Song Xibai was quite surprised.

She never expected the Crown Prince to do such a thing.

But then, her thoughts suddenly shifted.

So, last night the Crown Prince carried me to take a bath?

Her face suddenly flushed again.

"Hopefully he didn't do anything strange..."

Song Xibai muttered to himself.

Wei Hong and Fu Liu didn't hear her mutterings clearly, but seeing the Crown Prince and their master so harmonious, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

Time quickly passed to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Song Xibai wore a light green jacket and skirt embroidered with forsythia flowers. On each side of her hair bun was a magpie perched on a branch hairpin made of rice beads, and in the middle of her hair bun was a ruby ​​hairpin. Her earrings were teardrop-shaped pearl pendants, which complemented the dangling beads.

"Your Highness looks exceptionally noble in this attire, not much less so than the ladies of the harem!"

Fu Liu praised from the side.

Song Xibai put on a fox fur cloak, gave her a few instructions, and then stepped out the door with Wei Hong.

Just then, the Crown Princess also came out of the central hall.

She has recovered quite well in the past few days. Her complexion is rosy, her body is straight, and her bright red Shu brocade palace dress with gold flecks, along with her golden phoenix crown, makes her look even more imposing.

However, Song Xibai still noticed the thick layer of makeup on her face.

Clearly, the Crown Princess was not fully recovered, but after being bedridden for so many days, she could no longer stay still and took the opportunity to appear at today's family banquet.

Song Xibai roughly guessed what she was thinking, shook his head inwardly, and then cheered himself up and walked over.

"This concubine greets Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Song Xibai curtsied and stood up before the Crown Princess could tell him to get up.

The Crown Princess's face remained expressionless, but her eyes darkened.

"Consort Xi, you look stunning today. That ruby ​​jewelry is quite rare; was it a gift from His Highness?"

Song Xibai smiled and said, "It was a gift from His Highness. However, no matter how rare the ruby ​​is, it is not as valuable as the phoenix crown of Your Highness the Crown Princess."

The Crown Princess relaxed slightly and glanced at Song Xibai.

"You certainly know how to talk."

As long as the Crown Princess behaves herself and doesn't cause trouble, Song Xibai doesn't hold back his praise. After all, it's just a few nice words, so he considers it flattery.

But recently the Crown Princess's attitude has changed a lot, and Song Xibai will not bow down to her in everything.

She has many things to consider now.

As my thoughts were turning, a sweet laugh came from the direction of the rear hall.

"I'm late, Your Highness the Crown Princess and Consort Xi, please don't be angry!"

Song Xibai turned his head and saw Guo Liangyuan stepping through the second gate and walking towards them.

Guo Liangyuan wore a pink brocade dress today, embroidered with peach blossoms, and her jewelry was also a pinkish color.

A sentence suddenly popped into Song Xibai's mind.

How old are you now, looking so delicate in pink?

She quickly lowered her head and covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Even the Crown Princess couldn't help but frown.

"Guo Liangyuan, your clothes..."

Guo Liangyuan quickly replied, "I just wanted to avoid wearing the same color as the two of you, so I specially chose this outfit. Anyway, there will be many people at the family banquet recently, and no one will notice me, Liangyuan."

The Crown Princess's brows relaxed, and she nodded.

"Then let's set off!"

The three, each accompanied by their own maids, left the East Palace, boarded sedan chairs, and headed towards the Kunning Palace.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, Song Xibai stepped down from the sedan chair and followed the Crown Princess two steps behind as they entered the hall.

The layout of the hall was very similar to that of the last New Year's Eve banquet, with tables and desks also divided into front and back sections. The difference was that there was an additional table and desk next to the Crown Prince's seat.

That's the Crown Princess's seat.

The Crown Princess straightened her back and walked proudly to the Crown Prince's side. After bowing slightly, she sat down beside him.

Song Xibai and Guo Liangyuan then sat down behind the two of them.

Next to the Crown Prince's faction were the King of Wu and his wife.

Princess Wu glanced at Song Xibai a few times, but because the Crown Princess was present, she couldn't come over to greet her immediately. She could only give her an apologetic look.

Song Xibai smiled at her, but didn't say anything, her expression calm.

After dealing with a member of the imperial clan, the Crown Prince had a moment to rest. He couldn't help but turn to look at Song Xibai. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when the Crown Princess suddenly spoke up.

"Your Highness, I've never seen this purse before. The stitching is a bit sparse. I have some purses made especially for Your Highness. I'll have Wei Zi fetch them for you later!"

Her words only made things worse, as several people nearby instinctively looked towards the prince's waist.

Sure enough, the purse was only embroidered with simple bamboo leaf patterns, and the colors were somewhat discordant.

Song Xibai was taken aback.

That was a purse she embroidered... I never expected that after so long, the Crown Prince would still be carrying it.

The Prince of Wu, who was standing nearby, chuckled twice and said, "Your Highness, it's hard to resist the favor of a beautiful woman! If the Crown Princess hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have even noticed that the Crown Prince was carrying such a purse! I thought His Highness didn't care about anything! It turns out it depends on the person!"

He had barely finished speaking when Princess Wu pulled him back and shoved an orange into his hand.

"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

The King of Wu scratched his head: "Where did I say something wrong?"

Princess Wu resisted the urge to roll her eyes: "We'll talk about it when we get back."

The King of Wu pursed his lips, looking displeased.

The Crown Prince subconsciously looked at Song Xibai, and then saw that Song Xibai's eyebrows were curved and her smile was almost overflowing.

Although the two did not speak, the affection in their eyes could not be concealed.

The Crown Princess calmly picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then changed the subject.

Guo Liangyuan, sitting in the back, clenched her fists when no one was looking.

In front of everyone, even if the Crown Prince really wanted to talk to Song Xibai, he had to hold back. In the end, he could only shake Song Xibai's hand and turn away.

Before long, the King of Qin, the King of Lu, and the King of Qi, who were already married, arrived with their queens.

After that came the imperial concubines.

Amidst the loud shouts of the palace eunuchs, the Imperial Concubine, the Virtuous Concubine, and the Consort De led the other concubines into the hall.

The three consorts were all around forty years old, wearing similar palace attire, with only differences in the patterns on their dresses.

Song Xibai glanced at them a few times and immediately distinguished the three of them.

Consort Shu was the tallest, with raised eyebrows that gave her a somewhat sharp look, but her gaze softened immediately when she turned to the Prince of Wu.

Consort De wore a polite smile, but it was somewhat distant. She looked the oldest, with fine lines already appearing at the corners of her eyes.

As for the Imperial Concubine, she was actually the youngest and most beautiful of the three.

Her beauty is not the kind that is bright and dazzling, but rather the kind that is gentle and graceful, like a stream that flows endlessly.

These are the champion, runner-up, and third-place winners of this year's palace intrigue competition.

Song Xibai seemed to be deep in thought, leaned back a little, and tugged at Wei Hong's sleeve.

"Is the Imperial Concubine from Jiangnan?"