Huo Qilang had seen this sachet before. It held some strange soil of unknown origin that gave off a medicinal smell. To identify the medicines in it, Li Yuanying had made the physician Lü Qingguang test it repeatedly. He had distinguished the scents of four blood-staunching herbs, including agrimony, but nothing more had come of it. Bringing it out again now seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Li Yuanying loosened the sachet's drawstring and sniffed inside. "The smell of the medicinal dregs has grown extremely faint. Just like what happened all those years ago: everything that needed disposing of has been disposed of, and almost everyone who knew anything has disappeared."
"Seven years ago, Mother became pregnant again. I had just turned seventeen, and the palace was selecting noble girls of marriageable age, preparing for me to marry and move out. Baozhu was deeply unwilling. She wanted to keep living with Mother and me forever. The Directorate of Astrology had already chosen an auspicious date, and the investiture document and Imperial Seal were ready. Once Mother had finished her month of recovery after childbirth, the ceremony to crown her empress would take place.
"Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Then a rumor reached the palace that Prince Shao had been born prematurely. Mother flew into a rage and asked to leave the palace. Though the emperor did everything he could to soothe her and ordered a thorough investigation into the rumor's source, the distress still unsettled her pregnancy. But she had always been healthy. Even four or five months pregnant, she had continued practicing her dancing as usual. After a few days of rest, her complexion seemed to return to normal.
"The day of the birth arrived as expected. Baozhu and I waited anxiously for the new life to arrive,