"Alright, it's getting late, let's go back and rest early." He Liufeng put his arm around Qu Qingxi's shoulder, and the two of them walked towards the Prince's Mansion together.
In the morning, Qu Qingxi was drinking tea when Qingdai brought over a plate of pastries. "Your Highness, there's been some activity from Zhang Xueliu's side."
"Oh? She finally couldn't hold back anymore?"
"Yes, she's been visibly agitated these past two days. I expect she'll make a move soon. The person in charge of monitoring her said that last night in her room, Zhang Xueliu secretly made a lot of marks on her arms and legs, making it look like she was being abused. She's probably going to stage a self-inflicted injury."
Qingdai nodded excitedly. She had thought Zhang Xueliu could endure it for a long time, but she couldn't hold back after only a few days.
"Tell the people over there to cooperate with Zhang Xueliu if necessary, so that she doesn't get hurt for nothing."
Qu Qingxi chuckled softly, everything was under her control.
"Yes, Your Highness." Qingdai nodded excitedly, eager to see what Zhang Xueliu would do.
At noon, the sun was shining brightly. Qu Qingxi was admiring chrysanthemums in the garden of the Prince's mansion with Qingdai when she saw a small, frail figure staggering toward them.
When the man saw someone in the garden, he quickly turned to leave, but Qingdai called him back.
"Where are you, little maidservant? What are you doing here?"
Hearing someone call his name, the figure stopped, turned around, and walked towards him with his head down.
"This servant greets Your Highness."
"Get up." Qu Qingxi glanced at him and recognized him as Zhang Xueliu.
"You look somewhat familiar," Qu Qingxi said, feigning confusion.
"This servant is Zhang Xueliu, whom the Princess Consort saved before." Upon hearing this, Zhang Xueliu looked up at Qu Qingxi, then quickly lowered her head again.
"What happened to your arm?" Zhang Xueliu "accidentally" revealed the scars on her arm, which Qu Qingxi couldn't help but notice, so she asked.
"This servant, this servant accidentally bumped into something." Zhang Xueliu choked up, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke, looking utterly pitiful.
Hearing Zhang Xueliu's answer, Qu Qingxi sneered inwardly. She had already given him a way out, why was he still pretending?
"Oh, you bumped into it by accident. Then be more careful in the future." If Zhang Xueliu wanted to act tough, then let her act tough all she wanted.
Zhang Xueliu, who was shedding tears, paused. Anyone with eyes could see that the marks on her arm were from being pinched. The princess actually believed her that she had bumped her head. Where could one get such marks?
Is Qu Qingxi missing a screw in her head? Does she believe everything she's told? She's really brainless, Zhang Xueliu cursed inwardly.
"Alright, Qingdai, this princess is tired, let's go back." Qu Qingxi turned to leave, but then heard a "thump" behind her, and Zhang Xueliu knelt down.
"Please, Your Highness, make the decision." Seeing that Qu Qingxi had left directly, Zhang Xueliu stopped pretending and immediately knelt down.
"Take charge? What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" Qu Qingxi asked suspiciously.
"Your Highness, Sister Xiaoqi, who works with me, has been bullying me because she has been in the manor for a long time and is senior. I have been tolerant of her, hoping to make things a little easier, but I didn't expect that Sister Xiaoqi would become even more ruthless when she saw that I did not fight back. The injuries on my body were caused by her pinching me."
"This servant knows that Your Highness is kind, and I would like to ask Your Highness to do me justice." Zhang Xueliu knelt there pitifully, showing sympathy to everyone who called out to her.
"I never expected there to be such an audacious servant in the manor. She really doesn't take me, the Princess Consort, seriously." Qu Qingxi's eyes narrowed, her tone filled with anger.
Seeing that Qu Qingxi believed her, Zhang Xueliu felt even more disdainful. Qu Qingxi was really naive, believing whatever others said, and seemed very easily swayed.
If she stays by Qu Qingxi's side in the future, her mission will be much easier to complete, and she might even have some unexpected gains.
But how could she ask Qu Qingxi to take her in as her personal maid? After all, only by becoming Qu Qingxi's personal maid could she obtain more intelligence and information.
Just as Zhang Xueliu was racking her brains for an excuse, Qu Qingxi suddenly spoke up, "Go down and take good care of your injuries. I will have someone investigate this matter thoroughly. If this is true in the manor, I will not tolerate it. Seeing how easily you are bullied, after you recover, you can stay by my side."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xueliu's eyes lit up with joy. She hadn't expected Qu Qingxi to suggest that she stay by her side; it was truly a stroke of luck.
"Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness. I will serve you well." Zhang Xueliu kowtowed repeatedly in gratitude.
"Go down and recover from your injuries first." Seeing the other party kowtow to her without a word, Qu Qingxi felt a pang of unease. Kowtowing again? It's too easy to shorten one's lifespan. It's better to get rid of him quickly.
After Qu Qingxi left, Zhang Xueliu also quickly got up and left. She was extremely pleased with herself. She had thought that this Princess of Nanqing was very powerful, but now it seemed that she was nothing special. She had only used a little self-inflicted injury trick and was immediately fooled.
Seeing Zhang Xueliu's figure disappear, Qingdai couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Your Highness, you didn't know just now, but when Zhang Xueliu said that the scars on her arm were from a fall, and you told her to be more careful in the future, her expression was particularly funny."
Stunned, shocked, bewildered, it's absolutely hilarious! They have no skills whatsoever, yet they dare to act as spies in the Prince's mansion. How laughable!
"I've already given her a way out, but she won't take it. Instead, she's putting on airs in front of me. Let her do it to her heart's content." Qu Qingxi chuckled, not taking Zhang Xueliu seriously at all.
In the evening, Qingdai brought in a maid-like person.
"This servant Xiaoqi greets Your Highness." Xiaoqi quickly bowed to Qu Qingxi.
"Get up."
“Tell the Princess everything that Zhang Xueliu has done,” Qingdai said from the side.
Xiaoqi is the maid who bullied Zhang Xueliu, as Zhang Xueliu mentioned today.
"These past two days, although Zhang Xueliu appears to be well-behaved and sensible, she is actually very careless in her work. I only reminded her slightly, and she kept crying. Sometimes she even said that she was not feeling well and could not do heavy work."
Last night, Zhang Xueliu saw that the maid was asleep, so she tore open her clothes and pinched some marks on her arms and legs. She thought the maid was asleep, but the maid saw everything.
Previously, I deliberately told her that someone in my family was sick and needed money to hire a doctor, but I didn't have any money.
This morning, she suddenly became very polite to me and even took out fifty taels of silver, saying that as long as the princess sent someone to investigate whether she had been bullied, I should act guilty so that the investigator would think that she was not lying and that I had bullied her.
After repeatedly declining Qingdai's request, I finally agreed and accepted the money.
As Xiaoqi spoke, she took out a silver note from her bosom and handed it to Qu Qingxi with both hands.
"You did a good job. Since this money is for you, take it." Qu Qingxi nodded. Everyone in the Prince's mansion was very loyal to He Liufeng, and there was no possibility of them betraying him.
So when she found out that Zhang Xueliu had deliberately "bumped into" them, she decided to play along and brought Zhang Xueliu back with her. First, she arranged for Zhang Xueliu to do some hard and tiring work and sent people to monitor her every move. Then, she had Xiaoqi cooperate with Zhang Xueliu.
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