The crown prince blinked, snapped out of his daze, and grabbed Song Xibai's hand, muttering a complaint in a low voice.

"Now Granny Fangqi is just like those old nannies, she starts lecturing me whenever she sees me..."

Song Xibai couldn't help but laugh.

She raised her pointed chin and let out a soft hum through her delicate nose.

"Who told you to lie? Granny Fangqi is a person who takes rules very seriously. When she saw that His Highness had made a mistake, she would naturally reprimand him. Why didn't His Highness listen properly and instead ran away?"

Song Xibai couldn't help but laugh whenever she thought of that scene.

"I never imagined Your Highness had such a childlike side!"

The crown prince felt extremely embarrassed, having lost face as a man, and angrily shook his hand.

Seeing that things were going well, Song Xibai stopped teasing him and took his arm, talking as they walked inside.

“Your Highness, if you want to find a reason, can’t you say something else? Why do you have to say I’m pregnant… If this gets out, people will misunderstand and think I’m faking a pregnancy to win favor. Have you forgotten the rumors from before? The mouths of people in the palace are invisible blades; the slightest whisper can be blown out of proportion.”

Song Xibai carefully analyzed the situation for him, thinking that the Crown Prince would listen. However, the Crown Prince looked indifferent and whispered something in her ear.

"I've been working diligently day and night lately, so I'm sure I'll have a child. It's just a matter of time. I'm not lying to Granny Fangqi!"

Song Xibai's beautiful eyes widened suddenly.

"If Your Highness's words were to get out, your tutors would be mortified. Is this how you use the word 'diligent cultivation without ceasing'?"

The Crown Prince burst into laughter and reached out to pinch Song Xibai's nose.

"Who would dare to spread the secrets of my intimate moments with you?"

Song Xibai glanced around and noticed that Eunuch Feng and Wei Hong had all taken a few steps back, heads down, eyes downcast, looking as if they hadn't heard anything.

Pretending to be stupid is a skill in itself!

Song Xibai sighed inwardly and followed the Crown Prince back to the East Side Hall.

Granny Fangqi dismissed the maids, closed the doors and windows tightly, and lit new charcoal in the brazier, filling the room with a faint warmth that was not stuffy.

Song Xibai looked around and found that the spice packets used to hang the curtains and drapes had been replaced.

Granny Fangqi explained, "The room is stuffy. Although spices can mask the smell of charcoal, it's not good to smell it for too long."

Song Xibai had checked the spices and found nothing wrong with them. However, after hearing what Granny Fangqi said, Song Xibai felt that it made sense and nodded in agreement.

"Let's do as the old woman says!"

She herself was not a fan of fragrances, but it was only because Eunuch Feng had told some of the palace maids what kind of fragrances the Crown Prince liked that a few of them were hung in the room.

A smile appeared on Fangqi's face, and she then withdrew.

A little while later, the kitchen brought in the dishes, and the two quietly finished their dinner. Song Xibai nestled on the soft couch, flipping through a book.

With nothing else to do, the crown prince went over to them.

What are you looking at?

Song Xibai waved the book in her hand: "It's my father's old notebook. I had Dingxiang bring it back."

When Song Siyuan was a doctor, he was cautious and meticulous. He would record the symptoms and treatment process of each patient.

The medical records of the Imperial Medical Academy were sealed away once they were written, making them difficult for ordinary people to access. So Song Siyuan secretly made his own copies.

These notes were originally stored in the study of the Song residence, but they were all taken away during the ransacking of the house.

The book in Song Xibai's hand was her father's earliest copy, which she had hidden under a brick near the back door of the old house.

The prince flipped through a few pages and found some annotations written in rather childish handwriting, and couldn't help but laugh.

"This handwriting must have been done by a three-year-old. The strokes are uneven, and look at this character, it's all just a blob of ink."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Crown Prince suddenly sensed something, looked up, and saw Song Xibai puffing out her cheeks, glaring at him angrily.

It's over.

The prince had this thought in mind and hurriedly began to fill in the gaps.

"Although the handwriting is a bit rough, you can still tell that it was done very carefully. Even a child's scribbles have a lot of elegance."

Song Xibai snatched the notebook and slammed it shut with both hands.

"When I was a child, I didn't have much strength in my hands, so it was already quite good that I could write characters like this."

You have to understand that traditional Chinese characters have a lot of strokes. She was only six or seven years old at the time, just starting her education. It was already very difficult for her to remember the stroke order and all the strokes.

The Crown Prince held her and coaxed her gently, "Yes, Qingqing, you've already done very well. Here's what we'll do: I have a few good calligraphy practice books with various styles. I'll send them to you tomorrow. If you practice according to them, you'll definitely make great progress."

Song Xibai turned her back to him and rolled her eyes without caring about her image.

"don't want."

"Hmm? Why don't you want it?"

The crown prince did not understand.

Song Xibai squirmed in his arms, turned around, and faced him.

"Would Your Highness dislike me because my handwriting is bad?"

This time, the crown prince reacted quickly, shaking his head without any hesitation.

"Of course not."

"Is my handwriting so ugly that it's unrecognizable?"

"No!"

“Since I can understand it, why should I bother practicing calligraphy?” Song Xibai argued. “I don’t want to be a talented woman or write any masterpieces. I’d rather use that time to figure out some prescriptions that might save lives in the future.”

The crown prince was momentarily stunned.

"Is this Qingqing's wish? To save the world and help people?"

"I wouldn't call myself a savior, I don't have that kind of ability, but it's always good to save as many people as possible."

Song Xibai's tone softened.

At that moment, the Crown Prince inexplicably felt that Song Xibai, who was in his arms, was very far away from him.

He recalled the disdain in her eyes when she first said, "Women in the palace are like birds in a cage."

Qingqing is different; the Crown Prince has always known that.

However, it seems that he had only seen her surface before, and had never seen the depths of her heart.

The prince's heart skipped a beat.

He hugged Song Xibai tightly, resting his head on her neck, as if that would suppress the lingering panic in his heart.

Song Xibai was so breathless from his embrace that she braced herself against his chest with both hands.

"Loosen your grip a little..."

The prince was startled and quickly released his grip.

In that short time, his expression had returned to normal.

Is there anything I can do?

Song Xibai thought for a moment and said, "There really is. My father's other notebooks were taken away by the soldiers who raided our house, and we don't know where they ended up. Does Your Highness have any way to get them back?"

The crown prince pondered for a few moments.

"The valuable items confiscated will mostly be sold off, and the proceeds will go into the national treasury. Books and the like are another story; I'll have someone look for them!"

Things from two years ago are probably hard to find.

Song Xibai didn't have high hopes, but still thanked the Crown Prince.