The Crown Princess was startled when she saw Consort Guo lying on the ground.

It was Granny Hu who was the boldest; she stepped forward, checked Consort Guo's breath, and then replied.

"Your Majesty, Consort Guo is not dead; she must have fainted."

The Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and instructed the others, "Help Consort Guo to bed."

Two palace maids and two old women hurriedly moved people around. Old woman Hu knelt by the bed, stretched out her thumb, and pressed hard on Guo Liangyuan's philtrum.

Guo Liangyuan cried out in pain, slowly opened her eyes, and then let out a scream.

"There's a ghost! There's a ghost!"

The Crown Princess's expression darkened, and she angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could there be ghosts in the palace?!"

Guo Liangyuan was clearly frightened, pointing in terror toward the dressing table and muttering incoherently.

The Crown Princess was furious. She strode over, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face.

"Shut up!"

Guo Liangyuan was stunned by the beating; her face swelled up immediately, and she stared blankly at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess vented her anger, and with a sharp glance, everyone around her lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.

"A dignified concubine, having served the Crown Prince for several years, yet still so ignorant! Don't you know His Highness detests talk of ghosts and spirits? If you continue to be so reckless, I will have no choice but to send you to the Cold Palace to keep those deposed concubines company!"

The Crown Princess's words were undoubtedly weighty.

Guo Liangyuan's eyes darted around nervously, she blinked twice, and then lowered her gaze.

The Crown Princess let out a breath, then changed the subject.

What exactly did you just see?

Guo Liangyuan pointed with trembling hands toward the dressing table.

"Just now, I was sitting there taking off my hair when suddenly, a line of words appeared on the bronze mirror..."

As she spoke, her face suddenly turned pale, and her voice trembled so much that she could no longer continue.

The Crown Princess was suspicious, so she called over others to carry candles and oil lamps and walked towards the dressing table.

Upon closer inspection, there were no words on the bronze mirror.

Granny Hu reached out and wiped the mirror, then leaned closer to smell it and whispered.

"Your Majesty, it's wax."

The Crown Princess raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Consort Guo.

"You heard that too? It's just some candle wax, there's no ghost involved. It's just a prank at most."

Guo Liangyuan's face turned pale and then red, and she forced herself to remain calm as she apologized.

"It is because I am too timid that I was frightened and disturbed Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

The Crown Princess responded casually, glanced around, and suddenly said, "Consort Guo has been frightened. She should stay in her room and recuperate for the next few days. Tomorrow, the Imperial Physician will come to examine her. Take good care of yourself and don't come out unless necessary."

After speaking, the Crown Princess comforted Consort Guo with a few words, completely ignoring Consort Guo's suddenly cold expression.

A moment later, the Crown Princess left with her entourage and returned to her residence.

And Guo Liangyuan?

She stormed to the dressing table in a huff and forcefully shoved the bronze mirror off to the ground with a loud crash.

Damn it!

She gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, but accidentally pulled on a nerve in her face, causing her to contort in pain and squat down, covering her face.

“Zhao Xinya…Song Xibai…one day you will kneel down and beg me…”

In the darkness, a fierce glint suddenly appeared in her eyes.

So what was Song Xibai doing at this time?

She was in the east hall, making candle flowers with Dingxiang and Wei Hong.

The materials are very simple: melted candle wax, a basin of cold water, and a twig.

After the candle melts, first dip your finger in water with something added, then quickly dip it into the candle wax, and finally pinch it on a twig. Wait a few seconds for it to solidify.

Song Xibai used red candles to shape small plum blossoms.

Wei Hong couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Our master is so clever! How could she have thought of using this to make flowers?"

"When I was a child, I was bored at home in the winter, so I would think of all sorts of ways to play."

After Song Xibai finished making two flowers and gave a demonstration, she handed them to Wei Hong.

Wei Hong was very interested in this and played with it enthusiastically for a long time.

Dingxiang leaned close to Song Xibai and whispered, "I just heard a big commotion in the back hall. Even the Crown Princess brought people there. Hopefully, they won't trace it back to you."

"No," Song Xibai answered confidently. "Even if the Crown Princess guesses it, she won't do anything. What she wants most right now is to consolidate her power in the palace as soon as possible. What I'm doing is exactly what she wants."

Dingxiang felt relieved, but was still puzzled: "I don't understand, how did you manage to get someone to tamper with Consort Guo's room? Did you bribe her maid?"

Song Xibai covered her mouth and laughed, offering no explanation.

In fact, the ones who did these things were the secret guards sent to her by the Crown Prince.

Song Xibai didn't have direct contact with the secret guards; whenever there was something to say, she would have Wei Hong relay it. Previously, she would have the secret guards watch the house when she went out; this time, having them sneak into Guo Liangyuan's room and write on the bronze mirror with transparent wax was no difficult task for them, and they wouldn't refuse.

Of course, Song Xibai also had Wei Hong send a purse of silver to the guards, as a way for them to earn some extra money.

Dingxiang touched the solidified candle wax and muttered to herself.

"If this thing were used on door locks, it could tell if someone had tampered with them! It would save me from having to pull out my hair every time."

Song Xibai chuckled.

"That has to wait until it's hot. If it's cold, it will solidify quickly and won't leave a mark."

While the two were talking, Wei Hong had already glued candle flowers all over the entire branch, and then happily took the branch out.

She put the twig in a small bottle and placed it on the windowsill of her room.

The next day, the palace maids and servants passed by and saw the fake red plum blossom. They couldn't help but ask about it, and Wei Hong generously told them how it was made.

In less than half a day, these "candle flowers" became popular throughout the East Palace, and the palace maids' rooms were filled with candle flowers of various colors.

Besides the red plum blossom pattern, the skillful palace maids made different patterns and colors: pink peach blossoms and crabapple blossoms, yellow chrysanthemums, and even small purple orchids and white apricot blossoms.

Therefore, when Consort Guo had seen the imperial physician and was about to order someone to investigate who had been using candle oil privately, she was astonished to find that there were candle flowers everywhere in the Eastern Palace.

Even her personal maid brought in two newly made candle flowers.

"Liangyuan, do you think this winter plum blossom looks realistic?"

Guo Liangyuan's face darkened.

"These cheap counterfeit goods don't even deserve to be displayed in my house! Take them out and throw them away right now!"

The palace maid was so frightened that she knelt down and begged for forgiveness, then hurriedly ran out with the flower branch in her arms.

Her room was just around the corner from Fuliu and the others' room.

Fu Liu's injuries had almost healed, and she was leaning against the window when she saw her run back with red eyes, so she quickly called out to her.

"Banxia, ​​what's wrong?"