Chapter 199

The ceremonial music of the new emperor’s enthronement ceremony, even in the northernmost Zhaoming Palace of the Harem, the old emperor also heard it clearly.

National dynasty has never had a precedent of the emperor abdication, so the enthronement ceremony this occasion, even if he lives, but also did not participate in the part. Even if there is, the Ministry of Rites those people, will not put him this full of blood debt of people arranged in.

Now, every day, in addition to delivering food and hot water, fetching Gong bucket clothing of the Palace, he did not have the opportunity to meet and talk with anyone.

The public said, the emperor wants to meditate and repent. The ministers naturally had no objection. Besides, the jade seal and all military symbols had been handed over on the day of the abdication, and the new emperor had already taken control of the whole country.

For better or worse, a life was saved. The old emperor sat in the hall, drinking moldy tea and recalling the process of his ascension to the throne step by step to the sound of music.

At that moment, the heavy and unpleasant sound of the door opening of the Zhao Ming Palace courtyard broke his intoxicated fantasy.

It was not yet time to deliver the meal.

The old emperor picked up the cup of tea, paced to the outside of the palace, the people were Yu Shu and Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan has changed into a more dignified and serious empress dowager clothing system, and Yu Shu still combed the imperial tomb when the ordinary women’s hair bun, dress elegant and simple.

“Have you two settled on your honorifics? Who is the Queen Mother? Ci Ning Palace in the end is for whom to live?” The old emperor was still used to maintaining his husband’s commanding presence in front of them.

Zhang Yan hummed, “You don’t need to say much to provoke. Sister Yu said that she can see Xian Yang’s little couple is enough, do not want the Empress Dowager’s honorary position in life, do not want to be buried with you after death, she also wants to live in Yulin’s old residence, free to go in and out every day, really envious of us people.”

The old emperor was speechless for a moment.

Yu Shu laughed: “I’ve been locked up for a long time, I really don’t want to change another cage. By the way, my niece Xiang Yi will be returning to the capital soon. I heard that she has traveled extensively for more than a year and is very capable. Perhaps, when the child we meet is born and grows up a bit, I will go out of the capital with Xiangyi and travel around.”

“Yu Xiangyi!” The old emperor suddenly realized, “She didn’t die in the Phoenix Fairy Pond? She was really rescued by Xian Yang! How dare he deceive me!”

Yu Shu was a bit proud, “How is it? Isn’t my child very smart?”

The old emperor’s emotion, which had hardly calmed down, once again surged into a sea of anger. He was so furious that he smashed the teacup towards Yu Shu, but the cup was viciously whipped down by a long whip in the air.

“Good stance!” The two queens had never seen Xiao Nan’s skill before, and originally thought that she was a small maid sent by Zhou Xian Yang, which was as new as watching a juggling act at the moment.

Xiao Nan proudly circled around the old emperor and juggled a few more times, her long whip was like a snake, and she was about to bite him, but she turned back in the air and made a crackling sound like a firecracker, scaring the old emperor.

“Bitch, how dare you tease me?” The old emperor was angry and humiliated, and Xiao Nan smiled, “You can’t stand this bit of aggravation? Just as well, you won’t have to be aggravated anytime soon.”

“What do you mean?” The old emperor heard something in her words and instantly became hysterical, “Xian Yang promised me that he wouldn’t kill me after he gave the sinful edict! What is this from you guys!”

“That’s what he promised you, I didn’t. Besides, Xian Yang saved your life and almost died for it. I’m going to claim that life back now.” Yu Shu looked at the emperor indifferently, his voice as cold as a ghost claiming his life, “Today is a good day for Xian Yang, and there’s the Queen Sealing Ceremony in the afternoon, so I won’t do anything. I came here to tell you to take advantage of these few days to eat and drink well so that you can be on your way.”

Yu Shu finished her speech and left Zhaoming Palace first, as she turned around, she caught a glimpse of Zhang Yan caressing her hand that was bandaged by the Imperial Doctor and asked her, “Can I break one of his hands before killing him?”

“Can.”

Yu Shu went to the door and handed over to Duan Fei, “Lock him up in the temple, don’t let him make noise and disturb others’ rest.”

“Yes ……,” Duan Fei looked at this Empress Yu who was not quite the same as he remembered and was momentarily lost in thought.

Yu Shu understood that he had accompanied the old emperor for many years, and more or less had some affection, and that night, he cooperated with Xian Yang at the critical moment, firstly out of justice, and secondly because he knew how to go with the flow. He only needed to be loyal to the emperor, as for who this emperor was, it could change.

