"Speak if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned!" The emperor whispered a few words in Su Peisheng's ear, and then Minister of Rites Sun Jiacheng withdrew from the court.

"Minister Sun, the Emperor has summoned you to the Hall of Mental Cultivation!" Sun Jiacheng was stopped by Su Peisheng as he descended a few steps.

"I hope you will tell me what this is about, sir?" Although Sun Jiacheng usually looked down on this eunuch who followed the emperor and only knew how to flatter him, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered at being summoned by the emperor.

Seeing that even the Minister of Rites, who was usually somewhat arrogant, was trying to find out his thoughts, Su Peisheng said with a hint of pride, "Lord Sun, I am just a eunuch. How could I possibly know the Emperor's thoughts? Please come with me to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and you will naturally find out."

Sun Jiacheng was displeased, but he didn't say anything more. The two went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation one after the other.

Sun Jiacheng followed Su Peisheng into the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After paying his respects to the Emperor, he stood to the side and caught a glimpse of Ji Changming from the Imperial Observatory.

"Minister Sun, I summoned you here because I want to talk to you about something," the Fourth Prince said.

"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty," Sun Jiacheng said hastily.

“Prince Hongli has reached the age of marriage, and I hope that we can start preparing for his wedding now. This matter must be handled properly, and no mistakes will be tolerated,” the Fourth Prince said.

Seeing that Sun Jiacheng looked troubled, the Fourth Prince asked, "What's wrong? Do you have any objections, my dear minister?"

"Your Majesty, I will certainly handle the prince's marriage properly, but the preparation of the princess's dowry last time has already consumed a lot of manpower and resources. I hope Your Majesty will grant me some time." Sun Jiacheng said tactfully and pleadingly that the Ministry of Rites was overwhelmed with work and did not have enough manpower to handle Hongli's marriage at the moment.

"I will grant you a certain amount of time, hoping you can handle this matter properly." The Fourth Prince was slightly displeased. In the mighty Qing Dynasty, Sun Jiacheng dared to subtly suggest that there were no people to arrange marriages for his royal offspring. If this matter was not handled well, he might not be worthy of this official hat.

"Minister Ji, did you hear what I just said? Calculate the auspicious date for Hongli's marriage as soon as possible," the Fourth Prince said to Ji Changming, who was standing to the side.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will calculate the date as soon as possible." Ji Changming knew that the preparations for Princess Biechuke's wedding had just been completed not long ago, and now the preparations for Hongli's wedding were about to begin. It was probably obvious to anyone with eyes that the status of those in the harem was higher or lower.

"If you two ministers have nothing else to say, you may leave now," the Fourth Prince said, waving his hand.

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Sun Jiacheng stopped Ji Changming: "Lord Ji, what are your thoughts on His Majesty's eagerness to arrange Prince Hongli's marriage so quickly?"

"How could we possibly know what the Emperor is thinking? I only know that we need to calculate the auspicious date for the prince's marriage as soon as possible. Lord Sun, you should also expedite the wedding arrangements. I'll take my leave now, Lord Sun." Ji Changming cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Sun Jiacheng before departing.

"Why did His Majesty suddenly decide to bring forward Prince Hongli's wedding?" This Minister Sun was genuinely surprised, but he knew that the Emperor's thoughts were unfathomable. After considering the manpower of the Ministry of Rites and the preparations to be made, he had no choice but to hurry to the Ministry of Rites.

What Lord Sun didn't expect was that his conversation with Lord Ji had just been overheard by a passing eunuch.