Chapter 78: An Old Acquaintance from the Capital

Du Damei had no intention of tending to her mother-in-law. She left some food for Cao Laoda, ate her meal, and then took the child out.

Cao Laoda was filial to some extent, but having been suppressed by his mother since childhood, he harbored resentment in his heart. As a result, he lacked patience in dealing with her.

Hearing Cao Shi’s endless complaints, he hurriedly finished his lunch, tossed some leftover food to her, and left the house as well.

Lying on the bed, Cao Shi looked at the cold leftovers beside her, filled with resentment and anger. She cursed Du Damei incessantly, calling her ungrateful.

As she kept cursing, she suddenly wet the bed.

Shocked, she shouted for help, but both her son and daughter-in-law had already gone out. No one came to her aid.

With no choice but to lie in the foul-smelling urine, she continued to curse them until her voice became hoarse. Only then did she quiet down.

Meanwhile, after Du Wanchun and Zhou Daniang returned home, Zhou Ruizhen had already prepared the meal in advance.

Eager to get things done, Du Wanchun quickly finished her lunch and helped Zhou Daniang pack up the mint-scented lotion, preparing to deliver it to the shop the next day.

The Zhou family’s fragrance shop didn’t carry many products, but their offerings were particularly favored by the second young lady of the Zheng family.

The second young lady had purchased the scented lotion and sandalwood incense cones to gift to her elder brother, Magistrate Zheng.

Magistrate Zheng kept some of the incense and entrusted someone to send it to the Third Prince in the capital.

The Third Prince was the emperor’s half-brother, a leisure-seeking noble with no official responsibilities. He had a particular fondness for fragrances.

When he received the incense from Magistrate Zheng, he did not pay much attention to it.

However, today, a maid in his residence accidentally lit the incense sent by Magistrate Zheng instead of the one from the palace.

The Third Prince had just returned from the palace when he entered his chamber and was immediately taken aback by the scent in the air.

He quickly called out to the maid behind him, “What incense did you burn today?”

The maid was startled. Keeping her head lowered, she hesitated before answering, “Your Highness, this servant made a mistake. I accidentally burned the sandalwood incense cones from Magistrate Zheng, thinking they were the ones from the palace.”

After speaking, she hurriedly moved to extinguish the incense.

The Third Prince snapped out of his surprise and quickly stopped her. “No need to put it out.”

Hearing this, the maid immediately stepped back and responded, “Yes, Your Highness.”

The Third Prince walked over to the incense burner and took a deep breath of the fragrance. Then, with a weary expression, he sank into a chair, his eyes filled with sorrow.

The maid cautiously observed him and hesitantly asked, “Your Highness, what’s wrong?”

Staring ahead, as if lost in memories, the Third Prince murmured, “For a fleeting moment, this scent reminded me of the fragrance the Empress once gifted me… but upon closer inspection, it’s not quite the same…”

The topic of the late Empress was taboo in the capital. Only the Third Prince dared to mention her so openly.

The maid softly consoled him, “Your Highness, the dead cannot return. Please do not grieve too much.”

The Third Prince closed his eyes, inhaling the curling tendrils of sandalwood smoke as if entranced. His voice drifted, tinged with regret, “The dead cannot return… If I had known, I would never have let her enter the palace…”

The maid lowered her head and dared not speak further.

After a moment of silence, the Third Prince, eyes half-closed, asked, “You said this incense was sent by Magistrate Zheng?”

The maid nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

The Third Prince opened his eyes and gazed at the incense burner. “Do you know where he got it from?”

After thinking for a moment, the maid replied, “I heard it was purchased from a fragrance shop in Cheng’an County, owned by the Fang family.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Third Prince stood up. “Hmm. Send a letter to Magistrate Zheng and ask him to buy more for me.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the maid responded softly.

Looking toward the direction of the imperial palace, the Third Prince added, “Remember, I want twenty catties.”

The maid was shocked but dared not question him. She simply bowed and replied, “Yes, Your Highness.”