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One second to remember [Brushstroke Pavilion] [Free of charge, read the wonderful novel!]

Shen Ninghua was holding a Plum Blossom Meet at the Princess' Mansion, inviting the various madams and madams of various families to attend. It was said that she would even teach everyone how to create the Icy Soul Fragrance.

When the news spread, the number of people who came to beg for spices immediately dwindled. Many of them had meticulously prepared themselves, waiting for the day of the feast to see just how miraculous the spices the empress praised were.

"Miss, according to your instructions, it has already been processed. The invitations that should be sent have also been sent out."

Shen Ninghua nodded her head and placed the chess board in her hands to the side. Listening to the wind blowing outside the window, her brows slightly twitched, "The weather these past two days hasn't been too good."

"Yeah, the weather has been very cold these two days. From the looks of it, it should be snowing in a few days. I wonder if those plum blossoms will continue to bloom after it snows."

Shen Ninghua placed the chess board aside and took out a bottle of medicinal powder, handing it over to Bai Yu. "Add the medicinal powder in the water and sprinkle it on the plum blossoms. This will ensure that the duration of the flower increases."

"Yes, miss, but is that mulberry branch going to be dealt with?"

"Don't worry about her. Tell Hong Ling to send people to keep an eye on her. If she makes a move, come here and tell me."

"This servant understands."

At night, the sky was getting colder and it started snowing in the middle of the night.

Shen Ninghua covered herself with the blanket, suddenly feeling that her hands and feet were cold as she sobered up.

"Xiao Hua, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Chu Junyi, who had been holding Shen Ninghua in her arms, was the first to notice that something was wrong.

"It's nothing, I was just scared by a dream." Shen Ninghua's fingers moved as she held onto the quilt. She saw the candle flame not far away from her, slowly lying back on the bed. However, she did not feel sleepy at all. She only felt a chill from the bottom of her heart.

In her previous life, she was locked in the cold palace. In the winter, there was no coal to keep her warm, and there weren't even any windows in the cold palace. Usually, when she slept on the bed, the wind and snow would blow in from the windows.

Night after night, she could not sleep. Many times, she could only watch as more and more snowflakes began to cover her body, starting from her crippled feet. The kind of cold feeling that seeped into her bones stayed with her, following her through the winter like a shadow.

Even now, even though she had already confirmed that the room was as warm as spring and that the bed beneath her was covered with a fragrant blanket, she would always feel cold and unable to sleep.

Chu Junyi took Shen Ninghua into her arms, curled him up into a ball and held her fingers against her chest. "Ninghua, go to sleep. Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Chu Junyi's eyes were dark and dark. Just as the aura of despair returned to her body, a flash of light passed through the room, and the pain in his heart was excruciating.

He could not help but think back to the place where he met Ning Hua. At that time, after she fell down the cliff, she also exposed such an aura, and he originally thought that it was because of the Zhao Family's persecution that she was so dispirited, but now that the Zhao Family had gone missing and the Shen Family had also fallen, why was she still unable to let this matter go and her hatred towards Baili Jinze, could it be that there was something he did not know.

As he thought about it, he held Shen Ninghua even more tightly. "Ninghua, what was that nightmare just now?"

"It's nothing. I can't remember anymore."

"Since that's the case, then don't even think about it. I'll accompany you and sleep in peace."

Shen Ninghua nodded her head. She felt a steady heartbeat coming from her palm as she closed her eyes and leaned over.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. He was lying on the bed, and the bed felt unusually warm. He felt like he had become a lot lazier, and he almost didn't want to get out of bed.

Bai Yu hurriedly came in with a basin of water. "Miss, you're awake. Seeing that you slept soundly in the morning, the Prince Consort didn't ask this servant to wake you up."

"En," Shen Ninghua washed her face. Hong Ling hurriedly walked in and said, "Miss, that Sang Qi made his move last night. I knocked her out and imprisoned her in the side yard."

"Last night?"

"Yes, it snowed really heavily last night, but that mulberry branch went out in the snow. This servant felt that something wasn't right, so I followed her. I saw her take a bag, and she was scattering something on the plum tree."

Shen Ninghua frowned, "What did he say?"

"White phosphorous powder."

White phosphorus powder? Shen Ninghua suddenly wrinkled her brows. She recalled that she had suggested to Xuanlin to play with fireworks before and her heart skipped a beat. "Bring her here!"

"Yes, miss."

After spending the night in the cold side courtyard, Sang Zhi's heart was filled with fear. He was brought before Shen Ninghua, and his legs gave way as he knelt on the ground, "Young …" "Princess."

Shen Ninghua looked at her coldly, his eyes as cold as snow. "Sang Qi, the Deputy Chief of Internal Affairs is your uncle. What did he promise you that you would risk your life to frame me?"

"No, Your Highness. Your servant has never tried to frame you before. I beg of you to spare my life."

Shen Ninghua looked at her with her deep gaze. Her black eyes were so cold that one could almost see the heart of a person.

"Hong Ling, take her to the Plum Garden."

Sang Zhi trembled as his heart throbbed with fear. "Your Highness, your servant was wronged, Your Highness …"

Hong Ling covered her mouth with one hand and dragged her out.

Bai Yan helped Shen Ninghua put on the fox fur collar cloak, then handed the stove over to her before carefully helping Shen Ninghua out the door.

