Chapter 6: Ten feet away from where she was paying respects to her ancestors, her husband was still alive...

The Great Qi Dynasty had its own system for bestowing titles: except for the crown prince, all princes who reached the age of fifteen were granted the title of prince. When they came of age, they had to leave the capital and go to their fiefdoms.

Throughout the history of the Great Qi Dynasty, every prince was granted a fiefdom in accordance with ancestral rules.

However, this ancient and unchanging precedent was broken by Pei Muwei. He was granted the title of Prince at the age of sixteen and went to Beiting to take up his fiefdom in the same year.

Upon hearing this decree, the officials were astonished, unsure whether Emperor Wu intended to bestow a title upon the Ninth Prince or... exile him.

A century ago, Beiting fell into the hands of the Canglang tribe. During the reign of Emperor Wu, the soldiers of Daqi fought a bloody war for ten years and finally recovered the lost territory. However, this protracted war almost exhausted the national strength of Daqi, causing the border city of Beiting to suffer greatly and be devastated.

Those criminals exiled to the army would rather go to Qianzhou, a place teeming with poisonous insects and miasma, than to Beiting, where water freezes instantly in the dead of winter.

Therefore, when the Ministry of Rites copied the document, they used bold strokes of ink to describe the Regent Prince's arduous years of hardship, perseverance, and sacrifice to restore the glory of the Northern Court.

Unexpectedly, these stories, which even the little devils wouldn't believe, brought tears to the eyes of the young empress dowager.

The beauty's eyes were brimming with tears, her watery gaze and the blush on her jade-like nose made her look indescribably pitiful.

But is it genuine affection or a compassionate heart?

Pei Muwei remained calm, his tone even: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your consideration. The time for the sacrifice has come. I request that Your Majesty and Your Majesty proceed to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Chu Yueyuan gently rubbed her reddened nose. She looked at the sleeping little emperor in her arms and said softly, "Your Majesty is fast asleep. Why don't I go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple with the Regent to offer incense?"

Pei Muwei's gaze fell on the Empress Dowager's reddened eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded in agreement.

Eunuch Wang carefully took the sleeping Xiao Yun from Chu Yueyuan's arms. The palace servants quickly raised a peacock feather screen to block the glaring sunlight and escorted the snoring little emperor back to the Zichen Palace.

Chu Yueyuan wanted to get up, but Xiao Yun had been sleeping soundly on her lap for half an hour. Now her legs were sore and numb, and she couldn't muster any strength at all.

She bit her lip, staring at the crimson and gold auspicious cloud pattern on the man's chest, her voice weak: "Your Majesty, could you wait a moment? My legs are sore and numb, and I can't use my strength for the moment."

As soon as she finished speaking, a sleeve embroidered with dragon scales appeared before her eyes, and at the same time, a man's cold voice sounded above her head:

"The auspicious time is approaching. If Your Majesty does not mind, please condescend to do so."

Chu Yueyuan was slightly taken aback. She raised her head and met the Regent's deep eyes with a slightly surprised look.

The man's expression was calm, his dark eyes still shining like the bright moon, without revealing the slightest ripple.

The timing of ancestral worship is crucial, with the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) being the best time for offering sacrifices. Delaying the auspicious time is considered a great disrespect to one's ancestors and could potentially bring about natural disasters or man-made calamities.

As far as Chu Yueyuan knew, the Regent Prince was still unmarried.

For the sake of the Great Qi Dynasty's prosperity, the Regent King was willing to bow and scrape before her, a young widow. If she were to refuse the Regent King's kindness because of the separation of men and women, she would be ungrateful.

With that in mind, she smiled slightly and gracefully reached out to put her hand on the man's arm.

His Highness and his officials waited anxiously for a long time before finally seeing the curtain slightly lifted, and the charming Empress Dowager calmly walking out with her hand on the Regent's arm.

Eunuch Wang lightly flicked his whisk and solemnly announced, "The auspicious hour has arrived. Let us proceed to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is located in the southeast of the Imperial Palace. It is a shrine where the tablets of emperors, empresses and meritorious officials of the Great Qi Dynasty are enshrined. It has tiered terraces and pavilions with green tiles and red eaves.

The main hall is covered with glazed tiles in three colors: blue, yellow, and green. The beams and pillars are made of precious Phoebe zhennan wood. The four sides are equipped with intricately carved white marble railings. There are three levels of steps, each with eighty-one jade steps, totaling two hundred and forty-three jade steps.

