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"Come and have dinner with me after your shift at dusk."

A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day, so when the previous emperor just passed away, after all the ministers gathered inside and outside the Qianyuan Hall to mourn, the left prime minister Yan Xizheng took the lead in respectfully inviting the crown princess to succeed to the throne and become the new emperor.

Succession does not mean ascending the throne. As for when the new emperor should hold the coronation ceremony, Emperor Xingwu discussed it with the two prime ministers and Minister of Rites Xie Xunwen in the first month of the year.

As the founding emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, Emperor Xingwu could either follow the precedent of any previous dynasty or set a new precedent for future emperors of his own dynasty when it came to when his successor would ascend the throne. Looking through the precedents of various dynasties over the past thousands of years, some crown princes ascended the throne on the day of the previous emperor's death or the next day, while others ascended the throne half a month or a month after the previous emperor's death.

Emperor Xingwu felt that a day or two was too short. The funeral of the previous emperor and the coronation of the new emperor were to be held simultaneously. Should the ministers mourn for the late emperor or celebrate for the new one? Half a month or a month seemed too long. Although Emperor Xingwu believed his daughter already possessed the prestige and ability to control the court, he was concerned that her uncle, Prince Mang, still lived in the capital. To prevent any potential rebellion, Emperor Xingwu decreed a seven-day funeral for himself. After seven days of mourning, the imperial family and ministers would bury him in the imperial mausoleum. The coronation ceremony for the new emperor would be held the day after the burial.

Just like when an elder in a commoner's family is seriously ill, as soon as there are signs that he is about to pass away, his descendants will prepare coffins, mourning clothes and other items in advance. The same is true for the royal family. It was Emperor Xingwu who personally issued an order, so in the first month of the year, the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to prepare for Emperor Xingwu's funeral and the coronation ceremony of the Crown Princess at the same time. The Shangyifang and Shangbaofang were also working in an orderly manner to make Emperor Xingwu's burial clothes and the various dragon robes and crowns that the Crown Princess would wear after she ascended the throne.

Emperor Xingwu did not discuss these matters with his daughter, fearing that she would feel upset after hearing them, but Qingyang knew about it all the time.

.

On the ninth day of the second month, the late emperor was buried in the imperial mausoleum.

On the tenth day of the second lunar month, the new emperor held his coronation ceremony, and the entire ceremony went smoothly.

When the one-month national mourning was lifted on the second day of March, the capital welcomed the arrival of spring flowers.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, before the end of his shift at the Imperial Guard, Zhang Su suddenly received a message from the Empress Dowager, asking him to meet her in the Imperial Garden.

After Qingyang ascended the throne, he appointed his biological mother, Concubine Li, as the Empress Dowager and appointed the Imperial Concubine as the Imperial Concubine Dowager as usual. Because the two ladies were already used to living in their original palaces, Qingyang did not ask them to move palaces again. Anyway, the Empress's Central Palace was located behind Qianyuan Hall, and Zhang Su would either live in the Central Palace or accompany her in Qianyuan Hall. He would never go to the West Palace unless necessary, and Qingyang had no plans to send a male concubine to the West Palace.

The Queen Mother was very cautious when she was Concubine Li, and she remained so after becoming the Queen Mother. She didn't want to ask Zhang Su to go to the West Palace to see her, nor did she want her to go to the Central Palace to wait for Zhang Su to come back, so she set the meeting place in the Imperial Garden.

When Zhang Su arrived, he found that the Empress Dowager and the Noble Concubine were both there, sitting side by side in a waterside pavilion chatting, while the eight palace maids and eunuchs they brought with them were waiting outside.

Zhang Su was still wearing the official robes of the Imperial Guard, and when he saw the two ladies he subconsciously performed the ritual of a subject.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "We are all family, there is no need to be so formal. Please sit down and talk, Sulang."

Two eunuchs carried in a chair and placed it opposite the ladies, a few steps away.

Zhang Su thanked him respectfully and sat on the chair.

Logically speaking, Zhang Su was a child who grew up under the care of the empress dowager. In addition, with the current relationship between mother-in-law and son-in-law, the empress dowager should be able to speak freely in front of her son-in-law. However, Zhang Su, the son-in-law, was too taciturn, and the empress dowager was a timid and thin-skinned person. Zhang Su lowered his eyes politely and waited for the two ladies to speak. The empress dowager looked at his serious look and hesitated.

