The old eunuch stood to the side with a smile, staring at Song Xibai.
Song Xibai remained expressionless, took a small sip, and wiped her mouth with a cotton handkerchief.
"Is this Lao Jun Mei tea? It tastes quite refreshing."
The old eunuch raised his eyebrow, which had no eyebrows, and his smile became a little warmer.
"Even Lady Liangdi knows about tea?"
Song Xibai waved her hand: "I don't really know much about it, I've just had it a few times. Speaking of which, my family's ancestral home is near Wuyi Mountain!"
The old eunuch's eyes narrowed as he smiled.
After Song Xibai chatted for a few more minutes, the old eunuch finally left.
As soon as he left, Song Xibai's expression fell, and she looked at the cup of tea with a gloomy gaze.
Neither of the two palace maids noticed anything unusual about her, and Fu Liu even whispered gossip about the old eunuch.
"I heard that this Eunuch Su served in the Qianqing Palace during the reign of the late emperor. He must be seventy years old by now, yet he hasn't left the palace to retire?"
Wei Hong glanced at her, giving her a warning look, and Fu Liu quickly shut her mouth, not daring to say anything more.
Song Xibai sat quietly for more than a quarter of an hour before the Crown Prince finally came out.
Hearing the sound, she hurriedly got up and walked outside, almost bumping into the crown prince.
Seeing her expression, the crown prince couldn't help but tease her.
"It's only been a short while, and you're already so eager to see me?"
Song Xibai glared at him, but noticing the eunuchs around her, she lowered her head and pretended to be shy.
The crown prince smiled and took her hand.
"Let's go back to the East Palace!"
Song Xibai nodded and followed the Crown Prince out of the Qianqing Palace like a little bird nestled against its nest.
As they turned the corner and headed towards the East Palace, Song Xibai suddenly grabbed the Crown Prince's hand and pulled him down, whispering something.
"Let's find a safe place. I have something to say."
The Crown Prince was slightly surprised. He looked down and saw that Song Xibai had a solemn expression, which made his heart sink.
He didn't say anything, but nodded silently.
The sedan chair stopped outside the East Palace Gate. The Crown Prince stepped over the threshold first, followed closely by Song Xibai, who looked like a well-behaved young wife.
The eunuchs carrying the sedan chair glanced at it a few times, and the leader remarked with emotion.
"This new favorite of His Highness the Crown Prince is quite clingy."
"A new favorite! Aren't they all the same? Aren't the concubines in the harem the same?"
Several eunuchs whispered among themselves as they returned to the Qianqing Palace.
Meanwhile, after entering the gate, Song Xibai immediately composed herself, her expression turning serious. The Crown Prince couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
Song Xibai shook her head and tugged at him.
"We'll talk about it later."
The Crown Prince's expression turned slightly cold. He waved away the palace servants and led Song Xibai to the study in the front hall.
Having just spent time together yesterday, Song Xibai felt no romantic feelings whatsoever today.
The three main halls have been restored to their usual state, and even the screen has been moved aside.
As soon as the two entered, Eunuch Feng, who had already sensed something was wrong, immediately closed the door, turned around, and stood at the doorway with his hands on his hips, acting as a door god.
Instead of taking Song Xibai to the side room on the east side, the Crown Prince went to the west side, walked around the two rows of bookshelves in front, and pressed a few times on the west wall.
Then, the empty wall slowly rotated inward, revealing a narrow passage that could only accommodate one person at a time.
Song Xibai was shocked: "There's a secret room here?"
The prince nodded and squeezed through sideways.
Song Xibai hurriedly followed.
The dark room was very small, much smaller than her side room, almost like a walk-in closet, at most three to five square meters, with only a small table inside.
On the table, the Empress's memorial tablet was placed prominently.
Song Xibai was extremely surprised.
The Crown Prince explained, "I discovered this by chance, and no one except Feng Jia knew about it. Since we don't usually need it, I temporarily stored my mother's memorial tablet here."
Song Xibai nodded and bowed to the memorial tablet.
"Now, can you tell me? What happened that made you look like that?"
Song Xibai took a deep breath and slowly uttered a sentence.
Someone drugged me!
The prince suddenly grabbed her hand: "Are you alright? What did you eat? Is it too late to throw up now?"
The crown prince was both worried and angry.
Who on earth dared to commit such a crime in a place like the Qianqing Palace?!
Song Xibai turned around and grasped his hand.
"I'm fine. I only took a sip and spat it into my handkerchief. There must have been something very cold in that tea. Luckily, I have a good sense of smell and noticed it beforehand, otherwise I would have been poisoned."
The old eunuch didn't know much about tea, so he brought out a cup of Lao Jun Mei tea. You should know that Lao Jun Mei tea is light and delicate, and it can't mask the medicinal taste in the tea.
If it were a strong cup of black tea, Song Xibai might not have noticed.
She was still a little scared at that moment.
The substance used in this extremely cold-natured drink was not some kind of infertility remedy used by tigers and wolves; originally, drinking it once would have no harm. However, since it was classified as a medicinal herb, the imperial physicians could not detect it.
If she drinks it a few more times and her body is damaged, no matter how many doctors she sees, they will only think that her body is not good and that is why she is cold, but they will not think about prescribing medicine.
This shows just how deep the scheming and cunning of the person behind the scenes is.
After he finished explaining, the crown prince's face darkened, and he slammed his fist on the table.
Damn it!
"Who exactly is it?"
Song Xibai opened her mouth, wanting to reveal her suspicions, but hesitated and didn't speak.
The Crown Prince has always been filial. If we were to tell him that he suspects the Emperor, he probably wouldn't believe us.
The two had only just confessed their feelings to each other, and in terms of trust, Song Xibai didn't think he could compare to the father in the Crown Prince's heart.
Moreover, Song Xibai couldn't understand what the emperor's purpose was if it was his doing.
If they were afraid of the Crown Prince and wanted to depose him, there were plenty of ways; they wouldn't need to resort to such underhanded tactics! The simplest way would be to elevate other princes to compete with the Crown Prince, forcing him to make a mistake, or to start with the Crown Prince's maternal family... There are many ways.
Why would an emperor, who holds absolute power, resort to methods like drugging his female relatives?
Without a motive, even if she suspected something, she couldn't really say it.
The Crown Prince, however, had clearly considered other aspects.
"Eunuch Su from the Qianqing Palace? He's a long-time servant of the Emperor, practically watched him grow up; it's impossible for him to be bribed. But the tea room is a complicated place with many people; someone might have caught him off guard. I'll order someone to investigate immediately—who dared to make a move in the Qianqing Palace!"
The Crown Prince's fury stemmed partly from the fact that Song Xibai had almost fallen victim to his scheme, and partly from his underlying anxiety.
If even the Qianqing Palace could be bribed to do such a thing, then the emperor's safety would be in serious danger.
He paced back and forth in the small, secret room, making Song Xibai dizzy, so she grabbed him.
"Calm down! We can't act rashly now, lest we alert the enemy. His Majesty seems perfectly fine, showing no signs of poisoning or weakness, so don't worry too much. If we report this matter but find nothing, it will be your fault. I think it's better to investigate secretly first, and report it only after we find evidence."
In saying this, they managed to persuade the crown prince.
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