Following the Fourth Prince's coronation ceremony, the investiture of the imperial harem took place, starting with the investiture of Empress Ulanara and Consort Nian. Only after the investiture ceremonies for the Empress and Consorts did the palace begin preparations for Lanqin's investiture ceremony.
Grand ceremonies were held one after another in the palace, and now it was finally Lanqin's turn for the conferment ceremony of imperial concubine status.
Before dawn, Lanqin was pulled up by her excited maid and sat lazily on the windowsill, yawning.
The aunt, who had been ordered to have her hair styled, arrived at Changchun Palace at an auspicious time. She first bowed respectfully before beginning her hair and makeup preparations.
The Fourth Prince knew that Lanqin disliked crowds and was not used to large groups of people. Therefore, he decreed that the ceremony for bestowing the title of Imperial Concubine would be held in Changchun Palace.
One after another, the Imperial Household Department began sending things to Changchun Palace, and the palace maids were overwhelmed by the dazzling array of things.
Sun Jiacheng had long known that Consort Xi was the Emperor's darling, so he couldn't be careless in anything. Before long, Changchun Palace was in an uproar, but Lanqin was still half asleep, watching the palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly going back and forth to decorate the palace.
Following etiquette, her aunt styled Lanqin's hair into a flowing cloud bun. With meticulous care and skillful hands, each strand of hair meandered and coiled in her hands, as gracefully as flowing clouds and water.
Looking at her reflection in the bronze mirror, Lanqin couldn't help but sigh, "Auntie's hands are truly skillful; her hair is perfectly styled, not a single strand out of place..."
The aunt beamed with praise: "Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty. You are indeed dignified and beautiful. No matter what hairstyle you wear, it is exquisite and unique. Your Majesty's high forehead signifies great fortune that others cannot match. Just by seeing how much the Emperor favors you, one knows that Your Majesty must be a person of wealth and nobility. With two princes by your side, Your Majesty's future glory will be beyond the reach of others..."
Lanqin just smiled. Everyone only sees the glamorous side of people and no one understands the hardships behind it. Even the aunts in the palace see people this way, let alone the Fourth Prince who faces the previous dynasty.
Having said that, Baoqin helped her adorn her hair with hairpins and ornaments, starting with a double phoenix hairpin, flanked by six pink and purple phoenixes, and ending with eight emerald-feathered pheasants. Each hairpin was inlaid with multicolored gemstones, and golden flower-shaped earrings connected to white pearls swayed around her neck, scattering endless exquisite brilliance and dazzling radiance. Lanqin gently touched her cheeks. Time may pass quickly, and even the most beautiful face cannot withstand its ravages, but now she seemed to have broken free from the shackles of time, radiating a dazzling beauty.
Just then, a commotion of exclamations and murmurs outside interrupted Lanqin's thoughts. The embroidery workshop staff slowly entered, carrying trays of garments. Lanqin turned around and saw eight women lined up to display the ceremonial robes she would wear for her investiture as a concubine. The palace maids excitedly lifted the curtains one by one, revealing a complete auspicious robe adorned with eight golden phoenixes. Everyone around stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
The head steward of the embroidery workshop stepped forward, bowed to Lanqin, and proudly introduced the robe: "Your Majesty, this is a nine-tailed phoenix robe specially commissioned by His Majesty for you. The silk was specially sent from Hangzhou, and the eight phoenixes on the robe are embroidered with gold thread. Even the embellishments are pearls from the East China Sea and gemstones from Saigon. Your Majesty, you can see that the body of the phoenix alone took eighty workers several days and nights of tireless embroidery to complete, and the tails are decorated with different jewels on each tail. His Majesty's painstaking efforts for Your Majesty are all reflected in this robe..."
Lanqin looked at the eight-tailed kimono, unsure what to say, and simply touched the clothes gently before saying, "Your Majesty is so thoughtful..."
The palace maids whispered among themselves: "I heard that only the Empress can wear the auspicious robes of the nine-tailed phoenix. Our Lady is only one tail short of nine..."
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