Chapter 162: The Palace Perfume Incident

Jinling.

Tong San had been back for several days.

After reporting his errands to Liang Cheng, he pleaded illness and stayed in the Yetin without coming out.

Unlike Chief Steward eunuchs like Liang Cheng, he lacked the financial means to purchase a residence in Jinling.

He could only live in the Yetin, where the palace eunuchs resided.

"This is jasmine perfume, this is clove, and this is wood scent."

In the sleeping quarters.

Tong San stared obsessively at the bottles of Perfume in the chest.

Some of these in the chest were for Liang Cheng, some for the Emperor, and some for Imperial Concubine Mi Fei.

According to the rules, he should have delivered the Perfume after returning.

But having struggled with the thought the entire journey, he truly could not bear to part with them.

So he moved these Perfumes to his own sleeping quarters, smelling them daily like a miser.

Originally, he intended to delay the delivery for a couple of days, but now, he was becoming increasingly reluctant to let them go.

"Knock, knock..."

Just then, someone suddenly knocked on the door; in his nervousness, Tong San's hand holding the Porcelain Bottle shook, and the Perfume spilled out.

He hurriedly plugged the bottle and covered the chest completely.

"Who is it?"

After tidying up, Tong San immediately returned to his bed and wrapped himself in the quilt.

"It's me." As a voice spoke, the door was pushed open.

A tall eunuch walked in.

"What is that smell? Why is it so fragrant?" The man sniffed the air; the scent was refreshing and intoxicating.

Seeing the man, Tong San was suddenly startled.

This man was Hu Qing, Liang Cheng's godson and a managing eunuch in the palace, one rank higher than him.

He hurriedly explained, "I just burned some incense."

"Is that so?" Hu Qing's eyes rolled, "The Chief Steward sent me to see how your illness is coming along."

"Much better, I will be able to return to duty in two days." Tong San's eyes kept darting toward the chest, terrified that Hu Qing would discover the Perfume.

"That's good. The Chief Steward says he's used to you, and others are clumsy and uncomfortable to work with." Hu Qing looked at Tong San from a distance, "Then I won't disturb you."

Having said that, he went out and closed the door.

However, he did not walk far, but instead listened quietly to the movements inside the room.

He had noticed Tong San's unusual behavior, and most importantly, he did not believe Tong San's nonsense.

This kind of fragrance was one he had never smelled before.

Not to mention eunuchs, even the imperial concubines in the palace did not have such a pleasant scent on them.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Footsteps came from inside the room; hearing them, Hu Qing sneered several times.

He was certain that Tong San must be hiding something from him.

Just then, he kicked the door open, only to see Tong San standing by several wooden chests, holding a cloth to cover them.

Seeing him return unexpectedly, Tong San was scared pale.

Hu Qing reached the chest in two strides and, without waiting for Tong San to speak, flipped it open.

"What is this!" Hu Qing's expression turned serious.

He held a higher position in the palace than Tong San, and was also Liang Cheng's godson.

But for the past two years, Liang Cheng had increasingly valued Tong San, which had kept him jealous.

Now that he seemed to have discovered Tong San doing something shameful, he naturally could not let it go.

"This is... this is..." Tong San was so scared he stuttered.

Hu Qing picked up a bottle and smelled it; a faint fragrance drifted out.

He immediately understood where the earlier scent had come from.

"Good for you, Tong San, you actually dare to steal tribute items from the palace," Hu Qing said angrily.

In his view, such a unique fragrance must be a tribute item.

Otherwise, how could Tong San have obtained it?

"This was given to me by Yan Wang," Tong San said in a panic, blurting it out.

The charge of stealing tribute was grave; it was enough to be beaten to death on the spot.

Hu Qing naturally did not believe him.

This was a perfect opportunity to make Tong San fall out of favor; how could he let it pass?

Dragging Tong San, he walked outside, shouting as he went, "Tong San stole tribute items! Someone come here, go tell the Chief Steward!"

With this commotion, the Yetin suddenly became lively.

The passing eunuchs and palace maids all gathered to watch the spectacle.

Hu Qing held Tong San with one hand and raised the Porcelain Bottle high with the other, "Everyone look, this is the evidence."

