He Liufeng had something to do, and after confirming that Qu Qingxi was not harmed, he left quickly.

Just as Qu Qingxi was about to take a break, Qingdai sent word that Zhang Xueliu had made a move.

“Your Highness, when those two people sneaked in, Zhang Xueliu said she was ordered by Your Highness to clean the Prince’s study and was about to enter the study, but she was stopped by the guards at the door.”

"She finally made her move." Qu Qingxi was not surprised at all when she heard this; it was something she had expected all along.

After Zhang Xueliu returned from outside, Qu Qingxi and He Liufeng discussed what Zhang Xueliu wanted to find in He Liufeng's study.

At first, they couldn't guess what it was, and they were willing to let the Xu family waste Zhang Xueliu, a pawn. A couple of days ago, He Liufeng received news that Xu Ding might already know that the matter of raising troops had been leaked, and also realized that the Emperor was investigating Zhou Wenli.

So, guessing that Xu Ding might already know about the secret letter, He Liufeng had someone forge a new one and hid it in his study, waiting for Zhang Xueliu to retrieve it.

However, in order to prevent Xu Ding from suspecting that the letter was fake, Qu Qingxi suggested that He Liufeng hide it more carefully, preferably so that Zhang Xueliu could not find it at once. People always subconsciously doubt the authenticity of things that are too easy to obtain.

Zhang Xueliu carried a basin of water with a clean, soft cloth beside it and slowly walked to He Liufeng's courtyard.

However, before she even stepped into the courtyard, two men suddenly appeared beside the gate and blocked Zhang Xueliu's path, sternly questioning, "Stop! What are you doing here?"

Zhang Xueliu didn't expect that she would be stopped before she could even enter He Liufeng's courtyard.

However, she remained calm, having already prepared her words. Zhang Xueliu smiled slightly and spoke softly, "Brothers, I am a maidservant of the Princess Consort. I have come to clean the Prince's room on the Princess Consort's orders." As she spoke, she pushed the basin of water and soft cloth in her hands forward to indicate that she was not lying.

"The princess's maid? Isn't that Qingdai?" A guard looked at Zhang Xueliu suspiciously.

Upon hearing this name, a flash of hatred crossed Zhang Xueliu's eyes. The last time Qingdai had ordered her to be punished in front of so many people, her body still hadn't fully recovered, and she would never forget that incident.

Then she put on an innocent smile and said, "Miss Qingdai is indeed a maidservant of the Princess. So am I. My name is Zhang Xueliu. The Prince and Princess rescued me from outside. The Princess took pity on me and kept me by her side."

“Zhang Xueliu?” Upon hearing the name, a guard glanced at his companion, as if he had just remembered something. “Oh, Zhang Xueliu, I do think I’ve heard that name before. She even helped the Princess with Qingdai before.”

The other person listened, then turned to look at Zhang Xueliu, and nodded, "Since the Princess Consort sent you, then you may go in. However, you must not touch anything in the Prince's room without permission."

"Yes, I know. I'm just cleaning up; I won't touch anything," Zhang Xueliu assured her repeatedly.

"Then you may go in." The two guards made way for him.

A hint of joy flashed across Zhang Xueliu's face, but she pretended to be calm and walked straight towards the study.

Two guards stood at the gate, muttering, "Doesn't the prince's room have someone specifically responsible for cleaning it? Why did the princess send someone over again?"

"Perhaps the princess wanted to show concern for the prince, so she sent her maid to clean up."

After whispering to each other, the two of them went back to guarding the door.

Zhang Xueliu turned the corner and walked to the front of the study. The smile on her face froze when she saw the two guards in front of the study door. Why were there guards guarding the door of the study?

However, it seems that there were indeed important things in the study of the Prince of Nanqing.

Upon seeing an unfamiliar face appear, a guard immediately drew his sword, pointed it at Zhang Xueliu, and said in a cold voice, "This is a restricted area of ​​the study. All unauthorized personnel must leave, or they will be killed without mercy."

Zhang Xueliu swallowed hard and quickly explained, "I am a maidservant of the Princess. My name is Zhang Xueliu. I am here on the Princess's orders to clean the Prince's study."

Upon hearing that she was a maidservant of the princess, the two guards' expressions softened slightly, and they even sheathed their swords. "Please go back, young lady. The prince's study has a dedicated cleaning maidservant, so there's no need for you to trouble yourself."

The guard's words were polite, but also reasonable. Zhang Xueliu had come today for the things in the study, so she wouldn't be easily dismissed.

“But I was ordered by the Princess. If I came here today and did nothing, the Princess will definitely blame me.” Zhang Xueliu put on a wronged look. Seeing that the two people’s expressions softened, she continued, “Everyone knows that the Prince has always doted on the Princess. The Princess just wanted to take this opportunity to show her concern for the Prince.”

"And don't worry, I understand all the rules of the manor. I won't touch anything that's not supposed to be touched, and I definitely won't look at anything without permission. I'll come out as soon as I'm done cleaning."

“This…” The two men exchanged a glance, hesitated for a moment, and then shook their heads. “Miss, this is still not possible. To enter the Prince’s study, you need a token.”

"A token? What token? The princess never mentioned anything about this." Zhang Xueliu was full of doubt. She had been by Qu Qingxi's side for so long and had never heard of needing a token to enter the prince's study.

"It's a dark green token with the character 'Wind' engraved on it. The prince has ordered that anyone other than the prince and princess must have this token to enter the study. Even Lord Ling Mu, who is by the prince's side, needs this token to enter."

Zhang Xueliu frowned, clearly not expecting such a thing to happen. If that was the case, then her trip today had been in vain.

"I see. Perhaps the Princess Consort forgot to give me this token. In that case, I shall take my leave." Zhang Xueliu gave a slight curtsy and turned to leave.

She had never actually seen this dark green token before.

However, she had previously learned that Qingdai was originally a guard by the prince's side, and was only assigned to protect Qu Qingxi after Qu Qingxi married into the family.

Qingdai should have this item. If I just steal the token from Qingdai, that would be perfect.

The dark green token, with the character "wind" engraved on it, already gave Zhang Xueliu a plan in mind.

Zhang Xueliu wasn't too discouraged by the failure today. Her master had said that there were very important things in He Liufeng's study, so it was normal for them to be so guarded.