Chapter 131 The marriage certificate is officially signed.
The chaotic, hollowed-out hall was somewhat restored after two days. Although the jewels were not completely embedded back into the walls and the pillars were still empty, the magnificent red carpet was laid again, and the golden lamps, a total of one hundred and eight, were reinstalled on the walls. When each lamp was lit, the hall was once again as bright as day.
The coronation ceremony was held at midnight, perhaps to avoid any unforeseen events.
At this time, most people are sleeping or having fun, and no one would expect that a coronation ceremony would be held.
Di Yaruo wore a fiery red robe embroidered with gold thread, the hem of which was studded with nine hundred and ninety-nine fine white pearls. Bathed in the light of a hundred golden lamps, it was so beautiful that anyone who stared at it for too long would be moved to tears.
With each step she took up the stairs, the hem of her pearl-studded robe swayed, cascading like a waterfall of light, dazzling and radiant.
Reaching the highest altar, the oldest white-robed priest in the royal city placed a pure gold crown inlaid with diamonds on her head, something she had dreamed of ever since she turned seven.
When she stood radiantly on the high platform, everyone forgot her shameful past, forgot that she had once been a prisoner.
Even if we recall it again, what difference does it make? This past is nothing more than adding a legendary touch to a king.
Her persecution of her stepmother, murder of her brothers and sisters, killing of her uncle, or even killing of her husband, would be seen as an inevitable step on the path to becoming a ruler.
A cruel, bloody, and all-consuming path to power.
There were no flowers, no applause, and no blessings.
But she didn't care; as long as she was satisfied, that was enough.
"Do you think it was all worth it?" I asked her before the coronation began.
"I don't want to say those clichéd things, like 'it's worth it if you think it's worth it.'" She applied a bold lipstick in front of the mirror. "Whether it's worth it or not isn't important. What's important is whether you want it or not. If it's something you want, it doesn't matter if it's not worth it. If it's something you don't want, it's useless no matter how much it's worth."
“We mean the same thing,” I said.
She laughed. "There is a difference. Everyone wants different things, regardless of whether it is worth it or not."
The cold midnight wind blew across our faces. It was a semi-open room. There was only half a ceiling, half a high wall, and the rest were just columns and flowerbeds.
Not far away is her hot spring pool, which is completely open-air.
As she walked towards the hot spring pool for her final bath before her coronation, she turned her back to me and asked, "Do you want to stay with me and Haiya forever?"
I was stunned.
"Do you mean you want me to be Haiya's second wife?"
“No,” she suddenly turned around, “I mean, marry me. Haya and you will share me.”
I couldn't believe my ears. "What did you say?!"
She smiled slowly, “On this continent, it is rare for a man to have two principal wives unless the king grants him special permission. As for the king, he generally does not have two wives unless the king has two fathers. In that case, there would be two families, and each family would need a bloodline born to a principal wife as an heir in order to have two principal wives.”
She didn't go to the hot spring anymore, but approached me with a smile. "And I happen to have two fathers. One is my biological father, and the other is my stepmother's husband, who is also my stepfather. After my stepmother poisoned my father, she immediately signed a marriage contract with her lover, fearing that he would not marry her, so I had a stepfather."
The midnight wind was even colder, making me shiver.
A senior attendant outside the room was urging, "Your Majesty, the ceremony is about to begin."
“Think about it,” she said, going directly to the inner room to change her clothes. “After the coronation, we can sign the marriage contract. Once it’s signed, you will be the queen of the largest independent royal city in the Western Territory. In addition to gaining a high status, you will also have certain powers. By the way, didn’t you want to obtain that mysterious book? If I become king, you will be able to enter that treasure vault openly.”
My voice trembled, "I'm already married."
“It’s alright,” she snapped her fingers, and immediately a servant respectfully entered carrying a tray. “Your divorce papers are here.”
I couldn't believe it. "How...how did you get that?"
The implication is, how did you get Artis to sign it?
“When you used the widow's scheme to break through the city, I wrote to the Grand Chancellor of Achia, asking him if he was willing to divorce you. If he was, I would sign a salt and iron trade agreement with him. All the salt and iron my royal city needed would be purchased from him. He agreed and sent the divorce papers ten days later.”
I was completely stunned.
"I heard he acquired the salt and iron mines because of you, and now he's profiting from you again. He's really taking advantage of you to the extreme." She chuckled as she picked up the divorce papers from the tray. "Do you want to see them?"
I plopped down on the carpet. "You're using me too, aren't you? Wherever the superpowered woman is, that's where the turning point is."
“Yes, but I’ll do it openly and honestly, and I can even exchange resources with you.” She smiled and placed the divorce papers back on the tray. “Think about it.” With that, she gracefully walked into the inner room…
Amidst soaring sacred music and the old priest's sermons, all the nobles prostrated themselves in congratulations on the completion of the coronation ceremony.
"Now, I formally announce that I will be signing a marriage certificate with my second partner." Wearing a crown, Di Yaruo stood below the altar and announced loudly, "Please come forward, Miss Lana."
The nobles were shocked. Disregarding the fact that this was a sacred ceremony, they all exclaimed, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!" "Marriage is not a game. Please discuss this further before making a decision." "Even if you are to marry a second woman, you cannot choose her."
