Chapter 177 Extra 1 Daily Life
The Queen's coronation ceremony.
After three bell and drum sounds, Rong Ting, wearing the "Royal Crown and Mian" (Royal Crown and Mian), was waiting in the Fengtian Hall early.
After the ceremony, the music started. Jiang Rao, wearing a nine-dragon and four-phoenix crown and sacrificial robes, was led by the official in charge of ceremonies and walked out of the house to the center of the courtyard.
She looked past the officials standing in court, past the table with the enthronement letter and the queen's seal, and looked at Rong Ting who was sitting on the dragon throne.
Twelve pearl tassels covered his sharp and cold face, showing no joy or anger, as he sat on the dragon throne. Just this dignified and majestic demeanor alone makes people bow to him involuntarily.
This is the case with all the ministers and officials.
The new emperor was unlike his predecessor in that he was moderate in his political views and was easily influenced by the opinions of his courtiers. Even when he first ascended the throne, his appearance and demeanor looked bright, clear as the moon, and pure as a lotus, as if he was easy to control. However, he soon revealed his ruthless and manipulative nature, which made the old officials in the court wary.
In the past, no one in the court who formed cliques or engaged in self-interest openly or covertly could escape his eyes. Now, the old officials in the Jinling court are in a state of panic and everyone is in danger. Looking at the handsome face of the new emperor, they cannot feel the slightest bit of relief.
The music in the Fengtian Hall was deafening, but because there was a new emperor with a treacherous and unfathomable mind sitting on the dragon throne, an atmosphere of solemnity and silence spread among the standing ministers.
Jiang Rao looked at Rong Ting and felt oppressed by the solemn and eerie atmosphere in the Fengtian Hall. She inexplicably felt a sense of distance from him.
It was the same in the first dream. He was high above her, but she did not have the dignity and freedom she has now. She was only miserable and embarrassed.
However, the moment their eyes met, Rong Ting smiled at her.
The pair of beautiful eyes that were vaguely visible behind the twelve strings of tassels on the crown curved into a warm arc when looking at her.
Jiang Rao's heart calmed down instantly, and she slightly raised the corners of her lips. She followed the Shangli Officer and continued to move forward.
Ancestral temples, offering sacrifices to heaven... The procedure for the queen's coronation ceremony was much more complicated than a wedding. It was cumbersome and messy. There was a din of rituals and music all day long, with ceremonial officials coming and going. At night, it finally quieted down.
The palace maids helped Jiang Rao take off her dress. Rong Ting had to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple and would be back late. After he came in, he asked all the palace maids in the room to go out and personally took off the Nine Dragons and Four Phoenixes crown for Jiang Rao.
Jiang Rao was so tired that she didn't want to talk. Rong Ting smiled faintly, "I didn't see you so tired on the day of our wedding."
Jiang Rao rubbed the back of his neck. "This is different from getting married. The ministers and eunuchs are all watching. I'm afraid I'll make a mistake."
The new emperor has ascended the throne, and the position of the empress has been coveted by all the clans in the capital. Jiang Rao has heard a lot of rumors and is inevitably nervous. Thinking about Rong Ting having to face a room full of vicious-eyed and cunning old men every day, it really makes me feel depressed and uncomfortable for him.
"If I say it's not wrong, then it's not wrong."
Jiang Rao seldom heard Rong Ting call himself "I" in private. When she heard it now, she realized very clearly that he was the emperor of Dazhao.
But what is more important than his identity as emperor is that he is her husband.
If he were an emperor, she would want him to be diligent, love his people, and govern the country well, but if he were her husband, her deepest wish would be for him to be good.
Jiang Rao was still tired, but she stretched out her arms, wrapped them around Rong Ting's waist, and leaned forward to hug him.
This palace is her Yuluo Palace. The courtyards beside it are empty, and the Jinxiu Palace has been sealed for many days.
The queen probably knew that Rong Ting's succession to the throne was inevitable, and she was completely desperate. She hung a foot-long white silk on the beam, but was brought down by a palace maid. She lingered on for more than ten days, living a life worse than death, and then stole a knife and cut her wrists.
The palace where someone had just died was unlucky, so even the palace maids and eunuchs had to take a detour when passing by the Jinxiu Palace.
After Jiang Rao moved into the palace, she took advantage of the bright day to take a look at the Jinxiu Palace.
