Song Xibai leaned back, dodging his clutches, and suddenly lowered her voice to ask.
"Is Rou Rou's younger sister Wei Hong or Fu Liu?"
The crown prince was taken aback: "How could you have guessed it was the two of them?"
Song Xibai raised one eyebrow, smiling smugly.
"I'm smart!"
The Crown Prince looked at her with amusement: "Qingqing is so clever, then guess again, which one is it?"
Song Xibai rested her chin on her hands and thought about it seriously.
"I think it's Wei Hong. It's just strange, if they're sisters, how come they don't look alike at all?"
The crown prince wasn't too surprised. He nodded and explained, "They are adopted orphans and have no blood relation to each other."
Song Xibai suddenly realized: "So that's how it is! Your Highness, could you tell me about the secret guards? I've never met any of the secret guards you sent to protect me! I don't even know what their personalities are like."
The crown prince pondered for a moment before speaking.
"The secret guards were left to me by my mother. They were originally the Zhou family's assassins. My maternal grandfather divided the Zhou family's assassins in two, giving most of them to my mother. After my mother entered the palace, they became her most loyal subordinates. Even my father didn't know about them."
Song Xibai could understand this. Even the closest of husbands and wives, and even if the Empress and the Emperor had a good relationship, it was impossible for them to trust each other completely.
"Initially, there were more than forty secret guards. In the year my mother had her accident, more than ten of them died. In the following years, more than ten more secret guards who were protecting me sacrificed their lives one after another... Now, there are only eighteen old men left, most of whom are training new people on the estate in the suburbs."
Song Xibai was startled upon hearing this.
"Is the casualty rate of the secret guards really that high? Your Highness, have you been living in such danger these past few years?"
Moreover, even with the protection of secret guards, the crown prince was still poisoned!
This palace is indeed fraught with danger.
The Crown Prince patted Song Xibai's hand reassuringly.
"In the beginning, there were many assassinations and ambushes, but in recent years there have been very few."
"Who wants to kill you?"
Song Xibai was still nervous.
"It's mainly the Shu family, but there are also some from the Lan family, and another group. I still can't find out who's behind it all."
Song Xibai knew that the Shu family was the imperial concubine's maternal family, but...
"The Lan family?"
The prince's jaw suddenly tightened.
"It's Consort Shu's family."
Song Xibai was completely stunned.
"The Third Prince's maternal grandparents' family?"
As expected, there is no family affection in the royal family!
Previously, Song Xibai thought that the Third Prince had treated the Crown Prince quite well, but he never expected that his maternal grandfather's family had also plotted against the Crown Prince!
Song Xibai puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"That's outrageous!"
The crown prince wasn't angry at all; in fact, he thought it was quite normal.
"At that time, my mother passed away, the Zhou family was impeached and could not protect themselves, and my father’s attitude was ambiguous, so much so that the court and the harem were in turmoil, and everyone felt that an opportunity had come."
Perhaps because he had experienced so much, the Crown Prince spoke of the past with a very calm expression.
"Cao Chenghui was designed by the Lan family."
Song Xibai remembered that Cao Chenghui was the result of the Crown Prince being framed when he was drunk, and she never expected that the Lan family was behind it!
Thinking of this, Song Xibai became even more furious.
The goodwill that had initially arisen towards King Wu and Queen Wu has now completely vanished, leaving only anger.
As expected, a child without a mother is like grass; everyone will bully them.
Song Xibai touched her stomach and thought to herself.
I would never let my own child end up like that.
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly, the Crown Prince leaned forward and reached out to touch her belly.
"Don't worry, my dear, I will definitely protect you and the child."
After going to the small kitchen, Wei Hong returned quickly, bringing back a basket of fruit as well.
The basket was small, not even as big as a soup bowl, with some green leaves at the bottom and seven or eight small, exquisite fruits stacked on top.
Upon seeing this, Song Xibai couldn't help but exclaim.
"Wow! This little apple is so cute!"
Those tiny fruits, about the size of apricots, are red and yellow, and look just like apples.
Wei Hong burst out laughing.
"Master, these are crabapples."
Song Xibai's eyes widened slightly: "Crabapple?"
"Yes, Eunuch Lai said someone presented this to him. This fruit is a bit sour and not as good as an apple, so it's not valued in the palace. Would you like to try it, Your Highness? I've already washed it."
Wei Hong explained.
As soon as Song Xibai heard the word "sour," his mouth started to water.
But just as she reached out to take it, the Crown Prince beat her to it.
"I'll try it for you first."
As the prince spoke, he took a bite.
Two-thirds of a fruit was bitten off.
Song Xibai glared at him, inwardly screaming: My fruit!
The prince ate a crabapple in two bites, waited a moment, and when he felt there was no problem, he spoke.
"It's a bit sour, but the texture is pretty good, it's powdery."
Song Xibai pouted, snatched the small basket away, and held it protectively in her arms.
"There are only a few of these, and you're trying to steal mine!"
The Crown Prince was speechless when he saw that she was almost in tears: "You can never be too careful when it comes to food. By the way, who was the person who tasted the food for you again?"
Song Xibai picked up a crabapple and took a small bite.
It still tastes like apple...
She had seen this in her past life and always called it "Little Apple," but she didn't know it had a scientific name!
After finishing one, Song Xibai remembered to answer the Crown Prince's question.
"What food tasting? There wasn't one!"
The crown prince's brows furrowed instantly, and he turned his gaze to Wei Hong: "Nothing?"
Wei Hong hurriedly explained, "The master doesn't like servants to serve meals, finding it too troublesome, so there have never been any palace maids to taste the dishes."
"My dear, you mustn't be willful. If you're still worried, I'll send someone else, how about that?"
The Crown Prince grabbed Song Xibai's hand, stopping her from continuing to eat.
"Then let it be as Your Highness wishes!"
Song Xibai didn't care about these trivial matters and casually replied.
The Crown Prince mentally reviewed all the palace servants around him: "Feng Jia has a young eunuch who is about ten years old. He is not good with words, but he is quite clever. Let him come and serve you!"
Song Xibai looked up: "Huh? A eunuch, not a palace maid?"
“In the palace, sometimes eunuchs are more useful than palace maids. These eunuchs know some martial arts, and they can be of use in any situation,” the Crown Prince explained to Song Xibai in detail.
"Wouldn't it be a waste of his talents to have him serve as a food tasting eunuch?"
Song Xibai couldn't help but ask again.
"What do you mean by 'using a talent for nothing'? Qingqing, you underestimate yourself too much."
The prince chuckled and pinched her nose.
"They are nothing but servants. Whether they serve me or you, it's all the same. Do they dare to disobey my orders?"
Song Xibai wrinkled her nose and said to the Crown Prince in a very serious tone, "Your Highness is mistaken. Eunuchs are human too! Sometimes you have to consider the thoughts of your subordinates. What if they harbor resentment and betray you?"
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