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Early in the morning, Chris carefully combed Pearl's hair, silently straightened out the tangled strands, and tied her jet-black hair into braids. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoAlthough she can't make a complicated Song Dynasty hairstyle, she can still comb the girl's hair neatly and beautifully.

Xing Yun walked in from the outside with a wooden box in her hand, and when she saw the picture in front of her, she couldn't help sighing, it was the current queen mother who was standing and combing her hair, but it was a slave who was sitting.

Xing Yun stood silently until Chris stopped.

"Look at Zhu'er's beautiful dress!" After dressing up, Chris looked at his masterpiece and exclaimed, "It's really a little bit of my look, Xing girl, don't you say?"

Xing Yun took a closer look, and she secretly thought: It's just that there are one or two similarities between the eyebrows and the queen mother, and if you talk about appearance, temperament, and demeanor, it is far behind. Although she thought so, she didn't want to sweep away the queen mother's interest, so she had to admit: "It's a little like, just a little bit." ”

"By the way, bring the thing, give it to her. ”

Xing Yun took out a carved white porcelain bottle from the wooden box, stepped forward and approached the sitting girl, her fingers were a little at the mouth of the bottle, and she touched the girl's ears, neck, and wrists lightly, and put on her own incense "Baicao Qingxiang Dew" for the girl, and the girl remained motionless from beginning to end.

Chris looked at Xing Yun on the side, she originally planned to apply some incense for her own use to Zhu'er, but Xing Yun said that she would not let anything, saying that the queen mother's incense was for the queen, and how to use it for slaves and maids, and she talked a lot about identity and rules. Chris understood Xing Yun's thoughts: this girl is a protector of the lord, always towards herself.

"It's good, it's fragrant. Chris leaned down and leaned close to her and took a deep breath.

Xing Yun smelled the fragrance emanating from Zhu'er's pale skin, and her heart was not a taste.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in. ”

Liang Weijian walked into the house, came to her side and whispered, "Li Xian is here, he said he wanted to see you, Lord Lan." ”

Chris said suspiciously, "What is he looking for me for?"

"Can't guess. However, I touched him with bad intentions. ”

"Shouldn't this kid want to get back on the field because of what happened last night?"

"Although Li Xian is arrogant and rude, he is really loyal to the official family, maybe he wants to ......"

"Isn't it like people often say, 'It's a blessing or a curse, it's a disaster that can't be avoided', I'll go and meet him. ”

Liang Weijian told Xing Yun: "Xing Yun, you stay and take care of it." I went with my master to the front hall. ”

"No!"

Li Xian was waiting in the hall, he was sitting on the Taishi chair, crossing Erlang's legs, and his toes were dangling.

Chris stepped out of the aisle, not tall, but slender, with light and graceful steps. With her footsteps, the hem of her green dress fluttered slightly.

Seeing Liang Weijian and Lan Yuanxiao coming, he didn't get up, and looked the two up and down with the meaning of a judge.

Chris bowed his head and saluted, "I've seen Master Li, I don't know what you want to tell your subordinates?"

Li Xian sat up, they were originally at the same level, and Chris's words could be regarded as enough to give him face. There was an unwritten rule in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty: in order to show self-humility, one's official position should be demoted, and in order to show respect, other people's official positions should be promoted. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Li Xian.

"Here you are, sit down. "That attitude seems to be that this is not the Baoci Palace, but the Emperor's Funing Palace.

"Let's just stand and talk. Chris bowed his head slightly, and Liang Weijian followed closely behind her.

Li Xian looked at the two of them and thought: It seems that the rumors from the outside world are true, this Lan Yuanxiao is indeed the number one celebrity around the Queen Mother, and he thought that among the young chamberlains, Liang Weijian would be his biggest opponent in the palace in the future, and now it seems that he will have to stand aside.

The official said that two months later, it will be the queen mother's birthday. Although the national mourning is imminent, everything is simple, and it is not possible to celebrate as usual, but it is also impossible not to express its heart. ”

Liang Weijian looked at Li Xian a little nervously, and moved out of the official house in the opening remarks, not knowing what he wanted.

"The official family wants to let 'Ning Xiangju' make a new incense for the Queen Mother. ”

"Ning Xiangju?"

"Ning Xiangju is the first largest incense shop in the capital, specially for the royal family and nobles to prepare incense medicine, Qin Daguan people's incense craftsmanship is exquisite, new incense launched, the world scramble. His incense is of extraordinary value, more valuable than gold. As a birthday gift for the queen and her old man, it is the most suitable. ”

Chris scolded in his heart: Dead eunuch, you are only an old man.

