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

June 16th is an auspicious day for travel, meeting friends, and holding religious ceremonies.

Inside the Hibiscus Garden, on the Qujiang Pool, in the middle of a painted boat.

The ladies of the court, both inside and outside the court, wore light gauze dresses, armbands, and round fans, eating chilled fruits and comparing whose clothes were lighter and cooler, and whose hairstyles were more extravagant.

One of the duties of the Shanglin Office of the Si Nong Temple was to store ice. Although it was impossible to supply large quantities of ice for a long time in the summer, at least this thing was available.

Various fragrances swirled in the wind, surprising some noblewomen who knew the inside story.

Huh? There's even a chrysanthemum scent! Who's got a death wish?

Empress Zhangsun, seated above, gently waved her fan, seemingly unconcerned about the faint scent of chrysanthemums.

Hehe, I took antihistamines beforehand, so I'm not worried at all. Let's see what these sluts do.

Each noblewoman was accompanied by a palace maid.

Besides serving the noblewomen, the duties of palace maids also included recording the noblewomen's words, actions, and scents.

In the future, the Inner Court officials will settle accounts with the wives of the inner court officials and the husbands of the wives of the outer court officials who have been demoted by the emperor.

Did you think that just because my nickname is Guanyinbi, I'll only ever be a vegetarian?

"The Tang Dynasty is prosperous and peaceful, thanks to the efforts of its ministers and the unity of its noblewomen."

"I have a cup of mulberry wine to share with you all, wishing for the Tang Dynasty to prosper forever and for our descendants to flourish."

Empress Zhangsun rose and drank the mulberry wine in one gulp.

The ladies responded in unison, their cups emptied, and the sounds of string and wind instruments began to play.

"Hmm, the Empress's fragrance today is unusually fresh, with an elegant woody scent."

Lady Lu of Wei raised her eyebrows slightly.

Lady Lu was the wife of Fang Xuanling, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. She was the person involved in the phrase "jealousy." She was elegant in entertaining guests, considerate in managing the household, and capable of driving away palace maids bestowed by the emperor.

Even in the Tang Dynasty, when women were relatively active, she was a celebrity.

Fang Xuanling was able to serve as prime minister for many years, and she deserves much credit for that. As the saying goes, "A virtuous wife keeps a husband from suffering misfortune."

"It was my son Qingque who worried that I had no fragrance to use, so he personally made cedar perfume to present to you."

"His skills are so-so, but his filial piety is commendable."

Empress Zhangsun spoke with a touch of reserve.

Lady Lu said that if it weren't for Empress Zhangsun's curved eyes and involuntary upturn of her lips, she might have believed it.

The scent of cedar perfume is not too strong, but it is fresh and has a faint pine resin scent that makes people feel calm.

However, none of this matters.

Importantly, Empress Zhangsun herself said that it was made for her by Prince Li Tai of Yue.

Such a statement can evoke different thoughts in different people.

Princess Yongjia felt that she should go to the Prince of Yue to buy a few bottles in order to follow the trend of her sister-in-law, the Empress, and cultivate her own elegant image.

I suppose Dou Fengjie would like this fragrance?

Lady Lu praised King Li Tai of Yue for his filial piety, but dared not overinterpret the matter further, as she was somewhat unsure about it.

Lady Cui of Su smiled without saying a word, but in her heart she was wondering if the Empress was going to openly support the King of Yue.

The old bandit had said before that the Duke of Su's mansion should not participate in the struggle for the throne.

Lady Dou, the Dowager Lady of Lu, smiled and said, "The King of Yue's filial piety is common knowledge."

She even guessed the origin of the cedar perfume: it was her good nephew Dou Fengjie who did it, and Li Tai was just using the name.

Dou Fengjie had already advised that Wulang Hou Junji should not get involved in the matter of establishing an heir, so Dou Niangzi remained calm and collected.

The Crown Prince's wet nurse, Lady Suian, wore a smile on her face, but her heart was filled with bitterness.

Is it possible that Li Chengqian, the crown prince whom I raised with my own hands, will be forced to withdraw from this battle for the throne?

