In the Song Dynasty, the singing of Song-lyrics (ci) was an important form of entertainment not only for the commoners but in the court. However, perhaps because of the lack of adequate evidence for reconstructing historical details, e.g., the artistic forms and purposes of singing, and the size of parties, little scholarly attention has been paid to the activities of singing Song-lyrics in the Song court. This paper pays special attention to previously ignored details of imperial parties by examining Hu Quan's "Conversations between the Emperor and His Instructor" ("Jingyan yuyin wenda") written in the Southern Song Dynasty. More specifically, by a close study of this text, it attempts to explore several aspects of the singing of Song-lyrics in the court, including the physical condition of singing, the ritual of singing and toasting and its meaning of the poetry, the lyrics the emperor and the empress sang, the way they sang, the selection of songs, and the literary characteristics of the lyrics, among others. Further, I also give some preliminary reflections upon the cultural function and meaning of such singing.