Chapter 65: Consecration

Xue Qi saw through her thoughts and said gently, "I'm not saying that Princess doesn't have the ability to lead troops in battle. It's just that the Xiqi Cavalry is brave, Princess. Don't underestimate them. Furthermore, we, the Jinwu Guard, are all locals of the capital and don't understand the situation in the border towns. Even if we want to fight, we can't fight such a tough battle. And—"

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Once this war begins, it won't be over for at least a year or two. And we, the Golden Crow Guard, are all women. Besides being on guard against the enemy, we also have to be wary of the men fighting alongside us. In war, anything can happen. We really don't need to take this risk."

Zhao Mingyue was stunned for a moment before she understood what Xue Qi meant, and then her eyes widened in surprise.

Compared with her, a young girl who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, Xue Qi had not only more age and knowledge, but also the experience she had gained from traveling around the world with her master for so many years.

She knew too well what men were like.

No matter how unwilling Zhao Mingyue was, she had no choice but to accept the fact and gave up the idea in her heart.

She hung her head and said dejectedly, "I understand, Master."

Zhao Yuzhang raised his head, a flash of pain in his eyes. "What Xue Siji said is what I want to say. Never associate with men."

After a pause, she looked at Xue Qi and said in a serious tone, "Xue Siji is extremely intelligent. If there ever comes a day when we have to go to war, I will definitely ask Xue Siji to be my military advisor."

Xue Qi humbly said, "General, you are too kind."

Zhao Mingyue felt an inexplicable sense of loss in her heart when she saw how they both admired each other.

She knew in her heart that Xue Qi was right, but it was a rare opportunity for her to actively put forward her own ideas, but she was rejected, so she couldn't help feeling depressed.

Zhao Mingyue didn't want them to notice, so she said goodbye and left, saying she wanted to practice shooting.

However, this war against Xiqi was just as Xue Qi said. It was in a stalemate from the very beginning, and the battle line became longer and longer.

Although the Xiqi army was brave, Duan Rong, who had been stationed in Tangzhou for many years, was no pushover. After receiving reinforcements from the main army of the imperial court, he retaliated against Xiqi several times.

As the weather gradually turned colder, the food was almost consumed, and the morale of the army became increasingly low, but Tangzhou City had not yet been captured. King Motuo of Xiqi could not help but feel anxious.

Just then, someone secretly delivered a batch of weapons and bedding to him.

This person was none other than Zhao Zhuo, the Prince of Yu in Yanzhou. It was he who sent someone to tell him the news of his brother Bai Ma's murder.

Prince Yu wanted Xiqi to support him in becoming the emperor of Dayong in the future. Prince Xiqi thought about it and decided that anyone could be the emperor of Dayong, and cooperating with this person would be beneficial for the time being, so he agreed.

But he didn't expect that Prince Yu was really a traitor. In order to overthrow the reigning Queen Mother Chi, he actually sent him things at this juncture to solve his urgent needs.

He immediately accepted the supplies, opened them, and found that the weapons were extremely sharp and the bedding was thick and durable. He was immediately overjoyed and ordered people to distribute the supplies so that they could capture Tangzhou City in one go.

At this time, his generals presented another scroll, "My lord, Prince Yu said that this is a rare treasure, please accept it."

King Xiqi frowned in confusion. How could a mere painting be considered a rare treasure?

He ordered, "Open it and take a look."

The general quickly unfolded the scroll, and a young girl in luxurious clothes instantly appeared in King Xiqi's sight.

"This is Queen Mother Chi's favorite, Princess Mingyue. She is already 16 years old, stunningly beautiful and a rare treasure."

King Xiqi, who was over fifty years old, immediately showed a greedy expression. The cracked and dark-spotted skin on his face trembled, and his eyes, which were fixed on the painting, flashed with greed.

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow and black teeth, and said in a hoarse and excited voice, "Okay, okay! I'll take this rare treasure!"

Then he looked at Prince Yu's men and said, "Go back and tell your prince that I only recognize him as the emperor of the Darong Dynasty."

The subordinate agreed and said goodbye and left.

But what King Xiqi didn't expect was that after this person returned to Yanzhou, the first person he met was not King Yu, but King Yu's official, Xie Qinjian.

Xie Qinjian sat by the window and asked calmly, "How is it? Did King Xiqi accept the painting?"

The subordinate replied, "We have accepted it. Prince Xiqi also said that he would definitely support Prince Yu to become emperor."

Xie Qinjian raised a sneer, "Prince Yu? He's such a born fool, is he worthy of this?"

The subordinate reacted calmly to this statement, but instead asked curiously, "Sir, why did you give Princess Mingyue's painting to King Xiqi?"

Xie Qinjian glanced at him and said, "You don't need to know this. Go and report to Prince Yu."

"Yes." The men left.

Xie Qinjian looked at the beautiful scenery outside the window again, a smug smile on his face, "Of course it's because we want to play the hero saving the beauty!"

Even if Zhao Mingyue's personality was changed by Chi Li, he would still find a way to get her.

It’s a pity that while the mantis is stalking the cicada, the oriole is unaware of the other one behind.

Xie Qinjian thought he was in control of the situation, but he didn't know that all his plans were seen by Chi Qi.

————

"Go and ask the princess to come over."

Chi Luo placed the bronze mirror upside down on the table, turned around and instructed Dan Ying who was standing outside.

Danying lowered her eyebrows in response, then turned and walked out.

A quarter of an hour later, the sound of boots could be heard outside the palace. Zhao Mingyue, dressed in a brocade robe with a gold-trimmed edge and a dark cape, strode into the room, feeling cool. Her voice was clear and pleasant, "What do you want, mother?"

