The worsening of the Sixth Miss’s heart condition was due to poisoning. While the Eldest Master and his wife were unaware, Tan Liu knew and had relayed the message to Qi Biao. Seeing the Sixth Miss’s current state, he realized things had taken a turn for the worse and felt deep remorse for disturbing her rest in his haste.
Lin Fang smiled and said, “Uncle Tan, don’t blame yourself. Though I was lying down, I wasn’t asleep—just too tired to move. What urgent matter brings you here?”
After hearing Tan Liu’s account, Lin Fang instructed Nanny Liu to fetch a wooden box. Inside, rows of identical small porcelain gourds were neatly arranged, each adorned with delicate floral patterns—Lin Fang’s favorite design, “Colorful Stars.”
Glancing at the contents, Lin Fang asked Nanny Liu to retrieve one of the gourds and hand it to Tan Liu. “This medicine was obtained from Master Shen. I originally intended to play a trick on the old monk, but he left too quickly. Now, I’ll entrust it to you, Uncle Tan. According to Master Shen, applying this to someone’s temples will make them obedient to you. However, the effect lasts only three days.”
Tan Liu’s face brightened with feigned delight. “Three days is more than enough. In four days, the authorities will announce the Eldest Master’s appointment. Before then, we must expose the culprit.”
Though Tan Liu, given his experience, wouldn’t normally be surprised by such a drug, he exaggerated his reaction to amuse the Sixth Miss, hoping her spirits would lift at the thought of her own contribution aiding the family. He could tell her sweet, soft voice carried an unusual strain.
Lin Fang, however, showed little reaction to Tan Liu’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm, merely nodding slightly. When Master Shen had boasted of the drug’s effects, she hadn’t been particularly astonished either, suspecting it contained something like ether to induce hallucinations—nothing extraordinary in her past life’s knowledge. The only difference was that now she possessed it herself.
To Tan Liu, her subdued demeanor signaled further decline in her health. A young girl with limited worldly experience should have been thrilled to learn her medicine held such power. Her lack of reaction suggested her body was weakening.
His heart heavier than when he arrived, Tan Liu took his leave. Following Lin Fang’s instructions, he used the drug, and the truth was soon uncovered.
Shi Liaoliang had repeatedly approached Lin Chengxiang, seeking appointment as magistrate of Lin Town, coveting the prosperity of Lin Village and the family’s businesses to recoup his flood-related losses. Yet neither bribes nor beautiful women swayed the magistrate.
After another fruitless visit yesterday, he received word that shortly after his departure, Lin Dalang of Lin Village had arrived at the magistrate’s office and secured the appointment as Lin Town’s next mayor.
In Liangping Town, the Shi family had always been overshadowed by the Lins. Now, even in Duoling County, they remained second-best. Consumed by resentment, Shi Liaoliang resolved to sabotage Dalang’s appointment before it was officially announced, ideally bringing down the entire Lin family to seize their prosperous estate.
With only five days to act, he struggled to devise a plan until his kitchen steward reported that rain-soaked rice from Liangping had spoiled. Inspiration struck—he would frame Dalang using the moldy grain.
Having previously scouted Lin Village, Shi deemed the family’s theater the perfect venue. The spoiled rice could be hidden backstage, and a staged stampede would expose Dalang’s poor judgment, compounding his crimes when disaster struck those who consumed the tainted rice.
Confident in his scheme, Shi ordered the rice transported overnight to avoid daytime scrutiny. He expelled most refugees from the theater, leaving only a few greedy, easily manipulated ones to tend the porridge pots, coaching them to claim the mayor had sent them.
Assuming desperation would blind refugees to deception, Shi expected chaos to erupt once his men withdrew, leaving no trace of his involvement.
But he hadn’t accounted for his exhausted servants, who, after the grueling journey, collapsed asleep until noon. By the time they lit the stoves, Dalang’s patrol caught them red-handed before any chaos could unfold.
Why wasn’t the porridge made from spoiled rice? The famished servants had used good grain for their own meal, fearing the moldy batch would draw suspicion.
As refugees flooded in, the servants, fearing a stampede, abandoned their posts, leaving two unlucky underlings to face the consequences. Under interrogation, these men and the coached refugees could only parrot the story of being sent by the mayor.
The long-standing feud between the Lin and Shi families had never escalated to such malice. Had Shi succeeded, the entire Lin household might have perished. Furious, Dalang resolved to retaliate in kind.
Tan Liu, having learned of the historical enmity from guards, had already marked the Shi family for retribution. He requested Dalang’s permission to handle the matter discreetly, vowing to make Shi regret being born.
Dalang, reminded of Tan Liu’s ruthless origins within the Qi family, agreed.
On his way out, a maid intercepted Tan Liu: “Uncle Tan, the Sixth Miss requests your presence at Colorful Stars Courtyard.”
The maid, the same who had admitted him earlier, knew nothing of the reason.
At the courtyard, Lin Fang dismissed all but Nanny Liu, seating Tan Liu across the brazier to hear his findings.
After his report, she asked, “How do you plan to punish Master Shi?”
Noticing Nanny Liu’s subtle signals, Tan Liu claimed no concrete plan yet.
Lin Fang, seeing through the evasion, sent Nanny Liu to check on her soup before stating, “Uncle Tan, don’t shield me. Though young, I understand the stakes. The Shi family threatens us all. I wish to contribute—not from distrust, but because they once wronged me personally.”
Tan Liu, skeptical of her childhood memories, was chastised by Nanny Liu: “The Sixth Miss has a photographic memory, recalling even infancy with precision.”
Astonished by her intellect—akin to the late Eighth Miss’s—Tan Liu grew solemn. “I’ll make him wish for death.”
Lin Fang nodded, then produced another gourd from the box. “This, also from Master Shen, can ‘restore’ moldy rice to pristine condition after soaking. The appearance improves, but the toxicity remains. Let Master Shi taste his own ‘fresh’ rice.”
Despite her sheltered upbringing, Lin Fang’s cunning unsettled Tan Liu. As Nanny Liu replaced the box, he marveled at her ability to distinguish identical vials.
Lin Fang dismissed his self-deprecation. “I consider you family, Uncle Tan. My senses are sharp—I notice subtle differences.”
Then, stunning him further: “Besides the two guards Brother Yi left me, there are four others—two added after the refugees arrived. Am I wrong?”
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