After a night of "labor," Song Xibai was still half asleep when the Crown Prince got up first.

Song Xibai rubbed her eyes, glanced at the sky outside, and yawned.

"I must get up too; I still need to pay my respects to the Crown Princess!"

To her surprise, just as she was about to get up, the Crown Prince pressed her back down.

"You can continue sleeping."

The prince tucked the blanket around her.

The commotion last night was so late that if the Crown Prince hadn't developed a habit of getting up early, he probably wouldn't be able to get up now.

Song Xibai muttered "propriety cannot be abandoned" and "we cannot give others a handle to use against us," but her eyelids closed uncontrollably.

The crown prince stared at her sleeping face, his eyebrows, eyes, and lips filled with an uncontrollable smile.

But when he turned around and walked into the outer room, he immediately put on his usual calm expression.

Eunuch Feng and the others carried in the toiletries, their movements as gentle as cats at night, making almost no sound.

The prince washed his face with slightly cool water, feeling much more refreshed, before stepping outside.

He had just reached the corridor when he suddenly stopped and turned to look towards the central hall.

"Has the Crown Princess gotten up?"

Eunuch Feng hurriedly replied, "There is no movement in the main hall; it seems they haven't gotten up yet."

The crown prince's expression remained unchanged, but his steps unexpectedly shifted, and he headed towards the central hall.

Feng Gonggong was surprised, but he didn't hesitate. He gestured to the other eunuchs, and the group of them hurried towards the central hall.

The palace servants in the central hall were caught off guard.

While instructing a young palace maid to inform the Crown Princess, Granny Ding came out to greet them.

"This old servant greets Your Highness. What brings you here at this hour?"

The Crown Prince, with a composed expression, said, "It has been a long time since I had breakfast with the Crown Princess."

Ding Mama was overjoyed and quickly beckoned the Crown Prince to come inside.

Meanwhile, the Crown Princess woke up to the urgent cries of her palace maids.

"What? His Highness has arrived?"

The Crown Princess woke up with a start and quickly threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Several palace maids were busy spinning around her like tops.

The Crown Princess dressed herself, styled her hair in a simple bun, and hurriedly walked out.

"Your Highness, I am late. Please forgive me."

She bowed to the Crown Prince.

The prince sat on the daybed and casually hummed in agreement.

"Let's prepare the meal!"

Fortunately, the small kitchen was used to the prince's daily life and had already prepared meals.

The two moved to the dining hall and sat facing each other at the octagonal table, where they were served their meal by servants without exchanging a single word.

The Crown Princess was lost in thought, trying to guess the Crown Prince's intentions, and ate her meal absentmindedly.

But the crown prince never revealed his purpose, and casually picked up a book to read.

Seeing that it was already dawn, Yao Huang quietly reminded the Crown Princess: "Your Highness, it's time for the other masters to pay their respects."

The Crown Princess waved her hand impatiently: "Tell them they don't need to pay their respects today, and let them go back."

Yao and Huang have retired.

After everyone had left, the Crown Prince slammed the book shut, called out to Eunuch Feng, and prepared to depart.

When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and said something out of the blue.

"I noticed that Your Highness does not look well, so I suppose you are not fully recovered. You don't need to get up so early in the future. Get up at 7:00 AM instead! Your grandmother will be leaving the palace to worship Buddha soon, so there is no need for you to pay your respects day and night."

After saying that, the Crown Prince stepped over the threshold and left without looking back, leaving the Crown Princess standing there, staring blankly at the doorway.

The two Qiao sisters weren't that cunning, and upon hearing this, they couldn't help but show their delight.

"His Highness still cares for the Empress."

The Crown Princess gave a bitter smile.

"He's not worried about me at all; he's clearly worried about someone else."

The two Qiaos looked puzzled, but Yao Huang and Zhao Fen already understood. They exchanged a glance and dared not say a word.

The Crown Princess closed her eyes for a while before opening them again.

"Pass down the order that, starting tomorrow, the time for paying respects will be changed to 2:45 AM."

Yao Huang accepted the order and left, while the Crown Princess sat in her chair for a long, long time.

Inside the east hall, Song Xibai was completely unaware of this.

She slept until she naturally woke up, and when she got up, she felt great, with a natural blush on her face and her eyes sparkling.

When Dingxiang came in, Song Xibai was eating breakfast.

"I'm here to freeload again!"

Dingxiang cheered and sat down directly opposite Song Xibai.

When I looked, his whole face was all scrunched up.

"Why is everything spicy?"

Everyone else's breakfast consisted of various kinds of porridge with snacks and side dishes, a light and elegant meal.

When it came to Song Xibai, well, the sesame paste noodles were topped with two large spoonfuls of chili sauce, making them bright red and glistening with oil; the crystal steamed buns were served with aged vinegar and pickled peppers...

Dingxiang glanced around, grabbed a fist-sized bun, and took a big bite.

"Cough cough cough... Is the filling for these buns spicy too? Did Grandpa spill the chili sauce jar?"

Dingxiang coughed until tears came to her eyes.

Wei Hong quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him.

Dingxiang gulped down a cup of tea, hissed and stuck out her tongue. She turned her gaze and saw Song Xibai looking completely calm and composed.

"I don't know why, but I really want to eat spicy food today."

Song Xibai finished the last crystal soup dumpling and patted her belly contentedly.

"I'm full. How about hot and sour noodles for lunch?"

Wei Hong asked, puzzled, "Hot and sour noodles? What kind of noodles are those?"

"It's hard to explain in a short time. I'll go and talk to Father-in-law myself later."

After Song Xibai finished speaking, she enthusiastically pulled Dingxiang along and told her how delicious the hot and sour noodles were.

Dingxiang's gaze gradually turned strange.

Don't you think something's off with you?

Song Xibai stopped and thought about it seriously: "It's probably because I know the good news that my father and brothers will be back soon, so I'm in a better mood and have a better appetite. Besides, there's not much good food in winter."

Dingxiang sighed, took her hand, and placed two fingers on her wrist.

"My dear Empress, do you still remember what day of the month it is today?"

Song Xibai was stunned for a moment: "The fifth day?"

It's the seventh day of the lunar new year.

Dingxiang replied, then paused before dropping a bombshell.

"Don't you remember your own period? It's already seven days late!"

Song Xibai raised her head in disbelief and looked at Wei Hong.

When did my period start last month?

Wei Hong was both excited and nervous: "It's the first year of junior high."

"It really is..."

Song Xibai was completely stunned, letting Dingxiang take her pulse and ask Wei Hong several questions.

Finally, Dingxiang let go of her hand and said with some regret.

"It's a pity the time was too short, I couldn't finish it."

Song Xibai quickly did the math in her head.

Even if you caught it on the first try, it hasn't been a month yet, and it's not easy to detect a slippery pulse, so it's really impossible to make a diagnosis right now.

Her mood soared for a moment, then plummeted just as quickly.

"It's alright, we'll know in a few more days."

Dingxiang glared at her with her hands on her hips: "You don't even care about your own health, what will you do without me?"