Song Xibai firmly expressed her wishes.

The two palace maids, of course, did not disobey and began whispering and discussing another set of rules.

Song Xibai rubbed his temples.

"What's the deal with this New Year's banquet?"

“On New Year’s Eve, His Majesty invites the families of the princes and nobles to the palace to celebrate the New Year together!” Fu Liu’s voice was very clear. “I heard that sometimes he also invites a few ministers, but most of the time he just gives the ministers a table of food and wine.”

Song Xibai understood.

A live version of the Spring Festival Gala.

The problem is, does she, as the Crown Prince's concubine, really have to attend such a banquet?

Song Xibai sent someone to ask the nanny serving the Crown Princess, and was told that she had to go.

The Crown Princess even specifically summoned Granny Ding to remind Song Xibai of important matters. Perhaps because Song Xibai's rejection was too obvious, Granny Ding, after returning home, relayed the Crown Princess's original words: "Don't bring shame to the Eastern Palace."

The Crown Prince's concubine was of the same status as a secondary consort. She was listed in the imperial genealogy and had a much higher status than other concubines.

In other words, she can be understood as a potential crown princess.

Therefore, even though the Crown Prince had been married for many years, there was no concubine in the Eastern Palace, and Lady Zhu was only a concubine.

If Song Xibai's family background weren't so low, the Crown Princess would definitely have objected when the Crown Prince wanted to bestow the title of Liangdi upon her.

Afterwards, Song Xibai received two days of "pre-exam tutoring" from Granny Ding, cramming on palace etiquette.

Although it wasn't as exaggerated as the famous Qing Dynasty dramas she had seen in her previous life, it still left Song Xibai quite exhausted.

The etiquette was actually pretty much the same, and it didn't take much time.

What's even more annoying is having to remember all the members of the royal family.

Those who could enter the palace to attend the New Year's banquet were all princes and princesses, heirs and princesses from various mansions, and sometimes they would bring a few juniors with them.

The problem is, there are so many members of the royal family now!

The emperor had four brothers of the same generation: Prince Hui, Prince Liang, Prince An, and Prince Wen. Prince Wen died young, leaving behind only two sons. However, the other three princes, having been eliminated early on, devoted themselves to having children.

King Hui had eight sons, King Liang had twelve, and King An had the most extravagant, with seventeen!

As Song Xibai listened to Granny Ding recount the "deeds" of several princes, she inexplicably felt that his situation was quite similar to that of the Prince of Wu!

After talking about the princes of the uncle generation, Granny Ding then began to talk about the princes of the same generation as the crown prince, that is, the emperor's sons.

The princes were numbered up to the eighth prince. The seventh prince had died many years ago, leaving seven princes alive. The second, third, fourth, and fifth princes had all married and moved out of the palace, leaving only the sixth and eighth princes in the palace.

Then there are the princesses.

Including married and unmarried women, aunts and sisters, Song Xibai was dizzy from listening.

The princes' titles were easy to remember: King of Wu, King of Qin, King of Lu, and King of Qi were all based on their fiefdoms.

But the princesses' titles, especially those of the aunts, are all things like "Fu" (福, good fortune), "Kang" (康, health), "Shun" (顺, smooth), "Rou" (柔, gentle), "Gong" (恭, respectful), and "Jing" (敬, reverence). Who can remember them all?!

After Granny Ding left, Wei Hong and Ju Qing entered the room one after the other and saw their mistress sitting there, lost in thought.

"Master? Master?"

Wei Hong called out twice before Song Xibai came back to her senses.

"What's up?"

"The clothes are ready, Master, would you like to try them on?"

Song Xibai waved her hand weakly: "Whatever!"

Juqing hurriedly told the palace maids to bring in the clothes.

Since we are attending a palace banquet, we should naturally wear palace attire.

Fortunately, this palace attire wasn't too complicated; it just involved wearing an extra layer of clothing compared to what I usually wore.

Juqing was clearly too excited, and couldn't help but whisper as she helped Song Xibai get dressed.

"Right now, Your Highness is only a Consort, but once His Highness ascends the throne, Your Highness will at least be one of the Four Consorts. At that time, your attire will be very different. The difference between formal and casual wear will be huge! You'll even be able to wear a phoenix crown..."

As she spoke, her voice trailed off.

Song Xibai glanced at her.

Juqing trembled and knelt down with a thud.

"This servant misspoke, please forgive me, Master."

"Go and accept your punishment."

Song Xibai said something indifferently, then moved around a bit to make sure her waist and armpits felt comfortable before taking off her clothes.

Ju Qing went out with a pale face.

Wei Hong put the clothes away and began to recount the events of the past two days.

"Miss Dingxiang has left the palace, and many palace maids have come to ask about her! I told them to come back after the fifteenth. Zhao Fen also asked a few questions in private and learned that Miss Dingxiang had only left the palace temporarily, so she didn't ask any more questions."

After Dingxiang left, Song Xibai felt much calmer and became less talkative.

She sat on the couch outside the small study, gazing absently at the curio cabinet.

The jade carving shaped like a cabbage was placed in the most prominent position in the very center of the display cabinet.

Originally, after the Crown Prince sent these things that day, Song Xibai somewhat believed Dingxiang's words.

Three days passed, but the Crown Prince did not reappear.

This made Song Xibai very upset and unable to concentrate on anything.

What exactly does he mean?

What exactly is he trying to do?

These two thoughts kept swirling in my mind.

Finally, Song Xibai sighed deeply and lay down on the couch, not wanting to move anymore.

As luck would have it, the devil appeared.

Not long after Song Xibai lay down, familiar footsteps sounded outside, followed by a loud shout.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Song Xibai sat up abruptly and turned to look at the doorway.

The crown prince had already entered the room.

When Song Xibai saw him, her eyes lit up slightly, but then she suddenly remembered what had made her angry earlier, frowned, and pressed down the corners of her mouth.

The crown prince strode closer and took her hand.

"I have business to attend to today, so please accompany me out of the palace."

Song Xibai opened her eyes slightly, forgetting to pretend to be indifferent.

"Leaving the palace? Where to?"

Is it going to some royal banquet again?

The crown prince did not answer, but only gave a mysterious smile.

You'll know when you get there.

After saying that, he urged Wei Hong to get an outer garment and a cloak, and even asked Song Xibai to change into deerskin boots.

Unable to refuse, Song Xibai reluctantly changed her clothes, wrapped herself up tightly, and followed the Crown Prince out of the Eastern Palace.

Outside the Donghua Gate, the Crown Prince helped Song Xibai into an inconspicuous carriage.

The carriage was too small for Wei Hong to fit in, so she had to sit outside with the driver.

Song Xibai looked around.

"This isn't the car I took last time I went out."

"The place we're going to this time isn't suitable for that kind of carriage."

Inside the cramped carriage, the two people sat side by side, so close together that there was almost no room for them to turn around.

Song Xibai shifted uncomfortably to the side.

"Where are we going?!"

The crown prince chuckled, but still refused to speak.

Song Xibai stared at him, then suddenly realized that the Crown Prince was wearing ordinary clothes.

The dark blue Hangzhou silk fabric, woven with light and dark threads to create a pine tree pattern, appears exceptionally dignified.

In other words, he looks older than his age.

Just as Song Xibai was about to speak, she suddenly saw the Crown Prince take something else out of his bundle.

Black... hair?

Song Xi blinked, and then saw the Crown Prince stick the thing on his philtrum.

Fake beard?

So, what exactly is this all about?