Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

As the moon rises above the willow branches, the moon-worship ceremony is about to begin.

Amidst the commotion, the head eunuch's voice suddenly rang out: "The Emperor has arrived! The Empress Dowager has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"

A loud announcement echoed throughout the palace. Wu Long, dressed in a dragon robe and auspicious attire, arrived in a palanquin with the Empress Dowager and the Empress. The grand procession was magnificent, solemn, and splendid.

Upon seeing this, the officials, who had been gathered in twos and threes, dispersed and returned to their seats.

Emperor Wulong alighted from his sedan chair outside the banquet hall and entered the hall with the Empress Dowager and Empress. Everyone knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

Youlu and the Fifth Princess temporarily ceased hostilities. He knelt on the ground, secretly observing the Empress Dowager walking to the left of Emperor Wulong. She was in her early sixties, but looked like she was in her forties or fifties. Her face was always tense, and she looked very serious. She was unlike either the unruly Emperor Wulong or the seemingly humble and gentle Prince Duan.

That's rather unusual.

Emperor Wulong, along with the Empress Dowager and Empress, ascended the first tier of the throne through the hall and loudly proclaimed, "Rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The crowd thanked them and stood up, their hands at their sides.

Youlu scrambled to her feet, grabbed a grape and popped it into her mouth, but out of the corner of her eye she inadvertently caught sight of the second princess and her husband sitting diagonally opposite her.

The second princess was gentle, dignified, and naturally noble, while the prince consort was handsome and dashing. The couple chatted and laughed, their affection flowing between them. They seemed like a perfect couple. However, You Lu could tell at a glance that the prince consort was a woman disguised as a man!

"Cough cough cough—"

He was so shocked that he choked on the grapes.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally noticeable in such a solemn and quiet setting.

A low murmur rippled through the banquet hall.

Disgust flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes.

The fifth princess moved aside in disgust.

Cang Shuyue frowned slightly and was about to get up, but was stopped by You Lu's look.

The eldest prince asked worriedly, "Seventh brother, are you alright?"

The third prince, however, wore a mocking expression.

Youlu waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. He didn't feel embarrassed at all; on the contrary, he secretly observed the interaction between the second princess and the prince consort with great interest.

Emperor Wulong coughed lightly, about to change the subject, when he heard a familiar voice in his mind exclaim: "No way! No way! Is our Dayong Dynasty really that open-minded? Even women can become imperial consorts?!"

[Or is it that with such an obvious disguise, not a single official in the entire court noticed? They're incredibly blind! Aside from wearing men's clothing, what about my brother-in-law looks like a man at all?]

The words that were about to come out were forced to be swallowed, and because he was too excited, they got stuck in his throat. Emperor Wulong choked on his saliva and coughed uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, several coughs could be heard from the ministers' seats, as Prime Minister Su and his entourage were shocked by the earth-shattering news.

Hearing everyone coughing, Youlu felt relieved.

Very good, very good. This kind of reaction is what makes gossip interesting.

The scene suddenly became strange. Everyone looked at each other, glancing at the coughing Emperor Wulong and the embarrassed Prime Minister Su and others.

The Empress was the first to calm down. She glanced at the bewildered Second Princess and her husband, and then gave Eunuch Kang a meaningful look.

Master Kang understood and loudly proclaimed, "The auspicious hour has arrived; the moon-worship ceremony begins!"

The Empress supported Emperor Wulong, patted his back to help him catch his breath, and whispered, "Don't make a fuss for now. Ask the Second Princess for clarification after the palace banquet."

Emperor Wulong suppressed his anger and nodded.

However, the Empress Dowager spoke up at this moment, saying sternly, "The ceremony cannot begin until the Grand Preceptor, who is in charge of the ceremony, has arrived."

"This..." Eunuch Kang looked at Emperor Wulong with difficulty.

