Princess Nanyi was initially under some pressure, seeing Princess Shouchun's dance so poor that she wasn't even worthy of carrying her shoes. Princess Nanyi, however, remained calm and composed, her dance becoming even more graceful and elegant, making Princess Shouchun look like a nobody.

When Princess Shouchun was dancing, the Emperor's expression turned sour. He glanced at Empress Song, who felt as if she were being pricked by thorns. When Princess Nanyi was dancing, the Emperor glanced at Empress Song again, and she felt as if thorns had suddenly sprouted from the phoenix chair beneath her, making it impossible for her to sit still.

It wasn't a big deal that Princess Shouchun couldn't dance as well as Princess Nanyi, but Empress Song knew her daughter's limitations perfectly well, yet she still wanted to save face. As a result, she couldn't save face and lost even more face.

Empress Song not only lost face herself, but also made the Emperor lose face. Empress Song always praised Princess Shouchun in front of the Emperor, and the concubines flattered Empress Song and praised her with all their might, making the Emperor really think that Princess Shouchun was no less than Princess Nanyi, and he trusted her to take the throne. In fact, she had been fooling him, the Emperor, for so many years.

Princess Shouchun's dance was so impressive that Princess Nanyi didn't even bother to utter a few words of mockery; she was simply not worthy of being mocked.

Princess Nanyi sat down with a disdainful expression.

She said nothing, but that made Princess Shouchun even more embarrassed than if she had.

The Second Prince of Donglie raised his cup and laughed, "This trip to Da Chu has truly broadened my horizons, especially the security of the capital. The officials of the City Patrol Division are not of high rank, but ordinary yamen runners dare to arrest even their superiors, which is truly shocking."

"When we return to Donglie, I will report to my father and ask him to encourage Donglie to learn more from Da Chu."

The Second Prince of Donglie praised the city patrol officers, which greatly improved the Emperor's expression.

Since Prince Yanping and Tang Ze joined the City Patrol Division, the security in the capital has indeed improved a lot, which is obvious to all. It is commendable that Tang Ze and his colleagues put aside their own family for the greater good, but what is even more commendable is that ordinary yamen runners dare to arrest their superiors. The City Patrol Division follows a principle from top to bottom. If other government offices could follow the same principle, how could we not create a peaceful and prosperous era?

Looking at Prince Yanping, Tang Ze, and other aristocratic scions who were close to Xie Jingyan, such as Xu Ji and Chen Ji, the Emperor vaguely saw a golden age ahead.

The emperor suddenly became much happier, and the banquet continued.

After several rounds of drinks, the eldest prince brought up the matter of hunting, and stood up to say to the emperor, "Father, I would like to invite the Crown Prince of Xiliang and the Second Prince of Donglie to go hunting in Xishan. The Prince of Yanping and the others are skilled in martial arts and are also from the city patrol. I request that you allow them to accompany us on that day."

The more people hunt, the more lively it becomes. If Prince Yanping and his entourage go along, they can both accompany the hunt and ensure everyone's safety, killing two birds with one stone.

The eldest prince's arrangements are fine; the emperor has approved them.

For Prince Yanping and his entourage, patrolling the city was just a job, and going hunting was also a job; there wasn't much difference between them.

That's settled then.

The welcoming banquet lasted for more than an hour before it ended. After the banquet, civil and military officials left the palace with their families.

The Empress Dowager did not appear at the welcoming banquet. Princess Huyang was preparing to take her son, Du Cheng'an, to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, but Du Cheng'an did not want to go and said, "Mother, I have other matters to attend to, so I will leave the palace with Tang Ze and the others."

Before Princess Huyang could agree, Du Cheng'an quickly ran away.

Princess Huyang watched her son disappear in a flash and glared at her husband, saying, "You let An'er join the city patrol, and now he's practically become the shadow of Prince Yanping and his ilk."

The Imperial Son-in-Law looked at Du Cheng'an and Lu Cheng with their arms around each other's shoulders and said with a smile, "There's nothing wrong with that."

Princess Huyang tried to find something wrong with him, but she couldn't. As a mother, she cared about her son's marriage, but the Prince of Yanping and his sons cared even more about it. They not only urged Du Cheng'an to find a girl he liked, but also helped him come up with ideas. If they weren't genuinely good to An'er, An'er wouldn't have gotten so close to them.

Princess Huyang also knew that her son was afraid to see the Empress Dowager, because every time he saw the Empress Dowager, she would ask Du Cheng'an to associate more with the heir of the Duke of Maoguo.

Not to mention Du Cheng'an, even Princess Huyang was a little scared. On one side was the Empress Dowager, and on the other side was her son. She didn't want to disappoint the Empress Dowager, nor did she want her son to force himself.

Du Cheng'an and Lu Cheng rode out of the palace on horseback, following behind the carriage of the Prince of Ling's residence, chatting and laughing, enjoying themselves immensely.

When they arrived at the bustling street, Du Cheng'an, riding on horseback, saw a familiar face in the crowd. He waved and greeted the young man happily, but the young man glanced at him and ignored him.

Du Cheng'an's hand was still hanging in mid-air, looking rather embarrassed.

Upon seeing this, Tang Ze asked, "Who is that young man? You, the Emperor's nephew, the Empress Dowager's grandson, and the heir of the Duke of Du's mansion, are the ones who greet you, yet he doesn't even acknowledge you?"

Du Cheng'an scratched his forehead and said, "I told you about the boy who won the steamed bun contest against me at the lantern festival..."

Tang Ze looked incredulous. "With that small frame, she can eat fifty meat buns in one go?"

Du Chengan nodded, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either."

Tang Ze's gaze swept through the crowd and landed on the young man. He said, "A young prodigy, exceptionally talented."

Du Cheng'an, "...???"

Is having a huge appetite considered a special talent?

Does that mean he has another talent besides being good at archery?

Du Cheng'an was wondering if being able to eat a lot could be considered a talent when Tang Ze patted him on the shoulder and said, "What are you standing here for? Go chase after them!"

As he spoke, he lashed the rump of Du Cheng'an's horse with a whip.

Ma then led Du Cheng'an away.

Du Cheng'an was on horseback, completely dazed.

Why was he chasing after that boy for no reason?

Lu Cheng looked at Tang Ze strangely, "Why did you ask Du Cheng'an to chase after that boy?"

Tang Ze was stumped. He looked at Lu Cheng and coughed lightly, "I don't know either..."

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