“Your Highness should go have your meal; everyone must have already taken their seats.” The side hall wasn’t far, and if he didn’t go, it would be noticed.

The Crown Prince knew this but disliked her dismissive attitude.

He reached out, pulled her head toward him, and quickly bit her ear.

“Just wait.”

He had been very restrained for the past half month.

Although there had been occasional inappropriate remarks, he had not made any physical advances.

The commotion today ignited the fire that had been smoldering for half a month.

Rongrong felt her ear grow warm, and her heartstrings were suddenly thrown into disarray.

She had hoped for a peaceful period, but with so many people in the Eastern Palace today, he had become interested.

Now she was extremely sensitive.

His sudden move had made it hard for her to maintain composure, leaving her feeling weak all over.

She hurriedly moved back, only to see the Crown Prince’s triumphant smile, clearly satisfied with her reaction.

Rongrong’s hair was only secured with a ribbon, and his grab had loosened it, causing her hairpin to start slipping.

She didn’t know how to re-tie her hair, and if it fell loose in the main hall, how would she face others?

The Crown Prince naturally saw her precariously falling hairpin and smiled slightly.

She really is… so easily flustered. Just a little teasing, and she reacts so strongly.

He reached out and took Rongrong’s small hand, leading her around the back of a pillar in the main hall.

Her hand was delicate and soft, almost like it had no bones, making it easy to hold.

“What are you going to do?” Rongrong exclaimed in surprise.

They had already done something like that in the hall earlier, and now pulling her behind the pillar…

This was the main hall of the Eastern Palace, with pillars so wide that three people would be needed to encircle them.

Standing here, they would be completely out of sight unless someone came around to the back.

“Just stay still,” the Crown Prince said, turning her around by holding her shoulders.

Before Rongrong could react, she found herself pressed against the pillar like a gecko.

He wouldn’t want to do something here…

“No!” Rongrong almost started crying.

The Crown Prince gathered her hair in his hands and said with a light laugh, “What are you refusing?”

Rongrong’s tears were already welling up, and upon hearing his words, she realized he was using a ribbon to help her fix her hair.

She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, and allowed him to adjust her hair.

The Crown Prince’s skills in tying hair were naturally not as good as Su Xin’s; he couldn’t make a pretty knot, but he managed to secure her hair in place.

“All done.”

Rongrong’s face turned red as she quickly moved away from the pillar, saying, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

She immediately regretted her words, realizing she was thanking him for almost messing up her hair.

Without waiting for her response, the Crown Prince turned and left the hall with a displeased look.

As he recalled how she had been pressed against the pillar, he suddenly found the memory quite amusing.

“Master?” Over in the side hall, Fuquan had not seen his lord and was looking for him.

When he came over, he happened to see the Crown Prince and Miss Rongrong hiding behind the pillar.

Miss Rongrong’s clothing was intact, but her hair was disheveled, and her face was flushed, clearly showing signs of the Crown Prince’s mischief.

Fuquan felt a bit embarrassed to look at them.

Usually, these two avoided each other in the Eastern Palace, but with so many guests today, they ended up facing each other in the main hall.

Could it be that the Crown Prince has some peculiar habits? Fu Quan thought to himself.

He stepped forward and said, “The guests have already seated themselves in the side hall. Your Highness, it would be best to go over quickly since His Majesty inquired about you.”

“Understood.” The Crown Prince stepped out from behind the pillar and headed toward the side hall.

His Adam’s apple bobbed twice before settling.

Rongrong’s earlier “don’t” had really stirred his desire.

Today there were four tables set.

The central table was occupied by the Emperor and Empress, four princes, Duke Jingning and his son, and Duke An Guo and his son.

The two adjacent tables were filled with women and children.

At one table sat the three consorts, four princesses, and the women from the Wang family, including Xie Yuanrui and the mother-daughter pair from the Weiyuan Duke’s residence.

At another table was Yuanbao in the center, surrounded by Liu Yu, Liu Lin, Liu Xi and Princess Anxi from the Qing Wang’s residence, Liu Run from the Jing Wang’s residence, and a nursemaid to help with feeding.

The table was also full.

However, the old Duke of An Guo was hesitating to take his place at the seat next to the Emperor.

“Old Duke, please take your seat,” the eunuch arranging the seating reminded him.

The old Duke frowned and glared at the people at the main table. “Who wants to sit with them? Today I’m here to see my great-grandson. I want to sit with Yuanbao, so move the chair over here.”

