Because of the lotus banquet, the Fourth Prince arrived at Yuanmingyuan last night ahead of schedule and stayed at Jiuzhou Qingyan with Lanqin.
Lanqin was about to go out to greet the relatives, but the Fourth Prince, feeling sorry for her being so busy with the Lotus Banquet, forbade her to go. Lanqin couldn't persuade the Fourth Prince, so she had to stay with him at the Kyushu Qingyan.
The Fourth Prince comforted Lanqin, saying, "You've been working hard for the Lotus Banquet for several days now, and I've noticed you've lost a lot of weight. You shouldn't go to greet them anymore..."
Lanqin leaned on the Fourth Prince's shoulder and said uneasily, "These are all my duties, but today's banquet is attended by His Majesty's brothers and relatives. It would be inappropriate for me not to go and greet them..."
Fourth Master, however, disagreed and laughed, "You said it yourself, we're all family. Since it's a family dinner, there's no need for so much formality..."
Lanqin was still a little worried. The Fourth Prince patted Lanqin's shoulder and said with concern, "You would never have cared about these trivial matters before, and you were always carefree and unrestrained. Now you have to worry about rules and etiquette. It is I who..."
Lanqin knew what the Fourth Prince was going to say, so she sat up and stopped him from speaking, laughing, "Alright, alright, Qin'er doesn't want to think about it anymore... You are the Emperor, and what you say is an imperial edict... If you don't want Qin'er to go, then Qin'er won't go!"
As he spoke, the servant ran in to report the situation outside.
Lanqin was very curious about the situation outside and didn't know if her method had worked. She anxiously stared at the servant and asked, "Who have come? Have they been arranged?"
The servant reported, "Your Majesty, the Third Master's family has already arrived at Quyuan Fenghe to rest, the Fifth Master's family has been arranged to rest at Guanlan Hall, the Seventh Master's family has been arranged to rest at Pinghu Qiuyue, the Tenth Master and his Consort have arrived at Xiushan House, and the Eighth Master and his Consort have also arrived and are now being led by their private steward to Tongle Courtyard to rest. When I arrived, the Ninth Master's family had already arrived at the gate..."
Lanqin pressed further, "Was it crowded or chaotic when you arrived?"
The servant said, "Thanks to Her Majesty's plan to arrange parking spaces and a private steward in advance, everything went smoothly as Her Majesty predicted. As soon as the carriage arrived, there were people in charge of welcoming and receiving us, and the parking servants parked the carriage without any chaos. Everyone praised Her Majesty's plan for being effective."
Lanqin breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and said, "That's good, that's good..."
Fourth Master casually asked, "Why are the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Princes late?"
"Fourth Brother, who said we're late?" The Fourth Master's words had barely left his mouth when the Thirteenth Master's voice rang out. Then, the two of them strode across the threshold and walked in with smiles.
The servant withdrew, and Lanqin gave a slight bow.
The Thirteenth Prince smiled and bowed to Lanqin, saying, "Sister-in-law, you are simply amazing... I have never seen a banquet held at the Yuanmingyuan so smoothly entered, without any disputes or conflicts..."
Lanqin pouted and glanced sideways, then laughed, "Does Thirteenth Master want me to make a mistake?"
Thirteenth Prince laughed and waved his hand, crying out that he was wronged: "I was praising the Empress's wisdom. Only the Empress could have come up with such a thing as parking spaces and a private butler. It's truly ingenious, truly ingenious... I think even Eighth and Ninth Brothers are stunned..."
Seeing that the Thirteenth Prince praised Lanqin, the Fourth Prince was also very pleased and said with some pride, "Your sister-in-law's wisdom is not limited to this. You'll see for yourself in the future..."
Thirteenth Prince bowed to Fourth Prince and said earnestly, "Yes, Fourth Brother!"
The four of them then burst into laughter.
The Seventeenth Prince said to the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, several more princes will be arriving soon, and everyone attending the banquet should be almost there. The Empress Dowager's method is excellent, saving a lot of time, which is why we've come specifically to discuss this matter with you..."
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