A piece of Japanese incense

"Princess, please don't be unhappy. How about I tell you a joke?"

The princess was pluck- ing the leaves from the tree carelessly.

"One day a crab went out and accidentally knocked down a loach. The loach said angrily: 'Hey! Are you blind?' Guess what the crab said?"

The princess said seriously, "What did the crab say... um... what did it say?"

"The crab said: 'No, I am a crab'!"

"Hahahahahahaha! How come you're so funny!"

"Is the princess happy?"

"It's not that I'm unhappy, I just think Fang Juexia is very hypocritical. It's as if my brother and I can't exist without her family! When she was with me, she always tried to find ways to get me to take her to see my brother. Her mind was not on me at all!"

"Maybe she really likes His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." I lied.

"It's impossible for my royal brother to like her!"

"After all, there are very few people who are as beautiful, generous, smart and charming as the princess~"

"Hmph! You're just sweet-talking~"

"Where do you plan to go, Princess?"

"My grandmother tested me on my homework. She originally wanted me to memorize the text as punishment, but when she saw that I was unhappy, she told me to come to the girls' school to play with others. Hey! Where is your yard? Let's go to your yard and take a look!"

"Um... okay."

Yuyi led the way, and the princess and I returned to the courtyard.

Yu Tuan heard the door open and ran out of the house: "Miss, is the matter settled? Long live the Princess!"

"What do you want to do?" the princess turned her head and asked.

I lied, "Aren't you going to see Sister Fang? Hahaha."

Yutuan and Yuyi and I smiled at each other awkwardly.

The princess did not suspect anything and went into the house and sat down.

"Yihe, why is your yard so desolate? There is such a piece of broken land in the palace."

"I think it's okay! We have planted a lot of vegetables in the yard. Next time the princess comes, maybe she can eat the radishes and potatoes we planted ourselves."

"Growing vegetables in the garden? This is the first time I see someone growing vegetables!" The princess walked out of the room and went to the yard to look at an open space.

But after a while, someone came to tell the princess to return to the palace, and she said goodbye to us reluctantly.

At dusk, a few eunuchs came into the courtyard carrying large and small items: a red sandalwood carved crabapple embroidered screen, a red lacquer and gold-painted plum blossom tea tray, a plum-painted purple sand tea set, an enamel-painted porcelain candlestick, a mirror with a peony pattern, an ironwood carved armchair, a red lacquer peony small table...

The three of us stared blankly at the various furniture in the yard. The warm sunshine sprinkled on the earth, and the clouds in the sky were dyed golden, which made people intoxicated.

The kind-looking eunuch in the lead said in a voice as gentle as jade: "I am Lin Yuan from Guanju Palace. Princess Yan is coming back to the palace today. She mentioned that you have a lot of broken tiles and ruins here, so she must buy you some things. So our queen specifically asked us to buy some for Miss Zhi as soon as possible."

I bowed and said, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine! Thank you, Princess Yan! Thank you, Eunuch! I am deeply grateful and flattered."

"Miss Zhi is very polite! You are so lucky that you got along well with our princess as soon as you entered the palace. The queen loves her granddaughter and will not treat the princess's friends badly."

I smiled and bowed, then glanced down at Yutuan. Yutuan went back to the house, got a gold cake, and quietly put it into Eunuch Lin's hand.

"Please excuse me for making this trip. Thank you for your trouble. I am young and do not know the etiquette or the rules. Please take care of me in the future."

Eunuch Lin was delighted and put it in his arms.

Then I took another silver ingot and put it in Eunuch Lin's hand, and said in a sincere tone: "All the eunuchs have worked hard, and I would like to thank you all. It's just a small profit, please accept it as tea money!"

Everyone's eyes met and they looked at each other in surprise.

Eunuch Lin took the silver and said with a smile: "Miss Zhi is kind and righteous. We are grateful for her kindness!"

