"Is this the perfume he extracted? Why does it smell somewhat familiar?"
Redfish stepped forward and sniffed it, catching a faint, savory saltiness that seemed to be the distinctive scent of operculum incense.
Burned on its own, operculum incense was not particularly pleasant. It needed to be boiled in lye or treated by other means to remove its fishy slime. Li Ling had used his extraordinary talent to gather the free-floating incense essence dispersed through the air and force it into Mystic Origin True Water, naturally capturing the properties of that scent as well.
Unlike ordinary processing methods, however, the incense essence extracted this way was exceptionally pure, without the slightest trace of fishy stench.
Instead, the other scents in the garden, including the incense worn by the maid standing nearby, interfered with it and affected its fragrance.
Having followed Madam Zhao for many years, Redfish naturally possessed considerable expertise herself. She soon realized why this scent was so familiar.
"Isn't this the fragrance given off by the Snail Shell Sanctuary itself? How on earth did he do it?"
Deeply puzzled, Redfish picked up the cup and examined it, but could not make sense of it.
At least, though, she could rule out the suspicion that Li Ling had prepared other operculum incense spirit materials beforehand to cheat his way through Madam Zhao's test.
Unless he could foresee the future and knew what question Madam Zhao would devise on a whim.
Before long, Redfish arrived in the rear courtyard.
Madam Zhao lay languidly on an embroidered couch, her delicate brows slightly knitted as she continued to sulk.
Ordinarily, when she encountered such a loathsome little scoundrel, she could give him a sound thrashing and clear the blockage in her thoughts. But a junior from Senior Yellow Cloud's household could not