After seeing off the Crown Prince and Song Xibai, Princess Wu immediately suppressed her smile and walked towards the front courtyard with her confidante.

The banquet in the front courtyard had just ended, and King Wu, still half-drunk and with a dizzy head, saw his wife stride in with an air of dominance. King Wu immediately sobered up halfway.

As soon as the Queen Consort of Wu entered the courtyard, she pulled the King of Wu into the house.

What are you doing?

The King of Wu tried to struggle, but in the end he couldn't win.

After the two entered the house, Princess Wu instructed her trusted confidantes to guard the door before speaking.

"What does the Prince intend to do with the Lin family?"

The King of Wu was now completely sober and paced back and forth in the room.

"Let Lin claim to be ill first, and then pass away after a while!"

With a single, casual remark, Aunt Lin's fate was sealed.

Princess Wu didn't even lift her eyelids: "One Lin family member is easy to deal with, but what about the Yongchang Earl's Mansion behind her? Although it's fallen on hard times, it's still a noble family. What does Your Highness intend to do?"

Princess Wu's voice was gentle and soft, as if she were asking for his opinion, but how could Prince Wu, who had known her for many years, not hear the murderous intent in her words?

After all, the one who almost got into trouble was Princess Wu's own younger brother.

The King of Wu shook his arm and said almost without hesitation.

"Do whatever you want, Your Highness! It's just a minor noble family, yet they dare to meddle in my Prince Wu's residence. They deserve to be severely punished."

He paused, softened his tone, and added another sentence.

"I'll have to trouble Your Highness to properly appease my brother-in-law."

Princess Wu's smile became more genuine.

"Thank you, Your Highness. However, my brother is not of great importance. What needs to be appeased is the Xuanwei General's Mansion."

The Queen Consort of Wu was quite politically astute; as soon as she said this, the King of Wu immediately understood.

"The Xuanwei General's Mansion?" After realizing what he meant, his face showed shock and anger. "So that's what they were planning?"

He walked back and forth three times.

"No, this matter is of great importance. I must go to the palace to report to my father."

General Xuanwei is now of paramount importance in the court, and matters concerning the border should not be underestimated, even if it is just speculation.

King Wu was about to leave when Queen Wu grabbed his sleeve.

"You reek of alcohol. If you go straight into the palace, you'll probably get a scolding from the Emperor. Wash up and change your clothes first. By the way, we owe a lot to Consort Xi, who serves the Crown Prince, for what happened today. Your Highness, how do you think we should thank her?"

King Wu suddenly recalled the scene before the crown prince entered the gate, and couldn't help but touch the newly grown stubble.

"The Crown Prince seems to care about her quite a bit, so prepare a generous gift for her! You can decide on these matters."

Princess Wu responded with a "yes," and then released her grip to let the King of Wu leave.

Just as King Wu finished washing up and was preparing to enter the palace, the Crown Prince's carriage had already arrived at Donghua Gate.

After changing to a sedan chair, Song Xibai returned to the East Palace smoothly and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Traveling in ancient times must have been exhausting. Although you didn't have to walk, horse-drawn carriages were far less comfortable than modern cars.

After returning to the East Palace, Song Xibai parted ways with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince immediately summoned his subordinates to discuss matters, while Song Xibai went to the central hall to pay her respects to the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess's complexion looked much better than in the morning. When Song Xibai entered the room, she was leaning against the headboard drinking bird's nest porridge.

Song Xibai greeted them according to procedure and was then led to sit down.

The Crown Princess kindly inquired about the events at the banquet. There were some things that couldn't be said, so Song Xibai thought for a moment and then said a few words about what she could say.

"That opera troupe was said to be famous in the capital, called either Little White Flower or Little White Lotus. I don't know anything about these things, so I just listened for a while."

"The greenhouse in the back garden of the Prince of Wu's mansion is quite large and has planted many precious flowers. I noticed that there are several kinds of peonies. I guess they are Wei Zi, Yao Huang, and Zhao Fen. To be honest, if it weren't for the palace maids around the Crown Princess, I wouldn't have known that there are so many varieties of peonies."

"Also, there were many fresh vegetables on the banquet table, so crisp and refreshing. I found them quite good. Your Highness, you are ill and have a poor appetite, so meat is hard to eat. It would be better if you had more vegetables and fruits."

Song Xibai's last sentence was sincere.

Although it is advisable to eat a light diet during illness, it should not be this light. How can one recover if one eats porridge for every meal?

Bird's nest porridge is still porridge! Its nutritional content is limited.

The Crown Princess was surprised that during her trip, she paid no attention to the wives of dukes and marquises, or the wives of princesses and heirs, and only remembered the flowers, plants, and dishes she ate. She was both speechless and amused.

However, the conversation couldn't just fall into a lull, so the Crown Princess continued the topic that Song Xibai had brought up.

"Among the dowry of Princess Wu was an estate located near Yanshan Mountain on the outskirts of the capital. It is said that there is geothermal activity there, so the fruits and vegetables must have been produced on that estate."

Song Xibai looked envious: "Princess Wu is truly blessed with good food."

The Crown Princess almost burst out laughing.

They come from humble backgrounds, so their perspective is limited. They think they're blessed with just a few vegetables.

The Crown Princess was unconvinced and lost the desire to probe or warn Song Xibai. After chatting for a few more minutes, she waved for Song Xibai to leave.

Song Xibai took Wei Hong back to the East Side Hall. After changing out of her clothes, she collapsed onto the couch.

Wei Hong stepped forward to loosen her head, but Song Xibai stopped her.

"You must be tired too, go and rest first! Just call Fuliu and Juqing in to serve you."

Wei Hong wanted to say that she wasn't tired, but she couldn't refuse her master's kindness, so she curtsied and left.

Fu Liu rushed into the house, loosened Song Xibai's hair, gave her a simple, homely hairstyle, and even diligently massaged her temples.

Juqing was a step too slow and couldn't beat Fuliu to it. After thinking for a moment, she went back out and brought in a basin of hot water.

"This servant will help my mistress soak her feet! It will help her relax."

Song Xibai nodded.

After taking off her shoes and socks, Song Xibai soaked her feet in the slightly hot water and couldn't help but squint her eyes.

It's true that it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance. It's only been a few days, and I'm already on the verge of falling into decadence.

It feels so good to be waited on!

Song Xibai soaked for 15 minutes, not too long, and her energy had recovered somewhat, so she asked the two palace maids about what had happened that day.

Fortunately, she wasn't gone for long, and nothing happened at the East Palace.

Fu Liu hesitated for a moment, then whispered in Song Xibai's ear, "Sister Zhao Fen, who serves the Crown Princess, secretly approached me, saying she wants to pay a private visit to her mistress."

Song Xibai was surprised.

"Has her illness not been cured yet?"

Dingxiang's medical skills are quite good, it shouldn't be that bad, right?

"This servant suspects there's something else going on. Would you like to see him, Master?"

Song Xibai sat up straight.

"Then let's meet her! Go to the central hall and tell her that I want to make a pair of socks for the Crown Princess... no, shoes. I don't know what the Crown Princess's shoes look like."

Now that the Crown Princess is recuperating, Wei Zi and Yao Huang are basically her personal attendants, while other trivial matters are handled by Zhao Fen and the Two Qiaos. Sending a shoe pattern wouldn't be difficult for Zhao Fen to find an opportunity.