I almost fooled myself while acting.

Although I didn't receive the reward I had hoped for today, overall it was not bad.

Sun Jian could actually see that Emperor Ganwu intended to promote him to a higher rank or bestow upon him a generous reward.

But he didn't do it in the end.

The reason behind it is quite simple, and Sun Jian could naturally guess it.

That's simply because today's events are top secret, something that cannot be revealed to outsiders.

Although Emperor Ganwu has been successfully "extended" by Sun Jian using modern medicines and equipment, it is best not to let the outside world know about this, so as to avoid causing unnecessary turmoil.

Sun Jian's entry into the palace might not have been kept secret from the eyes and ears of many powerful forces, but they didn't know exactly what he was doing there or what his purpose was; they could only guess.

If Emperor Ganwu had blindly and immediately rewarded Sun Jian for this, it would have raised suspicions about his motives.

They might just guess the reason for Emperor Ganwu's serious illness.

Everyone knew that Emperor Ganwu's health was deteriorating.

He suffered serious injuries in his youth, and after ascending the throne, he worked tirelessly day and night. In addition, he was getting old, so it was only a matter of time before his health began to decline. They just didn't know that Emperor Ganwu was already terminally ill.

Furthermore, Sun Jian was known as a divine physician, so he was urgently summoned to the palace and then richly rewarded before leaving. This made it easy for those with a discerning eye to guess the reason behind this.

Emperor Ganwu certainly wanted to keep Sun Jian firmly tied to the imperial family. He didn't care about Sun Jian's three wives and concubines at all. Appreciating and relying on Sun Jian was completely different from this point, because political objectives were the most important!

He wanted to marry his daughter to Sun Jian, but he needed to find a suitable opportunity, since it was the Crown Prince's wedding day.

In fact, Sun Jian was unaware that Emperor Ganwu had long harbored this intention; otherwise, he would not have repeatedly brought Princess Changle, Li Ganrou, to see Sun Jian, nor would he have allowed Sun Jian to accompany Princess Changle.

————

After leaving the palace, Sun Jian did not return to his hometown immediately but went directly to the Eastern Palace. The day after tomorrow was the day of the Crown Prince's wedding, and he, as the officiant, had not yet shown his face at the Eastern Palace.

While others were busy with various tasks, Sun Jian naturally couldn't stay out of it, otherwise he would be criticized sooner or later, and he wouldn't even be able to get past Li Gancheng.

When Sun Jian arrived at the gate of the East Palace, he was shocked by the grand scene.

Red curtains were hung on the streets around the East Palace gate, and the character "囍" (double happiness) was posted everywhere. Even the ground was covered with red carpets.

Red lanterns hung on both sides of the road, along with many red silk ribbons.

The place was bustling with people coming and going, mostly members of the royal family or those with royal bloodlines, who were busy running around.

There were countless servants, maids, eunuchs, and similar servants.

After all, this is His Highness the Crown Prince's wedding; who would dare not take it seriously?

After Sun Jian entered, many people who knew him came forward to greet him and exchange pleasantries. Some people and ministers who had always wanted to get to know Sun Jian had been waiting at the gate of the East Palace for a long time.

Seeing the Sun family members at this moment is like seeing a fan of his idol in later generations. They are so excited that they can jump up. Wherever Sun Jian goes, countless people bow and pay their respects to him, clasping their hands in a gesture of admiration.

Sun Jian's current status is that of a top figure in the Great Gan region, and his various deeds and abilities are already well known to everyone.

Fortunately, this was the entrance to the Eastern Palace, and most of the people who could greet Sun Jian were either members of the imperial family or high-ranking officials.

Ordinary people have no right to even approach this place, let alone appear here.

Sun Jian couldn't believe that even these members of the royal family and court officials were so respectful to him, and so excited to see him, bowing and admiring him from afar. If it were ordinary people, wouldn't the scene be even more exaggerated?

Sun Jian didn't bother to greet each of them individually. Regardless of whether he knew them or not, and no matter how excited they were to see him, Sun Jian simply nodded in response, but did not stop walking.

Now that we've arrived at the Eastern Palace, the most important thing is naturally to see my brother, the Dragon.

As for things that should be learned according to etiquette, and other matters, those can be discussed after we have met Li Gancheng.

In fact, judging from the timeline, Sun Jian should have been in the Eastern Palace this morning. According to the laws of the Great Gan Dynasty, the person in charge of the Crown Prince's wedding is basically not allowed to leave the Eastern Palace for the next three days, as there are many things that need to be taken care of.

It was only because Mi Zhu and Lin Jingsi did so many things within Sun Jian's responsibilities that Sun Jian was able to have a half-day of leisure.

————

Inside the study of the East Palace.

Li Gancheng stood there helplessly, like a puppet on a string.

He stretched out his arms, allowing a group of maids to change his clothes, his expression as if his soul had been ripped away.

From the time of Mao (5-7 AM) today until now, he has changed into hundreds of wedding outfits, and he is still not finished.

Judging by his appearance, he probably has hundreds more outfits to change into.

The torment he felt made Li Gancheng have absolutely no expectations for his upcoming wedding; all that remained was the word "torture."

Standing opposite Li Gancheng were numerous eunuchs and maids from the Imperial Household Department, including, of course, three of Emperor Ganwu's concubines who had watched Li Gancheng grow up.

Even Princess Chang Le, Li Ganrou, and Princess Taiping, Li Ganxue, both legitimate princesses, were present.

The day after tomorrow is their elder brother's wedding day, which can be considered the most important thing to do right now.

The two princesses, who were usually confined to the palace, naturally wanted to come and see what was happening.

There were three concubines, Princess Chang Le (Li Ganrou), and Princess Taiping (Li Ganxue), making a total of five people.

The eunuchs and palace maids kept changing the clothes of Crown Prince Li Gancheng, while they began to score each new outfit and decoration.

After returning all the nearly 600 sets of clothes, they needed to choose eight sets for their wedding day.

According to custom, these eight sets of clothes are worn for eight different periods of time: before the wedding, at the beginning of the wedding, during the ceremony, for the sacrifice, for the worship, for the kowtow, after the wedding, and in the bridal chamber.

Ordinary people may have difficulty even eating, let alone dressing, but look at the crown prince, who has more than 600 gorgeous outfits to choose from in just one day of his wedding, not even counting accessories.

Moreover, almost every one of these 600-plus outfits is top-notch, inlaid with various agates, jades, gold, and glass, and even the thread used is gold thread. The silk weaving technique was also completed by top-notch nannies working overnight.

One can only imagine how luxurious it was...