With worries in his heart, Song Siyuan stepped into the courtyard and followed a servant, a young eunuch, all the way to the main hall of the house.

To his surprise, as soon as he entered the door, he saw the Crown Prince and his own daughter.

Song Siyuan was very puzzled.

"Weren't you supposed to be here to treat the Sixth Prince? Where is the Sixth Prince?"

Song Xibai got up and went to greet him.

"The Sixth Prince is fine; Dingxiang has been watching over him the whole time! I asked the Crown Prince to invite Father over."

Her expression was undeniably serious.

The crown prince glanced at the father and daughter and cleared his throat.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll head out first. You two can continue your conversation!"

He could tell that Qingqing wasn't showing it on her face, but she was angry inside!

As soon as the Crown Prince left, Song Xibai pulled Song Siyuan to the table without saying a word, pressed his shoulders, and forced her father into a chair.

"Father, I have something very important to ask you."

Song Siyuan was so frightened by her daughter's expression that she shrank back in her chair, too afraid to move.

"Daughter, feel free to ask me anything."

Song Xibai pursed her lips.

"Father, how much do you really know about the death of Consort Zhao two years ago?"

Song Siyuan was taken aback and subconsciously looked up at her daughter.

Why do you ask that?

Song Xibai tapped the table with her finger: "Father, don't try to hide it from me. We've recently discovered some clues related to Consort Zhaorong's death. She must have died from poisoning, and the poison was very likely produced from the face powder she used every day. That face powder was extremely precious, made with all kinds of rare and expensive materials. Various fragrances masked the smell of the poison. She applied it to her face every day, and the toxins seeped into her skin, accumulated in her body over time, until she died from the poisoning."

At this point, Song Xibai paused.

"Father, you took Consort Zhao's pulse for so long, you couldn't have been completely unaware! You concealed this matter, not even telling your daughter and brothers. Who are you trying to protect?"

Song Siyuan's eyes flickered, then he lowered his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't notice anything at the time. The death of Consort Zhao... no, Consort Rong was an accident. The palace has already reached a conclusion. Why are you bringing it up again?"

Song Xibai was furious.

"Once a conclusion is reached, can it not be brought up again? Does that mean all the suffering our family endured was for nothing? Did my sister-in-law die in vain?!"

In the end, she slammed her hand on the table in anger.

A look of pain appeared on Song Siyuan's face, and he covered his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you all..."

Seeing him like this, Song Xibai bit her lower lip and remained silent.

Actually, by now, she had basically guessed the reason.

Who else could be the person who would make her father hide the truth even if it meant his entire family's property was confiscated and he was exiled?

If her mother were still alive, Song Xibai would have some doubts, since her father cared most about her mother.

But now...

Song Xibai sneered repeatedly.

"What a loyal imperial physician, Song! After what you've done, has he shown any gratitude? Has he taken you seriously? Our whole family has suffered so much, and he never even thought of clearing your name. It was only when he himself fell ill that he summoned you back to the capital. What's the point of being loyal to such an emperor?!"

"Xixi, shut up!"

Song Siyuan's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly and hurriedly covered her mouth.

Song Xibai took a step back.

"Father, what are you afraid of? This is His Highness the Crown Prince's villa. There are no people like your loyal emperor here."

Song Siyuan stomped his foot.

"The Emperor's personal guards are everywhere, how can you be sure there aren't any on this estate?"

Song Xibai's eyes flickered: "Father, have you ever seen the Emperor's Imperial Guard?"

Song Siyuan took a deep breath.

"If you want to know the truth, I will tell you, but before that, you must swear to me that you will never tell anyone. Not even the Crown Prince."

Song Xibai glanced at the window casually and nodded.

"Okay, I swear I will never tell anyone after I hear this. If I break this promise, may I be abandoned by everyone."

Song Siyuan sighed and sat back down in his chair.

"I don't want to force you, but this matter is a scandal in the harem. If it gets out, not only will the Emperor's reputation be damaged, but His Highness the Crown Prince and the other princes will also be criticized and suspected."

Song Xibai suddenly realized that this matter was more serious than she had imagined.

She held onto the table, slowly sat down, and listened quietly.

"I was sent to examine Consort Zhaorong's pulse when she was a month and a half pregnant. Because there had been no good news in the palace for many years, the whole palace was paying attention to Consort Zhaorong's pregnancy. Her pregnancy was unstable and her reactions were very obvious. Therefore, not only me, but also your Uncle Qi and another retired imperial physician were called to take care of her together."

“At the beginning, I was in charge of the pulse records, the old imperial physician was in charge of adjusting the prescriptions, and your seventh uncle was in charge of preparing and decocting the medicine. We rotated every five days to prevent anyone from interfering.”

Upon hearing this, Song Xibai nodded.

This approach is quite good. With three people keeping an eye on each other, even if someone tries to tamper with something, the other two will quickly notice.

"With our careful care, Consort Zhaorong's reaction lessened considerably, and she stopped vomiting. However, she developed headaches and drowsiness, but fortunately, they were not serious. When she was three months pregnant, the palace announced the good news to the outside world. At the same time, all kinds of rewards were brought into her palace in a steady stream, and she was promoted to the rank of Zhaorong."

Zhaorong is considered a high rank, one of the Nine Concubines, second only to Zhaoyi.

At that time, the position of Zhaoyi was already occupied, and she had given birth to the fifth prince, making her position unshakeable. Therefore, the emperor only granted Shi the position of Zhaorong.

However, Shi was favored by the emperor at the time, and rumors circulated in the harem that she would definitely be made a concubine after giving birth to her child.

After Consort Shu was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, the original position of Virtuous Consort remained vacant!

Shi himself thought so too.

Every few days, the emperor would bestow various rare and precious treasures, as well as valuable spices, which no one else had.

Shi was smug for a long time and ignored the various symptoms that were appearing on her body, such as increasing drowsiness, hair loss, a worsening complexion, and occasional abdominal pain...

"I discovered the abnormality two months later, but when I told the old imperial physician about it, he told me not to meddle. He also warned me that we in the Imperial Hospital only obey one person's orders and must not have any other thoughts. I felt bad about it at the time, so I could only tell your Uncle Qi. Your Uncle Qi also felt that something was wrong and wanted to protect himself, so he asked for leave from the palace."

"As a result, a few days after he left, Consort Zhaorong suddenly fell seriously ill. The old imperial physician was no longer there, and I was the only one who entered the palace. Before I could even administer acupuncture treatment, Consort Zhaorong passed away."

At this point, Song Siyuan sighed again.

After listening, Song Xibai still didn't understand the reason.

Why did the emperor kill her?

After hesitating for a moment, Song Siyuan slowly uttered a sentence.

"She is not carrying the emperor's child."