A piece of Japanese incense

Chapter 26: An Old Acquaintance

I opened my hazy eyes, and Yuyi put on a blue eunuch's robe for me. The robe was loose and didn't fit my body well, as if it was about to fall off. The cuffs were wide and long, and Yutuan took out a lake blue cloud silk cloak from the cabinet and tied it on me.

The brim of the hat was so wide that it covered my eyes when I put it on.

Yuyi took out a sachet and tucked it into the hat, and whispered, "The clothes are fine, but the hat smells strong. I don't know how long it has been since it was washed. Please bear with it, girl. I will bathe you when I come back."

I shook my head. The hat with the sachet in it was stuck on my head. I stuffed the last bite of mung bean cake into my mouth, raised two thumbs up to Yuyi, put on the hat on my cloak, and went out.

The fog gradually dissipated, and there was a little red light in the sky, and the clouds next to it were also tinged with a slight pink.

Feng Zhixu hadn't arrived yet, so I was bored and swept the flowers and plants in the flower bed. My trouser legs were wet with dew, and they were stained with moist freshness.

"What? Are you impatient after only waiting for me for a quarter of an hour?"

I hadn't gotten enough sleep in the first place, so I didn't want to pay attention to him, so I just said perfunctorily: "Since Your Highness is here, let's go in!"

When I reached the door, I took off my cloak and knocked, but no one answered.

"Old man Li! Open the door quickly!" Feng Zhixu's voice was as loud as a bell.

The old man opened the door, turned around and left without saying a word, his steps slow and steady.

Feng Zhixu took the key and opened the door of the library.

The scent of ink from books and the long-lasting and deep wood aroma of bookcases hit you in the face, bringing a sense of tranquility and comfort.

I closed the door. The room was dark and silent. The sunlight came through the window. The beams of light mixed with the scent of ink gave the bookshelf a soft outline.

I rolled up my loose sleeves and lit an antique bronze palace lantern. The light was soft and dim. Holding the lantern, I walked straight into the line of medical books and picked up a copy of "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" to read. I had to read more books in the limited time.

"How do you read a book? Even if I read ten lines at a glance, I can't read as fast as you."

I laughed and said, "That's how I read. I just watch for fun."

Feng Zhixu shook his head, took two books from the bookshelf with light steps, brewed a pot of tea, sat down slowly, found the most comfortable position, and began to read leisurely.

I stood in front of the bookshelf, time seemed to slow down, and I felt like I was in the quietest corner of the world. In an instant, my soul jumped out and immersed itself in all kinds of classical works.

"Aren't you tired standing like this all the time?"

"Ah" the sudden conversation scared me and I dropped the copy of "Notes from the Thatched Cottage" that I had just picked up.

"Won't it be heavy to wear the hat all the time? Old man Li won't come in." As he said this, he took off the three-peaked hat on my head, and the sachet fell to the ground.

I subconsciously bent down to pick it up. The distance between the bookshelves was narrow, so Feng Zhixu and I bent down at the same time. Our heads accidentally collided with each other, and it just happened to hit my unhealed forehead. I covered my head and jumped up in pain, "Ouch~"

He was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned forward, supported the bookshelf with one hand, reached out his hand, and hooked the hair by my ear with his index finger.

(No, what is he going to do?!)

My body froze and I stood there with my face in my hands.

"Crash!" I looked through the gap and saw Feng Zhixu holding several books, and the books behind me fell like a waterfall.

We squatted down to pick up the books while talking: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, does your head hurt?"

"You are really stubborn. Oh! By the way, the eunuch who knocked his head yesterday, who you asked me to take away, fell asleep as soon as he arrived in my palace. When I asked him in the morning, he said he hadn't woken up yet. He really can sleep well."

"I wonder if there are any other questions. If he is still asleep when Your Highness returns to the palace today, you must inform me."

"No problem! Hey! You really like jasmine!" Feng Zhixu picked up the sachet at the bottom and stood up.

"Hmm? That's it."

"Edward, you really don't remember me?"

I touched my nose and tilted my head and said, "Your Highness, are you talking about the snuff bottle? Oh! That's right! It's also Jasmine's!"

Feng Zhixu's shoulders slumped and he said solemnly, "No!"

"Ah? Have we met before?"

"The 20th year of Zhaoding's reign, during the Yulan Festival, I wore a jasmine bracelet."

I shook my head and joked, "Your Highness has a good memory. I don't even remember what happened last month."

"The day before the Obon Festival was the anniversary of my grandfather's death. That year, my father took me out of the palace for the first time to see my grandfather for the last time. My mother lay in my father's arms, weeping bitterly. I didn't know what was going on, and I just wanted to sneak out to play. I struggled to jump over the wall to the house next door, but the guards thought I was a thief and chased me all the way down the street."

"and then?"

"Then I ran into Sanshengtang, hid behind an old woman who was seeing a patient, and begged her to save me."

"My grandmother?"

Feng Zhixu nodded and continued, "A little girl who was half a head shorter than me suddenly grabbed my hand and shouted, 'How did you get in? Don't touch my grandmother!'"

I laughed and pointed at myself and asked, "Is it me?"

Feng Zhixu responded, "At that time, the guards chased after us, shouting and saying they wanted to search the pharmacy. You took my hand and walked out to ask the guards if I was the person they were looking for. I was terrified at that time."

"There's such a thing? Why don't I remember it!?"

"The guard said they were looking for a thief. You said, 'Who would dress like that? His clothes are made of brocade, and the jade belt buckle on his waist is made of Hetian jade. This outfit is worth more than all of you have earned in ten years combined. How could he be a thief?' The guard didn't believe me and insisted that I stole it all."

"Then I will definitely not let them take you away at will."

"Yes, you said I must be a child from a wealthy family who ran away secretly. My parents must have been looking for me everywhere and wanted to report me to the police. I was afraid that my father would find out, so I begged you not to report me to the police, but you still asked your grandmother to report me to the police. My father took me back to my grandparents' home, beat me up, and threw me into the ancestral hall, where I knelt for a whole night."

"Ah... Your Highness... Well, you have to understand that I was still young and ignorant at that time."

"I hated you so much that I swore with gnashing teeth that if I had the chance to see you again, I would grind you to dust. I didn't expect that on the second day, the Ghost Festival, I was so hungry that I bumped into you as soon as I went out. I wanted to beat you up to vent my anger, but when you saw me swearing at you, you ran away so fast that I couldn't catch up with you. I was exhausted and fainted in the corridor."

"Oh, that little boy is you!"

I finally remembered that my father would take me to worship our ancestors alone during the Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival in previous years. But that year, he took me to an adult's home to worship. The hall was packed with people. While my father was talking to his colleagues, I was squeezed out by the crowd. I was bored and wandered around, and I bumped into Feng Zhixu who was walking out of the ancestral hall. I ran for only two steps, and the sound of chasing me from behind disappeared. I slowed down and turned back to see Feng Zhixu lying on the ground.

He said he was thirsty in a daze. I found a servant and wanted to tell him that a child had fainted, but he didn't listen to me because I was a stranger and led me to the front hall. I had no choice but to take some fruit from the front hall and go back to find him.