After confirming Ruolan's identity, Lin Wanwan did not immediately alert her.
She continued to show Ruolan complete trust, just as always. She would let Ruolan do her hair and makeup, let her manage all the affairs of the palace, and even when discussing trivial "anecdotes" with Xiao Che, she never shied away from her.
The more she acted this way, the more "loyal" and meticulous Ruolan appeared.
Between the two, it was as if a captivating drama was unfolding. One was in the light, the other in the shadows, both wearing thick masks, testing and performing for each other.
Lin Wanwan knew that if she wanted to use this venomous snake lurking beside her, she had to expose her completely to the light of day, leaving her with no secrets.
To do that, she needs an opportunity to expose her own deception.
Thus, a clever scheme to lure the snake out of its hole, personally planned and directed by Lin Wanwan, quietly began.
For several days in a row, Lin Wanwan showed an unusual "obsession" with medical skills and pharmacology.
She stopped reading travelogues and miscellaneous writings, and instead ordered people to borrow a large number of medical books and ancient texts from the palace library. From the "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica" to the "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases," and various obscure herbal illustrations, she piled her desk to the brim.
She locks herself in her study every day and sits there for the entire day.
She would sometimes furrow her brow in deep thought, and sometimes pick up her pen to take notes. Her appearance of being so engrossed in her work that she forgot to eat and sleep was seen by others as the Empress doing her utmost for His Majesty's health, which was truly moving.
And all of this, naturally, was seen by Ruolan without missing a single word.
Lin Wanwan could sense that Ruolan's gaze towards her lately contained not only respect but also an undisguised curiosity and wariness. Ruolan was also refilling her tea and water more frequently than usual, clearly trying to find out what Ruolan had written in her book.
Lin Wan-wan was fully aware of this, but pretended not to notice.
What she wanted was Ruolan's "curiosity".
That afternoon, Lin Wanwan's "research" seemed to have made a breakthrough.
She deliberately chose the moment when Ruolan came to serve tea, and spread out a thick illustrated book called "Collection of Herbs" in the most conspicuous position.
Holding a vermilion pen, she was making marks repeatedly and intently on a certain page of the book, muttering to herself as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret.
Ruolan gently set down the tea and snacks, her peripheral vision seemingly casually glancing at the book.
She saw that it was a page depicting some kind of exotic flower and plant. She couldn't quite understand the annotations next to it, but the Empress's expression of delight at finding such a treasure was deeply imprinted in her heart.
Lin Wanwan deliberately "accidentally" let her see this scene.
After finishing all this, she stretched as if she were a little tired, then picked up a blank piece of paper from the desk and quickly wrote a few lines on it.
She wrote very hastily, using a kind of abbreviation that was almost coded and difficult for outsiders to understand.
[The poison is potent and weakens in sunlight. The phoenix tail grows in the far west, its flowers ablaze with color; perhaps it could be its nemesis. I have already entrusted my father to secretly search for it; I eagerly await good news.]
This passage would leave outsiders completely bewildered.
But Lin Wan-wan believed that as long as these words reached the ears of the true "experts"—that is, the Empress Dowager and the "poison master" behind her—they would definitely understand them.
The toxicity of "heart-withering grass" does indeed require several highly yang medicinal herbs to neutralize in order to exert its chronic poisoning effect. As for "phoenix tail orchid," it is a plant that Lin Wanwan fabricated from her memories of her previous life. Its flowers are as red as fire, and the name itself is full of "masculine energy," enough to fool anyone.
The most crucial part is the last sentence: "I have already asked my father to search for him secretly."
This is her real killer move.
She wanted the Empress Dowager to believe that she had found the key to the antidote and had begun secretly searching for it through forces outside the palace.
Once the Empress Dowager believes it, she will inevitably take action to stop it all.
Her actions marked the beginning of her self-exposure.
After writing the note, Lin Wanwan carefully folded it and then, quite naturally, tucked it into the book "The Collection of Herbs" on the page she had just marked.
She put the book back on the shelf in an inconspicuous but not hard-to-find spot.
After doing all this, she seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief, her face showing a mix of exhaustion and a sense of relief and joy.
She stood up, rubbed her aching shoulders, and said to Ruolan, who was waiting outside the door, "Ruolan, I'm feeling a bit tired and would like to go back to my inner room to rest for a while. I'm leaving this study in your care. Don't let anyone come in and disturb me, understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ruolan immediately bowed and replied, her face displaying her ever-present submissive expression. "Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance. Please rest assured. I will be here to guard you and ensure that nothing goes wrong."
"Mm." Lin Wanwan nodded, and then, with Chun Tao's help, turned and walked towards the inner room.
The bait has been cast.
What followed was a tense, suffocating wait.
Lin Wanwan did not actually go to rest.
She had Chun Tao stand guard at the door to the inner room, while she quietly and silently returned to the door connecting the study and the inner room.
Through an extremely thin, almost imperceptible crack in the door, she observed everything in the study silently, like the most patient hunter.
The study was very quiet.
Ruolan was meticulously carrying out her orders. She first carefully inspected the doors and windows, and then picked up a clean cloth and wiped the desk that the Empress had just used until it was spotless.
She seemed so loyal and dutiful.
Time passed, second by second.
Lin Wanwan's heart also grew more and more anxious as time went by.
Will she come?
Will she take the bait?
What if she is more composed than I thought and doesn't take any action? Wouldn't all my arrangements be in vain?
Just as Lin Wanwan was feeling uneasy, Ruolan in the study finally made a move.
She stopped what she was doing and, seemingly casually, began to pace around the study.
She first walked to the window and looked outside, as if to check if anyone was around.
Then she went to the door, pressed her ear against it, and listened carefully for a moment, as if to confirm whether the Queen in the inner chamber had really gone to sleep.
After confirming that the surroundings were absolutely safe and there was nothing to worry about, her usually calm and respectful face finally revealed a look of urgency and vigilance that was completely different from her usual expression.
Her gaze, like that of an eagle locking onto its prey, pierced precisely and without hesitation, towards the bookshelf on the east side.
She walked to the bookshelf and, without the slightest hesitation, reached out and pulled out the book from the densely packed medical books—"The Collection of Herbs".
Lin Wanwan stood behind the door, holding her breath, her heart pounding.
It's here!
She's here!
Ruolan took the book to a well-lit corner and began flipping through it quickly.
Soon, she found the page that Lin Wanwan had marked, the one with the note inside.
She took out the small note, quickly unfolded it, and scanned it at a glance.
Her brows furrowed more and more as she read the note. When she saw the last sentence, "My father has been asked to search for it secretly," her pupils contracted sharply, and a flash of undisguised shock and...killing intent crossed her eyes.
Although it was just a fleeting moment, Lin Wanwan, behind the door, caught it clearly.
After reading the note, Ruolan didn't hesitate for a moment. She quickly folded the note and then, very discreetly, hid it inside her wide sleeve.
Immediately afterwards, she restored the book "The Collection of Herbs" to its original state, placing it back on the bookshelf in its original spot without any discrepancy.
After doing all this, she took a deep breath, and her expression returned to that of the calm and capable head maid we were familiar with.
She picked up a rag and continued wiping the bookshelf, as if nothing had ever happened.
Behind the door.
Lin Wanwan slowly straightened up and retreated back into the darkness.
The tension and uncertainty that had been on her face were gone.
Instead, a cold, confident, silent smile appeared.
The snake has already come out of its hole.
Moreover, it precisely caught the poisonous bait she had thrown down.
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