CH 86

Incense Ash – I’ll Go To Bring Her Royal Highness Right Now (2)

On the banquet seat, Xiao Kezhi waved back a few courtiers who were still talking to him, got up and tugged at the front of his clothes, and walked in the direction of the side hall.

Liu Kang came back from behind, hurriedly following and saying softly, “Your Majesty, this old slave personally gave Cui He your message.”

Xiao Kezhi hummed. His face was expressionless, but his body was inexplicably hot.

The banquet hall was already a little warm, and now it was even hotter. He tugged at the front of his clothes again, trying to let a cold wind blow in, but the air that came to him was still warm.

“Get some thinner clothes,” he wiped his forehead and ordered.

Liu Kang immediately asked someone to prepare them, then turned around and said, “Your Majesty, Second Lady Zhao has been here before.”

Xiao Kezhi paused slightly as he stepped into the hall, raised his eyebrows, and asked, “What did she come to do?”

For some reason, there seemed to be a very faint sweet smell wafting through the air.

Liu Kang said, “She didn’t come close. She just sat outside for a while, saying that she was unwell and asked someone to bring her hot soup.”

Xiao Kezhi didn’t speak, but he felt that something was off.

After a while, a maid brought his change of clothes.

He stretched out his arms and stood there, but he was unable to help himself and sniffed carefully again. His five senses were sharper than most other people’s. When he caught a faint sweet scent again, he frowned and said, “Has the incense in the temple been changed?”

Liu Kang was stunned for a moment, shaking his head as he went to the incense burner to check. “I haven’t changed it before, and I still use the incense that Feng Yu personally made.”

Xiao Kezhi didn’t speak. After changing his clothes, he slowly paced the room.

The scent was very light, and it appeared and disappeared from time to time, leading him to a stop near the gate of the palace.

In that place, there was a window with a slit opened, and the cold air came in, sending the fragrance into the inner room.

He stopped for a moment and finally saw some finely divided gray powder at his feet, just like the ashes left by the burning of incense.

There was a blank in his mind for a moment, and then his face sank, “Pack this thing away and send it to the Imperial physician to have a look.”

Liu Kang was shocked and hurriedly wrapped the few remaining incense ashes with a silk handkerchief, and turned around to have the two servants who were guarding the outside imprisoned for questioning.

“Hold on.” Xiao Kezhi calmly stopped him and quickly extinguished a few lights, then led Liu Kang out in the dim light, “No one outside should leave. Just let them wait here.”

Since someone was doing tricks in his bedroom, it must be a plot. He might as well leave some people behind to create the illusion that he was still in the room, so that he could invite the culprit in. But since he didn’t know what the incense was going to do, it would be best for him to actually vacate the premises.

Liu Kang had been in the palace for many years, and he had a lot of insight.

“Will Your Majesty find another side hall to rest in for a while?”

Xiao Kezhi shook his head, listening to the singing and dancing at the banquet, and said, “I will go to Chongming Pavilion.”

Chongming Pavilion was reserved for watching the fireworks tonight. No one was allowed to enter without his permission. The location of it would allow him to watch everything that was going on at the banquet.

The cold wind on the road kept blowing, but for some reason, the heat on his body did not recede at all, but intensified, making his whole body feel unreal.

He reached out to touch his forehead and felt the hot sweat on his hand.

There was definitely a problem.

A vague guess quickly formed in his mind. But at this moment, he didn’t have the time to think carefully. He only felt that clusters of dense fog had risen in his originally clear mind, and the heat waves on his body were also rapidly hitting the same place.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty? Do you want to call the Imperial doctor?” Liu Kang helped him up to the Chongming Pavilion. Seeing his flushed face and scattered eyes, he was so frightened that something might happen.

“Go, summon the Imperial physician.” Xiao Kezhi also noticed that something was wrong and nodded immediately.

But the next moment, he shook his head to stop, “No, you don’t need the Imperial doctor’s order to bring her.”

The restlessness in his body clearly told him that what he needed now was not a doctor’s order, but a woman.

Liu Kang was stunned for a moment, before realizing that the “her” in his mouth was referring to the Crown Prince’s Consort. He quickly realized what the effect of the mysterious incense was.

At the banquet below, no one seemed to notice the abnormal situation in Chongming Pavilion.

Liu Kang shivered, poured a cup of cold tea, served it, and said bravely. “Your Majesty, bear with it for a little longer, this old servant will go to invite Her Highness the Crown Prince’s Consort.”

Xiao Kezhi leaned on the seat, his whole body tense and barely keeping a bit of lucidity, and deeply hummed.

The two servants nearby heard Liu Kang’s instructions, but they did not leave immediately. Their faces were full of confusion and they asked, “Head Eunuch, there are so many people nearby, how do we bring her here? There will be fireworks in a while. Everyone will look up at the saint. How can this be hidden from so many eyes…”

Liu Kang was so anxious and irritable that he paced around the pavilion. When he saw the maid walking around the table, his eyes lit up and he gritted his teeth, “You go and prepare another set of clothes and bring them together.”