tallest building

Chapter 210 Surrender

The next day, Wen Mingqian went to Liu Cuiyi's place and found the Lingxi Incense. The reason Liu Cuiyi had this was because Sang Sanyang gave it to her.

In his early years, Sang Sanyang went to the Western Regions to do business and by chance obtained a bottle of Lingxi Fragrance powder.

Liu Cuiyi asked Zhao's mother to open the box and find it.

Seeing that she was recovering well, Wen Mingqian asked, "Has your mother-in-law given you any more trouble?"

"It's all calmed down, don't worry, sister," Liu Cuiyi smiled.

"This child has grown so much in just a few days, becoming even more fair-skinned and adorable," Wen Mingqian said, looking at Liu Cuiyi's son. "He probably doesn't cry much, does he?"

“He’s still very well-behaved, but he cries if no one holds him at dusk.” Liu Cuiyi said, looking at her son with affection. “The wet nurse we found has plenty of milk, and the child can drink it all.”

“Miss Sang Er is more meticulous than any of us; she takes such good care of this child. We’ve all been saying that despite her young age, she’s managed to take such good care of a newborn,” said Zhao’s mother with a smile as she handed the Lingxi Incense to Wen Mingqian.

Sang Er was holding the child and carefully wiping his cheeks with a warm towel.

It's clear she genuinely likes this child. Speaking of bloodlines, they're truly amazing, especially since this child is her cousin.

“I’ll take this incense with me for now and return it to you in a few days,” Wen Mingqian said. “Sang Er will stay here. We’ll talk about it again when the child turns 100 days old.”

"Sister, just take it and use it. It's nothing," Liu Cuiyi said. "I'm recovering quite well these days. I'll go visit you after my full moon."

After returning home, Wen Mingqian studied the spices carefully for several days.

She has most of the ingredients here, but she's missing two auxiliary ingredients.

But this didn't stump her. Although she couldn't find the two missing spices, she could make a similar taste by mixing other spices.

Unless one is extremely knowledgeable about Lingxi Fragrance, they cannot distinguish it.

After another three days of work, Wen Mingqian finally finished preparing the incense and personally delivered it to the Zhong family.

Fang was overjoyed and thanked Wen Mingqian, saying, "How can I thank you enough? You've really helped us a lot."

"It was by chance that I was able to make it, but you need to explain to Princess Chu that this is just an imitation of Lingxi Incense, not the real thing. At most, it's about 80-90% similar," Wen Mingqian said.

"This is already extremely rare. Don't worry, I will tell you the truth. Your contribution cannot be hidden." As she spoke, Madam Fang had someone bring over a large box of precious spices to thank Wen Mingqian.

A few days later, Madam Fang came to Wen Mingqian's residence again and said happily, "The Princess was overjoyed to receive that incense. I told her that it was all made by your skillful hands. She also said that she wanted to meet you. She happens to be short of an incense maker and would like to invite you to come over."

If such an opportunity were presented to an ordinary person, they would readily accept it, but Wen Mingqian declined.

“I am grateful for the Princess’s kindness. However, there is an order to things. My current residence was bestowed upon me by Princess Zhao. It would be inappropriate for me to go to Princess Chu now.”

A single sentence reminded Fang, who quickly said, "Look at me, I'm so happy I'm like a fool. I didn't even think of that. You're right."

On the surface, the relationship between Princess Zhao and Princess Chu seems to be quite good, but there is an extremely important rivalry between their two families.

Both the Crown Prince of Zhao and the Crown Prince of Chu were selected to enter the palace. Although the Crown Prince of Zhao entered the palace first and was the Empress's nephew, the decision was not finalized.

Moreover, many people say that the Crown Prince of Chu is more outstanding than the Crown Prince of Zhao, and seems to be more favored by the Emperor.

After all, the Empress had chosen the Prince of Zhao as her heir, and the Emperor subsequently proposed to bring the Prince of Chu into the palace as well.

It is said that when two people study together, their knowledge is more easily improved.

But everyone knows there are unforeseen variables involved.

"It's nothing really. If Princess Chu asks later, just say I've been ill these past few days, and that'll be the end of it," Wen Mingqian said with a smile. Sure enough, the matter reached Princess Zhao's ears within a few days. She had always been very interested in Wen Mingqian.

Hearing that the Princess of Chu wanted to bring her to her side, the Princess of Zhao chose to wait and see.

Wen Mingqian did not disappoint her; he politely declined the invitation from the Princess of Chu.

Therefore, on this day, she ordered someone to invite Wen Mingqian into the mansion. After drinking a cup of tea, she slowly said, "I heard you've been ill these days. Are you feeling any better?"

Wen Mingqian smiled slightly and replied, "I'm already much better, Your Highness."

"I heard that the Princess of Chu has taken a liking to your skills and wants you to serve her. Why don't you go?" Princess Zhao asked.

“I live in the East City, and the Chu Prince’s Mansion is in the West City. They’re too far apart,” Wen Mingqian said, implying that he couldn’t afford the hassle.

Upon hearing this, Princess Zhao stopped asking questions and simply smiled.

Just then, a maid rushed over and said, "Your Highness, the young master's asthma has flared up, but unfortunately the doctor in the manor is not here."

"What? Where did he go?!" Princess Zhao panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly stood up and ran to her son's courtyard.

Everyone hurriedly followed, and Wen Mingqian, naturally, couldn't just sit there either, so he got up and rushed over as well.

Princess Zhao was in such a hurry that she tripped on the threshold and twisted her ankle when she entered the room.

Everyone rushed to check, but Princess Zhao said impatiently, "Why are you all crowding around me? I'm not going to die. Quickly, check on the child!"

The child was born on the same day, month, and year as Gong Chang'an, but due to congenital deficiencies, he was thin and pale.

He was lying there flat on his back, his chest heaving violently, and he was making hoarse breathing sounds from time to time.

"Where's the medicine packet you usually use?" Princess Zhao asked. "Did you let him smell it?"

"I've smelled it, I've smelled it, but it's not very effective." The people serving her were so anxious that they cried.

“Your Highness, why don’t you let me try it?” Wen Mingqian took off the purse he was wearing. “I also have a mild case of asthma, so I always carry this with me.”

She was actually lying. She always brought this purse with her when she entered the Prince Zhao's residence, hoping it would come in handy someday.

As the saying goes, "a desperate person will try anything," so how could Princess Zhao not let her try it in such a critical situation?

Besides, she had always thought Wen Mingqian was a steady and reliable person.

Wen Mingqian rushed to the child and gently placed the purse near his mouth and nose.

This contains calming spices such as benzoin, as well as many medicinal herbs specifically used to treat asthma.

Sure enough, after a few breaths, the child calmed down considerably.

"Amitabha, thank God!" The person next to him couldn't help but chant the Buddha's name.

"Let the second young master breathe a little longer," Wen Mingqian said. "It seems to be working for now."

After a while, the child's breathing returned to normal.

Princess Zhao was also helped closer, and staring intently at her youngest son's face, she asked, "My son, how are you feeling right now?"

The child opened his eyes and said weakly, "I feel much better."