There was a small and narrow house in the backyard of Jinxiu Palace. Jiang Rao did not go in to see, but only saw the spider webs hanging on the beams inside from the outside.
She thought, that was where Rong Ting lived when he was a child.
He was born with dragon veins, was a prince, and his mother was the daughter of a country, but his life was more miserable than others. Jiang Rao only took one look and couldn't bear to watch any further.
I just inexplicably resent fate for not allowing them to meet earlier.
Rong Ting rubbed Jiang Rao's head.
His crown was placed aside. Even though he was the emperor, he still couldn't get used to being served. If Jiang Rao didn't help him, he would do it himself. He knew that Jiang Rao always liked these clothes, hats and jewelry. "I saw you staring at this crown in Fengtian Hall, unable to take your eyes away. Now that it's on the table, why don't you look at it anymore?"
Jiang Rao glanced at the table and took a look at the crown.
Rong Ting was simply treating her like a fool who was easily fooled. She liked some exquisitely crafted gadgets, but she would not be so rude as to take the emperor's crown as a private toy. Jiang Rao showed a slight disdain for his suggestion and corrected Rong Ting's words, "I'm not staring at the crown, I'm staring at your eyes that can't be moved...away...from." Jiang Rao's speech speed gradually slowed down, and he realized something was wrong, "You lied to me again."
Rong Ting had already agreed with a smile, "Yes, Niannian couldn't take her eyes off me. I didn't know that Niannian was so obsessed with me."
Jiang Rao gave him a sidelong glance.
She didn't know whether he was born cunning, or whether those humble days of survival in his childhood had tempered his character to make him extremely intelligent. Even though she felt that she had seen through his character clearly, she always fell into his trap and told him the sweet words that she was embarrassed to say out loud.
Jiang Rao was so annoyed that she covered her face with her hands, and her ears turned red. After covering her face for a while, she was picked up by the waist and taken into the bathroom. Jiang Rao exclaimed softly, extremely nervous, pushing Rong Ting's chest and mumbling, "I'm tired."
The Queen's coronation ceremony was tiring enough. If she still had to deal with him, given his past lack of caution, Jiang Rao felt that she might lose half her life today.
Rong Ting laughed softly and shook his head, "I won't touch you."
Jiang Rao thought that he would not go back on his words, and her tense body gradually relaxed. She only recalled that he had gone back on his words quite a few times, so she was still a little wary and held onto his collar, refusing to let go, "I'll wash it myself."
Rong Ting had already rolled up his sleeves, but was chased out by Jiang Rao and had to wait outside.
He looked at the crown placed on the table and tapped it lightly with his fingers.
He was indifferent to external things and disregarded etiquette and rituals. This crown had no other use except to intimidate court officials. If Jiang Rao could really play with it for a while, it would seem that the crown was more useful.
He frowned, called a eunuch in, and took the crown away.
When Jiang Rao came out of the shower, he gently held her in his arms.
His brows were still slightly furrowed.
After dealing with Shen Que's daughter, he had a long dream.
In the dream, he was in a high position and it took him several years to seize the throne, but his final position of power was no different from what it is now.
But he saw the ministers prostrating themselves at his feet, the eunuchs standing silently by, and listened to their responses to his calls, but he was always faced with only his own lonely figure.
Rong Ting hugged Jiang Rao tighter.
Now that she has become his queen, the palace walls are a cage that binds both him and her. No matter whether it is infamy or reputation thousands of years later, he cannot escape it, and neither can she. They can only bear it together and stay together forever.
Jiang Rao only needed to take a look at him. Although she couldn't guess the whole picture, she could roughly guess what he was thinking.
Seeing how tightly he holds her, it seems he is just worried about something groundless.
She had told him many times without getting tired of it that it would be better to tell her directly what he was thinking, otherwise she would be left guessing and might easily be wrong.
Jiang Rao still had a lot of patience, but this time, she asked in a different way, "What do you want?"
"A few days ago, I went to Jinxiu Palace. I only knew that Shouhuai Palace was deserted enough, but I didn't expect that the house you once lived in would be so shabby and small." Jiang Rao breathed softly, "It would have been great if we could have met earlier."
If she had been engaged when she was two years old, or if she had not been abducted and had not left Jinling for too long, perhaps he would have lived a better life.
Jiang Rao used to love reading stories with happy endings, but looking back at her and Rong Ting, there were foreshadowings of tragedy everywhere.
