The crown prince did not say anything more.
He knew that no amount of talking was as effective as doing more.
As long as you do it, Qingqing will naturally see your feelings.
After wavering for a moment, Song Xibai pushed the crown prince out again.
This time, the crown prince wasn't angry at all. He stood at the door and laughed to himself for a while before turning back to the front hall.
In the following days, the Crown Prince became busy and rarely returned to the Eastern Palace.
Until New Year's Eve arrived.
The palace banquet didn't start until evening, but the Crown Princess had already sent Wei Zi to keep an eye on Song Xibai.
When the time came, Song Xibai boarded the sedan chair and went to the Hall of Preserving Harmony with the Crown Prince.
As soon as the two left, Wei Zi immediately went to the central hall to report.
The Crown Princess, who had been bedridden, remained silent for a long time after hearing Wei Zi's report.
Wei Zi looked at her with some concern.
"Your Majesty..."
The Crown Princess looked up, stopping her with a single glance.
"It seems His Highness has truly taken a liking to her!"
Wei Zi forced a smile: "So what? No matter how much she is favored, she will only be a concubine. Your Majesty, you are the Crown Princess chosen by the late Empress, and you will surely become the Empress of Kunning Palace in the future!"
The Crown Princess raised her hand to smooth her hair, then suddenly changed her tone.
"Has the matter been investigated thoroughly? Who tampered with my medicine?"
Previously, in an attempt to cure her infertility, the Crown Princess had someone secretly prepare medicine and send it to the palace. However, unexpectedly, the medicine not only failed to treat her condition but also caused significant harm to her body.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen ill so suddenly and been unable to get out of bed for so many days.
Since Physician Hong refused to tell the truth, the Crown Princess had to investigate herself.
Wei Zi's expression tightened, and she knelt down with a thud.
"It was...it was during the palace inspection that someone tampered with things. The nanny has already found the person, but that person has already been taken away by His Highness."
The Crown Princess's face turned cold.
"Took them away?"
Seeing that the Crown Princess's expression was strange, Wei Zi quickly advised, "Your Highness, this couldn't have been done by His Highness."
The Crown Princess glanced at her.
"I know Your Highness's character, and I understand him to some extent. However..."
The crown prince is probably starting to distrust me.
The Crown Princess sighed softly. Over the past few years, her relationship with the Crown Prince had gradually weakened due to various reasons.
Originally, he had planned to have Zhao Xinlan secure the emperor's favor, give birth to a child, and then adopt him into his household. However, to his surprise, the crown prince was not interested in Zhao Xinlan at all, and even for his sake, he refused to share a room with her.
So, it seems the Crown Prince is starting to fear the Zhao family...
The Crown Princess was lost in thought, considering the other women in the inner palace and the families close to the Zhao family.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on Wei Zi, who was kneeling.
Wei Zi wore a silver fox fur vest with a pink jacket and skirt, looking delicate and lovely. Her face was also powdered, and her hair had two more hairpins than usual.
In a flash, the Crown Princess suddenly saw through her intention.
The Crown Princess gave a cold laugh, a hint of chill flashing in her eyes, but the next moment, the chill vanished and her smile became warm.
"Wei Zi, you're twenty-two this year, aren't you?"
Wei Zi lowered her head: "Yes, this servant will be twenty-two after the New Year."
"How are your parents doing in the village?"
The Crown Princess asked slowly.
Wei Zi didn't dare to look up, and only replied, "My parents are both well."
The Crown Princess stopped asking questions, grunted in acknowledgment, and dismissed her. She then summoned Granny Ding in.
"Granny Ding, I have something I need you to do..."
Just as the Crown Princess was contemplating something, Song Xibai had already arrived outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
After getting off the sedan chair, Song Xibai wrapped her fox fur cloak tighter around herself and followed closely behind the Crown Prince with small, quick steps.
The crown prince seemed to sense her nervousness and reached out to squeeze her hand.
"Don't be afraid, stay with me, nothing will happen."
Song Xibai nodded.
She wasn't afraid, but she was worried about losing face.
The main problem is that there are so many members of the royal family, and she still hasn't remembered many of them!
At times like these, the importance of the palace maids becomes apparent.
Wei Hong and Yao Huang accompanied her today.
Yao Huang followed Song Xibai on the orders of the Crown Prince, and her main task was to provide reminders.
After walking a few steps, a middle-aged couple and seven or eight young people of varying ages walked towards them.
The middle-aged man at the head of the group let out a hearty laugh.
"Your Highness, it's been a long time! Is this your newly acquired concubine?"
Yao Huang quickly whispered in Song Xibai's ear, "This is Prince An."
Song Xibai immediately tucked his sleeves and bowed.
"Greetings to His Highness Prince An and His Highness the Princess Consort."
Prince An glanced at her a few times before looking away.
Princess An responded with a nonchalant tone, her attitude quite perfunctory.
Song Xibai breathed a sigh of relief.
It's better to be perfunctory! It saves us from having to engage in polite small talk.
The thought of having to greet so many people later gave Song Xibai a headache. She wished that the other members of the royal family were as proud and aloof as Princess An.
Fortunately, she wasn't the focus today. Song Xibai followed the Crown Prince into the hall, and after being reminded by Yao Huang, she bowed to a few people nearby before being led to a seat near the head of the table.
The seating in the hall was divided into front and back sections, and her seat was behind the Crown Prince.
The crown prince's seat was to the lower right of the emperor.
The front row of seats was occupied by princes and princesses from various households, while the back row held the children of each family.
Song Xibai thought to himself: This counts as sitting in the children's section.
Fortunately, after she sat down, no one came over to talk to her; most of them were talking to the Crown Prince, which allowed Song Xibai to breathe a sigh of relief.
At the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), accompanied by the high-pitched shouts of the chief eunuch, the emperor appeared in the palace surrounded by a large crowd.
Everyone stood up and bowed.
Song Xibai followed the crowd and squatted down in a curtsy, secretly glad that she hadn't transmigrated to the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, she would have to kneel before everyone she met, and her knees would be ruined.
The etiquette in the Da Yin Dynasty was not so strict. Sometimes, officials would even argue with the emperor in court! Grand ceremonies like the three kneelings and nine kowtows were only performed during ancestral worship, weddings, and Buddhist ceremonies.
Today is a family dinner, so we'll keep the formalities simple.
The emperor walked to the seat of honor, sat down, and then reached out his hand to offer a gesture of support.
"We're all family, no need for formalities, please sit down!"
Everyone then got up and sat down.
After the emperor said a few polite words and announced the start of the banquet, Song Xibai's attention turned to the stage, where she watched the song and dance performance with great interest.
Before long, the food was served one after another. Song Xibai asked Wei Hong to pick up a few dishes for her, ate a few bites as a token gesture to fill her stomach, and then put down her chopsticks.
It was a family banquet, and also the Lunar New Year, so the atmosphere was unusually peaceful. The Crown Prince, who had been sitting upright, began to blush after drinking a few cups of wine offered by his younger brothers.
Song Xibai touched her purse and had Wei Hong hand it to Eunuch Feng, giving him a quiet reminder.
"It's a hangover cure."
Although Eunuch Feng had brought his own, how could he be so tactless as to refuse?
The prince didn't even ask anyone to try it; he just took one and ate it.
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