CH 34

Chapter 34: Falling Grass

After a series of announcements, Gu Yu Qi was led to a large tent by a little palace maid.

She had lived here before in her previous life, so she was no stranger to the facade of luxury. She kept her brows restrained and stepped onto the thick woollen carpet.

“Reporting to the Imperial Consort. The eldest young miss of the Ding Yuan Marquis’ residence has been brought here.” The little palace maid replied. Gu Yu Qi also followed suit and knelt down, performing very standard palace etiquette. “This minister’s daughter, Gu Yu Qi, greets the Virtuous Consort. May the Imperial Consort live for thousands and thousands of years.”

The Virtuous Consort had been eyeing this little girl, Gu Yu Qi, as soon as she had entered the door. Yun Yi rarely praised people in front of her, especially young ladies of noble families. Gu Yu Qi was the first shining bright one.

She had heard about Gu Yu Qi’s deeds from Yun Yi and already had a good impression of Gu Yu Qi in her heart. From the moment Gu Yu Qi had entered this tent, she had abided by etiquette, had a sense of propriety, walked steadily and upright, and did not have a wandering gaze. It was exactly as the rumours said. Although she was young, she was calm.

“Rise. Don’t be reserved. It it hadn’t been for you last night, it’s likely that Yi’er would’ve…” The Virtuous Consort spoke gently, “About this, this consort wants to thank you.”

“Dare not, this minister’s daughter was just a little luckier. If it had not been for this minister’s maid who had found the clue, this minister’s daughter would not have found clues. It is also the great fortune of His Highness Prince Jing and the other adults in the inn. This minister’s daughter dares not take credit,” Gu Yu Qi stood up, but still kept her head lowered as she spoke.

Hm, not bad indeed. She was neither arrogant nor presumptuous and was not greedy for merit.

The Virtuous Consort could not help but like her even more.

Yun Yi had reached the eligible age for marriage negotiations. It would be nice if the little girl in front of her was two or three years older. In fact, it was not impossible to discuss marriage at her current age. They could settle it first, then wait another three or four years. It was just her family background…

The Virtuous Consort always had high expectations for her son. Although the Qi dynasty already had a crown prince, it did not mean that the position of the crown prince could not be changed.

Although the Ding Yuan Marquis was ranked a Marquis, a nouveau riche family did not have the deep-rooted solid foundation as those families with centuries of heritage. According to the Virtuous Consort, it would be better for Yun Yi’s main concubine to be a daughter of a noble aristocratic family.

Yet, Yun Yi had mentioned Gu Yu Qi in front of her several times and coupled with Gu Yu Qi’s deeds, the Virtuous Consort had to call Gu Yu Qi over to have a look. If it was really as Yun Yi had said, then it was possible for her to be a side concubine. With her age, it would not be too late to wait until the main concubine entered and gave birth to a son before inviting her into the palace.

Gu Yu Qi did not know that the Virtuous Consort’s calculations had already reached her. She just felt a little uncomfortable and smelt a faint fragrance in her surroundings.

This scent was familiar and Gu Yu Qi felt that she had smelled it somewhere. She felt weak and weary, having been disturbed by Yun Ke and unable to sleep all night. She breathed in the scent again and inevitably felt even more dazed. Gu Yu Qi had to pinch herself secretly with one hand so the pain would wake her up a bit.

This was not right. A flash suddenly crossed Gu Yu Qi’s sleepy mind. She had indeed smelled this fragrance in her previous life in Zhang Wan Yi’s palace.

This fragrance smelled like a mix of floral scents but in fact, it was to cover up the smell of a certain type of grass called Falling Grass. It grew in the jungles in southern Xinjiang and was difficult to see. If a wild animal accidentally ate the grass, they would stumble which was why it was named Falling Grass. With the aroma extracted from the grass, smelling too much of it made you drowsy. However, this incense could also be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Gu Yu Qi had suffered greatly in the previous life from this kind of incense, so she had  a deep memory of it.

