Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

Sifangguan.

When the Frankish envoy Madeleine received the letter of reply from the Tang Dynasty, his eyes were filled with astonishment.

Although the Tang Dynasty's official letter was written in Chinese characters, the content of the reply was extremely accurate, agreeing to the Frankish request for trade and showing little interest in "making the Great Again."

Unfortunately, the distance between the two countries is too great; the idea of ​​becoming neighbors is wishful thinking.

"We have rich perfumes that can flourish in the Tang Dynasty."

Madeleine tried to save face, hoping to start a collaboration.

"Dou Zhangke said that Frank's perfume is too strong; although it smells very good, it lacks elegance."

The steward, Zhao Dekai, spoke slowly and deliberately.

These words struck at Madeleine's weak spot.

Unfortunately, Franks has a strong body odor that needs to be masked by a strong fragrance, so he can't afford to pursue a subtle scent.

The court allowed Madeleine and her group to set up a stall in the West Market, but they were not optimistic about the future of perfume.

"Could it be that the Tang Dynasty had even better perfumes?"

Madeleine's blue eyes widened, her face full of resentment.

Zhao Dekai smiled and took out several transparent glass bottles, opening the caps one by one.

The delicate scents of chrysanthemum, jasmine, lemon, and sandalwood linger in the nose of the Madeleine, not overpowering, but all the more delightful.

"How is this possible?" Madeleine nearly collapsed.

The Tang Dynasty has so many kinds of perfumes. Did you come all the way to the Tang Dynasty just to be humiliated?

Seeing Ma Delan's state, Zhao Dekai couldn't bear to further discourage him, so he simply remained silent.

Dou Fengjie still has quite a few of these single-fragrance products.

Dou Fengjie also told Zhao Dekai in person that he had some compound fragrances.

The Weihuo system is having a big sale. In addition to providing perfume samples, they have also clearly inputted the materials and manufacturing processes of various perfumes into Dou Fengjie's mind, and thoughtfully indicated which materials are not available in the Tang Dynasty.

Madeleine thought about it for a long time and finally figured out the key.

It's true that Da Tang has these perfumes, but they definitely haven't been mass-produced yet. They can even sell Frank perfumes ahead of time.

Madeleine developed a strong interest in Dou Fengjie, who had not yet shown up.

If we could lure Dou Fengjie to the Franks, he might be able to help the Frankish Kingdom defeat the despicable Slavs.

-----------------

The inner palace of Taiji Palace is Ganlu Hall.

Empress Zhangsun glared angrily: "What did you say? Dou Fengjie forbids me from using perfume?"

Zhao Dekai was taken into the inner palace by a eunuch carrying a knife. He was filled with unease, wondering what he had done wrong.

Phew, I get it. The Empress is the head of the six palaces, but she is also a woman who loves beauty. How could she allow herself not to smell good?

how...

Zhao Dekai stood with his hands clasped: "Your Majesty, I, Zhao Dekai, report that Dou Fengjie repeatedly warned that the perfume might cause you ill."

The palace's imperial pharmacist, who was standing by, glanced at him with a strange light in his eyes: "How did that brat Dou know that the Empress would be unwell?"

"Master Dou said that the Empress's illness has been diagnosed by many famous doctors, but the diagnosis has not been successful. Perhaps they are going in the wrong direction?" Zhao Dekai glanced at Empress Zhangsun cautiously.

"Are you questioning the results of the joint consultation by the Imperial Pharmacy of the Palace Secretariat, the Imperial Physicians' Office of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Imperial Food Bureau of the Inner Palace?" the pharmacist asked in a stern tone.

A pharmacist can tolerate being questioned by someone whose reputation, qualifications, and abilities surpass his own.

But for a middle-aged man who isn't even a medical student to spout such nonsense is simply intolerable!

"Let him continue," Empress Zhangsun said, flicking her sleeve.

Zhao Dekai boldly said, "Master Dou said that perhaps the Empress is allergic to something—namely, urticaria—which renders the medicine ineffective."

