Just as Qingdai was about to open the letter, Qu Qingxi stood up abruptly and said, "Let's go find the Prince."
"Looking for the Prince?" Qingdai was stunned. Suddenly, she remembered that she had originally planned to ask the Princess to comfort the Prince, but halfway there, she discovered the suspicious Zhang Xueliu and forgot about it.
"Your Highness, why don't you take this to the Prince? I suddenly remembered that I still have some things to take care of." Qingdai carefully placed the crumpled paper along with her handkerchief in front of Qu Qingxi, then turned and left.
The prince was clearly in a bad mood today, so she decided against spending money to provoke him. He wouldn't do anything to the princess, but he would definitely target her.
Seeing Qingdai leave quickly, a look of confusion crossed Qu Qingxi's face. Why was she in such a hurry? She hadn't even asked where He Liufeng was yet.
But the person had already left, and Qu Qingxi couldn't chase after them anymore. She could only pack up her things and go find He Liufeng herself.
At this time, He Liufeng should have already returned home from court and was probably handling official business in his study.
Qu Qingxi was halfway there when she suddenly remembered her "great achievements" from the previous night. Would the Emperor arrange for He Liufeng to investigate the theft?
Qu Qingxi was standing there hesitating when she saw Ling Mu come out of the study. After quietly closing the study door, Ling Mu was about to leave when he saw Qu Qingxi standing there.
Ling Mu's eyes lit up instantly. The Princess?
Seeing that the princess was about to leave, Ling Mu quickly stepped forward and said, "Princess, please wait."
"What's wrong?"
“Your Highness, the Prince is not in a good mood today. Why don’t you go in and try to comfort him?” Ling Mu asked tentatively.
"Is he inside?" Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow. Judging from Ling Mu's expression, she thought He Liufeng wasn't there.
"The prince is inside." Ling Mu nodded immediately, then gestured for Qu Qingxi to go in.
Watching Ling Mu leave in a slightly flustered manner, Qu Qingxi's face showed even more confusion. What's wrong? Why are they all acting so strangely?
Qu Qingxi stepped forward and knocked on the door. A very faint voice came from inside, "Come in."
Pushing open the door, I saw He Liufeng sitting back in his chair. Sunlight slanted through the window, leaving only a ray of light on the desk. He Liufeng was shrouded in darkness, looking gloomy and ruthless.
Qu Qingxi stood at the door, staring at the person sitting there, lost in thought.
She seems to have overlooked an important issue.
Before she married into the royal family, rumors circulated in the capital about He Liufeng: he was ruthless, cold-blooded, and, to put it more vividly, a living devil.
However, in all the time she had been married to He Liufeng, she had never seen him like that. Therefore, Qu Qingxi once felt that the rumors were not entirely credible, since He Liufeng was clearly a gentle and kind person.
But now it seems I was wrong. Perhaps the person He Liufeng presented to me was just a disguise.
Seeing the door open but no one coming in, He Liufeng's eyes turned cold. He looked towards the door and found Qu Qingxi standing there, holding something in her hand, staring at him thoughtfully.
"Qingxi? What brings you here?" He Liufeng stood up, the sinister expression on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a gentle smile, even his voice carried a hint of lightness.
"Zhang Xueliu made some noise just now, so I came to find you." Qu Qingxi waved the thing in her hand and went inside.
"She sent a message outside?" He Liufeng looked at the thing in Qu Qingxi's hand.
"Yes, it was a crumpled piece of paper. Qingdai found it, so she wrapped it in a handkerchief and brought it over." Qu Qingxi nodded and placed the item on the table.
"It hasn't been opened yet?" The crumpled paper still had a light layer of dirt on it, clearly indicating that it hadn't been touched.
"No, I was worried there might be some other markings on it, so I brought it with me." Qu Qingxi shook her head.
Upon hearing Qu Qingxi's words, He Liufeng also became cautious. He first removed the handkerchief with his hand, then leaned closer to the crumpled paper and examined it carefully. "There's nothing wrong with this crumpled paper."
As He Liufeng spoke, he directly unfolded the paper ball with his hand. Several large characters were written on it: Qu Qingxi was indeed poisoned in the palace and was taking medicine.
There was nothing else besides that.
"Just like that?" Qu Qingxi frowned. "Could it be that something was used to convey other messages on it, but what kind of water is needed to soak it in for the writing to become visible?"
Seeing how seriously Qu Qingxi was analyzing, He Liufeng chuckled, "Where did you get this information? I've never seen this method before."
"No?" Qu Qingxi looked at He Liufeng in surprise. How could there be no one? Was she overthinking things?
"Do you have any methods to make the words invisible under normal circumstances, but visible after special processing?" He Liufeng was a little curious. What was she thinking about all day?
“Yes, for example, if you write on white paper with a candle, you can’t see anything, but if you heat it with fire, the words will appear.” Qu Qingxi nodded matter-of-factly.
"Also, crush alum, refine it, grind it into powder, soak it in hot water, dip a brush in it and write on paper. After it dries, there will be no trace, but if you heat it over a fire, the writing will become clear."
Qu Qingxi added.
He Liufeng initially thought Qu Qingxi was just a bit suspicious, but seeing how detailed and logical Qu Qingxi's explanation was, and even how to do it, He Liufeng's expression gradually became serious.
Is this really true?
"You didn't know?" Qu Qingxi asked in surprise. Wasn't it said that ancient times had their own ways of transmitting secret messages? How come He Liufeng seemed to know nothing about this?
"My princess is indeed clever." He Liufeng glanced at Qu Qingxi in surprise, never expecting that Qu Qingxi would bring him such a big surprise.
If Qu Qingxi wasn't joking, then this method of delivering secret messages would bring him great benefits and convenience.
Seeing He Liufeng's slightly excited expression, Qu Qingxi thought: I think I said something I shouldn't have, and no one told her that there is no such way to hide information here.
Having confirmed that the note Zhang Xueliu had written did not reveal anything, He Liufeng went outside and called Qingdai, instructing her to restore the note to its original state and place it back in its previous spot so that the message could be spread.
"You seem a little off today. What's wrong? Did something unpleasant happen during court?" Qu Qingxi asked casually, but actually wanted to know how the Emperor and Empress reacted when they saw the empty Fengyi Palace.
Mentioning this, He Liufeng's smile faded a little. He turned his head to look at the sun hidden by dark clouds outside the window and slowly said, "The Fengyi Palace was robbed again today, and it was even more serious than last time. I heard from my brother that there is only a bed left in the Empress's palace. Everything else is missing."
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