A Strange Fragrance
The seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, put on a stern face and asked this question. Feng Fen Dai’s glib tongue really could not say a word. Fen Dai was a person that had no brain and a bad mouth, and her personality was direct and was especially bad at making turns. If she hated someone, she could insult someone so badly that their grandparents would not recognize them. Even if the Emperor was present, like earlier in the medical tent, she would even dare to say a few words from time to time. She still dared to cause a commotion.
But even if this person had no brain, she was still a girl. The reactions controlled by her heart was still there. When she faced Xuan Tian Hua, she really wanted to be unaffected by his face, and she wanted to say whatever she was going to say. She even suspected that Xuan Tian Hua was just playing along with Xiang Rong’s little act, but when Xuan Tian Hua looked toward her with his deity-like face, Fen Dai immediately became mute. The words became stuck in her throat, and not a single word could get out. There was this feeling that if she actually said those things, it would be blaspheming a deity, and she would be struck down by lightning!
A single sentence from Xuan Tian Hua had left Feng Fen Dai frozen in place. Following this, he pulled along Xiang Rong and called Feng Yu Heng. The three then headed in the direction of the imperial tent. Only when the three had gone quite far away did Fen Dai finally manage to regain her composure. She could not help but pat her chest and say with some unhappiness: “How could you have this sort of brother? He is not at all like the other princes.”
There was nothing that the fifth prince could do. He could do nothing about Xuan Tian Hua, and he was even more powerless against Fen Dai. He could only sigh and say: “Nine brothers have nine different birth mothers. Which of them is similar? You also need to change your temper. Although I can protect you here and there, you also know my position in Father Emperor’s heart. I fear that if you caused a big problem, I could not protect you.”
Feng Fen Dai was left with a belly full of anger by Xuan Tian Hua. Now, she had finally found a place to vent it, as she began shouting at the fifth prince, “Position? What position? You are also one of the Emperor’s children. Why is your position different? The central palace does not have a child. Speaking of, all of the princes are born of concubines. What are you any lower than them for? Why do you not compete with them? You’re just weak!”
Xuan Tian Yi had been thoroughly cussed out by her, as his face alternated between red and white. Glaring at Feng Fen Dai, he really thought of sending the girl back to the capital. But after thinking a bit, what part of what Fen Dai had said was not the truth? Indeed, all the princes were born of concubines. Where was he any worse than the other princes? It was just that matter from that time that caused a knot in the Emperor’s heart, but at the same time, there was a new knot in his heart. It was this very knot that made him so tolerant of Feng Fen Dai. He could always think of her appearance when she wore the white crystal, and he was always able to recall that she had learned that beautiful snow dance for his sake… At one point, he thought that he would never again see that snow dance. At that moment, he practically thought that that person had been reincarnated. From that moment, that image continued to linger inside his mind. It was such that regardless of how excessive Feng Fen Dai was being, he felt that he could forgive. He even felt that it was that person coming back to settle a debt with him. He placed all of the feelings of guilt that he felt toward that imperial concubine on Fen Dai. He just hoped that by doing this, it would be a sort of anesthetic for himself.
Xuan Tian Yi sighed and went to grab Fen Dai, gently consoling her: “Don’t keep causing a fuss. In this life, things are pre-determined. However much joy is allotted is based on karmic reward. I have never thought about those things unrelated to me, and I hope that you won’t think about them either. If you are good, we will live our lives. Whether the Feng family is good or not is all temporary. When you have become of age, and you marry me, no matter how worthless the Li Palace might be, I can give you a good family. I will not marry anyone else, and nobody will cause you vexation. The entire palace will do as you say. Isn’t this quite good?”
Xuan Tian Yi spoke sincerely, and his voice even carried a bit of a pleading tone. Heavens knew that every time Fen Dai flipped out, his head would begin to hurt. Fearing that this girl would offend someone, and they would not relent, when that time came, how could a prince that did not have any favor protect her?
But Feng Fen Dai did not think this way. The more Xuan Tian Yi spoke subserviently, the smugger she became. She even became certain that Xuan Tian Yi was just weak. He was just weak and did not want to let her live a good life. Ever since she had obtained this engagement to the fifth prince, Feng Fen Dai was becoming more and more ambitious. At this moment, she even dared to take a step forward and lower her voice to say to Xuan Tian Yi: “Why do you not think about it. You also have a claim to that throne! Everyone is on the same level, so why is it that they can compete for it, yet you can’t? A grown man should not strive for mediocrity. He should strive for an even better future! You keep saying that you love me, but I want to be the noblest woman in the world, yet can you provide that?”
Feng Fen Dai’s words were like a charm. Each and every word struck at Xuan Tian Yi’s heart. There was even a moment when he felt as if he had become enchanted and felt that Fen Dai was reasonable. He felt that he had had enough with being tolerant. But in the end, he quickly sobered up and forcefully grabbed Fen Dai’s hand. The pain caused Fen Dai’s face to contort, as she heard Xuan Tian Yi say: “Put away your wild and unrealistic thoughts. I am warning you that there are some thoughts that you can think and some things that you can say, but if you want to use your life to have some fun with saying these things, don’t drag me down with you. I still have no desire to die with you so soon!” After saying this, he slightly relaxed his grip on her hand. Feeling a bit distressed, he gently rubbed it a bit then pleadingly said: “Fen Dai, listen to me. I won’t cause you any harm.”
