A piece of Japanese incense

"Oh my! Whose beautiful girl is this?" Aunt Hong turned sideways and looked at me happily with her head tilted.

I ran over and hugged her tightly, then hugged my mother, and rubbed her face affectionately.

"Oh, it's you, Fugui'er! What's that smell on you? It's so fragrant." The mother frowned and pinched her nose.

"It's the smell of this dress. It smells really nice." I lifted the hem of my skirt and turned around.

"You, you study your broken incense every day, but you don't seem to have made any progress in your studies."

"this is not me……"

"Okay, okay, wash your hands and eat." Grandma urged, "Ah Hong, have you prepared everything?"

"Everything is ready. I will go to the Imperial Examination Hall with Sister Hong after dinner." replied the mother.

"Haven't you taken the exam yet? Why go to the Imperial Examination Hall?" I asked puzzledly.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, little girl, your father has bought a house outside the Imperial Examination Hall for your brother Nian to live in. I will live in the house these few days and wait for your brother Nian to enter the Imperial Examination Hall before returning home."

"When did it happen? How come I have no idea about it?" I pouted.

"Why should I tell you? I told you to burn down the house or flood the Imperial Examination Hall!" the mother said loudly.

I was immediately silent, silently eating the bowls filled with boiled fish fillets, black bean sauce chicken, and steamed spareribs that my grandma and grandpa had put in my bowl...

"Hey! Ah He, do you have the rash again? Your neck is swollen and red!" Aunt Hong interrupted.

"I went up the mountain with my father today and was bitten by mosquitoes all over."

Aunt Hong closed her eyes, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "What season is it now? It's so cold in the mountains, and the little bugs are still sleeping. Did you eat something you shouldn't have eaten again?"

"No, I just bought a Guanghan cake and ate one piece..."

My mother put down her chopsticks, patted my hand that was scratching my neck, turned up my collar, and caressed the small bumps on my neck lovingly, then rolled up my sleeves and examined them carefully.

"Dad, it's not measles again, is it? It's the beginning of spring now, there are pollens, weeds, poplar catkins..." Mother seemed to remember something and slapped me. "Damn girl! Did you eat eggs again?"

“I didn’t eat…”

"Have you forgotten that you can't eat anything you want? What if you get acne scars..."

Grandma quickly took me into her arms and gently rubbed the place where my mother had slapped me: "Oh, He He, don't worry. Your father has checked He Bao'er's pulse as soon as he got home. It's nothing serious."

I stuck out my tongue at my mother and moved the stool towards my grandmother. “It was all when I was a kid. I haven’t grown up in so many years.”

My grandmother held me in her arms, rocking me, smiling: "Well, my big baby, we and the baby are so sweet today, so fragrant."

Grandfather's face suddenly changed. He stood up and walked to my seat. He pulled my chair away, squatted down, checked the red spots on my wrist, held my hand and put it close to his nose to smell it, and said seriously: "He He, quickly go and ask someone to boil water for He Er to bathe. Take off all your clothes and throw them into the fire."

Everyone stood up and gathered around me. Aunt Hong was busy directing everyone to prepare water, clear the plates, and deliver the food to my yard...

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

My grandfather turned over a small corner of my dress, and through the ink painting, he saw black spots.

I was startled and my scalp suddenly felt numb, and I wanted to slap it to get rid of it.

Grandfather immediately stopped me, saying, "Don't act rashly! They are still sleeping now. If you slap them carelessly, the rash will probably get worse."

Mother looked at grandpa with tears in her eyes: "Dad! What is this? Don't scare me!"

Grandfather patted my mother's shoulder and comforted her, "Hehe, it's okay. This is a 'Chun midge'. When disturbed, it will emit a scent similar to vanilla. Although it is not contagious, it will cause rashes and swellings on your body. After taking a medicinal bath with Hehe, apply some ointment, and it will go away in less than ten days."

Aunt Hong urged anxiously: "Then let's not stay here, take He Yatou back to take a bath now."

"Yes, yes, Jingmo, go and prepare the medicine quickly. Let's go to Hebao's yard now." My grandmother held my hand tightly, and my mother and Aunt Hong also followed her out in a panic.

Soaking in the bathtub, Yu Tuan cried breathlessly: "Girl, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I forgot the clothes in the yard, which attracted bugs and caused you to have a rash. If you get a scar, I... I will beat myself to death." As she said this, she was about to slap herself.

I quickly stopped her and explained, "Okay! It's not your fault, Xiaotuantuan. I've seen this kind of insect in a book. They mainly live in fruit trees and flowers, sucking the juice from the leaves and plants. Tell me, what green plants do we have in our yard? There are only a few old trees that haven't even sprouted yet."

Yutuan's eyes flickered and were filled with tears. She smiled and wiped her tears with her sleeves: "Really?! Girl! So, it's not my problem?"

"So how did these little bugs get on the girl's skirt?"

Hearing the sound, Yuyi looked and saw her holding a new dress, pulling aside the curtain, and walking in with her mother.

"It can't be... the prince consort... This dress was given to me by Guangbai himself..." Yutuan looked at me, then glanced at my mother, her voice gradually weakened, and she spoke cautiously, one word at a time.

Mother said solemnly, "No, He'er, your father will never... betray his own daughter..."

Yu Yi hesitated and said, "Then... could it be... the princess...?"

"No! Don't make blind guesses. These little bugs prefer moist and warm places. In our yard, the cold water can still freeze at night. If the clothes were left outside overnight, the bugs would have frozen to death. They must have been left in our yard early in the morning."

Mother, Yutuan and Yuyi looked at each other in confusion.

I further analyzed, "Also, the fragrance on this clothing lingers for a long time. Someone must have smoked it in a censer for at least a night to cover up the vanilla smell of insects..."

Before I could finish, Yuyi blurted out, "It was Fang Juexia! Among the girls' academy, her courtyard was the only one with a pond. When we went to her courtyard to deliver cakes last time, there were many charcoal stoves in the courtyard! I guess she was the one who secretly instructed Yutuan to steal the girl's clothes while she wasn't paying attention!"

"Yes! It must be her! She is the one who is jealous of the good relationship between the young lady and Princess Yan!" Yu Tuan was indignant.

The mother was silent, and slammed her hand on the table, breathing heavily, with veins bulging on the back of her hand and her knuckles turning white. Yutuan fell silent immediately, and Yuyi also stopped talking, not daring to say anything more.

The inner room fell silent instantly. I tossed and turned in the water, changed my position, faced my mother, and leaned over the edge of the tub. I asked tentatively, "Mom, are you angry?"

"How can there be such a child! He is so bad! Mommy went to your grandfather's place to steal medicine for you. Come back and apply it on her clothes, so that she can also experience the uncomfortable feeling of itching all over her body!"

We looked at our mother's determined eyes and couldn't help laughing out loud.