If it weren't for his persistence, she would probably have to wait for many years before she came to her senses and realized that she had been moved when she was young.
Rong Ting just smiled faintly, "No matter when we meet, the result will be the same."
He suddenly frowned again, and his eyes darkened.
"I once had a dream. In the dream, I was like this now. After several years of struggle, I was first a regent and finally an emperor. But you were never by my side. Year after year, you told me that it was just a dream."
There was a barely perceptible tremor in his deep voice.
Rong Ting thought Jiang Rao would agree with him and say that dreams are just dreams, but unexpectedly Jiang Rao just stared at him very seriously, her almond-shaped eyes seemed to be able to speak, looking at him quietly.
When he finished speaking, she whispered, "I dreamed of you before I met you."
Rong Ting's breathing was slightly deep, "What did you dream about?"
"I dreamed of meeting you." Jiang Rao blinked, "And then I really met you."
She said very little, only because she had a very good memory.
He remembered her earlier joke.
She once jokingly said that she would have dreams that would come true, and she was afraid of being mistaken for a monster, so she avoided his gaze when she spoke, and looked away frequently, very cautiously.
He always remembered that point. If he hadn't had that dream later, he would have regarded the words of Chen Que's daughter as crazy talk. But that dream later made him panic.
"What else did you dream about?"
Jiang Rao considered her words carefully, "It's just some trivial matters."
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Jiang Rao couldn't bear to continue. Her dreams were incomplete, and what she saw was not true. It was useless to dwell on the things she had dreamed of. "What actually happened later was not the same as what I dreamed of. The things in the dream are not real, so don't take it to heart. If you want to know what I dreamed about, I will tell you slowly later."
Rong Ting had already vaguely guessed something in his heart.
He smiled, "Then I'll wait for the future."
…
Half a year had passed since the ceremony of enthroning the empress on the seventh day of March. Then news came from the palace that the former imperial concubine and now empress dowager Qin Yun had caught a cold and died.
In the eyes of outsiders, Qin Yun died young, but in fact, she had changed her identity.
She called her parents into the palace and talked with them all night long. She knelt on the ground and thanked them for raising her. She changed her father's surname Qin to her mother's surname Zhou, and changed her own name to Zhou Yun. She told them that she didn't want to stay in the palace anymore, and didn't want to stay in Jinling anymore.
Zhou Yun left Beijing on the evening of the third day of September.
She was dressed simply, and her figure looked simple and elegant. She wore a cone-shaped hat to cover her face. She would only take it off when she was far away from Jinling and in a place where no one knew her.
Few people knew about her fake death.
She met with her family a few days ago, and when she left Beijing tonight, there were only a few people who came to see her off, except Jiang Rao and Rong Ting.
Rong Ting was of course unwilling to come in person, but he followed Jiang Rao because she wanted to come.
The two men left the palace privately without alerting too many people. They were both in casual clothes and did not bring any servants with them. Secret guards were guarding them in the dark.
Zhou Yun waited until Jiang Rao came, took Jiang Rao's hand, and said with a smile: "Before, I thought that you would go out with your father again after a few years of returning to Jinling, but I didn't expect that in the end, I left Jinling and you stayed here."
Jiang Rao lowered her head in embarrassment. She had always thought of returning to Nanjing for just a few months before leaving the capital again. She never thought that she would be tied to Nanjing for the rest of her life because of Rong Ting.
"Nian Nian." Zhou Yun looked at Jiang Rao, and the more she thought about it, the more regretful she felt. Rong Ting was fine at the moment, but she was always worried that the person who sat on the throne would change his mind sooner or later because he was surrounded by power. She couldn't help but ask Jiang Rao again, "Otherwise...you will come with me?"
Jiang Rao had heard this many times, and she had refused many times.
She knew what her aunt was worried about, but she trusted Rong Ting more.
Before Jiang Rao could say anything, the corner of her clothes was suddenly grasped by Rong Ting.
Zhou Yun glanced over and saw Rong Ting's actions, feeling both amused and helpless.
It was just a joke, look how anxious he was.
Such a domineering temperament... Qin Yun looked at Jiang Rao again, always worried that his child's soft and tolerant character would be bullied.
She pulled Jiang Rao aside and said with a bit of melancholy and loneliness: "If you come with me, I won't be lonely when I go."
