Chapter 5: The Perfume Medicine Envoy, Seeking Support

Dong Yi languidly settled into the exquisite sheep carriage. Once seated, he lazily waved his feather fan. The white veils draped around the carriage, allowing those inside to see clearly outside, while outsiders could not peer within. One attendant gave the lead sheep a gentle slap on its hindquarters; the sheep stretched its neck in arrogant indifference, lazily flexed its hooves, and the other three matched its rhythm. Together, their slender, white-furred legs stepped in neat procession, clip-clopping as they moved forward.

Bai Huan’s heart, just eased, rose with anxiety again. The four sheep were exactly like their master—radiating an air of arrogant indolence. How long would it take to reach the palace at such a pace?

By now, the road was lined on both sides with frenzied women. Eight attendants, agile and expressionless, deftly swatted away flying embroidered balls, fragrant sachets, and flower branches from all directions. They blocked the women who tried to rush forward, indifferent to the excited screams echoing from the crowd. Such a scene was nothing new for them. Today, the crowd was sparse; usually, when Dong Yi paraded in daylight, he would be surrounded layer upon layer, and even the sheep would be snatched up and kissed by women as substitutes for the Jade Prince.

Bai Huan clicked her tongue in astonishment. She had heard of Dong Yi’s famed sheep carriage that drove crowds wild, but never imagined it could be so terrifying. She had no time to appreciate the spectacle. Her mind was in turmoil, desperately recalling past events, searching her limited memory for a way to preserve her family intact.

It was nearly the hour of the Dog; her father would soon be beaten to a near death and expelled from the palace, her mother would be plunged into grief and fear, the Gu family would be falsely accused and searched, and the blade of murder was pointed at the Bai family!

Each beat of the night drum sounded like a death knell.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the Gu residence as well. Who could stomach such a wedding feast? Guests quickly slipped away. Lady Gu surveyed the empty hall, the untouched dishes on more than ten tables, the glaring red coral tree, and eighty redwood chests, her rage mounting.

“That wretched Bai girl—what does she mean by this? Does she think we covet her dowry? We’re only protecting her family’s wealth; otherwise, tonight—”

“Enough!” Lord Ruyang barked, cutting her off.

Lady Gu fell silent, but her heart was unsettled.

Gu Yuanzhou’s face was grim, hands clenched under his wide robe. “I wronged her. I must go and apologize.”

Lady Gu quickly grabbed him. “Apologize for what? She’s a merchant’s daughter—she can’t bear the apology of the heir to a marquis.”

Lord Ruyang’s face darkened. “She’s now Fourth Son’s wife! Newlyweds in their bridal chamber—what reason do you have to go?”

“They can’t possibly be consummating the marriage!”

Gu Yuanzhou shouted as though his tail had been stepped on, but Lord Ruyang’s glare quickly silenced him.

His eyes were red with grievance and stubbornness. “I must apologize. If I don’t, how can I live with myself?”

Lady Gu saw his obstinacy and was both angry and distressed. She shot a dark look at the matron beside her. “Go see what Bai Huan and Fourth Young Master are doing.”

The matron understood and hurried to the bridal chamber, returning after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, her old face awkward and her expression complicated, hesitating to speak.

Lord Ruyang hated such dithering. “Out with it!”

The matron dropped to her knees in fear. “Reporting to master and madam, Fourth Young Master and Fourth Mistress are… are consummating their marriage. The wooden bed is creaking, Fourth Young Master’s voice is hoarse, but he still keeps moaning…”

Her voice grew softer, but all present heard her clearly, their faces stiffening with embarrassment.

“Impossible!” Gu Yuanzhou could bear no more, abruptly interrupting, his face pale. “Wicked servant, how dare you slander—”

Lady Gu yanked him back. “Yuanzhou, calm down!”

The matron’s face flushed. “I dare not speak falsely. They’ve called for water four times already. Fourth Mistress’s personal maid told me herself.”

A stunned silence fell.

Four times for water in less than an hour? Wasn’t that a bit too fast?

Gu Yuanzhou’s face was livid.

Lord Ruyang coughed twice. “Clear the feast quickly; important matters await.” With that, he strode out.

Lady Gu hurried to restrain Gu Yuanzhou. “Son, don’t forget tonight’s business. Prepare yourself.”

Gu Yuanzhou’s eyes were red with grievance. “I said I’d convince her to be my concubine. Mother, please speak to her—Huan’er is the softest-hearted.”

Lady Gu laughed bitterly. “My son, that wretch tore up your marriage contract in public, declared herself Fourth Young Master’s wife, and they’ve already consummated the marriage. What do you want me to say? I still have my dignity!”

Seeing her beloved son so distraught, she was both angry and pained, and even grew impatient with his stubbornness. “Now the Princess of Huai’an is interested in you. Even if you take a concubine, you must first marry the princess as your legitimate wife! Will you ruin your future for that wretch?”

