Chapter 118: Going to Find Them in Person

Prince Third firmly grasped Zhou Feng’s hand, his gaze locked onto the three moles on it. With a look of shock, he asked, “Have these moles been on your hand since childhood?”

Zhou Feng quickly withdrew his hand and turned away. “Sir, you must be mistaken. These aren’t moles—just some black sesame seeds that accidentally fell on my hand while I was having breakfast this morning.”

As he spoke, he rubbed his hand as if trying to wipe them away.

Prince Third took a large step forward. “That’s impossible. I clearly saw them just now—they were moles.”

Afraid of being recognized, Zhou Feng immediately put on a stern face and said, “You are definitely mistaken.”

At this moment, a shop assistant nearby noticed the commotion and approached. Thinking this customer was here to cause trouble, he stepped forward and said, “Sir, are you here to buy incense? If not, please leave.”

Prince Third stared at Zhou Feng for a long moment before suddenly regaining his composure.

He took two steps back and said, “My apologies, I must have been mistaken just now.”

Then, he turned his gaze to the incense display in front of him and pointed at three rows of fragrance dew bottles. “I’ll take all of these.”

“All of them?” The shop assistant was stunned.

Prince Third gave a slight nod and then pointed to the incense balls beside him. “And these as well.”

The shop assistant quickly picked up an abacus and calculated the total. “Sir, that will be 400 taels of silver.”

Without hesitation, Prince Third pulled out a silver note from his robes—it was precisely 400 taels.

The shop assistant took it with trembling hands, overwhelmed with excitement.

Earning 400 taels in a single transaction—this was no small amount!

Zhou Feng intentionally kept his distance from Prince Third and turned to the shop assistant. “Prepare the incense for this customer.”

“Yes, Shopkeeper!” The assistant immediately got to work packing the incense.

Prince Third stood at the shop entrance, staring at Zhou Feng for a long moment before finally leaving.

After leaving the incense shop, he hurried back to his residence and immediately dispatched his most trusted aide to investigate the Zhou family incense shop.

In less than three days, his men returned with a report.

“My lord, the shopkeeper of Zhou’s Incense Shop is surnamed Zhou. His family lives in Cheng’an County, Qingzhou Prefecture.”

Prince Third quickly asked, “Anything else? What about his family members?”

The aide pondered for a moment before replying, “The Zhou family comes from a farming background. They all live in a small village called Changliu, so there isn’t much information available. However, he seems to be quite close to Master Fang. Would you like to personally visit Cheng’an County and speak with Master Fang?”

Master Fang was an old acquaintance of Prince Third. Though they were more than twenty years apart in age, they had been close friends for many years.

However, Master Fang had left the capital a long time ago.

The trusted aide spoke again, “Your Highness, we cannot make this matter public. If we send people to investigate Changliu Village, it will surely attract the attention of Consort Wu and the Wu family.”

Prince Third nodded. “You’re right. Tomorrow, I will enter the palace and inform my royal brother that I am traveling to Cheng’an County to visit Master Fang, who has been in poor health. I’ll bring some precious medicinal herbs as a gesture of care.”

Master Fang had indeed grown older and weaker in recent years. He had even mentioned his declining health in a letter some time ago.

The trusted aide immediately bowed. “Understood, My Lord.”

The next morning, Prince Third went to request leave from the Emperor. He then set out for Cheng’an County with his trusted aide.

Initially, he was anxious and wanted to ride on horseback to reach their destination as quickly as possible. However, he feared arousing suspicion from the Emperor and Consort Wu. Instead, he chose a rather luxurious carriage and filled it with gifts, fully assuming the appearance of a noble visiting a sick acquaintance.

Fortunately, the Emperor was still lost in his grief over the late Empress and did not notice anything unusual about Prince Third’s departure.

Changliu Village

Inside the Zhou family’s incense workshop, the air was thick with the scent of freshly steamed incense.

Du Wanchun was busy grinding incense powder at the side.

Zhou Ruizhen tended the fire, but the rising temperatures of the season made the heat unbearable. In no time, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Seeing this, Du Wanchun set aside her work and walked over to him, gently dabbing the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. “Husband, why don’t you rest for a while? I can watch over the fire.”

Zhou Ruizhen threw another piece of firewood into the flames. “No need. The heat level is tricky to control—I’ll handle it.”

Then, as if remembering something, he reminded her, “It’s too hot here. You shouldn’t stay long.”

Du Wanchun withdrew her handkerchief, took a deep breath of the fragrant air, and smiled. “The incense should be just about ready. I’ll leave in a little while.”

Just then, Madam Zhou entered, carrying a basin filled with freshly washed fruit and flower petals. “Wanchun, try this,” she said.

She handed Du Wanchun a bright red fruit.

Du Wanchun examined it in her hand. “Mother, what is this?”