Speaking of which, although the Empress Dowager Gao is not young, she has a baby face, plus she is well maintained, her skin is white and smooth, and she is a bride.

"Since you serve the Queen Mother, her old man also loves you very much, and the official family also hopes that you can contribute to this matter. "What he said is high-sounding, but in fact, Li Xian's stomach is bad: Didn't you say last time that you would 'bow down and die', our family will fulfill you!" Li Xian raised his voice and said: "The official family asked me to ask, are you willing to run your errands and go to this 'Ning Xiangju' to ask for incense for the Queen Mother?"

"'Ning Xiangju' is on the Royal Street?" Chris suddenly remembered the magnificent archway he saw when he left the palace last time.

Li Xian shrugged his broad shoulders and replied, "Exactly." ”

Liang Weijian's face became gloomy, and he thought: Qin Daguan, the boss of Ning Xiangju, is world-famous for his incense craftsmanship, and people all over the world flock to it, and they often spend a lot of money in order to get a fragrance. So much so that he was arrogant and arrogant, and people who asked for incense were often rejected by him, and he returned in a huff, and even the emperor sent people to ask for incense several times, but he failed to get his wish. Li Xian knew that this matter was even more difficult, and deliberately asked his master to do this errand...... ，

Oh no, Liang Weijian was anxious to open his mouth to stop it, but unfortunately he was a step too late.

"Lan Yuanxiao is willing to serve the Queen Mother. A slight smile appeared on Chris's lips, but Li Xian didn't pay attention, just nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good, very good, it's not a shame that you are loyal to the Queen Mother. Li Xian said, "This is the document and the pass waist card, you are ready to leave the palace later." ”

Liang Weijian glanced at the paperwork coldly, it seems that today's matter has already been calculated, it is best to go if you want to, and you have to go if you don't want to go.

Chris just thought that he could get out of the palace, so he promised and sent Li Xian away with a pleasant face, playing with the waist card in his hand, with a smile on his face.

Liang Weijian wanted to say a few more words, but when he saw the sparkling look in his master's eyes, he thought: The Buddha is above, and it is estimated that no matter how much he persuades, it will be useless, so he can only ask the two lords for help.

The two went to the Imperial City Division first, and explained the reason, and Chris still went out of the palace. Liang Weijian only felt cramped and uneasy, and secretly sighed that the two adults were too willful to let their masters mess around.

In detail, in fact, the Imperial City Division was the secret police agency of the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, personally selected the most trusted Ouchi guards on the left and right, and made them all over the capital to serve in secret. They were highly skilled in martial arts, and they were not under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, and they were ostensibly responsible for the security of the forbidden palace, but in fact they were investigating information for the emperor and handling special tasks.

After Chris left, Lan Yuanzhen and Zhang Ruoshui whispered.

After finishing speaking, Zhang Ruoshui stood up and slapped his palms lightly, and several figures appeared in front of them.

"Dai Ying, you take the phantom and blood shadow brothers and sisters to follow the master, protect from the side, and there must be no mistake. ”

"The subordinates obeyed. ”

Three black shadows disappeared from the window in an instant.

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An official sedan chair swayed out of the East Chengtian Gate, and then out of the Donghua Gate. Only major celebrations can use the main gate of the imperial city "Xuande Gate", and on weekdays, officials go up and down the court and people in the palace to do errands and go to Donghua Gate.

The sedan chair in summer is a "sedan chair", the sedan body is light, the gauze curtain curtains, breathable and cool, two stout eunuchs work together to carry the sedan chair, the pace is brisk.

Seeing that he was out of the imperial city, Chris couldn't wait to open the sedan curtain and look around. Behind the Imperial City carved and painted building, the trees are stacked, the blue tile color threshold, the pavilion is magnificent. Chris watched the silhouette of the high brick wall behind him in the sunlight, and couldn't help but sigh, finally came out.

The sedan chair man went south along Gaotou Street on the edge of the imperial city, and walked a short distance to the Royal Street. Royal Street can be regarded as the "Champs-Élysées" of the Song Dynasty. It is located on the main axis of the whole city, and is the main road from the "Xuande Gate" all the way to the south, with a width of about 300 meters. The central royal road is not allowed to be traveled, and the two sides of the road are called "imperial corridors" (1), and this thousand-step corridor can be called a pedestrian street. The corridor is lined with green trees, a hundred flowers are intertwined, and it is beautiful and beautiful at a glance, and pedestrians from the south to the north are walking under the corridor.

