As the Crown Prince struggled between dignity and hunger, he saw Song Xibai walk in and was momentarily stunned.
When Song Xibai walked to the bedside, asked someone to move the kang table to the bed, and took out a bowl, chopsticks and a delicate little casserole from the food box, the prince couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"What's this?"
He pointed to the small clay pot and asked.
"Yam, wolfberry and three-color rice porridge, just made and delivered by the kitchen."
As Song Xibai replied, he opened the lid of the casserole, scooped a spoonful into a small bowl, and handed it to the Crown Prince.
"The antidote you took yesterday mainly works to deplete your vital energy. Your body is weak and powerless because your vital energy was depleted too quickly. In addition, you had your blood drawn last night, which made your body even weaker. You know that a weak body cannot tolerate strong tonics, right? In your current condition, it is not suitable to eat a lot of meat and fish. This kind of congee and side dishes, along with herbs to replenish your vital energy and blood, are the most suitable."
Song Xibai finished speaking in one breath. Seeing that the Crown Prince was only staring at her but did not take the bowl, she wondered if this prince was used to being served and did not know how to eat by himself.
Thinking of this, Song Xibai turned to Wei Hong and said, "Wei Hong, you serve His Highness his meal."
Wei Hong looked conflicted.
I've never done this kind of work before!
The Crown Prince finally came to his senses and snatched the small white porcelain bowl from Song Xibai's hand.
"I'll do it myself."
There was a small stove under the food box, and the casserole was kept warm on the stove the whole way. It didn't get cold at all and was still hot.
The prince was very hungry. He stirred the food with a spoon and then scooped a large mouthful into his mouth.
Then, his expression changed, and his facial features contorted in pain.
Upon seeing his expression, Song Xibai burst into laughter.
"Did you get burned?"
She made no attempt to hide her smile, which made the crown prince feel both ashamed and annoyed.
Do you think you can look down on me?
He closed his eyes, swallowed the porridge in his mouth in one gulp, and tried his best to put on a nonchalant expression.
"No, the porridge is heated just right."
If he hadn't been hissing as he said it, it would have been quite believable.
Seeing that things were going well, Song Xibai stopped mocking her and put the small clay pot aside, asking Wei Hong to stir it to cool it down.
The Crown Prince slowly finished a bowl of porridge, and Song Xibai served her another bowl, this time at just the right temperature.
After finishing the entire pot of porridge, the prince felt warm all over. His stomach was a little full, and his mind was a little sleepy, so he leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes to rest.
Song Xibai had Wei Hong remove all the things from the house. After the door was closed, she took out her needle case and quickly stuck several needles into the prince's head.
The prince opened his eyes.
"How should I tie my hair this time?"
"This is to wake you up, and also to test if there are any side effects from last night's medicine."
Song Xibai said casually.
The crown prince's face darkened: "What kind of medicine did you give me?"
Song Xibai blinked, looking at him with an innocent expression: "I just said! It's a stress-reducing drug! Yesterday's events happened suddenly, and I didn't have the antidote with me, so I had no choice but to do this. It's a hastily prepared drug, and its effects are unstable."
The crown prince was so angry that he felt dizzy.
What are the possible long-term effects?
Song Xibai counted on her fingers: "Dizziness, headache, shortness of breath, and..."
She paused, glancing at the Crown Prince's lower abdomen.
"Easily leaked."
The crown prince didn't understand at first, but after noticing her gaze, his eyes widened immediately.
"What kind of medicine did you give me?! Are you trying to kill me?"
The prince slammed his fist on the bed, making a loud thud.
Song Xibai took two steps back, crossed her arms, and looked at him coolly.
"This isn't my fault, nor is it the fault of my medicine. Who told you to be so careless yesterday? The antidote didn't usually have such severe side effects; normally, a night of unconsciousness would be enough to make you feel better. But the aphrodisiac you took was too strong; it's hard to get rid of without a potent antidote."
The crown prince's face was grim, and he almost gritted his teeth as he asked her, "Is there no way to remedy this?"
When it comes to a man's dignity, even if he's furious, the crown prince can only suppress his anger.
Song Xibai shrugged: "I'm treating you, Your Highness, aren't I? Don't worry, as long as Your Highness listens obediently, you'll be back to your former vigor in less than half a month."
The crown prince breathed a sigh of relief.
Leaning back, the prince quickly calmed down.
He watched as Song Xibai remained calm and composed throughout, and couldn't help but wonder if she was deceiving him.
But he had no evidence.
The crown prince muttered to himself, "Women and petty men are hard to deal with," and then closed his eyes, ignoring Song Xibai.
Song Xibai chuckled and left, then pulled Dingxiang over to discuss the subsequent treatment plan.
Ding Xiang couldn't help but nudge Song Xibai's arm and whispered, "Why didn't you go in yesterday's situation? It could have been resolved with a good night's sleep. Instead, you had to do acupuncture and prepare medicine, and now you have to continue treatment for half a month. Isn't that too much trouble?"
Song Xibai fiddled with her silver needles, explaining slowly.
"Why should I pay for someone else's mistakes? He was careless with the Chinese medicine, and Zhu Liangyuan was ruthless in administering the poison. What does it have to do with me?"
Dingxiang was taken aback, and suddenly realized that what was said made a lot of sense!
"Besides, that drug is potent. If I actually get pregnant from intercourse, who knows what harm it might do to the fetus! I'm not going to suffer that kind of loss."
Anyway, the one who's pitiful right now is the Crown Prince, not me, so why should I care so much?
Furthermore, what she didn't say was that this incident could provide a suitable reason for treating the Crown Prince's illness.
Although the Crown Prince instructed Feng Jia to claim it was a "cold," there were no secrets in either the inner palace or the Eastern Palace.
Last night, the Crown Prince made such a commotion in Consort Zhu's room, who didn't know?
Even if you didn't know last night, it must have spread by now.
The Crown Prince's sudden illness must be related to Consort Zhu.
People in the palace have little entertainment and are particularly fond of gossip and spreading rumors. Song Xibai had already seen this after the last rumor incident.
This time, Song Xibai could almost imagine what the palace servants would say in private.
Since the late emperor, the imperial harem has been exceptionally strict in dealing with matters of vying for the emperor's favor. While the emperor might turn a blind eye to tricks like dropping a handkerchief, playing a tune, or abducting someone on the way, he would not tolerate feigning illness, drugging, or faking pregnancy.
Bribing or winning over the imperial physicians is absolutely forbidden.
The Imperial Medical Academy was independent of the Six Ministries and was an institution entirely controlled by the emperor.
No concubine, not even the empress, could escape the emperor's notice if she wanted to feign illness or pregnancy.
Zhu Liangyuan's actions sealed her fate.
That is why, after the Crown Prince woke up, he did not rush to deal with Consort Zhu.
As a confidant of the Crown Prince, Feng Jia had already taken control of the palace maids around Consort Zhu at the first opportunity, and had people guard Consort Zhu's room to prevent anyone from entering or leaving.
Now, what the Crown Prince is waiting for is the attitude of the Zhu family, or rather, Empress Dowager Zhu.
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