The head guard said, "They were too far away, and I couldn't see clearly who they were. The three of them were exceptionally skilled, and their abilities far surpassed those of us. I guess they must be the Imperial Guards from the palace."

They were the most skilled guards in the princess's residence, yet the man discovered their hiding place from a distance of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), demonstrating his profound skill.

Aside from the Imperial Guards in the palace, I can't think of anyone else with this ability.

"We've already alerted them. From today onwards, we don't need to keep an eye on the Jiang residence for the time being."

Speaking of the people in the palace, Song Yunzhi already had a plan in mind.

Song Yunzhi felt a sense of fear when she thought of Xiao Jingzhao's cold and aloof appearance.

Just a few days ago, she heard from the guards that the person living in the Jiang residence was a beautiful woman.

They learned that the woman was later brought into the palace.

In order to find out who this woman was, Song Yunzhi personally followed Jiang Shuyue in a carriage.

When she saw Jiang Shuyue get off the carriage in front of Jishetang, she was almost speechless with astonishment.

She recognized the woman immediately; she looked very much like Jiang Shuyue, who was rumored to have died suddenly from an illness.

"Madam, it's late, please rest."

The prince consort's concerned voice came from behind.

Song Yunzhi turned around, concealing the scheming in her eyes.

She secretly wondered if the Minister's family had expelled their daughter from the house, and Xiao Jingzhao had found her and kept her as a mistress.

No, that woman opened her own clinic. What kind of young lady, kept as a mistress, goes out to earn money on her own? Besides, I've never heard of the Jiang family's daughter knowing medicine before. Is there some hidden story behind this?

Could that be Xiao Jingzhao's mistress? But that doesn't make sense. If he wanted to favor a woman, why didn't he bring her into the palace?

Song Yunzhi was completely baffled. She made up her mind that she would have to find out for herself another day.

If that woman panics upon seeing me and tries to find the young prince, perhaps I can start with her.

Xiao Jingzhao was meticulous; even if the young prince had once been hidden in the Jiang residence, he should have been moved out by now.

Seeing her expression, the prince consort sighed and advised, "Madam, stop now. Whether the little prince is still alive or not, it's meaningless now."

"Utterly foolish! How is it meaningless? One day, I will reclaim the Song family's empire!"

These days, Song Yunzhi is extremely conflicted. She knows that the Song family is not capable of keeping the throne, but she still feels unwilling to accept it.

Seeing his wife's face gradually contort into a ferocious expression, the prince consort quickly shut his mouth.

...

The Imperial Wardrobe only managed to finish making the dragon robe the day before the coronation ceremony.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Xiao Jingzhao tried on the dragon robe, and a group of palace maids and embroiderers busied themselves around him.

The bright yellow dragon robe is embroidered with a pattern of a dragon soaring over the sea, and the bottom of the robe features surging golden waves, with whitecaps visible from afar.

Her long, ink-black hair was tied up.

The palace maid carefully placed the crown on Xiao Jingzhao's head and then carefully tied the bright yellow crown cord.

A blue gemstone is set in the center of the top of the crown, and tassels of uniform size hang from both sides of the crown.

Against the backdrop of the bright yellow dragon robe, his handsome face possessed the majesty of a god, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix. His innate nobility and the aura of a king who could shake the world emanated from him.

After a long day of preparation, everything was ready, and the dragon robe and all the clothes on his body fit him perfectly.

When only Xiang Yang and Xiang Song remained in the hall, Xiao Jingzhao sat on the small couch and leaned back.

"This dragon robe is heavier than armor."

"Your Majesty is joking. The dragon robe is not as heavy as the armor. I do find it a bit cumbersome."

Xiang Song glanced at Xiang Yang and said, "The Emperor means that the responsibility bestowed upon him by the dragon robe is immense, much heavier than that of armor. How could you and I possibly grasp the deeper meaning behind it?"

Xiao Jingzhao: "..." He really felt heavy.

On the day of his coronation, the sky was clear and blue.

After offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, they also offered incense to Emperor Renzong and his grandfather in the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is divided into a main hall and side halls. The side halls enshrine meritorious officials, and the memorial tablet of Xiao Jingzhao's grandfather was once enshrined here.

Xiao Jingzhao moved his grandfather's memorial tablet from the side hall to the main hall.

Even the imperial edict left by Emperor Renzong for the Xiao family was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The imperial edict was made public, and all the officials bowed in reverence.

The civil and military officials watched as that tall and imposing figure alighted from the sedan chair and walked from one end of the red carpet toward the main hall.

Xiao Jingzhao simplified the enthronement ceremony procedures.

Chief Steward Ma read out the list of officials to be promoted, and Xiao Jingzhao accepted the kneeling salutations of the civil and military officials.

Xiao Jingzhao accepted a jade ruyi presented by the master of ceremonies and slowly walked towards the dragon throne in the main hall.

He walked slowly and steadily, as if each step weighed a ton.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The shouts were deafening, the cannons fired in unison, and the cries of civil and military officials shouting "Long live the Emperor!" echoed throughout the palace for a long time.

The rear hall of the Qianqing Palace was destroyed by fire, and it will take at least six months to repair it.

Xiao Jingzhao learned that Emperor Renzong had once lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Living in the Imperial Study all the time wasn't a good idea, so he ordered his ministers to send all their memorials to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

After the enthronement ceremony, with the autumn examinations approaching, many ministers in the court suggested preparing examination papers.

Prime Minister Wei was particularly enthusiastic, appearing as if he wanted to atone for his sins.

Seeing the ministers who were worried sick, Xiao Jingzhao immediately summoned the Grand Scholar Zhen to the palace and entrusted him with the important task of preparing the examination papers.

Only now did he realize why emperors throughout history were so suspicious. How could they not be suspicious?

As stated in "The Art of Emperors," knowing people and using them well is the foundation of governance.

The key to employing people lies in judging them; their character and abilities must be assessed, otherwise, they will be lost.

Just like in military campaigns, if you trust the wrong person, you will inevitably lose everything.

As the emperor for the first time, Xiao Jingzhao dared not be careless. In addition to managing state affairs, he also had to learn the ways of being a ruler.

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