The Grand Princess

TGP Chapter 38.1: Palace Banquet

“Li Rong confronts Consort Rou at the palace banquet.”
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The two of them probably slept for less than four hours when there was a knock on the door from outside. Jing Lan stood outside and respectfully said: “Your Highness, Prince Consort, please rise. His Majesty is hosting a banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony at noon today.”

Hearing this, Li Rong used all of her strength to open her eyes and give Pei Wenxuan a push: “Wake up, quickly wake up.”

Pei Wenxuan lifted his hand to cover his eyes and wrinkled his brows in suffering. After a while, he pushed himself up onto his feet and shook his head: “Wake up too.”

The two of them encouraged one another to wake up and get out of bed. They were about to leave, but the moment Li Rong moved, a piece of white silk fell down from the bed with her. The two of them had their eyes on the same white silk cloth, then Li Rong looked up at Pei Wenxuan: “You handle it.”

Pei Wenxuan reluctantly walked over and picked up the white silk cloth. He cut the side of his finger and stained the cloth with blood, then he threw it back onto the bed and called out to the people outside: “You may enter and serve.”

Jing Lan pushed the doors open and entered along with a group of maids that came forward and waited on them, helping both of them freshen up. The two of them changed into palace regalia, then they got onto the carriage and went to the palace.

On the way there, they were both so sleepy it was unbearable. Each one of them leaned into a corner of the carriage as they rested for a bit. They slept until they reached the palace when the two sensed the carriage coming to a stop, then they absentmindedly returned to their senses in this way.

The two of them stayed in the carriage for a while before finally heading out, one after the other. At this time, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was already full of people.

Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan offered their greetings to the officials they met along the way and walked to the end of the palace hall. At the end of the hall, there was a small chamber where the Emperor, Empress and members of the imperial family were inside holding a banquet amongst themselves. Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan entered the small chamber and began by saluting the Emperor and Empress first. The Emperor and Empress then bestowed them gifts before permitting them to rise, and husband and wife both took a seat down beside the Emperor.

The palace banquet was lively this time with all members of the inner palace present. No one said anything and only silently assessed Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan’s face remained unchanged, pretending to be unaware of the gazes of the people around him as he exchanged a few words with Li Ming.

Li Ming could be said to be familiar with Pei Wenxuan. He usually discussed official business and rarely mentioned family affairs with Pei Wenxuan, much less talking about everyday life, therefore the only things he talked about were trivial matters. However, the way that Li Ming had taken Pei Wenxuan into consideration had another meaning in everyone else’s eyes.

Li Ming exchanged a few words with Pei Wenxuan, then he asked about how things were at Li Rong’s mansion. Li Rong followed along and answered, and after some time, it was time for the banquet to begin.

The dishes were served one after the other. Ever since Li Rong taught the princesses a lesson, they were all well-behaved, and it appeared that they dare not cause trouble, so the meal was considered to be a harmonious one. As the meal was coming to an end, everyone was sitting around and chatting. The imperial consorts took turns asking Pei Wenxuan questions, and Pei Wenxuan answered in a flawless manner, not even a drop of water had been leaked. After he responded, Consort Rou softly laughed and said: “This child has unexpectedly grown up so much in the blink of an eye. Now that Her Highness Ping Le’s marriage is taken care of, jiejie,” Consort Rou turned her head to look at the Empress and gently said, “I wonder if jiejie has made preparations for the Crown Prince’s marriage?”