Upon returning to Kunning Palace, Lin Wanwan immediately dismissed everyone except her most trusted confidante, the head maid Chuntao.
At this moment, she no longer possessed the composure and calmness she displayed in the Imperial Hospital. Her face was solemn, and her eyes, which always carried a hint of a smile, now seemed unfathomable, flashing with a chilling light.
Chun Tao had never seen her mistress like this before, and she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Did you suffer some injustice at the Imperial Hospital?" she asked cautiously.
Lin Wanwan did not answer her question, but instead took out a small paper packet containing medicinal powder wrapped in oil paper from the bottom of the makeup box.
She placed the paper package on the table, looked up, and said to Chun Tao in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "Chun Tao, I have an extremely important and extremely dangerous task for you to do."
Seeing the Empress's solemn expression and the mysteriously packaged paper on the table, Chun Tao's heart leaped into her throat. She immediately knelt down and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, please give your orders! This servant will obey even at the cost of my life!"
"Okay." Lin Wanwan nodded. This was exactly the attitude Chun Tao wanted.
She knew that this matter was extremely risky, and if it were exposed, there would be no hope of redemption. But the only person she could entrust with this task was Chun Tao, a palace maid whom she had personally promoted and who was extremely loyal to her.
“Listen carefully,” Lin Wanwan said in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly, “Go find a few of the most well-informed and discreet old eunuchs in the palace, and use this,” she took off a fine gold bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Chun Tao, “to secretly inquire about something.”
"Inquire about any personnel changes that occurred in the Imperial Hospital around August 17th, the fifth year of the Qian Yuan era. In particular, were there any changes in the imperial physicians who were responsible for His Majesty's daily pulse diagnosis?"
She stated the date with exceptional clarity.
Although Chun Tao didn't understand why the Empress wanted to inquire about something from a year ago, seeing the Empress's solemn expression, she knew that this matter was definitely no small thing.
She solemnly accepted the gold bracelet, memorizing every word of the Empress's instructions, and then kowtowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will risk my life to find out the truth!"
After saying that, she got up and quietly left.
Inside the bedchamber, a deathly silence returned once more.
Lin Wanwan sat at the table, watching the sun gradually setting outside the window, her heart filled with anxiety.
She is waiting.
Waiting for an answer that might reveal the truth, or it might drag her into deeper darkness.
Time has never felt so long.
She didn't even have the energy to deal with Xiao Che, who arrived at "work" on time in the evening. She simply used the excuse of feeling unwell to return to her inner room early, leaving him alone in the study.
Fortunately, Xiao Che did not suspect anything. He simply told her to rest well and then went about handling his official duties.
Finally, as night fell completely and the city lights came on, Chun Tao returned.
She left silently, like a raccoon dog, her face showing some weariness, but more so a complex expression of excitement and fear.
Upon entering the inner room, she immediately closed the door behind her, then quickly walked to Lin Wanwan, lowered her voice, and said urgently, "Your Highness! This servant...this servant has found out!"
"Speak!" Lin Wanwan's heart jumped into her throat instantly.
“Your Majesty,” Chun Tao gasped for breath, trying to calm her racing heart, “I found an old acquaintance in the Imperial Household Department who manages personnel files, and with your bracelet, I had him secretly check the personnel records of the Imperial Hospital from a year ago.”
“The record says that just a few days before the date you mentioned, in the first month of the eighth month of the fifth year of the Qian Yuan era, the former head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Zhang, submitted a memorial requesting to resign and return to his hometown on the grounds of ‘advanced age and poor health’.”
Retire and return to one's hometown?
Lin Wanwan's brows furrowed tightly.
Why would a court physician who had served the royal family his entire life, at the peak of his experience and prestige, suddenly retire and return to his hometown? This in itself is unusual.
"And who will replace him?" Lin Wanwan pressed, knowing that this was the key point!
Chun Tao's face turned deathly pale at that moment. Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness.
"The one who succeeded Zhang as the new head of the academy is... the current head of the academy, Li."
“And this Imperial Physician Li…” Chun Tao swallowed hard, as if the words she was about to say weighed a ton, “Before he was promoted to Imperial Physician, he had served as the exclusive physician of Cixi Palace for nearly ten years… for nearly ten years, he was… the most trusted and relied-upon person by the Empress Dowager’s side!”
"boom--!"
This news, like a black thunderbolt carrying a destructive aura, exploded in Lin Wanwan's mind!
In that instant, all the fog was completely cleaved away!
All the seemingly unrelated clues were perfectly connected at this moment by an invisible thread!
Cixi Palace... Empress Dowager... Personal physician... Appointed head physician... Changed prescription... Slow-acting poison...
Lin Wanwan's mind was in a whirl. She felt a chill run through her body, a coldness shooting from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
It's her!
It was her!
That dignified and majestic Empress Dowager in Cixi Palace, spouting "Rules for Women" and "Instructions for Women"!
That woman who claimed to be personally choosing a bride for him to ward off bad luck, all for the sake of the emperor's health... was her biological mother!
It was her who orchestrated all of this!
It was she who installed her trusted confidants and took over the power of the entire Imperial Medical Academy!
It was she who, starting from August 17th a year ago, began to order people to tamper with the emperor's prescriptions, disguising the deadly "heart-drying grass" as a life-saving medicine, and feeding it into her own son's mouth day after day!
No wonder...
No wonder Xiao Che's "illness" is so strange.
No wonder everyone in the palace was used to it and believed it without a doubt.
Because no one would doubt that a mother could be so vicious as to murder her own son!
Lin Wanwan finally understood.
The Empress Dowager did not intend to kill Xiao Che immediately.
No, that's too obvious and too stupid.
Her purpose was far more terrifying than direct murder!
What she wanted was to turn him into a puppet!
A sickly puppet who is listless, physically weak, unable to handle state affairs independently, and must rely on his mother for support at all times!
What she wanted was "ruling from behind the curtain," "the empress dowager ruling"!
What she wanted was the highest power in this dynasty!
This realization, like an invisible hand, gripped Lin Wanwan's heart tightly, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Her hands and feet were ice-cold, and she slumped in the chair, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
She finally understood what a terrifying enemy she was facing.
It wasn't about concubines vying for favor, nor was it about factional strife in the court.
It was a massive conspiracy that aimed to seize imperial power and overthrow the government from the very beginning!
The mastermind behind this conspiracy was the most honorable woman in the country, her husband's biological mother, and the powerful Empress Dowager whom she could not shake at this moment!
Lin Wanwan slowly raised her head, her gaze passing through the window lattice and looking towards the direction of Cixi Palace in the distance.
The palace, which appeared exceptionally majestic and tranquil in the night, now seemed to her like a colossal beast lurking in the darkness, its jaws agape.
Her gaze gradually shifted from initial horror and shock to an unprecedented, chilling... unwavering determination.
Since there is no way to retreat.
Since we can't avoid it or escape it.
Then let's fight to the bitter end!
What she had to do was not just save her own life.
She also had to save the life of her nominal husband, who was hypocritical but willing to form an "alliance" with her in times of crisis.
She was determined to wrest back the power that rightfully belonged to him from that vicious woman's hands! To reclaim his health and life, which had been eroded by poison for countless years!
Lin Wanwan slowly stood up and walked to the window.
Looking at the cold, bright moon outside the window, a cold, resolute smile slowly curved her lips.
Empress Dowager...
Yeah?
The game has only just begun.
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