Chapter 84 The Wedding Night
Several major events occurred in Bianjing after winter began.
The emperor was assassinated, the eldest prince was executed for forcing the emperor to abdicate, and the second prince went insane overnight.
With the support of Prime Minister Song, Marquis Yongyi Pei Heng, and the three powerful families of Meng, Zhang, and Zheng, the sixth prince Xiao Chong ascended the throne as the new emperor.
Rumors were circulating in the streets that the Second Prince had been driven mad overnight by Song Xiang.
There are also rumors that Xiao Chong was merely a puppet emperor, with Prime Minister Song and General Pei on his left, and Princess Kangyang, Grand Tutor Zheng, and the Duke of Yingguo on his right—three powerful families working together. The prince who had just been found and was put on the throne was nothing more than a puppet.
There are even rumors that after the new emperor ascends the throne, he will definitely choose between Princess Kangyang and the daughter of Grand Tutor Zheng to be his empress.
These rumors were discussed and debated throughout the winter.
In the first month of the lunar calendar, the new emperor Xiao Chong issued an edict to make Xie Yushu, the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an, empress.
Rumors about Xie Yushu were spreading like wildfire both inside and outside Bianjing.
From her mother's slave birth to her own great impurity.
Some say that after she married the third-ranked scholar, she had an improper relationship with Prime Minister Song.
Some say that the late Emperor Xiao Xu had already taken a liking to her before his death and wanted her to enter the palace as a concubine.
The rumors circulating are nothing more than criticisms of her reputation.
The veteran officials compiled a list of all the criticisms leveled against her.
Song Jie listed Xie Yushu's achievements one by one in the court. She not only saved the late Emperor Xiao Xu in the palace, but also took in the new emperor when he was in trouble and helped him return to Bianjing to recognize his ancestors.
Marquis Yongyi, Pei Heng, unusually stood with him.
The old ministers' protests were met with a compromise: Xie Yushu could be made a concubine, but not an empress.
This caused an uproar in the imperial court and even the entire capital of Bianjing. Never before in history had a daughter inherited a royal title or been granted the rank of king.
The two imperial edicts were more sensational than the last.
The conservative old ministers then began to protest vehemently against women inheriting titles and being granted the title of king. They even knelt outside the Daqing Hall, until the elderly cabinet minister Liang Shou collapsed from exhaustion.
The new emperor helped him into the Daqing Palace and personally performed first aid, which brought Liang Shou back to consciousness.
After Liang Shou woke up, he saw Xie Yushu in the Daqing Hall. The second-marriage woman who had caused turmoil in the court was now actually accompanying the new emperor Xiao Chong in the Daqing Hall.
Knowing he could not change the new emperor's mind, Liang Shou tearfully grabbed the emperor's sleeve and conceded, saying: Xie Yushu can be made empress, but we must not violate the ancestral precepts and set a precedent for women to inherit titles and be granted the title of king.
The new emperor remained silent. Xie Yushu walked up to him with a gentle expression and said, "I have heard that Lord Liang has two daughters who have inherited his talents and are among the most talented women in Bianjing. If Lord Liang believes that women should never pursue an official career, why has he gone to such lengths to educate his two daughters?"
Liang Shoucai had just woken up and was dizzy and lightheaded, so he naturally couldn't answer her or argue with her.
She didn't expect Liang Shou to answer; after asking, she ordered someone to send Lord Liang back to rest.
The eunuchs and palace attendants around the new emperor all obeyed her orders.
When Liang Shou was sent back to his residence, he met with his colleagues who had come to discuss the matter with him, and could only helplessly say, "The decree to establish an empress is nothing more than an announcement."
The following day, the new emperor issued an edict setting the date for the empress's investiture ceremony.
This time, no one in the court objected. The old ministers only hoped that the new emperor would abandon the decree allowing women to inherit titles and be granted royal status.
Because it was during the national mourning period, the ceremony for her coronation as empress was not held in a grand manner. Xie Yushu did not care about these ceremonies; being empress was just the first step she took into the court.
