"Exactly how did you know my identity?" Xiao Mingyu asked.
Previously, Zheng Qian had only let him guess. He had pondered it for days.
Xiao Mingyu was busy; such trivial matters shouldn't bother him, yet he couldn't let it go. Better to ask directly.
A prince's time and energy must be spent wisely.
"I overheard Your Highness speaking with my elder brother about Zhai Yu Xuan," Zheng Qian explained. "That time, I was discovered by my brother's bodyguard, Shi Yong."
Xiao Mingyu's eyes sharpened. "You could hear that?"
If he remembered correctly, the fake rockery was far away. Even with perfect hearing, it shouldn't have been possible.
Zheng Qian just smiled: "If you don't believe me, measure an equal distance. You and a page speak there; then I'll tell you what I heard."
Xiao Mingyu was intrigued.
He immediately rose and called a page.
Recalling the positions of the Zheng family's pavilion and fake rockery, he chose a similar distance.
He and the page spoke three sentences, then returned and asked Zheng Qian if she had heard.
"I heard it," she said. "Your Highness said: Tonight at Yicui Tower, cook a stir-fried white vegetable, lightly salted."
Xiao Mingyu: "..."
Usually calm and knowledgeable, he now stared at Zheng Qian in disbelief.
The distance made it impossible to hear normally. Even a skilled practitioner couldn't have done it.
This was extraordinary.
He finally believed she had genuinely overheard.
"Your hearing is so sharp. At the Wen family previously, when I approached, why didn't you notice?" Xiao Mingyu asked.
Zheng Qian's brain terminal lacked the chip support. Using it occasionally caused excruciating headaches.
It was like a laptop without a charger: it could run briefly on its internal battery, but only for minutes, and then it would shut down with pain.
Fortunately, her spatial storage had no such limits.
Though her head throbbed, she maintained a calm, composed appearance, showing no sign of discomfort.
"Sometimes effective, sometimes not," Zheng Qian said with a smile.
Xiao Mingyu, sharp-eyed, immediately saw her pain.
"Her mind isn't well," he thought. "Indeed, this kind of skill is extremely taxing. No wonder she doesn't use it often."
He was shocked, but not malicious.
"Miss Zheng, you should rest first," Xiao Mingyu said kindly. "Take care of yourself."
"My mosquito coils, Your Highness…"
The business wasn't finished yet.
"I'll consider it. I'll give you an answer in a few days. By the way, what ingredients did you use?"
Zheng Qian listed them all.
When she mentioned "arsenic and realgar," Xiao Mingyu understood and nodded.
Zheng Qian bid farewell and left.
Afterward, Xiao Mingyu examined the black mosquito coils, shaking his head:
"What kind of mosquito repellent is this? Poisonous to mosquitoes, perhaps."
The smell was unpleasant, the appearance ugly, and with toxic substances mixed in, it seemed worthless.
Those who could buy incense were usually wealthy. They preferred fragrant items, not something ugly and foul-smelling.
"Coiling like this extends burn time. A straight stick would burn out in an hour; trying to make it longer risks breaking. The spiral shape can burn for three to four hours." This was Zheng Qian's explanation.
A clever design indeed.
Xiao Mingyu placed the coils on a side table, deep in thought.
A page reported: "Your Highness, Lady Cheng has come to pay her respects."
"Let her in," Xiao Mingyu said, returning to reality.
A slender, beautiful woman entered, with a round, pleasant face—plump but not fat, very likable.
"Your Highness, I've prepared some sweet soup to refresh and whet your appetite," Lady Cheng said, placing a tray with two bowls.
"How thoughtful of you," Xiao Mingyu said.
Lady Cheng began tearfully: "It's been days since Your Highness visited me."
He quickly embraced her, seating her on his lap, soothing her gently: "Busy. If you want fabrics or jewelry, tell the steward. Don't restrain yourself."
"I don't want those. But regarding my brother-in-law, Your Highness…"
"All right, I'll handle it. Just appoint a county magistrate, it's no problem." Xiao Mingyu carried her into the small pavilion.
An hour later, Lady Cheng, exhausted, fell asleep. Xiao Mingyu left after finishing the sweet soup, ordering the staff to escort her home.
When she woke, it was mid-afternoon. She felt sore all over.
The prince, in his prime, was self-disciplined, never indulging elsewhere. His energy went entirely to his four consorts. After such attention, Lady Cheng often collapsed from exhaustion.
A young page reported respectfully: "Your Highness, Lady Cheng, please return. The prince has gone out."
Lady Cheng saw the sweet soup left on the table and nodded with satisfaction. Then she noticed the small box beside it: "What's this?"
The page looked: "Seems to be incense…"
It wasn't the prince's, likely the mosquito coils Lady Zheng had delivered.
"Strange incense?" Lady Cheng was curious.
"A mosquito coil, for repelling mosquitoes," the page said.
"My courtyard has many mosquitoes. Since it's good, I'll keep it," she said.
Lady Cheng was a bit greedy but harmless.
The prince had no empress and only four consorts. Each was cunning; Lady Cheng's flaw was greed.
The page knew her temperament and that the prince favored her. Even a more valuable incense would be given to her, so he complied.
Lady Cheng happily took the box, gave it to her maid, and returned to her courtyard.
That evening, Xiao Mingyu returned and was told: "Your Highness, the mosquito coils were taken by Lady Cheng."
"What mosquito coils?"
"Miss Zheng's gift," the page said.
Xiao Mingyu remembered. Ugly, foul-smelling, barely effective—they had held little interest for him. Lady Cheng wanted new things, so he let her have it.
"Dismissed." He paid it no mind.
Xiao Mingyu was well-informed. One's abilities often excel in one domain while being mediocre in others.
For example, Zheng Qian could make abaci or be provided with abaci, but could not easily make effective mosquito coils on her own.
He hadn't thought much of it—but the mosquito coils sparked a minor dispute in his mansion.