As a result, the entire Eastern Palace knew about the Crown Prince calling for water in the middle of the night.
The next day, Song Xibai went to pay his respects, and as soon as he entered the door, he was met with seven or eight different gazes.
The others tried to conceal their feelings, but the jealousy in Zhu Liangyuan's eyes was palpable.
Song Xibai remained unfazed, pretending not to see anything, and calmly greeted the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess asked with concern and kindness.
"Are you settling in well? The Eastern Palace is a bit small. Once your official ranks are determined, I will adjust your accommodations."
Song Xibai curtsied and said, "Your Highness has worked hard. Your Highness is truly blessed to have such a virtuous wife as Your Highness."
The Crown Princess's brows relaxed, and her smile became much more genuine.
The Crown Princess then asked Feng Ying and Zhao Xinlan a few more questions, showing that she treated them equally.
Song Xibai observed that the Crown Princess seemed quite nice.
Actually, it's understandable when you think about it.
She and the Crown Prince have been married for many years and are long past the age of love and romance. What the Crown Princess is most anxious about now is having children.
Therefore, she not only didn't feel jealous of the newly arrived women, but she would also encourage the Crown Prince to visit them more often.
After all, there had to be a crown prince first before she could become the crown princess.
"I recently acquired a few ounces of fragrant tea leaves. They are fragrant but not overpowering, which is extremely rare. All of you ladies should try some!"
The Crown Princess waved her hand, and immediately a palace maid brought up a teacup.
Song Xibai picked up the teacup and smelled it.
Jasmine tea?
I thought everyone in the palace drank things like Longjing, Silver Needle, and Biluochun teas! The Crown Princess actually likes flower tea?
It seems that this Crown Princess is extremely fond of flowers and fragrances!
Song Xibai thought of the incense burner she had seen when she entered the room and couldn't help but keep an eye on it.
She sipped half a cup of tea and said nothing more.
When she left, Song Xibai glanced around and found that apart from herself, almost no one else had drunk anything.
The teacup was still full.
Song Xibai raised an eyebrow: Are you worried about what the Crown Princess is up to? Or do these people not like jasmine tea?
She thought it was the former.
After the group of women left the main hall, the Crown Princess returned to her inner chamber, removed her jeweled headdress, and her face was filled with exhaustion.
After the head palace maid Yao Huang finished directing the younger maids to tidy up, she came in to report.
"Your Majesty, the teacups of the other masters are barely touched, but Consort Song has drunk half a cup."
The Crown Princess gave a cold laugh.
"If they don't appreciate my good intentions, then so be it. There's no need to serve them fine tea in the future."
She paused, then pointed to a purple phoenix hairpin on the dressing table.
"Find a box and deliver this hairpin to Madam Song. Go in person."
Yao and Huang bowed and said, "Yes."
Not long after, Song Xibai, who was pondering the prescription in the room, received a phoenix hairpin as a reward from the Crown Princess.
Song Xibai was somewhat surprised.
It seems the Crown Princess is also eager to recruit more people!
She happily accepted the gift, and the next day, she wore it to pay her respects to the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess was very pleased with her tact and understanding.
When she was leaving, Zhu Liangyuan finally couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.
"It's just a phoenix hairpin, yet it's worth showing off like that? It really shows that you come from a lowly background and have never seen the world."
Before Song Xibai could react, Feng Ying, who was standing to the side, turned pale.
Among the three newcomers, the one with the lowest status is not Song Xibai, but Feng Ying.
Coming from a merchant background, she was always looked down upon by others, and even though she knew Zhu Liangyuan was talking about Song Xibai, she couldn't help but overthink it.
Song Xibai adjusted her hair and didn't even glance at Zhu Liangyuan.
"What the Crown Princess bestowed is naturally of utmost value. Could it be that your gift, Consort Zhu, is even better than the Crown Princess's?"
The clothing and jewelry of the women in the palace were governed by strict regulations. Those like Song Xibai, who didn't yet hold official titles, were not even allowed to wear gold jewelry, nor could they use colors like bright red, deep purple, or bright yellow. Furthermore, women from merchant families like Feng Ying were forbidden from wearing silk. The requirements were extremely strict.
But if it's a reward from the master, that's a different story.
Regardless of whether Song Xibai liked the phoenix hairpin or not, she had to wear it.
Song Xibai looked at Zhu Liangyuan: "Liangyuan comes from the Empress Dowager's maternal clan. You must see many fine things every day. Why don't you wear them out for us to see another day?"
Zhu Liangyuan's expression changed slightly.
She does have a few nice things, but they're all against regulations, so how could she wear them out?
"You think you can just put it on because you want to see it? Who do you think you are? Humph!"
After saying this, Consort Zhu raised her head and quickly left with her maids.
Song Xibai shrugged and walked to the backyard with Feng Ying.
Inside the main hall, the Crown Princess listened to the palace maids relaying messages, and her eyes flashed.
"This Song family member is quite clever..."
Later that afternoon, the Crown Princess sent her most trusted nanny to inspect the rooms of several concubines. As expected, they found a number of unauthorized items in Consort Zhu's room.
She disliked Zhu Liangyuan in the first place, so naturally she wouldn't give her any face and immediately confiscated the item.
Upon hearing this, Guo Liangyuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"The Zhu family is of humble origin, and their daughter is just as stingy. Zhu Qianqian doesn't have many good things, so she must hate the Crown Princess to death now."
With the arrival of an empress dowager, the Zhu family squeezed into the ranks of the top families in the capital. However, their own foundation was insufficient, and they could only rely on the gifts bestowed by the empress dowager to maintain their prestige. How long could this last?
Lady Guo and her personal maid laughed for a long time, without making any attempt to hide their laughter.
Zhu Liangyuan hid in the room, her face terribly gloomy.
That evening, she ran to the front hall, sobbing, to confront the Crown Prince.
"Cousin, you have to stand up for me! The Crown Princess has taken all my jewelry. Those were gifts from the Empress Dowager, waaaaah... Cousin, how could the Crown Princess do this?!"
She is beautiful, and even when she cries, her face is like a pear blossom in the rain, possessing a unique charm.
But the crown prince remained calm, not even raising an eyebrow.
"The Crown Princess has already sent someone to inform me that your items are against regulations. If they are not confiscated, are you waiting for outsiders to discover them and punish you in the Eastern Palace?"
Before entering the Eastern Palace, Zhu Qianqian was the legitimate daughter of the Zhu family, and she had access to these things. But after entering the Eastern Palace, she became a concubine.
Although a concubine is a fifth-rank official, she is still a concubine, and there are certain things she cannot use.
Consort Zhu was taken aback when she realized that the Crown Prince not only didn't try to comfort her, but also spoke to her in such a cold and hard tone.
Then, he grabbed the prince's sleeve.
"Does my cousin not like me anymore? I knew it. He'll forget about me once he finds someone new. He clearly said he liked me the most..."
Seeing her acting coquettishly and foolishly, the Crown Prince became increasingly impatient and abruptly shook off her hand.
"This is the front hall! So many people come and go, who are you trying to impress with this act? Go back to your room! Don't you dare come to the front hall again without my permission!"
After saying this, the Crown Prince ignored Zhu Qianqian's pale face and strode towards the rear hall with the eunuchs.
Consort Zhu swayed and grabbed the palace maid's hand.
"Go! Send someone to find out where the Crown Prince went!"
She found out not long after.
"It's that bitch surnamed Song again!"
Her eyes flashed with hatred, and she pinched the palace maid's hand so hard that it turned purple and red.
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