"Don't make fun of me anymore." Jiang Rao glanced at Rong Ting's somewhat resentful eyes behind him and blinked at Zhou Yun, "You also know that I can't leave."
Zhou Yun lowered his head and looked at her tenderly, "Am I really leaving?"
Jiang Rao looked a little reluctant, but nodded, "Don't waste time. I will come to see you every year when I have the chance in the future."
Zhou Yun laughed and got on the carriage.
The carriage slowly drove out.
Zhou Yun held down the veil of his conical hat that was blown up by the wind, pushed open the window and looked outside.
The night was long and silent, the distant mountains were dark blue, the flowers, plants and trees were all shrouded in the darkness, and the brilliant colors of the day turned into graceful shadows in the night.
But her heart was exceptionally bright.
After being suppressed for so many years, from now on, her life will be full of mountains and seas, without all the intrigues and scheming that make her tired and exhausted.
Jiang Rao looked at the carriage with melancholy as it disappeared from her sight.
She knew that this was the ending her aunt had longed for for many years, but she was still sad about the separation.
Rong Ting looked at Jiang Rao standing in the night. She was petite and dressed simply, as if she could be swallowed up by the night. He felt uneasy for no reason. He suddenly reached out and pinched Jiang Rao's palm twice. His voice sounded a little hoarse in the night wind, "Do you really want to follow me?"
Jiang Rao suddenly came back to her senses and shook her head quickly.
"I'm not leaving." Jiang Rao's gaze returned to Rong Ting. She smiled with a shallow dimple and asked, "Where can I go if you're here?"
Rong Ting breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "I know you don't want to stay in Jinling."
"In a few years, when I have trained a few more capable people to check and balance each other, and the power in the court is stable, I can take you out of the capital and visit other places incognito."
"If you have plans to go on a secret visit, that's fine, but if it's just for me, then there's no need." Jiang Rao smiled and said slowly, "I want to stay in Jinling because there are better things to do than traveling outside the capital."
Seeing that Rong Ting seemed to have something to say, she raised her fist and waved it in front of his eyes, "Don't ask me what is better. You know it clearly in your heart."
After saying this, Jiang Rao put her hands behind her back and said, "Since we are out of the palace today, why don't we go to the night market over at Qinhuai River before going back?"
Although her tone sounded as if she was negotiating with Rong Ting, as soon as she finished speaking, she didn't listen to his advice and started walking west on her own.
Rong Ting raised his hand and touched the tip of his nose.
What he wanted to say was seen through by her, and there was a hint of annoyance in his expression. If someone could see through what he was thinking, he would definitely not keep that person by his side. Raising a tiger to cause trouble was the last thing he would do. But that person was Jiang Rao. Rong Ting just shook his head lovingly and followed Jiang Rao, walking west together.
Jiang Rao felt relieved when she heard his footsteps approaching. He was too dull and didn't know what was delicious or fun. He was always worried about things like whether she would run away.
She knew that he was obsessed with her, but the world itself was more worthy of obsession than her.
"Year after year."
Jiang Rao stopped and looked back at Rong Ting.
Rong Ting followed with a faint smile.
She didn't let him ask, so he didn't ask. But he was unwilling to be controlled by her. He walked quickly to Jiang Rao's side, his tall figure almost completely covering her, and asked, "When will you tell me about your dreams?"
Jiang Rao choked up for a moment, looking at Rong Ting's innocent and smiling face, she felt angry and amused at the same time.
Narrow-minded, indeed narrow-minded. She just said something to stop him, but he insisted on seeing her having something to say but couldn't.
But her dreams... She didn't believe the words that Shen Xiuying said as if she was crazy. She had clearly dreamed of them growing old together, but when she had the dream, she thought she would never be able to escape from it.
But even so, she still couldn't know her state of mind in the dream. With Rong Ting's suspicious nature, if she told him about it, he might become suspicious again and think too much.
Jiang Rao pursed her lips and said, "Later."
"Later? Which later?" Rong Ting asked with a smile in his voice.
Jiang Rao started to act like a spoiled child, turned around again, and strode forward, "Anyway, we still have a lot of time in the future."
There were no footsteps behind me.
Jiang Rao took a few steps, noticed something strange, and turned back.
Rong Ting stood behind her, the moonlight fell into his eyes, clean and clear.
"If there is an afterlife."
"In my next life, I'll remember everything."
"Let me go find you instead."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
