This Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was extremely grand. The palace where the banquet was held was Danxi Hall, which could accommodate thousands of people at the same time and had been used by the previous dynasty to receive foreign officials and hold state banquets.

The main hall was luxurious and magnificent. On the left and right sides, there were two huge pillars, each as thick as two people could hug, that stretched straight into the beams, seemingly reaching the clouds and connecting heaven and earth. On them were dragon patterns in relief, weaving through the white clouds, with the dragon's eyes and mouth wide open, showing the majesty of the royal family.

Gan Qiongying and Li Hua arrived at the banquet and found their seats corresponding to their respective statuses. The male and female guests were still not on the same side, and the layout was basically the same as the guest layout for the previous banquet for the Grand Princess of Huian.

The only difference is that Danxi Hall is exceptionally spacious, and in the very center of the seating area, there is a stage specifically for performances and even martial arts competitions.

Before the Emperor and Empress Dowager arrived, Gan Qiongying squeezed Li Hua's fingers under her sleeve before parting ways: "Tell me if anyone bullies you."

Who would bully the imperial son-in-law in such a setting? Even if the son-in-law is a merchant, he is still the son-in-law of the royal family. How could anyone be so out of their mind to bully someone from the royal family in the royal palace?

However, Li Hua liked Gan Qiongying's protectiveness of him very much, so he nodded seriously and secretly pinched Gan Qiongying's fingertips.

The two of them were doing little things under their sleeves that no one else could see, and a sweetness welled up in their hearts that no one else could understand.

After the two finally separated, they took their seats. Since the banquet could not begin without the presence of the person in charge, Gan Qiongying looked around the court officials and their families in the hall with great boredom.

Most of them were people Gan Qiongying didn't recognize at all. If Gan Qiongying didn't recognize them, it meant that Princess Duanrong didn't recognize them either, which meant that this person might not be active in Yindu often.

Gan Qiongying's gaze swept around and settled on Regent Sima Rui, who stood at the doorway, dressed in a crimson python robe, looking as noble and dignified as gold and jade.

At the entrance of the main hall, the regent, accompanied by a group of palace guards, was giving instructions. He himself was also wearing soft armor.

He should have been a distinguished guest at the banquet, but at this moment he was acting as the head of the guards, presiding over the arrangement of the guards and the positions of the ministers and their families.

This job seems a bit beneath him, not befitting the status of a regent, but it's actually an extremely lucrative one.

Anyone with even a little social skill can make a courtier feel specially valued by adding a couple of ambiguous remarks when assigning seats to them.

Everyone usually holds court in a large hall, but whether they are in court or not, frequent conversations will attract attention.

But today's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet is different. It is a royal banquet, and it is only natural for officials to appear. This is truly a perfect opportunity to win over the court officials.

Especially when the regent personally does this kind of work, it's equivalent to being "high above," and every courtier who passes by will respectfully bow and praise the regent for his hard work.

They made it sound like he was some kind of loyal and capable general who was actively sharing the emperor's burdens.

In Gan Qiongying's view, he was just trying to find some pitiful vanity in his comfortable position in the palace.

Ultimately, the regent still lacked confidence. After all, no matter how well he performed, if he dared to covet the throne, he would be a traitor.

He wanted these court officials to recognize and support him, so he tried to please each and every one of them.

Little did they know that while this method might work, if there isn't enough safe distance between those in power and those in power, it's like an idol living next door to their fans. Eventually, when the person in power takes over, they will be hampered by all the courtiers, leading to endless troubles.

The old witch was clearly trying to get the regent to win over the court officials at the banquet. The banquet was so grand that it was named after the frequent floods that had occurred along the coast and river in Zhangzhou this year. She claimed that the regent's wise decision to recognize and use people and to build preventative measures in advance had prevented the floods from harming the people and farmland as in previous years.

Every year, the floods destroy people's livelihoods and homes, but that's a minor matter. The most important thing is that the floods are often accompanied by plagues. This is indeed a real achievement, and the Regent has indeed taken preventative measures. It deserves to be commended and praised.

However, those officials who worked tirelessly day and night to prevent the autumn floods have not been mentioned at all in the court recently, and it is self-evident who they were working for.

Moreover, Zhangzhou was Kou Ningyu's stronghold, and Kou Ningyu was the Empress Dowager's right-hand woman.

The memorial requesting commendation was sent to the court this time, and every word praised the Regent for his wisdom, foresight, and compassion for the people.

It's still unknown how much of that is genuine.

Such a grand banquet, turning a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration into a birthday celebration, was all to promote the Regent's achievements. If the Regent hadn't been second only to the Emperor and already had no more titles to bestow, who knows what kind of scene the old witch would have created where officials were pleading for the Regent to be granted titles.

In Gan Qiongying's view, the mother and daughter had already narrowed their path.

But since their position is illegitimate, what can they do if they don't harbor such wicked thoughts? Are they suggesting that the regent is a child left behind by the late emperor? The age doesn't match up either.

Gan Qiongying pouted, feeling bored, and turned her gaze away, continuing to watch the scene. She soon noticed that Wen Xueling was sitting next to her again.

Speaking of which, Gan Qiongying hadn't seen Wen Xueling for a long time, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. The female lead is indeed the female lead; she's getting prettier and prettier. Today's makeup makes her look even more like an innocent little rabbit, so pitiful and endearing. The flower decoration between her eyebrows is exquisitely detailed, though a little over the top... Oh, I see.

Gan Qiongying discovered a corner of a brightly colored gauze robe beneath her dress.

Wen Xueling felt extremely uncomfortable under Gan Qiongying's gaze. When she noticed Gan Qiongying's eyes were fixed on the hem of her skirt, Wen Xueling immediately shrank back, and the hem of her brightly colored gauze robe was pulled back.

Gan Qiongying raised an eyebrow.

We've known each other for a while, yet she reacted so strongly to just one glance at the dress, even though I didn't ask her for a link to the same one.

Wen Xueling was genuinely afraid of Gan Qiongying; every time she encountered Princess Duanrong in their recent meetings, nothing good ever came of it.

She even turned her head to the other side of Gan Qiongying, clearly not intending to say a single word to her.

Gan Qiongying had no intention of chatting idly with Wen Xueling. After a while, a eunuch announced that the Grand Princess Hui'an had arrived, along with a group of imperial relatives.

Gan Qiongying immediately stood up from the table, ran to the doorway, and greeted Princess Hui'an with a smile.

Princess Hui'an seemed to be in good spirits. Since the last birthday banquet of Princess Hui'an, Gan Qiongying had sent gifts to Princess Hui'an's residence several times. Now that they met again, Princess Hui'an was naturally very friendly to Gan Qiongying.

Holding Gan Qiongying's hand, he said to the group of elderly relatives behind him, "This child is so filial and so considerate."

Those old relatives all followed the lead of the Grand Princess Huian. Even though they usually looked down on Gan Qiongying because of Princess Duanrong's reputation, they were all smiles and talked about how they also had granddaughters and grandsons of similar age, and asked Gan Qiongying to visit their homes often.