After hearing the Crown Prince's words, Song Xibai felt relieved and stopped asking questions. She then began to talk about what happened at Renshou Palace that day.
"The Empress Dowager's attitude is so strange, so polite, it makes me feel flattered."
The crown prince's lips curled into a smile.
"The Empress Dowager will be grateful when she knows that you saved her. Remembering this life-saving grace, Qingqing can always ask the Empress Dowager for help in the future."
Song Xibai rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.
"Stop joking. Anyway, you should still have someone keep an eye on the Empress Dowager!"
What life-saving grace... When people are happy, they think it's a life-saving grace and will give them a good look. But if you offend someone, who knows if the Empress Dowager will turn around and accuse you of overstepping your bounds?
What credibility can people in the palace possibly have?
Song Xibai did not believe it.
The crown prince put away his joking expression and stroked his chin.
"Now that you mention it, I do recall that the Empress Dowager's death seems to be related to the Zhu family. Perhaps she was disillusioned with the Zhu family? That's why she was much kinder to you."
That reason makes sense.
"People's minds do change drastically after experiencing life and death. I hope this is a good thing for us!"
Song Xibai turned his neck and suddenly saw Dingxiang's figure flashing past the window.
Before she could speak, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Highness, it's too messy here. May I go to the small kitchen to brew the medicine?"
It was the sound of lilacs.
"There should be some space in the small kitchen, go ahead!"
The crown prince got up and opened the door.
Dingxiang peeked in a few times, but was too embarrassed to come in. Still feeling uneasy, she gave her a few more instructions.
"I'll just step away for a little while! Your Highness, please don't let Xixi move around. She's very stubborn and won't listen to advice. Or should we call Uncle Song back?"
Song Xibai let out two heavy groans from inside.
"I heard everything! You're the stubborn one!"
Dingxiang stuck out her tongue and ran away in a flash.
Seeing her clumsy movements, the Crown Prince felt she was going to make a mistake, so he quickly asked Granny Fangqi to follow her.
Granny Fangqi followed along with a solemn expression, and also called two young palace maids.
After a long while, in the west hall opposite, Lady Yoshimi finally woke up.
She was awakened by the pain.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she was eager to sit up, but Song Siyuan stopped her.
She rubbed her groggy head and asked in a hoarse voice, "What happened to me?"
Song Siyuan directed the palace maid to apply medicine to her fingertips.
"Your Highness, you have been drugged. Someone will come and tell you the details later."
After speaking, Song Siyuan turned to look at the eunuch guarding the door outside.
"The person has woken up. Why aren't you informing your master?"
A palace attendant rushed off to deliver the message, and Song Siyuan packed his medical kit, keeping a bottle of ointment for himself.
"This medicine was made by me and it has a remarkable effect on treating external injuries."
Then he took out an even smaller medicine bottle and said in a low voice.
"This medicine will keep you awake."
Rou Liangyuan was much more awake now, and suddenly felt pain all over her body. After just a few breaths, fine sweat appeared on her forehead.
Having been a former bodyguard, she quickly realized that something serious must have happened to her, and she felt both annoyed and angry.
After Song Siyuan left, she didn't see the Crown Prince, but instead saw Eunuch Feng Jia.
Eunuch Feng waved the others away, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
"His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me to inquire about the situation."
As if afraid she might deliberately conceal it, Eunuch Feng added another sentence.
"Miss Wei Hong is also waiting for news over there!"
Upon hearing Wei Hong's name, Rou Liangyuan perked up and carefully recalled what had happened before she fell into a coma.
"Just as dawn was breaking, I heard a noise outside. I was about to get out of bed when I suddenly felt a jolt and became dizzy."
Rou Liangyuan was a ruthless person. She realized she had been tricked, so she pulled out a dagger from under her pillow, stabbed herself in the thigh, and hid behind the screen in excruciating pain.
In the dim light, someone slipped in, crept to the bedside, and tried to assault her, but was instead ambushed by Yu Liangyuan who was hiding nearby.
The man was shocked and tried to escape in a panic, but Rou Liangyuan stabbed him precisely in the back, leaving a large pool of blood on the ground.
But Yoshihime was too weak and he managed to escape.
After that, she fell into a coma and lost consciousness.
Eunuch Feng listened silently, constantly observing Rou Liangyuan's expression to judge whether she was telling the truth or lying.
After speaking, Rou Liangyuan's eyelids grew heavy again, and she blinked twice before closing them.
Seeing that she was about to fall into a deep sleep again, Eunuch Feng was extremely anxious.
There are still questions I haven't asked!
He glanced around, pulled out a thick needle, and stuck it into Rou Liangyuan's philtrum.
That needle was used for sewing shoe soles; it was very thick.
The needle pierced her skin, and Rou Liangyuan was awakened by the pain, her face contorted in agony.
Taking the opportunity, Eunuch Feng asked again, "Did you see what that person looked like? Was it a man or a woman? How tall was they? What were their features?"
Rou Liangyuan replied with a few words, albeit intermittently.
After receiving the answer, Eunuch Feng summoned the young palace maid and instructed her to take good care of Consort Rou. He then returned to the East Side Hall to report back.
Meanwhile, after leaving the west side hall, Physician Song looked up at the sky, his face filled with unspeakable worry and solemnity.
It was already quite late, and Song Siyuan was about to miss the time to leave the palace, but he wasn't in a hurry at all. Instead, he walked towards the East Side Hall with a heavy expression.
Inside the east hall, Song Xibai was holding the medicine that Dingxiang had just brewed, ready to drink it.
She hadn't even drunk it yet; she had only smelled it and could already detect several of the medicinal ingredients in the soup.
Ginseng, Atractylodes macrocephala, Angelica sinensis...
She looked up, her face showing confusion.
"How can this be a pregnancy-preserving medicine?"
“It was Uncle Song who prescribed the medicine,” Dingxiang replied, “because he was afraid it would upset your baby.”
Song Xibai frowned slightly.
Something just doesn't feel right...
Thinking of her father's hesitant expression before he left, Song Xibai's heart skipped a beat.
At this moment, Song Siyuan arrived outside the east side hall, but instead of coming in, he hesitated and paced back and forth before sending someone in to summon the Crown Prince.
A palace maid came in to report, and the Crown Prince got up to leave, but was stopped by Song Xibai.
"Let him in and talk."
The Crown Prince looked down and saw that Song Xibai had a serious expression on her face and her lips were tightly pursed.
"Perhaps Imperial Physician Song was worried about too many people talking and causing misunderstandings, which is why he didn't come in," the Crown Prince explained on behalf of Song Siyuan.
Song Xibai pursed her lips, stubbornly refusing to let go.
"Let him in!"
This demeanor clearly indicates something is amiss! Yet, they refuse to come in, insisting that the Crown Prince leave before speaking; it's obviously related to them!
Song Xibai knew her father all too well.
"It's always better to know sooner rather than later, Your Highness. Don't worry, I can handle it."
Song Xibai raised her head, her eyes calm.
The Crown Prince couldn't refuse her, so he beckoned and had someone bring Song Siyuan in.
Song Siyuan was practically dragged into this.
Once inside, he probably knew there was no way to avoid it, so he stamped his foot, took a deep breath, and spoke first.
"Your Highness, please let the others leave first!"
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