Her words immediately reminded Lin Ziyou of yesterday's events. She dared not imagine what their fate would have been if Dong'er hadn't exposed everything and if the golden hairpin had been found in her room.
They would likely have been expelled from the palace on the spot. The Lin family already disliked them, and now they had further tarnished their reputation. They would have become like rats crossing the street, with everyone shouting to kill them.
At that point, she wouldn't even have the courage to return home, fearing she would bring shame upon her maternal grandparents. The thought of such a possibility sent shivers down her spine. Who would have thought that despite their young age, they were so ruthless?
Wu Caiwei sifted through the medicinal herbs prescribed by the imperial physician, selecting the useful ones and setting them aside. She then pretended to brew the remaining herbs, as the act had to be convincing.
Another day passed, and Lin Ziyou began faking a headache again. She lay in bed with a white towel on her head. Even the palace nannies couldn't help but cast more than a few glances at her. The imperial physician who arrived was the same one from yesterday.
He meticulously felt her pulse, and just like the day before, found nothing. He couldn't help but look up, and upon seeing her, was struck by her beauty, freezing for a moment. He quickly lowered his head, recalling his father's stern warnings before he entered the palace: to never look too closely at the palace ladies, as each was a great beauty belonging to the Emperor, and he must never harbor any improper thoughts.
The slight stir in his heart was forcefully suppressed. After a moment's hesitation, he prescribed some mild medication to alleviate the headache.
Wu Caiwei, as usual, went to fetch the medicine. Upon her return, she meticulously picked through the herbs, brewed the medicine, and felt increasingly adept at her task.
On the third day, Lin Ziyou almost dropped her jaw when Wu Caiwei asked her to feign a stomach ache. She had already pretended twice and thought it was over, only to find there was a third time.
She asked with some uncertainty, "I feel my acting skills are quite poor. Won't this arouse suspicion?"
"Just act convincingly later. I don't want you to do this either, but there's no other way," Wu Caiwei said, spreading her hands with a hint of helplessness.
"Can I not pretend to be sick?" Lin Ziyou made a final plea, her face filled with supplication.
Wu Caiwei shook her head resolutely, and Lin Ziyou could only resign herself to lying on the bed.
Wu Caiwei quickly took out powder and applied it to Lin Ziyou's face, making her look exceptionally pale. She then took water and skillfully dabbed her forehead and face a few times.
Once everything was prepared, she went to find the supervising nanny. The nanny's eyes couldn't help but twitch when she saw Wu Caiwei. As soon as Wu Caiwei saw her, she quickly stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and said with great urgency, "Nanny, something is wrong. My young mistress has a stomach ache."
The supervising nanny quickly withdrew her hand and, without another word, followed Wu Caiwei to Lin Ziyou's courtyard. Although Lin Ziyou didn't appear to be faking it, the nanny still showed a suspicious expression.
After a moment's hesitation, she went to summon an imperial physician. After all, if something truly happened to Lin Ziyou, she wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility.
When the imperial physician arrived, the diagnosis took much longer than the previous two times. Initially, he couldn't detect anything and thought the young lady was faking her illness. However, she had been brought in repeatedly, and he had secretly glanced at her, noticing her pale complexion and profuse sweating, clear signs of unbearable pain. Yet, upon feeling her pulse, he still found nothing, which made him quite perplexed. Su Dan Novel Network.
His heart pounded incessantly, and he began to doubt his medical skills, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Lin Ziyou lay in bed, feeling the time drag on. Although she had resolved to go along with Dong'er's antics, she felt it wasn't quite right and feared being discovered. The sweat trickled down her face even more realistically.
Seeing the situation of both of them, Wu Caiwei quickly stepped forward and said apologetically, "Imperial Physician, it's like this, my young lady has had a delicate stomach since childhood. If she eats a little too much, she gets stomach pain. This morning, she accidentally overate, and now she's in unbearable pain."
Wu Caiwei could clearly feel the imperial physician's relief. He asked with a hint of exasperation, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"We were afraid of being scolded," Wu Caiwei whispered quickly.
Knowing the cause, the imperial physician quickly prescribed medication and taught her many ways to care for her stomach. Wu Caiwei immediately acted as if she were profoundly grateful.
Still as before, she picked out the herbs she needed. Lin Ziyou watched her busy herself and said with some worry, "Tomorrow is the day of the grand selection. How can I ensure the Emperor doesn't keep me?"
"You'll know in a moment, Miss. I have my ways." This time, Wu Caiwei brewed all the herbs she had carefully selected, and it took two hours to produce one bowl of medicine, which she handed to Lin Ziyou.
"What is this meant to be? Are you really making me drink it? Didn't you pour the medicine into the flowerpot the previous times? This medicine looks incredibly bitter. Can I not drink it?" Lin Ziyou instinctively took two steps back. She had disliked taking medicine since she was a child.
"The previous times were because the medicine wasn't necessary. This time is different. After drinking it, you will fall ill. But don't be afraid, it will heal on its own after a while. Whether you can leave the palace depends entirely on this," Wu Caiwei quickly explained the stakes to her.
"So, after all this, you want me to feign illness? But this time it can't be like the previous times, otherwise, we would be deceiving the Emperor, and we'd be beheaded!" Lin Ziyou thought Wu Caiwei still wanted her to pretend to be sick like before, and fearing she didn't grasp the gravity of the situation, she quickly said.
"This time, it's not pretending to be sick, but being truly ill," Wu Caiwei said meaningfully as she pushed the medicine bowl into her hand.
Lin Ziyou was innocent, but not foolish. Upon hearing her words, she knew there was something peculiar about this medicine.
Although she didn't know when Dong'er had become knowledgeable in medicine, out of trust for her, she closed her eyes, pinched her nose, and gulped it down in one go.
As soon as she put down the medicine bowl, something appeared in her mouth. She tasted it and realized it was a candied date. She quickly chewed and swallowed it.
However, by the end of the day, Lin Ziyou felt no discomfort and looked at Wu Caiwei with suspicion, "Is this medicine fake?"
"Rest assured, by tomorrow morning, you won't have the energy to say this to me," Wu Caiwei said, while also meticulously selecting the clothes, jewelry, and hair ornaments she would wear the next day.
Lin Ziyou lay in bed, filled with apprehension. At one moment, she thought about how she would live if she couldn't leave the palace and became a concubine to the Emperor. The next moment, she pondered how she would survive in the world if she left the palace. She couldn't sleep even in the middle of the night.
As dawn broke, Lin Ziyou, who was sleeping soundly, felt a terrible discomfort all over her body. She wanted to cry out but couldn't.
Seeing her symptoms, Wu Caiwei knew the medicine had taken effect. She immediately ran in a panic to find the supervising nanny.
This time, she burst into tears, "Nanny, please come quickly and see! My young mistress has a high fever and her face is covered in chickenpox. It's contagious!"
Upon hearing this, the supervising nanny quickly moved away from her. Having seen much, she knew this type of illness could be fatal and was highly contagious. This was a major issue, and she immediately went to find an imperial physician.