“Duan Fei, do you think I’m too unsympathetic?”

“I dare not.”

“I heard that your daughter is also already ten years old …… Imagine that you came home today and were suddenly arrested and secluded for more than ten years, unable to see your family and children. I heard that your home was copied, your hands and feet were framed and forced to throw themselves into the lake, and your daughter was thus reduced to a place of fireworks, and her body was beaten all over without a piece of good place …… but you couldn’t do anything. Would you want to kill that person?”

Duan Fei took a deep breath, “I understand.”

Yu Shu looked at this long-time friend and rarely bared a few moments of his true nature, “A good-tempered person in this world who is forced to be angry once in a while, the onlookers will feel that she was previously hypocritical. But like Zhou Shiping as evil people, as long as the poor a little bit will be sympathetic, remember his good, think he is not guilty of this. Since it’s so pleasurable to be an evil person, why don’t I become an evil person!”

Duan Fei fell silent. He helplessly admitted that the gentle and virtuous Empress Yu that he wished to see again had been killed by the Emperor.

Luckily, Imperial Guifei, no, I should say Imperial Gui Daifei knotted his siege.

She and Hui Gui Duchess rushed outside Zhaoming Palace and took Yu Shu’s hand: ”Sister, today is must must must go to Yonghua Palace to have a meal. The kitchenette has prepared your favorite dishes!”

Yu Shu had already regained her gentle demeanor and laughed, “Good, I often think of your craftsmanship when I’m at the Imperial Tomb.”

Kun Ning Palace, a place Yu Shu was incomparably familiar with, all the furnishings and patterns were almost indistinguishable from the day she left.

The stale flavor of more than ten years of closure was also swept away after sprinkling, ventilating and incensing.

“What an honor it is to be crowned queen while pregnant! Sagami you are so blessed!”

“Don’t move your head around, otherwise this crown won’t be securely fastened, and it will be bad if you fall down in front of the ministers!”

” The court dress is too long, what if I fall on the road?”

The young Empress is being dressed up by five or six courtesans of her age, Zhou Xian Yao and Sun Ming Yue, and her personal maids surrounded by them can’t help but move their mouths.

Rong Xiang see body heavy, a see Yu Shu rush to ask for help: “Yu Maiden, help ah …… Zheng Yang Hall in front of so high and long steps, how to walk up? Can I not walk in the center and hold on to the railing?”

Yu Shu remembered that section of the road to sealing the queen, she was born out of sweat, warmly relieved: “It’s okay, let Xian Yang help you walk up.”

“Ah? According to etiquette, shouldn’t he be sitting on the dragon throne waiting for me?”

“So what if it’s not according to etiquette? Is it you and the child that matter, or the rules?” Yu Shu smiled and patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry, everything will go smoothly.”

Rong Xiangmian wasn’t too sure if doing so would get her impeached again …… saying that she didn’t have the demeanor of a mother of state ……

“His Majesty has arrived.” As he spoke, Shen Duzhi’s voice rang out, and Zhou Xianyang was dressed in a court dress with embroidered gold dragons on a black background, making him look exceptionally imposing.

He rushed over from the enthronement ceremony, and before he even entered the hall, a group of people were already about to kneel for him, which he hurriedly dispensed with, “Busy yourselves. Xiangmian, have you eaten?”

“I ate …….”

“The girl just ate two mouthfuls, said she had no appetite, and all put aside on that table.”

“The girl is nervous!”

Feiyun Feixue you a word and I a word, Meng Zhenru reminded them on the side: “Sister Linlang said that in the future, you can no longer call the girl, you have to call the Empress Mother.”

Rong Xiangshi muttered, “I still like the title of girl, and in the future where there are no outsiders it will be as before. If it’s an occasion to receive the clansmen or feast on ministers, you will change your names again, okay?”

“Yes, Miss.” The three maids called out in unison.

“Fourth girl,” Zhou Xian Yang laughed from the sidelines, “Reward me with a bite of the leftovers from Kun Ning Palace?”

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Rong Xiangyang was suffering from inability to act, so he could only use exaggerated tones to express his concern, “Chen Rixin said that after the throne ceremony, he had arranged a lunch for you at Chonghua Hall.”

“It must be Fourth Brother who wants to see you, he couldn’t wait a moment, and rushed over directly after the enthronement ceremony. I’ll have the Imperial Catering Room send some more meals here.” As Zhou Xian Yao was talking, she saw that Zhou Xian Yang had already sat down in the east room, sitting at the dining table to eat.

