The banquet began, and everyone took their seats.
On either side of the Fourth Prince sat Lady Geng and Lanqin, while Hongzhou and Lady Wukuzha naturally sat beside Lady Geng, and Hongli and Mingyu sat beside Lanqin.
As Geng's personal maid, Qiu Yun naturally could not be seated. Although Qiu Yun was adopted by Geng as her goddaughter, and her status was different from that of a maid, how could her status and position be compared with Hongli and Hongzhou, let alone sitting at the same table with the Fourth Prince and Lanqin?
Even if Madam Geng liked Qiu Yun very much, she would not let her sit down. So Madam Geng had Qiu Yun stand behind her to serve her.
"Don't be shy, we're all family, so feel free to relax," Lanqin said with a smile, looking at everyone present.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll first offer a toast to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager." Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Lady Geng glanced at Hongzhou without making a sound, then raised the wine cup filled with wine on the table to toast the Fourth Prince and Lanqin.
As the saying goes, "No one knows a son better than his mother." But Hongzhou, standing to the side, naturally understood what Geng Shi meant. Geng Shi wanted Hongzhou to gain more opportunities in front of the Fourth Prince and wanted to make arrangements for Hongzhou's future as soon as possible. At least after Hongli ascended the throne, she wanted Hongli to be more wary of the Fourth Prince and treat Hongzhou better.
Hongzhou didn't want to go against Geng's wishes, so he and Wukuzha raised their wine cups to toast Fourth Master and Lanqin, just like Geng.
After several rounds of drinks, Lady Geng wanted to stay in the palace for a few more days so that Hongzhou and the Fourth Prince could spend more time together, but she had no reason to stay any longer. So she stood up and said slowly, "Your Majesty, I shall return now."
Fourth Master nodded slightly.
Upon hearing Geng's words, Lanqin paused slightly and subconsciously glanced at Hongzhou beside Geng, but quickly withdrew the reluctance from her eyes.
Although Lanqin's gaze never fell on Hongzhou, how could Hongli, who was standing to the side, not notice Lanqin's reluctance to part with Hongzhou? Ever since he learned that Hongzhou was his own brother, Hongli understood that his mother must feel very guilty towards Hongzhou, so he took the initiative to say to Hongzhou, "Why don't you stay in the palace for a few more days?"
Upon hearing Hongli's words, Hongzhou first glanced at Gengshi. Seeing that Gengshi had no objection, and that the Fourth Prince and Lanqin also nodded in agreement, Hongzhou agreed to stay in the palace for a few more days.
Seeing Hongli and Hongzhou enjoying their drinks, Mingyu started chatting with Wukuzha beside her. Their conversation naturally revolved around their children, as Mingyu had just given birth to a princess, and Wukuzha had seen the exquisitely beautiful baby. She couldn't help but think of the prematurely deceased Yongying, feeling saddened. "I don't have my sister's good fortune," she said. "Since giving birth to Yongshuo, I haven't had any more children."
Seeing the sadness in Wu Kuzha's eyes, Mingyu gently comforted her, "There will definitely be more, Prince He is so good to his sister-in-law."
Wu Kuzha knew that Mingyu was trying to comfort her, but on such a day, Wu Kuzha couldn't show such a worried look, so she smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
Lanqin felt comforted to see her sisters-in-law laughing and joking together.
Seeing the harmonious relationship between Hongli and Hongzhou, Lanqin felt very gratified. She said to Gengshi, "From now on, Hongzhou will be Hongli's right-hand man. It is truly gratifying to see the brothers getting along so well."
Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Madam Geng was still somewhat worried, but she couldn't show it, so she could only nod in agreement.
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