She looked at the noble concubine beside her for help.

The noble concubine shook her head helplessly and spoke on behalf of the empress dowager, "Sulang, the emperor is to observe a 27-day mourning period for the late emperor. Now that the national mourning has been lifted for three days, why are you still living in the central palace by yourself? The emperor didn't summon you."

Zhang Su: “…Yes.”

With the noble concubine's words, the empress dowager dared to speak. Her daughter's thin face appeared before her eyes. The empress dowager said with heartache: "The late emperor loved the emperor the most. After the late emperor passed away, the emperor was heartbroken. We can understand that he wanted to be alone and quietly remember the late emperor. But from a public perspective, she shoulders the affairs of the state of Da Qi and should not indulge herself in grief. From a personal perspective, I can't bear to see my daughter continue to be depressed. Can Su Lang bear it?"

Zhang Su naturally couldn't bear it, but it was precisely because the national mourning had just ended and the emperor didn't summon him to spend the night in Qianyuan Palace, which meant that the emperor had not yet gotten over the pain of the previous emperor's death. If he rashly went over, Zhang Su was not afraid of being disliked by the emperor, but he was afraid that his self-righteous concern would cause the emperor more trouble.

The noble concubine understood his concerns, but only Zhang Su, the emperor's bedside companion, was the most suitable person to comfort him. They were his elders, and even if the emperor felt sad, he could still smile and pretend to be strong in front of them. Although Prince Xian was of the same generation as the emperor and his elder brother, he had been under the emperor's control since he was a child. How could the emperor take Prince Xian's consolation to heart?

Prince An is the eldest brother, but I'm afraid that if this eldest brother mentions his father, he will burst into tears first, and then the emperor will have to comfort him...

The noble concubine made the arrangements directly: "Sulang, you will go with us to have dinner with the emperor later. After dinner, we will ask you to stay with the emperor. This way, the emperor will not blame you for acting on your own initiative."

The Queen Mother said: "Yes, the Emperor will still give us this favor. Then you should work hard tonight and try to get the Emperor to let you stay in Qianyuan Palace permanently in the future."

In the first two years after she entered the palace, the late emperor asked her to live in Qianyuan Palace. The daughter and son-in-law are childhood sweethearts, and the daughter's love for her son-in-law will definitely exceed that of the late emperor for her, no less.

Zhang Su lowered his head slightly.

The Queen Mother: "...I'm saying you should say something nice to please the Emperor..."

Noble Concubine: "...Don't worry, sister, Sulang understands everything."

Only Zhang Su knew whether he understood or not. The empress dowager's face turned red because of him. After the noble concubine changed the subject and her face returned to normal, the two of them took Zhang Su to Qianyuan Hall.

When passing the path in the garden where the late emperor passed by, the empress dowager recalled the loving scenes when the late emperor accompanied her to visit the imperial garden, and a layer of tears appeared in her eyes again.

For more than a month, she still dreams of the late emperor, and still misses him so much that she hides in her room and secretly cries.

But she was a free person and could cry as much as she wanted. But her daughter was different. She had too many things to take care of and she was still so young. The Queen Mother hoped that her daughter would get over the pain of losing her father as soon as possible.

Qianyuan Hall.

After ascending the throne, Qingyang, like her father, was busiest in the mornings. In the afternoon, she could either continue with state affairs or take a break. But she didn't want to rest. After reviewing new memorials, she could look through older ones or read. The palace's collection of books was vast, covering everything, and she couldn't finish reading them all in her lifetime. In recent years, Qingyang had devoted herself to reading books closely related to people's livelihoods, such as agricultural books and mineral smelting. If she couldn't understand something, she would call in the scholars from the Hanlin Academy who were proficient in these subjects.

The head eunuch of Qianyuan Hall had been replaced by Jie Yu. The two eunuchs, Zhao Cai and Jin Bao, who had been trained by the late emperor and He Yuanjing, remained. However, the elderly He Yuanjing had volunteered to guard the late emperor's mausoleum. Perhaps Qingyang would allow him to return to his homeland to retire. He Yuanjing had family back home, and he could enjoy a few years of wealth and leisure if he returned. Why spend the rest of his life alone in the imperial mausoleum?

