The crown prince grunted in acknowledgment and then continued.

"The key is not the Crown Princess, but the people in the Imperial Hospital or the Imperial Pharmacy."

Song Xibai pursed her lips and gave a faint smile.

"Your Highness need not worry too much about this."

In the month or so since she entered the Eastern Palace, she has called for a physician several times, and now everyone in the palace probably knows that she is in poor health.

At this time, it makes perfect sense that the Crown Prince found a female physician to take care of her personally!

Even if someone has doubts, it doesn't matter.

After all, even without him, there are still many people eyeing the Crown Prince.

Now, all Song Xibai needs is to find a pretext for herself so that no one can find fault with her.

Thinking of this, Song Xibai suddenly turned to look at the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, would you like to see Dingxiang and ask her some questions?"

The crown prince shook his head: "No need, I trust your people."

While they were talking, the Crown Prince had already dressed and was ready to go out.

As soon as he stood up, the sachet hanging from his waist suddenly fell to the ground.

The crown prince was in a hurry to leave and didn't notice anything amiss.

Song Xibai bent down to pick it up, and was about to speak when she looked up and saw that the Crown Prince's figure had already disappeared.

She stared at the sachet in her hand for a moment, then brought it to her nose and sniffed it. Suddenly she remembered that this was the one she had given to the Crown Prince.

Previously, in order to cover up the smell of medicine on the Crown Prince, Song Xibai specially prepared a sachet for him.

More than a month has passed, and the spices in the sachet have long since evaporated, leaving no scent at all.

Surprisingly, the Crown Prince was still wearing it.

Song Xibai stared at the sachet, lost in thought, speechless for a moment.

As soon as Dingxiang casually pushed the door open and entered, Song Xibai subconsciously stuffed the sachet into her sleeve, pretending to be nonchalant, and looked at Dingxiang.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Dingxiang glanced at her suspiciously: "Didn't you say you'd ask me to come and help you choose medicinal herbs after the Crown Prince left?"

Song Xibai slapped his forehead. He'd forgotten!

"It's my fault, come and help me."

She quickly pulled Dingxiang to the small study in the north, where the two of them, heads close together, began selecting medicinal herbs using the subsystem.

The quality of medicinal herbs in the palace varied greatly. The Crown Princess had a nanny who knew about herbs, but she only had a superficial understanding.

Song Xibai was worried that someone might tamper with the medicinal herbs, so she was always extra careful when selecting them.

Selecting medicinal herbs used to take up a lot of her time every day, but now with Dingxiang's help, it's become much easier.

Song Xibai has a very sensitive nose and tongue, but her eyesight is not very good; she is nearsighted at a young age.

Although it's not serious, excessive use of the eyes can cause soreness and discomfort.

Dingxiang, on the other hand, has incredibly good eyesight!

Forget about being nearsighted, she can even see two ants fighting on the ground ten meters away.

After selecting the medicinal herbs, Song Xibai pushed Dingxiang outside the door.

Then she closed the door and went to the side room at the other end of the bedroom.

The side room here is mainly used as a storeroom for storing things. The door is locked, and only Song Xibai has the key.

Unlocking the door, Song Xibai went inside, holding an oil lamp.

Soon, she found what she wanted.

Carrying a small box back to the other end of the small study, Song Xibai held her breath and opened the box.

A rich aroma immediately wafted over.

"This agarwood is indeed worthy of being a tribute item; its fragrance is concentrated and does not dissipate. It has not changed at all after so long."

With a sigh, Song Xibai quickly took out a piece and immediately closed the box.

Having a very sensitive nose also has its downsides.

She would feel uncomfortable if the fragrance was too strong.

Every time Song Xibai went to the Crown Princess's palace, she tried to breathe as shallowly as possible.

After collecting the agarwood, Song Xibai rummaged through her sewing basket and found a half-finished purse.

This purse was something she made casually while exchanging information with Du Chenghui; the patterns on it were only half-embroidered.

She didn't know much about needlework, and the purse was only embroidered with the simplest bamboo leaf pattern.

By the light of the oil lamp, Song Xibai finished the remaining stitches, then sewed the two ends of the purse closed, stuffed in two straps, put the sandalwood inside, and then pulled the straps to seal the purse.

After doing all this, I turned to look at the water clock and realized it was already 9 PM.

Song Xibai hurriedly put the purse back into the sewing basket, blew out the oil lamp, climbed into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

The next day, Song Xibai got up later than usual.

If Wei Hong hadn't woken her up, she probably would have slept for another hour before waking up on her own.

However, she could not stop paying her respects to the Crown Princess, so Song Xibai could only sit in front of the dressing table with a yawn, letting Fu Liu wash her face and comb her hair.

After paying his respects and returning home, Song Xibai wanted to take a nap, but just as he took off his outer robe, an unexpected sound came from outside.

She is Yao Huang, who serves the Crown Princess.

"Consort Xi, the Empress Dowager has bestowed a reward upon you, and the Crown Princess requests your presence immediately!"

Song Xibai was very surprised, but she didn't have time to ask. She could only put her outer robe back on and take Wei Hong back to the main hall.

Inside the main hall, the teacups on the table had not yet been removed, and were still steaming.

Inside the hall stood a solemn-looking old nanny and two ordinary-looking palace maids.

Both palace maids were holding brocade boxes.

As soon as Song Xibai entered the room, he was about to bow to the Crown Princess when she interrupted him.

"No need for such formalities, Consort Xi. The Empress Dowager has bestowed a reward upon you."

As she spoke, she quickly walked to Song Xibai's side and pulled her to the old woman's side.

Although the old nanny was a trusted confidante of the Empress Dowager, she was extremely particular about etiquette. After giving Song Xibai a half-bow, she finally spoke.

"The Empress Dowager bestowed upon Consort Xi a pair of ruby ​​pomegranate bracelets and a double gourd jade pendant."

Song Xibai received a look from the Crown Princess and quickly bowed.

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Then, the old nanny gestured for two palace maids to come forward, and she personally opened the brocade box.

Inside the brocade box were two exquisite and intricate gold-inlaid gemstone bracelets. The rubies were shaped like pomegranates, with the pomegranates even open to reveal their crystal-clear seeds, making them look incredibly lifelike.

As for the jade pendant shaped like a jade gourd, it seemed rather ordinary.

Without Song Xibai even needing to remind her, Wei Hong took the brocade box herself.

The Crown Princess and the old nanny exchanged a few pleasantries. Song Xibai stood obediently behind the Crown Princess the whole time, never raising her head. She only showed a slight smile when the Crown Princess mentioned her.

This perfectly embodied the image of a well-behaved concubine, which pleased the old nanny greatly.

After the old nanny left, the Crown Princess couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"They're finally gone, Consort Xi. You should go back too!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."

Song Xibai thanked him and then returned with Wei Hong.

When they returned to the east side hall, several palace maids gathered around, looking at the pair of bracelets and exclaiming in amazement.

"This is so beautiful!"

"These pomegranates look just like the real thing!"

"It seems the Empress Dowager values ​​our master very much!"

Song Xibai showed no joy whatsoever. He sat to the side, rubbing his temples, his mind preoccupied with other thoughts.

Is the Empress Dowager finally going to make a move?