Because they were in a hurry to return to the capital to prepare for their wedding, the journey was not slow. In early February, Ning Xihua and Su Bi returned to the capital.
Emperor Shao Yuan praised Su Bi for resolving the plague crisis in Yizhou, and praised him repeatedly in front of all the ministers during the court sessions for several days. He even ordered the Ministry of Rites to hold a grand ceremony for the crown prince and his coming-of-age ceremony, which he had not paid much attention to before.
The ministers were also shaken by Emperor Shao Yuan's sudden attention to the crown prince. The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Rites, who had previously advocated abandoning the city, remained silent and kept a low profile.
The first thing Ning Xihua did when he returned to Prince Ning's Mansion was to look the old man up and down carefully twice. After confirming that he was unharmed, he ran back to his own Yan Guiju and fell into a deep sleep.
There was no way. No matter how comfortable the carriage was, twenty days of bumping on the road was exhausting. Her big bed was still so enchanting that she couldn't stop.
Before Prince Ning had the chance to express to her his excitement of escaping danger and his longing for reunion after a long separation, he saw his daughter running back to catch up on her sleep, which made him feel uncomfortable as he was filled with enthusiasm.
After relieving Jing'er, Ning Xihua took the initiative to ask for an audience with Emperor Shao Yuan. After Emperor Shao Yuan asked about her well-being, Ning Xihua directly asked him for mercy.
"This time, I was lucky to survive the plague in Yizhou thanks to the blessing of Your Majesty and the protection of the people. I was lucky enough to get a favor from Your Majesty, but now I want to use this favor in Yizhou. Your Majesty is kind, and I sincerely ask you to exempt Yizhou from taxes for three years so that the people of Yizhou can rest and recuperate."
Emperor Shao Yuan naturally agreed. It not only fulfilled his promise, but also showed the imperial family's grace to the people. Why not do it?
Ning Xihua finally fulfilled her wish, but at the same time, she also lost this much-coveted favor.
February 15th was the day chosen by Qin Tianjian for the crowning ceremony of the crown prince.
Because of Emperor Shao Yuan's order and Su Bi's recent achievements in Yizhou, this coming-of-age ceremony was extremely grand.
As the crown prince, it was not appropriate for the ceremony to be held in the palace. So on the day of the ceremony, Su Bi went to the palace in advance to kowtow to Emperor Shao Yuan to express his gratitude, and then went to Linhua Palace for the ceremony.
Normally, the father of the one who is crowned should preside over the ceremony, but the emperor was not in a position to show up, so everyone saw Bai Luoqiu, the son of the Duke of Zhenguo, who had always been at odds with the Eastern Palace, busying around and taking charge of the ceremony in Linhua Palace.
Although this was ordered by the emperor and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion had to do it, just seeing Prince Bai's dedicated attitude inevitably made people speculate whether the relationship between the Eastern Palace and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion would improve.
When it was time for the crowning ceremony, everyone's eyes widened when they saw the guest of honor coming out, and they swallowed their previous speculations.
The guest of honor who crowned the crown for the crowned prince was not the Duke of Zhen but the Prince of Ning!
You know, the guests who crown a man are usually respected elders. Su Bigui is the crown prince, and he has many relatives from the royal family and the civil and military officials in the court. The most suitable person to be the crown prince's guest is his grandfather, the Duke of Zhenguo.
This is what everyone thought when they saw Bai Luoqiu presiding over the ceremony, but they didn’t expect that it would be Prince Ning in the end!
This relationship is not going to get better!
The man who married his grandson would rather choose his future father-in-law than himself. How could the Duke of Zhenguo save his face? It seems that the fact that the East Palace and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion are not in harmony is still set in stone.
Prince Ning was dressed in formal attire, and he crowned Su Bi in a dignified and serious manner.
A black cloth crown.
Two plus leather hats.
Three additional glasses.
Every time Su Bi was crowned, she had to change into a corresponding set of clothes, and Prince Ning had to recite a congratulatory speech. The ceremony was solemn and complicated.
After the crowning ceremony, the next step is to choose a name.
As everyone expected, King Ning spoke.
"I took the name Runxi, hoping that you would be warm and gentle, and brighter than Xixuan."
They hoped that he would be as upright as jade, benevolent, righteous, wise and courageous, and they also hoped that he would eventually become a wise ruler and surpass Xixuan.
Everyone suddenly realized that the implicit hope in this word was that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would ascend the throne and become a wise ruler, which could be said to indicate the attitude of Ning Wangfu in supporting the Eastern Palace.