The snow on the ground had already been cleaned up, but there were still a lot of water stains. The mulberry branches were dragged on the ground, and their entire bodies were soaked in the snow. They kept wailing and shaking their heads while crying.

Shen Ninghua stood in front of the plum tree and raised her head to look at it.

Snow fell on the branches and plum blossoms. The snowflakes were sparkling and translucent, and the plum blossoms were captivating red and tender. A sharp contrast formed between the cold and the warm ones, making people want to go over and admire them.

Shen Ninghua lifted her head and plucked a plum flower. She melted the snow on the plum flower into her palm and brought it to her nose for a sniff. Immediately, a frown appeared on her forehead.

"Hong Ling?"

Hong Ling let go of the mulberry branch and let her kneel in the snow.

"Princess, this servant did not do anything to let you down, Princess, I beg of you to be clear-minded."

Shen Ninghua threw away the Plum Blossom in her hands. "The Plum Blossom has been sprinkled with white phosphorous powder. When the white phosphorous is ignited, no one who is here to admire the flower will be able to escape. As long as there's one person who's in trouble here, I, Princess Zhao Hua, will not be able to escape responsibility. "That's a good idea. With so much white phosphorous powder, only the Internal Affairs Division would be able to easily obtain it."

Sang Zhi's body became more and more rigid. His hand that was lying on the ground had sunk into the snow, and it was so cold that it was bone-chilling.

Shen Ninghua's eyes turned colder and colder. "The New Year is coming up in the next few days. When the fireworks and firecrackers go off, they land on the white phosphorus, and the consequences are …"

"Princess, please have mercy, this servant didn't do it on purpose, it was my cousin who ordered this servant to do it. She said that if I sprinkle the white phosphorous on the plum blossoms and then find a way to ignite the plum blossoms, he can speak to the empress and point me out to the prince as a concubine."

Hong Ling was furious in her heart. "It's only been a few days since the princess has gotten married, yet you want to be her concubine to Master Prince Consort? What a malicious thought!" Miss, this servant saw that there was still quite a bit of white phosphorous powder left. I might as well roll her in it, and then light a charcoal brazier around her. Very soon she'll be able to roast herself! "

"No! Princess, this servant knows her wrongs. What this servant said was the truth. I beg of you, Princess, please spare my life!" As he spoke, he crawled two steps forward on his knees and was about to pull Shen Ninghua's skirt when Hong Ling kicked him to the side.

"Miss, what do you think we should do?"

Shen Ninghua raised her head to look at the plum blossoms that covered the trees. Her eyes slightly flickered as she said, "Close the mulberry branches to the side yard and let them have a good look at it."

"Yes."

Chu Junyi returned and saw Shen Ninghua looking up at the plum tree. Her snow-white cape and fur collar made her look like she was made of white porcelain, which made people's hearts soften. She stepped forward and brushed away the snow that had fallen on her shoulders and said, "Ninghua, it's just snowed. It's very cold outside. Why did you come out?"

Shen Ninghua leaned back, and upon hearing Bai Ning's detailed report, he frowned and said, "Ninghua, you should've dealt with that maid. Why do you seem to have something on your mind?"

"I'm thinking about the relationship between this and the empress dowager's palace."

"You mean …"

A fierce look flashed across Shen Ninghua's eyes. "Yes, the empress has a deep roots in the palace. If she really wanted to use the white phosphorous fire to plot against me, she wouldn't have sent a maid that didn't know any martial arts to sprinkle the white phosphorous powder. I even caught her red-handed."

"Are you talking about invading the east and attacking the west?"

"I didn't expect that at first, but now that Sang Zhi has happily confessed, I feel that something is amiss. Ever since we noticed that something was wrong with Sang Qi, we have focused our attention on her and neglected other aspects. Now, it seems that we have missed out on quite a few things."

Chu Junyi frowned, her handsome features causing everyone to stare blankly. "Ning Hua, don't worry. There's no way the empress won't make a move first."

Shen Ninghua nodded. Suddenly, her eyes flickered as she said, "Jun Yi, go check out the Internal Affairs Division."

"The Internal Affairs Division?"

"Mm, I remember that the steward of the Internal Affairs Division is on the Zhao Family's side. Besides, only the Internal Affairs Division can take out that much white phosphorus. From there, even the empress would be caught unprepared."

"Alright!" Having just set fire to the imperial guards, it was a good thing that the Internal Affairs Division was now under investigation. Since he had been promoted to a higher position and was now a groom, he had to properly set the fire.

As soon as the day of the feast arrived, Princess Mansion started to get busy early in the morning, because the people who came were all the madams and misses. Although they had already set up a warm tent, they still needed to prepare the charcoal brazier and the fragrant tea.

"This is the first time I've come to your place, Ning Hua. I heard that you're going to hold a plum feast, so I came over immediately. Don't think that I came too early."

Baili An walked in with the four palace maids behind him as he spoke to Shen Ninghua with a smile.

"What are you saying, Princess? I welcome you too late."

"I told you to show off whatever good stuff you don't have. Just look at it now. So many people have come to you asking for spices, making your marriage a bit messy." As he spoke, he stepped forward and held Shen Ninghua's hand. With a flick of his fingers, a slip of paper was quickly handed over to her.

Shen Ninghua's eyes flickered. She quietly took hold of her hand and hid the note inside her sleeve, "You knew to scold me the moment you entered the door. I've already prepared your favorite tea. Quickly come in and have a taste. Someone should be coming soon."