“Miss He, this servant doesn’t know the Third Imperial Prince.” Su Xi-er disassociated herself from Situ Li. Then, she took the fragrance sachet and placed it near her nose to take a sniff. Although the fragrance sachet smelled nice, its contents were also mixed with safflower.
Stop reading this anywhere other than volarenovels! Don’t support theft!!
Carrying this fragrance sachet for prolonged periods will cause a woman to become sterile, causing her to have a miscarriage even if she becomes pregnant. By giving this to me, the Empress Dowager’s motives are…
She’s afraid that I will become pregnant? How ridiculous. Whose child am I going to be pregnant with?
“Is the fragrance sachet pleasant smelling? Since it has been bestowed to you, you have to wear it every day.”
Su Xi-er nodded and nimbly hung the fragrance sachet at her waist. “Many thanks to the Empress Dowager for bestowing this gift. This servant will wear it every day.”
He Ying inwardly snorted, turning around to leave. I’ll instruct Old Maidservant Zhao later to make sure Su Xi-er keeps that fragrance sachet on her every day.
After He Ying’s figure disappeared, Su Xi-er untied the fragrance sachet from her waist. The Empress Dowager is really thinking too much. However, even if I don’t plan to get pregnant, it doesn’t represent that I am willing to lose the ability to get pregnant.
Su Xi-er, recognising that she needed to replenish her strength, proceeded to polish off what was left of the roast chicken. Afterwards, she went out while carrying the fragrance sachet.
She walked to the side of the well. This fragrance sachet came at just the right time. She removed the safflower inside the bag, replacing it with medicinal herbs.
“Su Xi-er!” someone shouted.
She looked in the direction of the sound and realised that it was Hong Li.
“You have to be careful. Old Maidservant Zhao isn’t sincerely treating you well. She just promised Miss He to monitor you. There’s definitely more to this fragrance sachet. Otherwise, Miss He wouldn’t have mentioned it repeatedly.”
“Mhm. Continue to monitor,” Su Xi-er acknowledged as she plucked out the medicinal herbs.
“Why are you pulling up the wild grass?” Hong Li crouched down and observed the grass carefully.
Right at this moment, an old woman’s voice sounded. It was precisely Old Maidservant Zhao.
“Hong Li, since when has your relationship with Su Xi-er been this good?”
Right afterwards, Old Maidservant Zhao saw Su Xi-er push Hong Li.
Hong Li understood immediately. She pretended to be extremely antipathetic towards Su Xi-er. “Don’t be too caught up with yourself. With this bewitching appearance of yours, you’ll die sooner or later. Didn’t the Empress Dowager merely bestow something different to you! What are you putting airs on for?”
“If you have the capability, make the Empress Dowager bestow a completely unique fragrance sachet to you.”
Old Maidservant Zhao could hear the complacency in Su Xi-er’s tone and couldn’t help but be puzzled. The current Su Xi-er is a little stupid!
At this moment, Hong Li went to snatch the fragrance sachet again.
Patter! The fragrance sachet dropped to the ground, causing the flower petals inside to spill everywhere.
There were some fragments of red flower petals on the ground. Old Maidservant Zhao had sharp eyes, and immediately recognised the bits of red petals as safflower.
The Empress Dowager bestowed such a thing to Su Xi-er. Could it be that she suspects her of stealing her man? It can’t be that…
She kept on claiming that she has a backer, yet doesn’t clarify who it is. If a woman dares to say that, it definitely means that she has offered her body! Clearly, she thinks that whoever it is views her with importance!
Could it be that Su Xi-er has climbed into a puissant man’s bed under my very eyes?
Old Maidservant Zhao was flabbergasted by her bold conjecture. In her moment of daze, Su Xi-er had already removed the remaining pieces of safflower and exchanged them with some medicinal herbs in the fragrance sachet.
Hong Li blinked at her and lowered her voice, “Don’t forget who helped you today.”
Su Xi-er’s eyes were slightly narrowed as she smiled. “My words naturally count. However, you need to let me see your value.”
“My usefulness is immense.” Hong Li replied in a low voice. Finally, she exerted strength in both her hands and pushed Su Xi-er to the ground.
Then, she ran towards Old Maidservant Zhao. “Su Xi-er doesn’t know what’s good for her. Old Maidservant, you can’t indulge her anymore!”
