"Sure, you go and welcome Princess Duanjing first. Once she's settled, bring her over to play more often. Fourth Prince can also play with his second sister more often!"

Consort Duan and Consort Wan officially became allies, and Consort Wan was quite friendly to her own people.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely bring Duanjing to kowtow to Sister Chen. I will take my leave now!" Seeing that Wanyi had brought tea, Duanpin didn't say anything more, bowed, and turned to leave.

"Consort Duan is so lucky to have gotten a princess for free!" In Furong's opinion, both princes and princesses are precious.

"Man proposes, God disposes. If the Imperial Noble Consort doesn't want Duanjing to leave Chengqian Palace, she will naturally try to keep the news under wraps. But how could I let her have her way!" The more you try to keep me here, the more I will take me away.

"Recently, Yinzhen seems to have been much more obedient!" Wanyi felt something was off, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong. Plus, she was pregnant and feeling listless, so she put it aside. After all, he was her son.

"The Fourth Prince is so intelligent at such a young age; he is destined for great things!" Furong said subtly, but what she meant was that he was someone who could compete for the position.

Meanwhile, Yinzhen, who was tirelessly learning to speak and trying to gather information, was completely unaware that his mother had become suspicious of him.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day of the New Year's banquet. Every concubine in the harem was putting in her best effort to dress up and outshine everyone else at the banquet.

"It's the same every year, doesn't it get boring? Doesn't the Imperial Noble Consort want to come up with something new?"

Consort Wen looked at the people coming and going below, feeling angry. She had only been in power for less than a month when the Imperial Noble Consort took it back, and she was only assigned some repair work. How could she not be angry?

"You have the authority to manage things. If you have any ideas, you can suggest them to the Imperial Noble Consort. However, whether or not she agrees in the end is up to her!"

Wanyi was also annoyed! But she had no choice but to attend. She didn't bring the Fourth Prince along because she was unwell, but she did bring him to Shou Kang Palace to pay her respects in the morning.

"Then it's better not to say anything!" Isn't this a waste of her breath? They're mortal enemies, how could they possibly listen to your opinion!

"The Imperial Noble Consort has reviewed the banquet program for His Majesty. Is there anything Consort Wen is dissatisfied with? She can bring it up, and we can discuss it when His Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort arrive."

Consort Sun was released because it was the New Year's banquet today, so when Consort Wen spoke, she seized the opportunity to say something. Consort Sun was arrogant and proud. She was pregnant with the emperor's child, so Consort Wen dared not do anything to her. Otherwise, she would not have provoked Consort Wen and Consort Wan like this.

"Although the makeup is the same, she is not me after all. What is there to be proud of!" Wanyi looked disdainfully at Consort Sun in the second row behind.

"Although I resemble Consort Chen, I am still a living, breathing person. His Majesty will eventually see my good qualities. As for what I will become, Consort Chen need not worry about that!"

So what if she's a stand-in? One day, she'll make the Emperor love her as much as he loves Consort Chen.

"Then I'll watch!" Wan Yi's heart sank. It would have been better if Consort Sun hadn't been around, but now that she's appeared, she's still so arrogant and provoking her. How could Wan Yi possibly stand by and do nothing? She had to think of a way to deal with her.

A sudden silence fell, and the atmosphere became somewhat heavy. However, Wanyi and Consort Sun looked at each other. Consort Sun, leaning on her cane despite being pregnant with the emperor's child, was full of confidence and met Wanyi's eyes without fear.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

"The Imperial Noble Consort has arrived—" A eunuch's announcement suddenly broke the heavy atmosphere.

Emperor Kangxi walked in front, while the Imperial Noble Consort supported the Empress Dowager from behind. It was quite an odd sight, perhaps because Kangxi and the Empress Dowager were trying to avoid suspicion. After all, the Empress Dowager didn't look very old.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Noble Consort! May the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Noble Consort live a thousand years!" Wanyi followed the crowd in bowing to the three most honored people in the world.

"Rise!" After Kangxi sat down, he glanced at the densely packed kneeling crowd below before calling for them to rise. He only noticed a vacant seat because it was near the front.

"Who else hasn't arrived yet?" How dare she make me, the emperor, wait for her!

"Your Majesty, it seems that Consort Yi from Yikun Palace is absent. Perhaps I should send someone to urge her to come?"

The Imperial Noble Consort also noticed the empty seat. Since she had arranged the seating, she naturally knew whose seat it was.

"Your Majesty, it seems that Consort Guo is not here either. Could something have happened?" As soon as Wanyi arrived, she noticed that Consort Guo was not present, so she thought something must have happened.

"Indeed, Consort Chen has a sharp eye. I was only focused on watching His Majesty!"

Consort De smiled. She had not been favored by the Emperor for a long time, so she was naturally waiting for him. She thought that the Emperor favored Consort Chen the most, so she would try to please Consort Chen more, hoping that the Emperor would at least glance at her.

"Your Majesty..." Suddenly, a little eunuch whispered a few words in Liang Jiugong's ear, and then Liang Jiugong told Kangxi what had happened!

"Let the banquet begin!"

When Emperor Kangxi learned that Consort Guo had fallen on her way here and was about to give birth prematurely, and that Consort Yi was in charge of the banquet and therefore could not come, and that Emperor Kangxi was also in the middle of the banquet, and that a consort did not need so many concubines to wait for her, he ordered the banquet to continue and that she could come after the banquet.

"This year's song and dance performances are much more novel than usual!" the Empress Dowager said with a smile.

"If Your Majesty likes it, I will have them perform more often at Shou Kang Palace just for you!"

As Kangxi sipped his wine, he glanced at Wanyi every now and then, noticing that she was intently watching the song and dance performance, and responded to the Empress Dowager with a bored expression.

"They look like flowers, and the stamens are very beautiful!" Consort Wen looked at the dancers who were arranged in a circle, with several different clothes inside, all spread out to form a flower-like shape.

Suddenly, a shower of flowers appeared, and everyone retreated. A woman was seen waving a red silk ribbon in both hands, dancing gracefully with delicate, orchid-like fingers. As she danced closer, it became clear that she was very beautiful, comparable to Wanyi. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she exuded an indescribable gentleness.

Putting aside Emperor Kangxi, even Wanyi, who was used to seeing beauties in the harem, thought this dancer was very beautiful, a type that was not found in the harem, and could make people's eyes light up.

"This woman is the second daughter of Wang Gong, a bannerman of the Han Army. I had nothing to do, so I asked Granny Qiu to look for someone who was good at singing and dancing, hoping to bring her to keep me company, but I never had a reason. Today I finally saw her!"

The Empress Dowager had put a lot of thought into arranging this. She noticed that Kangxi was staring intently at Lady Wang. Although she didn't know what he was thinking, she could tell from his expression that she had made the right bet, so she gave him the reason why he could be brought into the harem.