*
After returning to the capital, although the entire city was abuzz with the news that Jun Beichen had married his principal wife, Nanqing's life remained relatively peaceful.
Jun Beichen declined almost all invitations to banquets and other events for Nanqing. Occasionally, he would accompany Nanqing to banquets that were not malicious.
For Nan Qing, her life consisted of lying under the trees basking in the sun all day, having a few fights with Ming Xia and Qing Ying in the afternoon, and occasionally riding horses to the countryside for a trip, just as carefree as before.
Jun Beichen and General Shi and others were still very busy. On the fifth day after returning to the capital, General Shi was reinstated as the General Who Guards the Country and was cleared of the so-called crime of "colluding with the enemy". So not long after, he returned to the northern border with Madam Shi to continue guarding the border for Great Yan.
Nanqing's leisurely life was disrupted a month after he returned to the capital.
On that day, an imperial edict of abdication left some clueless court officials bewildered.
The courtiers of Chief Minister Zhou's faction were somewhat dazed as they looked at the "deposed crown prince" standing in the center of the hall, who had not even knelt down when receiving the imperial edict.
They brought the deposed crown prince back under the pretext of the emperor's birthday celebration. Didn't they say they were going to completely suppress him?
Well, this development is a little different from what they expected...
Not to mention the others, even the Chief Minister Zhou looked at the figure in the python robe with a shocked and somewhat frightened expression.
Zhou Jingshu couldn't understand why His Majesty would suddenly issue such an imperial edict!
He looked up at the Yan Emperor, who sat high above him, and saw that the emperor, dressed in a golden dragon robe, also had a frustrated expression on his face.
Seeing this, Zhou Jingshu's heart sank. He knew it was all over, completely over...
Just as he had guessed, Jun Beichen was extremely well hidden!
If only I had known... if only I had known, I should have killed this little brat along with the Empress!
He shouldn't have been allowed to grow up!!
However, even though he was thinking a thousand things, it was too late. Along with the imperial edict of abdication, there was also an imperial edict ordering the execution of the entire Zhou family for three generations.
The lawsuits and evidence revealed all his misdeeds, including forming cliques, embezzling and accepting bribes, abusing his power, misappropriating military funds, and condoning his clansmen's human trafficking and forced prostitution, thus exposing the veil of secrecy that had been covering him up.
The Zhou family, with almost no innocent members, numbering several hundred from three clans, were executed at the Caishikou execution ground in the capital for three whole days. But after three days, it seemed as if the sky over the entire capital had brightened...
Two weeks later.
As dawn broke, bells and drums resounded.
Above the nine-tiered palace, civil and military officials knelt in a sea of kneeling on both sides of the vermilion imperial road.
Outside Chengtian Gate, a dense crowd surged, and Zhuque Street was packed with people standing on tiptoe to look out. Children rode on their fathers' shoulders, girls leaned against windows, and even the eaves of some teahouses were filled with people.
Today is the day their new emperor of Great Yan ascends the throne. The new emperor is the crown prince of Great Yan who has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, and also the crown prince who has restored peace to their land!
Jun Beichen held Nan Qing's hand and stepped onto the dragon-patterned jade steps at the end of the imperial road.
He wore a dark ceremonial robe with twelve symbols, the sun, moon and stars on his shoulders, mountains and rivers embroidered on his lapel, and dragon patterns coiling from his waist and abdomen upwards, with the dragon's head held high in front of his chest. Jade tassels hung down, but could not conceal his deep, abyss-like eyes.
Beside him, Nan Qing was also dressed in a bright red phoenix robe, embroidered with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix in gold thread. The phoenix wings spread from his shoulders to the hem of his skirt, and each feather was woven with peacock feathers mixed with gold thread. It was dazzling with light as he moved. He wore a pearl crown on his head, with a gold phoenix holding a pearl in its beaded hair. A pool of blood hung between his eyebrows like a dot of cinnabar. He was both heroic and noble, dazzling and eye-catching.
