"After the Empress entered, she only drank two sips of tea and ate some pastries, but Yu Tan and I also partook in those, so the issue shouldn't lie there…" Zhui Ying's expression was grave as he explained at a rapid pace, suddenly halting in his actions when he reached the incense burner. He pinched a bit of incense ash to inspect it closely, and after a moment, his brow furrowed harshly, "This incense is tampered with!"
Without hesitation, Zhui Ying used the tea to extinguish the still-smoldering incense, his brows tightly knitted.
"This incense contains an aphrodisiac element, but Yu Tan and I have been in the room for so long without issues; it seems this was targeted specifically at women." He hung his head in a mixture of shame, "Your Majesty, forgive me, I was careless and didn't expect that someone would tamper with the incense."