The seating had been arranged long ago, with each table’s dishes tailored slightly differently for the guests.

The main table had the most exquisite dishes, the children’s table had more snacks, and the women’s table had extra soups and stews.

But the old Duke didn’t care about these details.

At the Old Duke’s command, the eunuchs looked over to the Emperor and Empress, who showed no change in expression, and moved his chair to Yuanbao’s side.

“Yuanbao, is it alright if your great-grandfather sits here?” Despite his earlier imposing demeanor, the old Duke now spoke in a negotiating tone with Yuanbao.

Yuanbao, who had Liu Yu on his left and Liu Lin on his right, thought for a moment and pointed to the right. “Great-grandfather, you can sit here.” Liu Lin was currently learning to eat on her own, and last time in the palace, he had spilled soup on Yuanbao’s boots.

When they returned to the Eastern Palace, Rongrong had noticed and had crouched down to clean his boots.

Yuanbao didn’t want to see Rongrong working hard to clean his boots.

“Good, good.” As soon as Yuanbao spoke, the old Duke immediately directed the eunuchs to place his chair on Yuanbao’s right side.

He felt pleased, thinking that Yuanbao was very considerate.

In this dynasty, the right side was the place of honor, and this four-year-old child was more considerate than his own father, who had eaten plain rice for over twenty years.

Liu Yu, who had been talking to Yuanbao, fell silent when the old Duke took his seat.

Earlier in the main hall, Liu Yu had seen this old gentleman scolding people fiercely in front of the Emperor.

Someone who dared to scold even the Emperor was not someone Liu Yu would want to provoke.

It was Princess Anxi(Liu Xi) who spoke up: “Why is Great-Grandfather sitting with us?”

Princess Anxi was two months younger than Liu Lin but spoke more fluently than Liu Lin.

She was similar in age to Yuanbao and Liu Lin.

The Old Duke of An felt somewhat embarrassed.

Although he didn’t care about anyone’s feelings, he couldn’t use his usual unreasonable tactics with such a young girl as Princess Lui Xi.

As he awkwardly chuckled, Yuanbao said to Liu Xi, “Great-Grandfather likes us, so he came over to sit with us.”

The Old Duke of An was momentarily shaken and turned to look at Yuanbao, feeling a mix of emotions.

Good child, truly a good child.

He quickly grabbed some chopsticks and served Yuanbao the tenderest piece of roast pigeon from the center of the table.

“Thank you, Great-Grandfather. You eat too; you don’t need to serve me.”

When the Crown Prince came over, he happened to see the Old Duke of An serving food to Yuanbao.

He frowned slightly but didn’t approach and instead went directly to the empty seat at the main table.

Although today was to celebrate Yuanbao, with the proclamation of the decree and the completion of the ceremonial rites, it was still a family banquet.

The Emperor spoke with several princes, giving commendations to the Duke of Su and the Duke of Jingning for their recent achievements.

The Empress, finding this uninteresting, said, “We agreed this would be a family banquet, so why are we still discussing court matters?”

“Empress makes a good point,” the Emperor said with a smile.

He looked at the Duke of Jingning and began chatting about everyday matters, “I heard the Duke of Jingning’s household will be expanding?”

Unlike Duke Gong, who had a reputation, Duke Jingning’s private life was not lacking in drama.

During the Duke’s wife’s pregnancy, she had taken in four concubines, making the rear courtyard of the mansion quite crowded.

Now, with one concubine and two wives pregnant, if all three children were born smoothly, Duke Jingning’s household would soon surpass Duke Gong’s in numbers.

Duke Gong laughed, “Fourth Brother really is quite the charmer. I heard all three of your wives are expecting. Father Emperor might be able to hold three grandsons at once.”

Duke Jingning had lowered his head when the Emperor mentioned him, and now that Duke Gong brought it up again, he didn’t know what to say.

“Expanding the family is a good thing,” the Empress said.

“Indeed,” the Emperor nodded, then looked at Duke Qing, “You mustn’t lag behind Fourth Brother too much.”

Duke Qing, who had a baby face, smiled at the comment, “I’m not as capable as Third Brother and Fourth Brother.”

Everyone at the table laughed, and the Crown Prince also pressed his lips together, a slight smile on his face.

After lunch, the Emperor returned to the palace to handle state affairs, while the Crown Prince invited everyone to the Cuiyige Pavilion by the Fengchi to enjoy tea and music.

The performers were the best from the Southern Court’s musicians, and the sound of flutes and songs filled the air, bringing joy to the guests.