The Empress Dowager is unwell and cannot attend the banquet.
The Empress will host the women's side of the banquet, while the ministers will be on the other side, presided over by the Emperor.
After all, most of the court's ministers are present. Including their families, there are many people, men and women alike. The noblewomen are fine, but the young unmarried girls always need to avoid suspicion, so it's better to have separate seating for men and women, making it more convenient and comfortable.
Anyway, everyone knows they are here to congratulate Princess Zhuyu.
The seating was arranged early, and Qu Fulan doesn't understand what the Empress was thinking, placing the Pei Family in the first seat on the left. Although Pei Ji'an holds substantial sway in the court, there are many elders with more influence than him who should be seated in such a position.
Yet with the Empress's arrangement, she cannot refute openly.
