Chapter 151 There must be a way.

Shen Qingci slowly closed her eyes, suppressing all the panic and pain surging in her heart.

When she opened her eyes again, her clear phoenix eyes were filled with calmness and determination.

She immediately seized on the loophole in Yuanbao's words and asked sharply, "'The Prince wouldn't allow it'? So, after the incident, you... still saw the Prince?"

Upon hearing this, Yuanbao quickly shook his head, a bitter look on his face: "Your Highness, I have not seen it. This is... this is the last order His Highness gave to his subordinates when he was placed under house arrest by those court officials."

He paused, recalling the scene at the time, and added, "However, the prince also said that with your intelligence and temperament, Princess, this matter... probably cannot be kept secret for long."

Yuanbao lowered his head, not daring to look into Shen Qingci's eyes.

He secretly scoffed to himself. He hadn't believed it at first, and even volunteered to deal with the princess, saying he could definitely fool everyone.

But to his surprise... the princess saw through all his pretense with just one glance.

Was his behavior... really that obvious?

Shen Qingci was unaware of Yuanbao's complex inner thoughts at that moment. Hearing him say this, she felt a wave of dejection wash over her.

Undeterred, she pressed on, "The Prince once said that your martial arts skills are among the best in the secret guards. Could it be... that even you couldn't get through to the Prince and pass on the message?"

Yuanbao's face showed an unprecedented solemnity and helplessness.

He shook his head, his voice hoarse: "Your Highness, you are unaware of this. If they were to imprison the Prince in a secret room, no matter how heavily guarded it is, I am confident that I could infiltrate it."

"But unfortunately... that old fox Liu Wenyuan had already foreseen this!"

A deep-seated hatred flashed in Yuanbao's eyes. "He didn't imprison the prince. Instead, he arranged for his accomplices to take turns 'guarding' the prince day and night under the pretext of questioning him about the case!"

“Our men can’t get close at all! What’s more, there are at least ten pairs of eyes watching the Prince every moment. We… we simply cannot pass on any message under the gaze of so many people!”

Shen Qingci imagined the scene and also found it extremely troublesome.

This is almost an unsolvable dead end.

She paced back and forth in the room, her mind racing, mentally considering all the possibilities.

No, there must be a way!

Suddenly, she stopped abruptly!

Shen Qingci slowly turned around, her clear eyes flashing with a terrifying light in the dim candlelight.

“Yuanbao,” she said, looking at him and emphasizing each word, “even if they keep a close watch on you, they still… need to give the Prince time to eat and relieve himself, right?”

Yuanbao was taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded with a bitter expression: "That's true. But... whether it's for meals or going to the toilet, they always have heavy guards stationed there, following us every step of the way. Trying to secretly pass on a message under those circumstances would be... as difficult as climbing to the sky."

"Who said...it has to be hidden?"

A cold and dangerous smile slowly curved Shen Qingci's lips.

"Sometimes, delivering a message openly and honestly in public might be more 'discreet'."

Yuanbao's eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Shen Qingci did not explain immediately. She lowered her eyes, her voice calm and even, yet carrying a wisdom that seemed to see through everything: "Chu Jichen is different from others in one major way."

That was... his disability.

"Since I am disabled, I have to rely on others for many things. Especially... such private matters as relieving myself."

"Those guarding the prince are all Liu Wenyuan's accomplices, presumably high-ranking officials from the court. Do you think they would personally help a political enemy they hate to the core to deal with such a sordid matter?"

“They won’t,” Shen Qingci said confidently. “They will definitely need a trustworthy servant of low enough status to do this.”

"And whenever we need to rely on others, that is our opportunity."

Shen Qingci's eyes flashed with an increasingly sharp light as she continued her analysis: "Moreover, since Liu Wenyuan's accomplices took turns guarding the prince, there could not possibly have been only one servant responsible for attending to the prince's needs when he relieved himself; they must have also been on duty in shifts."

"As long as there are shifts, there will inevitably be times for handover. And as long as there are handovers, there will be loopholes to exploit!"

She looked at Yuanbao, her voice calm and decisive: "You immediately arrange for people to do everything in their power to find out exactly who the servants responsible for this are, what their identities are, and when they are rotated!"

“We can try to find one of them, or even… replace him, during their rest breaks!”

“However,” she changed the subject, her expression turning serious, “that old fox Liu Wenyuan is meticulous and will surely be wary of this. I suspect they will use special codes or tokens when they hand over their duties.”

"If it's a token, that's simple; we can just snatch it. But if it's a code... we'll have to find a way to pry the code out of them intact!"

"Yes!" Yuanbao responded to each order, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Shen Qingci had changed from simply obeying orders to genuine admiration!

He had always thought that his lord had lost his mind.

There are countless noble ladies in the capital, many of whom have a more respectable family background and better conditions than Shen Qingci. Why is it that the prince is so deeply in love with this widow who has been married before and is burdened with a lot of troubles, and has fallen head over heels in love with her?

But now it seems...

He seemed to understand, just a little bit, why.

This princess remained calm and meticulous in the face of danger, managing to pinpoint the single, fatal flaw in what seemed like an unsolvable predicament! Such courage and wisdom are probably unmatched in the entire capital!

Just as Yuanbao was filled with mixed emotions, Shen Qingci stood up.

"Your Highness?" Yuanbao looked at her in surprise.

Shen Qingci walked to the clothes rack, took down an elegant cloak, and said in a calm voice, "Talking about it on paper is not enough. I have to... go to the palace in person."

"Firstly, I want to see for myself what the Prince's current situation is like, so that I can understand it better and formulate a more comprehensive plan."

“Secondly,” a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, “I’m going to… create opportunities for you.”

Yuanbao was puzzled and stared blankly at Shen Qingci: "Create an opportunity for us?"

Shen Qingci nodded: "I have to go and cause trouble!"