After Song Xibai explained to everyone, everyone looked indignant.

"Who gave them the guts?!"

"With such great ambitions, I'm afraid the Zhao family will never be satisfied."

Dingxiang looked at this and then at that, still puzzled.

"I still don't understand. Since Qingxi is a member of the Zhao family, why did he kill Granny Ding? Wasn't Granny Ding also a member of the Zhao family?"

"Naturally, it was to frame someone."

Song Xibai raised an eyebrow.

“The Zhao family is not a monolithic entity. It’s impossible for them to tell the Crown Princess all their plans. As for Granny Ding, she’s just an old servant. What does she mean to the Zhao family?”

Dingxiang bit her lip, not quite understanding the actions of these powerful and wealthy families.

Having spent a long time in the palace, Granny Fangqi understood after a little thought.

"I'm afraid they're worried that the master won't agree, so they're using Granny Ding's life to hold the master hostage and force him to work for them. There are probably other methods behind this."

"That's for sure."

Song Xibai nodded.

"What do we do now?" Wei Hong asked anxiously, raising her small hand. "Granny Ding is dead. Will the Crown Princess let this go?"

"That's an internal matter for the Zhao family, it has nothing to do with us."

Song Xibai shrugged and turned to Granny Fangqi.

"Later, I'll need to trouble you, Granny, to send Granny Ding's body back to the East Palace along with Qingxi. The official reason is that Qingxi was bullied by Granny Ding when she was in the East Palace, and she harbors resentment and wants to take revenge. Just make up any reason, Granny, you can decide."

At this point, Song Xibai paused, then shifted her gaze.

"Make a copy of Qingxi's statement, have it affixed to his name, and hand it to the nanny. Nanny, remember, you must personally deliver it to the Crown Princess."

Granny Fangqi nodded with a serious expression.

"Also, tell the Crown Princess that for now, it's better to remain still than to take any action. She is no longer a daughter of the Zhao family, but the Crown Princess."

That's all I have to say. As for how much of what the Crown Princess will take to heart, that's beyond Song Xibai's control.

Granny Fangqi curtsied and then left with Commander Yue.

Dingxiang watched their figures disappear, clicked her tongue twice, and glanced sideways at Song Xibai.

"You're just going to let the Crown Princess off like this? That's not like you!"

Song Xibai touched her stomach.

"Of course I won't just sit here and take the beating. She dared to lay a hand on my child, how could I let her off so easily? It's just that these are turbulent times, so I shouldn't confront her directly. Let His Highness handle it when he returns!"

Dingxiang pouted: "That's too easy on her."

Song Xibai chuckled lightly, said nothing more, and instead asked Wei Hong to bring paper and pen, and wrote a letter to both the Princess of Qin and the Princess of Wu.

The letter to the Princess of Qin consisted mainly of everyday matters and greetings, before casually mentioning that she had obtained a "folk remedy for conceiving a child."

Folk remedies are obviously fake, but some methods to help with fertility are real.

But for the Princess of Wu, it was a completely different story.

Princess Wu is exceptionally intelligent, and the two have exchanged letters several times. Song Xibai only mentioned one sentence to the Crown Princess, believing that Princess Wu would understand it.

The two letters were sent out at the same time and arrived in the hands of Princess Qin and Princess Wu early the next morning.

After Princess Qin returned to the palace, her life became better than before. Perhaps feeling apologetic, Prince Qin visited her room more often.

Princess Qin blushed deeply after reading half of the letter. She quickly closed it and made an excuse to send all the maids and servants away.

After closing the doors and windows, I hid behind the bed curtains before cautiously continuing to read the letter.

Will this work?

She muttered to herself, her face flushed, and after hesitating for a long time, she gritted her teeth.

"Let's give it a try. Xi Liangdi wouldn't lie to me!"

That evening, the King of Qin came to her room and saw his usually timid and quiet queen, dressed in a thin gauze dress, with light makeup on her face, walking towards him step by step.

The King of Qin spoke on the spot.

"What kind of vixen is this? How dare she disguise herself as the princess to seduce me?"

Princess Qin blinked and then burst out laughing.

Her smile was like a lotus blossom, her face flushed and rosy, a sight to behold.

After that, everything was left unsaid.

A month later, the Princess Consort of Qin indeed became pregnant.

This made her completely trust Song Xibai, and she almost always obeyed his every word.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

Now let's talk about Princess Wu.

After reading the letter, she pondered for a long time and then sent someone to inquire about the Crown Princess's recent movements.

The movements within the Eastern Palace could not be kept secret.

Soon, the Queen Consort of Wu learned what had happened.

Princess Wu immediately returned to her parents' home.

No one knows what kind of conversation took place inside the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, but a few days later, two of the Zhao family's most favored sons were impeached for patronizing prostitutes, and one had his right hand broken.

A few days later, it was revealed that the second branch of the Zhao family had secretly bought servants and forced women into slavery.

In the present-day Da Yin Dynasty, the buying and selling of servants exists, which has many drawbacks. For example, people of slave and free status are not allowed to marry, and the descendants of slaves can only remain slaves, which is very troublesome.

For this reason, it is not common for ordinary people to sell themselves into slavery; instead, most people sign five- or ten-year contracts.

Those who traded servants were all government-run brokers; private brokers were prohibited!

Buying and selling servants from private brokers was also forbidden.

The Zhao family's affairs are not a big deal; they are a common problem among aristocratic families. But the emperor is currently looking for an opportunity to deal with the Crown Prince's faction, so why would he let this opportunity pass?

The Zhao family suffered a great loss, not only losing two outstanding young descendants, but also the second branch of the family was severely punished, sentenced to have their property confiscated and be exiled.

The Crown Princess was born into the eldest branch of the family.

However, all of the Zhao family's businesses were managed by the second branch of the family. Over the years, the second branch had secretly amassed a fortune, and now it was all being returned.

The Crown Princess fell ill the day she saw Ding Mama's body.

From Fangqi's words and Qingxi's testimony, she already knew the cause of Ding's death and was deeply disgusted by the Zhao family's actions.

Therefore, when the second branch of the Zhao family got into trouble, she watched coldly from the sidelines and did not get involved.

This led to discord among the different branches of the Zhao family.

The day the second branch of the Zhao family embarked on their journey into exile was only half a month after Ding Mama's death.

Over the past two weeks, Song Xibai has been taking good care of herself, and her health has finally recovered.

Physician Sun would come to take her pulse every morning without fail.

"We don't need to use moxibustion anymore, but we still need to take the pregnancy-preserving medicine once a day before bed."

Physician Sun withdrew his hand and turned to discuss the prescription with Dingxiang.

The medications used to prevent miscarriage are not static. Today, the dosage of this medication may be reduced by two points, and tomorrow the dosage of that medication may be increased by one point. All these adjustments must be carefully considered and studied repeatedly.

Song Xibai lay there obediently without interrupting.

Doctors cannot heal themselves. Given her current condition, she should simply be an obedient patient and follow the doctor's orders.

After Physician Sun left, Granny Fangqi brought the latest news from the Zhao family.