The scene quickly became lively, attracting the attention of many people at the banquet. Gan Qiongying helped the Grand Princess Hui'an to her seat, followed by a group of royal relatives. It was truly a display of boundless wealth and the inviolability of imperial power.

They have almost stolen the limelight from the Regent who stood at the door as a doorman for half a day.

Although the old clansmen had some influence in the court, they did not enter the court and were not controlled by power. They had always shown no respect to the regent, who was supposedly second only to the emperor.

To put it bluntly, they looked down on him, a prince of a different surname. In the hearts of the old clansmen, only those with royal blood were family. Even the Empress Dowager was just a daughter-in-law to them.

But the old witch and the little demon king couldn't do anything about these old things, because most of these old things had officials in charge of remonstrance, and they usually liked to pretend to be cultured and had close relationships with contemporary Confucian scholars.

If we were to actually harm them, it would bring nothing but harm and only earn us a bad reputation in history.

After this group of imperial relatives entered, the ministers in the court naturally stepped forward to greet them.

Gan Qiongying was merely getting up to greet someone, but the Regent Prince went from being the protagonist of the banquet to a mere "doorman." He stood at the door, looking in Gan Qiongying's direction with a half-smile, his anger rising in his eyes.

Gan Qiongying spoke a few words with Grand Princess Huian, expressing her longing for Gan Lin. Grand Princess Huian smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling at the corners of her mouth, because recently she had used the gyrfalcon that Gan Qiongying had given her to send letters to her youngest daughter, Xiji, several times. She would receive a reply the next morning after sleeping for one night, as if her youngest daughter was still by her side and had never left.

The main hall became lively with the arrival of the Grand Princess Huian and her relatives. Soon after, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor also arrived.

Gan Qiongying was sitting to the lower left of the main seat. When she saw Gan Lin helping the Empress Dowager into the hall, she winked at Gan Lin, who quickly returned the wink.

Gan Qiongying even wondered if the Empress Dowager would jump up on the spot if Gan Lin pinched her arm hard right now.

Definitely not.

Kou Ning'an is an extremely dignified person. She always dresses herself up like a ceramic doll, carefully crafting a shell of "virtuous, kind, and benevolent" for herself. No matter what heinous things she wants to do, she will hide inside the shell. How could she be willing to lose her composure in public?

Gan Lin seemed to know that Gan Qiongying was up to no good. His eyes darkened slightly, signaling her not to act rashly.

Never before had the siblings been able to unite as they had when they were children, fighting against the wicked servant, even though their circumstances remained unchanged.

Gan Qiongying was just thinking about it. She and everyone else in the hall stood up to welcome the emperor and empress dowager to their seats.

Next, Gan Lin instructed everyone to rise and take their seats.

Then the regent stepped forward and, on behalf of the emperor, offered some auspicious words of congratulations to all the court officials on their family reunions.

Ironically, even the Empress Dowager didn't dare let the Emperor say these opening remarks himself, as if she was afraid that the ministers would immediately turn against her if the Emperor said just a few words.

Soon the banquet began. As soon as the eunuchs announced the ceremony, the palace servants who had been waiting for a long time carried the delicacies into the hall in an orderly manner.

The sounds of string and wind instruments accompanied the graceful steps of the dancers. Their brightly colored gauze skirts fluttered across the stage that ran through the banquet hall. Gan Qiongying, who had been focused on the dishes, immediately remembered something when she saw the brightly colored skirts and turned her head to look at her side.

Sure enough, the seat next to me was already empty.

Wen Xueling's brightly colored robe was a dance skirt!

Soon, Gan Qiongying saw Wen Xueling, who had removed her outer garments and was dressed in a brightly colored dance costume, right in the middle of the group of dancers, inside a huge lotus flower that was being carried.

Gan Qiongying slapped her thigh.

She didn't see it at all!

This is really outrageous. Does the female lead have to dance this dance?

Gan Qiongying reached out and touched her forehead, feeling both amused and exasperated. Wen Xueling was really going all out for this dance; she didn't even announce the program before jumping on stage, as if she was afraid of being stopped halfway through.

She looked up as well, her gauze skirt spinning rapidly with the blooming petals. Wen Xueling held a lotus flower and spun it like a top on the stage.

It must be said that she does have some skill; she looks good, it's a visual treat, with skin as smooth as jade and a graceful figure.

Like a lotus flower that has come to life, the innocence in her eyes and the purity of her makeup added a lot to her dance.

Moreover, her movements, such as splits and backbends in the air, were very precise. Gan Qiongying didn't know how to judge dance professionally, but from a layman's perspective, Wen Xueling's dance was indeed very entertaining.

No wonder she was able to win the hearts of several men with just one dance.

At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to Wen Xueling. Suddenly, a gasp came from the crowd, coming from the women.

Because flower petals began to emerge from Wen Xueling's sleeves, and with a leaping and spinning motion, the petals burst open, like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

Gan Qiongying was stunned by what she saw.

However, Gan Qiongying was startled because Wen Xueling had thrown the flower petals into her soup bowl.

Hate.

She loves drinking old duck soup the most.

When she leaves the arena, we'll trade her the bowl she didn't manage to throw!

When Wen Xueling finished her dance, the beautiful woman was covered in sweat and bowed to take her bow. Most of the men in the audience still had their eyes glued to Wen Xueling.

It was indeed very beautiful. Wen Xueling's dance costume was very light and thin, and the upper part was light-colored. Under the brilliant lights, it had a beauty that was like she was half-naked.

After Wen Xueling finished her dance, she raised her chin like a proud little peacock, and the first person she looked at was not her husbands, but Gan Qiongying.

She lowered her chin towards Gan Qiongying, as if to say—So? I still jumped, and I'll make you swoon!

Gan Qiongying wasn't captivated, but she knew that many people would be charmed by Wen Xueling tonight.

She steered the narrative back to her role as the most popular woman.

And just when Gan Qiongying thought it was time for the curtain to fall, the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke up: "If I am not mistaken, is that Princess Xue'e on stage?"

The Empress Dowager was speaking to Gan Lin, who could only nod with a forced smile: "Yes, Mother."

"Good, very good... The King of Jingxi's beloved daughter is indeed extraordinary."

The Empress Dowager herself looked even more like a delicate white flower than Wen Xueling, yet she insisted on adopting an old-fashioned demeanor and tone, as if this would elevate her status. She said slowly and deliberately, "Your Majesty, Princess Xue'e has been in the capital for some time now, hasn't she?"

"Yes, Mother." Gan Lin repeated, always remembering to be a perfect puppet.

Gan Qiongying understood what was going on when she heard this. It turned out that Wen Xueling had somehow gotten involved with the Empress Dowager, and the two of them were working together to stir up trouble.