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Chapter 651 Planning
"What are these ceramic dish-like things?" Zhu Yu asked.

"This is a small spice box that my family uses to store the spices we make, and we send it to the Prince's Palace to check if it meets the standards."

Although this thing can't hold much, it's small and easy to carry, and it doesn't leak any odor, so you don't have to worry about the blended spices getting mixed up with other flavors when you take them to the Prince's Palace for inspection.

At the time, I thought, since I don't need to take much with me, I only need to leave some evidence behind. Besides, the perfume's ingredients are so poisonous... using this stuff would be much safer. I could wrap it in cloth and wear it around my body; it wouldn't carry any odor, and it wouldn't be easily noticed."

“That’s certainly a good idea.” Zhu Yu looked at the several spice boxes that looked almost identical. “But which one of these is the one you mentioned that contains the poisonous perfume?”

Without even needing to spend time identifying them, Mu Hong simply pointed to the two slightly darker spice boxes: "This is it, and this is it too."

Zhu Yu reached out and took the spice box, moving a little distance to the side. He carefully tried to open the spice box by digging his fingernails into the gap between the two ceramic dishes.

"No, no!" Mu Hong was startled by the sight and hurriedly came over to stop him. "You can't do that! That spice is extremely poisonous. The workers on our estate were captured and made to refine this spice for them. At first, they were all full of energy and looked great. They worked day and night without complaining of being tired. But not long after, they suddenly died!"
Therefore, this thing must never be touched!

"It's alright, I know what I'm doing." Zhu Yu shook her head at him, knowing that Mu Hong was frightened and was only trying to stop him out of kindness, so her tone was not harsh. "I will know what I'm doing."

Mu Hong turned to look at Lu Qing with some uncertainty. Seeing that Lu Qing did not seem to be stopping him, he took two steps back. After hesitating for a moment, he seemed to think it was still not safe enough, so he took two more steps back.

It's clear that although more than twenty years have passed, he has relived those terrifying memories countless times in this endless darkness, and even now, with his beard turned white, he still feels lingering fear.

Zhu Yuxian carefully pried open the first spice box, opening it only a thin crack. He didn't put his nose close to it, but instead gently fanned it with his hand.

It has no smell; you can barely detect anything.

She probably had a guess in her mind, so she slowly opened the spice box a little wider and sure enough, she saw a bright red powder inside.

Zhu Yu gave Lu Qing a wink, and Lu Qing walked closer to look and nodded to her.

It is fiery jade.

Zhu Yu had already indirectly dealt with this thing back in Qingshui County, and was well aware of its effects.

After closing the spice box, she was even more careful when opening the other one, still through a narrow crack. She fanned the air with her hand, and a familiar fragrance slowly wafted out.

She quickly closed the spice box, sealing it tightly, and nodded to Lu Qing again: "Chang'e Drunk."

"Were these two things used together originally?" Lu Qing asked Mu Hong.

Mu Hong hurriedly waved his hand and pointed to the spice box where Chang'e was drunk: "At first, we used this, but later this thing was too delicate and we often couldn't supply it."

Later, someone sent over another kind, but while it seemed harmless at first glance, it was also quite strange. It required blood as a catalyst to bring out its aroma; otherwise, it had no smell at all. However, using blood would create a fishy smell, so those people forced my father to find a way to concoct a fragrance that could mask the bloody odor.

As he spoke, he picked through the other spice boxes and found one that looked whiter than the others. He picked it up and handed it over: "This one."

This is the final spice blend my father prepared. The man checked it and seemed quite satisfied, so he didn't ask my father to adjust the recipe again.

I didn't dare take more, because this thing was being watched very closely. I only stole a tiny bit, just a little powder scraped off the vessel.

Zhu Yu took it and fanned himself with the same method, sniffing it slightly. Although he didn't show any emotion, his eyes had become somewhat dark, and it was clear that he was trying to appear calm.

The time she waited for Lu Qing to finish court in the palace, the fragrance she smelled from the young eunuch next to her was this very scent.

Her sense of smell has always been very keen; you could say she has an excellent memory and would never make a mistake.

Even the Duke of Yan carried this same aura.

Thinking about it this way, many things that were previously somewhat unclear became clear.

This item was first presented to the wife of the Duke of Yan, Zhao Bi's wife, through some means. After gaining her favor, it gradually became popular among noble ladies.

After that, whether it was the Duchess of Yan or any other noblewoman, some people were always interested in cultivating good relationships with the favored concubines in the harem, so this item was "naturally" obtained by Consort Duan through some channel.

To this day, Zhu Yu absolutely does not believe that Consort Duan was completely unaware of this, nor does she believe that she needed to obtain this fragrance through someone outside the palace.

The reason for speculating about such a process is simply that Consort Duan would definitely try to stay out of this matter and make herself an innocent character.

The most direct way Lu Ze could know that Lu Qing was the "Golden-Faced Censor" was through his mother, Consort Duan. Apart from the possibility that Emperor Jin himself was unreliable and talking in his sleep, the most likely possibility was the South Study—the study closest to Consort Duan's palace.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu couldn't help but secretly curse Emperor Jin in his heart once again.

This old fox has been playing a long game all along. If you look at the whole thing from his perspective, you'd probably have to give him a thumbs up and praise him as "shrewd and cunning, a master strategist."

However, as someone who shares the same fate as a chess piece on his chessboard, Zhu Yu felt that this kind of behavior—disregarding the life or death of the chess piece in order to achieve one's own goals—was simply too infuriating!
"Since this spice is so poisonous, did that person ask you to prepare an antidote or something?" Zhu Yu asked Mu Hong.

Since Consort Duan has always maintained a detached stance, or rather, since the mastermind behind the scenes has been directing all the blame toward Zhao Bi's faction, making him the most prominent bird and the most conspicuous wall, then she certainly cannot allow her most useful pawn to be harmed before Zhao Bi becomes a thorn in someone's side.

It's impossible for the other party not to be on guard in this regard.

(End of this chapter)