nycdaug Chapter 185 A Clever Solution to the Spice Crisis
Chapter 185 A Clever Solution to the Spice Crisis
Chapter 185: Ingenious Strategies to Solve the Spice Difficulty
A clever solution to the spice dilemma
As the last drop of rain fell from the eaves into the peacock-blue brocade pouch, Su Yunlan had already crushed three snow mountain dragon brains with her fingertips.
Ice crystal fragments refracted star patterns on the gilded needle pouch, and the heavenly fragrance and golden mist floating in the dark patterns of Xiao Yuhan's armor were slowly piecing together the tattered secret letter from the Xiao family.
&34; The tribute goods that disappeared in a sandstorm during a Western Regions caravan twenty years ago. &34; She tucked the silver hairpin, still stained with camphor, back into her hair; the phantom of a hoe in the tea soup outlined a continuous snow-capped mountain range; &34; The frankincense in Manager Wu's snuff bottle carried the same incantation for changing fragrance. &34;
Xiao Yuhan lightly tapped the blue brick with the hilt of his sword, startling half a lotus seal hidden in the ashes of the tea stove: "The scheme set up by Master Zhou should be broken using the rules of the Xiao family's secret guards." As his battle robe fluttered, it overturned a teacup, spilling amber tea onto the contract that Wu, the spice merchant, had delivered yesterday, the ink spreading to reveal the words "Canaan incense, two to three hundred gold coins each."
As the third watchman's drum struck, Su Yunlan stepped into Wu's Spice Shop alone.
The black cloak swept past the lotus-shaped copper bell hidden on the threshold, and the twenty pounds of ordinary agarwood in the space suddenly trembled—this was a fake she had refined with Heavenly Fragrance Essence last night, and it was now emitting a cold fragrance even more refreshing than ambergris.
&34；萧夫人竟敢孤身前来？&34；吴香料商翡翠扳指敲打着鎏金香炉，炉中飘出的乳白烟雾在空中凝成&34；五百金&34；的价码，&34；听闻贵府昨夜得了雪山龙脑？
Unfortunately, when the Incense Changing Spell took effect... &34;
Su Yunlan's wide sleeves fluttered lightly, her ten fingers flying like butterflies.
The fragments of agarwood refined in the space scattered in the wind, and to the astonishment of the other party, they actually condensed into the Big Dipper constellation in mid-air.
As the last incense ash fell into the gilded incense burner, the originally milky white smoke suddenly turned into flowing gold, making the entire shop look like a place of worship before a Buddha.
&34;This incense is called Breaking the Formation. &34;She flicked a wisp of golden mist with her fingertips, and within the mist, the phantoms of golden spears and iron horses vaguely appeared. &34;Mr. Wu, why don't you take a closer sniff? Is this Canaan incense mixed with the unique...blood amber scent of the tribute from twenty years ago? &34;
The jade thumb ring clattered onto the boxwood abacus, causing Wu the spice merchant's plump body to lurch forward.
His nostrils flared violently, and he suddenly grabbed a silver knife from the table and slashed open the spice bag—the Western Region brocade bag, which should have emitted a frankincense scent, now spilled out a dark red perfume powder mixed with the smell of rust.
"How could you know the secret recipe for the tribute!" His neck veins bulged, and the jade snuff bottle creaked in his palm. "Master Zhou clearly said..."
"You said no one could break the Incense Changing Spell?" Su Yunlan suddenly lifted her cloak, and the cold light reflected from the silver hairpin in her hair made the other person squint.
She pulled half of a brocade pouch soaked in peacock blue mist from her sleeve, and the fleeting image of a caravan from twenty years ago appeared and disappeared in the mist: &34; Did Boss Wu really think that the thirty-six carts of tribute that disappeared in the sandstorm back then could be kept secret? &34;
Sparks suddenly flew from the gilded incense burner, and Wu, the spice merchant, staggered backward, knocking over the antique display shelf.
Just as the three-foot-tall blood amber Guanyin statue was about to fall to the ground, Su Yunlan's medicinal hoe flashed through the air, and seven snow mountain dragon brains engraved with lotus flower patterns rolled out from the broken porcelain shards.
"Five hundred gold coins?" She crushed one of the dragon brains, and the ice crystal fragments, under the stimulation of the specially made agarwood in the space, actually condensed in the air into three seal characters: "Fragrance Exchange Token." "How about we talk about the thirty-six cartloads of tribute you picked up from the sandstorm back then? How much of it is still lit now?"
At the sound of the night watchman's drum at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Wu Xiang, the spice merchant, trembled as he opened the secret compartment of the hidden room.
When Su Yunlan's space was filled with thirty-seven kinds of rare spices, a faint clattering sound came from the eaves.
She seemingly unintentionally left the peacock blue brocade pouch next to the jade box containing camphor incense. The heavenly fragrance emanating from the pouch's hidden patterns was quietly corroding the lotus seal on the bottom of the box.
"Madam Xiao, please wait!" Suddenly, Wu, the spice merchant, chased after her out of the shop, holding up a half-torn piece of parchment. "This...this is a fragment of a spice-making manual left behind by the caravan back then, perhaps..."
Su Yunlan, however, chuckled as she watched the peacock-blue hem of her dress drift past at the end of the alley: "A fragmented recipe paired with a lingering fragrance, Mr. Wu, you should keep it to ward off evil spirits." She deliberately raised her voice, "At the incense competition in three days, I hope you will come and appreciate my 'Breaking the Formation' incense, made from ordinary agarwood."
In the deeper darkness of the night, the rhinoceros horn lamp on the top floor of the Zhao family's collection pavilion suddenly burst into flames.