But Su Bi knew that Ning Xihua's original name was "Yue Xi", which meant more brilliant and beautiful than the sun. Later, she was conferred the title of a princess, and the two words "Yue Xi" were directly used as her title. Only then did Prince Ning change her name to "Xihua".
Runxi means even more moist and beautiful than Yuexi.
Prince Ning hoped that he could provide Ning Xihua with clean water to nourish her for the rest of her life.
Su Bi raised his head and looked at King Ning. The latter had a complicated look in his eyes, which showed the kindness of an elder and his earnest expectations for him.
Su Bi bowed deeply, thanking King Ning for giving him the name, and solemnly accepted the heavy expectations contained in the name.
At the age of 20, a man is crowned and given a given name.
From today on, Su Bi is recognized as an adult by the world. This means that he can not only get married and participate in sacrifices, but also participate in various political affairs and even... take charge of the country.
After the ceremony, Bai Luoqiu led everyone to the main hall to take their seats and announced the start of the banquet.
The guests were having a great time as they drank and toasted each other.
Regardless of the importance His Majesty places on the Crown Prince, or the closeness of Prince Ning as the Crown Prince's guest of honor, everyone needs to carefully consider the various messages revealed behind today's coronation ceremony.
After the banquet, Su Bi saw off the last wave of guests.
"Remember to send Xihua back home for me later!"
Without the majesty of the ceremony, Prince Ning stared at him with some dissatisfaction.
Then he glanced at the yard behind him, looking as if he was disappointed with someone.
Seeing Su Bi bowed and accepted the offer, Prince Ning shook his sleeves and left angrily.
Su Bi looked at Prince Ning's rather unwilling back and laughed in his heart, but hurried towards the courtyard.
Under the blooming plum tree in the inner courtyard, Ning Xihua was standing there waiting for him.
The beauty in red is even more charming than the red plum blossom beside her.
"Have you been waiting for a long time? Why don't you go inside? Be careful not to get sick from the cold wind again."
As he said this, he reached out and put Ning Xihua's hands into his cloak, rubbing them gently to warm her hands.
Ning Xihua shook her head, "No, I was bored in the house, so I came out to admire the flowers. I just returned the hand warmer to Chang Yi, but it couldn't freeze."
She looked up at Su Bi, who was still wearing a black dress, and couldn't help but exclaim, "I was just thinking about this when we were having the ceremony, this last dress really suits you!"
She was not able to attend the previous occasion, but under Chang Yi's guidance, she hid at the back of the hall and watched the entire ceremony.
The dark color is solemn, yet it makes him look more gentlemanly and flawless.
Ning Xihua even felt that he was shining and dazzling among the crowd during the ceremony.
Is this what they mean when they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder?
Su Bi looked at her undisguised eyes of admiration, and felt sweeter in the heart than if she had eaten a plate of osmanthus cake.
There is nothing more pleasing than the loving gaze of a lover.
Ning Xihua seemed to remember something and took something out of her purse embarrassedly.
"Today you are coming of age, but I have nothing to give you, just a little token of my appreciation. Don't... dare you reject it!"
As he said this, he stuffed the thing into Su Bi's arms. He seemed a little embarrassed at first, but became proud at the end.
Su Bi carefully took out the piece of cloth that had been torn into a state of disrepair by her from her arms.
"Headband?"
It was a green headband with dark bamboo leaf patterns embroidered on it. The pattern was a little distorted, and there were wrong and missed stitches. It was obvious that the embroiderer's needlework was not very good.
Su Bi, however, had a smile on her face, and her eyes were full of little stars.
"You made this yourself?"
Ning Xihua nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
She knew that Su Bi had no shortage of expensive things. She remembered that he liked to wear his hair down with only a headband whenever he was alone with her, so she thought of making one herself.
"Inside it is a lucky charm that I got from Lingshan Temple a long time ago."
Not only was there a lucky charm, but there was also a lock of her hair inside. If he wore this lock, it would mean that he was always tied to her.
This is the little thought that the girl cannot express openly.
Su Bi held the hairband in her hands as if it were some precious treasure.
His face was full of smiles, "Why did you think of making a headband for me?"
Ning Xihua rolled her eyes, not wanting him to be too proud, so she chose not to say what he wanted to hear.
“Because it’s free and easy to do.”
God knows how many nights she stayed up to make this headband. Embroidery is simply not a job for humans!
But Su Bi still smiled, like a child who got candy, with the purest happiness.
He restrained himself and hugged Ning Xihua, "Thank you, I like you very much... No, I like you very much."
Ning Xihua was infected by his emotions, and smiled as she felt that her feelings were appreciated.
Next to a plum tree in winter, a pair of beautiful people in red and black clothes are a perfect match, but they are holding a crudely stitched headband and smiling happily.