"Go and catch a man. Remember, it must be a man, not a eunuch. Then deliberately wander around the vicinity of Changyin Pavilion. After that, go back to your Qingyi Pavilion and sit back and watch the show," Ji Fengyao said with a grin, looking quite smug.

Yuan Zhisheng thought to himself, "This princess is so unique, so different from those wooden women in the capital."

Seeing her confident demeanor, he agreed.

Within minutes, Yuan Zhisheng brought over a guard.

Naturally, he also took revenge on a personal grudge; this person belonged to the faction that his father usually clashed with.

"Time is running out, hurry up and finish the rest," Ji Fengyao urged.

"Yes, Your Highness, please be careful." Yuan Zhisheng clasped his hands in a salute, then quickly left, and as Ji Fengyao instructed, he deliberately circled the entrance of Changyin Pavilion twice.

While Yuan Zhisheng was out, Lin Shuang quickly helped Ji Fengyao change her clothes.

When Yuan Zhisheng emerged from behind the screen, the guard he had captured was already rolling around on the ground, clutching his clothes, looking utterly disoriented and desperately seeking relief—a truly appalling sight.

After several groups of people had gone through the ordeal, even the slow-witted Lin Shuang could guess that there was something wrong with the room: "Your Highness, what should we do with this person?"

Ji Fengyao opened the back window a crack to let the air in the room slowly dissipate, turned around and walked calmly out, bypassing the guards rolling on the ground: "Naturally, we'll leave him here as a return gift to the person who tried to harm me."

Lin Shuang watched Ji Fengyao's calm and composed back view, and was secretly shocked.

This intelligent and patient princess is nothing like the reckless bandit she was in the palace. Even women who have spent half their lives fighting in the palace are less alluring than her.

After all, her image as a crude and vulgar bandit was so deeply ingrained in people's minds that no one would have imagined she would be a treacherous and hidden villain.

Lin Shuang originally just wanted to do her job well so that she could earn a better life for herself.

Now it seems she must be extremely capable and loyal; following such a princess, perhaps she can secure a bright future.

Having figured all this out, Lin Shuang quickly followed Ji Fengyao, her actions already showing a willingness to protect her master.

Just then, a plain-looking palace maid walked towards them. Lin Shuang subconsciously stepped forward and stood between the palace maid and Ji Fengyao.

Ji Fengyao glanced at Lin Shuang silently, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her eyes, but she remained silent.

Seeing this, the palace maid did not insist on getting closer to Ji Fengyao. Instead, as she brushed past Lin Shuang, she secretly slipped something into Lin Shuang's hand.

Lin Shuang remained calm until she and Ji Fengyao entered a secluded spot in the Imperial Garden. Only then did she take out what she was holding and present it to Ji Fengyao: "Your Highness, this was given to me by that palace maid just now."

A crumpled piece of paper lay in Lin Shuang's palm, with faint writing inside.

Ji Fengyao took the crumpled paper and unfolded it. On it was written a line of small characters: Stay away from the Blue Hairpin Palace Maid who is close to Consort Yin.

The words on it evaporated quickly upon exposure to light.

Ji Fengyao knew that it was written with a special kind of ink. This ink was invisible in the light and would dissolve the paper when it came into contact with water. There were similar things on Earth, but she didn't expect that there were also in this world.

"The Blue Hairpin Palace Maid by Consort Yin's side?" Lin Shuang tried hard to recall: "When I left the palace, Consort Yin's only personal maids were her two dowry maids. They were always careful and cautious, and never took action themselves."

Ji Fengyao suddenly asked an unrelated question: "When you were in the palace, which master did you serve?"