Scent Of Time

Chapter 63.1
Extra 1: Zhong Xiwu’s Part

1. First Encounter

“Your Majesty, Prince Jin, Princess Consort Jin — she accidentally fell into the water ……” An eunuch gasping for breath hurriedly ran over. He hadn’t finished his words yet when two figures in front of him only left with that bright yellow color.

Zhong Xiwu narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhong Yelan, who had left quickly, but he did not move. He turned his head to ask that little eunuch, “What’s going on?”

The little eunuch gasped for breath before saying, “Replying to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager and Princess Consort Jin were enjoying the fish in the imperial garden. Somehow, Princess Consort Jin fell into the pond.”

Zhong Xiwu frowned. That little eunuch hurriedly said again, “But there is no serious harm. Princess Consort Jin can swim by herself.”

Zhong Xiwu visibly froze, then waved his hand to let the eunuch leave. He didn’t hurry to leave and said to the darkness, “Chen Yuan, you go and check.”

After a moment, Chen Yuan appeared from the shadows, attached himself to Zhong Xiwu’s ear, and said a few words.

Zhong Xiwu’s gentle eyes looked cold. “So bold and presumptuous! Not knowing to restrain herself even after getting married! Did she think that this palace was their Hua family’s world?” He flung his sleeve and left but in the direction opposite to where Zhong Yelan had left.

Under a palace window casement, a clear female voice carried authority could be heard: “Ridiculous! Is Hua Meiren out of her mind? Why should my father know about this harem.”

With a beat in his step, Zhong Xiwu stopped and dodged to the side. He signaled Gao Yu, who was following, to hold his breath and curb his voice. The next thing Zhong Xiwu heard was the female voice in the room, gagging the brutal and brainless Hua Meiren in his palace to the point where she wanted to vomit blood.

“Since Hua Meiren is infatuated with His Majesty, you shouldn’t put your mind elsewhere. I do not need to come and teach you this truth, right?”

With the falling voice, footsteps came, and Zhong Xiwu froze. He subconsciously sidestepped and walked to the corner of the wall, narrowly avoiding it. Only when there was no more movement in the room did Zhong Xiwu turn back to look at Gao Yu behind him and speak, “Aren’t they always displaying sisterly love? Do you think this Princess Consort Jin knows that I am here?”

Gao Yu lowered his head, rolled his eyes, and said, “I don’t know …….”

The words he said were ambiguous, so Zhong Xiwu did not pursue the question. He only mentioned it casually; this kind of person was not worth his trouble yet. “Let’s go to Mother’s Palace.”

2. Reasons

In the restaurant, Zhong Xiwu was sitting and frowned when he heard Lin Jiang’s reply, “Oh? Why does Imperial Brother meddle in the affairs of the Mu family?”

Lin Jiang hesitated momentarily before speaking, “Previously, Miss Mu was hiding in the King Jin Mansion. That’s why she didn’t return to jail.”

Zhong Xiwu’s fingers curled up slightly and tapped on the desktop for a few moments before speaking, “Although emotional matters easily blind Imperial Brother, he is not a person who cannot distinguish between right and wrong. Check again to see if there is a hidden agenda in the Mu family’s matter.”

Lin Jiang bowed his head in agreement. Zhong Xiwu was about to leave when he suddenly heard a rebuke outside the window: “Where did the dead beggar come from? Dare to block the carriage of King Jin Mansion. Do you want to die?”

Zhong Xiwu frowned. He always disliked this bureaucratic style of oppressing civilians, so he turned his feet to look out the window. When he reached the window, he saw a familiar silhouette slowly alighting from the carriage. Zhong Xiwu felt some amusement in his heart. Such a coincidence?

However, what was unexpected to him was that Hua Qian, who had always been arrogant and held her status, would stand up for a beggar. In a few words, she dismissed the merchants and let her guards take the beggar to the medical center. The little beggar seemed surprised and always looked at Hua Qian’s departure.

Zhong Xiwu smiled. This Hua Family’s daughter turned smart after becoming Princess Consort Jin. She learned how to pull people’s hearts. He felt that Hua Qian pretended to be kind and tolerant. After all, her temperament before was not so.

Zhong Xiwu’s mocking smile had not yet appeared when Hua Qian, who had just walked to the carriage, suddenly turned her head to look at the window where he was. With a flash, Zhong Xiwu hid behind the window sash. Why was she so sharp?

