The Emperor, together with his entire family, was watching the lanterns being lit in the palace. Once the phoenix at the inner city gate was fully illuminated, the accompanying royals and nobles wished him happiness for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Emperor smiled and nodded, enjoying the lanterns and the moon with everyone.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival was quite simple due to the Empress Dowager's serious illness. No feasts were held for the officials, and even the vassal states visiting the capital were not summoned. The Emperor only invited the royal family members who were in the capital to have a reunion dinner in the palace before letting them go out to enjoy the moonlight on their own.
Others could leave, but the unmarried princesses, Changyu and Mingda, could not go out, and Prince Gong was still recuperating and could not even attend the palace banquet.
So the two sisters looked eagerly at the Crown Prince.
