After Emperor Shao Yuan's funeral, the coronation ceremony took place.

Unlike in the past, Su Bi insisted on having the coronation ceremony and the empress coronation ceremony held on the same day.

This worried the Ministry of Rites, as there was no such precedent in the Li Dynasty. They could only search ancient books for ancient rituals of previous dynasties and follow the precedent.

Ning Xihua didn't care about the order of time. Since Su Bi insisted, she naturally had no objection.

On the day of the ceremony, Ning Xihua got up early again, which was a rare occasion.

Song Yi and other maids helped her put on the complicated queen's robes, but she just nodded and yawned.

After finally getting dressed, she felt as if there was an iron ball weighing more than ten pounds on her head and a layer of gorgeous shackles on her body, which pressed her so hard that she worried about having problems with her neck.

"My God, this is much heavier than the dress I wore on our wedding day."

The inner lining is red, the outer garment is dark blue, the outer pattern is embroidered with a phoenix, and the outer garment is decorated with a leather belt and two large ribbons. On the head is a crown with nine dragons and four phoenixes, decorated with twelve flower branches.

After all, she is the mother of a country. The queen's dress is both dignified and luxurious, yet also complicated and heavy.

Su Bi in the other room was also dressed up, wearing a black robe with twelve emblems embroidered on it, and a golden crown on his head. He looked calm and sharp, full of the majesty of an emperor, and there was no trace of the gentle prince in the past.

But when Su Bi heard Ning Xihua's complaint, her expression softened immediately, as if she remembered how gorgeous her wedding dress was on her wedding day.

He laughed softly and said, "Even this dress can't suppress your beauty. Madam, you are truly stunning."

Ning Xihua also smiled when she heard his joking praise.

Forgive her for being a vulgar person. She prefers to hear others praise her for her beauty rather than praise her for her elegance and generosity.

The two smiled at each other and went to the ceremony together.

In front of the Yu Hall, where state affairs were discussed, an incense table for sacrifices had been set up.

Prior to this, officials from the Ministry of Rites had already gone to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Heaven to offer sacrifices on behalf of the king, informing him that the new king would soon ascend the throne.

Today, the two of them still need to burn incense and kowtow in person to formally offer sacrifices to the heavens and inform their ancestors.

Afterwards, the bells and drums of the enthronement ceremony rang, and Su Bi, guided by the ceremonial officers, ascended the Fengtian Terrace. Officials also entered the scene one after another and knelt on both sides of the stage in an orderly manner.

Su Bi began to pray as usual and recited the sacrificial text. When the prayer was finished, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies read the imperial edict to the officials below the stage, officially announcing the new emperor's accession to the throne and changing the reign title to Chongxi.

Ning Xihua, who was standing by, was stunned for a moment after hearing the reign title, and subconsciously looked up at Su Bi.

Su Bi was also staring at her. Under the high platform were the splendid mountains and rivers and the civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty, but at this moment, there was only her in his eyes.

The word "Xi" was her former name and her former title. Later it became his pen name, and now it has become the reign title of the empire under his rule.

The deep meaning of this made her heart burn slightly.

Before she could recover from the shock, she saw Su Bi reaching out her hand to her.

Originally, it was time for all officials to come to the court to congratulate the new emperor. However, according to the original regulations submitted by the Ministry of Rites, the new emperor should issue an edict to confer the title of empress only after the congratulations were completed.

Now, Su Bi stood on a high place and invited her to climb to the pinnacle of power together.

Ning Xihua's heart was getting more and more agitated. She ignored the help from others and lifted up her complicated skirt, and walked towards him slowly but firmly, step by step.

Su Bi just kept holding out his hand, waiting for her to come.

When she finally stepped onto the platform, he held her hand tightly, as if he had grasped the most important treasure and would never let go.

Chang Yi directly presented the Empress's seal and golden book that had been prepared long ago. Su Bi personally picked up the two books and handed them to Ning Xihua.

There is no need to kneel down and kowtow according to etiquette to thank His Majesty for his grace.

She was held by him in one hand and took the imperial seal that symbolized the queen in the other hand, as casually as she took every time he handed her a cake.

The officials who were preparing to kneel three times and kowtow nine times were stunned for a moment. It was not in accordance with etiquette to let the empress accept the congratulations together.

