Qu Qingxi knew very well that if the Empress dared to arrange these palace maids to be in charge of the banquet, they must have undergone professional management training, so how could they possibly make such a low-level mistake?

It was all intentional, a deliberate attempt to lure me away. I just don't know if today's events were orchestrated by the Empress or if someone else was planning something.

The palace maid led Qu Qingxi into a palace. "Your Highness, please wait a moment. They have already gone to find suitable clothes and should be back soon," the palace maid explained to Qu Qingxi.

"Your Highness, it's windy outside today. Let me close the window for you so you don't catch a cold." The maid moved quickly, turning to close the window before Qu Qingxi could answer.

Qu Qingxi simply stared at the palace maid's movements, a completely unguarded smile on her face, without saying a word.

The palace maid closed the window, then went to the side, lit the incense burner, and the smoke rose up, spreading a delicate fragrance. Qu Qingxi seemed unaware of anything unusual, simply sitting there quietly, waiting for the palace maid to bring her clothes.

At this moment, a palace maid dressed in pink walked in. She first bowed to Qu Qingxi, then looked at the other palace maid and said, "Sister Green Lotus, the banquet is short of one person. We need you to go and help immediately."

“But I have to stay here with the Princess, I can’t make room.” The palace maid named Green Lotus looked at Qu Qingxi with a troubled expression.

"It's alright, you go ahead and do your work. I'll just wait here." Qu Qingxi waved her hand, looking completely unconcerned.

"Well then, thank you, Your Highness. I'll get back to my work now." Green Lotus looked at Qu Qingxi gratefully, then turned and left with the pink-clad palace maid.

Reaching the palace gate and closing it, Green Lotus turned around and glanced disdainfully at the person inside. "Hmph, she's just an unfavored person. So what if she's the Prime Minister's daughter? She's not favored in the Prime Minister's mansion. Does she really think that becoming a princess will make her a phoenix on a branch?"

How could a man as upright and honorable as the prince have a princess who offers no help whatsoever to his future?

As soon as Green Lotus left, Qu Qingxi immediately wiped the smile off her face and coldly watched the doors of the main hall slowly close.

This method of harming people is truly clumsy.

Qu Qingxi walked to the window and tried to push it open, but found that the window seemed to be locked from the outside and could not be opened at all. Qu Qingxi sneered. This kind of wooden window can only keep out weak women who have no power to kill a chicken. How dare they use it to deal with her?

Qu Qingxi lifted her skirt and kicked it, sending the wooden window flying out. Qu Qingxi leaped out into the darkness. It was the fifteenth of August, but there was no bright moon outside.

Qu Qingxi jumped down, fixed the window, and then walked along the wall to the front of the palace, where she found a secluded spot to hide.

Instead of going through the trouble of searching yourself, you might as well make the person who framed you show up.

Qu Qingxi didn't wait long before she saw Qu Qingran approaching furtively with a palace maid named Lülian. Could this be Qu Qingran's doing? Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even if Qu Qingran orchestrated it, the Empress would still be implicated. Qu Qingxi didn't believe that Qu Qingran, the daughter of a minister, could have her own power in the palace.

Qu Qingran stood at the doorway, pointing inside. "Is Qu Qingxi really inside? Are you sure she hasn't left?"

"Don't worry, young lady, the windows in the palace are locked from the outside, and the doors are closed from the outside as well. No one inside can get out at all," Green Lotus assured her repeatedly.

"Push the door open a little bit. I need to see her sitting inside with my own eyes before I feel at ease." Qu Qingran originally didn't think that an unfavored older sister would pose no threat to her, but what happened at Fengyi Palace last time made her wary. Qu Qingxi was no longer the Qu Qingxi who could be manipulated by others.

Seeing Qu Qingran's insistence, Lülian could only nod and gently push the door open a crack. Qu Qingran peered through the crack but saw nothing.

"There's nothing inside," Qu Qingran said in a low voice, frowning.

"Impossible, young lady, the door is bolted from the outside; it's impossible to open it from the inside." Green Lotus didn't believe her and quickly explained that she had personally closed the door and windows, so how could the person have disappeared?

Qu Qingran was about to curse when she suddenly remembered that they were in the palace and that Lülian was a maidservant of the Empress. So she stepped aside to let Lülian see for herself.

Unconvinced, Green Lotus stood in Qu Qingran's spot and peered through the crack in the door, but she really couldn't see anything.

"Impossible. She must have fainted on the ground and been blocked by something, which is why we can't see her from here," Green Lotus explained after thinking for a moment.

Qu Qingran also felt that as someone close to the Empress, Lü Lian should be very cautious in her actions and it was impossible for her to make such a mistake. Moreover, the palace was very spacious and had many furnishings. If she had really fainted on the ground, it would be normal for her to be blocked by something and not be able to see her.

"Let's go in and confirm. We must make sure this is foolproof and there are no mistakes." Qu Qingxi turned to look at Lülian.

Green Lotus was also a little doubtful at this moment, but she nodded and thought it would be good to go in and take a look. In case the person was not inside, they could stop in time.

The two of them worked together to push the door a little wider, and squeezed in sideways.

Seeing that the two had gone inside, Qu Qingxi went forward and closed the door. By the time the two realized it, the door had already been slammed shut. Qu Qingran and Lülian panicked and rushed forward to try to open the door, but Qu Qingxi had already locked it from the outside.

After closing the door, Qu Qingxi quickly walked to the window from which she had jumped out earlier, put her hand in her sleeve, and actually took out a sleeping cigarette from her spatial storage, lit it, and let it drift inside through the window crack.

Qu Qingran and Lülian were initially banging on the door, trying to make noise to attract people to open it from the outside. Gradually, they realized that their will was becoming somewhat confused, and the scene in front of them was becoming increasingly unclear.

Even though they knew something was wrong, they were completely helpless and could only faint in despair.

After confirming that both of them inside had fainted, Qu Qingxi fixed the window, put away the sleeping incense, and turned to leave. Even if they were faking it, the aphrodisiac incense inside was enough to keep them very intoxicated; that incense was personally lit by Green Lotus.

Qu Qingxi hadn't gone far when she saw a man staggering toward her, followed by a palace maid in pink. As the man drew closer, Qu Qingxi could see clearly that the palace maid in pink was the one who had told Lülian to leave earlier.

The man was not handsome, just average-looking, short and a bit overweight. He had probably been drinking, as his face was hazy and lewd.

The palace maid in pink dared not get too close to the man; her only responsibility was to lead him into the palace.