"Didn't you always complain that Dad was too fat? Now that you've lost weight, isn't that perfect? Now I don't have to eat your diet meals anymore."
Song Siyuan said with a smile, as if he didn't care at all.
Song Xibai couldn't help but laugh through her tears when she thought of how she used to chase after her father to lose weight.
As the father and daughter reminisced, the Crown Prince, seeing this, walked over and bowed to Song Siyuan.
"Your son-in-law greets your father-in-law."
Song Siyuan stared at him, her gaze momentarily frozen, then her eyes widened instantly.
"What son-in-law? What father-in-law? What are you talking about?"
He glanced at the man in front of him, then turned to look at his daughter, only then noticing that she was wearing a woman's hairstyle.
He grabbed Song Xibai's arm and pulled her behind him, looking warily at the young man in front of him whose noble air couldn't be concealed even in ordinary clothes.
"When did you get married? How come I, as your father, didn't know? Xixi, don't do anything foolish because of the family!"
Song Xibai wanted to explain, but Song Siyuan didn't give her a chance at all and kept lecturing her.
"How did your father teach you since you were little? Huh? Never be fooled by sweet words from other men. You're young and don't understand. Most men in this world can't be trusted..."
Song Xibai smiled and took her father's arm.
"But Father and my brothers are all very reliable! Besides, I was the one who approached His Highness on my own initiative, not the other way around."
"What flirting? You're a girl, watch your words."
Song Siyuan patted the back of her hand, glared at her, and then her expression changed.
"What did you just call him? Your Highness?"
Song Siyuan suddenly turned around, stared at the Crown Prince's face, and then slapped his thigh hard.
"I knew that face looked familiar! It's His Highness the Crown Prince... This humble subject greets His Highness the Crown Prince."
As he spoke, he was about to kneel down and pay his respects.
How could the Crown Prince dare to let him actually kneel before him? He quickly reached out and helped the man up.
"We're all family, no need for formalities. Please come in and have a chat, Father-in-law!"
The Crown Prince personally took Song Siyuan's arm and led him into the house.
Song Xibai couldn't help but laugh when she saw her father looking dizzy and confused.
Song Xibai's two older brothers were also in the room.
The Crown Prince pulled Song Siyuan to the main seat, but Song Siyuan refused to sit down, grumbling about the "distinction between ruler and subject." In the end, the Crown Prince used brute force to press him into the seat.
Then, the Crown Prince quickly came to the door and carefully helped Song Xibai.
"Aren't you tired after standing for so long?"
"Not tired."
“It’s windy outside, so I told you to wait inside, but you wouldn’t listen. What if the child gets cold?”
"I'm not that delicate. Besides, with such a thick layer of skin between my belly and the baby, how could the baby get cold?"
The two chatted back and forth, and the prince's brows never relaxed.
Song Siyuan was momentarily distracted.
Something's not right...
The next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted as he stared at Song Xibai's stomach.
"Xixi, you're pregnant?"
Song Xibai nodded with a smile: "Yes, it was just confirmed. Dad, you're going to be a maternal grandfather soon! Aren't you happy?"
But Song Siyuan was not happy at all; he even wanted to slam his fist on the table.
Fortunately, Song Xibai's two older brothers saw that things were not going well and grabbed him from the left and right.
"Dad, come and try this dish. It's Liubiju pickles. Haven't you been craving it for a long time?"
"Yes, yes, and this pear blossom white wine, Dad, would you like a sip?"
With his two sons interrupting, Song Siyuan couldn't vent his anger. He could only sit down sullenly, pick up his wine glass, and drink one sip after another.
Song Xibai tugged at his sleeve and pleaded, "Father, please don't be angry anymore. I didn't ask for your opinion about what happened between me and His Highness. It was wrong of me, but His Highness is very good to me, and now we're having a child..."
She should have kept quiet, because as soon as she did, Song Siyuan suddenly covered her face and started sobbing.
"My wife, I'm so sorry!"
Song Xibai was startled: "Father?"
Song Siyuan cried very sadly.
"My wife, it's all my fault. I didn't raise our daughter well! I've caused her to become someone else's concubine. I have no face to see you..."
Song Xibai paused, biting her lip, unable to speak.
The crown prince tenderly pulled her to his side and held her hand.
After exchanging glances, the bitter feeling in Song Xibai's heart subsided.
Song Xibai's elder brother, Song Xinian, apologized to the Crown Prince with some embarrassment.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry, my father has a low alcohol tolerance; he gets drunk after just a couple of sips. It’s not that he has any ill will towards you, but my younger sister has always been the most beloved person in our family, and we never expected her to enter the Eastern Palace…”
Song Xibai's second brother, Song Xiping, expressed regret: "Father prepared a dowry for my little sister as soon as she was born. Although most of it was confiscated during the confiscation of our property, some was still left. Now, it's all useless."
When the two brothers returned and saw their younger sister standing with the prince, they were stunned and it took them a long time to accept this fact.
But if it were my own father, I doubt he could accept it in less than a month or two.
Song Xinian rubbed his head and spoke gently to Song Xibai.
"You should hurry back too! It will be troublesome if you miss the deadline. My second brother and I are here with Father!"
Although Song Xibai was reluctant, she couldn't stay at home overnight. It would only attract too much attention and cause trouble for the Song family.
She took a breath and stood up.
"Then I'll come see you again in a few days."
Song Xinian nodded: "I'll see you off."
Song Xiping was left to take care of his drunken father, and the group walked out.
Once outside the gate, seeing the Crown Prince walking ahead, Song Xinian suddenly grabbed Song Xibai.
"Little sister, tell me the truth, you and the Crown Prince... did you only submit to the Crown Prince to save us?"
Song Xibai was surprised. When she looked up, she found that her elder brother's eyes were red.
"Brother, it's not what you think."
Song Xibai quickly explained.
"His Highness the Crown Prince and I initially cooperated, but only to treat his illness..."
Song Xibai recounted how she met the Crown Prince before finally speaking.
"His Highness is a very good person, that's why I accepted him."
Song Xinian breathed a sigh of relief and asked again and again, "Really? How does His Highness treat you? Is the Crown Princess easy to get along with?"
Song Xibai naturally agreed.
As they were talking, the carriage had already reached the door, and the Crown Prince gently helped Song Xibai into the carriage.
The two waved goodbye to Song Xinian through the carriage window, and the carriage slowly headed towards the palace.
Song Xibai leaned on the Crown Prince's shoulder, her face showing sadness.
“My dad’s personality has changed a lot in the last two years.”
She was startled and flustered, crying and laughing all of a sudden; she didn't seem like the father she remembered who always had a smile on his face.
“Your elder brother is quite composed,” the Crown Prince said.
Song Xibai's eyes dimmed: "I only just found out that my sister-in-law is gone... I don't know how my brother got through it."
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