This was the first time Lin Yuan and her friends had attended a banquet at the imperial palace. Although the banquet was to be held in the evening, they entered the palace early to wait. Fortunately, they were accompanied by Princess Anle; otherwise, the group would surely have been at a loss for where to go.
The banquet was set in a side hall of the small garden, with everyone gathered in a large hall divided into sections for male and female guests. It wasn't time for the banquet to start yet, and the Emperor and Empress were both busy attending to their own matters and had not arrived.
Princess Anle first took them to sit with Consort Shu for a while. Lin Yuan was already quite familiar with Consort Shu. Furthermore, on the day Lin Yuan was conferred the title of County Master, Consort Shu had sent her a congratulatory gift, and Lin Yuan hadn't had the chance to enter the palace to express her gratitude, so this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
