Yun Chuwei supported her head to prevent the phoenix crown from being crushed.

She smiled and said softly, "Aren't I here?"

Xie Xuan pursed her lips and did not reply.

He didn't know why, even though she was right in front of him, even though he saw her every day.

But he just felt it wasn't enough.

Yun Chuwei gently stroked Xie Xuan's cheek and said slowly, "Let me change my clothes first, and then we'll have dinner together with Grandmother and Mother, okay?"

"Okay," Xie Xuan replied, releasing Yun Chuwei.

Yun Chuwei walked inside, intending to change her clothes in the inner room, but found that Xie Xuanhei was still following her.

She turned to look at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "What are you trying to do?"

Xie Xuan pointed to her complicated clothes: "These clothes are hard to put on and take off, let me help you!"

Yun Chuwei reached out and pushed him away slightly.

"It's hard to put on and take off, and you don't need to help me! Go outside and wait for me!"

She dared not ask him for help; if she couldn't control herself, she wouldn't be able to eat!

Helpless, Xie Xuan could only turn around and walk away.

-

Amidst the anticipation of the world, the day of his coronation and wedding finally arrived.

When Yun Chuwei entered the palace, Xie Xuan had already completed his coronation ceremony.

As Yun Chuwei walked towards Xie Xuan in her wedding dress, Sun Jiasheng read out the imperial edict appointing her as empress beside Xie Xuan.

This imperial edict was not issued by Xie Xuan, but rather, like a decree of succession, it was written by Emperor Tianqi during his lifetime.

The people kneeling on the ground, listening to the imperial edict, looked at each other in bewilderment.

Because they heard that in his imperial edict, Emperor Tianqi not only made Yun Chuwei empress, but also ordered Xie Xuan to leave the harem empty, with only the empress.

In their view, this was simply unbelievable.

It's understandable that the late emperor would choose an empress for his successor, since the empress is crucial to the foundation of the nation.

However, it is clearly unreasonable to leave the harem empty for the successor.

Therefore, after the imperial edict was read, some ministers raised objections.

“Your Majesty, the late Emperor left this imperial edict because of his high regard and favoritism towards the Empress. However, for the sake of the country and its people, leaving the harem empty is not an option. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider,” an elderly minister surnamed Wu said first.

The other ministers also showed expressions of agreement.

Xie Xuan nodded: "I think what you say is very true, but this is the late emperor's decree, and I cannot disobey it. Why don't we trouble Lord Wu to go and see the late emperor and ask him to rescind his order?"

Upon hearing this, the ministers' expressions changed slightly, as they were not quite sure what Xie Xuan meant.

Xie Xuan had already given instructions to the Embroidered Uniform Guards standing to the side.

"Send Lord Wu to the late emperor's mausoleum, and send him to see the late emperor tomorrow!"

Lord Wu was shocked. Before he could say anything, the Embroidered Uniform Guards held him down, gagged him, and took him away.

The surrounding ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xie Xuan's gaze swept over the assembled officials, his voice gentle: "Even if the late emperor's decree is unreasonable, I must obey it. If any minister can persuade the late emperor to rescind his order, that would be even better. Whichever minister wishes to attempt this, please inform me, and I will send him to see the late emperor."

The ministers dared not speak further, fearing that Xie Xuan would send them to see the late emperor.

While everyone remained silent, Xie Xuan had already reached out and led Yun Chuwei to perform the sacrificial ceremony.

Yun Chuwei walked beside Xie Xuan, somewhat amused, and said, "The late emperor decreed that you should leave the harem empty? You really dare to dream!"

The late emperor did indeed guess that Xie Xuan would leave the harem empty for her.

Therefore, he would be even less likely to write this point on the imperial edict, since once it was written down, it would become a point of contention for him.

Clearly, the point about the vacant harem was not written by Emperor Tianqi, but added by Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan knew he couldn't hide it from Yun Chuwei, and he didn't intend to.

"Who can prove that it wasn't the late Emperor's will? If anyone has doubts, I won't punish them. Of course, I'll send them to see the late Emperor so they can ask him themselves. What do you think of my approach? Isn't it very practical?"

Yun Chuwei: ...

"Are you sure it's grounded in reality, and not just connected to the local government?"

Xie Xuan chuckled softly upon hearing Yun Chuwei's words, and a pleasant atmosphere spread around them.

"You're still laughing?" Yun Chu raised an eyebrow.

Xie Xuan led Yun Chuwei forward, explaining in a low voice, "Only by bringing them to the Heavenly Palace will they have something to fear. I don't want to keep bringing this up with them! Weiwei, you won't blame me, will you?"

Yun Chu smiled and said slowly, "Your Majesty is truly wise; this is a method that solves the problem once and for all."

The fact that the harem was left empty was bound to cause conflict between Xie Xuan and the ministers.

Now, Xie Xuan has turned it into a conflict between the ministers and the late emperor.

How can the living contend with the dead? Moreover, there is a new emperor who might send them to meet the late emperor at any moment; they probably don't even have the will to fight anymore!

This was indeed very clever, but it somewhat tarnished the late emperor's reputation.

However, she didn't care about that, and she believed Xie Xuan wouldn't care either.

-

The new emperor ascended the throne, the emperor and empress got married, and then a general amnesty was granted.

The scope of the amnesty was determined by Yun Chuwei herself, and it targeted prisoners who had no grievances and were forced to resist, or whose circumstances were excusable.

The main purpose was also to convert these prisoners into productive forces.

Because of the amnesty, Qin Zhi personally came to see Yun Chuwei.

It's about Yun Qianming.

"When the late Emperor was alive, he spared Yun Qianming's life out of respect for the old lady of the Yun family, but simply kept him imprisoned in the imperial prison. Now that there's a general amnesty, what do you think should be done with Yun Qianming?" Qin Zhi asked Yun Chuwei.

Logically speaking, Yun Qianming shouldn't be eligible for a general amnesty.

However, this person was someone the late emperor had paid special attention to, and also the empress's own brother.

If Yun Chuwei wanted to get the person out, this was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

Qin Zhi couldn't figure out what Yun Chuwei meant either, so he asked her a question.

Yun Chuwei was somewhat surprised. She hadn't paid much attention to Yun Qianming, so she didn't know that he was still alive.

Yun Chuwei understood why Qin Zhi had asked her. She said, "He shouldn't be eligible for a general amnesty, right? Since the matter has been investigated, let's just give him a cup of poison."

Qin Zhi was surprised that Yun Chuwei would so directly sentence Yun Qianming to death.

He agreed and was about to leave.

Yun Chuwei suddenly thought of something and said, "Let Jiang Wanqiu accompany Lord Cui to deliver this cup of arsenic!"

Qin Zhi was overjoyed to hear this.

Yun Qianming was, after all, a member of the Yun family, and even His Majesty spared his life out of respect for Old Madam Yun. He poisoned someone with a single cup of wine; if Old Madam Yun wanted to pursue the matter, it would be difficult to explain.

If it was Lord Cui who sent the poisoned wine, then it would make sense.

In short, it's not his fault.

After figuring things out, Qin Zhi went to find Jiang Wanqiu with light steps.

Qin Zhi hadn't expected that after delivering the poisoned wine, Yun Chuwei would come looking for him again.

Yun Chuwei was somewhat surprised to see Qin Zhi again.

"Is there anything else?"