Old Maidservant Zhao had a terrible headache with how cumbersome matters were. It is the Empress Dowager on one hand, and Su Xi-er who has an unknown backer on the other. I must make a choice. Being indecisive is no longer an option.
After pondering for a moment, the expression in Old Maidservant Zhao’s eyes turned ruthless. “Su Xi-er, there were numerous chamber pots sent here this morning. They are in the small woodhouse at the northwest corner of the Palace Side Quarters. Go clean them up!”
When Hong Li heard the words ‘northwest corner’ and ‘small woodhouse’, her expression changed. Su Xi-er could sense the fear in her eyes.
The chamber pots aren’t piled up there at all. I have never heard any palace maid mention that place before, and I have also never met any palace maid who has gone there before.
Despite that, the very mention of this place caused Hong Li to reveal a terrified expression. Could it be that there is some unspeakable secret hidden there?
“There’s a woodhouse at the northwest corner of the Palace Side Quarters?” Su Xi-er raised her head to look at Old Maidservant Zhao and asked.
Old Maidservant Zhao’s expression changed slightly as she flung her sleeves. “Of course there is. You just have to go and scrub all the chamber pots until they become immaculate.”
“In the past, I have always been washing at night. Although the time has now changed to day, I’ll definitely go since they are your instructions, Old Maidservant.” Su Xi-er hung the fragrance sachet at her waist before turning around and heading towards the northwest corner.
As Old Maidservant Zhao looked at the fragrance sachet at Su Xi-er’s waist, her expression was a little complicated. Why is there safflower mixed inside? It’s definitely the Empress Dowager’s intentions for He Ying to send this. Don’t tell me…
“Old Maidservant Zhao, Su Xi-er can’t tell what’s good for her. A few strikes of the plank is enough. Why is there a need to…” When Hong Li saw the coldness in Old Maidservant Zhao’s eyes, she immediately zipped her mouth.
“She brought it upon herself.” Old Maidservant Zhao’s voice was calm, her eyes directed at Hong Li in a warning look.
Hong Li trembled. Could it be that she has already seen through the collaborative relationship between Su Xi-er and me?
If she has seen through it…should I gamble that Su Xi-er will escape this calamity?
“Monitor Su Xi-er.” Old Maidservant Zhao turned to leave.
Hong Li pursed her lips tightly. I don’t want to get close to that woodhouse at the northwest corner at all. Any palace maid that has a connection to that place will die.
Since she dispatched me to monitor Su Xi-er, she must have started to become suspicious of me!
Su Xi-er walked all the way in the direction of the northwest corner. The palace maids who saw her thought that she had gone mad for her to be walking towards the northwest corner without rhyme or reason. When they saw that the direction she was walking towards was the abandoned woodhouse, everyone’s eyes involuntarily widened, giving her incredulous, terrified and multifarious looks in their eyes.
Su Xi-er paid no attention to them, instead being ever more curious about what kind of place the woodhouse was.
How exactly is that place like? What is hidden there that makes these people so afraid?
The further down the remote path she headed, the more unkempt the foliage became. Some of the plants were already taller than humans.
When she walked even further ahead, she realised that she had already reached the end of the path. Where is the woodhouse?
Could it be that the woodhouse is within the cluster of plants? With such a theory, she walked into the cluster of plants.
An old-fashioned wooden cabin entered her eyes. The sides of the wooden cabin were overgrown with weeds and there were even cobwebs hanging from its doors.
The abandoned woodhouse. Everyone was terrified when they heard of this place.
Su Xi-er walked towards the wooden cabin, pushing aside the cobwebs and opening the door before she stepped in.
A dusty old-fashioned smell assailed her nostrils. Everything in the woodhouse was covered with dust.
There weren’t many things in there. There was a shelf for placing wooden basins, a set of damaged wooden desk and stools, a rusty oil lamp as well as a cupboard in the corner.
From its appearance, it looked like a wooden cabin that had been abandoned for a long time. Apart from that, there was nothing else much that was noteworthy. However, she definitely didn’t believe that this was an ordinary woodhouse. She inspected every nook and cranny, but unfortunately, her comprehensive search was doomed to yield nothing besides more dust.
That was until she came to the cupboard in the corner and discovered that there was something below the right corner of the cupboard.
This thing is…
