Right after the conference was up, the emperor immediately tasked Court Lady Han and the rest of his maids, together with some of the high-ranking eunuchs to prepare the banquet to be held tonight.

The Court Lady, of course, is hesitant at first. To hold a royal banquet needs time and many preparations should be made.

First and foremost, the food to serve should be planned very well by the emperor himself or if not, some high-ranking eunuchs and the royal chef and his assistants.

The ingredients for the menu should be chosen meticulously from the market and to be inspected as it arrives at the palace gates. Of course, when it arrives at the imperial kitchen, the chef and his assistance will pick the best of the best ingredients.

The Hall of Union where the banquet will be held should be decorated as well and the adornment should suit the theme of the event. The colors that will dominate the banquet hall, as well as the musicians and performers that will entertain the guests will be carefully planned too.

Speaking of guests, the high-ranking officials, if not the emperor himself, will decide on the appropriate list of the invited guest that will attend the celebration. By the time the list is finalized, three copies should be made. One copy for the top imperial scholar to compose a letter of invitation for each of the guests. Of course, it will require time that is enough for the top scholar to make the letter, and enough time for the messenger to deliver it to their respective receivers hours before the banquet starts.

Another copy of the finalized list should be given to the Department of Security, a branch of the Ministry of Defense and War under the command of Princess Yin Xiulan. The said branch is the one responsible for the security inside the imperial palace. They are the ones who have the duty to let the people enter or leave the palace gates so naturally, they should be given a copy.

"We're just starting the day. The banquet will be held tonight. I believe we still have enough time to prepare." Yin Wenyan said. "As I've said, it doesn't have to be grand. Just a small banquet will do. The grand empress dowager needs not to be tired after all. It's just a banquet good for at most three hours. Just invite some of her friends and political allies."

'Easier said than done.' All of them, except for Yin Wenyan and Xu Zhengming, thought of the same thing. Of course, they dare not to tell it out loud in front of the emperor but they definitely have the same thing in mind. They can only complain when a member of the royal family is not around.

After saying his authoritative orders, Yin Wenyan smiles brightly. With a cheerful tone, he continues. "Eunuch Xu will be accompanying me. The rest of you can now go."

"Yes, your majesty." The eunuchs, Court Lady Han, and the emperor's maids all bowed their heads and leaves.

"Your majesty..." Xu Zhengming called. "Since you haven't eaten your breakfast yet, would you like to eat in your hall?"

Yin Wenyan smiles at him with his signature gentle smile. Xu Zhengming isn't so sure if his majesty's phoenix eyes truly glimmered or he's just imagining things.

Yin Wenyan replied, "Yes, please. But first, I'll go to the Lotus Hall to meet and have a word with my shizun and shifu for a while. I have something important to tell them. Wait for me at my place."

"Yes, your majesty."

His little eunuch is already walking further away from him yet the prince still follows him with his gaze with a small smile on his face. His uniform doesn't Although the eunuch never glanced back at him until he disappears from the prince's vision, the smile on his lips didn't fade away.

Even with the tiniest detail, he still feels happy that Xu Zhengming remembered that he haven't eaten his breakfast yet. He knows he probably asked that because he felt obliged to do so as his servant and not from the heart at all. Nevertheless, Yin Wenyan is still flattered that he slightly cares for him.

How happy could Yin Wenyan be if Xu Zhengming asked that out of pure concern?

He felt so happy with just that wishful thinking to the point it hurts. He knows that in reality, it would most likely not happen.

If the current emperor of the Royal Imperial Palace is named Yin Wenyan and not Yin Renshu, would he be unrestrained? Will he be able to chase what makes him happy?

***

"Maybe I could personally ask Fenghuang Sect's leader? She's my friend after all. Besides, you've got yourself into a handful of palace matters, and there's this banquet tonight." Zhao Yanguang suggested after Yin Wenyan told them the matter involving the empress.

Ever since Yin Wenyan arrived from his conference, he discussed with the others the important matters that were tackled during the meeting of the high-ranking eunuchs. This includes the case of the Empress and the banquet to be held by dinner.

"I won't be attending the banquet tonight, you go, Wenyan." Yin Renshu announced.

"But I did head the conference earlier. You should deal with this one." Yin Wenyan said.

Yin Renshu rebutted, "But you are the one who agreed to throw a banquet tonight, not me. You do it."

A vein bulges on Princess Yin Xiulan's forehead. Her right eyebrow raised. "Shut the hell up! You're too noisy. If someone else can hear you two, they'll think that the emperor went crazy."

Yin Wenyan and Yin Renshu indeed have identical faces and body built, except Yin Renshu is a little taller by a couple of centimeters. They have a lot of similarities, and their voice is not excluded. Their voices sound the same as well!

"You should be the one to shut up. Your words are empty!" Yin Renshu roared. "Aren't you the one who said you've got an effective alibi for us not to get stuck-up in grand empress dowager's hall? Where did your alibi go?"

"That..." Princess Yin Xiulan thinks for a way out but eventually realizes that she can't get away with it and confess. "I was about to use the case of the vicious ghost of that eunuch but the grand empress dowager insisted that we should not get our hands in it."

She then changes the topic, "Why not let shizun and Wang-shifu decide who will go to the banquet?"

"Renshu should go."

"It should be Wenyan."

Zhao Yangguang and Wang Junjie looks at each other. They actually have different suggestions this time. This rarely happens. Usually, their minds seem to be linked by one another but that is not the case today.

Zhao Yangguang clears his throat. "Either way is good. The decision is up to you so discuss it yourselves. In any case, Empress Xue Chi's case will be in our hands."

Yin Wenyan then responded. "Then I'll be troubling shizun and shifu to handle this. This is just too suspicious, why would the disciples of Fenghuang Sect involve themselves with a royal?"

"I know their sect leader very well. She would not do something reckless, or maybe she didn't have an idea about this?" Zhao Yangguang assured. "Do not worry, Wenyan. I and your Wang-shifu will handle this from here."

"Thank you so much, Shizun, Wang-shifu." He replied

"Then we will not waste any more time." Wang Junjie rises from his seat. "Hana, let's go."

Zhao Yangguang sips on his teacup before answering, "But I haven't finished my tea yet." He makes a face.

With his face unchanging, Wang Junjie replied to the sect leader. "I will make some jasmine tea for you when we got back home."

Zhao Yangguang's face brightens and smiles in satisfaction. "Alright, alright. Let's go." He rises from his seat as well and bid goodbye to his former disciples. "Then, we will be going now. We'll be back after we gathered information."

Like the old times, the triplets lined up shoulder to shoulder and clasp their hands. In unison, they bid their teachers goodbye. "Take care, shizun, Wang-shifu."

The two didn't waste any second and leaps out of the window. The three looks at them as they run and hop on the roof eves until they disappeared from their sight. It's not that their presence in the palace is something to be kept hidden. It's just they're a pair of spirited cultivators who prefers to be one with the swift wind than walk and attract attention as they have the aura of an immortal.

"I'm not going tonight." Yin Renshu said without breaking his gaze outside the hall through the window.

"Me either." Yin Wenyan replied with a tone of indifference. The gentleness that is always on his face is untraceable this time. His expression's blank. His face is cold.

"Wha--- are you not done yet?" Yin Xiulan lost count of the times she rolled her eyes just this morning.