Frame-up
Thanks to the "gender change card," the afternoon's physical examination went smoothly as expected. Rather than a gender change, it was more like a blind spot. Su Manyan looked at her own naked body and saw no change at all.
625 had simply used high-dimensional technology to arbitrarily fabricate a man's body with data, and then projected it into the eyes of the woman who was examining him. So, in her eyes, this was undoubtedly a man's body.
Su Manyan patted her chest afterwards and breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, the data was fake. If she really had a gender change, would she have opened her eyes? It felt weird no matter how she looked at it."
Finally, with one worry put to rest, Su Manyan began to deal with the real urgent matter - detoxification.
Su Manyan's suspicion of a mixture of poisonous substances was just a guess. To confirm this, she needed to first understand Xiao Lin's habits and preferences. She wandered around and observed him, deciding it would be more convenient to ask him directly. However, she went to the study and couldn't find Xiao Lin.
Logically speaking, he should be in the study this afternoon...
Forget it, let me study these paintings again.
Su Manyan wiped his hands carefully with a handkerchief and gently touched the painting. The paper felt ordinary, and the paint looked normal. In fact, the colors had dimmed considerably due to exposure to wind and sun. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed perfectly normal.
She was so absorbed in the painting that she turned right to move on to the next one, but her neck remained twisted, her eyes fixed on the work. Her feet moved, her attention lingering, and she didn't even notice Yi Cui approaching with ink behind her.
"careful!"
By the time she heard Yicui's scream, it was too late and everyone fell to the ground.
As the two people screamed in pain, the plate that Yicui was holding was knocked over, and ink splashed everywhere: on clothes, on the ground, on the walls, and on the paintings.
It was a pitch-black mess.
"Sorry, sorry." Su Manyan lay on the ground in a mess, apologizing repeatedly. When he tried to stand up, he sprained his ankle, and a warm, throbbing pain spread through the wound.
"Hiss!" Su Manyan grinned as Yicui helped him up. "Yicui, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you coming."
Yi Cui looked at Su Manyan's painful expression, a twisted smile flashing across her eyes. The fall just now was actually intentional on her part.
As one of the countless servants in the deep palace, how could she be willing to be trapped in this cold and secluded palace for the rest of her life? Yi Cui, conceited about her fair complexion and beauty, gritted her teeth and used the monthly salary she had saved for months to bribe the eunuch in charge, only to be transferred to the study. Unlike those fools who thought that Xiao Lin's hostage meant they could be treated as they pleased, she believed that a starving camel was bigger than a horse, and even the most destitute of the imperial family was still a prince; this was the immutable rule of social order.
She guessed that although Xiao Lin had no concubines, he was a man after all, and might not be really indifferent to women; and she didn't know how many years he would be a hostage. Given that the emperor had imprisoned him in the cold palace, it was impossible for him to regain his freedom within a year or two. How could he find a lady of equal status?
So she put all her efforts into climbing higher. The cold palace was cruel and human life was worthless, but if she could become the concubine of this impoverished prince, it would be better than being a servant who served others wholeheartedly, right?
But no matter how she tried to act smart or dress up, Xiao Lin never even glanced at her. He never asked for help when he was in his study, and only ordered things to be cleaned up after he left. The two of them rarely had time to themselves, let alone communicate.
But this Ah Yan, who had just arrived, won the favor of His Highness. How could he compare to her?
She hated and regretted it. Why was she born to be a slave?
Why was I reborn as a woman in this cannibalistic age?
A filthy eunuch, pretending to be so elegant, always coming to the study to admire paintings. She happened to run into him today, and since Xiao Lin wasn't around, she had evil intentions, so she decided to harm Su Manyan.
As soon as Su Manyan entered, Yicui deliberately followed in with a tray. There was unsealed ink on the tray, and she didn't notice it, so the two of them fell into each other.
The surroundings were in a mess, and her goal had finally been achieved. Seeing the vibrant canvas completely stained with ink, and thinking of Xiao Lin's subsequent blame, she felt a deep sense of relief. Furthermore, Su Manyan had injured her foot, so how could she possibly approach His Highness?
But when she heard Su Manyan's groaning in pain, she felt even more contemptuous: a man was even weaker than her, he could get hurt by a fall, he was so delicate.