Alas, the Crown Prince is so proud and arrogant that even his greetings to the Empress are merely a formality. How can he possibly compete with his younger brother Li Tai, who is determined to win the Emperor's favor?

Li Chengqian, whom she had raised and regarded as her own flesh and blood, could not possibly withstand such a huge blow. Just thinking about it made her extremely worried.

Princess Changguang frowned almost imperceptibly. Her life with her husband, Commandant Yang Shidao, was basically over, so honor and disgrace were not that important.

However, her son Zhao Jie, who was with her deceased husband Zhao Cijing, was very close to the Crown Prince.

Should we persuade Zhao Jie to switch allegiance?

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The inner palace, Ganlu Hall.

Empress Zhangsun listened with a cold face as the palace maids announced the list of people who used chrysanthemum fragrance.

Very well, there are actually a concubine and a beauty in the inner palace who use this fragrance. It really makes me think that the Empress is weak and easy to bully!

"Hand it over to Uncle Neiji."

Empress Zhangsun waved her hand.

Among the wives of officials outside the court, the Lady of the County of Changsun Chang, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, also used chrysanthemum-scented cosmetics.

"That heartless uncle! He was dismissed from his post for embezzlement in the first year of the Zhenguan era, and it was I who frequently gave him money from the imperial treasury to make ends meet!"

"In the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, he was even appointed as the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, yet he treated me like this!"

Empress Zhangsun's phoenix eyebrows stood up straight.

Apart from the fact that when the retired Emperor Li Yuan entered Chang'an, Changsun Chang led the young men of Xinfeng to personally welcome him, he was utterly useless and only relied on his kinship with Empress Changsun to get by.

If it weren't for the fact that she had taken the antihistamine that Qingque had begged for beforehand, Empress Zhangsun would have fallen ill and made a fool of herself on the pleasure boat today!

All the women who used chrysanthemum fragrance, whether intentionally or unintentionally, had to have their husbands sent away to work elsewhere!

Because few officials were involved and the measures taken to transfer them were not drastic, by the time the situation was realized, everything had already turned to dust.

Even a powerful ruler like Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) showed signs of being henpecked when faced with his wife's fury, carrying out her orders without changing a single word.

As for those delicate beauties and talented women, the emperor waved his hand and sent them to the Inner Palace for reformation.

Young and beautiful women—if Li Shimin wished, there were plenty of wives from officials' households waiting to be summoned.

The officials who were in charge of the imperial censors meticulously analyzed Empress Zhangsun's speech on the pleasure boat, scrutinizing every word and every tone. It is said that some of them even wrote a ten-thousand-word argument.

Strangely enough, this rather unreliable Analects was bought by booksellers, printed into thick books on white hemp paper, and sold. Surprisingly, it was very popular, selling dozens of copies a day!

Some use it for political analysis, others see it as royal gossip, and still others compare it to the I Ching.

The most outrageous thing is that some people are using this as an essential reference for their scientific expedition strategy next year.

Only Li Tai, the Grand Commander of Yangzhou, the Left Guard General, and the Prince of Yue, in Yankangfang, was experiencing both pain and pleasure.

I'm so happy that my mother openly praised me!

However, the ladies of noble families, both inside and outside the court, all wanted to buy cedar perfume for themselves, but this was truly unavailable.

Li Tai knew that even Dou Fengjie's place only had about a hundred bottles of mixed cedar perfume, but there were nearly three hundred noblewomen!

Sima Suxu, the military advisor of the Prince of Yue, whispered to Li Tai, "Your Majesty, I have ordered Military Advisor Jiang to write down the quantities needed by each family, as well as their residences and corresponding official ranks."

Li Tai thought for a moment, then quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

This wave of cedar perfume offensive was a grand scheme orchestrated by Dou Fengjie and promoted by his mother, with the aim of freeing the Yue Prince's Mansion from the fate of being reduced to a mere stone.

Throughout the process, cedar perfume is merely a medium and is not important.

The families of military generals such as Cheng Yaojin, Duke of Su, and Hou Junji, Duke of Lu, did not appear in front of the Yue King's Mansion.

Although the situation has improved, a true reversal has not been achieved.

The road to securing a future for our descendants is still long and arduous.