According to ancestral tradition, the Mid-Autumn Festival moon-worship ceremony has always been presided over by the Empress and the Emperor. Now that the Empress Dowager is still alive, it is understandable for her to preside over the ceremony, and the Imperial Preceptor is highly respected and could also preside over the ceremony. However, if the person to preside over the ceremony is to be changed, it must be notified in advance. The Empress Dowager's move is clearly a last-minute decision and a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.

Emperor Wulong knew in his heart that the Empress Dowager did not actually want the Imperial Preceptor to preside over the ceremony, but rather that she wanted to put pressure on him because he had disobeyed her that day.

As is well known, during the reign of the late emperor, the Imperial Advisor frequently appeared in the world, averting natural disasters and saving the people, thus helping the late emperor to create a prosperous era. However, since Emperor Wulong ascended the throne, the Imperial Advisor has often gone into seclusion, no longer concerning himself with worldly affairs, which has caused much gossip and rumors.

Back then, some people even used this to attack Emperor Wulong, saying that he was not recognized by the Imperial Preceptor and was unworthy to be emperor, leading to turmoil in the court and frequent disasters. It was only through the joint efforts of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion that the situation was stabilized. It was also at that time that the Empress Dowager helped Emperor Wulong to expand his harem and consolidate the royal family's position with the help of powerful noble families.

It can be said that the Imperial Advisor was the biggest obstacle on Emperor Wulong's path to becoming emperor, and also a means that the Empress Dowager often used to suppress him.

For more than twenty years since ascending the throne, the Empress Dowager had controlled the powerful families, who in turn controlled nearly half of the government. The rest were mostly followers of the Imperial Preceptor, which is why Emperor Wulong had no one to rely on in the court before.

The Empress Dowager played an indispensable role in the Yi family's rise to its current status.

Even so, in the Empress Dowager's view, the throne was still bestowed upon Emperor Wulong by her, so she felt indebted to her other son and did everything she could to make up for it, even if it meant suppressing the dignity of the eldest son who was the emperor.

But this throne was not what Emperor Wulong wanted.

He was the eldest son of the legitimate wife and the most favored by the late emperor. His youthful ambition was to roam the martial world with a sword and uphold justice. Later, when the late emperor fell seriously ill, the imperial advisor predicted that both he and Prince Duan had the countenance of emperors. He asked the empress dowager to choose between the two brothers. He frankly said that he did not want to be emperor, but the empress dowager scolded him for lacking responsibility and chose him as the crown prince.

Then he was put on the throne, alienated from his beloved, and slept with someone he didn't love. He was burdened with responsibility and duty, seemingly free, but could only vent his dissatisfaction with being controlled by shouting and yelling in a fit of rage.

In terms of temperament and willpower, he was no match for the Empress. If it weren't for Xiao Qi, perhaps in a few years, he would have become a mindless puppet or a capricious madman.

In the end, he was nothing more than a pathetic, arrogant wretch.

Thinking of this, Emperor Wulong couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Meeting the Empress's worried gaze, he nodded slightly, flicked his sleeves, sat down on the throne, and said with a smile, "In that case, everyone please take your seats first, and we will proceed with the moon-worshiping ceremony after the Imperial Preceptor arrives."

The crowd, who had been holding their breath because of his silence, slowly breathed a sigh of relief, expressed their gratitude, and took their seats.

Youlu took a sip of tea to calm himself, muttering to himself, "It's a pity my talent is sealed, otherwise I could definitely dig up some gossip about the prince consort; it would be quite a spectacle."

Emperor Wulong secretly rolled his eyes. He was being tormented and struggled internally by the Empress Dowager's harassment, while this kid was only thinking about gossiping. Sure enough, having many children is useless; only the person next to you truly cares.

The Empress Dowager, sitting to the left of the throne, was filled with astonishment.

Emperor Wulong neither became angry nor begged for mercy, which was something she never expected.

She originally intended to use this to control Emperor Wulong, force him to back down, and punish that disrespectful son to avenge Prince Duan and Princess Duan. However, she never expected to end up putting herself in such a predicament.

With the auspicious time fast approaching, the Imperial Advisor was still nowhere to be seen, and the Empress Dowager grew anxious.