The wedding proceeded smoothly, and the guests gradually relaxed and began to chat. The concubines were seated at one table, while the princes and their wives were seated at separate tables.

"Geng, Hongzhou did a great job with this wedding. It seems he'll be able to handle things on his own from now on!" Lanqin praised Geng. Hearing Lanqin say this, Geng was happy, but remained modest. "That child, all he does is play all day. He finally got something done. Your Hongli is so easy to take care of." As she spoke, she looked in Hongli's direction.

Hongli was being forced to drink by the princes. Originally, these were all Hongzhou's drinks, and he had just tried to stop them. Today was Hongzhou's wedding day, and he didn't want him to get drunk. However, all the princes turned their attention to him, so he had no choice but to drink them all.

Lanqin and Geng smiled with satisfaction; they had always treated these two children like their own sons. Seeing them helping each other naturally made them happy.

"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived!" came Eunuch Su's voice from outside. The guests hurriedly rose from their seats. The Fourth Prince said that today was Hongzhou's wedding, so these formalities were unnecessary, and everyone was asked to take their seats.

Everyone was secretly surprised to see the Emperor bring Empress Ulanara. The Emperor had already reduced her authority to the bare minimum, and never brought her along on important occasions.

Although the Empress is currently disliked, she remains dignified and generous, and her innate noble bearing cannot be ignored. Empress Ulanara's gaze swept lightly over Xueying, who noticed the reproach in the Empress's eyes and became extremely nervous.

The Emperor and Empress were seated at a separate table. "Lanqin, come sit here!"

Everyone was apprehensive when they heard the Emperor ask Lanqin to sit down. Although Lanqin had later taken over the Empress's power, it was truly inappropriate in this situation. It seemed the Emperor wanted to demonstrate Lanqin's importance to everyone.

Lanqin hadn't expected the usually thoughtful Fourth Master to do something so inappropriate, but she had no choice but to sit down beside him, her eyes filled with reproach. The Fourth Master watched Lanqin move to his side, his smile deepening.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Lanqin whispered in the Fourth Prince's ear. The Fourth Prince found Lanqin's cautiousness quite endearing, and his tone softened. "What? Are you unhappy that I let you sit beside me? I've been busy with palace affairs these past few days and haven't been to see you." The Fourth Prince teased.

Lanqin was touched to hear that Fourth Master was thinking of her constantly. However, she spoke sarcastically. "Although we haven't seen each other for several days, you shouldn't have called me here now. If you were..." Lanqin said calmly, but inwardly she was happy.

Empress Ulanara felt uneasy watching the frequent interactions between the two. She thought to herself that she would make Lanqin suffer the same fate as herself sooner or later.

After all the guests were seated, the Fourth Prince announced the official start of the banquet, and everyone returned to their previous lively state. Although they couldn't fully enjoy themselves because the Emperor was there, they were all very happy.

Amidst the boisterous atmosphere, the bride and groom bowed to heaven and earth, and to the Emperor and Empress. Lady Geng drank the new bride's tea. Lanqin watched all this, silently praying that Hongli and Hongzhou would always be so loving and respectful towards each other.

Finally, they entered the bridal chamber, and the wedding banquet was announced to have begun.