Dressed in a snow-white robe inlaid with rubies, I slowly ascended the steps, surrounded by a group of maids.
Among the nobles, only the family of Di Yaruo's stepfather remained silent, which clearly indicated that Di Yaruo had already made arrangements with them.
Di Ya Ruo did so many things behind the scenes that I didn't know—to conquer a royal city, it wasn't enough to just attack from the outside; she also had to attack from within. She used lower taxes and welfare benefits, fiefdoms, and expensive jewelry as bait, and then threatened them with internal family scandals, turning some nobles who were already dissatisfied with her uncle to her side. On the day of the siege, these nobles opened the palace gates, large and small, for the fierce army that poured out from the secret passages, allowing them to advance unimpeded and achieve victory.
The golden marriage certificate lay open before me; all I had to do was dip my index finger in red clay and press my fingerprint onto it.
I pressed down hard, my hands trembling.
The marriage certificate was officially signed.
The nobles suddenly fell silent.
The matter is settled, so there is no need to speak out.
——
When Diya became the queen of the largest independent capital city in the Western Regions, King Midan was furious, believing it to be an unjust war and that a just war should be launched to reclaim the capital city.
However, she faced opposition from her ministers. Firstly, Di Ya Ruo had already formally ascended the throne; the die was cast. Secondly, Di Ya Ruo and the previous king were husband and wife, and they had a daughter, making Di Ya Ruo's ascension to the throne seem legitimate. Thirdly, the previous king committed suicide, albeit under duress, but not by Di Ya Ruo herself. Fourthly, Di Ya Ruo was the biological daughter of the king before that, a direct descendant of the most noble family in the capital, thus her ascension to the throne was also legal.
The only criticism is that Di Ya Ruo used such extreme methods to retaliate against her husband, and even seized the throne by force, which ultimately led to turmoil in the capital and her husband's death.
Di Yaruo scoffed at this and laughed loudly: "Why don't they say that my husband stole the throne from me? They were afraid I would retaliate, so they threw me into a prison in the Eastern Territory."
“This throne was rightfully mine,” she said to me and Beatrice. “My husband seized it by despicable means. Why should he become king just because he married me, while I have to lose my crown? God is too good to men and too cruel to women.”
Faced with her anger, Beatrice trembled slightly and remained silent with her head down. I was tidying up the messy documents on the side. She became even angrier. "What, none of you are going to stand up for me?"
I looked up. "Instead of getting angry, you should think about how to secure your position in the capital. Do you really think everything is stable now?"
Internally, the nobles who disobeyed her were restless and could rebel at any moment; externally, King Midian had always wanted to annex all her capitals and unify the entire Western Territory. His ministers opposed his move now simply because she was currently riding high, and a hasty attack might not be successful. As for her supposed legitimate queen status, it was merely a pretext. If they were to actually attack, no legal status would matter; they would simply claim the entire Western Territory as theirs.
Di Yaruo gradually calmed down, clearly having considered these points.
“You seem to know better than I do what needs to be done,” she said suddenly, staring at me intently.
“I don’t know,” I said noncommittally, “I can only say we can try.”
“Okay.” She stood up abruptly from her seat on the carpet. “I’m handing over all the internal affairs to you now. You have the highest authority, regardless of whether you’re inside or outside the palace.”
I asked in surprise, "You've given me so much power?"
“You are the queen, so it is only right.” She smiled, this time very gently.
——
The usually quiet and rarely visited library and archives suddenly welcomed extremely distinguished guests. Everyone watched as the newly enthroned queen strode in with a group of clever and quick-witted maids and strong and capable attendants.
"Now, gather all the documents, maps, and household registers," I commanded the maids, then turned to the servants, "and take what you find with you."
Through this information, I will have a clear understanding of the important situations in all of Diya's territories, such as mountains and fortresses, population size, local strength and weakness, and the hardships of the people. Based on this information, I will take appropriate defensive measures, measures to pacify the people, and gain a general understanding of the people's taxes.
For the next two weeks, I worked tirelessly, writing a detailed plan based on these materials, categorizing them, and handing it over to Di Yaruo.
Di Yaruo looked at the stack in surprise, "What is this?"
“You can formulate relevant policies based on the basic conditions of your territory and the people’s livelihood.” I turned the pages one by one. “Don’t underestimate these. Stabilizing the people’s livelihood will make your territory prosperous. When the economy is strong, the military will be strong, and the king of the Western Border will not dare to fight you easily.”
Di Yaruo grabbed it, saying, "I know more about governing a country than you do."
"Yes, you know more than I do, but you don't have time to organize your knowledge, nor do you have time to teach others what's important and how to extract the essence and discard the useless." I shrugged.
"How do you know all this?" she asked me.
"You learned it at school, right? You don't understand school. School is a place that specifically teaches people knowledge, just like how tutors teach children here."
Her eyes flashed with a strange light. "I like someone like you, someone who can help me and doesn't betray me easily. From today onwards, you will live in a luxurious room in the palace, wear beautiful clothes, wear expensive jewelry, and have the power to decide the life and death of many people."
I didn't refuse, and smiled, "Then thank you."
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