Overnight, Shen Zhuo's name once again swept through the wealthy circles of Kyoto like a hurricane.
The legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official in the dynasty, a noble girl from a noble family who had not even grown her hair yet, was able to secretly try out aphrodisiacs in broad daylight. It’s so disrespectful of identity, it’s unbelievable!
The matrons of each house gave instructions to their noble daughters, explicitly prohibiting them from having any contact with Shen Zhuo, which naturally included Shen Zhuo and several close friends.
"Haha, all of them speak so righteously, as if they have never used aphrodisiac incense?" Meng Qinglian sneered repeatedly, her eyes full of ridicule.
Meng Qinglian's father was Meng Qu, the Minister of Household Affairs, one of Emperor Zhengyuan's right-hand men, and her mother was Qin Cuiyu, the sister of Concubine De. It stands to reason that Meng Qinglian is also one of the most beautiful women in Kyoto, and she can walk all over Kyoto. But her life was not easy.
Meng Qu was born into a hairpin family and became famous at a young age. He was once a talented and romantic man in Kyoto. He had countless concubines, thirteen of whom were famous just for giving birth to children.
Although Qin Cuiyu is Meng Qu's official wife, she only has two daughters, Meng Qinglian and her eldest sister Meng Qingfu. Because she had no children, she was often disliked by Meng's mother. She was not as popular with her elders as the concubines who were good at pleasing others, so she was bullied in Meng's house.
Meng Qu's huge backyard was as chaotic as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Everyone was careless and full of schemes. There were traps everywhere and all kinds of underhanded tactics emerged in endlessly.
Meng Qinglian grew up surrounded by intrigues. She has extremely beautiful eyebrows, crimson lips and phoenix eyes. When she looks back, she is shy and charming. She seems to be weak, but her methods are ruthless. Meng Qinglian is like an enchanting flower growing out of a dark place.
Fortunately, she met Shen Zhuo and others at Mingshan Academy, and this finally allowed her to feel the presence of sunshine, allowing her to have a moment every day to escape from the dark, suffocating high-door deep house.
Are these people here to teach her not to touch Mixiang? Meng Qinglian could only sneer.
"Oh, my brother also warned me specifically." Lu Waner sighed, "My brother said that if he finds out that I dare to secretly try the fragrance, he will break Jiaojiao's legs."
Shen Zhuo was shocked.
"Hey, no, you used the incense, why did your brother come to beat me?"
"My brother said, if I have Mi Xiang, you must have given it to me." Lu Waner said matter-of-factly.
"Jiaojiao, uh... that Mixiang, how does it feel after using it?" Zhang Jingyi poked Shen Zhuo, leaned over and asked softly.
"Yes, yes, how do you feel after using it?"
In an instant, Shen Zhuo was surrounded by several people, and everyone looked at her curiously.
"Is it like what is described in the storybook, where the whole body is hot and the head is smoking?" Lu Waner asked.
"Wan'er, have you been cooked? Your whole body is still hot, and your head is smoking." Xiao Yushu snorted lightly, and then said, "Obviously what is written in the storybook is that the body is like floating clouds, and sometimes it seems drunk, and it is lustful. Desperate to die..."
"I have read in an ancient book that this kind of medicine only enhances the senses of the five senses and makes people more sensitive. It is not that evil." Wen Mingyun said seriously.
"If you are really curious, I will bring you some tomorrow and you will know if you try it yourself? I have a lot of this kind of thing at home." Meng Qinglian picked up the phoenix eyes lazily.
"Qinglian, are you serious? Oh, by the way, is this thing harmful to the body?"
Shen Zhuo was speechless as he watched the group of friends discussing animatedly... In his previous life, he was also very curious about incense and drugs. It was only later that so many ridiculous things happened that Xiao Yi always misunderstood that she had this hobby.
Fragments of his past life suddenly flashed across his face, making Shen Zhuo's face turn red.
In short, after this battle, Shen Zhuo's notoriety has reached a higher level, and he is unparalleled.
Regarding what happened at the Xunfang Banquet, the Kang family's reaction was very calm and they did not delve into it afterwards. In fact, Shen Zhuo's words could not withstand close scrutiny, and the inexplicable disappearance of the maidservant all showed that this matter was not simple.
From Kang Zhong, Taoist official to Taifu, he had been ups and downs in the officialdom for decades, but he was not so faint that he could be easily deceived.
Most of the people attending this Fangxing Banquet were Juzi, and he was the examiner in Chunwei, and something happened to his daughter... Kang Zhongdao didn't believe it if there was nothing strange about it.
But since the Shen family has taken on the bad reputation and nothing serious has happened to his daughter, there is no need for him to hold on to her. Because no one knows who is hiding here and what will be involved in the end.
The truth is not important, what is important is that everything is safe. In official circles, people who are rarely confused usually live longer.
Shen Yao felt guilty. She knew that Shen Zhuo was dragged down by herself.
That day, she believed in the words of Mrs. Nan Guo's maid, thinking that Mrs. Nan Guo really came to see her for something. So she followed without any doubt. She was taken to a side hall and sat there for half an hour. It wasn't until another maid came to ask if she wanted tea or snacks that she realized she had been deceived.
Because she had no losses at the time and didn't know why the other party lied to her, Shen Yao remained silent. When someone came to tell her that something had happened to Shen Zhuo, she knew something was wrong.
Afterwards, when she asked Shen Zhuo about the situation at that time, Shen Zhuo told the story in a few words. He only said that he saw Xie Zhe being taken into the bamboo house when he was passing by. He felt something was wrong, so he went to take a look and bumped into him. Xie Zhe was drugged, so he asked someone to help Xie Zhe out. However, he accidentally inhaled the drug and passed out.
From beginning to end, Shen Zhuo didn't mention Xiao Cheng or Xiao Yi. She didn't want Shen Yao to worry, let alone Shen Yao and Xiao Cheng. But Shen Yao Bingxue was smart, and she could guess a thing or two just from Shen Zhuo's words.
Then, Shen Zhuo discovered that Shen Yao was suddenly keen on going out for banquets, going out once every two or three days. The closer to spring, the more frequent she went out. The key was that she failed to show up at these banquets. This made Shen Zhuo very confused.
"Sister, why do you like going to banquets?" Shen Zhuo couldn't bear it anymore and asked.
Shen Yao arched her eyebrows and smiled: "If you get married in the future, you won't be able to be so free. Naturally, I'll take more walks while I still have the chance."
Who says you can't go out when you're married? But A Niang seemed to rarely go out... Shen Zhuo felt something was wrong, but couldn't explain it for the moment.
Then, Shen Zhuo discovered that at these banquets, they either met Xiao Cheng or Xiao Zhang, and sometimes they even met the two together.
Shen Zhuo didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Shen Yao's gourd, and she couldn't worry about it. Every time Shen Yao went out, she had to follow him. As a result, she met Xiao Yi often, almost every time.
Shen Zhuo was not surprised. After all, in her previous life, she often ran into Xiao Yi at various banquets.
Xiao Yi still spoke very little, and always had a cold face, like a sharp sword, but his eyes would glance at Shen Zhuo from time to time. This made Shen Zhuo a little confused. Did he see himself this way in his previous life?
It had been so long that Shen Zhuo could no longer remember.
In fact, before Lin Feifeng appeared, she and Xiao Yi had a sweet relationship, although these sweet feelings were created unilaterally by her.
