That's not what I meant!

Commander Yue scratched his head, almost ready to swear an oath.

"How could I not know about Mistress Xi's condition? Miss Dingxiang always has a long face and is rarely happy. However, after spending time with her, don't you know Mistress Xi's personality? Beneath her gentle and calm exterior lies an exceptionally intelligent mind! I'm afraid I can't hide it from her!"

"When Princess Xi finds out that His Highness deliberately kept it from her, who knows how angry she will be..."

Granny Fangqi also had this concern.

She understood Song Xibai better than Commander Yue, knowing that no matter how good she was to those around her, she could not tolerate being deceived.

I've already learned my lesson from Fangqi's previous self-serving actions. If it weren't for my past relationship with the Empress, and the fact that I have some influence over her, I'm afraid the Empress would never allow me to serve her closely again.

Granny Fangqi sighed.

"Let's keep it a secret for now! We'll keep it a secret for as long as we can."

If all else fails, we can always go back and check the warehouse.

In order to prevent Song Xibai from finding out, the cause and danger of this matter were kept secret from Wei Hong and the others. Only Granny Fangqi and Commander Yue knew about it in the entire manor.

Meanwhile, in the backyard, after carefully putting away the letter, Song Xibai asked someone to bring out books such as the Book of Songs and the Songs of Chu, and enthusiastically searched for auspicious names.

From that day on, the defenses of the village returned to the tight measures they had taken before the storm.

With the addition of telescopes, four more lookout posts were added to the mountaintop, keeping a constant watch on the surroundings for twelve hours a day—almost like human surveillance cameras.

The personnel changes at the estate could not be kept from Song Xibai.

Song Xibai didn't think much of it. The reason why the protection measures had been relaxed these past few days was because of the continuous floods and disasters, and it was impossible to patrol from morning to night as before.

Two days later, Princess Wu sent a cartload of goods over.

The reason is readily available: during the rainstorm, Song Xibai sent people to help the neighboring Wu Wangfu estate, reducing casualties and also purchasing a batch of damp grain.

The wet nurse who was in charge of delivering the gifts to Princess Wu.

Song Xibai met her in the side hall of the front yard.

The wet nurse politely bowed.

"This old servant greets Lady Liangdi."

Song Xibai waved her hand, signaling her to get up, and even had someone bring over a stool for her to sit down.

"There's no need to be so formal when we're out. How is your princess?"

It was just a polite remark, but to everyone's surprise, the wet nurse's eyes lit up as she spoke.

"Thank you for your concern, Consort Liang. Our Princess Consort is doing well lately, and the concubines in the harem are all behaving themselves. The Prince also rarely goes to the back courtyard anymore, and he's been visiting the Princess Consort's room quite often lately!"

Song Xibai was at a loss for words. Her relationship with Princess Wu was only superficial, and she never expected that the wet nurse would even bring up such a thing.

Fortunately, the wet nurse was very outgoing and started talking on her own without Song Xibai having to answer.

“Our princess knows that there is no shortage of food on the estate, so she sent some medicinal herbs and cloth.”

Song Xibai expressed his gratitude to Princess Wu.

Although she didn't waste the grain that had been soaked by the rain, buying it and having it used to brew wine, she was indeed short of medicinal herbs.

There's no shortage of common medicinal herbs; my brother's shop has them! But high-quality, expensive herbs are hard to buy, like century-old ginseng—you can't buy them even if you have the money.

Princess Wu was very generous, sending medicinal herbs that were hard to find on the market.

In addition, a gift list from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was also included.

Song Xibai was puzzled when she saw it.

"Why are there still things from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion here?"

"It was arranged by the madam." The wet nurse was also unaware of the situation; she was simply following orders.

Song Xibai pondered for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so she decided to write a letter to ask.

After leaving the wet nurse to rest and have lunch, Song Xibai went to the temporary study, found paper and pen, wrote a letter, and handed it to the wet nurse.

After the wet nurse left, it was already afternoon. Song Xibai, supporting her back, went out for a walk when Qingxi came looking for her.

"Master, now that the rain has stopped, shouldn't we continue with the previous expansion plan?"

With more people, the manor became too small to accommodate everyone, so Song Xibai brought up the matter of expansion a few days ago.

The blueprints were finalized, and the craftsmen were all found, but then a sudden downpour forced them to stop work.

Song Xibai nodded.

"Let's continue! Just have someone keep an eye on things."

The new courtyard, centered on the original courtyard, has an additional road on each side, and the surrounding wall has been removed, increasing the overall area by two or three times.

The original main house in the front yard was used as a reception area, while the left and right wing rooms were converted into side halls and a meeting room. The side courtyards on both sides were converted into guest rooms and an outer study.

As for the kitchen, it was divided into an inner and an outer one. The outer kitchen was on the east side, along the wall, and it also served as a storeroom.

As for the backyard, since Song Xibai was the only master, a large courtyard was not built. Instead, a small pavilion and two pavilions were added. However, an extra row of back rooms for the servants and an inner kitchen were built.

Two small courtyards were added to the main courtyard, which are currently empty, in the hope that when the children grow up and come back, they will have a place to stay.

Wei Hong carefully helped Song Xibai out of the gate, and when she saw the wall outside that was half demolished, she couldn't help but say something.

Dingxiang didn't quite understand why it had to be built so big. In her opinion, Song Xibai would return to the palace after giving birth, and it was impossible for her to stay here for long!

Instead, Wei Hong privately pulled her aside to explain: "The young master was born here. If His Highness ascends the throne and the young master is made Crown Prince, then this estate will no longer be an ordinary estate!"

Dingxiang suddenly realized what was going on, so she didn't say anything more.

When Song Xibai returned from her walk, she suddenly noticed an inconspicuous oilcloth carriage parked outside the gate, which puzzled her.

Who's here again?

The gatekeeper saw her and respectfully reported without waiting for any questions.

"My lord, the sixth prince has arrived."

The Sixth Prince?

Song Xibai blinked, her doubts deepening.

After she walked around the screen wall and into the main hall, she saw the Sixth Prince sitting in the lower seat drinking tea.

Beside him sat an elderly man with white hair and beard.

"Sister-in-law, you're back!"

The sixth prince saw her and hurriedly got up.

Song Xibai performed a half-bow.

Before she could ask, the Sixth Prince eagerly explained his purpose.

"My elder brother asked me to help fetch the old imperial physician, but I was delayed on the way and only arrived today."

An old doctor?

In the blink of an eye, Song Xibai understood.

This is the old doctor her father once mentioned!

Song Xibai turned her head in surprise.

When her mother was pregnant with her, this old imperial physician had already retired. Almost twenty years have passed, and he is still alive.

Moreover, judging from his complexion, he is in good health, except that his hair and beard have turned white.

Song Xibai politely bowed.

"This junior greets Physician Sun."

Physician Sun was quite surprised and quickly turned away, not daring to accept her greeting.

"Your Highness is of noble status, how could I, a humble subject, dare to accept such a grand gesture from you? Furthermore, I am no longer a physician, and I dare not accept the title of Your Highness."