But Bei Chen remained calm as ever, as if he hadn't heard a word.
Duke Wei was not giving up and continued to try to get information out of Bei Chen. Unfortunately, no matter what he said, even with Mu Qiu joining in to subtly probe, Bei Chen remained unmoved and silent, like a cold block of iron with absolutely no reaction.
Only after finishing a pot of tea did Bei Chen get up and stroll out of the restaurant. Every step seemed to have been measured, not a bit too much or too little. He disappeared into the crowd in a flash.
The Duke of Wei and Mu Qiu had just begun to consider stopping him when they were suddenly terrified and unable to control their movements. It wasn't until Bei Chen completely disappeared into the crowd that they came to their senses.
"Xiao Qiu, are you alright?" Duke Wei gripped his partner's hand tightly, only to find that not only were his palms soaked in cold sweat, but Mu Qiu's were too. He immediately gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, "Damn Yin Bei!"
“Zhongyan, we should hurry to the palace and report this to His Majesty… That Yin Bei is quite capable; if he has malicious intentions, it will be good for His Majesty to take precautions.” Mu Qiu held her lover’s hand tightly and whispered.
Duke Wei nodded, quickly paid the bill, and then sent the invitation to the palace.
The moment Long Xun received the news, he scanned the entire capital with his divine sense, and knew that he could not find Bei Chen's whereabouts at all.
Knowing the outcome would be like this, Long Xun was not disappointed. He simply said "I understand" to the Duke of Wei and then dismissed him.
As Duke Wei walked out of the palace, he happened to run into Yin Chen, who was walking slowly through the palace in a black outfit. Even though the man with blond hair, golden eyes, and colorful brocade robes beside him was more handsome, Duke Wei still stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Yin Chen's face, which he had just seen. He almost dropped the folding fan he was holding, which he had been pretending to hold elegantly.
Yin Chen felt a gaze directed at him and looked over alertly. He saw a handsome man clumsily catching a folding fan, then frantically rubbing his eyes, looking so foolish that it was impossible to look directly at him.
Yin Chen was in a good mood under Mu Feng's reassuring aura, and upon seeing this, he slightly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint smile with a hint of mockery.
Duke Wei stared blankly as the man gave him a slight smile, then strolled leisurely towards the palace with his hands behind his back. He suddenly remembered the rumor that the emperor's virtuous empress was a boy with a white mole...
Could this Empress have some connection with that Yin Bei?! This young man doesn't look like a young man at all; could he be Yin Bei in disguise, trying to deceive the Emperor?!
Duke Wei returned to his residence with a heavy heart. After telling Mu Qiu about his concerns, he sighed deeply and was restless.
Mu Qiu rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Zhongyan, you're overthinking it. Even if Yin Bei were to impersonate a young man, he wouldn't impersonate Bai Zhi."
The boy with the white mole is infertile. Yin Bei is hardly stupid. Why would he disguise himself like that to bewitch the emperor? Is he so confident that he can charm the emperor with just the white mole?
Mu Qiu had one more thing to say: besides, although Yin Bei was ruthless in many ways, he also had his own pride, and he would never do something like using his looks to please someone.
He has ambition in his eyes, but also determination. This kind of man is annoying, but you can't help but feel a complicated sense of admiration for him.
Duke Wei thought about it and agreed. He temporarily put aside his dilemma and focused on preparing for the ceremony to be crowned empress.
Ministers of the third rank or above, or those with a title of marquis or above, were all able to bring their wives and have the privilege of witnessing the emperor and empress praying to heaven and earth.
Seven days passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the coronation ceremony arrived.
Mu Feng dismissed the officials from the Ministry of Rites, took on the responsibility of being the chief officiant, and urged Long Xun to change into his robes before dawn and head towards the sacrificial altar.
The coronation ceremony in this world is very simple. At sunrise, the emperor and the empress bow to each other at the altar to worship heaven and earth, symbolizing the equality of husband and wife. Then, they offer a prayer to heaven. The emperor first says that today, as the Son of Heaven, I am going to take a wife. I will treat my wife well, respect and love her, teach our sons, and have many children. I will not be obsessed with beauty, and so on.
The empress would then pray after the emperor, expressing that she would be married to the emperor today, and would uphold virtue, offer loyal advice, manage the harem, and strive to be a virtuous and helpful wife.
After the long and tedious prayer was finished, the emperor and empress would return to the palace for a grand banquet for their officials, at which point they could do whatever they wanted.
This simple ceremony also allowed Long Xun to complete the enthronement ceremony within seven days, as the only difficulty was the prayer to heaven.
Unexpectedly, everything seemed normal as Long Xun and Yin Chen went to the altar to perform their rituals. However, when the sacrificial prayer was handed to Long Xun, he saw the opening line, "I was born with the mandate of Heaven..." and casually threw it away. He then pulled Yin Chen, who was dressed in a solemn black phoenix robe, over with one hand.
Yin Chen had been informed that a deity would be visiting him today. He blindly trusted Long Xun and remained calm and composed, showing no fear.
Long Xun's cold voice rang out: "I am the Ancestral God Xun! Today I marry Yin Chen, all gods, come and pay your respects!"
In an instant, the kowtowing ministers were bewildered and couldn't help but look up at their emperor, who had suddenly fallen into a fit of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome).
Then... they saw Mu Feng, who was standing in the position of the chief officiant and whom the emperor trusted implicitly, suddenly transform into a golden phoenix in a burst of golden light, and a loud and melodious phoenix cry pierced the sky!
The next moment, in the bright and clear sky, the white clouds changed and endless colorful light shone. Dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, white tigers, black tortoises, cranes... all kinds of auspicious beasts that only exist in myths and legends circled and descended in the air, and golden light fell to the earth like silk and rain.
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