Chapter 161 Deceptive Imitation

Shen Qingci then asked Yuanbao for some sleeping potions that would make people fall into a deep sleep before he finally left.

She slowly walked to the window, pushed open the carved wooden window, and her gaze seemingly casually fell on a clump of green bamboo in the courtyard.

A moment later, that familiar figure appeared at the end of the corridor.

"Wanqing" walked hurriedly towards this side.

Shen Qingci's gaze instantly turned cold.

wrong.

The way he walks is also wrong.

Wanqing had been by her side since childhood, her gait was light and agile, and she landed silently.

The "Wan Qing" in front of me, though trying her best to imitate, still carried a trace of the composure and stiffness of a martial artist in her steps.

Under normal circumstances, this subtle difference might be difficult to notice.

But at this moment, in her already wary eyes, it was like a firefly in the dark, nowhere to hide.

When the fake "Wanqing" returned to the room, Shen Qingci had already closed the window and sat back down at her desk, as if nothing had happened.

"Your Highness, here is your plum juice."

"Put it there." Shen Qingci didn't even look up, her voice flat. "This princess suddenly wants to write a letter. Come and grind the ink for me."

"Yes." Wanqing stepped forward as instructed, picked up the inkstone, but instead of fetching water, she casually poured the remaining cold tea from the teacup on the table into the inkstone.

As she ground the ink, she casually inquired, "What letter does Your Highness wish to write? Or... is there something important you wish to instruct someone to do?"

That's the move!

Shen Qingci sneered inwardly.

Wanqing knew that she had a slight obsession with cleanliness. When grinding ink, she always used freshly drawn well water or morning dew, and would never use leftover tea from the cup.

The flaws are becoming more and more numerous.

Shen Qingci seemed completely oblivious. She picked up a book, leaned lazily against the soft couch, and casually flipped through it, saying nonchalantly, "Right now, Chu Jichen and Liu Wenyuan are locked in a fierce battle, and the palace is in complete chaos. This... is the perfect opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

"Send my secret message out immediately," her voice laced with undisguised ambition and madness, "have my father's private army quickly break into smaller units, disguise themselves as ordinary merchants and travelers, and secretly infiltrate the capital! They shall await my orders at any time!"

Wanqing's ink-grinding motion suddenly stopped!

She looked up, her eyes filled with undisguised shock and horror. After a long pause, she cautiously asked, "Your Highness... what are you doing? Could it be... that you're trying to rescue the Prince?"

"Save him?" Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci scoffed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Save him for what?"

“However, I can use the pretext of ‘rescuing’ him.” Her eyes gleamed with excitement and danger. “Think about it, Chu Jichen is now trapped in the deep palace, and his secret guards are leaderless. Naturally, they will have to obey the orders of me, the Regent’s Consort.”

"In my hands, I hold both Chu Jichen's thunderous power and the divine weapon left to me by my father. Wanqing..."

She slowly sat up, her phoenix eyes shining brightly. "Tell me, with such a good opportunity, if I, the princess, don't seize it... to take over the world, wouldn't that be... such a waste?"

"Clang!"

The ink stick in Wanqing's hand slipped and fell into the inkstone, splashing up a patch of black ink!

Seeing her utterly horrified expression, Shen Qingci feigned surprise and frowned, asking, "What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"

"Didn't you already know about my plan?"

She looked at her with a half-smile: "The reason I chose to marry Chu Jichen in the first place was to use his power to instigate a conflict between him and Prime Minister Liu, so that I could... reap the benefits without lifting a finger."

"Didn't I tell you about this already? Why are you acting like you've never heard of it before?"

"Yes...yes!" The fake "Wanqing" was so shocked by her words that she nodded hurriedly in agreement, but her voice was a little stuttering, "Yes...yes, this servant forgot...but...but I didn't expect this day to come...so soon."

"Opportunities are always fleeting," Shen Qingci smiled, a smile that held a deeper meaning. "Naturally, we must seize them."

Seeing that she had prepared the ink, Shen Qingci slowly got up, walked to the desk, and wrote with flowing strokes in one go.

The contents of the letter were, of course, fabricated on the spot. She simply followed what she had just said, pretending to order the non-existent private army to secretly enter the city.

After finishing writing, she sealed the letter in an envelope and then casually took out an inconspicuous silver hairpin from her dressing case.

"Take this letter, along with this hairpin, to the rockery cave in the backyard of the kitchen in the mansion." She handed the letter and hairpin to "Wanqing". "This hairpin is the token for dispatching private soldiers. My liaison in the mansion will come to pick it up and pass on the message."

"Yes!" Wanqing was overjoyed. She took the item and hurriedly left the study.

The moment she left, the smile on Shen Qingci's face vanished!

"Gold ingot!"

Yuanbao's figure immediately appeared in front of her.

"Follow her!" A cold killing intent flashed in Shen Qingci's eyes. "Now that she has obtained such 'important' information, she will definitely try to get it out as soon as possible!"

"You just need to keep a close eye on her! Find out who she's meeting with! And investigate that person as well!"

"I want to see just how many...other people's eyes are hidden in this Regent's Palace!"

"It'll be a good opportunity to see which side sent this ghost disguised as Wan Qing!"

A hint of excitement flashed in Yuanbao's eyes. He clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, accepted the order, and left!

As soon as Yuanbao's figure disappeared, another dark figure silently appeared in the study.

The man knelt on one knee, his voice steady: "Your Highness, it is late at night, and I have important matters to report!"

"explain!"

“Your Highness,” Ye Lan’s voice carried a hint of lingering fear, “their people did not directly kill Miss Wan Qing, but only drugged her, seemingly intending to… take her away from the Regent’s Palace.”

"Fortunately, Your Highness discovered it in time, and your subordinates immediately launched a covert search. Just now, we found Miss Wanqing unconscious in the kitchen's storage room."

"She...she was put into a wooden bucket used for transporting swill, and the two men were preparing to take her out of the mansion under the cover of night. However...they haven't left the mansion yet."

Shen Qingci's tense nerves, which had been on edge ever since he noticed Wan Qing was acting strangely, finally relaxed a little at this moment.

fortunately……

Fortunately, she discovered it in time!

Fortunately, Wanqing is still alive!