“Fourth brother, why are you really eating leftovers?”

“What’s wrong? I’ve eaten leftovers from meeting each other at both the Yuhang Mansion and the British Duke’s Mansion.”

“Times are different now, you’re the Emperor now, the Nine to Five, you have to be extra golden!”

“There hasn’t been much rain this year, food is extra precious, it’s good not to waste it.” Zhou Xian Yang changed his reasoning, and Zhou Xian Yao burst out laughing, “That’s fine, I guess the people below will write hundreds of sour poems about you eating leftovers again.”

By the time Zhou Xian Yang finished his meal, Rong Xiang Xiang was also ready. Zhou Xian Yang didn’t let the palace staff wait for her to go out, but instead took Xiangmian’s hands in his own.

Between her white wrists, the pair of concealed bracelets had already been removed, and only the pair of suet jade bracelets knocked together, making a clear and crisp sound, just as on the night of their wedding.

At that time, they did not expect that they would become each other’s most important person, accompanying each other all the way to here.

Yu Shu silently looked at their hand-holding silhouettes, filled with emotion. She had always regretted that she had missed her children’s big wedding.

Before setting off, Yu Shu walked up and took out two strings of jasmine bracelets from her purse.

“Today is a good day for you two, being a mother there is nothing good to give you, these two bracelets, I have been wearing them since the Imperial Tomb, and halfway through you came. I think Jasmine has brought me the greatest luck in this life. If you don’t mind …….”

Without saying a word, Zhou Xian Yang took one of the jasmine bracelets and put it on Xiangmian’s wrist. Xiangmian also put on the other one for him and said, “Thank you, mother.”

“Uh-huh.” Yu Shu gently stroked Xiangmian’s hair bun, corrected her phoenix hairpin, and said, “Go, and let Xian Yang hold it properly.”

After leaving the gates of Kun Ning Palace, the ceremonial guards outside were already ready. Zhou Xian Yang led Xiang Xiang into his imperial carriage.

“When you seal the queen in a moment, do you really want to walk up with me?”

“Or else?”

“It’s not too good to disregard etiquette when you’ve just ascended the throne.”

“There is me for everything. Seeing each other, you just step down and enjoy the day.”

“Enjoy?” She could only see the farthest palace wall even with her extreme eyes, and being crowned queen was not considered enjoyment for her.

In fact, the happiest day she remembered was still the second day of their marriage, when they rode to the Western Mountain together, worshipped her mother, and came back to watch the juggling. There was also the time when they came back from the grasslands, before entering the capital.

Zhou Xian Yang looked along with her gaze and immediately understood, he held her hand and gave her a promise: “When the child is born, we’ll go to the palace together to avoid the summer heat, then go to the Beihaizi paddock for autumn hunting. When the child is a little older, we go on a southern patrol together to see the sea.”

“Hmm! There are so many ethnic groups in the Guo Dynasty, with different languages and customs. I’ve heard that in some places, the Toji are brutal and use the people in their territories as slaves. Xian Yang, can you ……” Rong Xiangmian suddenly stopped talking, realizing that she had crossed the line of harem interference, and forgot to change her tone to Your Majesty again ……

Zhou Xian Yang came closer to her, so close that his straight nose almost poked her face.

He has a high brow bone, thick eyebrows and a high nose bridge outlining deep eye sockets, his eyes are extremely dark and bright, and when he doesn’t smile, he always looks majestic, and people who don’t know him will think he is very fierce.

But at this time, he is smiling, smiling with full silkworms, eyes gentle with love, let a person is difficult to resist, Xiangmian very like him to smile, this kind of him let her incomparable peace of mind.

“Xiangmian, I didn’t even change my title, you also don’t change, don’t change anything. In the future, we will still be like in Yu Wang Fu, we can say whatever we want, okay?”

“This is what you said. In the future, you can’t get angry and speak without recognizing it.”

“Am I that kind of person?”

“The old you wasn’t, but sitting in the dragon chair, I don’t know if you’ll change …… into …… something I don’t dare to recognize. Xian Yang, in fact, I am putting everything on the line to bet with you, betting that you won’t change.”

“What if I change?”

“I am willing to gamble, I will be like your mother, leave this place, leave you.”

“See each other,” Zhou Xian Yang restrained his smile, incomparably serious, his eyes full of confidence, “I won’t let you lose.”