The next day, Marquis Zhen'an went to the military camp to train soldiers as usual. He was a military general and had fought in the battlefield himself. He would follow the soldiers during the training and acted like a superior without any airs when dealing with the soldiers.
On this day, he wore a single layer of clothes as usual and practiced boxing with the soldiers. His fists were as powerful as those of a tiger and he worked very hard. After practicing for a while, he was covered in sweat.
The lieutenant general and soldiers who were training nearby suddenly smelled a special fragrance, sweet and faint, with an indescribable and very attractive smell. It stood out among the stinking sweat of all the men in the field, just like a swaying and blooming orchid growing beside a cesspool.
"What's that smell? Whose incense? No, it's not the smell of incense..."
"Is it the taste of some sweet pastry that some woman likes to eat?"
"No, someone must have secretly bought flowers to give to the girl! A scent of flowers!"
“Is it fruity?”
…
A group of soldiers were practicing boxing and talking to each other. Talking was not prohibited during their daily training, so the soldiers who smelled the fragrance immediately became curious. They talked a lot and looked around, trying to find the person with the fragrance.
The deputy general closest to Marquis Zhen'an sniffed around like a big dog. His hard work paid off and he finally discovered that the fragrance was coming from Marquis Zhen'an.
"My Lord, it's you! You are a stinky man, why do you smell so good? Did you go to see Hua Niang last night? This is not good. If your sister-in-law finds out, she will break your legs."
The deputy general asked in shock, with an expression of "you are sorry to your sister-in-law" on his face.
After hearing his question, the Marquis of Zhen'an immediately refuted, "How could it be me? How can a grown man like me smell good? Don't wrongly accuse me! I was accompanying my wife in the mansion last night. I think it was you, right? The thief is crying thief..."
Marquis Zhen'an glared at the deputy general. He naturally smelled the faint fragrance, but he didn't realize it was emanating from his body, so his rebuttal was justified.
The deputy general looked at him with an indescribable look and said, "My Lord, why don't you smell yourself first? I have a very sensitive nose and I won't make a mistake."
The Marquis of Zhen'an was so angry that his eyes bulged: "Just smell it!" As he said that, he raised his arm and put it under his nose, took a deep breath, and was immediately dumbfounded. He thought he would only smell the usual stinky sweat smell, but he didn't expect to smell a delicate fragrance. The sweet fragrance was really coming from him!
The deputy general saw his stunned look and immediately asked with a gloating look:
"How is it, Lord? This fragrance is coming from you, am I right? I didn't expect that you, Lord, would make yourself smell good like those weak, pretentious civil servants and pretty boys. I really didn't expect it..."
"Shut up!" Marquis Zhen'an shouted angrily at his deputy general. He was confused and had no idea how he got the fragrance on his body. He raised his arm and sniffed again and again, thinking again and again in his mind, trying to remember whether he had broken one of his wife's sachet this morning and sprinkled the perfume powder on his body.
He thought for a long time and suddenly felt that the fragrance was a little familiar. After careful recollection, he suddenly realized and slapped his thigh. Isn't this the smell of the exotic fruit that his wife brought back home yesterday and said was sent by Madam Luo Xiang
The case is finally solved!
The Marquis of Zhen'an immediately regained his majestic expression and said to the deputy general: "This is the fragrance of shampoo fruit, sweet and sour. I ate a lot of it yesterday. I think it was the fruit fragrance that accidentally rubbed on my body."
The deputy general smiled, but didn't say whether he believed it or not. He just raised his eyebrows and said, "Can the fragrance of this shampoo fruit last so long? I really want to taste it."
"That's really unfortunate. The fruits I eat were given to my wife by others. You can't eat them even if you want to." said the Marquis of Zhen'an. He patted himself in disgust, trying to get rid of the fragrance.
But this scent was not the scent of the fruit juice rubbed on his body, but the scent of his sweat, so it was impossible to get rid of it.
After taking pictures for a long time, the Marquis of Zhen'an felt that the fragrance was getting stronger and stronger, making him, a grown man, feel uncomfortable as if he was wearing a girl's flowery dress. So he said to his deputy general:
"You watch them train, I'm going back to the camp to take a shower first!" After saying that, he ran away like a flash. Somehow, his strong back made people feel that he was fleeing in a hurry.
"So the fragrance actually came from the general? You can't judge a person by his appearance..."
"What do you know? Maybe the general's wife asked the general to apply the perfumed powder?"
"Then the general dotes on his wife too much, doesn't he? Haha, the general is a henpecked man..."
"Isn't it too effeminate for a grown man to put on powder?"
"What kind of perfume powder? The general said it was the scent of fruit rubbed on his body!"
"Fruit scent? Haha, can you believe it? What kind of fruit scent is so strong?"
"Hehe, General must be embarrassed, so he's making up an excuse."
…
The teasing discussions of the soldiers rang in the ears of Marquis Zhen'an, making his dark and handsome face turn red. He felt extremely ashamed and secretly hated himself for eating so many fruits yesterday.
Marquis Zhen'an washed himself thoroughly before he stopped. However, he did not return to the parade ground. Instead, he rode his horse back to the city to find his wife.
When he got to the gate of the mansion, he dismounted and strode towards the lady's courtyard. Because he walked fast, he was sweating again. I don't know if it was his psychological effect or what? He seemed to smell the fruity fragrance again. He shuddered immediately and concluded that it was his illusion.
Soon he arrived at the marquis's courtyard. As soon as he entered the house, a scream shattered his hope.
"Why do you smell so good? Where have you been?" The marquis's wife asked in surprise when she saw her tall and strong husband bringing a scent with him as he walked in.
When Zhen'an Hou heard this, he was startled and hurriedly sniffed himself. Sure enough, he smelled the familiar fragrance again. His eyes went dark and he wished he could faint.
"I, I don't know either! I took a shower before I came back and confirmed that the smell was gone, but somehow, the fragrance suddenly came out again! Madam, you have to save me, I can't go out with a gust of fragrance..."
The Marquis of Zhen'an spoke in a panic. When his wife smelled the fragrance on him, she thought her husband had betrayed her and found another woman. But now seeing that he was even more panicked than she was, she burst out laughing.