A piece of Japanese incense

At dawn, the delicate sunlight is like the brushstrokes of a painter, shining through the gaps in the willow branches, sprinkling on the bluestone path, drawing a golden road.

I got up early and put on the colorful silk threads woven by Yuyi. Mugwort and calamus were hung in front of every door. The air was filled with a faint medicinal fragrance, which seemed to wash away a year's fatigue and dust.

Today, I will go to the palace with my grandfather to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. The last time I went home, I thought that it was because of me that my grandfather had not tasted his meal and was uneasy, so I rushed over with trepidation, only to find out that it was my mother who had angered my grandfather, causing him to ignore her for days.

I couldn't help but wonder what my mother had done to cause her to suffer such a long period of indifference from my grandfather.

A few days passed, but I still didn't see my grandfather smile at her. Today is a festival, and I discussed with my grandmother that we hope to go home as soon as possible after the palace banquet, so that the whole family can sit in the yard, light wormwood together, and make rice dumplings~

The palace servants were busy preparing for various celebrations. Colorful silk threads were woven into exquisite rice dumplings, which were hung under the eaves of the palace, swaying in the wind.

The palace maids held calamus and mugwort in their hands and moved among the crowd, tying sachets of perfume to each guest to symbolize the warding off of evil spirits and epidemics.

A eunuch holding a whisk led my grandfather and I into the main hall.

Inside the magnificent hall, colorful brocade curtains were hung between the carved beams and painted buildings. On the jade-paved floor, a red carpet embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns extended all the way to under the main seat.

On both sides of the banquet hall, palace maids were moving around like flowing water, wearing silk and satin, wearing pearls and jade on their heads, holding silver plates with all kinds of delicacies and fragrance. They were skilled and graceful, pouring wine and serving dishes to the guests.

The musicians played melodious string music in the corner, the melody was elegant and matched the atmosphere of the banquet. The wine glasses were filled with fine liquor, and laughter and joy could be heard throughout the feast.

Although I had lived in the palace for a short period of time before, it was my first time to attend a palace banquet, and everything was new to me.

Civil and military officials took their seats one after another. Their clothes were colorful and embroidered with the insignia of their official titles.

My grandfather and I were assigned to sit at the seats closest to the door. Everyone who came in had to pass in front of me. I even felt that the tea in my cup was stained with dust.

My grandfather remained seated in a dignified posture throughout the entire process, and while other guests stood up to greet each other, my grandfather ignored them.

I quickly tasted all the delicacies on the table, then looked around boredly to kill time.

Most of the heavyweights have not appeared yet, and the only person who is relatively familiar to everyone, Princess Qi, is already sitting in a slightly forward position.

Her brows were furrowed, her lips were slightly pale, and her hands were protecting her abdomen. She seemed to be enduring unspeakable pain and looked extremely haggard.

After obtaining my grandfather's permission, I walked quickly towards Princess Qi.

"Princess Qi, long time no see! I see you don't look well, are you feeling unwell?"

She tightly grasped the jade pendant on her abdomen and said in a weak voice: "No... I don't know what happened... I felt very uncomfortable when I woke up this morning..."

I grabbed her wrist, her pulse was fast and slightly dry, and she was pinching her waist. An idea flashed through my mind, so I gently touched her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Are you having your period?

Princess Qi stared at me blankly: "What?"

I thought that Princess Qi had lost her mother at a young age, and probably no one had taught her about menstruation, so I was planning to take her to a secluded place to teach her this necessary common sense.

However, to my surprise, the cushion and the hem of her skirt were inadvertently stained with a faint trace of red.

"Ah! What is this?! I..."

In a panic, I eagerly held down her body as she tried to get up, and said in a low voice, "It's okay! Princess, please don't panic! This is normal! I often do this, Princess, please rest assured!"

I didn't know where her maids had gone. I had no choice but to call Yuyi and Yutuan and whisper them to them what had happened.

Yuyi quickly took out a moon-white embroidered cape and said softly, "Luckily Yuzhu was lazy and didn't clean up the carriage, so this cape was left behind!"

I sighed helplessly: "Oh no, I'll just have to make do with it for now!" I took the cloak and carefully put it around the princess.

After waiting for a long time, Yu Tuan waved outside the hall to signal us to go out.

Yuyi stuffed the cushion into her cloak, and we carefully protected the princess and quickly walked out of the hall.

Yu Tuan said, "Miss, I found a vacant bedroom in the back hall. You can go there and rest for a while. I haven't found anyone from Jiuqu Pavilion either, so I'll go get some clothes for the princess!"

Princess Qi was in so much pain that she couldn't straighten her back. She spoke weakly, "Thank you... so much..."

We hurried to the vacant bedroom. Yu Yi was guarding outside the door. As soon as Princess Qi entered, she covered her stomach and lay down on the couch.

I sighed lightly, shook my head, and told the princess that she was having her period...

The princess blushed at what I said, lowered her head slightly, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if to say "stop talking".

Suddenly, I smelled a sweet scent in the house and felt a slight burning sensation on my body. Confused, I searched the whole house but couldn't find the source of the fragrance.

I turned around and realized that the fragrance came from two aromatherapy balls hanging in the sleeping tent.

I took a deep breath. "Pooh! Pooh! Cough, cough, cough!"

He quickly slapped himself twice and quickly opened the window to ventilate and dissipate the smell.

"Miss Zhi, what happened?" Princess Qi turned sideways and looked at me.

I hurriedly poured water from the teapot and extinguished the aromatherapy bulb, while frantically fanning with my hands to dispel the scent: "Ambergris! Princess, cover your nose! Don't smell it!"

Princess Qi quickly covered her mouth and nose: "What is that?"

"It's aphrodisiac! Have we accidentally entered a secret base? Is this the bedroom of His Majesty's concubines?"

"Don't talk nonsense! This is a side hall, it has always been... uninhabited..."

I touched the teapot and was even more confused: "The tea is still hot. Did we really come to the wrong place?"

We both became confused and wished we could disappear from this strange place immediately.

After much anticipation, Yutuan finally came back.

Yuyi was busy changing clothes for Princess Qi, while I was mumbling beside her like Tang Monk chanting sutras.

When we returned, the palace was almost full of people, except for His Majesty, the Queen and the Imperial Concubine.

When Feng Zhixu saw me sitting down, he greeted me from a distance and ran towards me: "Ah He! Are you well? Why don't you come back to the palace?"