Chapter 48 A Plan to Turn the Tide
Although the turmoil at the Lakeside Pavilion had temporarily subsided with Su Rou's death, the atmosphere within the Regent's Palace did not ease; on the contrary, it became even more tense.
Su Rou's body has been secretly disposed of, and the only public statement is that she died suddenly from an acute illness.
Inside the bedroom in the main courtyard.
Jiang Mianmian sat cross-legged on the bed, holding an apple in her hand, happily munching on it.
Su Rou is dead; the Empress Dowager will surely receive the news soon.
That old hag is inherently suspicious. If she finds out Su Rou is dead and I'm unharmed, she'll definitely suspect Su Rou failed. Then it'll be a series of assassinations and poisonings—it'll never end!
[So annoying! Can't I just be a quiet couch potato? Why do I have to use my brain?!]
Shen Jin sat at the table to the side, wiping his sword. Hearing her thoughts, he paused slightly, looked up at her, and asked, "What insightful opinion does Your Highness have?"
Jiang Mianmian swallowed the apple, a sly glint in her eyes:
“Your Highness, as the art of war says: ‘When you are real, make it appear unreal; when you are unreal, make it appear real.’ Since the Empress Dowager wants me dead, then I will… ‘die’ in front of her.”
"Death?" Shen Jin frowned, clearly disliking the word.
"Oh, it's just playing dead! Or pretending to be half-dead!"
Jiang Mianmian gestured excitedly, "Isn't the 'Soul-Severing Powder' that Su Rou used supposedly incurable? Then I'll pretend... that although I didn't die, I was poisoned, unconscious, and on the verge of death!"
[Once I lie low, the Empress Dowager will think I'm about to die and will definitely lower her guard, perhaps even sending people to probe the situation. Then we can trap her and eliminate all those traitors in the household!]
[And, conveniently, I don't have to get up early, don't have to socialize, and can just lie in bed every day being fed... Hehe, it's practically the perfect paid vacation!]
Shen Jin listened to her earnest thoughts, which were like a machine calculating something, and shook his head helplessly.
She really went to great lengths to be lazy.
but……
"Let's use this as a pretext to lure the snake out of its hole." Shen Jin sheathed his sword, his eyes cold. "This plan is excellent. Since we're going to put on an act, let's make it convincing."
"Shadow One".
"Your subordinate is here."
"Send the order to place the entire mansion under martial law. Say that... the princess has mistakenly drunk poisoned wine, the poison has taken effect, and she is in critical condition."
...
If you're going to put on a show, you naturally need an audience.
Besides Su Rou, who is a visible spies in the Regent's Palace, who knows how many other spies from the Empress Dowager and various factions are secretly hiding there.
Fifteen minutes later.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps and the cries of maids came from the main courtyard.
"Oh no! The princess has fainted!"
"Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician immediately!"
Immediately afterward, Shen Jin, looking extremely anxious, rushed into the bedroom carrying the "unconscious" Jiang Mianmian, and roared at the servants filling the courtyard:
"Get out of here! No one is to approach without my order!"
This shout was full of energy and carried a clear sense of panic.
The maids sweeping and cleaning and the gardener pruning the flowers and plants, who were hiding in the corner, exchanged a cryptic glance.
Inside the bedroom.
Jiang Mianmian lay on the bed with her eyes closed, her face deathly pale.
[How was my performance? Was my feigned death posture standard? Should I spit out some blood to increase the atmosphere?]
Shen Jin sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand. Although he knew she was faking it, his heart still tightened for some reason when he saw her lifeless appearance.
"No need to vomit blood."
He whispered, "All I need to do is... stay asleep."
The imperial physician arrived quickly. He was Shen Jin's trusted confidant, and they had already conspired together.
Imperial physicians came and went, bringing out basins of "bloody water," filling the entire main courtyard with a strong smell of medicine and blood.
"Your Highness...the Princess Consort is too severely poisoned, I'm afraid...I'm afraid she won't make it through the night!"
The imperial physician knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, utterly miserable.
The sound was loud enough for anyone waiting outside the courtyard to hear it clearly.
The news spread quickly.
...
That night, at the Regent's Palace.
A dark and windy night is the perfect time to stir up trouble.
A gray carrier pigeon silently took off from a secluded corner of the backyard, flapping its wings as it tried to fly towards the palace.
However, it had only flown a short distance over the wall.
"call out--"
A pebble flew through the air and struck the carrier pigeon precisely on the head.
The carrier pigeon didn't even have time to let out a cry before it fell straight down.
