Song Xibai was already mentally prepared, but she still didn't expect to be framed so quickly.
A thought of doubt crossed Song Xibai's mind, and his expression darkened slightly.
Seeing this, the prince gently pulled her into his arms.
"Don't be afraid, with me here, no one can hurt you. I will definitely find out who's behind this!"
Song Xibai hummed in agreement, nestled in his arms for a while, and then spoke.
“I think this matter happened in the Qianqing Palace, so it may be difficult to investigate. Perhaps Your Highness could have someone secretly investigate the background, origin, habits and experiences of those palace servants first, while I go to the inner palace to test the waters.”
The prince suddenly tightened his grip.
"Whom do you want to test? The people in the harem are all treacherous and cunning, and you'll probably suffer if you go there. It's safer to stay in the Eastern Palace."
The Crown Prince had typical scholar-official thinking, and he preferred that Song Xibai be under his wing and protected by him.
But how could Song Xibai become a dodder vine?
She looked up, her eyes smiling, but her face was unusually serious.
"Your Highness, I don't like being passively attacked. Now that they've made their move, I can't just hide. Don't worry! I know what I'm doing and won't act recklessly."
The crown prince was still very worried.
He was worried that something might happen to Song Xibai, but the confident, composed, and calm Song Xibai in front of him made his heart flutter.
He hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.
"Very well, I will send a few guards to protect your safety in secret."
Song Xibai's eyes lit up.
"Secret guards? Are they powerful? Could they be discovered? I've never seen them before. Do they know how to become invisible?"
Her topic changed so quickly that the Crown Prince was momentarily speechless.
After a moment, the crown prince explained.
“These guards were left to me by my mother. There were originally ten of them, who had protected me since I was a child. After my mother passed away, I had them train some more, and Wei Hong was one of them…”
Song Xibai suddenly realized.
Judging from the Crown Prince's words, the secret guards are essentially the same as assassins. Usually, aristocratic families with long histories would secretly train assassins. And the ones around the Crown Prince come from the Zhou family, the Marquis of Chengen's family, the Empress's maternal family.
As for whether there are other secret guards in the palace... there are definitely some around the emperor, but probably not around the empresses and concubines. Because when they enter the palace, they are generally not allowed to bring anyone with them; only those of high rank are allowed to bring one or two maids to serve them.
Once inside the palace, she was not allowed to contact the outside world except for occasional visits with her family during festivals.
After listening, Song Xibai suddenly asked a question.
"And what about the Empress Dowager?"
The Crown Prince frowned slightly: "The Zhu family is a newly rich family and cannot train assassins, but the Empress Dowager is deeply trusted by Grandfather Huang, so it is hard to guarantee that she has not arranged a few secret guards."
Song Xibai blinked and didn't ask any more questions.
But she already had someone in mind to test the waters first.
Empress Dowager!
Empress Dowager Zhu fell ill with a cold before the new year and has not yet recovered.
Her condition was even worse than that of the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess is young after all, and if she hadn't taken the wrong medicine before, she wouldn't have needed to recover for so long. Judging from her condition these past two days, she's almost fully recovered, and Song Xibai estimates that the Crown Princess will be able to return to the palace in five days at most.
As for the Empress Dowager, she was old, and once she fell ill, it was difficult for her to fully recover.
In addition, he was angered by the Zhu family before, so he is likely to be depressed, making it even more difficult for him to recover.
After careful consideration, Song Xibai told the Crown Prince about her plan.
The crown prince nodded after hearing this.
"That's alright. With the Empress Dowager ill, we, as her juniors, should do our best to fulfill our filial duties."
Song Xibai's lips curled up slightly: "I just don't know if the Crown Princess will overthink it."
The Crown Prince frowned: "I will go and explain to her."
Seeing the Crown Prince so readily take on the trouble, Song Xibai couldn't help but laugh, and took his hand as they walked out of the dark room.
The two did not stay in the dark room for long, but when the door was opened, Song Xibai still saw that Eunuch Feng's face clearly showed a sense of relief.
To avoid the chief eunuch from misunderstanding, Song Xibai immediately released the crown prince's hand and turned to say something.
"That's settled then. I'll head back now and pay my respects to the Empress Dowager first thing tomorrow morning."
The prince's gaze softened, and he scratched her palm for a moment before letting go.
"Go ahead! I'll come to your place again tonight."
These words carried a hint of implication, causing Song Xibai to blush. She couldn't help but glare at him before calling Wei Hong and Fu Liu over and heading towards the back.
Back in the east side room, the two palace maids wisely refrained from asking about the Qianqing Palace.
Song Xibai waved for them to go down and rest, then called Juqing over.
"I'm going to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager tomorrow, so find me a suitable outfit. Also, some jewelry, something simple and understated, nothing too flashy."
Juqing now understood Song Xibai's preferences to some extent, so she agreed and went to find some clothes and fabric.
Before long, she returned carrying a pale yellow dress embroidered with silver hydrangea flowers.
"This dress was made by me before, please take a look, Master?"
Song Xibai looked at it carefully and praised her, "The embroidery is quite good; it's not too flashy, but it's not too ordinary either."
Juqing blushed when she received the praise.
"Thank you, Master!"
Song Xibai gave her an encouraging smile. Juqing was so excited that after hanging up the clothes, she ran to the side room to find fabric to make a few more sets of clothes.
Song Xibai didn't have many clothes. When she entered the Eastern Palace, it was already winter. At first, her rank was low, and according to custom, the palace didn't distribute many clothes or monthly allowances to them. She only had two sets of winter clothes, plus a silver fox fur cloak.
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