"Your Majesty, who is this? I don't know him," Consort Shu said in a panicked voice.
"Your Highness, I am a perfumer from the Western Regions. You added Tranquilizing Incense, Agarwood Incense, and Night-Blooming Cereus Incense to your blend. These three combined cause hallucinations and temporary memory loss. Prolonged use leads to profound amnesia."
The moment Lingyun finished speaking, Consort Shu vehemently retorted, "Nonsense! You're spouting nonsense and slandering me! I did no such thing. I know nothing about what you're saying!"
"Is that so? You don't even remember the incense you blended yourself, Your Highness? You must have lived in the Western Regions before. Otherwise, how could you be so familiar with incense?"
Consort Shu fell to her knees before Ye Yubei. "No, Your Majesty! I didn't! This man is slandering me. You must punish him severely!"
Ye Yubei lifted Consort Shu's chin and stared down at her. "Surely you know whether you did it, Consort Shu? Shall I have your incense brought here and tested on the spot?"
Consort Shu looked into Ye Yubei's fathomless eyes and saw nothing but bone-piercing coldness.
After all these years, Ye Yubei had still discovered it, despite how cautious and meticulous she had been. Sure enough, there was no wall in the world that didn't let the wind through.
"Your Majesty... I truly didn't. I only added Tranquilizing Incense. Since you like Night-Blooming Cereus Incense, I used its branches and leaves in the blend. As for the Agarwood Incense, I truly don't know who added it."
Consort Shu knelt on the floor and continued defending herself. This time, however, Ye Yubei could no longer be bothered to listen. With a wave of his hand, several eunuchs took her away. She was stripped of her title outright and confined to the Palace of