Knowing that Lao Qi was coming back, Zi'an was in a good mood and didn't bother to care about these things.
The two Wans were still very sensible for the time being and didn't dare to cause any trouble. Zi'an asked Wang Jun to find two people to watch them and not let them run around. After all, they were the daughters of guilty ministers and were rewards from the palace. If something happened on this happy day, there would be a lot of trouble.
After dealing with these matters, Zi'an said to Wang Jun, "Tell someone to catch a few mice. I'll need them later."
"Rat?" Wang Jun's eyes widened. "What does the princess want a rat for?"
Still use it at night.
"It works!" Zi'an smiled mysteriously and said no more.
Wang Jun was not a nosy person. He only asked because he was surprised that Zi'an was looking for a mouse. Now that he heard her say it was useful, he stopped asking and took the order.
In the evening, Wang Jun really came over with an iron cage, which contained several mice with gray-white fur, jumping around in the cage.
"Okay, just put it there." Zi'an pointed to the corner and said.
"Okay." Wang Jun put the mouse down and gently kicked the cage. "It's still very lively."
"What we want is liveliness." Zi'an said.
After sending everyone out, Zian stayed alone in the room.
Sun Fang'er gave her three fake-death pills, three antidotes, and an instruction manual.
Sun Fanger's handwriting is very beautiful, the characters are arranged in an orderly manner, and the endings are very crisp.
Zi'an weighed the dosage himself, ground up a fake-death pill, picked up a little with his fingernails, mixed it with rice and fed it to a mouse.
Then, and so on, the next mouse added a little more weight and the timer began again.
After the first mouse ate its meal, it stopped moving after about an hour.
The others had entered a state of suspended animation an hour ago.
Sun Fang'er wrote here that the fake death can only last for twelve hours. If the antidote is not taken after twelve hours, it will become real death.
So, at noon the next day, Zi'an fed the antidote to the mice one after another, controlling the dosage very carefully, but none of the mice woke up.
Less than twelve hours had passed and the mouse had not woken up after being fed the antidote. Either the dosage of the fake death drug she had used was too strong, or the antidote was ineffective.
In the evening, the mice still hadn't woken up, so Zi'an had to order people to throw all the mice out and then catch some more.
This time, she shortened the time of administering the antidote. After feeding the fake death drug, she administered the antidote in one hour, two hours, three hours, and four hours respectively.
The mice that took the antidote after one hour and two hours woke up, but the mice that took the antidote after three hours and four hours did not wake up.
This means that the suspended animation drug will not work within twelve hours as Sun Fang'er said, but within two hours.
Two hours is far from enough time.
When Xia Lin was found dead, the Emperor would definitely summon the imperial physician to see him, which would have delayed him for at least half an hour.
After confirming the death, the emperor would not immediately order him to leave the palace, because he would conduct a comprehensive investigation into the cause of Xia Lin's death. This delay would not be one or two hours, but could be one or two days.
Then Linlin's fake death would become real death.
Two hours, how can we get the emperor to send Linlin out of the palace within two hours
It was impossible for her to go to answer the call because Linlin "died" suddenly, and before the matter was made public, it was impossible for her to receive any news through formal channels.
Therefore, she could not enter the palace.
When my head was in a knot, Xiaosun came in and said that the Grand Princess had arrived.
Zi'an had no choice but to cheer himself up and go out to meet Zhuangzhuang.
Zhuangzhuang seemed particularly happy today. He brought Qinzhi and Qionghua in with a smile on his face.
Seeing Zi'an, she frowned, "According to the schedule, Lao Qi and his companions should arrive today. Why do you, as his wife, look unhappy?"
Zian forced a smile and said, "How can I be unhappy?"
"Look at you, your smile is so forced. What's wrong?" Zhuangzhuang took her hand and went in. "Is it because of the reward from the Empress Dowager?"
Zi'an smiled and said, "Good news never travels far, but bad news travels a thousand miles."
"She has been trying to get people into your house with great fanfare. Everyone knows this." Zhuangzhuang snorted. "Her kindness is really infuriating. You too, why did you accept it?"
"I'm just too lazy to argue with her."
Zhuangzhuang saw that she was frowning and asked, "What's going on?"
Zi'an told Xiaosun to close the door, then told her about the fake death drug plan given by Sun Fang'er, and also told Zhuangzhuang the results of his research.
After hearing this, Zhuangzhuang couldn't help but get angry, "Is he really crazy?"
"What's the big deal if I sacrifice others for my own survival? Many people probably think this way. After all, my own life is more important than others'."
"How is it possible to transport Xia Lin out of the palace in two hours? If we delay, he will be dead." Zhuangzhuang also became worried.
"I have thought of several options, but none of them are feasible."
Zhuangzhuang thought for a moment and said, "How about this? After Xia Lin faked his death, the emperor must have seen him within two hours. If he is sure he is dead, he will not look at him again. Even if he investigates, he will not investigate while looking at the corpse, right? In this way, Sun Fang'er can secretly feed the antidote to Xia Lin. After taking the antidote, Xia Lin will wake up, but still pretend to be dead until he can be transported out of the palace. What do you think?"
Zi'an shook his head. "I've thought about what you said, but it's not feasible. If a person is not dead, he will be breathing, and there must be sounds and movements. Plus, Linlin is not good at disguising himself. If he is exposed, it will be bad. Moreover, the people who deal with the bodies in the palace must be from Xiwei Palace. These people are the emperor's confidants, and they can't be fooled or bribed."
"Do you think Liang Shulin can help?" Zhuangzhuang asked.
"I have also thought that if he can help, there is a certain chance of success. However, this matter cannot be done by him alone. If he is exposed, not to mention his official position, he may even lose his life. Do you think Liang Shulin is willing to sacrifice his life to help Linlin?"
Zhuangzhuang shook his head. "That won't happen. I let Lingli go last time because it didn't harm his interests."
"That's right. He just did a favor last time."
The two of them thought hard but to no avail. Finally, Zhuang Zhuang said, "Why don't we wait for Lao Qi to come back and ask him if he has any ideas? It's better than both of us racking our brains here."
Zi'an said worriedly, "I'm afraid that the longer he stays in the palace, the more danger he will face."
Zhuangzhuang was also very angry and worried. Although they had met during the days when Zi'an went to Beimo, they just nodded lightly and didn't say a word.
Thinking of those deceptions, she felt indescribable suffocation and sharp pain in her heart.
She had always told herself to let it go, as everything he did was not entirely for himself.
However, whenever the night is quiet, the heart-wrenching pain of the past will resurface and remind her that the relationship between relatives is even more indifferent than that between strangers.
Those who have never experienced pain probably don’t know what it feels like.
(End of this chapter)