After Zheng He loudly read out the imperial edict, the crowd was both surprised and felt like they had been tricked.

It turns out that the emperor's lenient treatment of yesterday's events in the harem, and his efforts to resolve ethnic issues, were all for the sake of this imperial edict appointing her as empress.

But now they have no choice but to swallow their pride and bear it, since they were the ones who had just given such enthusiastic advice and expressed their agreement.

If the current regime opposes the emperor now, it will confirm their guilt in not wanting the various ethnic groups in Xijing to live in harmony and develop together, which will not be conducive to resolving the problem.

If this were to trigger an uprising or rebellion, and people were to say that the Central Plains dynasty couldn't even tolerate ethnic minorities, wouldn't that be blatant prejudice?

So they could only congratulate the emperor in unison: "Your Majesty is wise! Your Majesty's move plays a crucial role in consolidating the rule over the border regions of the ethnic minorities!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

...

Seeing that things were progressing smoothly, Di Jingcheng had no desire to stay here. He just wanted to go back and be with his Azi.

In this life, everything must be done with Azi first; everything else is secondary.

After everyone finished offering their congratulations, Di Jingcheng said "No need for formalities" and hurriedly left, leaving everyone behind.

Just as everyone was bewildered, a young eunuch hurriedly returned: "My lords, His Majesty has decreed that, in consideration of your journey south on the snowy road and the fact that there are few important matters in winter, the morning court session will henceforth be changed to once every three days."

After announcing the imperial decree, the young eunuch hurriedly left.

Emperor Jingcheng rode in the imperial carriage to the Qianyuan Palace. The thick snow on the palace road had been cleared to the sides by the palace servants. The eunuchs carrying the imperial carriage were wearing warm and thick cotton-padded coats, so they walked with ease.

Di Jingcheng was clearly in a great mood, feeling that the road was far too long. He lifted the curtain to look out several times, but didn't urge anyone on.

——

Ranla Azi wasn't in the Qian Yuan Palace. When she woke up in the morning and found that the man beside her was gone, she wasn't annoyed. She called Qinghe in to help her with her hair and makeup. After washing up and having breakfast, she wanted to go out for a stroll, since being alone was quite boring.

Another key reason is that, as a southerner, she had never seen snow before, and she gets incredibly excited whenever she sees snow.

So she came to the Imperial Garden with a group of palace servants. It was a good place to enjoy and play in the snow. The pavilion in the middle of the lotus pond and the Feilai Pavilion on the artificial hill were both nice spots.

Azi forgot all the unpleasantness of the previous two days and happily strolled through the Imperial Garden, looking at the bare branches. She

I was filled with emotion. I realized that winter in the Central Plains was truly a time of ice and snow, with not a single leaf in sight, everything withered and desolate.

"Qinghe, will these flowers and trees survive next spring?" she asked presumptuously, because these branches piled with snow looked as if they were already dead, devoid of any life.

“Master, these flowers and trees will sprout again next spring,” Qinghe said gently.

Azi nodded, looking at the withered trees with little interest. Seeing this, Qinghe stepped forward and tightened her snow coat, smiling as she said, "Master, let's go take a look ahead. There's a patch of winter plum blossoms blooming in the dead of winter; they must have already opened."

Azi nodded happily: "Let's go, let's go!"

The group arrived at the Plum Garden and saw many young palace maids and eunuchs sweeping snow from the roadside, playing and laughing together from time to time.

Ah Zi looked at the bright red plum blossoms in the snow before her eyes. The specks of rose red dotted the pure white snow and bloomed on the branches, which was simply breathtaking.

"Qinghe, can I pick some lotus leaves to put in a vase?" Azi asked happily as she walked lightly through the woods.

“It is certainly excellent that Your Highness is doing this; I’m sure the Emperor will be pleased to see it.” Qinghe followed behind her with her entourage, carefully protecting her.

Azi nodded, raised her hand and plucked what she considered the most beautiful winter plum blossom. She wanted to take it back and arrange it with Acheng by candlelight. She remembered her mother reciting a poem from the Central Plains to her: "When shall we trim the candle by the west window together, and talk of the night rain in Bashan?"

Although the poems in the poem clock do different things, the artistic conception is roughly the same.

Azi entered through the main gate of Plum Garden, but Plum Garden has four gates, the other three being side gates. Opposite the main gate is a palace that is not luxurious but has its own charm, where the palace staff who are responsible for taking care of Plum Garden live, including maids and eunuchs.

Emperor Jingyuan loved plum blossoms, and he directed the planting and management of most of the plum blossoms here.

Having not seen his elder brother yesterday, he naturally did not see him this morning either, so he came to the Plum Garden early to check on him, since his brother had not been back for a long time.

Qiu Xiang, the palace maid in charge of the plum garden, followed him respectfully with two other maids, listening attentively to his teachings on how to manage the plum blossoms and the palace servants—all of which he had repeatedly instructed him to do.

"Qiu Xiang, and remember this: don't let anyone ruin these winter plum blossoms. They are the fruits of my labor!"

Qiu Xiang looked somewhat embarrassed, and raised her head slightly: "Your Highness, others don't have the guts, but I naturally wouldn't dare to disobey the Emperor, and as for the Princess, Your Highness knows that."

Emperor Jingyuan walked ahead with his hands behind his back, exited the palace gate, looked at the white sky and said: "The snow has stopped early, that's good. Come with me to inspect the plum garden."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Qiu Xiang occasionally answered Di Jingyuan's questions, introducing the management situation this year, and the group walked into the plum grove.

The two palace maids behind him were following a little further away, whispering to each other about Emperor Jingyuan's dashing appearance and gentle personality. Both of them admired him greatly.

Qiu Xiang turned her head and gave the two of them a stern look, which calmed them down considerably.

As they walked, they heard a sweet laugh and the voices of palace servants coming from not far ahead. It was Azi's voice as she happily picked plum blossoms: "Qinghe, these plum blossoms are blooming so beautifully. Let's come again in a couple of days."

Qinghe, holding several bunches of plum blossoms in her arms, smiled and echoed, "As long as Master is happy."

Di Jingyuan stood there listening to the conversation between the master and servants in front of him, finding it quite amusing. Who in this palace didn't know that he had ordered that the plum blossoms in the plum garden not be picked indiscriminately, yet they were picking them happily.

Looking at the prince's mysterious expression, Qiu Xiang remained silent. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and said with a forced smile, "Your Highness, perhaps it is one of the young mistresses."

The two maids behind them dared not speak again and obediently followed behind.

Di Jingyuan wasn't angry. He seemed not to have heard Qiu Xiang's words and walked towards the sweet and soft voice. Qiu Xiang quickly followed and blocked the prickly flower branches for him.

Gradually, the owner of the voice got closer and closer, and he wanted to see who was so bold.

The daring woman appeared before him, and he stared in disbelief through the branches at a distance of about 30 feet.

It was truly a stunning sight at first glance.