Chapter 96: Trouble with Yuan Family’s Incense Dew

Governor Zheng was startled and quickly closed the door. “Good niece, tell me, what happened?”

Han Yan’er spoke slowly, “I came to Qingzhou Prefecture this time because my father specifically instructed me to deliver this message to you in person.”

Governor Zheng nodded. “Alright, speak. Don’t worry, I won’t let a second person know about this.”

Han Yan’er lowered her voice. “The third young master of the Lu family is still alive. Back then, he was rescued by one of my father’s trusted aides. He is currently outside the pass.”

Madam Zhou’s maternal family, the Lu Grand Chancellor’s residence, had two young masters and one young lady. Madam Zhou was the second child. Her eldest brother served as a civil official in the imperial court, while her younger brother, the third young master, was stationed outside the pass as a military commander, having accumulated numerous battle merits. The Lu family was once at the height of their glory.

At the same time, Grand Chancellor Lu had many disciples across the country, and Governor Zheng was one of them.

Years ago, when the Lu family was sentenced to extermination, many officials knelt and pleaded for mercy. Some of them met their deaths, while others surrendered.

Governor Zheng, who had held the rank of a third-grade official, was demoted and sent to Qingzhou Prefecture as its governor. Meanwhile, General Han was far away outside the pass, and by the time he arrived, it was already too late. Apart from the third young master who had been rescued, Master Lu, Madam Lu, and the eldest young master had all perished. General Han had a furious confrontation with the emperor.

Due to the military power in General Han’s hands, the emperor later sent people to search for the exiled mother and her three children.

Unfortunately, they were never found, and only news of their deaths was discovered.

General Han was imprisoned for a month because of this.

Now, everyone believed that General Han had been subdued, but in truth, he had been secretly waiting for the right moment to overturn the Lu family’s case.

This time, Han Yan’er had come to Qingzhou Prefecture in secret, and General Han had specifically instructed her to deliver this news to Governor Zheng.

Firstly, to pave the way for the third young master of the Lu family. Secondly, to persuade Governor Zheng to return to the capital and reclaim his position.

Governor Zheng was overwhelmed upon hearing the news. Unable to contain his emotions, he fell to his knees, facing the direction of the capital, and kowtowed. “Teacher! The Lu family is not extinct! There is still a descendant!”

Han Yan’er was also deeply moved by his reaction. She followed his gaze toward the capital, her heart filled with emotion.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the streets of North Avenue were bustling with people. At the street corner stood a two-story incense shop—this was the Yuan Family Incense Shop.

The Yuan family had amassed a great fortune using the Lu family’s secret incense-making formula. Moreover, with the influence of Noble Consort Wu, they had become renowned merchants in the capital. They were also designated imperial suppliers of incense for the palace.

The master of the Yuan family was not very old, only in his thirties or forties. He had a son and a daughter, both of whom had learned the art of incense-making.

To prevent the incense formulas from being stolen, the son and daughter would personally oversee the production process.

Today, a new batch of incense dew had just been placed on the shelves, and the shopkeeper eagerly called out to customers.

Sure enough, Miss Xu, who was known for her love of fragrances, immediately arrived at the shop. She was practically the messenger among the noblewomen of the capital—whenever there was something good, she would spread the word, making it known across every street and alley.

Miss Xu picked up the new incense dew, sprayed some onto her hand, and sniffed it. At first, she was smiling, but in the next moment, her expression froze. “What is this incense dew?”

The Yuan family’s shopkeeper quickly smiled and replied, “This is our shop’s newly released jasmine incense dew.”

Miss Xu sniffed it again, then abruptly covered her nose and gagged. “Jasmine incense dew? This smells like cow dung water!”

The shopkeeper was shocked and hurriedly took the incense dew from her hands, pouring some onto his own hand to smell it.

The moment he caught a whiff of it, he also started retching. This was more than just cow dung water—it smelled worse than a filthy latrine.

Miss Xu, furious, snapped, “What is wrong with your Yuan family? How could you produce such a disgusting incense dew?”

The shopkeeper quickly stepped back with the incense dew in hand. “Miss Xu, please don’t be upset! It’s possible that this particular bottle is defective. Let me check another one.”

Saying this, he grabbed another bottle, opened it, and sniffed it.

The result was the same—he immediately retched again.

The stench was unbearable for anyone.

Seeing this, Miss Xu sneered sarcastically. “Looks like it’s not just one bottle that has a problem. What kind of business are you running?! Did you deliberately make this foul-smelling incense dew to disgust us?”

The shopkeeper hastily bowed and apologized. “Miss Xu, please don’t be angry. It might be that this entire batch of incense dew is faulty. I will go back and ask our master about it.”