good season

As the Third Prince gazed at the boy not far away, something flashed through his mind, but before he could grasp it, Zhao Guanyue turned around.

He also saw the Third Prince.

He nodded slightly and gestured for them to proceed.

Calm and composed, he showed no respect or unease as if the person in front of him was not a prince, but just an ordinary visitor.

A surge of anger welled up in the Third Prince's heart. Zhao Guanyue was too arrogant.

He was merely the adopted son of Emperor Xiaokang, without even a title, and he didn't even bow when he saw a prince.

At this moment, the Third Prince, who was used to being praised, seemed to have forgotten that he was the son of Emperor Yongjia and Zhao Guanyue was the son of Emperor Xiaokang. In name, they were both princes.

Zhao Guanyue was not granted the title of prince, nor was the third prince. Among his brothers, only two were granted the title of prince: one was the exiled former crown prince, Prince Jing, and the other was the deceased second prince, Prince Fuling. For ambitious princes, being granted the title of prince was not a good thing.

The Third Prince, consumed by rage, didn't think much of it. He silently reminded himself of the purpose of his trip, and decided to tolerate Zhao Guanyue for a few days, considering that Zhao Guanyue still had some use to him.

If this matter succeeds, Zhao Guanyue will have no chance of becoming the heir of the dead emperor. What awaits him is slow slicing, being cut in half at the waist, or being torn apart by five horses!
The Third Prince's tense expression, which had been tense with anger, finally relaxed, and he revealed what he thought was a gentle smile.

"Your Highness has quite the refined taste."

Zhao Guanyue smiled: "Third brother, you must be a refined person to have found this place."

He invited the Third Prince into his small house. The house was not large, but it was filled with a pleasant fragrance. The shelves around the house were filled with bottles, jars and various incense burners. Although the Third Prince did not know anything about perfumery, he could tell at a glance that these bottles, jars and incense burners were very valuable.

Zhao Guan arrived in the capital at the beginning of the month, so these items couldn't have been brought from Tongzhou, nor could they have originally belonged to Wuji Temple. Therefore, there is only one source—

It was sent by those sycophants who catered to their desires!
No one could empathize with this more than the Third Prince.

"Your brother knows perfumery?" he feigned surprise.

"I know a little bit."

As Zhao Guanyue spoke, she picked up a small, plum-green incense burner about the size of a fist, took a small piece of charcoal, buried it in the incense ash, and then took out an incense ball from a jar and placed it on top to burn.

A moment later, a faint fragrance filled the air, making people feel refreshed and relaxed.

Zhao Guanyue said, "This is the fragrance of orchids. My grandfather likes it very much. What do you think, Third Brother?"

The Third Prince nodded: "Excellent."

Zhao Guanyue opened a wooden box, took out a small silver sachet, put a fragrant orchid inside, and handed it to the Third Prince: "Here's a little trinket, Third Brother, you can play with it."

The third prince was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it would be impolite of you to refuse."

He then looked at the long table beside him, pointed to the mold on it, and asked, "What is this for? Is it also for making incense balls?"

Zhao Guanyue explained, "These are incense beads, strung together into a bracelet for my grandfather to play with."

The Third Prince narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Is this also the fragrance of orchids?"

Zhao Guanyue: "No, this is sandalwood."

The Third Prince praised, "My younger brother is not only ingenious, but also filial. I, as his older brother, can't learn from him."

Zhao Guanyue humbly replied, "My third brother is busy with His Majesty's affairs, so he doesn't have time to do these things. I don't have any other skills, so I can only make some small gadgets."

The Third Prince showered Zhao Guanyue with praise once more. Zhao Guanyue, being only a teenager, was flattered by the Third Prince's compliments and hurriedly explained to him how the incense beads were made, as well as the several kinds of spices that the Emperor Emeritus liked the most.

When the Third Prince took his leave, Zhao Guanyue gave him a string of finished incense beads: "I made this string before, for you to play with, Your Highness."

The Third Prince hurriedly said, "How can this be? My grandfather hasn't done it yet."

Zhao Guanyue pointed to the incense beads and said, "The incense beads for the Emperor Grandfather have a lotus flower on each bead, but the ones for you, my brother, don't. I only remembered to add lotus flowers after I made this string. I wanted to make a unique string for the Emperor Grandfather, so I carved a new mold. So you're overthinking it, my brother. This string wasn't originally intended for the Emperor Grandfather."

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince accepted the fragrant beads, and, having gained a great deal, took his leave.

When the Third Prince returned to his residence, he summoned a eunuch who was skilled in perfumery.

Half an hour later, the eunuch took the fragrant orchid pill and the string of incense beads and left the study.

