A piece of Japanese incense

The morning light was dim, and a soft glow came through the window. I opened my sleepy eyes and felt that the surroundings were unusually quiet, even the clear chirping of birds disappeared. I sat up and opened the door. A cold and fresh air blew in my face, and the scene in front of me instantly sobered me up.

The snowflakes were as light as velvet, covering every inch of the courtyard layer by layer. The branches were weighed down by the heavy snow. The roofs, corners, and stone paths were all dyed with this pure white. The world became so quiet and solemn.

I stepped out of the door, the snow under my feet made a "crunching" sound, and looking up, the sky was still scattered with snowflakes, they spun and danced in the air, and finally landed gently on this sleeping earth. At this moment, time seemed to freeze, and all things found peace and tranquility in this snow that came quietly.

The pure white snow covered the quiet study. A young eunuch in a green shirt was holding a bamboo broom, sweeping the snow in front of the door. Occasionally he would stop his work and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey! Are you new here? Why haven't I seen you before?" Yu Tuan walked up and greeted him.

"Miss Zhi!"

I looked over when I heard the voice and it turned out to be Xiao Ke, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

"Xiao Ke! I haven't seen you for a long time! I thought you were no longer working in the study!" Yu Tuan ran over excitedly and patted him on the shoulder.

Xiao Ke glared at the eunuch who was sweeping the snow, and smiled at us defiantly: "Greetings to Miss Zhi! Has Miss Zhi's condition improved?"

"It's just an inexplicable drowsiness, it's nothing serious." I answered lightly.

Just as we were greeting each other, Aban and Princess Tingzhu arrived at the upper study. I waved to them, but my eyes couldn't help but look at a eunuch behind Aban.

I have seen that person in my dream before. He is someone close to Ah-Ban, and was sent by Yi-An to monitor Ah-Ban.

Although he was wearing heavy clothes and kept his head down, so his face could not be seen clearly, there was a long and twisted scar on his right ring finger, which was a little darker than the surrounding skin.

I had never seen this person before, and I always thought that what I saw in my dream was mostly what I thought about during the day and dreamed about at night. I never expected that such a person actually existed in reality!

I couldn't wait to wink at Aban, but he avoided my gaze and walked away expressionlessly.

During class, my mind was wandering again: Why did A-Ban ignore me again? Was it because someone was watching him? But the person was behind him, so I couldn’t see his expression…

I then thought of the eunuch behind him. At that time... when he raised his head, although his eyes were slightly narrowed and seemed to be looking in my direction, he was actually not looking at me!

His gaze—is towards Xiao Ke behind me!

My scalp suddenly went numb. Yes, behind me, there was only Xiao Ke...

I went to the library early without having lunch, hoping that Aban would be able to see through my hints and come to find me.

I sat on a pile of books, the pages of my hand had not been turned for a long time. I couldn’t figure out whether those recurring dreams foreshadowed the future or misfortune?

Could it be that... I am a prophet who can predict the future? !

"Ah He! You are here." Aban came to my side quietly and squatted down.

"Aban! You ignored me this morning. Was it because of Xiao Ke behind me?"

Ah Ban was stunned for a moment: "I don't know his name."

"What about the person next to you? He was not among the people that His Royal Highness followed before!"

"He...just came here recently."

I saw him hesitate, and my eyes immediately turned fierce: "Ah Ban, tell me the truth! What is the relationship between you and my father?"

"The Prince Consort... is my current uncle..."

"What else?" I pressed on, desperate for an answer.

"I haven't had much contact with him...that's all..."

"Aban, if you don't tell me anything, then we can't be friends anymore! Don't come to see me in the future! You go your way and I go mine!"

"Ah He! Why do you say that?..."

"Okay! Let's go our separate ways now! Your Highness the Crown Prince! I'm leaving!" I clasped my hands together and made a gesture to leave.

"Ah He! How would you know..." Ah Ban held my hand, lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Great! You guys are in collusion! Tell me! What are you planning?"

Ah Ban replied awkwardly: "Ah He, please don't misunderstand me."

"Hurry up! Tell the truth!"

He hesitated for a moment before he slowly spoke: "In fact, when I was young, I had already met Master Zhi..."

"What? When? Wait! Let me guess! Was it the time when I was five years old and was tied to the mountain by the Crown Princess? Was it?"

There was a note of surprise in his voice: "How did you know?"

"But I didn't see you at that time! You didn't take me to hide in the bushes! I ran out by myself, and then my brother saved me..." I raised my hand to my temple, touching it lightly at first, then gradually increasing the strength, drawing invisible circles again and again.

"Ah He! Are you okay? Do you have a headache?"

"Tell me what's going on!"

"I couldn't bear to be away from my father for too long, so when he came to see me that day, I sneaked into his carriage. But he threw a little girl into the carriage. She cried and made a fuss at first, but she became quiet after we got to the hut.

I had been planning to save you after they left, but you escaped on your own. I was afraid of being caught and continued to be locked up by the peasant woman, so I hid in the hut again.

When I woke up, it was already daybreak. I walked out of the hut and saw Master Zhi leading a group of people approaching rapidly. He promised to help me find my father, and I returned to the capital with him. "Aban seemed to have cured his stuttering instantly, and he spoke in one breath.

"How did you and your father get into Sui Garden?"

"The Crown Princess knew that he had spared my life, so she sent assassins to take our lives. Fortunately, Master Zhi searched everywhere and helped secretly, and finally saved my father from danger. When my father recovers, we will hide in Sui Garden."

"It was my father who arranged for you to enter Suiyuan? What was his plan?"

"Lord Zhi is kind-hearted and has no ulterior motives."

"How is this possible? Why would he lend a helping hand for no reason and let your father be in charge of the royal gardens?"

"It's true, Ah He! Do you have any misunderstanding about Master Zhi?"

"So he hasn't asked you to do anything for him in all these years?"

Ah Ban shook his head, his tone as firm as iron: "Of course! I am just a poor man who has never seen the light of day. What can I do for Master Zhi?"