As evening approached, the afterglow of the setting sun shone upon the Forbidden City, casting a beautiful golden hue over the already solemn structure.
In a side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the exhausted Hongli finally finished processing the last memorial. He put down the memorial and breathed a sigh of relief.
Hongli raised his hand to rub his slightly aching temples, closed his eyes to rest for a moment, and then slowly asked, "Chen Zi, what time is it now?"
Standing beside Hongli, Chen Zi respectfully replied, "Your Highness, it is already the hour of You (5-7 PM). The family banquet will begin in two hours."
Upon hearing Chen Zi's reply, Hongli slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the palace lanterns that were beginning to be lit outside the hall, and said, "Alright, let's go. It's still early, and we can get back in time."
After finishing, Hongli got up, walked out of the palace, and got into the carriage that had been waiting outside the palace to return to the Prince Bao's residence.
As soon as Hongli got off the carriage, Mingyu instructed the maids who were waiting for him outside to take him to the front yard. The maids brought the clothes that had been prepared in advance to Hongli and helped him change.
At this very moment, while Hongli was still changing his clothes, the three newly dressed princesses had already been led to the backyard by their maids.
Like the three newly dressed princesses, Gao, who had prepared the feast early that day, immediately returned to her courtyard to bathe and change clothes, and dressed up carefully.
After all, she was a newcomer to the household, and the proud and arrogant Lady Gao was unwilling to be outdone in front of her.
The same was true for Madam Su. Although she was not as brightly dressed as Madam Gao, she took out the jewelry she hadn't worn in a long time and even changed into a new dress.
After all, today is a rare day for the prince to return to the manor, so he must dress up nicely. Madam Su also wanted to please the prince.
Therefore, the backyard of Prince Bao's mansion was a dazzling display of beauty today, with all sorts of beauties gathered together. Mingyu, sitting in the main seat, was even more radiant than usual.
At this moment, Gao and Su, who were sitting to Mingyu's left, were talking with the three newly arrived princesses.
As early as when the new ladies entered the mansion, Madam Gao had taken a good look at the three new princesses. In particular, when Madam Gao saw the very beautiful Jin, alarm bells immediately went off in Madam Gao's heart, and she felt wary of Jin, who had just entered the mansion.
Sure enough, Gao, who had been unable to contain herself any longer, took the lead and said, "Sister Jin is so beautiful that even I am tempted, let alone the Prince. You will surely win the Prince's favor."
As soon as she said this, the women present all looked at Madam Jin, and they began to ponder what was going on in their minds.
However, Madam Jin was not so ignorant. She understood Madam Gao's thoughts and immediately said, "Sister Gao, you flatter me. The Fujin is beautiful and dignified, and Sister Gao is also very radiant. I am just a plain-looking girl."
Then she turned to the woman sitting to the side, Keliye, and continued, "The truly beautiful one is Keliye. Look at how dignified she is. I can only look up to her in admiration."
Given this, how could Keliyete not know that Jin was diverting trouble? Without a moment's hesitation, Keliyete immediately began to flatter Gao and the others.
Sitting to the side, Chen felt even more dejected when no one paid attention to her.
Seeing Chen's expression, Su thought, "Sister Chen is also very gentle and graceful."
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