"For example, poplar catkins, willow fluff, pollen, lead powder, and rouge caused the Empress discomfort."

"If we don't figure this out, and the perfume causes an illness, that would be a terrible crime."

Allergies have all sorts of causes, from insect allergies to high-protein animal allergies.

The inner uterus is very large, and there are many items used, so it is really not easy to screen out allergens.

The physician's face turned ashen, but Empress Zhangsun waved for the eunuch to take Zhao Dekai out of the palace.

Dou Fengjie's guess may not come true, but it is worth checking it out when there is no clue in the treatment.

Even Empress Zhangsun had her own guesses.

She suffered mistreatment from her half-brother, Changsun Anye, during her childhood, which may have been the root of her illness.

Changsun Anye was courting death by rebelling with Prince Yi'an, Li Xiaochang. Empress Changsun had to reluctantly grant him a chance to live by exiling him to Xizhou.

Empress Zhangsun's eyes caught sight of the pale-faced Imperial Physician out of the corner of her eye, and she was suddenly startled.

Perhaps Dou Fengjie's guess only scratches the surface.

Li Shimin returned to Ganlu Hall from Liangyi Hall, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Why is Guanyinbi so gloomy?"

Empress Zhangsun dismissed everyone before whispering to Li Shimin, "Dou Fengjie has a lot of perfume, but he won't give me a single bottle, not even if I offer him money."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow: "He's rebelling! Erlang, go and seize it right now!"

"He won't give it to me because he's afraid the perfume will trigger my hives," Empress Zhangsun said leisurely. "According to Zhao Dekai, the Director of the Imperial Household Department, Dou Fengjie suspects that I'm allergic to some kind of substance and that it's causing my hives."

"He's not a medical student, what does he know!" Li Shimin plopped down, his arm around his wife. "At worst, we'll have the pharmacist investigate further."

"Second Prince, the Imperial Physician's face was frightening at the time," Empress Zhangsun said softly. "I'm afraid she's not reliable either."

Li Shimin's expression changed drastically: "Then let Zhang Anan, the Director of the Imperial Household Department, escort her to the Inner Palace!"

"I swallowed my pride and personally went to invite Zhen Liyan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, to come and see him!"

Sending female officials and palace maids to the Yeting Palace, where criminals were exiled, was a deadly punishment.

The Yeting Palace might not immediately execute criminals, but it could make their lives worse than death, and the worst part was that there was no hope in sight.

The light of the "Wu De Code" could not shine into the inner palace, much less into the Yeting Palace.

A burst of cries and wails came from outside the hall, but silence soon returned.

Things in the inner palace are just that brutal.

Zhen Quan and Zhen Liyan were two of the most famous doctors in the Tang Dynasty.

Zhen Liyan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies who was over eighty years old, entered the inner palace and went through the entire process of observation, listening, questioning, and diagnosis, slowly and methodically making his own diagnosis.

"When the illness flares up, symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, and even coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing."

"At first glance, it looks like an illness, but it could also be rubella. It would be best to check each of the Empress's belongings one by one."

After Zhen Liyan examined an item, Li Shimin ordered the palace envoy to take it and burn it.

Although I'm worried about the money, my wife's health is more important.

"It's confirmed, the problem lies with this crimson lip rouge."

"Among them, cinnabar did not react, beeswax did not react, but the extra chrysanthemum powder reacted violently."

Zhen Liyan finally caught the culprit.

Lip rouge is equivalent to lipstick in later times.

Empress Zhangsun's delicate body trembled, as if she had returned to her lonely childhood, once again being violently pushed into the chrysanthemum bushes by her half-brother Zhangsun Anye.

From then on, she only admired chrysanthemums from afar and never dared to handle them again.

Li Shimin flew into a rage: "Arrest those two lip rouge makers from the Imperial Pharmacy of the Palace Secretariat! The Censorate must interrogate them thoroughly!"