But for Yu Xiaodao, this was the day he married Xie Yushu.
Instead of waiting for Xie Yushu to enter the palace with the ceremonial guard as usual, he personally went out of the palace gate to greet her that day, rode in the phoenix carriage with her, entered the palace together, and ascended the altar of the grand ceremony together.
He had waited for this day for far too long and didn't want to be separated from Xie Yushu for even a moment longer.
He did not follow the normal procedure of having Xie Yushu move into the Empress's palace, but instead had her live in the Emperor's bedroom with him.
To him, the entire palace, the entire world, including himself, belonged to Xie Yushu. She could live wherever she wanted, regardless of whether she had to serve him in bed. If Xie Yushu wished, he would want to be with her every day and every night.
He became emperor only so that he could be with her.
So he disregarded the ministers' objections and arranged fireworks for her on their wedding night.
He took Xie Yushu to the Star Gazing Pavilion to watch the fireworks.
As the fireworks lit up the sky, he saw Xie Yushu's face illuminated, but she didn't look too happy; instead, she looked a little surprised and then turned to look at him.
"You didn't discuss this with me," Xie Yushu said first.
His heart sank immediately. He gripped her hand tightly and subconsciously apologized, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to give you a surprise. I never had anything before and never gave you any surprises. Now that we're finally married, I wanted to do something to make you happy..." But she was clearly not happy. "Are you angry, Yushu? I won't do that again."
The cold wind made his eyes and nose red. Xie Yushu's hands were tightly wrapped in his, and he was wearing his cloak. He apologized again, looking like a subordinate who had made a mistake in the cold air.
Xie Yushu found it difficult to say those words, such as "this should not be done during the national mourning period, and it is not worth attracting criticism for fireworks."
Ultimately, this was just a little surprise he wanted to give her.
He used to be a beggar, his follower, and he had nothing to give Xie Yushu.
Now that he is the emperor, he still has to report to her on everything and follow her arrangements.
The only thing he could do on his own was to arrange a fireworks display.
Xie Yushu reached out and hugged him from under her cloak. "I'm not angry." She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm very happy. I've never seen fireworks here before."
Xiao Dao looked down at her, knowing that she was just trying to comfort him. Perhaps the fireworks were nothing to her, nothing to be happy about.
He felt a pang of inferiority. He cupped her cold face in his hands and said dejectedly, "You don't need to force yourself to make me happy. I know you don't like it, so I won't do it again next time."
Xie Yushu tilted her head back and kissed him, smiling at his lips: "I like it."
He felt a pang of sadness and was deeply moved. "Yushu, you are so kind... I have so little, I don't know what I can give you."
Xie Yushu pulled his hand away, hooked it around Xie Yushu's neck, and laughed: "You are the emperor, the whole world is yours."
"No, the world is yours." He stroked her face and said shamelessly, "This throne was given to me by you. I know my own worth."
Xie Yushu felt a mix of emotions, because she agreed with Xiaodao's statement. The throne was something she had earned for Xiaodao, and she would speak ill of her in the future.
So she found it hard to say comforting words, and simply went up to him and kissed him again.
The kiss was long and passionate. When Xiao Dao couldn't control himself and kissed her neck, he suddenly picked her up and carried her down from the Star Gazing Pavilion.
He carried her all the way to the bedchamber, but stopped at the entrance.
"Your subject Song Jie congratulates the Empress." Song Jie stood at the palace gate, not knowing how long he had been standing there, and was now looking at Xie Yushu in Xiao Dao's arms.
Xie Yushu turned his head to meet his gaze. Today he was wearing the official robes of a prime minister, and his pale face under his official hat made his eyes appear even more deep and cold.
He smiled at her and said, "There are some things I would like to report to the Empress."
It was not reported to the emperor, but to the empress.
