Song Xibai didn't beat around the bush; after curtsying, he explained his purpose.
"I didn't want to bother Your Majesty, but I've encountered a small problem and wanted to ask for your permission."
"What is it?"
"It's all because I haven't been strict enough with my subordinates that this went wrong, sigh..." Song Xibai sighed dramatically, "Something is missing from my room."
The Crown Princess was genuinely surprised.
"What's missing?"
"It's nothing important, just a hairpin I brought from outside the palace. It's not worth much, but this matter is still not good. So, I wanted to ask Your Highness if it would be possible to search the residences of the other palace servants?"
Song Xibai spoke earnestly.
The Crown Princess refused without hesitation: "It's just a small hairpin. There's no need to make such a fuss. You can investigate it privately yourself and deal with it discreetly."
Searching the palace is a very big deal!
Let alone for a hairpin, even if the Crown Princess lost something valuable, she wouldn't openly search the palace; it wouldn't be good for her reputation.
Song Xibai looked disappointed, but did not continue to plead. Instead, she sighed and showed a sentimental expression.
“Then let’s just consider the hairpin lost! Sigh… Before the Crown Princess fell ill, nothing like this ever happened in our Eastern Palace. Now that Your Highness is better, it’s time to thoroughly investigate those under your command. It’s not a big deal that I only lost a hairpin, but Your Highness has many valuables here. It wouldn’t be good if they were also stolen.”
Before the Crown Princess could speak, Wei Zi, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer.
"Xi Liangdi should just mind her own business in her room."
Yao Huang tugged at her, and she stopped talking.
The Crown Princess said calmly, "I will take care of things in my quarters. If there is nothing else, Consort Xi, you may leave now!"
Song Xibai pretended not to notice the Crown Princess's displeasure, stood up and bowed, and did not forget to ask her with concern.
"I've noticed that Her Majesty's complexion is even better than when she was recuperating! Speaking of which, every medicine has its side effects; adding or subtracting even a fraction of the ingredients can drastically alter the outcome. When Her Majesty was bedridden, the affairs of the Eastern Palace were managed by someone else..."
Song Xibai casually rambled on, and sure enough, the Crown Princess's expression changed.
She then decided to stop while she was ahead and got up to take her leave.
As soon as Song Xibai left, the Crown Princess suddenly turned around and slapped Wei Zi.
Snap!
The crisp sound of the slap was particularly loud in the quiet room.
Wei Zi knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Your Majesty, it was my fault for being so talkative. Please forgive me!"
Yao Huang also knelt down, hurriedly begging for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, Wei Zi did not mean it, please don't take it to heart."
The Crown Princess's expression was cold and stern. Her gaze swept over the two of them, and she already had some suspicions in her heart.
When she was seriously ill, she couldn't care less about what was happening outside, so the two head palace maids were the ones who prepared the medicine.
Could it be that one of them betrayed me, which is why I've been sick for so long and haven't recovered?
In terms of suspicion, the Crown Princess is more suspicious than the Crown Prince.
Her eyes flickered, and it took her a long time to regain her composure. After waving the two men away, she summoned Granny Ding and Granny Hu.
"Have the subordinates been causing trouble lately?"
The two nannies exchanged a glance, and finally, it was Granny Ding who mustered up the courage to ask.
"Why does Your Majesty ask this?"
"Just now, Consort Xi came over and said she lost something," the Crown Princess said casually.
Ding Mama breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Your Highness, such things are inevitable in the palace. But don't worry, Your Highness, your things have been well taken care of by your servants and none of them have been stolen."
The Crown Princess immediately sensed something was amiss: "I've never lost anything? Then who has?"
"They're Zhao fans."
"Zhao fans?"
“Besides Zhao Fen, there are also those in the back hall,” Hu Mama added. “When Her Majesty was seriously ill, we old servants dared not disturb her with these trivial matters, so we did not report it.”
The Crown Princess's face darkened instantly, and she slammed her hand on the table.
"Fool! This is no small matter! Someone is clearly sabotaging us!"
Both Granny Ding and Granny Hu were startled and knelt down, repeatedly apologizing.
The Crown Princess rubbed her temples.
"Investigate thoroughly for me what else happened during the time I was ill! Start with Consort Guo."
Granny Ding was taken aback: "Consort Guo?"
"I originally thought Consort Xi was the most troublesome, but now it seems that she only relies on His Highness's favor. Now that a new concubine has entered the palace, she can't sit still. On the other hand, Consort Guo, without making a sound, was able to seize power in the palace while I was ill..."
The Crown Princess never cared who the Crown Prince favored. Her upbringing taught her that favor was only temporary, and only power was truly important. Therefore, she always held power tightly in her hands.
Originally, after she recovered from her illness, she took back the power of the palace from Consort Guo.
However, Song Xibai's words just now made the Crown Princess discover a problem.
Guo Liangyuan gave it to her so readily.
While she was ill for more than a month, Consort Guo held power in the palace for more than a month.
Is it possible that Guo Liangyuan contributed to his illness?
The Crown Princess narrowed her eyes.
Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.
Meanwhile, Song Xibai returned to the East Hall with ease, leaned against the soft couch, took a bowl of osmanthus lotus root starch from Wei Hong, and ate two bites with a smile.
"Now, let them fight it out! We can hide away and conserve our energy."
Wei Hong took the empty bowl, but couldn't help asking, "Should we just leave Guo Liangyuan alone? What if she pulls another trick?"
"Don't worry, Granny Fangqi has already taken action."
Song Xibai wiped her fingers with a handkerchief, leaned back on the soft pillow, and closed her eyes.
That night, a scream suddenly came from a side room in the rear hall.
The scream echoed through the night sky, startling everyone in the Eastern Palace.
Not long after, the Crown Princess, wearing a thick coat and with a bare face, led a large group of people from the front.
"What happened?"
The Crown Princess looked at the palace maid guarding the gate.
The palace maid was so frightened that she trembled and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
The Crown Princess glanced at her, and immediately someone dragged the palace maid away.
"Guo Liangyuan? Guo Liangyuan?"
The Crown Princess called out twice, but no one answered from inside the room.
She grew impatient and summoned two eunuchs, who then rammed the door open.
Thump!
Thump!
After two attempts, the door was finally forced open.
The Crown Princess, accompanied by her confidantes, crossed the threshold and entered the room.
The room was dark. It was time to rest, and all the other rooms had their candles out. Guo Liangyuan's room was no exception. Of the two rooms, only one candle remained on the dressing table in the bedroom.
Without the Crown Princess's instruction, someone cleverly lit the candles.
The group walked inside.
Soon, they saw Guo Liangyuan lying collapsed in front of the dressing table.
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