He did not return to his room, but the Third Prince told him that from today onwards, he would live in a small courtyard on the side of the garden.

One time, the Third Prince drank too much and made inappropriate advances towards one of Feng Jiahe's dowry maids. When Feng Jiahe found out, she beat the maid so badly that she was nearly killed. The maid was a strong-willed woman, and she hanged herself in that courtyard.

In addition, the courtyard was located in a remote area, so even the maids who were responsible for sweeping and cleaning rarely went there after that.

This eunuch was named Hu De. His family had been incense makers for generations, but unfortunately, when it came to his father, they got into a lawsuit. His father and uncle were both beheaded, and he was castrated at the age of twelve and entered the palace as a eunuch.

He learned perfumery from his father from a young age. Not long after entering the palace, he was taken to the side by Consort Qiao. After the Third Prince established his own residence, he left the palace and came here.

Hu De had been in the palace for twenty years. When he learned that the Third Prince had made him live in that courtyard, he sighed silently in his heart. He knew in his heart that once he went in, he would not be able to come out alive.

Even after they die, they can't get out; they're buried directly in that courtyard.

The three rooms in the courtyard had been prepared. He sat down at the table by the window and remained there for a long time.

Suddenly, everything went dark, and a large bird landed on the windowsill.

Hu De was startled: "The Divine Bird General?"

The divine bird general glanced at him disdainfully, flapped its wings, and flew away.

Hood poked his head out the window. The divine bird general had already flown away, and there was a piece of paper on the windowsill.

Hu De picked up the paper. He could read and knew at a glance that it was a prescription for incense.

The incense recipe sent by the Divine Bird General!
Hu De was initially delighted, but then continued to sigh.

He was quite an expert, able to tell what kind of incense would be made according to the recipe.

He didn't understand why the Divine Bird General would give him the incense recipe, but he knew in his heart that even with the recipe, he would not escape death.

Because the Third Prince made him make incense that could kill people.

The next day, at the same time, the Divine Bird General landed on the windowsill again. This time, the Divine Bird General brought him an old sachet whose original color was no longer discernible.

Hu De stared at the sachet, his head buzzing.

As soon as the divine bird general flew away, Hu De eagerly took the sachet. Sure enough, five characters were written on the sachet: Hu De of Huaiyang County.

Hu De's eyes filled with tears. He quickly opened the sachet, inside which was his long-lost little brother.

He knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction the divine bird general had flown away.

When he stood up, Hu De held his head high and stood straight. Although he was about to die, he was able to reunite with his family.

From then on, he was a man with all five limbs intact. He finally had the face to meet the ancestors of the Hu family. In his next life, he could be reborn as a normal man.

At this moment, he was single-minded and could complete the task assigned by the Third Prince within two days.

But at this moment, another thought lingered in his mind: the Divine Bird General, or the person behind the Divine Bird General, had shown him a life-saving grace. Although he was just a eunuch, he knew how to repay kindness.

Besides, since we're going to die anyway, we might as well...
The next day, Shen Wangxing was pulling a young Taoist priest from Wuji Temple, begging him to buy him a newly published copy of "Linghua's Chronicle".

The young Taoist priest looked troubled: "I am a monk. How can I keep going to the bookstore to buy storybooks? Last time I helped you buy storybooks, the people in the bookstore looked at me very strangely."

Shen Wangxing pleaded, "This is the last time, really the last time, please."

The young Taoist priest still refused. He had a premonition that he would soon be scolded by his master for helping Shen Wangxing buy storybooks.

"Oh, is this 'Linghua's Chronicle' what Young Master Shen wants?"

A voice sounded from behind. Shen Wangxing turned around and saw that it was a palace attendant.

Shen Wangxing didn't know what a eunuch was like until he met the Emperor Emeritus.

Fortunately, the eunuchs were quite distinctive, and Shen Wangxing could recognize them at a glance.

However, he soon discovered that the eunuch was not one of the Emperor Emeritus's men.

"Does this gentleman know me?"

The eunuch smiled broadly: "I am from the Third Prince's residence. I saw Young Master Shen at the city gate that day."

Shen Wangxing silently breathed a sigh of relief. Guan Yue was right; the people from the Third Prince's residence had indeed come looking for him.

"You just said you have 'Linghua's Chronicle'? Really?"

The eunuch took out a book from his bosom and handed it to him with both hands. Shen Wangxing eagerly took it, and it was indeed the book he had been dreaming of, "Linghua's Tale".

"Great! This is it! I finally got it!"

That's how teenagers are; a book can make them jump for joy.