She glanced around, lowered her voice soothingly. “After tonight, the Bai family will be finished. Fourth Young Master is useless, and the wretch will be at your mercy. You can do as you please—there’s no need to rush.”

“But she’s still—”

“Enough! Come to your senses! If tonight’s matter is botched, do you think that person in the palace will spare you? How will you then propose to the Princess of Huai’an?”

Lady Gu’s face hardened, unwilling to say more. She turned to the matron. “Keep watch. Under no circumstances must Bai Huan or those two Bai family girls leave the residence.”

...

Bai Huan glared at the sheep’s legs, wishing she could set them afire, turning them into wind wheels to speed their pace.

Unable to endure any longer, she leaned forward anxiously and ventured, “Sir, are you aware of my father’s situation?”

“Mm.” A drowsy voice drifted from behind the curtain.

He knew!

Fury flared in Bai Huan’s chest. A life was at stake—how could he be so indifferent!

She struggled to control her emotions. “Sir, the Bai family has made incense for a hundred years, supplying the palace for five. My father is always cautious; the incense he makes would never cause the Imperial Consort to faint. There must be something suspicious. Please investigate and save my father.”

Silence from behind the curtain.

Bai Huan twisted her sleeve anxiously, her mind racing.

Her father always taught her: too many words invite trouble.

First, her father’s misfortune in the palace, then the Bai family’s impending doom—the whole affair was shrouded in mystery. As the Imperial Incense Master, Dong Yi held their family’s fate in his hands. She didn’t know who was behind it, nor could she tell if Dong Yi was involved. After much deliberation, she dared not say more.

Instinctively, Bai Huan distanced herself from the sheep carriage.

A languid voice suddenly sounded from within: “Isn’t today your wedding with Gu Yuanzhou?”

Bai Huan bowed respectfully. “Sir, today I married Fourth Young Master of the Gu family, but out of concern for my father, I had to take this desperate measure. I am deeply grateful for your assistance.”

Fourth Young Master?

Dong Yi arched an eyebrow, but asked no further.

Bai Huan’s heart pounded. As a favored minister close to the Emperor, he knew the exact date when the Bai merchant’s daughter married?

On second thought, Dong Yi was always arrogant. Why would he kindly let her accompany him into the palace? Could he be coveting the Bai family’s heirloom and the secret ‘Twelve Heavenly Scents’? Perhaps he was one of the conspirators!

Bai Huan became wary.

Half a month ago, the Imperial Consort suddenly suffered from sleeplessness and grew increasingly frail. The Imperial Medical Institute tried everything to no avail. Someone petitioned: the incense used by the Imperial Consort came from the Bai family; if she could not sleep after using their famous ‘Twelve Heavenly Scents’, then their reputation was false, and they were guilty of deceiving the throne.

The Emperor became suspicious and summoned the Bai patriarch to the palace to make incense on the spot, declaring that if the Consort did not sleep soundly within ten days, the entire Bai clan would be executed for deceiving the sovereign.

Yet, once the Bai patriarch entered the palace, he vanished without a trace. The Bai family, desperate, scrambled everywhere for news, but all shunned them, unwilling to help.

Five days ago, Gu Yuanzhou’s mother, Lady Gu, suddenly visited the Bai residence, claiming the incense made by the Bai patriarch had caused the Imperial Consort to faint, and that disaster loomed. Lady Bai nearly collapsed from anxiety.

By rights, a simple sleeping incense should be easy to make. Her cautious father would never create something that caused fainting. Bai Huan refused to believe it.

Lady Gu said if Bai Huan married into the Gu family, she could enter the palace as a marquis’s wife to investigate. In despair, the Bai family seized even the slimmest hope, leading to Bai Huan’s hasty marriage.

But the day after the Bai family was imprisoned and their assets confiscated, the Xue family, one of the four great incense-making clans, presented the Emperor with ‘Goose Pear Chamber Incense’.

That very night, the Imperial Consort slept soundly after using it.

Bai Huan begged Gu Yuanzhou to obtain the recipe for ‘Goose Pear Chamber Incense’ from the Xue family, only to discover it was the very formula she had developed for her mother’s insomnia, based on ancient recipes, with identical proportions and techniques.

The Xue family hadn’t even bothered to change the name when they presented it, clearly aware the Bai family would be ruined, and boldly stole the formula.

Since her rebirth, Bai Huan had pondered deeply, convinced that the destruction of the Bai family was orchestrated by more than one enemy.

A tangle of mysteries spun in her mind as the sheep carriage entered the palace through the Phoenix Gate.

Bai Huan quickly pulled her skirt from her waistband, straightened her clothes, folded her hands, lowered her head and walked in small, careful steps, listening closely to the sounds around her.

Just as she entered the second gate, the night drum sounded for the hour of the Dog.

Her heart clenched.

She looked up at the sky, forcing back tears that threatened to spill.

Her father had been severely punished and was sent out of the palace!

Danger was closing in on the Bai family.