Snow White with the Red Hair S1 E4

## Plot

The exam for court herbalists is coming up. That prodigy kid that Shirayuki noticed in episode 2 came up with a difficult test. His name is Ryu, he's 12 years old, and he's quiet. She notices him in the garden and talks to him briefly. She learns that certain plants that have medicinal properties are the most effective when picked at a certain time, like dawn. The chief herbalist is a woman named Galek Gazelt. She has an assistant named Yatsufusa, who rarely speaks and always wears a large blue bandana. The test will involve caring for an herb garden. After two days, the court herbalists will inspect their work and submit a report. Late at night, Zen notices the lights still on in one of the greenhouses. It's Shirayuki, who's working as hard as ever. Zen notices someone in the bushes, and backs into the greenhouse. Shirayuki notices him, and someone locks them in. They're stuck there until the chief comes in at dawn to inspect the garden. But when they see Zen, they may assume that Shirayuki was getting help from him in order to pass the test. She notices that some flowers that should be blooming at this time are instead wilting. She tastes the water, and it's sweet. She checks the water upstairs, and it's normal, so the problem must be coming from the ground level. There's toxins in the water. Zen freaks out at first, but these toxins don't affect humans. She notices that one type of plant is actually different than she first thought. It's been planted in the wrong way, so it won't bloom, and its roots would produce toxins that would spread to the rest of the plants because of the aqueducts. Zen closes the aqueducts so Shirayuki can dig out the toxin making plants. Then she'll replant the whole garden the right way. The two keep it up until dawn. The chief comes by to inspect Shirayuki's work, and although she's confused to see Zen there, Shirayuki isn't disqualified. In fact, she was one of only two people who passed the test. They planted in those toxin plants on purpose, and whoever noticed it was the wrong type would pass. They didn't expect her to replant the whole garden though. There was an examinee who was mistaken for a prowler last night. It was the person who locked them in last night. A competitor wanted to eliminate Shirayuki. The chief assures them that the matter will be thoroughly investigated. Zen noticed that whoever it was had a long coat and tied back hair all the way down to the waist. Shirayuki is now an apprentice court herbalist, and her mentor will be Ryu. Which is so weird, because he's a kid and younger than her and he might have a crush on her. Shirayuki defends him from a patient who finds him creepy just because he studies poisonous plants. She points out that some plant toxins can actually help treat sick people. Later, the chief gives her the records of Zen's medical history. She finds out that he was routinely poisoned at age 13, which is how he built up an immunity to poisons. So, he either poisoned himself intentionally, or someone else did to toughen him up and he just got used to it. Either way, that sounds horrible. It's so bad that Shirayuki cries while reading it. Ryu sees this and tells Zen, who talks to her. Later, Ryu finally calls Shirayuki by her name.