It must be said that the Regent's arms were strong, and he was much more reliable in serving people than Eunuch Wang. Even through a thin, smooth layer of satin, Chu Yueyuan could feel the man's firm forearm muscles.

As Chu Yueyuan stepped lightly onto the last jade step, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Does Your Majesty wish to rest?"

Pei Muwei lowered his eyes to look at the panting Empress Dowager. The woman's cheeks were flushed with a faint blush, like morning dew on flower petals. Her hair clung to her forehead, and her delicate nose was pink.

Having shed her dignified demeanor, the young empress dowager finally showed the charming naiveté that comes with youth.

Chu Yueyuan shook her head, politely declining the Regent's offer.

Being with the imposing Regent, she was always on edge, fearing that if she revealed her true nature even slightly, the cold-blooded man would discard her like a used tool.

The sooner she finishes her errands for the day, the sooner she can return to Phoenix Perch Palace to rest.

The final procedure of the enthronement ceremony was for the new emperor to enter the inner hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple with incense, burn three sticks of incense, and kowtow to the ancestors in turn, praying for a bountiful harvest and peace throughout the world in the future of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Emperor Xiao Yun is still very young and can't even walk properly. If we were to hand over the incense to him, he might just use it as a firecracker and set the ancestral temple on fire.

The Minister of Rites consulted with the Regent, and the regulations were slightly revised, changing the system so that the Empress Dowager and the Regent would enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices on behalf of the Emperor.

The officials stopped at the front hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and watched as the young Empress Dowager and the Regent entered the inner hall together.

The walls of the inner hall are hung with portraits of the emperors of the Great Qi Dynasty. In the center are the memorial tablets of the emperors. The main niche, carved with two dragons playing with a pearl and gilded, contains the memorial tablets of the first emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, his grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather. After the fifth generation, the memorial tablets were moved to the side niches on the left and right.

The neatly arranged, vertically elongated memorial tablets are piled up to form a majestic small mountain, with an ever-burning lamp made of whale oil placed in front of each tablet.

More than a hundred lamps flickered with brilliant candlelight in the dimly lit inner hall, like countless eyes coldly scrutinizing those who came in.

Chu Yueyuan received three lit incense sticks from the Imperial Preceptor and devoutly placed them into the gold-lacquered incense burner with a carved blue dragon design.

After completing this procedure, she turned to look at the regent behind her.

As the pale purple sunset faded, a bright, clear moon slowly rose into the night sky.

The bright moonlight fell on the man's tall and straight figure, gilding his dark brocade robe with a layer of radiance. His face was hidden in the shadows and could not be seen clearly. Only his sharp eyebrows and slightly downturned thin lips could be glimpsed in the wisps of smoke.

Following the direction of his gaze, Chu Yueyuan looked at the name on the memorial tablet enshrined in the sandalwood shrine—it was none other than Emperor Wu, who was praised by later generations as one of the greatest emperors of all time.

Chu Yueyuan suddenly remembered what Granny Xu had mentioned about the Regent's mysterious background.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, a hint of unease creeping into her expression. She silently prayed to the mountain of memorial tablets in her heart:

Namo Amitabha Buddha. Ancestors of the Great Qi Dynasty, if the Regent Prince does not have the blood of the Xiao family flowing through his veins, please do not appear in her dreams. She is merely a puppet Empress Dowager forced into this position. As for letting the thief into the house, it was truly not her intention...

Just as he finished reciting it in his mind, a deafening clap of thunder suddenly rang out outside the hall.

Chu Yueyuan has been afraid of thunder since she was a child.

She vividly remembered that stormy night when her father and mother had a fierce argument for some unknown reason. Her father's face was as dark as a storm cloud, and he shoved her hard, sending her mother's thin body flying backward. Her forehead slammed against the corner of the table, drawing blood instantly...

Her heart-wrenching cries could not bring back her father's indifferent back.

The next day, Chu Wanxi stood arrogantly before her, her chin held high, and said coldly:

“My sister is still young. There will be many more days to celebrate her birthday with Father in the future. Why rush? Last night, Father got soaked in the rain on his way back to Nongshui Pavilion to celebrate your birthday. The silver-threaded crane-patterned Guangling robe that Father was wearing was carefully selected by Mother at Jinxiu Manor. It is most taboo for it to get wet.”