Feng Fen Dai looked at Xuan Tian Yi blankly. For a while, she did not know what she should say. She just felt a number of emotions swirling inside her chest, and she did not know how to express them. But she had noticed the dazed look on Xuan Tian Yi after she had just finished speaking earlier. As a result, some hope appeared in her heart, as she developed a plan to convince him over a long period of time…
Inside the imperial tent, the Emperor was advised by Zhang Yuan to rest. With this sort of thing happening, there were not many people in the mood to attend the evening banquet, thus the fourth prince, who had returned from his ride, was told to act as a substitute and present food to the people that went.
Feng Yu Heng, Xuan Tian Hua and Xiang Rong sat next to Xuan Fei Yu’s bed. The child was sleeping, and who knew what sort of dream he was having, as he was not sleeping very peacefully.
Xiang Rong remained there and sat for a while. Feng Yu Heng did not speak nor pay any attention to her. Xuan Tian Hua only said to her to sit for a while to avoid being suspected and did not say anything else. Xiang Rong felt a bit awkward. She felt that she could neither leave nor stay. Gradually, her gaze moved toward Xuan Tian Hua. One glance at a time, it finally caused Xuan Tian Hua to turn his head and quietly ask her: “What is it?”
She shook her head and looked down. At this time, Feng Yu Heng spoke up: “Last night, someone sent a heater to my tent. They said that it was the Lu family’s young miss that sent it, but I asked the Lu family’s young miss about it, and she said that she did not send anything to me. Also, on the way to the hunting ground, a wheel suddenly fell off of Tian Ge’s carriage. I checked it, and it was damaged by someone. Today, the imperial guards outside my tent were lured away for no reason, and one went missing. The little white tiger was placed in the forest and injured Fei Yu… Seventh Brother, say, are these things all just coincidences?”
Xuan Tian Hua tightly furrowed his brow, and even Xiang Rong was extremely shocked. She knew about the imperial carriage, but that sort of thing also happened last night? She looked at Feng Yu Heng with a concerned look and met with her second sister’s gaze. She saw Feng Yu Heng smile at her and quietly say: “Don’t worry. Just solve the problems that pop up. What’s most fearsome is an enemy that stays hidden while amassing power. That sort of wait, panic and torment was the most difficult to bear.”
Xiang Rong nodded. Over the years of following Feng Yu Heng, she felt that she herself had grown quite a bit. She had also become a bit stronger. It was such that she now knew how to analyze things when she would have just cried in the past. “Second Sister.” She used a small voice to respond, “There’s no need to worry about me. Xiang Rong is able to protect herself.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded and finally turned her gaze to Xuan Tian Hua and asked him: “What does Seventh Brother think of this matter?”
Xuan Tian Hua told her: “It definitely is not a coincidence. At present, we still cannot be certain whether or not it was perpetrated by the same person.” As he spoke, he suddenly paused and sniffled. He then asked Feng Yu Heng, “Do you smell a unique smell?”
Once he said this, Xiang Rong also chimed in, “It’s a fragrance, but it does not seem like a fragrance. It’s very odd.”
Xuan Tian Hua told her: “It’s a fragrance that men will use, but it’s not for the sake of improving one’s smell. Instead, it’s to hide one’s body odor. Especially for the soldiers of the army, who sweat a lot, they will use this sort of thing to cover their smell. They will even put it in the baths and soak in it.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “I smelled it earlier in the medical tent, but I did not mind it too much, as I was busy with treating Fei Yu’s injury. Now, it seems that this smell is coming from Fei Yu, but what would a young child like Fei Yu use that fragrance for? His Highness the Eldest Prince? No, I when I passed by His Highness the Eldest Prince, I did not smell it.” She thought a bit more and continued: “This sort of smell can also be noticed coming from some imperial guards. It’s because of this that I did not pay too much attention to it. There are imperial guards everywhere in this hunting ground. Fei Yu is a boy and will often play with them. It’s inevitable that some of the smell would rub off on him.”
When she thought about it like this, she felt a bit unreconciled and felt that the smell should not be so simple, but what was the connection with this matter?
At this time, Xuan Tian Hua said: “Where’s your little white tiger? Bring it inside.”
Wang Chuan quickly said: “Just now, this servant had Huang Quan bring the little white tiger back. In the end, this is the imperial tent. This servant was worried about the chance that it might hurt the Emperor.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “You’ve done well. Go and bring Xiao Bai over.” Only then did Wang Chuan nod and go out. Not long later, the little white tiger and Huang Quan were brought back to the tent.
Xuan Tian Hua received the little white tiger and took a look. Holding it in both hands, he carefully drew closer to Xuan Fei Yu…
Everyone watched this scene and saw the little tiger gradually get closer. At first, it was dazed and did not know what was happening. It did not even understand what Xuan Tian Hua was doing, as it looked at Feng Yu Heng with a bit of a worried look. After getting a little closer, it began to turn its attention toward Xuan Fei Yu, and its gaze began to focus. Slowly, a fierce look appeared in its eyes. Following this, its entire face began to turn cold, as it continued to swipe at Xuan Fei Yu with its front legs. It looked as if it was going to fight with Xuan Fei Yu to the death.
Xuan Tian Hua carried the little tiger further away and handed it to Huang Quan. The people in the tent then exchanged glances, as Feng Yu Heng coldly said: “It’s the smell. It can cause it to become violent.”