Before dawn, and with the fog still quite thick, Li Desheng only recognized who it was when he got closer. He quickly bowed and stood up before saying, "Your Highness, it is Consort De who is hungry. His Majesty specially ordered me to instruct the Imperial Kitchen to prepare breakfast early, and it is being sent to Zhengyang Palace right now!"
Huangfu Mi's face darkened even more. He truly wanted to kill someone. How could his father have become such a person, a tyrant who did whatever he wanted without considering the feelings of others, and whose mind was always on Consort De?
He clenched his fists and turned to head towards Zhengyang Palace, but at that moment, Eunuch Li stopped him.
"Your Highness, you'd better not go. The Emperor is currently enjoying himself with Consort De. If you go, you'll only anger him again, and then you'll be punished!"
“Punish me if you will, even if it means death. I cannot stand by and watch my father fall into such depravity. Li Desheng, get out of the way!”
"Your Highness!"
Li Desheng was doing this for Huangfu Mi's own good, fearing that she might cause trouble again and that it would be impossible to deal with the consequences. So even though Huangfu Mi was annoyed, she still refused to give way.
Upon seeing this, Huangfu Mi suddenly stepped forward, shoved Li Desheng aside, and started to walk away. Just then, a faint fragrance wafted past him. The scent was so familiar that it made him freeze.
He finally remembered the thought that had been lingering in his mind since being interrupted by the Empress yesterday: it was this fragrance! He had smelled the same one at the Jade Floating Pavilion! It was exactly the same fragrance as before!
His eyes widened, sweeping sharply across the crowd before landing on Li Desheng.
The gaze was filled with murderous intent, which made Li Desheng shudder. He thought that his actions had angered Huangfu Mi, so he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. However, Huangfu Mi reached out and grabbed his collar.
"You all step back!"
He gave an order to the palace maids in the imperial kitchen, then pulled Li Desheng close. Smelling the fragrance, his brows furrowed even more. "I'm asking you, what is this fragrance on you?"
Li Desheng felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, and he became even more confused. He didn't use any perfumes or cosmetics, so how could he have any fragrance?
He chuckled dryly, then symbolically raised his hand. As his sleeve swayed, he indeed caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance. His eyes widened in shock: "What...what is this smell? This servant...this servant didn't use any perfume!"
Huangfu Mi tightened his grip: "Perhaps it's not some kind of perfume. Think carefully, have you smelled this scent anywhere before?"
Upon hearing this, Li Desheng paused for a moment, pondered for a while, and then suddenly looked up: "This servant remembers now, isn't this the benzoin that was burned in Zhengyang Palace? This servant must have accidentally gotten some on myself when I went in just now."
Benzoin?
Huangfu Mi raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence! The scent that Yusheng Tower smelled was the benzoin from Zhengyang Palace. Could this be the problem?
Thinking of this, he pulled Li Desheng closer and whispered in his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Eunuch Li, do me a favor now."
--
Li Desheng returned quickly, bringing with him the incense he had stolen from the incense burner in Zhengyang Palace when the Emperor and Consort De were not paying attention. He handed it to Huangfu Mi and then hurriedly returned. Huangfu Mi, on the other hand, took the incense and went all the way back to the Heng Prince's Mansion.
"Wan'er---"
They went straight back to the room. It was still early, and Meng Wan had just gotten up. She was still half asleep when Huangfu Mi dragged her off the bed and placed her in front of the table, whereupon he opened a paper package.
"Take a sniff, does this smell familiar? Have you smelled it somewhere before?"
Perhaps it was because he had run too fast, but he felt hot all over, and even after taking off his outer clothes, he still couldn't stand it. Holding Meng Wan's hand, her hand was slightly cool, while his whole body was burning hot. At the slightest touch, a strange feeling flashed through his heart.
He hurriedly shook his head, thinking to himself that he hadn't finished his important business yet, so how could he be so distracted? He really felt like he was being blinded by lust.
Meng Wan was unaware of the turmoil in his heart at that moment. He asked her to smell the scent, so she did as he said, sitting there, opening the paper package and bending down. However, after only a slight sniff, she suddenly jumped up.
"Huangfu Mi, you scoundrel, you actually let me smell this! Tell me, what are you up to?"
Huangfu Mi was taken aback by those words, and was somewhat puzzled.
At this moment, Meng Wan glared at him fiercely, and without waiting for his explanation, she turned and walked into the inner room.
Huangfu Mi hurriedly stood up: "Hey, hey, don't go yet! Tell me, what kind of spice is this?"
His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his gaze was hazy and unfocused. Meng Wan finally noticed something was wrong and reached out to touch his forehead. It was indeed burning hot, and her face darkened even more.
"You smelled that spice? You smelled it for a long time?"
"Um."
"You don't know what that is?"
"The taste feels familiar, but I can't quite place it. Wan'er, do you know what it is?"
Meng Wan's expression darkened further. She didn't have time to pay attention to him at the moment. She turned around and wet a handkerchief, then walked up to him and carefully wiped his cheeks.
The cool touch instantly lifted Huangfu Mi's spirits, and her thoughts became much clearer.
Seeing this, Meng Wan felt a little relieved. She threw the handkerchief into the basin, then looked at him and said, "You really have no memory. That was just a fragrance mixed with datura. Where did you get that kind of weird stuff?"
Mandala?
Huangfu Mi then remembered that when Meng Junyao tried to harm Wan'er, she had poisoned her with this Datura styrax incense, intending to use it to aphrodisiac and ruin her reputation. Because it had been a long time, Huangfu Mi couldn't remember it clearly. But now that Meng Wan mentioned it, he remembered it and immediately stood up.
So, does this mean that Consort De used the datura spice to control the Emperor and make him unable to extricate himself from her?
He was utterly shocked. He never imagined that such despicable tactics would exist in the palace. What was even more infuriating was that Consort De and the Empress would actually do such a thing. What were they trying to do? Control the Emperor, and then what? You must know that a small amount of datura can be an aphrodisiac, but if used for a long time, it will not only harm the body but also lead to exhaustion and death. How dare they be so bold!
He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the table. The table shook, and the teacup shattered into pieces.
A piece of something pierced his palm squarely, and blood gushed out instantly. He seemed oblivious, his eyes blazing as he stared out the window, wishing he could tear the Empress and Consort De to pieces right then and there.
How could they be so despicable? Did they want to kill Father Emperor?
---
Upon receiving the message from the Prince of Heng's residence, Huangfu Yu rushed over without delay.
At this moment, Meng Wan was bandaging Huangfu Mi, and subtly inquired about the whole story, thus understanding why he was so angry. When Huangfu Yu arrived, she got up and gave the space to the two brothers.