NOVPUBQiao Xun wiped the two jade pendants clean and thanked Gu Zhi softly, “After all these years, seeing these jade pendants again, I am truly grateful.”
Gu Zhi stepped forward. “Why is the incense paste you made different from my mother’s?”
Qiao Xun no longer concealed anything and began to explain everything.
“Chuyi agreed to a five-year pact with them and did very well. The incense paste I made was from Luo Yunzhi’s early recipes, which is all I learned.”
“Chuyi relied on Luo Yunzhi’s incense paste to secure the Emperor’s affection.”
Shen Roujia sensed something was amiss. “What five-year pact? Do you mean that at the beginning, she used incense paste, but it was the one you made?”
As she pondered this, Shen Roujia realized the timeline seemed off.
Luo Yunzhi died about seven or eight years ago, when Gu Zhi was still young and innocent. But the late empress passed away only three years ago.
Luo Yunzhi must have known the later refined incense pastes had stronger side effects, which is why she made so many and didn’t send them out.
However, it was clear that Qiao Chuyi continued using the incense paste later on.
She probably didn’t intend to die but wanted to retain the Emperor’s affection after those unfortunate events, so she used the more potent incense paste.
Who gave the later incense paste to Qiao Chuyi?
Realizing this, Shen Roujia saw the significant gap in time.
She spoke coldly, “She did those things against her will for you. And what about you, Master Qiao? Do you feel any guilt?”
As Shen Roujia spoke, her confidence shone through, and with the gentle breeze brushing her moon-white skirt, she seemed to have a moment of ethereal presence.
Qiao Xun, visibly defeated by her words, frowned at Shen Roujia. “You’re a sharp-tongued girl, unyielding.”
Shen Roujia’s words left Qiao Xun no room for reprieve, instead pressing on softly yet relentlessly.
Shen Roujia scoffed, “Master Qiao, you must feel guilty. I was right—you betrayed her.”
Qiao Xun’s face showed his weariness. “The five-year pact was real, and so was the Qiao family’s promise. But after she gave birth, she came to request more incense paste, and Luo Yunzhi refused to make it.”
“Because those contained many harmful substances that would damage her health.”
Qiao Xun bitterly laughed. “I do feel guilty, but I also hate my own helplessness.”
“She couldn’t bear to leave her child or the love she obtained through deception. On the day of the five-year pact, I waited at the agreed place.”
“But she didn’t come with me. She gave me a jade pendant and asked me to continue making incense paste for her.”
Shen Roujia hadn’t expected such an answer from Qiao Xun. “This…”
Qiao Xun’s back was slightly hunched. He looked up at the moon, as if trying to see something beyond it.
“I once resented her, but I knew she was the unattainable moon.”
“A year later, her child was crowned Crown Prince. When I saw her again, I couldn’t tell if her smile was genuine or fake.”
Gu Zhi listened intently. “Eight years ago, you went to find Luo Yunzhi again, didn’t you?”
Shen Roujia instinctively looked at Gu Zhi.
Gu Zhi coldly eyed Qiao Xun. “It must have been you who got my mother falsely accused of having an affair.”
