The prince's arm around her tightened involuntarily.
"I'm sorry, Qingqing."
He sighed softly.
Song Xibai pursed her lips and remained silent.
Her elder brother was five years older than her, and he and his wife had been happily married for many years. Although his wife's surname was Zhao, she had no relation to the Zhao family to which the Crown Princess belonged; she was just the daughter of an ordinary scholar.
In Song Xibai's memory, his sister-in-law was a gentle and traditional woman. She was a good cook, skilled at needlework, and always spoke softly, never blushing. Her only flaw was her weak constitution, especially after giving birth to Qianqian, which left her with health problems that, even after two years of recuperation, had not fully healed.
At the time, the eldest brother wanted to divorce his wife and let her return home because he didn't want her to suffer with him.
Unexpectedly, the usually gentle sister-in-law lost her temper for the first time, refusing to divorce and insisting on staying with her brother.
When Song Xibai secretly visited them, her sister-in-law comforted her, telling her to take care of herself and not to worry.
Who would have thought that meeting would be their last?
Song Xibai closed her eyes, feeling a dull ache in her heart.
At that moment, an indescribable anger welled up inside her.
Anger towards the person who sits on the dragon throne and decides life and death based solely on his whims.
Because of his misplaced anger, their family was separated for many years, and they couldn't even feel resentment when someone died.
Because it represents the supreme imperial power.
Song Xibai opened her eyes.
For a fleeting moment, the Crown Prince sensed that Song Xibai's gaze had turned exceptionally cold.
A sense of panic welled up in his heart, and he quickly pulled Song Xibai into his arms.
"Qingqing, I will definitely give the Song family justice in this matter. You can trust me."
But as Song Xibai leaned against him, she wondered: What if one day, after the Crown Prince ascended the throne and became emperor, he would gradually become like the current emperor?
She shook her head vigorously.
No, I will never allow such a thing to happen.
Her state of mind began to change at that moment.
The carriage returned silently to Donghua Gate. Song Xibai silently followed the Crown Prince back to the East Palace. As soon as she entered the palace gate, she rubbed her temples.
"Your Highness, I'm not feeling well, so I'll rest now and won't keep you any longer."
The Crown Prince knew she was in a bad mood, so he didn't say much. After offering a few words of comfort, he watched Song Xibai leave and then turned and went to the front hall.
When Song Xibai returned to the east side hall, Wei Hong and Ding Xiang, who were guarding the door, immediately pulled her inside.
Dingxiang was startled when she saw her pale face.
"Didn't you say you were going out to see your dad and brothers today? Why do you come back looking like this? Did you see a ghost?"
Song Xibai twitched the corners of her mouth, revealing a helpless expression.
"I'm a little tired."
With that, she walked a few steps to the bedroom and lay down on the bed.
Dingxiang was worried, so she carefully took Dingxiang's pulse and found that Dingxiang's emotions were fluctuating greatly, and she frowned.
"You're a doctor, for goodness' sake! How can you be so careless with your own health? You're pregnant!"
After saying that, Dingxiang turned to Wei Hong and instructed her to brew a bowl of calming medicine.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
Song Xibai pressed the pillow over her head and said softly.
My sister-in-law is gone.
Dingxiang was startled: "What happened? How did it disappear?"
“My sister-in-law was frail and didn’t make it through the first winter. My father and brother didn’t write to tell me because they were afraid I would worry… Dingxiang, I don’t know what to do now… My sister-in-law treated me like her own mother, but she’s dead and I can’t avenge her.”
"revenge?!"
Ding Xiang's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly turned to look at the door, and after confirming that the door was closed, she pulled Song Xibai along.
"Saying such things in the palace, are you out of your mind?"
Dingxiang grabbed the soft pillow, only to be shocked to find that it was soaked. Looking down, she saw that Song Xibai's face was covered in tears, and he was crying like a baby.
"If you're going to cry, cry in front of the Crown Prince! Let him be enraged for his beloved! If you cry to me, I can't help you get revenge!"
Dingxiang scratched her hair.
Song Xibai was so upset by her words that she couldn't even cry anymore.
"You could at least say something to comfort me!"
"My grandfather said that people come into this world to suffer, and it might be a good thing to die sooner!"
Dingxiang, to put it nicely, is slow to perceive things; to put it bluntly, she's carefree and thoughtless.
Besides, she didn't know Song Xibai's sister-in-law at all, so she really couldn't empathize with her.
However, she is still very loyal to her friends.
"If you're unhappy, I'll lock all the doors and windows and join you in cursing that stinking emperor, how about that?"
Song Xibai was speechless and sat up.
"What's the use of that?"
"What else can we do? That's the emperor! Do you really want to assassinate the emperor to avenge your sister-in-law? Your father and brothers would never agree to that."
Song Xibai fell silent again.
This wicked feudal society!
Dingxiang patted her arm: "No matter what, the most important thing right now is the baby in your belly. Take care of the baby first, and then think about other things after the baby is born safely! Otherwise, with your overthinking nature, I'm really afraid that something unexpected might happen."
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai placed her hand on her lower abdomen.
The thought of this child having to call the emperor "grandpa" made Song Xibai feel nauseous.
Once that feeling came over me, I couldn't hold back anymore.
Song Xibai's expression changed, and she pushed Dingxiang away in time, then suddenly started vomiting.
This startled Dingxiang, who hurriedly went to call Fuliu in.
After Fuliu and Juqing tidied up the house, Wei Hong came in carrying a freshly brewed calming soup.
Song Xibai leaned weakly against the bed, looking at the bowl of calming soup. The nausea that had just been suppressed rose up again.
Wei Hong hurriedly took the soup bowl out, and when she came back in, she couldn't help but look worried.
"It's only been a little over a month, and the master has already shown signs of it. I'm afraid it will be difficult to hide this from the Crown Princess."
Song Xibai wanted to say that she wasn't experiencing morning sickness, but was simply feeling nauseous.
But I can't say that, so I'll just let Wei Hong misunderstand!
She rinsed her mouth, her mind a jumble of thoughts, and soon lay down to sleep.
The next day, when Song Xibai opened her eyes, she was startled to see the Crown Prince sitting at the head of the bed.
"When did Your Highness arrive?"
The prince reached out and touched her eyes.
Are you feeling better?
Song Xibai then noticed that her eyelids were swollen, and quickly turned to the side to avoid the Crown Prince's hand.
"Your Highness, please don't look."
"What are you doing, Qingqing? I've seen you in every way imaginable." The Crown Prince chuckled, turned her around, and stared intently at her face. "No matter what you look like, Qingqing, you are the most beautiful in my heart."
When the Crown Prince speaks sweet words, it can be quite overwhelming.
Song Xibai muttered to himself, but still smiled on the surface.
"I hope that decades from now, Your Highness will say the same thing, and not complain that I am old and ugly."
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