After finishing her sentence, Chu Wanxi turned and left gracefully, leaving two maids casting disdainful glances at Chu Yueyuan and muttering as they walked away:

"It seems Madam Hu deliberately gave birth to the second young lady on the madam's birthday, so she could use the child to curry favor with the master every year on his birthday. How pathetic..."

Thunder roared, deafeningly loud, as if it would split the roof of the palace and take the lives of the traitors.

Chu Yueyuan's heart skipped a beat. She quickly covered her ears and involuntarily took a step back, but accidentally fell into the arms of the man behind her.

The sandalwood scent that filled her breath jolted her awake a little, and she shakily raised her head.

A streak of silver lightning suddenly flashed across the night sky, instantly illuminating the dimly lit palace.

In a flash, the man's entire handsome face was illuminated. His dark pupils reflected the wildly flickering candlelight on the altar, like a raging fire, and a destructive ferocity surged in his eyes.

Their eyes met, and Chu Yueyuan's breath froze for a moment.

"I... Ah!"

She let out a short, startled cry and looked down in disbelief at the hand gripping her waist.

The man's knuckles turned white from the force, and the veins on the back of his cold, jade-like hand bulged, like a cold, venomous snake slowly tightening its grip on its captured prey.

Chu Yueyuan's breathing became disordered due to his oppression.

When the eunuch Wang and the imperial advisor, who were waiting outside the palace gate, heard the short scream from the young empress dowager, they quickly peered into the inner palace and saw two figures intertwined on the bluestone floor.

Both of them stared intently, exchanged a glance, and silently withdrew their heads without saying a word.

A deep rumble of thunder swept across the land, and a torrential downpour began. The officials standing outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple were soon drenched, but no one dared to move. They could only curse the "auspicious day" chosen by the Imperial Observatory while secretly hoping that the Regent and the Empress Dowager would finish their worship ceremony quickly.

In the ancestral hall filled with memorial tablets of the Xiao family, the man gripped Chu Yueyuan's waist tightly, his burning gaze looking down at her face.

Those aggressive, fiery gazes made Chu Yueyuan's cheeks burn.

Ten feet away was her husband's memorial tablet, which was still warm.

Chu Yueyuan felt that all of this was too absurd, so absurd that she felt like she was in a dream.

She looked up at the Regent and forced a stiff smile: "I am timid and most afraid of thunder. I lost my composure in my panic. Thank you for your help, Minister Pei."

She deliberately emphasized the words "Minister Pei" to remind the two of the difference between ruler and subject.

But Chu Yueyuan forgot that the man in front of her was a treacherous minister who dared to murder the emperor. She was just a powerless little empress dowager, and the throne above her head was as light as a feather.

Pei Muwei's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze remaining deep and unfathomable, his voice low and husky: "This humble subject thought that for my sister-in-law to feign fainting and fall into my arms under the noses of all the officials, she must be incredibly bold..."

That ambiguous "sister-in-law," accompanied by the sandalwood scent wafting from the man's murmured words, resonated more powerfully than thunder overhead when it reached Chu Yueyuan's ears.

Although the regent's surname was Pei, he was the youngest ninth prince of Emperor Wu, and the brother of her short-lived husband. According to seniority, he was Chu Yueyuan's brother-in-law.

He called her "sister-in-law," which wasn't considered inappropriate.

When the man smiled, the corners of his narrow eyes were slightly upturned, and his pair of beautiful phoenix eyes were deep and charming, accompanied by that ambiguous "sister-in-law".

Upon hearing this, Chu Yueyuan's cheeks flushed red.

She stood there stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment. She felt her face burning and clearly sensed that the breaths between the two of them were becoming increasingly ambiguous.

The portraits of the nine patriarchs and seven founders hanging on the four walls of the main hall seemed to come alive, glaring angrily at the unrestrained couple.

No way... Could it be that the seemingly abstinent Regent is actually even more debauched than the King of Shu, actually wanting to... himself in the Xiao Clan Ancestral Hall...?

Chu Yueyuan was so panicked that her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

A howling, cold wind suddenly blew open the window frames, and the gale-force wind, carrying rainwater, blew towards the sandalwood altar, instantly extinguishing most of the row of ever-burning lamps.

At the same time, the candlelight reflected in the man's dark eyes also went out.

A note from the author:

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