Yicui supported Su Manyan with a nervous look on her face, but there was sarcasm in her words: "Ayan, why are you so careless? Blame me, it's all my fault that I shouldn't have cleaned up at this time. But it was difficult for me to move the plate, and I reminded you, why did you bump into me?" She apologized and blamed herself on the surface, but in fact, every word she said was a accusation, putting all the blame on Su Manyan.
Su Manyan knew she was in the wrong, having been too careless. But when she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of the uncontrollable, twisted smile on Yicui's face, unable to hide it. Only then did she realize something was wrong.
Looking around, the desk was a million miles away. Its painting supplies were neatly arranged, the pens dry, clearly unused today. Why was the ink brought in now?
Seeing Yi Cui twisting her fingers guiltily, Su Manyan had a rough idea in his mind: it turned out that she was trying to harm her on purpose, but what was her purpose?
Before she could figure it out, Yi Cui spoke first: "A Yan, I know you didn't mean to do it, but these precious things are ruined, especially the paintings that His Highness likes are all dirty. Someone has to take the blame, what do you think?"
Great, so that's where she was waiting. How did the intrigues of concubines in harem dramas end up on her "eunuch promotion channel"?
Hey! System, come out and explain.
Su Manyan was speechless, feeling that the other party was ridiculously stupid, and even the desire to argue was gone. But there were no witnesses at the scene, and if she told others about it, she would probably be considered in the wrong. She pursed her lips, wanting to retort but swallowing the words back, she was so angry that she couldn't bear it anymore.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Yi Cui continued, "Ayan, why don't you admit it? I'm quite familiar with His Highness, and I'll say something good about you later. You don't have to worry..."
Su Manyan was already upset about the clue, and Yicui's distortion of right and wrong only made him even more angry. Just as he was about to stop her, his eyes suddenly fixed on the painting.
It was a painting titled "River and Mountain after Snowy Day." The centerpiece was a snow-capped mountain against a backdrop of clear blue sky and clear water. The predominant color was white, and the ink splashed onto it made it particularly striking. But the mountaintop, strangely, was spotless, with a sharp demarcation between white and black.
Su Manyan's eyes widened. She had stumbled upon something unexpected! She didn't want to bother with Yicui anymore, so she just found an excuse to get rid of her. "Don't worry, I'll go and admit my mistake and tell the truth. Let me clean up first, and you can leave."
After reluctantly sending her out, Yi Cui wondered why she had changed her mind. Perhaps she had finally figured it out? She wasn't angry about being kicked out, because she knew there was more to come.
Su Manyan carefully removed the painting. The remaining ink flowed down the canvas, but as it passed over the mountaintop, it seemed to have hit a protective wax shield, preventing it from staining at all. As soon as his fingertips touched the strange texture, an electronic announcement sounded: "Ding! Congratulations to the host for finding a key clue and locating the source of the poison. The [Detoxification] mission has progressed 30%. Please continue exploring."
It really is! It went so smoothly!
Su Manyan excitedly wiped the stain with a white cloth, then placed the painting upright on the table. He listened as the system added, "The pigment used on the mountaintop is mixed with white shark tears. This material was collected and presented as tribute by soldiers from fishing villages in the south. It's extremely rare and difficult for ordinary people to access. It's usually used to waterproof and protect paintings, and it's non-toxic when used alone."
Su Manyan felt the pounding of her heartbeat reverberating through her chest like a drum, and a profound sense of accomplishment washed over her. This confirmed her suspicions: there were indeed multiple sources of the poison, and they needed to be found one by one.
This made things much easier. She didn't know any medicine, let alone detoxification. It seemed the system had let her off, and this task was more like finding clues. The dark clouds in her heart dissipated a little, and she finally had hope. Excluding today, there were still eight days left. She was sure it would work!
She put down the painting in her hand, spread it out carefully, then immediately turned around and grabbed 625, which was hanging in the air without knowing what was going on, and hugged it in her arms. She played "throw high" with it like a dog, and had long forgotten about "shaking and spitting" its revenge.
625: Haha, a realistic woman.
The two of them played around like crazy, and 625 was dizzy and had to suppress the urge to vomit. He was given a yellow card warning: the host is not allowed to open champagne in the first half!
Su Manyan: ...Don’t get carried away.