There are many provincial palaces on both sides of the royal street, Zhongshu Province and the Privy Council on the east side, and Shangshu Province and Yushitai on the west side. Go south to Dasheng Mansion, followed by Taichang Temple. The front door of the Bianzhou County Office is the Zuozang Treasury, one of the three major national treasury. Qin Yujiu opened Ning Xiangju here, naturally he has his purpose, it can be said that "the building near the water is the first to get the moon", and he can grasp the trend of the government at any time.

The shops on the Imperial Corridor are all flagship stores, and Ning Xiang Ju is undoubtedly the most luxurious one. The sedan chair stopped at the door, a eunuch lifted the sedan curtain for her, and Chris stepped out of the sedan chair. Two eunuchs were waiting at the door, and she walked alone to the shop.

Seeing Chris walk into Ning Xiangju, the two eunuchs carrying the sedan chair exchanged glances, and one said: "In the past, the people sent by Lord Li waited for a whole day, and finally returned empty-handed!"

The other said, "Let's not wait with us, let's go to the wine shop first, how about it?"

"Let's go!"

With that, the two carried the sedan chair and walked away.

Ning Xiangju is really magnificent, and through the entrance hall, there are two deep mansions hidden inside. The air is filled with the aroma of spices such as cinnamon and citrus. Chris was led into a special guest room, and after a while an old servant came out to greet her.

Chris handed over the paperwork, explaining that it meant to ask for incense for the Queen Mother.

After reading the paperwork, the old servant was silent.

"Is there anything wrong with it, old man?" asked Chris when he saw that the other party was embarrassed.

"This ...... , the master went out and did not return, this matter is very important, and the old servant really can't be the master. ”

"Where did the Qin officials go, and when will they come back?"

"Uncle Guo asked the master to come over to the house to talk about buying incense. As for when I will be able to return, I can't say, sometimes I can come back on the same day, sometimes it will take a few days. ”

"I see. Chris was still smiling and calm.

Seeing that Chris in front of him did not become impatient, this was a bit unexpected by the old servant, unlike the eunuchs he had dealt with before, he felt that this young man was quite stable, and his heart was full of good feelings.

"Sir, will you let me try my luck and wait here?"

The old servant hesitated, then nodded. The old man handed back the paperwork, Chris sat back in the heavy mahogany chair, and the old man had another cold drink.

When Chris smelled it, it seemed to be mint ice water, fragrant and refreshing, "What kind of drink is this?" ”

"CUHK adults (2) have never drunk it, this is chicken su water (3), which clears away heat and relieves heat, and is the most suitable for summer. ”

Chris took a sip, the taste of mint tea was cool and fragrant, and he smiled, "I've drunk it, we don't call it that name there." ”

"Medium-sized adults, please wait here, and if the master returns, I will inform you again. The old man withdrew.

The old servant withdrew from the chamber and returned to the antechamber, where he found that his master had returned from outside. So he stepped forward and bowed his head, let the little maid take the sundries in the master's hand, and he took the oil paper bag handed over by the master.

"This thing is not easy to come by, it is a kind of grass seed native to the grassland of Liao. I will take it and try the incense after that. ”

Although Qin Yujiu used the identity of the boss of Ning Xiangju to enter and leave the palaces of the emperor's relatives and dignitaries, the purpose was to find out the whereabouts of the "Demon Sect Holy Book", but he himself was indeed a fragrant idiot, obsessed with the development of various spices.

The old servant laughed, and when the master talked about spices, he was like a child. This innocent and straightforward expression is somewhat similar to the little eunuch just now.

"Who's in the wing?" asked the host.

"It was sent by Lord Li in the palace, saying that he wanted to ask for incense for the Queen Mother. ”

Qin Yujiu frowned, showed a look of disgust, and said, "Didn't I say that as long as he was sent by Li Xian, he would not be seen, and I would hang him." ”

The old servant knew his master's temperament very well, but he still added: "This person seems to be different from Li Xian." ”

He glanced at the old servant and said sharply, "When did you become so wordy?"

"The old slave knows. The old servant said in his heart that the master did not enter the oil and salt at this moment, so he had to keep his mouth shut. I thought: Little eunuch, who made you sent by Master Li, it is touching the master's bad luck, and I can't help you.

Chris was still waiting in the wing, the left couldn't wait, the right couldn't wait, she simply didn't wait. The palace compound was all for her to wander around, not to mention this small Ning Xiang Residence? While no one was paying attention, she quietly went into the backyard.

Walking into the courtyard with caryophyllus and vines climbing, she heard bursts of crisp silver bells. Following the sound to the courtyard, I found a group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls, all of whom were cloudy and had bright lips and teeth. They were gathered around, chattering about something.

