Moonlit inner palace corridor outside Lin Wei's recovery chambers; the chapter opens with strategy replacing panic.

Lin Wei reinterprets the palace as a network of exits, witnesses, and weapon paths.

Lin Wei searches Yu Yan's memory-imprint for grudges connected to the Empress Dowager's kitchen.

Lin Wei identifies the three facts her counterplot needs: Min's reputation, Old Qiu's access, and the Empress's tea habit.

Lin Wei summons Consort Min using the formal authority of the Crown Princess.

Consort Min arrives for a private meeting, understanding the invitation is not social.

Lin Wei defines the favor as delivery, not protection.

Min pushes for the exact lie Lin Wei wants carried to the kitchen.

Lin Wei explains why the rumor is believable without naming the later assassination plan outright.

Min openly names the treason in the room and tests how far Lin Wei will admit it.

Lin Wei risks speaking aloud, letting Min hear the Southern voice again because clarity matters more than safety.

Min agrees, but frames the help as a debt that will not vanish.

Min sets the rumor in motion through harmless-looking servant channels.

Old Qiu is introduced in the imperial kitchen, a man easy to overlook and difficult to move.

The maid repeats Min's rumor; Old Qiu understands the intended fear even through the disguise.

Old Qiu is left alone with the rumor and his history with the Empress Dowager.

Lin Wei confirms she has left no direct trail to poison or murder.

Lin Wei prepares the second half of the trap: a meek request for private tea with the Empress Dowager.

The formal request leaves Lin Wei's room under guard and enters the Empress Dowager's domain.

Lin Wei receives the Empress Dowager's acceptance and confirms the eighth-day tea is set.

Lin Wei visits the hidden place where the jade face box preserves what was taken from her.

Lin Wei tries to remember her original face, but Yu Yan's borrowed image is clearer.

The chapter closes on the eighth-day deadline and Lin Wei's resolve to continue the trap.