"No, this is not a tribute item! Hu Qing, I knew long ago you were dissatisfied with me, but you are too shameless to do this!" As he spoke, Tong San struggled violently.

Hu Qing was shoved to the side; the bottle in his hand was not held steady and fell to the ground with a 'crack'.

The liquid inside spilled all over the floor.

Instantly, the intense fragrance drifted into the noses of the palace maids and eunuchs with the breeze.

"What is this? Why is it so fragrant?" a palace maid exclaimed.

"It must be a tribute that just arrived; I've never seen a fragrance like water before," someone marveled.

"..."

The crowd whispered among themselves, and those sharp-witted palace maids from various palaces, seeing this, immediately headed toward the Hougong.

If this were a new tribute, they naturally had to let their own mistresses know so they could ask the Emperor for some.

In less than half an hour, the matter in the Yetin had spread throughout the palace.

When Tong San was dragged before Liang Cheng, many Imperial Concubines had arrived.

The Perfume in Tong San's room had also been rounded up and brought before Liang Cheng.

"What is going on?"

The palace was in an uproar, and the Emperor Zhao Heng was also alarmed.

Liang Cheng wore a look of shame.

If Tong San had stolen tribute, he would lose all face himself.

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward, Tong San stole tribute," Hu Qing said, pointing at Tong San, who was kneeling on the ground.

The Imperial Concubines' attention was now entirely on the so-called tribute, and they pointed at it one by one.

Zhao Heng glanced at the box on the ground.

Such a trivial matter for this King was not worth his coming at all.

But he had never heard of any fragrant tribute, so he came to take a look.

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward, this servant did not steal tribute. This was given to the Emperor, the Chief Steward, Imperial Concubine Mi, and this servant by His Highness Yan Wang. In the presence of the Emperor, this servant would not dare to lie," Tong San said truthfully.

To lie again would be the crime of deceiving the Emperor.

Just then, a eunuch ran over.

"Your Majesty, Chief Steward, no tribute is missing from the palace, and there is no such tribute," the eunuch said.

When this matter broke out, he had immediately sent people to check the storehouse.

Upon hearing this, Hu Qing's face turned pale, and he said, "Even so, he concealed items given to the Emperor by Yan Wang, so he should be punished with forty strokes of the cane."

"This servant did not conceal it. This servant admits to having a greedy heart, but only wanted to present it to the Emperor and the Chief Steward two days later," Tong San wailed.

Since it was not tribute, the brows of Zhao Heng and Liang Cheng relaxed.

The two turned their attention to the Porcelain Bottle in the box, wondering what kind of thing was worth Tong San being so greedy.

"Your Majesty, this thing is called Perfume. It is something brewed by Yan Wang. If you dab it on your body, it can stay fragrant for three or four hours..." Tong San spilled everything like beans, explaining the use of the Perfume and the fact that Yan Wang had given it to him.

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the Imperial Concubines lit up.

If they had this thing, wouldn't they be able to smell fragrant all day long?

Moreover, traditional fragrances were all things like agarwood, benzoin, sandalwood, and musk.

But Yan Wang's Perfume incorporated the scents of a hundred flowers, which was simply rare in the world.

Not to mention Tong San, even they would absolutely be unable to put it down.

Zhao Heng nodded and smiled.

Recently, his Beauty outside the palace, Xiao Shishi, had been feeling unhappy.

This Perfume was so magical, perhaps it could win a smile from the Beauty.

Liang Cheng looked at the box, feeling an itch in his heart, and secretly thought that this Yan Wang was truly sensible.

The Imperial Concubines, however, looked displeased, and someone immediately acted coquettishly: "Your Majesty, this concubine wants some."

Seeing the Imperial Concubines all wearing fawning expressions, Zhao Heng felt a sense of satisfaction.

He cleared his throat and said, "Liang Cheng, move all the Perfume to my sleeping quarters. Send Imperial Concubine Mi her share."

He was even taking away Liang Cheng's Perfume.

Upon hearing this, Liang Cheng's face looked as bitter as if it were dripping water.

He looked at Tong San, gritting his teeth; if not for his greed for the Perfume, how could his own things be taken away by the Emperor?

Immediately, he shouted, "Drag Tong San out and give him forty heavy strokes of the board as a warning to others!"