However, why did the Virtuous Consort light this kind of incense here?

“Raise your head and show this consort,” The Virtuous Consort said with a smile.

Gu Yu Qi raised her head in response.

The Virtuous Consort sat straight in the middle chair as gentle and dignified as she had been in the previous life, with a gentle smile on her face. She was over 40 years old but was well-maintained with radiant and glowing skin and no wrinkles on her face. Her hair was still black and thick, neatly combed into a horse bun. Two blue and green enamel jade and gold hairpins were inserted obliquely. She wore an orange red jacket with a light yellow pleated pomegranate skirt, looking bright and gorgeous without the slightest bit of depression. It was just that her face was slightly unwell and even though she tried to cover it up, she could not hide the tired look in the corners of her eyes.

When the Virtuous Consort saw Gu Yu Qi’s face, her eyes lit up but she felt a little unhappy.

It was not because Gu Yu Qi lacked manners and dared to look directly at her. After all, she was the one who asked her to look up, but Gu Yu Qi was too beautiful. At ten years old, she was already such a beauty. She was afraid that in a few years, even the most favoured Beautiful Consort in the palace right now would have to acknowledge defeat.

The girls’ appearance was dignified and beautiful. She was a little too enchanting especially for those in the imperial family. If Yun Yi really brought Gu Yu Qi into the palace, it was likely that even as a side concubine, she would shake the status of the main concubine, especially because she was smart. Yun Yi had already mentioned her several times to her and if she really put her by his side, she was afraid that he would make mistakes because of her beauty.

With this thought in mind, the Virtuous Consort felt that she could not continue to elevate Gu Yu Qi and had to suppress her appropriately.

Her own son was good in every way so he must not be allowed to make a big mistake because he was hankering after beauty.

The Virtuous Consort restrained her smile. She was about to speak when she heard Gu Yu Qi say, “Is the Virtuous Consort suffering from a headache?”

The Virtuous Consort was startled, “How did you know that?” She had indeed had a headache these days and could not sleep.

“Is the incense that the Consort is using for treating headaches?” Gu Yu Qi turned her eyes and glanced at the small incense burner on the ground. Smoke billowed around the nose of the burner.

“Yes.” The Virtuous Consort nodded involuntarily, “But what;s wrong?” When she saw Gu Yu Qi frowning, she was instinctively surprised.

This incense was brought back by Yun Yi and he had said that it could be used to treat headaches. She had used it for two days. It had been effective and she was able to fall asleep.

“Replying to the Consort,” Gu Yu Qi thought for a moment, then she spoke honestly, “Although this incense can relieve the symptoms of a headache, it does not treat the root cause. Using it for a long time will lead to a strong dependence.” Like a drug addiction! Gu Yu Qi smiled coldly in her heart. Zhang Wan Yi had used this kind of incense against her in the previous life. She had been stupid, actually believing that the woman she kept calling elder sister was really doing it for her own good.

It was only later that she had discovered it in time and had forced herself to stop being addicted to this fragrance.

“How long has the Consort been using it?” Gu Yu Qi asked.

“Only two days.”

“That is fortunate. It has not been long and the Consort should not use it in the future.” Back then, she had only used it for a month before developing symptoms of addiction.

The Virtuous Consort’s face changed slightly. How could there be something wrong with what Yi’er had brought back? He would not entrap his own mother. The Virtuous Consort’s face could not help but sink. That meant someone had used Yun Yi’s hand to entrap her!

The Virtuous Consort had always been cautious in the palace. Supposing that it was not easy to act towards her directly, then the only person she would not be wary of was her own son, Prince Jing, Yun Yi.

It was not that the Virtuous Consort had not thought about whether Gu Yu Qi was lying. However, she was just a young miss of the Marquis’ residence and had nothing to do with the inner workings of the palace. The unprovoked would not tell such a lie in front of her, hence, the Virtuous Consort determined almost as soon as Gu Yu Qi finished speaking that Gu Yu Qi was not lying. There was really a problem with this incense.