The new emperor's "fallacies" quickly became popular and widely circulated in Kyoto.
Countless noble ladies were both envious and jealous of the daughter of Shangguan Siye. The new emperor's words revealed two simple pieces of information.
First, the criteria for a new emperor to appoint an empress must be that she is someone the new emperor admires.
Second, Shangguan Tianyun is the person the new emperor admires!
The new emperor's blatant favoritism is the source of Shangguan Tianyun's fearlessness.
Good heavens, now who would dare say she's unworthy of her position?
Upon hearing these remarks, Tianyun herself was momentarily stunned, not expecting that His Majesty was even more insistent on making her Empress than she was.
She was somewhat moved...
The date of the empress's investiture ceremony was an auspicious day specially chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, a stark contrast to the hastily conducted enthronement ceremony.
The date was chosen to be the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, two months from now. At that time, the ice and snow will begin to melt and all things will revive, and the winter cold will turn warm as the grass grows and birds fly!
This perfectly reflects the meaning of a new dynasty just beginning, with everything needing to be rebuilt. The fact that she was treated with such care and respect shows that the new emperor's affection for the empress was extraordinary.
The story of the emperor and empress's love was widely circulated, and the people of the capital had all heard that when His Majesty was still a prince, he was not valued by the late emperor and even had to endure endless humiliation from the second prince. Fortunately, with the empress's meticulous care, he was finally able to establish his rule.
Now that His Majesty has successfully ascended the throne, he has not forgotten the kindness that His Majesty the Empress had shown him in the past. The Emperor and Empress are deeply in love and will not tolerate a third person interfering in their relationship!
The storyteller in the teahouse slammed his gavel and said with a smile, "Tomorrow at the same time, I will tell you the story of how the Empress traveled thousands of miles alone to the border to find her husband for love. To find out what happens next, please listen to the next episode!"
The onlookers below, munching on melon seeds, exclaimed with delight, "Our Emperor is truly a man of great loyalty and righteousness! He's not the kind of heartless man who abandons his wife after achieving great success and forgets past kindness!"
As soon as he asked the question, he was immediately warned: "Keep your voice down. How dare you discuss His Majesty?"
Some people disagreed: "I've heard that Her Majesty is an excellent painter and a highly skilled physician. She shares a life-or-death bond with His Majesty and is incredibly beautiful, like a fairy from a painting. How can she be called a 'wife'?!"
The man, with a dark face, rattled off a long string of words, his tone showing considerable protectiveness towards Shangguan Tianyun.
Tianyun sat on the second floor of the teahouse, calmly sipping her tea and listening with a slight smile to the chatter of the common people below. When she heard that someone knew her so well, she looked surprised and leaned slightly out to look down.
"……elder brother?"
The person downstairs who knew her inside and out was none other than Shangguan Tianlin, who protected his sister like the apple of his eye.
"It was just a casual analogy, why are you reacting so strongly?" The man rolled his eyes at Shangguan Tianlin and said disdainfully, "Anyone who didn't know better would think the Empress was yours!"
Shangguan Tianlin choked: "..."
Oh, you know what! It really is mine...
Although there was a minor hiccup, the outcome was as Shangguan Tianyun had anticipated. She slowly sipped her tea and turned to glance indifferently at Lingqi behind her.
Lingqi took out a purse she had prepared beforehand and handed it to the storyteller waiting outside the door. She smiled and said, "Sir, your eloquence is indeed well-deserved. This is a small token from our young lady. Please take it and have some tea."
"Thank you, young lady! Thank you, young lady!"
The storyteller thanked him profusely, wiping his sweaty hands on the hem of his clothes before daring to accept the heavy purse.
After the storyteller left with gratitude, Lingqi gently closed the door, her face full of joy: "Young lady, this move is truly brilliant. Now, who would dare to oppose His Majesty's decision to make you Empress? That would be putting His Majesty in an unjust and immoral position!"
"This is called public opinion pressure."
Tianyun smiled gently, wisps of tea smoke obscuring her gentle, water-like brows. She wasn't wearing lipstick; her lips were a plump, pale cherry pink, and now, slightly upturned, they appeared even more delicate and charming.
If the Emperor were here, he would surely lose control!
Lingqi thought to herself.
His Majesty's tolerance of those veteran officials only emboldened them further. Memorials refuting the appointment of an empress poured into the Hall of Diligent Governance like a flowing stream. Although His Majesty returned them untouched, they still kept him from sleeping peacefully.
Tianyun couldn't bear it, so he came up with this idea: to start with the common people!
Last night, His Majesty made a surprise visit to her boudoir. As soon as he entered the room, he wearily rested his head on her shoulder. Tianyun felt a pang of heartache and softened her movements, gently stroking the man's handsome face.
"Your Majesty seems to have lost weight?"
The jawline is becoming more defined.
She seemed to sigh.
Xiao Ziwu raised his head slightly, his gaze lingering on her jade-white earlobe. Hearing this, he chuckled softly, took the little woman's hand, and led her to where they were supposed to go, a hint of unintentional flirtation in his eyes and brows.
"Don't worry, my sweetheart, you haven't lost any weight in the places where you shouldn't have."
These pointed words successfully made Tianyun blush with embarrassment. "I'm being serious!"
He's almost leading her astray.
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form! Why does he have time to gloat?
Inside the room, the dazzling candlelight was suddenly extinguished by a palm strike.
Lingqi stood frozen outside the door, listening to the sounds inside. Her face was flushed red. "Your Majesty is really something, he can't even tolerate this much time... It's a wonder that the young lady is willing to indulge His Majesty!"
※※※※
After an insatiable spree, Xiao Ziwu's exhaustion vanished, and he returned to the palace unnoticed, only to be informed by Chang Lai that Lord Yuwen was waiting outside the Ganqing Palace.
"Why is he here so early in the morning?"
Xiao Ziwu looked refreshed and raised an eyebrow, but still beckoned him to come to court. "What can't be said in the Xuanzheng Hall?"
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