She finally relaxed from her frenzied excitement and temporarily lowered her vigilance towards the study. Since the poison was dispersed, it was unlikely that all the sources would be concentrated in one place.
625 floated aside and saw Su Manyan standing firmly on one leg, leaning against the wall. He looked so funny that he couldn't help but ask, "Host, your foot is getting even more swollen. Do you want 625 to treat it first?" He was still worried about his nervous host. "If you don't treat it, I'm afraid he won't be able to walk tomorrow."
"Is it free?" Su Manyan asked warily.
625: "..." Looking at her half-moon eyes, he said unconfidently: "You can buy on credit first."
In the end, Su Manyan accepted the "humiliating" deal in exchange for completing an additional daily task. However, before treating the wound, she suddenly reminded him, "Keep the wound as horrifying as possible."
625 I did as I was told, and looking at her sinister smile, I felt a chill in my heart: Which unlucky person is going to be in trouble again? Who is the villain?
Xiao Lin hadn't returned by dinner time, and Su Manyan watched as the bright light from the daylight gradually dimmed, replaced by translucent moonlight and dim candlelight. This was the first time Xiao Lin had been away for so long, and Su Manyan couldn't help but feel anxious.
But Yicui seemed to be more anxious than her. She circled in front of her several times, and seeing her limping, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and finally left angrily with a wave of her sleeves.
"Did you have a fight with Yicui?" Yunque noticed that something was wrong between the two and asked casually.
Su Manyan held the bowl of porridge in one hand, eating too fast to reply. After finally swallowing it, he pretended to be confused and said, "We bumped into each other this afternoon and messed up His Highness's study."
"Is that when you injured your foot?"
Su Manyan nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, it hurts." She pouted and lowered her voice to act pitiful.
Seeing her only concern for her job and her injured leg, not the slightest bit worried about the prince's reprimand, Yun Que couldn't help but gasp in amazement: How could she be so arrogant because of her favor? But then she thought it was endearing: her watery eyes drooping when she complained, her nose reddened with grievance, her lively and coquettish demeanor. For some reason, it reminded her of her own sister.
Sure enough, even if His Highness is a homosexual, he is the one with the best taste.
Xiao Lin's fangirl Yun Que has already started bragging without thinking.
However, Su Manyan's "pitying" was not in vain. Yunque brought her a few bottles of medicated oil with concern and told her to apply the medicine well and rest.
"It just so happens that His Highness has been summoned to the palace, so he will probably be back late. You can rest assured, His Highness won't blame you." Yunque explained considerately.
Su Manyan only then realized that Xiao Lin had gone to the palace. Why had he been summoned so suddenly? What trap was the emperor setting? She was extremely anxious, but there was nothing she could do. She could only secretly pray for Xiao Lin's well-being.
Afterwards, she hid back in her room. Seeing that no one was in the yard, she stopped pretending to be sick and ran to Xiao Hei to have some fun. When Ta Xuanyun saw her, his eyes lit up at first, but then he remembered the indifference he had felt in the past few days and immediately turned his head away, looking listless.
This was truly a misplaced accusation against Su Manyan. Ever since Xiao Lin exposed her, she had refrained from feeding the horse. After all, overly complex food was not good for the Ferghana horse. But Xiao Hei didn't understand these twists and turns, and simply assumed Su Manyan didn't care for him anymore, so he was upset for several days.
Actor! Su Manyan burst into laughter at Ta Xuanyun's acting. How could a pony become so spirited? This exaggerated acting skill was clearly inherited from his teacher, and Su Manyan was still very proud: He is indeed my little black!
Su Manyan looked at its big head that turned away, feeling both angry and amused. After coaxing it with kind words for a long time, the man and the horse finally reconciled.
"Okay, okay, I promise you, I will secretly bring you something good next time." The harmonious picture was broken by a cracking sound.
“Bang!”
Suddenly a small stone fell from the sky and hit Su Manyan on the head accurately.
"Ah, who?" Su Manyan was so angry that he stood up and looked around, only to see a furry head sticking out from the top of the wall, and then it disappeared in an instant.
She was about to call for help to catch the thief when she caught a glimpse of a note tied to a stone with string. She immediately fell silent. She crouched down and secretly picked it up. It read:
Tonight at midnight, we will meet under the locust tree outside the west wing stables.
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