“Do you think this Prince would be interested in a bean sprout-like figure like yours?” Xiao Che slowly lifted his eyelids upon hearing this, his expression full of disdain.
His words were both insulting and direct.
Lin Shu was left speechless by his retort, the panic about her chastity instantly replaced by a surge of anger.
Bean sprout? She clearly had a curvaceous, standard figure!
Before she could fire back, the scene before she lost consciousness flashed through her mind.
She had used Incantation to interrogate those apprentices, and then… then she knew nothing.
Right, the money!
She instinctively reached into her bosom to check.
The thick stack of banknotes was still there.
Lin Shu’s tense nerves completely relaxed, and she collapsed back into the soft bedding, asking weakly, “How long have I been asleep?”
“A day and a night.” Xiao Che’s voice betrayed no emotion.
“What about the people from Huichun Pharmacy?”
“Nothing was found out.”
Lin Shu frowned, about to say something, but Xiao Che spoke first, recounting the Estate Physician’s diagnosis to her in detail.
Lin Shu was completely stunned.
Chronic poison?
She had always thought her weak constitution was due to long-term malnutrition and depression, but it had never occurred to her that she had been poisoned.
No wonder her body deteriorated so severely after using Incantation just a few times.
So this was the root cause.
Who was it?
A name instantly surfaced in her mind—Liu Yiniang.
As a concubine, Liu Yiniang had raised Lin Wan’er to be talented, beautiful, and beloved by all, while turning the original host, the legitimate daughter, into a brainless fool through excessive pampering. Such cunning and methods were beyond ordinary people.
Planting someone by the original host’s side and administering slow-acting poison for ten years—this was something she was absolutely capable of.
A chill ran from the soles of Lin Shu’s feet straight to the crown of her head.
She had thought she was fighting against Lin Wan’er, that White Lotus, but now it seemed the real mastermind was Liu Yiniang, who appeared weak and harmless but was as venomous as a snake.
Xiao Che had been observing her expression all along. Seeing her shift from shock to realization, and then to a fleeting cold sharpness in her eyes, the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished.
The Estate Physician had not lied.
She truly had no idea she had been poisoned.
This realization weighed on Xiao Che’s heart like a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe.
He recalled the Lin Shu of the past, who had always followed him around, expressing her admiration in the most foolish ways.
He had always thought she was arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable.
It had never occurred to him that behind that foolishness lay a conspiracy and poisoning that had lasted over a decade.
And he, as her nominal fiancé, had been completely unaware. He had even treated her coldly out of disgust, enabling others to bully her.
An unprecedented emotion silently spread within him.
“The clue to the antidote is broken. Grandmother’s condition is not good,” Xiao Che averted his gaze, his voice somewhat hoarse, as if to conceal something. “The Estate Physician is using Ginseng Soup to sustain her, but it won’t last long.”
Lin Shu pulled herself out of her thoughts, rubbed her still-throbbing temples, sat up, poured herself a cup of cold tea, and drank it in one gulp.
The icy tea slid down her throat, clearing her muddled mind slightly.
The clue was broken.
This realization was like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, instantly clearing some of the haze in Lin Shu’s mind.
The secret compartment in Huichun Pharmacy was empty, Wang Daifu had gone mad, Cen Yi was a clueless coward, and the other apprentices were merely decorative.
All witnesses and evidence had been thoroughly erased by an invisible force.
Damn system, you’ve done a fine job.
It was forcing her to give up, forcing her to watch helplessly as Old Madam Xiao died, then be executed by an enraged Xiao Che for incompetence, all to steer the plot back on track.
Not a chance.
“I know why the secret compartment was empty,” Lin Shu spoke, her voice hoarse yet calm.
Xiao Che’s gaze shifted from the book in his hands to her.
“The items were taken,” Lin Shu continued analyzing on her own. “Before you captured him, Wang Daifu must have made arrangements. He’s an old fox who wouldn’t put all his eggs in one basket. He may be mad, but his agents outside remain sane.”
Xiao Che’s brow furrowed – he had naturally considered this possibility.
But searching for an unknown contact in the vast capital was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“So the investigation has reached a dead end,” Lin Shu concluded decisively. “At least, on the surface.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means we need to change our approach,” Lin Shu leaned back in her chair, her weak body requiring support, but her eyes shone with startling intensity. “Young Master Xiao, by sending people to search the city and conduct public interrogations, you’re alerting the enemy. Startled snakes will only retreat deeper into their holes.”
Xiao Che remained silent, but his fingers tightened imperceptibly around the book.
“What we should do now isn’t to startle the snake, but to prepare the net,” Lin Shu spoke slowly, each word striking clearly in Xiao Che’s heart. “Withdraw all your search parties immediately. Announce publicly that the clues have been severed and the investigation has reached an impasse.”
“Then, in the name of Jing An Marquis Estate, issue widespread notices offering generous rewards to recruit renowned physicians from across the land to detoxify the Old Madam.”
For the first time, undisguised surprise appeared in Xiao Che’s phoenix eyes.
He looked at this woman before him – pale as paper yet speaking with clear logic, her eyes sparkling with intelligence – and found himself momentarily captivated.
He had always thought she was merely relying on that bizarre evil magic to cause trouble, never expecting her to possess such profound strategic thinking.
“Why would the perpetrator go through such lengths to poison and erase all traces? To destroy me and elevate Lin Wan’er,” Lin Shu’s lips curled in a cold sneer. “Now, if you suddenly stop investigating and focus solely on saving her, what would that mean to them?”
It would mean they had won.
It would mean Xiao Che had abandoned the pursuit of the true culprit, implicitly acknowledged Lin Shu as the suspect, and accepted that Old Madam Xiao’s poisoning would become an unsolved case.
Once Old Madam Xiao died, Lin Shu, as the prime suspect, would inevitably be executed.
Then, if Lin Wan’er just happened to find the antidote or saved the day through other means, she would claim monumental credit.
“They’ll let their guard down,” Xiao Che continued her thought, his voice carrying a trace of unconscious admiration. “They might even proactively deliver clues about the antidote to make their plan more perfect.”
“As expected of Young Master Xiao, you catch on quickly.” Lin Shu didn’t hesitate to deliver a flattering compliment, then immediately changed her tone. She extended two fingers and tapped them on the table. “But the bounty amount can’t be too shabby. No matter what, it shouldn’t be less than what you gave me, right? Otherwise, how would the divine physician save face?”
The slight admiration Xiao Che had just felt instantly vanished upon seeing her money-grubbing demeanor.
He shot her an annoyed glare but, unusually, didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he stood up directly and called out sternly toward the door.
“Attendants.”