Grandpa Jin suddenly darted in.
"Please give your orders, Your Highness."
Without turning his head, the Crown Prince ordered, "Guard the west side hall. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."
A hint of surprise flashed across Jin Xiang's cold face, but he still immediately accepted the order and left.
The woman behind her, Yu Liangyuan, looked utterly astonished and quickly stood up.
"Your Highness, you mustn't do this!"
"I am your master, and I can do whatever I want. It is not your place to tell me what to do."
The crown prince turned around, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.
"Since you disobey my orders, you are of no use to me. In five days, I will announce your sudden death."
For the first time, Rou Liangyuan showed a look of panic.
"What about Consort Xi? Does His Highness not care about her either?"
The crown prince said calmly, "What does that have to do with you?"
Rou Liangyuan bit her lower lip, her expression changing several times, before finally having no choice but to give in.
"Your Highness, I was wrong. I just wanted to know where my sister is."
She bent her back.
The Crown Prince looked at her strangely: "Didn't I tell you? Your sister is doing very well now. She has moved from the shadows to the light and is no longer a secret guard. As long as you don't disturb her, she will be safe."
"I can't rest easy if I can't see her with my own eyes." Lady Rouliang's face was slightly pale, but she still insisted, "There were ten of us in my batch of secret guards back then. How many of us are still alive? She is my only family now. Please, Your Highness, have mercy and let me see my sister."
As she spoke, she knelt down on the ground, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Since you don't trust me, go and see for yourself."
The Crown Prince, having run out of patience, flicked his sleeves and strode out of the west side hall.
"Your Highness!"
Rou Liangyuan hurriedly chased after him to the door, but was stopped by Jin Xiang, who instinctively slapped her.
"Get out of my way!"
Jin Xiang dodged her slap with a quick movement, then turned and spread his arms to block her way.
"Ding Yi, since His Highness has already ordered you to stay at home, you'd better stay here obediently! If you dare to disobey His Highness's orders... hehe, my boys won't show you any mercy."
Rou Liangyuan glared angrily.
"You dare!"
"What do I have to be afraid of? In terms of seniority, you should at least call me senior. Even if I kill you, His Highness will only punish me with a few strokes of the cane at most."
Jin Xiang shrugged, looking nonchalant, which made Rou Liangyuan tremble with anger. In the end, she could only retreat unwillingly.
"At least let Your Highness tell me where my sister is now."
She watched as the Crown Prince walked into the east side hall opposite, and asked through gritted teeth.
Jin Xiang twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a forced smile.
"Your sister? Haven't we already met her?"
Rou Liangyuan was startled and subconsciously looked at the opposite side. Several images flashed through her mind, but she immediately fixed her gaze on one of them.
She jumped up and tried to rush out.
Jin Xiang was prepared and slammed the door shut before she could rush out.
"Your Highness, please rest well!"
Jin Xiang's sarcastic voice drifted in through the crack in the door.
Rou Liangyuan stomped her foot in anger and could only turn around and go back to bed in a huff.
Now that she knew her sister's whereabouts, her heart calmed down and she was no longer so anxious. Even if she was confined to her home, she was no longer worried.
Meanwhile, in the east hall on the other side, the Crown Prince dismissed everyone except Wei Hong, who remained behind.
Song Xibai sat on the soft couch, holding a small orange in her hand, peeling it as she asked the Crown Prince a question.
"Has Your Highness ascertained the situation over there?"
The crown prince sighed, frowned, and sat down opposite her, speaking slowly.
"She killed those rats herself, firstly to deter those who might try to harm her, and secondly to curry favor and get to see her sister."
Song Xibai paused in her act of peeling the orange.
"Just for this?"
She was visibly surprised.
"You went through all this just to see your sister? Why didn't you just ask Your Highness directly?"
Song Xibai couldn't understand this behavior. Why did they have to go through so many twists and turns to do something? Couldn't they just say it directly? All this roundabout talk was so troublesome and could easily lead to misunderstandings.
The Crown Prince said that having such troublesome subordinates was very tiring.
“I’ve asked Jin Xiang to keep an eye on her. No matter how much trouble she causes, she won’t be able to leave the west side hall.”
Song Xibai looked at the Crown Prince with a strange expression.
"I had been wondering if Lady Yura had feelings for His Highness..."
She muttered to herself as she continued peeling the orange.
Thinking about it this way, the Crown Prince is quite pitiful. He has many women around him, but it seems that none of them truly like him.
If he weren't the crown prince, and without power, status, and wealth, how many of the women in his harem would still be willing to stay with him?
The thought flashed through Song Xibai's mind, and a look of sympathy appeared in her eyes.
The Crown Prince didn't notice anything amiss, only that Song Xibai's gaze was strange.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Song Xibai smiled and stuffed a segment of orange into the prince's mouth.
"Fortunately, Your Highness encountered me."
The prince was taken aback, subconsciously ate the orange, and then heard those words, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face.
"Yes, it is my greatest fortune to have met you, Qingqing."
Song Xibai's eyebrows curved with joy, and she peeled another segment of orange and handed it to the Crown Prince.
"You should eat it! There aren't many of these tribute oranges left in the palace."
The prince pushed her hand away.
Song Xibai didn't stand on ceremony and ate the orange in a few bites.
"Ah, I can't wait for August! Then I can eat lots of fruit."
If you were to ask what Song Xibai found most difficult to get used to after being reborn into this era, it would definitely be food.
In my past life, the world was so rich in resources! We could travel all over the country and eat any fruit we wanted. But now, we can't even eat oranges as much as we want.
Even though she was in the palace, the kinds of fruit she could eat were limited to just a few varieties.
Song Xibai harbored considerable resentment about this.
But the Crown Prince suddenly remembered what Song Siyuan had reminded him of.
“Even in the summer, you can’t eat as many fruits as you want. Your father specifically told you that.”
Song Xibai's eyes widened in surprise.
"My father said that?"
The Crown Prince nodded, took out the sheet from his sleeve, handed it to Wei Hong, who was standing beside him, and gave her some instructions.
"I have checked your food every day repeatedly, do you understand?"
Wei Hong carefully took the order, read it carefully, and then said something.
"I'll make a copy right away and send it to the small kitchen for Eunuch Lai."
The crown prince was very satisfied and waved his hand, saying...
Go!
Wei Hong bent her knees slightly and quickly walked out.
Song Xibai grunted twice and threw the orange peel into the brazier.
The charcoal brazier, which had been burning quietly, suddenly burst into flames, followed by the aroma of oranges.
"Qingqing looks cute even when she's angry."
The Crown Prince chuckled and reached out to rub Song Xibai's face.
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