He picked up the book and started flipping through it, but after a few pages he suddenly remembered that he hadn't thanked the author yet.

He hurriedly asked, "Sir, how did you know I wanted to buy this book?"

The eunuch was a little embarrassed: "To be honest, Young Master Shen, I also enjoy reading storybooks. I just bought this book today. When I heard you mention it, I couldn't help but ask you about it."

Shen Wangxing looked reluctant, but said, "I see. I'd better not take what belongs to someone else. Thank you, sir. I'll return this book to you."

The eunuch quickly declined, saying, "Young Master Shen, there's no need to be so polite. I'll just buy another copy when I pass by the bookstore on my way back to the manor."

Shen Wangxing thought about it and agreed. She took out a piece of silver from her purse and said, "This is for the books. Please accept it, Father-in-law. The extra is a token of my appreciation. Thank you for your generosity."

The eunuch said he was being polite, but still accepted the piece of silver.

Shen Wangxing didn't have time to go back to her room; she stood there reading a book, unaware of when the eunuch had left.

Suddenly, something fell out of the book. Shen Wangxing caught it; it was a silver note.

Seeing the amount on the silver note, Shen Wangxing continued to flip through the book. Sure enough, there were four more silver notes of the same amount tucked inside.

Each one hundred taels, a full five hundred taels!

Shen Wangxing was somewhat disappointed; it turned out he was only worth five hundred taels!

Isn't this looking down on people?

He took the storybook with the silver notes tucked inside and went to find the loach.

Ni Qiu's real name is Ni Xiaoqiu. This name was given to him by Steward Li when he was registering his household on Baihe Mountain.

"Loach, I received five hundred taels, what about you?"

Mudfish took out a box, opened it in front of Shen Wangxing, and the golden light dazzled Shen Wangxing's eyes.

"They're all golden broad beans!"

This box of golden broad beans is worth at least a hundred taels of silver.

One tael of gold is worth ten taels of silver, and one hundred taels of gold is worth one thousand taels of silver.

"Knowing I love snacks, they brought me a box of broad beans to eat for fun," the loach said smugly.

Shen Wangxing spat: "Aren't you afraid of dying from eating gold? What a noble way to die."

The loach rolled its eyes: "You're just envious, five hundred taels."

Shen Wangxing felt resentful. Why was he only worth five hundred taels?

Mudfish laughed and said, "I might be easier to bribe than you. You have the air of a scholar, all pretentious and aloof. Of course, people will test you little by little."

Shen Wangxing thought about it and realized it made sense. He looked like a scholar, while Mudfish looked like a street thug. Of course, Mudfish was easier to bribe than him.

Shen Wangxing immediately felt at ease.

Sure enough, he met the eunuch again the next day. He talked to the eunuch about the contents of the book, without mentioning the silver notes at all.

The eunuch was very satisfied. Wang Daixi had indeed not lied to the Third Prince. This Shen Wangxing looked like a young master, but he was actually a penniless pauper.

Indeed, an orphan raised in a Taoist temple is still a poor wretch even if he wears a scholar's robe.

"This book, 'The Amorous Young Master,' is newly published. Knowing that it's inconvenient for Young Master Shen to go out, I bought a copy for him as well."

This time, Shen Wangxing didn't stand on ceremony. He didn't even pay for the book. He looked around, then, like a thief, stuffed the book into his pocket and left in a flash.

The eunuch watched his departing figure and sneered, "He's not going to read books, he's going to count silver notes."

Sure enough, there were five one-hundred-tael silver notes tucked inside the book.

Shen Wangxing took the bait!

The one who took the bait first was the loach. This kid had already sold out the Emperor Emeritus and Zhao Guanyue completely, even revealing the Emperor Emeritus's frequent urination.

The Third Prince compiled the information he had gathered from Wuji Temple, and he already knew what to do next.

As for Shen Wangxing, he received another silver note, but this time it was less, only one hundred taels.

Moreover, he only received this hundred taels after he told Zhao Guanyue about her sleepwalking.

The eunuch told him that in a few days there would be an opportunity for him to earn more money, and if he could seize it, he could live a life of ease for at least fifty years.

Shen Wangxing's eyes lit up. He was just a little orphan who grew up in a Taoist temple. He didn't even know who his biological father was. The most silver notes he had ever seen in his life were those given to him by the eunuchs.

He looked at the eunuch as if he were looking at his own damned father. Hmm, if he could, he would also like to castrate his own father, but unfortunately he no longer had the chance.

"When I was little, Zhao Guanyue always bullied me. He stole my pancakes and even badmouthed me to the abbot. I hated him so much! A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years!" (End of Chapter)