A piece of Japanese incense

Feng Zhixu said leisurely, "Yes! You brought me an orange. I had never seen an orange with skin on. I took the orange and bit it. The orange with skin on was bitter and astringent. I spat out sour water in my mouth. You laughed at me for not knowing how to peel the skin. You are really a rich young master who just opens his mouth to eat and stretches out his hands to wear clothes."

"Didn't I pick it up for you and skin it for you? You can't hate me anymore~"

"Yeah! So I don't hate you anymore~ Instead, I'm grateful to you."

"Thank me for what?"

"At that time, you gently spread your handkerchief across my palm, delicately wiped off the white silk on the surface of the orange, and placed the peeled orange in my palm, along with the jasmine bracelet on your wrist. The faint scent of jasmine mixed with the fragrance of orange peel was deeply imprinted in my heart."

"That's it? Hey ~ What's there to thank for? Haha!" I waved my hands.

"Aren't you curious about my story?"

I put my hands together and raised them up, letting him continue.

"I asked you for the bracelet, but you refused to give it to me, saying that your brother had made it for you. I had no choice but to exchange the fan with you."

(The fan? I have no idea. I probably sold it or gave it away.)

"After I said goodbye to you in a hurry, my mother found me and kept sobbing. She blamed me for being heartless and not being able to see my grandfather for the last time. I did whatever I wanted and didn't care about him. Just when I was at a loss, my mother saw the bracelet in my hand and burst into tears. She thought I ran away to make a bracelet for my grandfather. She blamed herself for never paying full attention to me. Since then, she stayed in the East Palace and rarely went out. Everyone said that she was a gift, but I was the only one who knew her difficulties and tenacity."

I leaned against the bookshelf, put my hand on my forehead, and sighed deeply.

"I sent people to look for you for a long time. It wasn't until last year's Flower Festival when I went to the western suburbs of Ziheng to enjoy the flowers that I saw you arguing with a woman. I recognized it was you. I found you, but you didn't recognize me at all. You took your brother and passed me by. You really have a bad memory!"

"Oh! No wonder I felt that Your Highness was so kind, it turns out we have known each other since childhood!" I patted Feng Zhixu's shoulder and smiled.

"I was so happy when I found out that you were Tingzhu's study partner."

At this moment, I finally let go of my worries about him and smiled.

I finally finished reading the last book "Flowers and Herbs". My eyes were sore, so I stood up, twisted my hips, made a cup of fragrant tea, and looked down from the second-floor window. An old man was lying in a rocking chair, basking in the warm sunshine, his hands folded on his knees, and a kitten curled up in the blanket in his arms. The sunlight gave its soft fur a golden color.

The afternoon sun is always so warm and bright.

"This old man Li is really a cat lover. A few years ago, he only had three cats, but now it feels like the whole pavilion is full of cats."

"Aren't you afraid of sneaking into the library and damaging the treasures?"

"Poisonous star anise is placed everywhere in the library and bookcases, and seven-mile incense is burned every day to fumigate insects. Not to mention cats, there won't even be small flying insects within a few miles in the summer."

"So amazing! What is 'poisonous star anise'? And what is 'seven-mile fragrance'?"

"I'm not sure either. Old man Li told me. Maybe it involves rue, fish stones, or something like that. He just researched it on his own."

"So, he can also make incense?"

"Of course, this Wenyuan Pavilion was built under the supervision of old man Li when the late emperor was still alive, and it was not completed until the fourth year of Zhaoding. Just like this water, it is not a stagnant pool of water, but a canal outside the city. Once a fire breaks out, there is an endless supply of water to put out the fire. These stones and bridges are all very particular, otherwise why would the emperor leave him alone to guard Wenyuan Pavilion!"

I can't help but sigh, this palace is full of talented people, and everyone is very wise!

Suddenly, my stomach growled.

Feng Zhixu cleared his throat; "I'm hungry too, let's go back!"

