Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang put down the clothes in her hands, reached out and picked up the brocade handkerchief, opening it to reveal two slender-necked porcelain bottles. The bottles were decorated with crimson silk tassels, looking small and exquisite.

Qing Shuang picked up a bottle, uncorked it, and gently sniffed it. A rich rose fragrance mixed with the crispness of dried tangerine peel wafted out, a warm and pleasant scent that was much more refreshing than the perfume balm commonly used in the mansion.

"That's quite a clever idea." Qing Shuang smiled slightly and handed the porcelain bottle to Shu Tong.

Shu Tong took it, brought it to her nose and smelled it again and again. Her eyebrows instantly curved into crescent moons as she said happily, "This fragrance smells so good, so refreshing and not cloying at all. It's kind of you that Miss Shu Tong still thinks of us."

Seeing her delighted expression, Qing Shuang smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "Indeed. Although Miss Biao is living under someone else's roof, she acts with utmost care and consideration, without the slightest hint of pettiness."

At first, Qing Shuang, like the others, thought that those who came from remote places to seek refuge might be a bit petty or like to take advantage of others.

Unexpectedly, this young lady is so insightful and generous, treating people with kindness and propriety.

The night was deep and dark, and two glass lamps were lit in the main room of Tingsong Courtyard.

The lamp oil was benzoin paste, a tribute from the Western Regions. When burned, it produced no smoke or smell, but illuminated the entire room as brightly as day.

Xie Jue was wearing a moon-white silk undergarment with dark patterns, his black hair loosely tied up with a jade crown, and he was looking at folded papers by the window.

He was a gentleman, as pure as jade, yet no one dared to look him directly in the eye.

Two head maids, Qing Shuang and Shu Tong, stood to one side, both with their eyes slightly lowered, holding their breath and speaking very softly.

The Duan inkstone on the table is a collection from an old pit from the previous dynasty. Qing Shuang is carefully grinding ink. This ink stick is pine soot ink from Hu Kaiwen of Huizhou. The ink produced is jet black and shiny, with a faint pine fragrance.

The room should have been filled with the quiet scent of ink and lamp oil, but Xie Jue noticed a faint, unusual fragrance.

Unlike the heavy and rich agarwood commonly used in the mansion, this is refreshing and light, with a touch of the sweet warmth of roses and a hint of the coolness of dried tangerine peel, like the wind that sweeps through the flowers in autumn, gently caressing the tip of your nose.

Xie Jue paused, his brows furrowing slightly, and looked up at the two people beside him.

Qing Shuang was the first to notice, and immediately stopped grinding the ink, bowing her head and asking, "Does Young Master dislike the ink?"

Xie Jue: "What is this fragrance? It's different from the incense I usually use. The incense has a heavy scent, but this one is clear and lingering, subtle yet persistent. It's quite interesting."

The two were taken aback at first, then Qing Shuang replied with a smile, "Replying to your question, young master, this is not incense. It is Miss Jiang who sent two bottles of perfume that she made herself, as a blessing for me and Shu Tong for the Qixi Festival."

Xie Jue lightly tapped the folded paper with his fingertip and said calmly, "Let me take a look."

Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang and Shu Tong exchanged another glance, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes.

The eldest son has always been arrogant and disdainful of ordinary things.

Despite her hesitation, Qing Shuang immediately went to fetch her perfume.

The porcelain vase looked exquisite in their hands, but when it was placed on Xie Jue's desk, it appeared simple compared to those antique treasures.

Qing Shuang presented it with both hands, saying, "This is it. It was personally prepared by Miss Jiang. It smells quite refreshing."

Xie Jue took it, and upon smelling it, confirmed that it was indeed the same scent.

Xie Jue toyed with the porcelain vase in his hand, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "How's Miss Feng's learning to ride a horse going?"

In fact, Xie Jue had not given Qing Shuang any instructions, but Qing Shuang was used to being thorough in everything. Hearing Xie Jue's question, she was glad for her good habit and replied, "Replying to your question, young master, Miss Qing Shuang has been very diligent these days. She goes to the horse farm before dawn every day and practices with Madam Feng for the whole morning. She has never been lazy and has never taken a day off."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jue asked again, "Do you go every day?"

The reason Jiang Sese was asked to ride a horse in the first place was because she remembered the day of the horse race, when she was startled by the horse and almost fell off.

He hoped she could protect herself better next time.

I initially thought the little girl might not be able to stick with it.

Unlike Yi Hua, Yu Jiao, and others, who learned riding, calligraphy, and painting in order to marry into high-ranking families in the future and uphold the dignity of a matriarch of a noble family, so as not to be looked down upon by their husbands' families, these were lessons they had to learn.

As an orphan with no roots or support, even if she were to marry in the future, she would likely only find a stable family, and she might not even have the chance to ride a horse in the future.

Whether she was a good or bad rider was really not a big deal to her.

But unexpectedly...

Xie Jue lowered his eyes, and that warm fragrance seemed to waft up again.

Qing Shuang didn't understand, but she still nodded and said, "Yes, I go every day."

Xie Jue listened but didn't say anything more.

But the perfume was never returned to Qing Shuang, and Qing Shuang naturally didn't have the guts to remind Xie Jue.

Tingsong Courtyard is extremely large. In addition to the clean rooms, there is also a natural hot spring pool in the courtyard, which draws water from the mountain springs in the suburbs of Beijing. The water is warm in winter and cool in summer, and it is surrounded by bamboo forests on all sides.

Xie Jue always bathed here.

The water was mixed with a calming formula prescribed by the physician to relieve daytime fatigue.

Second-class maids were only allowed to boil water and move ice in the outer room; they were not even allowed to enter the room.

The Xie family had extremely strict rules. The servants in the mansion each had their own duties and did not overstep their bounds. Even the most favored first-class maids could not enter the inner tent to serve. Even when bathing, the head maid was only responsible for handing over a handkerchief and preparing sleeping clothes. She was absolutely not allowed to get close to serve him by wiping his body. This was the bottom line of strict separation between men and women.

While Xie Jue was taking a bath, Qing Shuang quickly led two maids to close the doors and windows of the bedroom, lit some calming sandalwood incense, checked for mosquitoes inside the tent, and then lowered the curtains.

He then carefully folded the court robes he would wear the next day in the order of inner garment, middle garment, and outer robe, and placed them on the footstool at the foot of the bed, even arranging the jade belt and jade pendants meticulously.

Xie Jue lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Qing Shuang and Shu Tong's footsteps were as light as cats'. The two maids also withdrew. The whole courtyard was so quiet that only the sound of the wind passing by the window could be heard.

It wasn't Qing Shuang's turn to be on night duty today. Qing Shuang yawned and was about to go to sleep when she suddenly remembered something. She shuddered and felt a chill run through her body.