In this era of divided regimes, at the end of August of the first year of the reign, the Emperor of Qi officially issued an edict, offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and conferred the title of Princess Jinling of the Southern Dynasty upon her. The young couple had been bound together since childhood, and in the harem, the Emperor did not take any concubines, leaving the six palaces as empty shells.
The new empress was beautiful and favored by the emperor. She and the emperor were deeply in love, and no one from the noble families dared to speak out. The ceremony for her enthronement was presided over by the Ministry of Rites and was a grand affair.
On the day of her formal coronation, the sky was clear and cloudless. In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Chu Changning, dressed in a phoenix crown and court robes, with a jade pendant, rode in a phoenix palanquin to the palace gate, followed closely by a procession of phoenixes.
The palace maids on both sides helped her down from the phoenix carriage and waited at the ceremonial gate.
The process of establishing an empress involved numerous formalities. After paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, she arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony at noon. The sun shone brightly, and the entire magnificent palace gleamed in the sunlight.
As the bells and drums sounded, the princes, civil and military officials of the previous dynasty knelt and bowed on the steps of the palace. The music and the sound of whips cracking filled the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Chu Changning ascended the palace steps one by one, with envoys on both sides carrying imperial seals and edicts, their sharp voices resounding through the sky as they read the edicts.
The nine-tiered palace towered majestically, its main hall resplendent in gold and jade. The young emperor, clad in a black and gold dragon robe with nine white pearl tassels, stood high above the hall, looking down upon the dark mass of people below the platform.
The moment their eyes met, the golden sunlight was blinding, and she saw with her own eyes the undisguised smile in his eyes.
A gust of wind swept past her eyes, and in a daze, she seemed to follow the winding vines of her desolate memories and see the man who had lifted her bridal veil when they first met.
A high-ranking scion of a noble family, a powerful warlord who dominated the north, and the founding emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, he experienced life and death separations, and gradually fell for the beauty.
After all the formalities were completed, Chu Changning was helped to her feet. The sound of ceremonial music rang out, and the Great Qi Kingdom officially welcomed its mistress.
Golden light shone on the majestic hall. The two stood side by side. Yan Beimo glanced at the composed woman beside him, took her hand, and leaned down.
"Chu Changning, I will give you a true wedding. From now on, you will be my lawfully wedded wife, my one and only empress."
The emperor's aloof and arrogant voice made Chu Changning tremble. The shouts of congratulations from the officials on the imperial steps gradually faded away like clouds.
She looked at the man before her, who held the power of life and death over the world. He was tall and imposing, his eyes filled with the domineering air of an emperor. This man was hers.
She deliberately raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Then will His Majesty be my husband alone from now on?"
"Of course, with the land as my betrothal gift and the sun and moon as my matchmaker, I am merely your husband, Chu Changning."
Looking into his doting eyes, Chu Changning smiled and intertwined her fingers with his. In this chaotic world, she would stand shoulder to shoulder with him, overlooking the vast land and being revered by all living beings.
Throughout history, the investiture of empresses involved grand ceremonies performed in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony to welcome the new empress.
Because the Emperor of Qi wanted to hold a grand wedding ceremony for his new empress at the ancestral temple, after the imperial edict was read and the investiture was completed, Chu Changning was taken to a palace by the eunuchs. At dusk, the bells and drums sounded outside, and envoys entered the palace, and the wedding ceremony officially began.
She sat in a palanquin, while civil and military officials rode horses and carriages, with honor guards on both sides welcoming her, as they proceeded in a grand procession to the Xuanming Hall.
Inside and outside the palace, red carpets were laid along the imperial road, and red lanterns were lit everywhere at the palace gates, with colorful silks hanging down.
Chu Changning had been exhausted all day and was so tired that she was about to fall asleep on the phoenix carriage. She opened her eyes wide and quietly rubbed her waist.
Upon arriving at Xuanming Hall, she was helped down from the carriage. Through the lattice window, she could see the entire palace bathed in extravagant and magnificent lights. The emperor, dressed in his wedding robes, personally descended the palace steps and approached her.