“I haven’t even finished watching it yet.”

"This library has at least tens of thousands of books. We have a long way to go. Let's go." Feng Zhixu pushed me downstairs.

"Will you not be discovered if you go out now?"

"If you lower your head and your hat, no one will notice~"

Just left Wenyuan Pavilion.

"With my sister, what a coincidence!"

I was shocked and looked up in surprise. Zhi Siqi?

"Hi! You're here to read a book too, what a coincidence! Loving to read is a good thing!"

"Sister and I are dressed like this, are you having a secret meeting with Brother Zhixu here?"

His sharp eyes fell on me in an instant.

I rolled my eyes and poked his forehead with my index finger. "You are so young, do you know what a secret meeting is? I am just here to read books. Isn't it because women are not allowed to enter this library?"

Zhi Siqi dodged me, his brows furrowed, and a hint of barely perceptible disgust flashed in his eyes.

"Hey! What's that look on your face?"

"You and your sister ignored the palace rules. I will tell father and let him scold you!"

I sneered and said "tsk" with disdain.

"What are you tutting about?"

"You little brat, you still know how to complain!" He shrugged nonchalantly and turned to leave.

Zhi Siqi grabbed the corner of my clothes and shouted, "You are not allowed to leave. Come with me to see my father!"

Feng Zhixu quickly covered his mouth and said in a low voice: "Xiao Qi, stop making trouble. Brother Zhiqi will bring you something fun next time he leaves the palace."

Zhi Siqi made a "woooo" sound, broke free from Feng Zhixu, and ran away pulling me.

"You little brat, what on earth are you doing!"

"Zhi Yihe! Don't I have a name?" Zhi Siqi stopped, anger showing on his face. "I just want to let my father see what kind of grass and wood you are!"

I tilted my head, dragged my voice, and said slowly: "Zhi Siqi, are you jealous of your sister?"

"You are so funny. I am the only grandson of the current emperor, the only son of the princess, and the only legitimate eldest son of my father. Who would not care about you?"

I forced myself to stop laughing and said calmly, "Hey, hey, hey, then why are you so anxious to drag me to see my father now?"

Just as Zhi Siqi was about to speak, Feng Zhixu came over, hugged him and turned his back, "Xiao Qi, let me take you back to the palace. By the way, did you memorize what the teacher asked you to recite yesterday? Do you know what you are going to learn tomorrow..." Zhi Siqi kept turning his head, but was pushed back by Feng Zhixu. Feng Zhixu waved his hand and signaled with his eyes that I should leave quickly.

I nodded, smiled, and returned to the girls' school.

Yutuan and Yuyi were basking in the sun in the yard, muttering to themselves, "It would be nice if there was a reclining chair in the yard, and a kitten. No, we need three rocking chairs, and we can sit in a circle with a small table in the middle, cracking melon seeds, chatting, and drinking afternoon tea. Oh, life is so nourishing! ~"

"What are you standing there grinning at, girl?"

"What happy thing happened to the girl?"

"I'm hungry and want to eat."

"A young eunuch named Duan Qing brought us golden shortbread today! He said that Eunuch Ming'en asked him to deliver food to us from now on."

My eyes lit up and I trotted into the house.

As soon as I opened the food box, the aroma of the baked golden shortbread filled the air. I smelled it and broke each piece of the shortbread one by one. The crispy outer layer was wrapped with the sweet filling. I took a bite and the crispy and soft taste was intertwined. It was so delicious!

Picking up the other half of the cake and preparing to eat, Yu Tuan said, "Xiao Duan said that in the future, if the young lady wants to eat anything, just ask and he will bring it to her."

I asked back, "Does he know that he took the wrong lunch box?"

Yu Tuan shook his head, "Who knows if he knows."

"So what did you ask him? Did you say anything?"

"No. We have to pretend we know nothing. I'm not stupid~"

I patted Yutuan's head and gave him a thumbs up in approval.