In the darkness, Yingyi reached out and caught the carrier pigeon, took the secret letter from its leg, glanced at it by the moonlight, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
Sure enough, some people couldn't sit still any longer.
Meanwhile, similar scenes were unfolding in every corner of the Prince's mansion.
Someone tried to climb over the wall to report the news, but was kicked back by the guards; someone tried to crawl out through the dog hole, but was chased all over the yard by the large wolfhound that was already waiting there; and someone even dared to try to sneak into the main courtyard to confirm whether Jiang Mianmian was really dead, but as soon as he got close to the window, his heart meridian was shattered by Shen Jin's palm.
"Did you catch them?"
Inside the bedroom, Shen Jin listened to the commotion outside and asked calmly.
Ying Yi pushed open the door and knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, we have captured a total of seven spies. Three of them are from the Empress Dowager, two are from the Lin family, and the other two... are from the Second Prince's side."
"good."
A murderous glint flashed in Shen Jin's eyes. "It seems this Prince's mansion really needs a thorough cleaning."
"Lock them all in the dungeon and interrogate them severely. As for that letter..."
Shen Jin took the secret letter handed to him by Ying Yi, which read: "Jiang Shi has been poisoned and is on the verge of death. Quickly rejoice."
He sneered, picked up a pen, and, imitating the man's handwriting, added a sentence at the end:
"Death has been confirmed; preparations are underway for the funeral."
"Send this letter out." Shen Jin handed the letter to Ying Yi. "Since the Empress Dowager wants to hear good news, then I will let her... be happy to her heart's content."
...
Jiang Mianmian on the bed secretly opened one eye.
[Tsk tsk tsk, Shen Jin's move is quite cunning.]
Is the plan to first make the Empress Dowager so happy she can't sleep, and then surprise her with a 'resurrection' at the funeral?
This is so exciting! I love it!
"Your Highness," Jiang Mianmian asked softly, "how much longer do I have to pretend? I'm starving."
Shen Jin turned around, looked at her eyes that were shining brightly in the darkness, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Just bear with it a little longer."
He reached out and tucked the blanket around her. "Once those people have shown their true colors and the troubles surrounding your 'miracle doctor' have been completely resolved, you can 'wake up'."
"oh……"
Jiang Mianmian rubbed her stomach, feeling a little aggrieved. "But I'm really hungry... I want a midnight snack..."
As if by magic, Shen Jin brought out a plate of pastries that had been prepared in advance, as well as a bowl of steaming bird's nest porridge from the table behind him.
"Eat."
He personally held the bowl and fed her to her lips, saying, "Eat quietly, don't make a sound."
Jiang Mianmian was so moved that tears almost fell from her eyes.
[Waaaaah, is this the legendary "postpartum care" treatment? So blissful!]
She opened her mouth wide, swallowed the bird's nest in one gulp, and said indistinctly, "Your Highness is so kind! I wish you could 'play dead' like this every day from now on."
Looking at her carefree attitude, Shen Jin helplessly wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
"Eat quickly. After you finish eating... go back to sleep."
What should I do if I can't sleep?
"I... will stay with you."
Shen Jin took off his outer robe, lay down on the outside, and pulled her into his arms. "Can you fall asleep like this?"
Jiang Mianmian nestled in his warm embrace, listening to his steady heartbeat. Originally, she only wanted to act, but she actually felt sleepy.
Hmm... this human-shaped body pillow is definitely hypnotic.
Then... I'll take a light nap.
She yawned and quickly drifted off to sleep.
What she didn't know was that this time, her "playing dead" seemed to have gone a bit too far.
Although she replaced the so-called "Soul-Severing Powder," Su Rou had previously applied a very light layer of "Drunken Life, Dreamlike Death" to the spout of the wine pot to make it more realistic.
That's not poison.
It's a kind of drug that puts people into a deep, unconscious sleep.
Although Jiang Mianmian was immune to all poisons, this drug didn't affect her body, only her mind. For a lazy bum who just wanted to lie down and sleep, the drug's effects were... practically doubled.
Shen Jin listened to the gradually lengthening breaths of the person in his arms and assumed that she was just tired from acting.
Even when the sun was high in the sky the next day, no matter how much he called out, the person in his arms remained with their eyes tightly closed, showing no signs of waking up.
Even the usual chatter in their hearts had completely disappeared.
His usually composed expression finally changed.
"princess?"
"Jiang Mianmian?"
No one responded.
This time, it's not acting.
She is truly... beyond waking up.
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