The massive, decorative Kagami Gate closed behind Lin with a quiet, final thud. She was inside the Fuji Palace. The air here felt heavy with the scent of expensive incense, clean marble, and blooming wisteria. It was beautiful, but the beauty felt dangerous, like silk hiding a sharp blade.
Lin's dark, practical robes felt clumsy and cheap next to the ladies-in-waiting. She kept her eyes low, letting her gaze sweep over the ground instead of challenging the hostile stares she received.
Izumi walked beside her, looking every bit the high-ranking official.
Lin Thinking: _He is utterly disconnected from the real world. A perfect product of the court, even if he came from the dirt. He is the viper who trapped me here, and his perfection is just another mask._
They stopped at the sprawling, crimson-tiled complex.
Juro: Apothecary Lin, this is the Crimson Manor, the residence of Royal Consort Zhi.
Lin: Did the symptoms resemble a common fever, or a known poison?
Juro: The physician, Dr. Akito, initially complained of intense, throbbing headaches. Then, profound confusion, followed by violent convulsions.
Lin stopped walking, turning her small frame toward Izumi.
Lin: Confusion and convulsions suggest neurological attack, not digestion or respiratory illness. Who did Dr. Akito treat last?
Izumi: (He paused, establishing the Suspenseful tension.) Dr. Akito's final patient was Royal Consort Zhi, just hours before his symptoms began. My instinct tells me this sickness is targeted.
Izumi Thinking: _My duty is to maintain my own power. I need her to solve this quietly, without causing a political ripple large enough to drown me. The deeper she looks, the more exposed I become._
Lin: I need access to everything Dr. Akito handled here: his medical kit, the Consort's pantry, and especially the medicinal tea supplies.
Izumi: Juro will provide you with all necessary authority. Be thorough, Apothecary Lin. Remember, no matter what you find, it must appear to the public as a medical accident, not a political assassination attempt.
Lin: (A small, dry smile touched her lips) I am adept at making things appear to be what they are not, official Izumi.
Lin was led inside the Crimson Manor. She methodically began her investigation. She tested the drinking water—clean. She examined the ornamental incense burner—safe. She dismissed external toxins, focusing on ingestion.
She moved to the pantry and noticed a smaller, unlabelled lacquer box tucked behind sealed wine bottles. It contained a tea blend.
Lin retrieved her magnifying glass and examined a leaf from the mystery box.
Lin: (A quiet gasp of surprise) The shape is identical, but the venation is different.
She recalled Dr. Akito's symptoms: headache, confusion, then convulsions. She thought of the Shirohana Weed.
Lin Thinking: _This is brilliant. A substitution that looks exactly like a benign, common medicinal tea, but delivers a potent neurotoxin. Only knowledge of obscure botany could find this, and the poisoner knew the court would ignore the humble._
The active compound in Shirohana Weed causes acute neurological inflammation, exactly matching the physician's suffering.
Lin carefully sealed samples of the Shirohana Weed and the genuine ginseng in separate, labelled vials. She found Izumi waiting in the courtyard.
Izumi: Did you find the cause, Apothecary Lin?
Lin: (She held up the two sealed vials) This illness was not caused by plague, official Izumi. It was caused by substitution. This rare, expensive tea leaf was replaced with this common weed. When consumed, this weed delivers a neurotoxin that mimics the precise symptoms of Dr. Akito.
Lin: The person who did this knew the leaves look identical, and knew the symptoms would confuse the court doctors.
Izumi stared at the samples, his Amethyst Violet eyes intense. A slow, almost imperceptible smile finally stretched across his beautiful face.
Izumi: A deception so clever it points to sophisticated malice. And you deduced this merely by examining the leaves, Apothecary Lin?
Lin: (She met his gaze) I deduced it by using knowledge of chemistry and botany that the court dismissed as "common sense." I need the name of the Consort's herbalist immediately.
Izumi: Juro will arrange both. I find your skills... highly satisfactory.
LinThinking: _He sees my competence, but he only values me as a specialized tool. I must focus on solving the next puzzle, not on his political games. I need to find the supplier._
Lin watched as Izumi turned and walked away. She knew she had just secured her position, and sealed her fate, within the treacherous walls of Fuji Palace.
A Note to Our Readers
The web tightens! Lin has already impressed Izumi by identifying the cunning deception—the Shirohana Weed substitution—which confirms the poisoner is intelligent and calculating.
The Mystery Question:
Was Royal Consort Zhi the actual target, or was the physician meant to be an indirect warning to another Consort? Lin needs access to the source of the herbs; how will Izumi react when she demands to question the high-ranking Chief Herbalist?