After the two paid homage to Heaven and Earth, performed sacrifices at the temple, and went through all the elaborate rituals, the Emperor bestowed a banquet upon them, and the female attendant led her into the Emperor's bedroom.
Night fell over the entire hall, and the familiar inner palace was adorned with auspicious and festive decorations.
The headboard was draped with a large red silk canopy embroidered with dragons, phoenixes and double happiness symbols. A golden ruyi was placed on the gilded dragon bed. On the layers of luxurious brocade quilts, longans, lotus seeds and peanuts were placed, symbolizing the wish for many sons.
Inside, servants lined up on both sides of the room to wait for him. Despite his exhaustion, Chu Changning sat quietly on the dragon bed. Not long after, the emperor, dressed in a crown, strode in.
Inside the hall, red candles burned brightly. The two looked into each other's eyes, and it seemed as if countless mountains and rivers had crossed over to converge before their eyes, making everything clear.
At this moment, a palace maid knelt and offered a golden goblet of wine, saying, "Your Majesty and Your Highness, please drink this wine together."
The two snapped out of their daze, took the nuptial wine and drank it. The wedding ceremony was complicated, and there were still a lot of procedures to follow. Seeing that she looked a little tired, Yan Beimo dismissed all the palace servants in the hall to avoid the hassle.
The bedchamber fell silent. Chu Changning finally didn't have to keep up appearances anymore. Looking at him, she muttered, "This phoenix crown is about to break my neck."
"I'll take it off for you with a kiss."
"---"
She couldn't be bothered with him; if it weren't for the layers upon layers of her court robes, she wouldn't need his help.
"Peach---"
Before she could even utter a word, her waist was suddenly lifted up, and a hot, burning kiss landed on her instantly. The phoenix crown on her head was removed, and her whole body went limp.
"First—first take off these clothes, they're so heavy."
Yan Beimo stared intently at her eyes and brows, his voice slightly hoarse, "Chu Changning, call me."
Chu Changning was held tightly in his arms. Looking into his unfathomable eyes, a tingling sensation spread from the bottom of his heart, seeping into his skin and bones.
She hooked her arms around his neck and asked coquettishly, "What did I call you?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than he was slapped hard on the buttocks. Chu Changning was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up with lust. He gritted his teeth and said, "You have a bad habit."
Yan Beimo remained noncommittal, then threatened, "Will you call out or not?"
She twisted her waist and pushed him, deliberately saying, "Yan Beimo---"
"---"
"Do you want me to teach you?"
She retorted defiantly, "Your Majesty is truly foolish; perhaps Your Majesty could teach me personally—"
Before he could finish speaking, he held her head and kissed her again, licking off all the lipstick from her lips.
Chu Changning's body went weak from his kiss, and she unconsciously hugged his waist in response.
As they kissed, they rolled onto the bed. She was pinned beneath him, gazing at his face with a dazed and infatuated expression. Feeling the longans and lotus seeds on the brocade quilt, she couldn't help but recall the night they first met.
"Do you remember when I threw them at you?"
Yan Beimo paused, looking at the red dates and lotus seeds she had picked up, and also thought of their wedding night.
"Your Majesty is truly vengeful. I only hit you once, and you deliberately made me fall on a pile of peanuts and lotus seeds."
Hearing her accusation, Yan Beimo gently pinched her nose and chuckled, "You feisty princess, you dare to smash your husband on your wedding night."
That was the first time someone had dared to throw something at his face.
Chu Changning snorted, "And another thing, I just accidentally kissed you, and you almost ripped your scalp off. How old-fashioned! Your Majesty, why are you acting like a mortal? Be a god and don't touch women."
Yan Beimo looked into her bright and cunning eyes, listened to her bring up old grudges, and thought of that incomplete wedding night. He reached out to untie her belt and said aggressively.
"On our wedding night, I want to consummate our marriage."
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