Chapter 652: Chapter 651: Strategic Mastery

"What are these things that look like clay dishes?" Zhu Yu asked.

"These are used in my home to hold the prepared spices. They are sent to the Prince Mansion for inspection to see if they meet the standards.

While they can’t hold much, they are small and easy to carry, and they don’t leak scent. So there’s no worry about the spices mixing scents when we take them to the Prince Mansion for inspection."

Back then, I thought, since I didn’t need to carry much, just leaving a bit of evidence would be enough. Moreover, the spices have a very harmful effect... using these is much safer, wrapped in cloth and bound to yourself, they don’t mix aromas, and it’s not easy to be noticed."

"That’s indeed a clever method," Zhu Yu said, looking at the several spice boxes that looked almost identical. "But which one contains the highly poisonous spices you mentioned?"

Almost without any time for recognition, Mu Hong directly reached out and pointed to two slightly darker spice boxes: "These two."

Zhu Yu reached over and stepped slightly aside, carefully trying to open a gap in the boxes with her fingernail wedged in the seams.

"No, no!" Mu Hong was startled, hurriedly coming over to stop her. "You mustn’t do that! These spices are extremely toxic. The people on our estate, taken away to make these spices, initially seemed extremely spirited, tirelessly working day and night, but ended up dying suddenly.

So you mustn’t touch this stuff!"

"It’s okay, I understand" Zhu Yu shook her head at him, acknowledging that Mu Hong was frightened and thus trying to help, so her tone wasn’t harsh. "I will be careful."

Mu Hong glanced uncertainly at Lu Qing, seeing him not intending to stop Zhu Yu, he backed away a couple of steps. Hesitating, thinking it still wasn’t stable enough, he took a couple more steps back.

It was clear, although more than two decades had passed, those fearful memories must have been replayed countless times in the endless darkness, causing him to still shudder even with gray hair.

Zhu Yu first cautiously pried open the first spice box only a thin slit, she didn’t bring her nose close, instead, using her hand to gently fan.

There wasn’t much of a scent, almost nothing detectable.

She guessed roughly, slowly opening the box a bit wider and indeed saw the crimson powder inside. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Zhu Yu gave Lu Qing a look, he came closer, glanced, and nodded to her.

It’s Blazing Jade.

She had indirectly encountered it before back in Qingshui County and was very clear about its effects.

After closing this spice box, she opened the other one more carefully, again opening only a narrow gap, fanning it with her hand, allowing a familiar fragrance to waft out.

She quickly sealed the box tight, nodding at Lu Qing again: "Chang’e Drunk."

"Were these two substances used together initially?" Lu Qing asked Mu Hong.

Mu Hong quickly waved, pointing to the spice box with Chang’e Drunk: "Initially, it was this. But later it became too scarce to keep up with demand.

So another type was sent, which at first seemed unremarkable but was extremely peculiar, requiring blood to activate the fragrance, without which it had no scent.

However, using blood resulted in a fishy odor, so they forced my father to find a way to concoct a spice that could mask the bloody smell."

As he spoke, he picked through the other spice boxes, finding one much whiter than the others, handing it over: "This.

It’s the spice my father finally perfected. The people tested it and seemed satisfied, so they never made him adjust the formula again.

I dared not take much, as it was closely monitored. I only stole a small amount, merely scraping a bit off the container."

Zhu Yu took it, using the same method to catch a faint whiff, maintaining a composed exterior, but her eyes began to darken, her calm a façade.

The fragrance matched what she’d smelled on a young eunuch while waiting for Lu Qing the previous time in the palace.

Her sharp nose, with its "good memory," could not be mistaken.

The same scent emanated from Duke Yan as well.

Reflecting upon these connections brought clarity to previously murky aspects.

The substance had somehow reached Duchess Yan, Zhao Bi’s wife, gaining her favor and then becoming fashionable among the elite ladies.

Then, whether Duchess Yan or other noblewomen sought alliances with favored concubines, ensuring the substance reached Princess Consort Duan as expected.

To this day, Zhu Yu wouldn’t believe Princess Consort Duan was ignorant of this nor that she needed outsiders to acquire such spices.

The consideration that she might want to appear uninvolved and cast herself as an innocent part explained her speculated detachment.

Lu Ze knew Lu Qing’s identity as the "Golden-faced Imperial Censor" primarily through his mother, Princess Consort Duan. Aside from Emperor Jin potentially talking in his sleep, the greatest likelihood involved the South Study Room—the closest study room to Princess Consort Duan’s quarters.

Upon this realization, Zhu Yu couldn’t resist inwardly cursing Emperor Jin again.

This old fox had been orchestrating a grand scheme. Viewed from his perspective, anyone would laud his cunning and strategic skills.

However, as a comrade in this game, Zhu Yu felt infuriated by such disregard for the pawns’ lives to achieve his ends!

"Since these spices are so baneful, did they ever have you devise an antidote?" Zhu Yu asked Mu Hong.

Princess Consort Duan seemed detached, or the mastermind behind it led the investigation to Zhao Bi’s faction, ensuring he kept drawing attention as the most conspicuous target, which meant they needed to protect their pawn before Zhao Bi became everyone’s enemy.

Preparation in this regard would be unavoidable.