The two stood side by side on the high platform.
Black and red, cold and fierce, dragon and phoenix.
When he looked down at her, the tassels of his crown swayed slightly, and the sharpness in his eyes disappeared, leaving only deep affection.
There was no empress and emperor in the world more well-matched than them.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"
All the civil and military officials bowed their heads in unison, their foreheads touching the ground, and the sound was like a tidal wave, resounding through the sky and making the copper bells on the eaves ring incessantly.
"Long live the Empress" was also something Jun Beichen insisted on having all civil and military officials change their address to, despite opposition from the crowd.
If he wants to live ten thousand years, then his beloved must also live ten thousand years!
The historians nearby diligently recorded this unprecedented scene: the emperor and empress were worshipped by all the officials, who shouted "Long live the Empress!"
The second day after the new emperor's ascension to the throne.
All the civil and military officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony stood solemnly.
The Minister of Rites, holding a bright yellow silk scroll, read aloud, his voice trembling slightly, word by word:
"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees—"
"From the day I ascend the throne, I abolish the six palaces and will never take any more concubines."
Just like Jun Beichen's indifferent personality, even this imperial edict abolishing the six palaces was devoid of any superfluous words, its meaning simple and clear.
But those seven short words shocked the court officials both inside and outside the court quite a bit!
An old minister, returning to the court, staggered out of the ranks, his hair and beard trembling.
"Your Majesty! This violates ancestral rules; it is unacceptable!!"
The Vice Minister of Rites, dressed in a red official robe, also shouted: "Your Majesty! The system of the six palaces has existed since ancient times. How can it be lightly abolished? This would be to break the established laws of our ancestors!!"
The Minister of Rites, still holding the imperial edict in his hand, stood to the side: "........."
(What a lack of tact! Why are you representing the Ministry of Rites at a time like this? Can't you see I've already given in?!)
"Your Majesty, although the Empress is virtuous, the succession to the throne is of utmost importance. If Your Majesty favors only one person, it may damage the foundation of the nation!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please rescind your decree!"
"Your Majesty, please rescind your decree!"
With the exception of a few trusted senior officials who knew Jun Beichen's strong personality, almost all the civil and military officials in the court knelt on the main hall.
On the dragon throne, Jun Beichen's crown tassels drooped slightly, his eyes behind the jade beads were calm, and he looked at the kneeling courtiers with a serene expression.
He tapped the armrest lightly with his fingertips, his voice unhurried, yet the sharp edge emanating from him was so overwhelming that it was hard to breathe.
"I am not sitting here today to listen to you teach me how to be an emperor."
"If anyone has any further objections..."
"You may resign now, or... you may even die to remonstrate with him."
Jun Beichen's gaze swept over the assembled officials below the steps, a slight smile playing on his lips, but no hint of amusement in his eyes.
"The pillars in this main hall look a bit pale; they should be dyed a little more color."
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence; no one in the court dared to move.
The Minister of Revenue, his back already soaked with cold sweat, thought: "I was merely offering a few words of advice as is customary; I never intended to actually incur this wrath! Anyway, I don't have a daughter~"
The Imperial Censor, his neck hairs standing on end, thought: "Oh no, oh no, I still have an eighty-year-old mother to support at home..."
Young scholar: What happened?? I just knelt down along with them...
Official from the Ministry of Works: If I faint now, will I be considered an accomplice? I just saw my leader kneel down, so I did the same...
Jun Beichen's slender fingers traced the dragon head beneath his hand, as if he had watched the farce unfold long enough, and he chuckled softly:
"Then let me add one more thing: if anyone dares to mention the word 'talent selection' again in the future, I will send him to the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) so that he can personally experience what... 'the favor of a beauty' truly means!"
All the ministers kowtowed and said, "Your humble servants dare not!"
The historian standing nearby trembled as he wrote: "The emperor abolished the six palaces, and his words became law; none of the ministers dared to look him in the eye!"
end.
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