Chapter 404: Queen's Ceremony

What Zhao Hua said was actually exactly what Xiao Jingheng was worried about.

This is why Cheng Yu had originally been made the crown prince, but after returning to the palace this time, Xiao Jingheng did not mention this matter at all, and only called Cheng Yu "prince" to everyone inside and outside the palace.

By doing so, isn't he indirectly denying the fact that Cheng Yu had already been made the crown prince?

I think you know how to admit this.

Cheng Yu is the crown prince. If he inherits the throne in the future, and if he really treats the Chen couple as his own relatives out of filial piety as Zhao Hua said, then wouldn't he, the emperor, lose all face?

Therefore, from the moment Cheng Yu was brought back to the palace, Xiao Jingheng actually had no intention of keeping the Chen couple alive.

It's just that it was delayed by the Xiannongli matter and had not been put on the agenda yet.

Now that Zhao Hua has said this, it can be said that he is in tune with his thoughts.

At this moment, Xiao Jingheng gazed at Yu Zhaohua affectionately.

However, this look puzzled Zhao Hua.

"Why is Xiao Lang looking at me like this?"

"Zhao'er and I are becoming more and more in tune with each other."

Xiao Jingheng smiled, and quickly grabbed Zhao Hua's hand again, "To be honest with you, Zhao'er, what you said is exactly what I am worried about. When I returned to the palace this time, I had planned to let the people in the Anbu secretly act to give the Chen couple a quick death. But this matter cannot be done too obviously, so I plan to let the Chen residence catch fire and treat everything as an accident."

Hearing this, Zhao Hua nodded in agreement as if relieved of a heavy burden, but his tightly furrowed brows relaxed for a moment before quickly tightening again.

She said gloomily:

"Xiao Lang had made such a careful arrangement early on, and I was overthinking it. But... Mr. and Mrs. Chen did raise Cheng Yu, and I feel bad for being so cruel to them. I always feel... like I am repaying kindness with enmity."

"Zhao'er, you don't have to think like that." Xiao Jingheng advised her, "If you want to achieve great things, you must make sacrifices. The Chen couple are also citizens of the Qi Dynasty. Sacrificing for the country is their innate duty."

He held Zhaohua's thin shoulders, exerted a little force, and held her in his arms.

"If you still can't figure it out, I will be the villain. Zhao'er, just pretend you know nothing and don't bother yourself with thinking too much. The day after tomorrow will be your coronation ceremony, so you should prepare well. I am also looking forward to the day when you are officially crowned and the world is told that you are my legitimate wife."

The next day,

On the eve of the empress's coronation ceremony, the empress's phoenix crown and robe were delivered to Changle Palace in advance.

Our dynasty had once had an Empress Jiarui. Logically, the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Household Department should have just followed the old rules regarding the design and production of the phoenix crown and robe.

But now, judging from the complexity of the production of the phoenix crown and phoenix robe, it is hard to tell how much more complicated they are than those of the former Queen Jiarui.

These things have been sent here before.

When Zhaohua first saw them, they were far less luxurious than they are today.

"Didn't I say not to be too extravagant?"

Chen Minzhong, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, smiled and replied, "The Emperor values ​​the Empress so much that he gives her the best of everything. All of this is arranged by the Emperor."

Zhaohua was the successor queen. According to the rules, she could not go beyond Empress Jiarui in terms of clothing and the regulations of the ceremony of conferring the title of queen.

This is against the rules now.

But Xiao Jingheng was a person who knew the rules better than her. If he insisted on doing so, Zhao Hua had no choice but to refuse.

At this moment, she looked at the phoenix crown and phoenix robe before her. The golden threads and beads were as dazzling as the stars in the sky.

I couldn't help but feel emotional.

This day finally arrived.

Chen Minzhong even flattered:

"After the ceremony of crowning the empress tomorrow, the empress will have to move out of Changle Palace. Fengluan Palace had been repaired after the fire. But for your position as the empress, the emperor specially ordered us to renovate it. Now the place is decorated magnificently and dazzlingly. Anyone who passes by the palace gate and takes a look at it can't help but praise it for its beauty."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hua just smiled and nodded in agreement.

After all, no matter how rich that place was, Zhaohua's most profound impression of it was the blazing fire that Queen Jiarui had lit here with her own hands when she was alive.

That night, the burning Fengluan Palace almost lit up half the sky red, becoming a more dazzling presence than the Chaoyang Palace.

Now Zhaohua is also going to the most dazzling place.

The eighth day of April in the ninth year of Qiyuan is auspicious and suitable for marriage.

Early in the morning, Changle Palace became bustling.

Everywhere you look, you can see the festive red color.

The entire imperial city was filled with the sound of endless joyous music.

Except when the emperor ascends the throne, there is no other time in the palace that is so lively.

At that time, Yunshan and several maids in the imperial court were helping Zhaohua to wash and dress.

Her makeup today is very gorgeous.

With red lips, rosy eyebrows, and a red-stamen peony on her forehead, she looks so beautiful that she seems to be glowing, making people unable to take their eyes away.

Even her aura is completely different from when she was a concubine.

Zhaohua looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly remembered what the Queen Mother said to her before she died.

"You will never be able to leave this palace in your lifetime. I ask you, do you want to spend your life with a madman, or do you want to use him to get what you want step by step?"

Regarding this question,

Now Zhaohua has an extremely firm answer in his heart.

After helping Zhaohua get dressed, Yunshan looked at the intricately embroidered flying phoenix on the phoenix robe. Past events overlapped and flashed before her eyes.

She accompanied Zhaohua step by step until today. Recalling the hardships and bitterness of the past, she also sighed with tears in her eyes:

"Congratulations, young lady, on being officially crowned queen. Now, your Highness, you have become the most noble woman in the world. From now on, you will no longer have to look at other people's faces."

Zhaohua smiled and nodded, and heaved a long sigh of relief, as if he had sailed through thousands of mountains.

"Yeah, everything is fine."

However, there was one thing she could only keep in her heart and could not speak it out loud.

She looked out the window, gazing far into the distance in the direction of Chaoyang Palace.

But one can only vaguely see a golden roof through the layers of golden buildings.

On top of the top pillar, there is a majestic golden dragon coiled.

Looking up at the sky, it seems as if I will soar into the sky in the next moment.

Zhao Hua smiled silently, but he understood in his heart:

This phoenix position is not the ultimate.

Above this Phoenix throne, there is also a shaky Dragon throne.