Chapter 192 Ruler of the World, Above All Else
The Linde Hall was bustling with activity, as everyone except the Emperor and the Eldest Princess had arrived.
Royal relatives, civil and military officials, and envoys from vassal states gathered together, filling the vast palace to the brim.
Palace maids and eunuchs moved about in an orderly fashion among the guests...
Even though the court was in turmoil that year, the open and covert struggles between the Cui family and the eldest princess made many officials tremble with fear and walk on thin ice.
But at this moment, everyone outwardly put aside their usual calculations and exchanged auspicious words such as "May the New Year be prosperous" and "May your family be safe and healthy."
According to etiquette, the eldest princess's seat was located to the lower left of the emperor's throne, while Consort Cui's seat was to the lower right.
Cui Yunyi was already seated at the table.
She was dressed in a pomegranate-red palace gown, with a shimmering gold hairpin adorning her hair. She seemed to be chatting and laughing with the concubines beside her, but her gaze kept sweeping towards the direction of the palace door and then casually glancing at the two empty seats. A hint of anxiety was hidden in her eyes.
Li Yuanshu sat below the Imperial Concubine, dressed in a light pink palace gown and wearing only a pearl crown on her head. Compared to her usual attire, she appeared rather plain, and there was a distinct gloom in her eyes.
Despite feeling her mother's frequent gazes, she kept her eyes down and didn't respond with a single glance.
Below the Princess's seat sat the three prime ministers, Su Jingzhi, Zheng Wenkai, and Cui Shiliang.
Su Jingzhi was unusually lively today, frequently turning his head to chat and laugh with Zheng Wenkai beside him, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents within the hall.
Zheng Wenkai sat in the middle, his expression somewhat subtle, and his smile towards Su Jingzhi seemed to carry a hint of perfunctoriness.
Cui Shiliang, meanwhile, closed his eyes to rest, his hands folded on his knees, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding noise.
The remaining civil and military officials took their seats in order of rank.
People were either talking and laughing loudly or discussing in hushed tones, creating a harmonious and joyful scene.
As the only two female officials in the court, Su Qingci and Liu Liniang naturally sat together.
The two whispered to each other from time to time, and Liu Liniang even chuckled softly when she didn't even know what Su Qingci was saying.
Cui Dalang was able to sit in this slightly forward position next to Liu Liniang because of Liu Liniang.
But he couldn't be happy. He even felt that his colleagues' gazes were full of mockery, as if they were laughing at him for getting to his position by relying on women.
His face was grim, and he kept turning his head to glare at Liu Liniang. Seeing that she was only talking to Su Qingci and completely ignoring him, he was even more furious and wished he could slap this ungrateful woman on the spot.
Lu Lingfeng sat in the last seat, but his eyes kept glancing at Su Qingci across from him.
Seeing that she was ignoring him, he became a little anxious.
When he finally saw Su Qingci looking over, he couldn't wait to break into a smile.
Su Qingci simply nodded slightly, then looked away and continued talking with Liu Liniang beside her.
Lu Lingfeng felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He had a feeling that Su Qingci today seemed to be a completely different person from the past.
Before he could figure it out, a eunuch's shrill voice suddenly came from outside the hall, "The Princess has arrived!"
The noisy Linde Hall fell silent instantly.
All the princes, ministers, and civil and military officials rose from their seats, straightened their clothes, and then knelt down in unison.
"Long live the Princess! Long live the Princess! Long live the Princess!"
Except for Consort Cui, who remained seated, all the other lower-ranking concubines, members of the imperial family, and Li Yuanshu rose and bowed in greeting.
At the palace gate, four palace maids holding palace lanterns stood on either side, and Li Yuanzhao, dressed in a magnificent nine-patterned robe, slowly entered.
Her crimson gauze skirt trailed gracefully across the white jade ground, and the pearl-adorned phoenix crown swayed gently before her forehead.
She walked straight through the kneeling crowd without glancing to either side, and finally sat down to the lower left of the throne.
After taking her seat, she gently raised her right hand and said, "Please rise, everyone."
Everyone slowly stood up, but they all turned their gazes to her.
This was the first time many court officials had seen her since Li Yuanzhao returned to the capital.
She sat gracefully at the table, the dragon and worm patterns on her blue and red robes faintly visible under the palace lanterns, as if she were enveloped in an invisible radiance.
Many people exchanged glances secretly.
The princess of today is a far cry from what she once was.
That position, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will most likely be hers.
After glancing at Li Yuanzhao, Cui Shiliang subtly gave Cui Yunyi a look.
Tonight, no matter what, we must completely overthrow Li Yuanzhao and eliminate any future troubles.
Li Yuanshu noticed the two people's gazes, but she simply looked away and didn't want to ask any questions.
Whatever the two of them do, as long as it doesn't involve her, is none of her business.
Moreover... her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Li Yuanzhao above.
How long she can live now depends entirely on Li Yuanzhao's decision.
She later realized that Li Yuanzhao hadn't killed her last time simply because he felt it wouldn't be worthwhile to kill her now.
So, perhaps once she truly ascends the throne and has no more worries, the first person she will eliminate will be her sister, who once tried to assassinate her elder sister.
Since that's the case, she might as well prepare a way out for herself as soon as possible. Either make sure Li Yuanzhao can't kill her, or make herself look harmless so that Li Yuanzhao will spare her life.
Shortly after everyone took their seats, a solemn ceremonial melody was played.
The eunuch's shrill voice rang out again, "His Majesty has arrived!"
The Emperor arrived slowly in a palanquin, surrounded by ceremonial guards and attendants holding feather fans and banners.
In an instant, no one remained seated in the entire Linde Hall.
Whether they were concubines from prominent families or princes with immense power, they all knelt respectfully on the ground.
This is the majesty of an emperor.
The ruler of the world, above all others.
It evokes both desire and fear.
Li Yuanzhao also slowly bent his knees and knelt down with the others.
She placed her hands together in front of her knees, her forehead lightly touching the back of her hands, performing the most solemn bowing ceremony, yet her back remained ramrod straight.
When the palanquin stopped in front of the throne, two personal eunuchs rushed forward and carefully helped the emperor to his feet, and he slowly walked up to the throne.
Today he wore a black and crimson imperial robe and a twelve-tassel crown, solemn and magnificent, silently proclaiming his monarchical majesty to everyone present.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Amidst the thunderous shouts of homage, Li Ye's gaze swept over the kneeling officials, then fell upon the respectfully kneeling Li Yuanzhao, before finally speaking slowly: "All of you, rise."
After everyone expressed their gratitude, they rose one by one and returned to their seats.
Li Ye forced a smile onto his pale face and said, "Today is New Year's Eve, a day to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. It is enough for the emperor and his subjects to enjoy themselves together. There is no need to be bound by those formalities."
Despite this, the atmosphere inside the hall did not relax.
Everyone knew that the Emperor's health was not what it used to be, and behind this "joy" lay the scheming of various forces.
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