But the emperor held the queen's hand, showing no intention of backing down, and just stood high up and stared at them coldly.

No one dared to challenge the new emperor at the coronation ceremony. When the eunuch in charge of ceremonies sang loudly,

"kneel!"

Prince Ning, Duke Zhenguo and other veteran ministers knelt down immediately, and the ministers behind them did not dare to be negligent and knelt down and kowtowed one after another.

"Long live the emperor!"

"Long live the Queen!"

Ning Xihua's heart was pounding. She had never seen such an overwhelming scene, nor had she ever had such a feeling of standing on the top of a mountain and overlooking all the mountains. Her palms were slightly sweaty.

She turned to look at Su Bi, but found that Su Bi was not immersed in this. She was still looking at her quietly, with complex emotions in her eyes that she seemed to understand but not quite.

She raised her eyebrows and looked at him to ask what he meant.

Su Bi, however, curled the corners of his mouth, turned his head to look at the ministers under his feet, then turned back and continued to look at her.

Sure enough, this vast landscape is still not as beautiful as the smiling face of the person in front of me.

The emperor and empress on the high platform held hands and looked down at the ministers who were kowtowing, wishing them a united cause and a long-lasting prosperity.

Millions of congratulations echoed through the sky, heralding the arrival of a new era for the Li Dynasty.

…

If you ask Ning Xihua how she feels after becoming queen, the answer must be, no feelings.

It seemed like there were just more servants and the house was a little bigger, everything was no different from the Linhua Palace.

Except for Concubine Sun Gui, who was still imprisoned, all the concubines of the previous emperor had moved to the palace. Ning Xihua had no empress dowager to control her, and no current concubines to bother her. She was the king of the harem, and her life was very uncomfortable.

She didn't need to greet anyone, she slept until noon every day, and had lunch with him after Su Bi came back from court. Sometimes he would force her to take a nap with him after lunch.

In the afternoon, if Su Bi was busy meeting with ministers, she would walk around the garden and feed the fish, or take Song Yi and the little palace maids to have some fun.

If Su Bi was not busy, he would grab her and stay in the study together. He would review his memorials while she would read her novels. The two of them did not disturb each other, but were unusually harmonious.

In her spare time, Su Bi would still watch the moon and listen to the wind with her, and would also make her a pot of her favorite green plum wine. The two of them would drink together and chat about family matters.

At night, the two of them went to dinner hand in hand, took a walk together to digest the food, and then spent the night together.

A month after Su Bi ascended the throne, Xian Yuxi moved to a bigger pool and lay down, feeling very comfortable.

Lian Songyi said that she never thought there would be a queen who could live such an easy and comfortable life.

She had been nervous for quite some time, fearing that she might make a mistake after entering the palace and bring disaster to her own queen.

However, after entering the palace, she found that her empress had the final say in the palace. Because she was the empress's personal maid, her status in the palace also rose.

Apart from Chang Yi, who served as the chief eunuch, she was the highest-ranking servant in the palace. The eunuchs' maids who came and went had to address her respectfully as Aunt Songyi.

At first the little girl would blush when someone older than her called her aunt, but after doing it many times she got used to it and became more skilled and calm, supporting the dominance of the maid in charge of the palace.

"Song Yi, I can't bear to marry you off when you're like this." Ning Xihua sighed.

Where can she find another maid who is so considerate, lovely and caring?

Song Yi pursed her lips, but didn't take it seriously.

"I won't marry. What's so good about men? If you are unlucky and marry the wrong person, you will be like Princess Rui. It will take half your life to get out of it. As long as your majesty doesn't dislike me, I will accompany you for the rest of my life."

She is not stupid. If she follows the empress well, she will be the most respected aunt in the palace. Why should she go through the trouble of marrying into another family to serve her parents-in-law and husband, and have to endure the bullying of a concubine?

Ning Xihua was amused. She hadn't realized that the little girl was still a non-marriage advocate. This view was a bit advanced.

"It doesn't matter. You are only sixteen. I want to keep you for a few more years. If you find someone you love, just tell me and I will make sure you get married in style. If you are not destined to meet someone, don't worry. Just follow me and I will make sure you will never be bullied in your life."

Song Yi smiled happily, "Thank you, Madam!"

Humph, she doesn't know how many people are jealous of her current position. She will not give up her queen to others easily.