After the carriage left, Zhong Xiwu stood again, “Why do I think she has changed?”

Lin Jiang answered, “It should be that after she got what she wanted, she restrained her heart.”

Zhong Xiwu brushed his fingers across the window pane and spoke, “Is that so? That’s worth an investigation.”

Lin Jiang did not say anything. Zhong Xiwu turned his back to him and said, “Later, pick an eloquent one in King Jin Mansion to …… her side.”

3. The test

“Among the young masters in this capital, this Hua Shen is spoiled rotten by Hua Xiang.” Zhong Xiwu heavily set aside the teacup, turned his head to the people around him, and said, “You have never shown your face openly, so go down and help that pipa woman. I want to see how arrogant this Hua Shen is and can cause much trouble.”

When Lin Jiang and Chen Yuan bent their heads, they rolled over and landed in the center of the restaurant’s lobby.

“This gentleman, it’s not good to forcefully abduct a woman in broad daylight openly, right?” Lin Jiang was the first to speak.

Hua Shen’s small eyes surveyed for a while. After realizing they were only two people, he gained some confidence and spoke while putting his hands on his waist and showing his stomach, “It’s her good fortune that this young master is attracted to her. What does it matter to you? If you don’t want to die, mind your business and stay at the side.”

Hua Shen signaled the soldiers he brought to catch the pipa girl. Lin Jiang and Chen Yuan looked the disdain in each other eyes, so a few moments later, several soldiers were thrown out, and the wailing sound didn’t stop.

This time, Chen Yuan said, “We brothers can’t see this kind of situation. Today, we’re asking for trouble and see if you can snatch her from our hands.”

Hua Shen hid behind the soldiers. He knew the men before him had extraordinary strength, but he would lose his face if he sneaked away, so he cursed them hard. Two sides were at a stalemate.

Hua Shen’s group had attracted everyone’s attention away, and Zhong Xiwu sat silently in the corner. Only a skinny servant from the restaurant saw him and went forward to pour tea for him. Zhong Xiwu saw a servant of the Hua Family quietly leave, and the corner of his mouth curled up. He did not send someone to stop the servant because he wanted to know; Hua Xiang had taken leave, so where could this servant ask for help to deal with this matter?

Hua Xiang has always been smooth and tactful in his actions, making it difficult to pick him. If his son and daughter protected each other, he could start. But what Zhong Xiwu didn’t expect was that after Hua Qian arrived, she would mercilessly turn Hua Shen and others to the government. It would be troublesome if they met the Capital Officer; he might have to come forward by then. Fortunately, Lin Jiang was sensible and stopped the matter without Zhong Xiwu’s instructions.

If any noblewoman did so, at most, Zhong Xiwu would appreciate her and wouldn’t pay too much attention. Still, the previously selfish Hua Qian was full of false feelings, so at this time, she made others look twice.

Seeing that Hua Qian had been looking at Lin Jiang and Chen Yuan’s back suspiciously, Zhong Xiwu walked straight out to attract her attention. “Princess Consort Jin is truly impressive.”

4. The beginning of the intention

Unsure what evil possessed Hua Qian that made her run to the palace every day to meet the person she hated the most, the Empress Dowager. At first, Zhong Xiwu pretended not to know and wanted to see her scheme. The result was that after half a month had passed, he realized that Hua Qian had gone to the palace purely to see the Empress Dowager. She didn’t go to other places or meet the others.

According to Yin Xing’s report, Hua Qian seemed to have avoided Zhong Yelan’s favor, which left Zhong Xiwu even more puzzled. Don’t blame him for being suspicious in the heart; after all, the Hua family had a bad track record, which caused him to be unable to rest assured.

So, Zhong Xiwu started to go to the Empress Dowager’s palace ‘unintentionally’ when Hua Qian came to the palace. However, whenever he saw Hua Qian mingling with her concubines, Zhong Xiwu couldn’t help but frown. What was Hua Qian trying to do?

Since her marriage, she had become calm and composed like Hua Xiang, making people even more fearful. However, in the end, Hua Qian was still inferior to Hua Xiang, and a few words scared her out of her steady demeanor. It also let Zhong Xiwu discover his bad taste, which was to continue to scare her. The previous Hua Qian was foolish and didn’t understand the tests. Somehow, she became smart after the marriage.