When he reached Chi Li, he bowed and said, "Greetings to the Queen Mother."

Chi Qi smiled and asked her to sit down. She lightly touched the paper with ink writing on the table with her fingers and pushed it in front of her. "This is the title proposed by the Ministry of Rites. Which one do you like?"

Zhao Mingyue's birthday was in March, and she would be coming of age in half a month. She had already heard Chi Lan tell her that she would be given a title, so she wasn't surprised to hear Chi Lan ask her to choose a title.

She took the paper and read through them one by one, but her brows slowly furrowed.

This dynasty likes to use beautiful names as titles for princesses, and the ones proposed for her by the Ministry of Rites are no exception, Changle, Yongning, Fu'an, Hegong... She might have liked them in the past, but now they seem too vulgar.

Seeing the "川" character between her eyebrows, Chi Yan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why, you don't like it?"

Zhao Mingyue said decisively: "I don't like it."

Then he stood up, walked to Chi Lan, shook her sleeve, and begged, "Mother, please get it for me. I want you to get it!"

Chi Qi held her forehead with her hand as she felt a headache. She hated the idea of naming the most, let alone choosing a title. But when she heard Zhao Mingyue's pleading, she felt annoyed, fearing that Zhao Mingyue would not give up unless she chose a name for her.

She thought for a moment and said, "Since your name is Mingyue, let's come up with Fuguang, which is both the bright moon in the dark night and the sun in the Fusang tree, illuminating the world."

"Fuguang, Princess Fuguang..." Zhao Mingyue murmured, loosening the hand holding her sleeve, a smile on her face, "Okay, I want this!"

So the two words "Fuguang" were decided and the text for the imperial edict was drafted by the Ministry of Rites.

In the blink of an eye, it was Zhao Mingyue's coming-of-age day.

On that day, Chi Luo personally went to the princess's residence to perform the coming-of-age ceremony for Zhao Mingyue, which was an honor that no other princess had ever had before.

The newly built Princess's Mansion was magnificent, and the guests invited to the ceremony were stunned by its lavish furnishings. The Golden Crow Guards were also invited, and Yuzhao even led soldiers to patrol the area to prevent anyone from sneaking in.

Zhao Yuzhang carefully prepared a gift for Zhao Mingyue. Xue Qi, Wu Wenxiu and Ling Qiong also prepared gifts. In addition, a group of officials, knowing that Zhao Mingyue was the most beloved princess of Empress Dowager Chi, also prepared expensive gifts.

At the time of Shen, bells and music rang out, and the female official announced the imperial decree, conferring the title of Princess Fuguang on Zhao Mingyue, granting her a golden book and a fief of 1,000 households.

Zhao Mingyue thanked the emperor for his grace.

After the enthronement ceremony, the guests moved to the front hall and took their seats in order. Unlike in the past, there were no separate seats for men and women, and the female officials even sat above the male officials.

When the male officials saw this, although they did not show it on their faces, they felt very uncomfortable in their hearts.

The Minister of Rites grumbled, "Men and women sitting together at the same table is totally unethical!"

The officials nearby immediately echoed in a low voice, "Exactly! And Princess Fuguang is quite powerful. No princess has ever been granted a title and a government office before her marriage."

"Even if Queen Mother Chi wants to pamper the princess, there should be a limit!"

The two were just whispering to each other when they suddenly saw the guards rushing in from outside, "Princess, many people have come from outside the palace to present you with gifts!"

Zhao Mingyue was standing beside Chi Li, talking to her. When she heard the guard's words, she was also surprised. "What? I'll go check it out."

She was completely confused. Why would people come to present her with gifts?

Zhao Mingyue walked out quickly, and Xue Qi and others naturally followed. The other officials who were curious also stood up to watch the fun.

So they formed a huge group and arrived at the gate of the princess's mansion. When they looked outside, they saw hundreds of people, one after another, respectfully placing gifts at the door. There were flowers, fruits, eggs, and the gifts extended all the way to the street.

Zhao Mingyue was stunned when she saw this worthless gift.

Looking up, she saw Liu Jiying standing in the crowd. Then she moved her eyes to the side and saw people she had rescued from the Ministry of Justice prison.

Zhao Mingyue covered her mouth in surprise, tears welling up in her eyes. This was simply the best gift she had received today.

When the people saw her appear, they also became excited.

"Your Highness, it was Your Highness who saved me. Your Highness is the living Guanyin!"

"Her Royal Highness the Princess led the troops to victory over those men, bringing honor to us women!"

"Your Highness the Princess is the greatest benevolent Bodhisattva in the world."

Suddenly, someone knelt down and shouted, "Long live Princess Fuguang! Long live! Long live!"

The others followed suit and knelt down to kowtow, "Long live Princess Fuguang! Long live! Thousands of thousands of lives!"

Zhao Mingyue hurriedly said, "Get up! Get up!"

However, no one wanted to stand up, so Zhao Mingyue had to ask the palace soldiers to help them up one by one. However, when one of them stood up, the other one knelt down again.

"If the princess doesn't accept the gift, we won't get up."

Zhao Mingyue had no choice but to have people accept all the gifts, and then immediately set up a long table outside the mansion gate, brought all the dishes for the banquet to the long table, and entertained everyone.

Everyone was flattered and respected her even more as she had no airs at all.

However, this scene was very glaring to the male officials. "Isn't Princess Fuguang a little too popular?"

"It's not just the people's support, she also has the Golden Crow Guards, which is an entire firearms battalion!"

However, some people did not take it seriously. "They are just a bunch of women and children. They can't be considered popular. Besides, the Golden Crow Guards only have a thousand men. There is nothing to worry about."