"Host, you have gained 3 points of cuckold value and 2 points of 'popularity value'. 1 point of cuckold value and 1 point of 'popularity value' came from Xiao Dao, and 2 points of cuckold value and 1 point of 'popularity value' came from Song Jie."
It's truly astonishing that Song Jie, whose position is illegitimate, has a higher rate of being cuckolded than Xiao Dao.
Xie Yushu patted Xiaodao's arm and whispered to him, "Go inside and wait for me. I want to hear what important matters Prime Minister Song has to discuss."
Xiao Dao put her down but said, "It's cold outside. You and Prime Minister Song go into the bedroom to talk. I still have two memorials to read."
He glanced at Song Jie, then turned and went to the Daqing Hall.
The palace maid pushed open the door to the bedchamber, and it was Song Jie who accompanied Xie Yushu on this wedding night.
She ordered the palace maids and eunuchs who were serving her to leave.
"You'd better really have something to say." Xie Yushu couldn't help but feel sorry for Xiao Dao. He took off his cloak and turned to look at Song Jie, his tone and expression not very good.
Under the bright candlelight, she wore the Empress's crown and a court robe with phoenixes. She wore heavy makeup, which was unusual for her, but her eyes completely overshadowed it.
The fierceness and authority in her eyes as she turned around caused Song Jie to lose his composure.
It is truly beautiful, the beauty of an ambitious victor.
“This crown doesn’t suit you.” Song Jie slowly smiled and approached her, his fingers stroking her phoenix crown: “Even the most magnificent crown in the world can hardly match your ambition.”
His fingers moved from the phoenix crown to her face.
Xie Yushu grasped his hand and asked, "Did you come just to praise me?"
"Of course not." Song Jie smelled a familiar and intoxicating fragrance from her sleeve. He couldn't help but lower his head and sniff her fingers gently. Even when he was jealous, he couldn't help but think that Xie Yushu was really beautiful.
"Liang Shou and his gang are plotting to send noblewomen into the palace to expand Xiao Chong's harem and divert his favor from you," Song Jie said softly. "Do you want to accept the women they've chosen to enter the palace to ease tensions with them, or do you want me to help you get rid of Liang Shou?"
He kissed Xie Yushu's fingers.
Xie Yushu did not withdraw his hand. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't do anything, don't touch Liang Shou. I will handle this matter myself."
"How do you plan to resolve this?" Song Jie asked, his hand gently lifting her face, wanting to kiss her cheek.
She raised her hand to cover Song Jie's mouth and whispered, "Don't ruin my makeup."
She didn't want Xiaodao to see anything on their wedding night and upset him.
Song Jie stopped and looked at her, knowing full well what was going on, and asked her, "Yu Shu, you don't really want to be a dutiful empress, do you? I've done so much not to make you empress, but to make you emperor."
Her palms were warm, and when she looked at him, his jealous and petty expression amused her.
She knew all too well why Song Jie had chosen this time to come.
She reached out and grabbed Song Jie's court robe, slowly pressing him down onto the dragon bed, and lowered her head to kiss his tight lips.
Song Jie's hands immediately wrapped around her waist and back, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to meet her lips and tongue, deepening the kiss until their breathing became rapid and their tongues went numb. He couldn't help but reach into her sleeve to caress her skin...
Xie Yushu pressed down on his shoulders, stopping the kiss. She stood in front of his knees, looking at him with unsteady breaths. His eyes were already glazed over and his skin was burning hot.
She couldn't help but laugh and gently patted his face, then lowered her head and whispered, "You came here for this, didn't you? I've already given you the sweet treat, now go back home obediently."
Song Jie felt hot and numb all over, completely captivated by her ambiguous tone. He grabbed her hand again: "I don't just want this. You can give me a knife, why can't you give me one? Have I done less than him?"
It is indeed very useful.
Xie Yushu looked at him and said in a lower voice, "Not today."
Song Jie was taken aback. Not today? Can we do it another day?
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Author's Note: Song Jie: How about tomorrow? If not tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow?
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