The white-haired old man held a carrier pigeon that had flown out of Wu's Spice Shop. His aged fingertips brushed the Heavenly Fragrance Gold Powder on the pigeon's claws. Suddenly, half of the yellowed ancient book in the sandalwood box in front of him moved without wind, revealing four faded vermilion characters: "Explanation of the Incense Exchange Order".
"Twenty years..." His cloudy eyes reflected the crescent moon outside the window, and his withered hand suddenly crushed the luminous pearl he used to detect fragrance. "There really is someone who can awaken the Heavenly Fragrance Guide."
(Continued from above)
The moonlight at midnight bathed the eaves of the Zhao family's collection pavilion in the light of the beast heads. The peacock blue brocade pouch that Su Yunlan held in her fingertips emitted golden mist, outlining half of the incomplete scroll of "Heavenly Fragrance" on the blue bricks.
Collector Zhao's withered fingers suddenly pressed down on the sandalwood box that was moving rustlingly, and fragments of the luminous pearl fell from between his fingers.
&34; Madam Xiao thought she could exchange a counterfeit product refined with Heavenly Fragrance for the secrets guarded by my Zhao family for three generations? &34; The old man slid half a black ebony pipe from his sleeve, sparks exploding into eerie blue flames on the sandalwood shavings brought by Su Yunlan, &34; Twenty years ago, when Master Zhou used thirty-six cartloads of lives to refine the Incense Exchange Spell, you were still drinking Meng Po's Soup. &34;
The rhinoceros horn lamp burst forth with three flames, illuminating the dung fragments on the silver hairpin in Su Yunlan's hair, which gleamed with a cold light.
She suddenly threw the brocade pouch into the burning sandalwood pile. Golden mist, carrying blue flames, shot into the sky and condensed into the phantoms of thirty-six neighing camels between the roof beams: "Old Zhao, do you recognize this caravan?"
The sandstorms of that year swept away more than just tribute items. &34;
The ancient book in the sandalwood box suddenly made a tearing sound, and the collector Zhao's cloudy pupils contracted sharply.
He grabbed the gilded incense burner from the table and smashed it at the phantom, but the ashes inside turned into a cloud of yellow sand that enveloped the two of them.
When the caravan leader in the phantom removed his windproof mask, the old man suddenly coughed violently—his face, covered in sand, was exactly the same as the portrait of his deceased father that he treasured.
&34;The lingering fragrance illusion recreated through space is ultimately just a mirage. &34;Su Yunlan's hoe-like phantom cleaved through the yellow sand, precisely picking out the lotus-shaped copper bell from the waist of a Western Region merchant in the illusion, &34;Just like this token of the incense exchange token from back then, in the hidden box in the third compartment of Old Zhao's study...&34;
"Enough!" Collector Zhao suddenly overturned the tea table, and the precious Jian ware shattered into starlight amidst the peacock blue mist.
He trembled as he pulled a jade snuff bottle from his robes, taking two deep sniffs to steady his breath: "Tomorrow before noon, bring the real incense exchange token to exchange for the incomplete score."
As the sound of the wooden clapper at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) drifted through the carved window lattices of the inn, Qian, the maid, was kneeling in the private room on the second floor, wiping the sandalwood incense table.
The Canaan incense smoke emanating from the gilded incense burner suddenly twisted into a snake shape, startling her so much that she dropped the cotton handkerchief in her hand.
As the handkerchief swept across the ashes at the bottom of the stove, a few grains of agarwood mixed with peacock blue fragments suddenly burst into sparks.
"This smell..." Qian suddenly covered her mouth and nose. The scent of that blood moon night many years ago burst through her memory—the sachet her mother had stuffed into her swaddling clothes before her death had this same cold fragrance mixed with the smell of rust.
She staggered backward, knocking over a celadon vase. The flying shards of porcelain just grazed the gilded incense burner, and wisps of golden mist, tinged with blood, seeped from the burner's dark patterns.
The moment the sound of tinkling jade pendants came from outside the door, Qian, the maid, hurriedly grabbed a rag to cover up the strange phenomenon.
As Su Yunlan pushed open the door, the wind that entered lifted the crimson gauze curtain, and the moonlight happened to shine on the crack in the incense burner—the blood amber balsam that had congealed there resonated with the lingering fragrance of the tribute from twenty years ago in her space.
"Please forgive me, Madam!" Qian, the maid, trembled on the ground like an autumn leaf, the blood-stained porcelain shards hidden in her sleeves turning the peacock blue mist a dark purple.
She didn't see Su Yunlan's pupils suddenly constrict—that eerie purple was the very color of the curse that had overflowed from the secret room of Wu Xiang, the spice merchant, when the Heavenly Fragrance Essence was used to break the Incense Exchange Curse last night.
Su Yunlan bent down and picked up the fragrant cotton handkerchief. The heavenly fragrance from her fingertips drew golden mist that silently enveloped the maid Qian's hair.
When she smelled the lingering scent of Garuda flowers on the other person, she suddenly remembered the Western Region dancer in the illusion of the Zhao Mansion who always had her back to everyone—that person's arm bracelet also had the same fragrance.
'The incense ash was swept carefully.' She stuffed the cotton handkerchief back into the maid's trembling hand. The blurry image of the medicine hoe lightly brushed against the crack in the incense burner as she turned. 'Tomorrow, have the kitchen prepare a calming soup. Listening to the night watchman's drum... makes it easy to have nightmares.'
Moonlight spilled over the plain-colored sachet that Qian, the maid, had left behind in her hasty escape. Su Yunlan used a silver hairpin to pick up the dark purple sachets that were flowing from the sachet.
Twenty catties of snow mountain dragon brain in the space suddenly spontaneously gathered into a lotus array, devouring all the incense ash—this is a reaction that only occurs when the Heavenly Fragrance encounters a curse of the same origin.