The princess regretted it.

Hearing Jiaoyu's cold snort, Doctor Fang's face shrugged. He carefully put away the silver needle, and then carefully put the ginseng in his hand back into the box and covered it.

He then picked up another box of bird's nests. The nest was crescent-shaped, white as cream, and the down had been picked clean. While it wasn't a blood swallow, given Concubine Zhang's former favor and the Zhang family's wealth, it was unlikely that something that had entered the Wuqiu Palace and Jiaoyu Palace would be a common sight. Even the appearance of this bird's nest was exceptional.

Doctor Fang scooped up a small amount of crumbs with a silver spoon and sniffed it—aside from the faint scent of egg white, nothing unusual. He then ground the crumbs between his fingers, finding them as fine as dust. He then took a small bowl of water and dissolved the crumbs in it. The water was clear, free of any impurities.

"It's done." He said as he put the bird's nest in his hand into the box and looked at the next box.

Princess Jiaoyu watched Doctor Fang's every move with a cold glance, her eyelashes casting a chilling shadow. Jin An's slender fingers slowly traced circles on the heater, his gaze occasionally flicking to Jiaoyu. Although her expression was cold and sullen, she didn't show any signs of nervousness or guilt.

In fact, Jin An knew it clearly in his mind. If he were to follow his previous delicate personality, even if he wanted to do something shady, he would not choose to tamper with these gifts, as it would be too easy for people to find fault with him.

But things were different now. Jiaoyu had been through a lot recently, and no one could guarantee she wouldn't act in the opposite direction. Furthermore, Concubine Chun nearly caused two deaths, and the person behind it hadn't been found yet, which showed how well hidden they were. There was no guarantee someone would use Jiaoyu to cause trouble. How many people in the harem were simple-minded? Anyone could be a knife, anyone could be a target.

"What's wrong? Did Doctor Fang find anything wrong?" Jiaoyu asked coldly and impatiently.

After hearing the question, Doctor Fang sealed the box he had examined and handed it to Nanny Su. He then turned and bowed to Jiaoyu and Jin'an in turn, saying, "Your Highnesses, these ginseng and bird's nest are both rare treasures and there is nothing unusual about them."

"Heh!" Jiaoyu chuckled sarcastically, her eyes darting towards Jin'an. "Is your Royal Sister relieved? You don't think I've fallen so low that I'd have to mix in some shoddy presents, do you?"

Jin An smiled faintly, and instead of answering Jiao Yu's question, he looked at Doctor Fang and raised his chin, "Doctor Fang, haven't you checked these fabrics yet?"

Jiaoyu gritted her teeth in anger, her eyes piercing with coldness as she looked at Jin'an. Her fingers tightened around the heater, causing her armor to scrape against it softly. When Jin'an looked up, she quickly lowered her eyes, her long lashes masking the chill in them. She said coldly, "Doctor Fang! Look carefully! Don't miss anything 'wrong'." She emphasized the word "wrong" with particular emphasis.

Doctor Fang didn't dare delay. He reached for the topmost piece of brocade, woven with a picture of hundreds of descendants. Gold and silver threads interwoven, it felt as smooth as flowing water, the stitching so fine that even a needle couldn't find a mistake. He nodded with satisfaction and was about to return it to the box when a faint aroma suddenly lingered at his nose—not incense, not floral, but rather the subtle scent of some herbal spice mixed with incense, so thin that it would be easily missed.

Doctor Fang's fingertips paused on the brocade, his brows furrowed. He brought the brocade to his nose, closed his eyes, and sniffed carefully. The aroma became clearer, mingling with a hint of sweet, plant-based aroma, and perhaps a subtle fishy odor. It was exactly like... He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking suddenly—the sweet fragrance was tinged with a slight bitterness, which seemed to be the unique flavor of oleander.

He put down the brocade in his hand, examined it carefully, and sniffed the remaining pieces of brocade. As expected, they all had the same fragrance.

"What's wrong?" Jin An saw Doctor Fang's actions clearly and asked at the right moment, "Is there anything wrong?"

Jiaoyu looked at Doctor Fang with a touch of unease. Xiangcao had secretly taken these pieces of cloth from her mother a few days ago; she had kept them in her own storeroom and only brought them out today. Could it be that her mother had done something secret? Why didn't she let her know? If there really was something wrong, she would be in danger of escaping her father's wrath.

No! I must not admit it! Jiaoyu made a secret decision in her heart. She tried hard to suppress the uneasiness in her heart, frowned, and said impatiently: "It's just a few pieces of cloth, what's wrong with it?"

Doctor Fang put all the cloths away and said carefully, "Princess, this brocade and these silks seem to have been fumigated with incense."

"Incense? What's so strange about that?" Jiaoyu felt a little relieved upon hearing this, and asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Doctor Fang, do you think you can't find anything and want to use this fragrance to make a fuss?"

"Doctor Fang, do you think there is anything wrong with this incense?" Jin An asked softly.

"It's just incense, what's wrong with that?" Before Doctor Fang could reply, Jiaoyu couldn't help but speak up. "Maybe it was the craftsman's process during production? Or maybe it was fumigated by the Imperial Household Department when it was presented to the palace? Or maybe it was picked up by other fragrant things in the storeroom."

"Princess, you don't know," Doctor Fang said slowly after bowing, "Ordinary people can use this kind of incense without any problem. However, when preparing incense, many medicinal herbs are used, and it is possible that some of them may be harmful to women in labor. Concubine Chun has just given birth and is still relatively weak, so it is best not to come into contact with them for the time being. Moreover, the Fourth Prince is a newborn baby, so he must not be exposed to incense."

"In that case, let's hand these brocades over to Doctor Fang to carefully examine what kind of incense this is. Is it harmful?" After saying this, Jin An turned to Jiao Yu and said, "I hope my sister doesn't mind this arrangement. After all, this concerns the safety of our father's favorite concubine and the prince. It's always better to be cautious."

"What do we need to be cautious about?" A voice sounded at this time. Everyone stood up and faced the source of the voice, bowing in unison. The voice came from the door of the inner room. The emperor's grandson Hongze had walked out of the inner room at some point.

The emperor raised his hand and said, "Stand up!" He walked towards the crowd. He walked to the main seat, lifted his robe and sat down, then waved his hand to the crowd, "Everyone, sit down."

Jin'an and Jiao Yufu sat back in their seats. Nanny Su put the brocade box aside and hurried downstairs to make tea.

"What are you talking about? Has the matter been found out?" the emperor asked slowly.

"Find out?" Jiaoyu was startled when she heard her father say this. What did he mean?