"Thank you Miss Zhi!" The courtyard was in an uproar. Yu Tuan and Yu Yi directed everyone to move the old furniture out of the courtyard and put in the new furniture, where to put the cabinets in the house, where to put the screens... They were busy.

After everyone had finally left, Yutuan Yuyi slumped down on the new chair, stroking the intricately carved table, feeling filled with emotion.

"Girl, this Princess Yan is really amazing! She only came to our courtyard once, and she gave us so many gifts!"

"Yes! He is not as willful and capricious as the rumors say! He even listened to me patiently talking about the seedlings in the field..."

"Oh! I have bribed you, haven't I? I heard you say that you grow vegetables because the princess finds it novel! For her, sending her furniture is just a matter of words! Don't forget, I am the tutor of Princess Tingzhu!"

Yu Tuan retorted: "She never cared about us! When we were short of food and charcoal, she never sent anyone to deliver it to us!"

I curled my lips and said, "Isn't it because of Princess Yan that we have no food to eat and no charcoal to burn?"

"I think what Yu Tuan said makes sense, young lady. Princess Tingzhu is weak and can barely take care of herself, so how can she take care of us? Young lady, you are not even old enough yet, and you will have to stay in this palace for at least two years. It's always good to have someone to lean on."

"No matter what, Princess Tingzhu is still the daughter of the crown prince, and she will be a princess in the future! She has a noble status. I am not the daughter of a minister or a daughter of a marquis. You know, given my temper, I will get into trouble sooner or later. My father is unreliable. If I really offend anyone in this palace, I will be grateful if I don't implicate my mother and grandfather. I don't want to get involved with anyone. I just want to live a stable life and don't want to get involved with others too much."

"My dear girl, there is no one in the world who can please everyone!" Yuyi fetched a basin of water and wiped the new furniture.

Yu Tuan also took a rag and soaked it in water: "That's right! It's still uncertain who will be the emperor. What if the current Prince Yun..."

"Yutuan!" Yuyi and I said in unison.

Yu Tuan tightened her mouth, stared with big eyes and muttered softly: "Isn't this just an analogy~"

"How dare you say such a thing? You really want to kill the girl!"

I held my chin, leaned on the table to weigh it, blinked my eyes and said, "Yutuan Yuyi, I think we should find a way to leave the palace as soon as possible."

The two of them put down the rags in their hands, came to the table, and asked in surprise: "Girl, are you homesick?"

"It's almost Qingming Festival. We can go out of the palace to celebrate Master Nian's birthday and fly kites..."

"I mean I don't want to be a study partner anymore. It's annoying."

"Ah?! That won't do! This is the emperor's choice. As long as the princess doesn't get married, the girl will always be with the princess!"

"I don't want to do this anymore. There are also people who quit their jobs."

"What nonsense is the girl talking about again?"

"Hey~ I can't explain it to you! Well, you can also ask around to see if there are any flowers or plants in this palace that you can't see outside."

"Girl, are you going to fiddle with your incense again?"

"Don't you know? After all these years, it has become a girl's obsession. Who would remember the smell of it that she smelled once when she was a child?"

"Stop talking too much nonsense. Just look for it if the girl asks us to."

"After you finished speaking, you complain that I'm being long-winded!"

……

I smiled indifferently.

(If I can’t find the raw materials for the incense in this palace, then I may not be able to go back. If I really can’t go back, then I really can’t stay in this palace anymore. I have to think of a reason to retreat.)

"Oh, right! Girl, the clothes you gave me this afternoon! They were almost discovered when I was moving the closet."

(I almost forgot. I'm going to Wenyuan Pavilion early tomorrow morning. I should be able to finish reading all the medical books in one morning. Didn't the TV talk about fake death drugs and breath-holding pills? I might as well get some and try them. Hahaha. I'm a little excited just thinking about it.)

"Well! Tomorrow is the ten-day holiday. My little grandson and I will go to Wenyuan Pavilion early in the morning. You don't have to follow us!"