Before falling asleep, Song Xibai was still thinking about having a good talk with the Crown Prince about this matter the next day.
But when the next day came, she was unable to see the Crown Prince.
While half asleep, Song Xibai was suddenly woken up by Wei Hong and Fu Liu.
She rubbed her eyes, propped herself up on her elbows, and turned her head to see the gray sky outside the window.
"It's not even dawn yet! Why are you waking me up so early?"
Song Xibai was still a little dazed.
I went to bed late last night, and I'm up so early today?
A hint of nervousness flashed in Wei Hong's eyes.
"Your Highness has just suddenly issued an order for you to leave the palace."
Song Xibai's drowsiness vanished without a trace.
"What's going on? What happened? Why are you suddenly leaving the palace at this time?"
Wei Hong bit her lip, unsure how to answer, but Fu Liu, quick-witted, offered an explanation.
"The Eastern Palace is not suitable for you to rest during your pregnancy. So many things happened yesterday, it was so noisy. His Highness was afraid that it would affect you, so he asked you to leave the palace and go to a manor in the suburbs to rest."
Wei Hong quickly added, "Yes! Didn't you like the estate we visited last time? If we set off now, we can arrive before noon. If we're late, it will be too hot to travel."
Song Xibai still felt something was strange, but as the two of them said, the current Eastern Palace was indeed not suitable for nurturing a child.
She secretly hoped to get away from this place of trouble for a while.
No matter what, she was determined to protect the baby in her womb.
Song Xibai rubbed his temples and nodded.
"Then help me up!"
After quickly getting dressed and washing up, Song Xibai left the house without even having time for breakfast.
As soon as she stepped out of the East Palace gate, she saw several people waiting outside.
Song Xibai was not surprised to see Dingxiang, but he was stunned when he saw Granny Fangqi. Then his gaze shifted and he saw Eunuch Lai and his apprentice Anping behind the two of them, and he was startled.
"What exactly happened?"
Song Xibai walked up to Granny Fangqi, glanced at her, and asked.
"Why do we have to bring Eunuch Lai along? If Eunuch Lai leaves, who will take care of the Eastern Palace's small kitchen? What will happen to His Highness and the Empress's daily meals?"
"Your Majesty, rest assured, my eldest apprentice has also completed his apprenticeship, and his daily meals are no problem for him. This old servant has not left the palace for many years, so I'll take this opportunity to go out and have some fun, and relax a bit! I'm only doing this because of Your Majesty's suggestion, so please grant this old servant this opportunity?"
The old man's chubby face was all smiles, his eyes were squinted into slits, and his emotions were unreadable.
Granny Fangqi carefully supported Song Xibai's arm.
"Don't ask too many questions, let's get going first. You can ask us after we leave the city."
Song Xibai saw the anxiety and coldness on her face, so he pursed his lips and didn't ask any further questions.
The group quickly exited through the Donghua Gate.
Two carriages were already parked outside the palace gate.
These are not the carriages Song Xibai rode in last time. These two carriages are completely undecorated, with only an oilcloth covering them, making them look very low-key.
If it weren't for the exceptionally large and strong horses pulling the carriage, Song Xibai would almost have thought she had gotten the wrong carriage.
The group boarded the carriages in two separate groups. They hadn't brought much luggage to begin with, so they traveled light and simply, with enough room to fit in two carriages.
As soon as Song Xibai settled in, the coachman gave a low shout, cracked his whip, and drove the carriage at breakneck speed.
At that moment, the sun in the east had just fully risen above the horizon.
Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the entire capital city.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the emperor was having breakfast.
The morning court sessions of the Dayin Dynasty were similar to those of the previous dynasty, with the emperor attending court almost every day. However, the time for court sessions was changed, and they began at 5:00 AM.
Now, there are still 25 minutes before the court session begins.
After finishing his breakfast, the emperor wiped his mouth and asked Chen Dafu a question.
"Has the order been passed down?"
Chen Dafu lowered his head and replied, "This old servant has already sent word that the Imperial Guards are heading to the East Palace and will soon surround it, so that not even an insect can fly out."
The emperor threw down his handkerchief and snorted coldly.
"How dare the Crown Prince search the palace without permission! Does he even respect me, his father?! What use is there in keeping someone so disrespectful to the emperor?"
His furious appearance frightened the palace servants inside the hall, who all knelt down in alarm.
Chen Dafu wiped the sweat from his forehead and crawled forward on his knees.
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. It's not worth ruining your health. Imperial Physician Song also said that you can't afford to get angry all the time, given your current condition!"
The emperor slightly suppressed his anger, adjusted his crown, and strode out of the palace.
At the same time, a troop of imperial guards appeared outside the East Palace without warning. The leader of the troop was the deputy commander of the imperial guards. He waved his hand and led his men to surround the East Palace.
His personal guard approached, looking hesitant: "Sir, we've offended His Highness the Crown Prince terribly. What will happen if he ascends to the throne?"
The deputy commander glared at him, made a shushing gesture, and lowered his voice to speak.
"We'll deal with the future later. The emperor is sitting on the dragon throne now. If we don't obey, the brothers outside the Meridian Gate will be the same as us!"
The guards, thinking of the Imperial Guards outside the Meridian Gate who had been severely punished with eighty strokes of the cane and were barely clinging to life, trembled with fear and dared not say another word.
At this moment, the masters and servants in the Eastern Palace finally realized that something was wrong.
The Crown Princess immediately sent people out to find out the news.
But as soon as the palace maid pushed open the gate of the East Palace, she was frightened away by several knives.
Upon hearing the palace maid's report, the Crown Princess's heart skipped a beat. Without even bothering to finish her hair, she hurriedly rushed to the front hall.
She found the prince in the main hall.
"Your Highness! What's going on outside? Why are guards blocking the entrance to the East Palace?"
The crown prince, dressed in a long green pine robe, was reading a book. Upon hearing this, he remained unmoved and spoke casually.
"It was Father Emperor who sent the Imperial Guards to surround the Eastern Palace."
The Crown Princess's face instantly drained of color, and she screamed in shock.
"What?! Why?!"
Before the Crown Prince could answer, the Crown Princess had already figured out the reason.
"Is it because of what happened yesterday? I advised Your Highness to be careful then, but Your Highness wouldn't listen to me. Now look what's happened, the Eastern Palace is besieged, something that has never happened before. How does Your Highness plan to remedy this?"
The Crown Princess paced anxiously back and forth in the room.
The crown prince remained unmoved, turned a page of his book, and then slowly spoke.
"It's alright. At worst, I'll be punished. Father Emperor won't take my life. If the Crown Princess has nothing else to do, she should go back first. Keep a close eye on the people under her these next few days and make sure they don't wander around, lest they be mistakenly killed by the guards outside."
The Crown Princess froze, staring at him in disbelief.
The crown prince didn't even raise his head.
The Crown Princess gritted her teeth, gave a rough bow, and then withdrew with her entourage.
When they returned to the main hall, several old women were pacing anxiously in place.
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