Chapter 97: All of Yuan Family’s Incense Smells Awful

Miss Xu stormed out of the Yuan Family Incense Shop in anger.

The Yuan family’s shopkeeper hurriedly took the foul-smelling incense dew back to the Yuan residence.

When Master Yuan heard about the situation, he immediately took the incense dew and sniffed it. His face twisted in disgust as he quickly covered his nose with his sleeve. “What is this disgusting stuff?!”

The shopkeeper lowered his head and replied, “Master, this is our newly produced jasmine incense dew.”

Master Yuan’s brows furrowed deeply. “How is that possible? This smells like rotten dog feces!”

The shopkeeper let out a long sigh. “This incense dew is definitely from our household. If you don’t believe me, take a look—these were all delivered to the shop early this morning from the estate.”

As he spoke, he laid out all the bottles of incense dew he had brought.

Master Yuan stared in shock, his eyes wide. After a moment of silence, he quickly turned to the steward behind him. “Quick! Take me to the incense workshop!”

At the back of the Yuan residence, there was a large incense workshop filled with various planted flowers and herbs, as well as several boilers used to refine incense dew.

“Yes, Master,” the steward responded promptly, supporting Master Yuan as they made their way to the back courtyard.

As soon as the group reached the entrance of the incense workshop, a putrid, rotting stench filled the air.

The workers inside, unable to bear the smell any longer, rushed out one after another.

The steward hurriedly stopped one of them and asked, “What happened? What’s going on inside the workshop?”

The worker, clutching his nose and dry-heaving, stammered, “Steward, everything inside—whether fully processed or unfinished—has started emitting a foul stench. We can’t stay in there any longer.”

“A foul stench?” The steward and Master Yuan were baffled. “How could there be such a terrible smell all of a sudden?”

Master Yuan, unwilling to believe it, shoved the steward aside and said, “I’ll go in and see for myself!”

The steward covered his nose, frowning. “Master, the stench inside is unbearable. Perhaps we shouldn’t go in.”

“No! I must! I need to find out who’s sabotaging my incense workshop!” Master Yuan declared before striding forward without hesitation.

He led the way, stepping boldly into the incense workshop.

At first glance, everything appeared normal, just as it did on any other day—nothing seemed out of place.

Except for the unbearable stench.

It wasn’t just any bad smell—it was the nauseating, putrid stench of rotting flesh, thick enough to make anyone gag.

Master Yuan had barely set foot inside when he started retching uncontrollably. He had to press a handkerchief over his nose just to continue moving forward.

He inspected all the raw incense materials but found no signs of mold or spoilage.

Even the freshly picked flower petals were still vibrant and blooming.

The boilers used for distilling incense dew were spotless, free of any residue or filth.

Yet, the deeper he ventured inside, the stronger and more overwhelming the stench became.

Unable to endure it any longer, Master Yuan grabbed samples of unfinished incense dew, flower petals, and incense powder before rushing out of the workshop.

Outside, the steward was leaning against the courtyard gate, vomiting profusely.

Master Yuan’s face had turned pale. As he reached the front courtyard, he gasped for breath, trying to steady himself.

At that moment, the eldest son of the Yuan family hurried over and whispered, “Father, the men we sent to assassinate that boy from the Zhou family were all killed on the way. It seems he discovered our plans.”

Master Yuan threw the items in his hands at his eldest son and angrily scolded, “Forget about that Zhou boy for now! Look at this first!”

Young Master Yuan caught the incense materials and flower petals his father had tossed at him. He sniffed them and immediately frowned. “Father, what is this? Why does it smell so awful?”

Master Yuan’s hands trembled as he pointed at his son and said, “This is our incense dew and materials from the workshop! When I checked this morning, everything had turned rancid!”

Young Master Yuan was stunned. He sniffed the items again, his expression darkening. “How could this happen? I was in the workshop just yesterday, and everything was perfectly fine.”

Master Yuan let out a cold snort. “How should I know? You’ve been in charge of the incense workshop lately!”

With a grim expression, Young Master Yuan responded slowly, “Father, don’t worry. I will investigate this thoroughly. Someone must have tampered with our incense dew and materials. Once I find out who’s behind this, I won’t let them off easily!”

This Young Master Yuan had inherited his father’s ruthlessness. He was notorious for his cruel nature and had a habit of seducing respectable women, only to abandon them. He never married any of them, and some even met tragic ends, beaten to death without a second thought. Human lives meant nothing to him.

Hearing his son’s words, Master Yuan let out a long sigh. “Fine. You go investigate. Once you’re done, dispose of all the incense dew in the workshop. Close the shop for a few days. Once we produce a fresh batch, we’ll reopen.”

Young Master Yuan gave a slight nod. “Understood, Father.”

Master Yuan sighed again, stepping on the foul-smelling flower petals scattered on the ground.

With the Yuan family’s incense shop closed, business at the Zhou family’s store flourished.

During this time, Zhou Feng had returned to Cheng’an County, leaving the shop under the management of a newly hired clerk. This clerk, introduced by Young Master Fang, was an honest man. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, appeared refined and scholarly, but had a strong and unyielding temperament.

As soon as Zhou Feng left, the Yuan family repeatedly sent people to cause trouble, but the new clerk managed to fend them off every time.

Now that the Yuan family was facing its own crisis, they had no energy left to harass the Zhou family.

With no further disturbances, the new clerk focused entirely on running the business. By the time Zhou Feng returned, they would be nearly sold out of incense.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Changliu Village…

At the Zhou residence, the entire family was busy moving into their new home to welcome Zhou Feng’s return.