My father has always been kind to the meritorious officials around him. He Yuanjing has served my father diligently and deserves to enjoy his old age.

Hearing the sound of Jie Yu paying respects to his mother and the noble concubine outside, Qingyang quickly put away the book in his hand and lay down on the couch by the window to take a nap.

The Empress Dowager did not need to wait for Jie Yu's message when she came to see her daughter. Jie Yu only had to lead the way. After coming in and seeing the emperor lying on the couch, Jie Yu lowered her head and wanted to laugh, but she felt even more heartbroken.

When the Queen Mother saw her daughter lying on the couch, she couldn't help but slow down her pace. At the same time, Qingyang seemed to be startled by the footsteps and woke up.

"Mother?"

Qingyang sat up, showing a hint of surprise, then said in shame: "I wanted to take a break, but I didn't expect to sleep for so long."

The Queen Mother immediately said, "It's all because of exhaustion. The spring weather is so beautiful. From now on, the Emperor should go for a walk in the Imperial Garden after his lunch break. A good balance of work and rest will give him enough energy to handle the affairs of state the next day."

The imperial concubine also gave a few words of advice.

Qingyang smiled and said he would do as he was told.

The Queen Mother asked Jie Yu to serve the meal, then looked at Zhang Su and asked her daughter to look at him: "Look at Su Lang, have you lost weight recently?"

Zhang Su: “…”

Qingyang, who had summoned Fan Zhong and Zhang Su to the imperial study this morning for questioning, said: "...He has lost weight."

The Queen Mother said: "I was thinking of you. How can an emperor ignore his wife for over a month?"

Qingyang looked at his mother's face which was red for some reason, then glanced at Zhang Su's ears which were also turning red quickly, and actually laughed.

As night fell, the Queen Mother and the Noble Concubine left together, successfully keeping Zhang Su as planned.

Qingyang took Zhang Su to the rear hall, where the emperor and empress took a bath separately. Even though Zhang Su had not stayed overnight in the Qianyuan Hall, his clothes were prepared here.

Zhang Su still washed faster than Qingyang, but this time he was waiting for the emperor in the main hall instead of the bedroom.

After Qingyang walked towards Zhang Su, Fu Liu and the other man, who had just helped the emperor bathe, quickly left and closed the door from the outside.

Qingyang looked at Zhang Su's face, which was slightly red from bathing, and said with a smile, "Did Mother and the others insist on you coming?"

Zhang Su looked at the new emperor who was about to pass by and sit on the chair. He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his right hand on her back and bent down to kiss her half-wet long hair. "Yes, but I have wanted to come for a long time, every night."

Qingyang leaned quietly on his shoulder.

She didn't tell whether Zhang Su had lost weight or not, she just felt that his shoulders were as broad and strong as she remembered, and that this embrace still made her feel inexplicably at ease as before.

She hugged Zhang Su and said with her eyes closed: "I miss you too."

Just thinking very simply.

The quieter the night was, the more she missed her father. The more she missed him, the more lonely the night seemed. But her father would never come back, and the only one who could accompany her was Zhang Su.

Zhang Su definitely cannot be called over during the national mourning period. Now that the national mourning is over, Qingyang doesn't want to act so anxiously.

Fortunately, my mother sent the person over.

After snuggling quietly for a while, Zhang Su picked up the new emperor and went to the bedroom.

The emperor and empress did nothing that night, but just hugged each other until they fell asleep. The next day, on the sixth day, they had to attend the morning court, and Zhang Su got up with Qingyang.

He personally dressed the new emperor in dragon robes and crowns.

He also had to attend court, and he and the ministers had to wait outside the Qianyuan Hall first.

Qingyang watched him walk out, and when Zhang Su was about to step out, he smiled and said, "Come and have dinner with me after your shift in the evening."

Zhang Su stopped and turned around, saluting the new emperor opposite him: "Yes."

His voice was calm, but Qingyang saw the corners of his lips turned up.

【Author’s words】

Thank you so much, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!