The girl at the head holds a long bamboo pole, standing in front of a huge wooden wall, the wooden wall hangs a sandalwood painting scroll, the silver bell is hung under the painting shaft, and after a while, there are other girls reporting the horizontal and vertical numbers where the scroll is located, such as Jia Qi Ding Jiu, the girl with the bamboo pole will gently touch the silver bell, making a burst of crisp sounds, and then the girls will talk about it, it seems that after reaching a consistent conclusion, the bamboo pole girl will pick off the painting scroll and hang it on a mahogany low shelf next to it, and a row of painting scrolls has been hung on the shelf before.

Chris couldn't see what was painted on the scroll, so he took a few steps closer, not wanting any girl to notice her, and sighed, and for a moment all the girls turned their heads and looked at her with amazement...... Chris suddenly realizes that he is the only "male" present.

Looking at this handsome little eunuch, the girls couldn't help whispering, and a bold girl took a few steps forward.

Chris was just about to explain why he was there, when the girl suddenly said, "Ambergris (4)?"

This sentence seemed to attract the attention of the other girls, and one by one they came over and surrounded her.

"It's really ambergris. ”

Others also stepped forward to smell her: "There is also the fragrance of peony clothes." ”

"One tael each of danpi, cloves, and jatamansi, and one penny each of borneol and musk. There is a fast-talking girl who proudly reported the compatibility of "Peony Yixiang".

"This incense that can only be used by the emperor's relatives and relatives, how can you afford it as a little eunuch?" The girl led by spoke, looking very sophisticated.

Ambergris was the most precious spice in the Song Dynasty, it was the secretion of the intestines and stomach of sperm whales, similar to stones, and was generally paid tribute by the big food country. Ambergris is sold for one or two in the capital and can reach 150 yuan. Dipterocarp is also extremely precious, one, two, eight. It has always been a thousand yuan, and in the Song Dynasty, a hundred yuan could buy more than a bucket of grain. Even in modern times, ambergris is just as expensive.

"Sisters, I'm here to ask for incense for the Queen Mother. Her old man was afraid that I would stink, and the officials of Qin refused to see me, so they gave me this precious incense. ”

"Just to order a trivial matter of sesame mung beans, I gave you such a precious incense?"

"How is it a trivial matter of sesame mung beans, Qin Daguan is a master of 'Hexiang', how dare Yuan Xiao be rude? . The women saw that the handsome little eunuch's answer was reasonable, generous and decent, so they didn't ask any more.

Chris stepped forward and saw the white drawings of various plants, herbs, and spices painted on the scroll, and the names, sources, and origins of the spices were also written on the paintings, and she asked, "What game were you guys just doing?"

"No, we're practicing perfumery. ”

"With incense?"

"Sister Xiangling is teaching us how to become the 'Hexiang Master' of Ning Xiangju. It is to take the spices drawn on the painting shaft, try to combine a new compatibility, when the master wants to combine the new incense, we have to hand in the incense medicine list of their own matching. The girl is simple by nature, and in a few words, she not only told Chris the name of the girl who was the leader, but also revealed something that was regarded as a "trade secret" in modern business warfare.

"Oh, that sounds fun, can I try it too?" Although some of the incense Chris didn't recognize, she recognized a large part of it, and the use of these natural spices was enough for her to make a Song Dynasty version of "Chanel No. 5", which made her immediately playful.

"Do you think this is fun? Do you know how long we've been studying to get here?" the girls around them were dissatisfied.

"You let him try, and he won't know. "It's the fast-talking girl again.

Chris saluted to the girl named Xiangling, "Sister Xiangling, I'm a big layman, and I can only recognize the incense on the scroll two or three out of ten, but the ones I recognize are really the flavors I particularly like, so let me try it." ”

Xiangling looked at Chris, thinking that this eunuch was not annoying, and it would be okay for him to try.

"B VIII. ”

Every time Chris reported it, the one named Xiangling used a bamboo pole to take down a painting scroll, and then she reported faster and faster, and the silver bell kept ringing. Slowly, a row of scrolls hung from the low shelves.

Chris read it again: jasmine + bellflower + rose, she chose these three things first, white pine + vanilla + benzoin + ylang-ylang, and then she chose a group of green vanilla, and then she chose a group of citrus fruits, mandarin + bitter orange...... She searched around and found no trace of lemon (5), so she finally chose a fruit that resembled a grapefruit. She looked at it and was quite satisfied, some of them were selected by her white drawings, some were guessed by name, and some were blind, in a word: this match will not be wrong outrageous.