"The second branch of the Zhao family has set out? What about the other branches of the Zhao family? By the way, didn't they plead with the Crown Princess?"

Song Xibai asked a series of questions.

She's been bedridden for the past ten days or so, and she's so bored that she just listens to gossip about what's going on outside all day!

The Zhenguo Duke's Mansion played a major role in the Zhao family's affairs.

The Zhao family disciple with the severed hand was struck by someone ordered by the Duke of Zhenguo. As for other matters, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion doesn't need to get involved; the Zhao family has its own enemies.

"The eldest son's branch gave some money, which made the other branches of the Zhao family restless, and they all set their sights on the business of the second son's branch."

"This is what a powerful family is like!" Song Xibai exclaimed. "All the defeats start from within. The best way to deal with these behemoths is to let them fight amongst themselves."

“What you say is absolutely right, Master. The Zhao family may seem to have weathered this calamity unscathed, but cracks have appeared between the different branches. The eldest branch has lost its prestige, and the other branches are all vying for power and profit. I believe it won’t be long before the Zhao family falls into ruin.”

"We'll talk about that later. What's the situation with the Crown Princess?"

Song Xibai waved his hand.

"It seems that the Crown Princess is truly ill. She has been staying at home and has even skipped paying her respects. When the Second Branch of the family first encountered trouble, the Sixth Miss from the Second Branch came to beg her for help, but she refused to see her."

Granny Fangqi paused here, as if she had remembered something, and then continued.

"Zhao Xinlan was sent to the monastery by the Crown Princess."

Song Xibai was stunned for a moment before he remembered who Zhao Xinlan was.

She was the Zhao family girl who entered the Eastern Palace with her. She was sent by the Zhao family to bear children for the Crown Princess.

However, the Crown Prince had always disagreed and had barely even met Zhao Xinlan a few times.

"The Crown Princess is taking her anger out on me!"

Song Xibai came to her senses and said after pondering for a moment.

"The death of Granny Ding was a great blow to the Crown Princess. In my opinion, she truly harbors resentment towards the Zhao family. Should Your Majesty continue to have someone keep an eye on them?"

Song Xibai shook her head.

"A minor punishment is enough to serve as a warning. As for how to deal with the Crown Princess, that is the Crown Prince's business, not mine."

On this point, Song Xibai has always been very clear-headed.

Previously, the main reason she and the Crown Princess were able to maintain a public peace was because the situation in the Eastern Palace was not good, and the Crown Prince needed the Zhao family's support.

Now, the Zhao family has not suffered any serious damage, only the loss of a second wife. Her peace with the Crown Princess has not been broken, and that is enough.

If she directly targets the Crown Princess, what will the Crown Prince think when he returns?

Will they trust her, or suspect that she is using this as a pretext to attack the Crown Princess in order to advance her own position?

Although Song Xibai herself did not have this idea, she did not want to jeopardize the Crown Prince's thoughts.

Therefore, everything will be decided after the Crown Prince returns.

Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Song Xibai gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"I never thought I could be so patient."

In my past life, this would have been impossible. If I didn't like her, I would have kicked her away long ago, regardless of who she was!

However, in this ancient society, one had to think things through before doing anything, and there were many concerns, which was really troublesome.

Song Xibai shook her head, trying to stop thinking about it.

Granny Fangqi noticed her expression and knew she was in a bad mood, so she quickly changed the subject and started talking about the Song family.

"The Imperial Physician Song is highly regarded by the Emperor. When the Emperor caught a cold, he specifically requested that Imperial Physician Song treat him. Even the two young masters of the Song family are now very popular in the capital. I heard that many matchmakers have come to propose marriage!"

Song Xibai shook his head and chuckled.

"Then they're going to be disappointed."

The eldest brother is using marriage as leverage and won't consider getting married for the time being. As for the second brother, I heard he went to his wife's hometown to look for someone, but I don't know how it went.

Because many people were keeping an eye on the estate during this period, Song Xibai hadn't met with her family and could only learn about their situation from others.

Even if Song Xinian wanted to send something over, he had to go through two or three transfers and use the Wu Prince's Mansion as a conduit.

The estate is now heavily guarded, with only the carriages of the Prince of Wu's residence allowed to enter. All others, whether from the Zhou, Zhao, or Guo families, or any other royal residence, are turned away.

After reporting what had happened that day, Granny Fangqi left.

With Qingxi taken away, there was no one in charge of the front yard. Commander Yue was too busy with outside affairs to take care of it, so Song Xibai asked Granny Fangqi to temporarily take charge.

"Sigh, without Qingxi, it's really hard to get used to."

Dingxiang was the only one among them who spoke without restraint, while Wei Hong and the others carefully avoided mentioning the matter.

Song Xibai rubbed her temples.

Qingxi is indeed a man of exceptional competence; whatever is entrusted to him, he can handle it perfectly, so there's absolutely no need to worry. Moreover, being a eunuch, he has access to both the inner quarters and the outside world, making everything convenient for him.

After thinking for a moment, Song Xibai gave instructions to Wei Hong.

"Go and ask Grandpa Lai and his apprentice later, see if they are willing to take over."

Wei Hong nodded and pulled Fu Liu straight to the small kitchen.

Dingxiang checked the time and came over to massage Song Xibai's legs.

"Don't worry about these trivial matters. I think you should think about the future! The Crown Prince's fate is unknown. I'm not trying to jinx it, but there's always a chance of something going wrong. What if the Crown Prince... what do you plan to do?"

Song Xibai sighed, placed her hand on her stomach, and a look of pity appeared in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by calmness.

“If His Highness is really in trouble, then the Crown Princess cannot be allowed to live.”

Dingxiang was startled: "Huh? Didn't you already let the Crown Princess go?"

“What I meant was, let’s put it aside for now and wait for the Crown Prince to return to deal with it.” Song Xibai glanced at her. “If the Crown Prince doesn’t come back, she will definitely use every means to take the child away.”

Dingxiang nodded: "That's true! But she's the Crown Princess, you know? The Eastern Palace is full of her people, how are you going to deal with her?"

"Isn't Zhao Fen serving her?"

Song Xibai only said one sentence and did not go any further.

Zhao Fen won't make this move until the very last crucial moment.

Although Zhao Fen wasn't highly regarded by the Crown Princess, it wasn't difficult for her to do something.

"It's too difficult and unrealistic for a young prince to ascend the throne. If it really comes to that, we should support the Prince of Wu or the Sixth Prince to take the throne. At that time, even for the sake of their reputation, they will treat the child well."

"But I heard that the Emperor prefers the Eighth Prince! He definitely wants to make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince. Do the Prince of Wu and the Sixth Prince even have a chance?"

"Impossible, the Eighth Prince cannot ascend to the throne."

Song Xibai shook her head firmly.

Dingxiang pressed for more information, but Song Xibai didn't explain further.

This involves royal secrets, and there is no evidence yet, so it's not appropriate to speculate.

Seeing that she wouldn't say, Dingxiang stopped asking and focused on massaging her legs.

Song Xibai looked out the window, silently murmuring to herself.

Yuan Shen, you better come back alive!