Although it's only the beginning of the year, Song Xibai has already started thinking about layoffs.

After distributing the red envelopes, she returned to Changqing Palace with her entourage. A short while later, Yuan Shen also returned.

The two didn't even have time to drink tea before rushing off to Renshou Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was in a good mood today. She chatted with the two of them for a while and even invited them to stay for dinner.

After finishing what could be considered either breakfast or lunch, Song Xibai returned to Changqing Palace, while Yuan Shen went to Yangxin Hall.

There are still many things waiting for him in the previous dynasty!

Yuan Shen was busy all day.

After returning home, Song Xibai lay down on the soft couch, muttering to herself.

"I should have stopped bothering him yesterday... I'm so tired and sleepy... Wei Hong, I need to sleep for a while. If anything happens ahead, you can handle it."

Wei Hong responded crisply with "Yes," and helped her take off her coat and shoes.

But just as Song Xibai closed her eyes, she heard hurried footsteps outside.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Song Xibai opened her eyes abruptly and looked towards the doorway.

Then Fuliu rushed in in a panic, followed by Wenniang and Jin Nainiang, both with pale faces.

She immediately sat up straight.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"The two young masters have been asleep and haven't woken up yet."

Although Wenniang's face was pale, she still forced herself to kneel down.

Song Xibai's heart clenched suddenly.

"What?! What happened?!"

Why would someone suddenly fall into a deep sleep and not wake up?

Could it be that he was drugged with some kind of sedative again?

But Yuan Shen had already thoroughly searched the palace beforehand. All the deliberate secret medicines and poisons had been destroyed, and even the raw materials had been eradicated. It was unlikely that there would be any residue!

Upon thinking of this, Song Xibai could no longer sit still and immediately got up and ran outside.

She wasn't even wearing an outer garment.

When I ran into the yard, I lost my footing and lost a shoe, but I didn't even bother to pick it up.

She rushed to the side hall as fast as she could.

The nannies, maids, and wet nurses who were responsible for serving the two young masters all knelt down upon seeing her.

Song Xibai strode into the inner room and saw the two children lying side by side on the bed, their eyes closed and their little faces flushed, not looking like they had been poisoned.

She took a breath, composed herself, walked over, and touched the wrists of the two small hands.

Children's pulses are shallower than adults', making them harder to detect.

Song Xibai held her breath and carefully sensed for a long time.

Wei Hong, Fu Liu, and Wen Niang followed, and upon seeing this, they subconsciously slowed their pace, not daring to even breathe loudly.

After a long while, Song Xibai loosened her grip.

"It's not a thousand-day drunkenness."

It wasn't poisoning; he was just really asleep.

After confirming several times that the two children had no other symptoms, Song Xibai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As she breathed a sigh of relief, her vision suddenly went black, and she almost fell over.

Wei Hong reacted quickly and caught her immediately.

"Your Majesty?"

"It's nothing, I just ran too fast."

Song Xibai waved his hand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Wen Niang, I entrusted my two children to your care, and this is how you take care of them?"

Song Xibai rebuked coldly, her brows furrowed with anger.

Wen Niang knelt down with a thud, her knees thumping repeatedly.

"This servant has made a mistake, please punish me, Your Highness."

Song Xibai was always gentle in front of the servants. No one had ever seen her so angry. For a moment, the room was silent. Everyone was on edge, afraid of being blamed, and could only keep their heads down.

The wet nurse standing nearby was also trembling with fear, but remembering the care and reminders Wen Niang usually gave her, she hesitated for a moment and still spoke up for her.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is not entirely Wen Niang's fault. Wen Niang is always conscientious and responsible, and has never been negligent. Although this servant does not know what happened, please forgive Wen Niang!"

Song Xibai's brows relaxed slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at her again.

In the entire side hall, among so many servants, only this wet nurse spoke up for Wen Niang.

Song Xibai frowned and stared at her.

The wet nurse lay prostrate on the ground, cold sweat pouring down her back. Just as she was about to faint from fright, she finally heard her master speak.

"We'll discuss the punishment later. You two were on night watch yesterday, weren't you? Tell me everything that happened from last night until now!"

Wen Niang took a deep breath and began to speak, bit by bit.

She has an excellent memory, remembering almost everything, even the exact times her two children wake up at night.

"...They were fine last night. They nursed for a while and then fell asleep again. This morning, I felt something was wrong. Usually, the two young masters would have a meal around 5 a.m. and then take a nap, waking up around 7 a.m. or 9 a.m. But this morning, neither of them woke up around 5 a.m. I guessed that the noise outside was too loud last night, and the sound of fireworks and firecrackers startled them, so they didn't sleep well and woke up late. I didn't think much of it."

Afterwards, Wenniang and Jinnai handed over their duties to the other two wet nurses, went downstairs to have breakfast, and took a short nap.

When Wenniang woke up, she wanted to go see the two young masters, but she was stopped by the others.

Because she and Jin's wet nurse missed receiving their red envelopes, the nanny from the side hall received and delivered them to them on their behalf.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone was in high spirits. People who are usually cautious dared to joke around today.

But after noon, the two wet nurses who were taking over suddenly rushed over in a panic, saying that they couldn't wake the young master no matter what they did.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!