After the late emperor's burial, the matter of the new emperor's ascension to the throne began.
The new emperor said everything should be kept simple, but the Ministry of Rites still worked hard for a month and finally put together a decent enthronement ceremony.
The seventh day of the sixth lunar month was an auspicious day chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. The new emperor held his enthronement ceremony and changed the country's name to Shun'an.
May the weather be favorable and the country prosperous and peaceful.
The first thing a new emperor does upon ascending the throne is naturally to reward those who have contributed to his cause.
Prime Minister Luo had previously followed King Zhao. Although he was wise enough not to flee with him and survived along with a group of ministers, his actions were still remembered.
On the very day the new emperor gained power, he imprisoned him and the ministers who had submitted to King Zhao's lineage, forbidding anyone from visiting them.
King Zhao's most loyal followers were killed as a sacrifice to the heavens. Prime Minister Luo was among the last to survive. He naively thought he still had value to the new emperor, but he never expected that the new emperor would use him as a scapegoat after ascending the throne.
Prime Minister Luo was beheaded, his family was raided, and his Manchu relatives were exiled.
Ye Feiyan's father became the prime minister, and Ye Feiyan also successfully entered the Ministry of Rites.
There weren't many ministers from the Crown Prince's faction, but Qin Zhuo had already compiled a list for the new emperor, which included loyal and capable generals. The new emperor was obedient and rewarded them according to the list, resulting in an orderly court with a vibrant and energetic atmosphere.
Among these meritorious officials, the most eye-catching one must be Princess Chang Le.
A thief and a rebel king both died at the hands of Princess Chang Le.
Amidst a vast army, they directly seized the head of Prince Zhao, seemingly in cooperation but in reality a pretense, easily killing the sixth prince.
Such a maneuver and audacity left the military officers utterly in awe, while the civil officials, though they might have crushed their pens, were at a loss for words to find fault.
To call her a woman? Ha! A bunch of men are inferior to women; they're just humiliating themselves.
To say that women cannot be generals? Or that women should not hold official positions?
The merits are there for all to see. If you want to find fault, ask the emperor if he agrees, ask the Prince of Qi if he agrees.
In the end, no one said a word.
At Li Xuan's request, the new emperor granted her a divorce from Luo Yuanchen and gave her a new residence not far from Shen Ning's house.
The gold and silver rewards were minor compared to the most important thing: she was appointed General Chang Le, a second-rank official, and given silver armor, a crimson spear, a fiefdom, and the position of Commander of the Three Imperial Guards.
Power, status, and position—all these are bestowed upon her, and she is a woman no less. This is enough to make people green with envy.
But no matter how jealous these people are, they can only keep it to themselves; this is the merit of following the emperor.
Upon receiving the title, Li Xuan immediately went to find Shen Ning, and while sharing her joy, she delivered a heavy blow to Shen Ning.
The Luo family was exiled, and the Li family was also implicated and demoted. She did not use her status as a princess to save Luo Yuanchen as she had done in her previous life, but instead kept Li Shaobai.
Let Li Shaobai stay as the steward of her household.
Most importantly, Li Shaobai agreed.
Shen Ning: "......"
These sisters are surprisingly insightful.
After all these twists and turns, will Li Shaobai and she eventually get married?
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After bestowing the honors, the emperor finally summoned Shen Ning.
They even sent a carriage to pick her up, and Li Xuan personally led troops to escort her.
That's something you can't refuse.
Shen Ning had known this day would come, so she specially had a set of clothes made for her. The clothes were made of moon-white brocade with silver jacquard patterns, and the outer garment was dark blue with simple embroidery. This way, her clothes wouldn't look completely like mourning clothes, but they also wouldn't be too flamboyant.
Even after an emperor is buried, he must not perform ceremonies or wear elaborate clothing for at least ninety-nine days. Therefore, Shen Ning only wore three different styles of jade hairpins to secure her hair, and her makeup was elegant and appropriate.
Since her rebirth, Shen Ning has always preferred brightly colored clothes, so this sudden change in her attire made her feel somewhat disoriented.
From this moment on, everything changes. The new emperor ascends the throne, and a new beginning awaits.
All the way to the palace, the emperor, knowing her poor health, specially sent a sedan chair to pick her up.
The sedan chair stopped at the entrance of one of the emperor's palaces. Li Xuan took Shen Ning's hand and helped her down, leaning down to whisper to her, "Luoxia Palace, this is not where the emperor formally receives outsiders."
Li Xuan didn't know what the young emperor was planning, but she told Shen Ning so that she would be aware of the situation.
"Please, Miss Shen."
Shen Ning was led inside by the eunuch and immediately saw the table set up by the lotus pond and the familiar figure standing there.
She bowed and curtsied, saying, "Your subject, Shen Ning, greets Your Majesty..."
"Sister!" The boy's joyful voice interrupted her as she continued her blessing. A glimpse of the hem of a white dragon robe embroidered with golden dragons flashed before her eyes, and she was helped up.
The five-dragon purple-gold crown and the dragon robe with coiled dragons all confirmed that the young man before her was the current emperor, yet his expression was no different from when she first met him.
He smiled sweetly and endearingly: "I'm so glad to finally see my sister."
As she spoke, her expression became very cautious: "You were so badly injured because of me, but I haven't visited you in so long. Will my sister be angry with me?"
Shen Ning: "......" What is this little brat up to now?
"Seeing you here today, I'm not angry anymore."
Li Yan smiled and said with narrowed eyes, "That's good. I was worried that my sister would become distant from me."
They were never even close, okay?
He led Shen Ning to sit down. On the table were various kinds of snacks, and in front of them was a spacious lotus pond where long-armed koi carp swam leisurely.
"That day I went to see my sister, but I never expected it would bring you danger. We met twice in total, and it seems I almost killed you both times..."
After Li Yan finished speaking, he felt extremely upset.
Shen Ning stared at him for a long time. This man's thoughts were hard to guess. He was young, but in reality, he was very difficult to see through.
This feigned innocence seemed more like a side he deliberately wanted people to see, while the real him, at least, was something she had never seen.
"That's all in the past. It's impossible for such a thing to happen again in the future. Your Majesty doesn't need to bring it up again."
"Did His Majesty summon me today just to say these things?"
Li Yan stared at her, his dark eyes filled with obvious disappointment: "I thought we had a life-or-death bond, but even you treat me like an emperor and won't talk to me properly?"
Shen Ning: "...Then please forgive my boldness."
After saying that, she hesitated for a moment before speaking: "I'm very happy to see you today."
Li Yan's smile became more genuine: "Me too."
Shen Ning thought he was pretty silly: "How's your injury? Has it fully healed?"
Li Yan nodded: "He's mostly recovered."
After saying that, his gaze fell on Shen Ning's hand, and he said firmly, "I will definitely have the imperial physician heal you."
Shen Ning raised his right hand: "It's not a big problem anymore. Besides, even if it's ruined, trading one hand for your life is a huge win."
Li Yan recalled that day; he was in a daze, but he could still feel the hot, sticky blood flowing down his face.
I heard that his face and neck were covered in blood at the time, which startled the imperial physician. He thought the man had suffered a serious neck injury, but after wiping it clean, he realized it wasn't his.
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