynasty that Gu Yi single-handedly created and maintained is the world she wants to seize.
In fact, Gu Yi had always cared for and taught her in every way: he took her back to Tangli when she got lost, he was stabbed by her to break the deadlock in Xianyang Palace, he helped her alleviate the crisis in the dance troupe, he taught her the authentic martial arts manual, he gave her the Junior Tutor's Token, and he relayed a message to Gongyi Xiu for her... Even though he knew from the beginning that she was the Lanling Assassin, he never hurt her.
They could barely be considered friends. And it was a one-sided relationship—because she didn't feel she was of any use to Gu Yi; he was always the one helping her.
As he asked this question, a thousand thoughts raced through A Qiu's mind, but in the end, he was still filled with confusion.
She was usually eloquent, but at this moment her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Although Gongye Fusu was separated from her by a screen and could not see her expression, he was a very clever man and guessed the answer with a high degree of accuracy. He smiled and said, "You don't need to answer this question, young lady."
A-Qiu asked in astonishment, "What?"
Gongye Fusu said meaningfully, "The person who asked me to pass on a message said that you don't need to answer this question, nor do you need to answer him. However, there is someone who needs you to meet and answer, so you should prepare an answer in advance that will satisfy that person."
As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, A-Qiu felt as if he had woken up from a dream.
Who else could Gongyi Xiu be but his master, Wanqiqing?
She calmed down and quickly came to her senses: in the few days she had been in the palace, she hadn't even seen Gongyi Xiu. How did her master know about her relationship with Gu Yi?
According to his senior brother's message, he was protecting him. Even if he got some clues from somewhere, he wouldn't have told Master on his own initiative—to be honest, Gongyi Xiu was very gentlemanly in this respect and didn't like gossip.
However, her several nighttime outings with Gu Yi likely exposed her to numerous martial arts masters. At least, A Qiu herself knew that Zhongli Xiaomei from the Four Mansions of Heavenly Secrets and Consort Chen, the "Golden Goblet Moonfall" from the Four Flying Phoenix Guards, were present. Although these people seemed to enjoy joking with their juniors, they weren't gossipy individuals.
No matter how clever Ren Aqiu was, she couldn't have imagined that it was her who caused the "bad" message Gu Yi was sending that went wrong. Gu Yi had initially wanted to refuse, also considering the risk, but then he thought that she had fought Sikong Zhao at night on the top of Xianyang Palace to send a message to her senior brother, and he figured she wouldn't be able to rest easy if he didn't send her the message, so he agreed.
Gongye Fusu, with great composure, stood quietly behind the screen, waiting for her to regain her clarity of mind, without urging her.
In a short while, A Qiu regained his composure and bowed to Gongye Fusu, saying, "Thank you, Patriarch Gongye, for conveying my message." He then got up to get out of the carriage.
Even someone as noble and powerful as Gongye Fusu is extremely busy when he enters the palace. For him to take time out of his busy schedule to convey Gongyi Xiu's message is already a great honor, so she naturally cannot take up any more of his time.
Gongye Fusu, however, laughed behind her and said, "Miss Shi, when I do business with people, in order to take good care of my customers and gain repeat customers, I usually offer a discount."
A-Qiu stopped in surprise, turned around, and asked, "What is that?"
Gongye Fusu said, "That's a buy-one-get-one-free deal. For example, if a customer buys a fragrance product, our Wanxiang Kingdom will usually give away another type of fragrance of equal value and quantity as a gift. We are honest and fair to all, young and old."
Ah Qiu thought to himself, "No wonder I've heard that the finest incense from the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Fragrances is so expensive, it's like paying gold for every penny spent. It turns out that one unit of money has to cover the profit of two units of incense, no wonder the prices are so high."
However, the wealthy and powerful who appreciate fine incense are not concerned with price, but with rarity. Buy one get one free, especially since both items are limited editions, naturally makes customers feel they are getting more than their money's worth.
A Qiu seemed to have glimpsed some of the operational tricks that enabled the Gongye family's "Wanxiang Kingdom" to become so wealthy and powerful.
Gongye Fusu laughed and said, "The person who was to deliver your message has already paid the price. And my message has been delivered. Now it's time for me to buy one and get one free."
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