Even after the banquet ended and Song Xibai followed the others out of the hall, the old woman remained kneeling on the spot, not moving.
Song Xibai did not take pity on her and tell her to get up.
She knew very well that the Imperial Concubine's faction and the Crown Prince's faction were enemies, and that the old nanny was someone close to the Imperial Concubine, so she was an enemy.
Once outside the palace gates, Song Xibai let out a long breath.
The crown prince did not come out with them, but was stopped by the emperor and they went to discuss something.
After boarding the sedan chair, they traveled in silence and returned smoothly to the East Palace. The Crown Prince waved to the two of them.
"You must be tired, go back and rest first! Come and pay your respects again tomorrow."
After saying this, the Crown Princess helped Yao Huang into the house.
The Crown Princess is indeed determined to reclaim power today.
Song Xibai's heart stirred, and he secretly glanced at Guo Liangyuan.
Guo Liangyuan's face was expressionless, her hands were tucked into her sleeves, and her fingertips were slightly white.
As if noticing Song Xibai's gaze, Guo Liangyuan suddenly turned her head to look over.
"Xi Liangdi, what are you looking at?"
Song Xibai smiled and said, "According to what the Crown Princess said, the greetings will resume starting tomorrow. Sisters in the inner palace, please ask Consort Guo to inform them!"
Her gentle tone surprised Guo Liangyuan, who paused for a moment before realizing what she meant.
"It's what I should do anyway, and it just happened to be on my way."
She pursed her lips, regained her composure, curtsied to Song Xibai, and turned to walk towards the back hall.
As soon as the person left, Song Xibai suddenly relaxed.
Only after relaxing did she realize that her muscles were sore and tired all over.
My nerves were on edge the whole time.
Song Xibai raised his hand and tapped his shoulder, instructing Wei Hong as he walked towards the east side hall.
"You should go and rest too! Just call Fuliu or Juqing over."
Wei Hong didn't leave; instead, she looked worried.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is not easy to deal with, and she may be of no benefit to you."
"So, we'll see what tricks she comes up with next."
Song Xibai stepped across the threshold and took off her cloak.
Hearing the commotion, Fu Liu ran out from inside and eagerly took the cloak: "Master is back?"
She was laughing so hard her mouth almost reached her ears.
Song Xibai couldn't help but glance at her a couple more times: "What's making you so happy?"
"Master, please guess?"
Fu Liu blinked.
Song Xibai raised an eyebrow, about to ask a question, when she heard a familiar voice coming from the inner room.
"I'm back!"
Dingxiang jumped out from behind the screen, ran a few steps to Song Xibai, grabbed her hand and shook it.
Song Xibai was both surprised and delighted: "Why are you back? Didn't you say you wouldn't be back until tomorrow? Today is the Lantern Festival, why aren't you at home celebrating with your family?"
Dingxiang stuck out her tongue: "I was so annoyed by my mother's nagging, so I told her you needed me, and I came right away with my bags! I heard I missed a lot of things? How have things been going with His Highness the Crown Prince these past few days?"
Dingxiang winked, as if she already knew about the changes between Song Xibai and the Crown Prince.
Song Xibai's cheeks flushed slightly, and he coughed awkwardly before pulling her into the inner room.
She had only taken two steps when she suddenly stopped.
"Fuliu, take two taels of silver and have the small kitchen make a pot of glutinous rice balls and send them over. Give everyone a bowl."
After a pause, Song Xibai added another sentence.
"Tell Eunuch Lai to make a separate five-colored dish, so His Highness can eat it when he returns."
Fu Liu responded crisply and withdrew.
Once only the two of them remained in the hall, Dingxiang spoke in a low voice.
“My father is looking for someone to repair your courtyard, but work won’t start until February. It will give you a place to go when you leave the palace.”
Song Xibai looked wistful: "I'm afraid I'll rarely be able to leave the palace in the future."
Even if they left the palace, it was unlikely that they would stay overnight outside.
"That's alright. When your dad and brother come back, it's better to see a well-maintained home than a dilapidated one, right? By the way, when are your dad and brother coming back?"
Song Xibai remained silent.
To overturn the verdict, we must wait until the imperial court opens its seal on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
It would be very troublesome to retry this case.
Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Dingxiang was secretly annoyed. She rolled her eyes and suddenly changed the subject.
Do you know who I ran into a few days ago?
"who?"
"It's your ex-fiancé, Qi Changfeng!"
Dingxiang pretended to be mysterious and started talking about how Qi Changfeng had secretly come to see her.
Song Xibai frowned slightly.
"What does he want with you?"
"Of course he wanted to know about you. He seemed very unwilling and insisted on asking me how you got into the Eastern Palace. How could I tell him? I gave him a good scolding," Dingxiang said smugly. "He still wanted to keep bothering me, but my mother chased him out with a broom."
Song Xibai frowned even more deeply.
How did he find out about your family?
I bumped into her by chance at the East Palace. At that time, she was accompanied by Wei Hong, not Ding Xiang.
Dingxiang was stunned.
"Really? How did he know?"
Song Xibai suddenly stood up and paced back and forth.
“Your identity is no secret. He probably inquired about you privately with people in the Crown Prince’s Palace and that’s why he came to your house.”
Dingxiang breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest: "Then it should be fine, right?"
“This is a huge problem!” Song Xibai pursed her lips. “He knows me, and now he knows you’ve also entered the Eastern Palace. If he starts with your family, he can find out that I’ve been hiding in your house for over a year… If he reports me, the Ding family will probably be charged with harboring a fugitive.”
Song Xibai suddenly stopped and slammed her hand on the table.
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