The Crown Prince naturally went to find Song Xibai.
Upon entering the room, as usual, the eunuchs were kept outside.
Song Xibai was somewhat surprised.
"Your Highness has arrived a little early today. Shouldn't you have lunch with the Crown Princess?"
Although the Crown Prince came to Song Xibai's place every night, he never neglected the Crown Princess. He would always have dinner with her, drink tea, and chat for a while before coming over.
Therefore, even though the Crown Prince stayed in Song Xibai's room for several days in a row, the Crown Princess did not say anything.
"I was busy with matters at the front today, so I told the Crown Princess that I would not be having a meal."
The Crown Prince walked to the bedside and sat down, watching Song Xibai busy at the table.
"What are you doing?"
There was a pile of things on the table, some of which he recognized, and some he didn't.
"Your Highness is interested in knowing about things that belong to young ladies?"
Song Xibai glanced at him sideways, then turned around and stuffed everything into the basket. Next, she took out her needle case.
"Today we're changing locations. We'll be using your back for this. Your Highness, please turn around, take off your shirt, and then lie down."
The prince did as instructed.
In the dim candlelight, Song Xibai saw the Crown Prince's bare back.
The prince's skin wasn't white, but it wasn't very dark either; it was more like copper with a layer of shine on it, giving it a very textured look.
He placed his arms under his chin, revealing the muscles on his back, with smooth lines that flowed down to a slightly concave waist, forming a classic inverted triangle.
Song Xibai paused for a moment.
Is there a problem?
The prince turned his head.
Song Xibai snapped back to reality, blinked, and her face tightened.
"No problem, I'll get started right away."
She took a deep breath, pulled out the silver needles, and began to administer the acupuncture.
Before long, the prince's back was covered with needles.
After several acupuncture treatments, the prince had become accustomed to the unusual sensations from the acupuncture points and was now acting as if nothing had happened.
He stared at Song Xibai's face. This beautiful face was as serious as an old nanny in the palace. Yesterday she was chatting and laughing, but today she didn't say a word.
The crown prince thought for a moment and then spoke up.
"Did something happen today?"
Song Xibai shook her head: "Nothing special."
The crown prince always felt she wasn't telling the truth: "No one bullied you?"
"Who dares to bully me? Your Highness underestimates me."
Song Xibai spoke calmly.
The crown prince became even more convinced of his suspicions.
Someone must have bullied her.
Of the women in the backyard, the Crown Prince believed he knew them quite well; of all the women, only Lady Zhu was known for bullying others.
The Crown Prince felt disgusted when he thought of how Lady Zhu had acted in the front hall, disregarding the presence of outsiders.
"If anyone bullies you, you can tell me, and I will stand up for you."
Song Xibai was genuinely surprised this time, and stopped what she was doing to look at him.
"Your Highness, don't you think it's inappropriate to punish your beloved concubine for the sake of an outsider like me?"
The prince's eyebrows twitched.
"A concubine?"
"It is said in the Eastern Palace that Consort Zhu is your most favored person!"
The crown prince frowned deeply: "Where did these rumors come from?"
"Isn't that right?"
Song Xibai countered with a question.
"The Zhu family was bestowed upon me by the Empress Dowager. The Zhu family was too ambitious. They originally wanted to make Zhu the Crown Princess. Fortunately, my mother had already arranged a marriage for me before she passed away. The Zhu family could not shake the Zhao family's position, so they had to settle for second best and have the Empress Dowager issue an imperial decree to bestow the title of Consort Zhu upon her."
The Crown Prince spoke at length, and Song Xibai understood.
This Consort Zhu was forced upon him by the Empress Dowager. Out of respect for the Empress Dowager, he treated Consort Zhu fairly well, but to say that he liked her that much... how could that be?
That must have happened before the Crown Prince's marriage.
Teenagers are at a rebellious age and hate being forced to do things, especially since he is the crown prince, which would only make him more resentful.
These thoughts raced through Song Xibai's mind, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems I won't need to be so polite to Zhu Liangyuan in the future.
Song Xibai lowered her head in deep thought, remaining silent, which made the Crown Prince think that she was thinking about something else again.
So he continued to explain.
"As for Guo, her father was the Junior Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and her late grandfather was my Junior Tutor."
Song Xibai nodded to indicate that he understood.
The Guo family were all the Crown Prince's confidants.
Whether the Crown Prince was simply in the mood for conversation or genuinely wanted to explain things to Song Xibai, he also mentioned the other women in the inner courtyard.
The two Zhaoxun were originally palace maids who served him. After helping him with personnel matters, they were promoted in rank, but only once or twice. Du Chenghui was bestowed by the emperor, while the other Cao Chenghui has a story to tell. She was accidentally slept with by the crown prince after he got drunk.
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai's gossipy nature immediately arose.
"Could someone be plotting against you? Sleeping with palace maids while drunk is a minor matter at first glance, but it becomes complicated if you take it too seriously. You see, getting drunk shows a lack of self-control over alcohol, and sleeping with palace maids shows a lack of self-control when it comes to women."
Song Xibai counted on her fingers as she spoke.
The crown prince hadn't originally thought that way, but after hearing her say that, he felt a chill run down his spine.
How did you know?
What's this woman's brain made of? She guessed everything correctly!
After that incident, the Crown Prince was indeed impeached, specifically for these two reasons.
However, this was not a big deal; the Zhao family suppressed it without the Crown Prince even having to intervene.
Song Xibai naturally wouldn't tell him that he knew it from reading novels.
But upon closer inspection, although the Crown Prince had many women around him, none of them were the ones he truly desired.
The Crown Princess was chosen by the late Empress, Consort Zhu was placed there by the Empress Dowager, Consort Guo was from the household of a trusted subordinate, the two palace maids were her instructors, and the other two were also given to her by others.
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