calm
Regardless of the attitudes of all parties, the emperor's abdication is a fact and the prince has ascended the throne.
After returning home, Xiao Wan'er put the matter aside for the time being and locked herself in the study, not seeing anyone. A few days later, she finally emerged from the study and immediately returned to her room, still closing the door and not seeing anyone.
During this period, both Liu Mingyin and Mingshu were very tactful and did not disturb her until the evening of the ninth day, when the door opened and Xiao Wan'er walked out with a tired look on her face.
Liu Mingyin was waiting outside her house. Seeing that her steps were a little unsteady as she walked out, she reached out to support her.
"Has anything happened in the past few days?" Xiao Wan'er asked Liu Mingyin directly.
"The new emperor ascended the throne today." Liu Mingyin didn't say much nonsense and directly told the most important news.
The new emperor's coronation ceremony was held in great haste.
After issuing a series of decrees including the abdication edict, the previous emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the coronation ceremony as quickly as possible, and it must be held before the King of Song, the King of Shen, and the King of Bin left Chang'an.
The Ministry of Rites was in tears - how could such a grand ceremony be prepared in just ten days?
But the emperor's reasons were also very reasonable.
The new emperor, who is about to ascend the throne, has always been friendly and respectful to the princes. Now that these princes are about to leave Chang'an to perform their duties, how can the emperor not do his best to allow them to attend the coronation ceremony before leaving?
This reason is reasonable. No matter how painful it is, the Ministry of Rites has to work overtime to arrange the ceremony.
Thus, the day before the three princes left Chang'an, the ceremony was officially held. Although time was tight and the ceremony was kept to the bare essentials, the former Prince of Linzi and Crown Prince finally officially became emperor.
"The new emperor changed the reign title to Xiantian and conferred the title of Duke of Ying on Lord Pei." Liu Mingyin added after he finished talking about matters related to the coronation ceremony.
The Duke of Ying, as the name suggests, was a duke of the state, a rank of the first rank, the same as Xiao Wan'er's princess. Given that the retired emperor had decreed the exchange of positions between Xiao Wan'er and Pei Yingguan and promoted Princess Taiping to the rank of Grand Princess of the Nation, the new emperor bestowed upon Pei Yingguan a title of equal rank to Xiao Wan'er, naturally intending to pit Pei Yingguan against Xiao Wan'er, and perhaps also expressing dissatisfaction with the series of arrangements made by the retired emperor on the eve of his abdication.
"I understand. It's not a big deal." Xiao Wan'er had long expected the new emperor to honor Pei Yingguan. She didn't react in any way, but there was something else that concerned her: "Where is Mingshu?"
Ever since she walked out of the room, she had not been able to sense Mingshu's presence in the entire house.
"Fellow Daoist Mingshu went to Princess Taiping's residence." Liu Mingyin replied.
Xiao Wan'er suddenly understood.
"Has there been any unusual activity at Princess Taiping's residence in the past few days?"
"Nothing unusual has happened," Liu Mingyin replied, "except that an official visited the princess the night before last."
Princess Taiping's faction seemed to have genuinely accepted the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne, and had taken no action since the abdication decree. Even the Emperor's trusted ministers hadn't taken any action personally, sending only their followers to contact Princess Taiping.
But this does not mean that Princess Taiping can be underestimated - she has accepted most of the political power of the retired emperor, and even holds a golden medal of immunity from death that can truly pardon all sins.
"It seems Her Highness has finally learned to be patient after several setbacks," Xiao Wan'er said, recalling Princess Taiping's past foolish actions. A hint of sarcasm laced her words. "That's a good thing. At least she can't constantly create weaknesses for others."
With nothing else to do, Liu Mingyin returned to his room to continue his cultivation. Xiao Wan'er first took the time to familiarize herself with the object she had just created, then sat on the bed to adjust her state.
Until dawn, she opened her eyes again and headed straight for the outskirts of Chang'an with the things she had prepared.
When they arrived at the gates of Chang'an, they were still closed. Xiao Wan'er scaled the city wall without alerting anyone, then set up an ambush at a place on the outskirts of the city where people often stopped to say goodbye, concealing her presence and awaiting the arrival of the three princes.
It was not until the end of the day that Xiao Wan'er saw the first prince's carriage.
King Shen was sitting in his carriage, barely out of Chang'an City, but he was already about to complain about the discomfort of the ride. He was about to order his servants to put another layer of cushions inside the carriage when the new commander of the Dragon Guard suddenly swooped in and, without a word, knocked him unconscious.
He felt like he'd slept for a long time. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a huge formation, flanked by the King of Song and the King of Bing. Xiao Wan'er, the one who had captured him, was bent over, as if preparing something.
"Kang Le, what are you going to do!" He was so scared that his heart and liver were broken, fearing that he would be secretly killed by Xiao Wan'er.
Xiao Wan'er looked up when she heard this, and seeing his panicked look, she couldn't help but laugh.
King Shen became even more frightened.
"Kangle, you, you, don't do anything reckless. If you kill three princes, no one will forgive you."
After appreciating his fear, Xiao Wan'er smiled and said, "Prince Shen, don't worry. Kang Le was only entrusted by the Emperor to lift the curse for the three princes."
The words that were about to come out of King Shen's mouth stopped abruptly. He looked down at the formation, then looked up at the harmless materials prepared by Xiao Wan'er, and felt extremely embarrassed for a moment.
"Or I'd better go back to sleep."
Xiao Wan'er fulfilled his wish. She sprinkled a handful of medicinal powder on the three people in the formation, and soon King Shen fell into a deep sleep again.
Xiao Wan'er worked for a while longer, finally completing her preparations. She brought all her supplies and walked into the formation. Looking at the three unconscious people, Xiao Wan'er extended her hand directly to King Shen.
When King Shen regained consciousness, he found himself back in his carriage. A cushion had been added to the back of the carriage, apparently at the servant's request before he was captured. He poked his head out of the carriage and, as expected, saw the carriages of the Kings of Song and Bin.
At this point, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After completing her mission, Xiao Wan'er headed straight for the palace of the retired emperor. Although he had abdicated, the retired emperor still oversaw the appointment of officials above the third rank and the adjudication of major criminal cases, and regularly received congratulations from his ministers in the Taiji Hall.
After listening to Xiao Wan'er's statement, the emperor didn't say much and let her go.
From then on, at least in Xiao Wan'er's eyes, the relationship between the Emperor, the Retired Emperor, and Princess Taiping fell into a strange and prolonged period of peace. Xiao Wan'er's life also returned to the once mundane but stable routine of duty, patrols, and arresting low-level criminal monks, day after day.
As for Ming Shu, she was still hiding in Princess Taiping's residence, and no one knew what she was doing. Xiao Wan'er could occasionally sense her faint presence when she went to the princess's residence, but she never saw her figure.
This continued until the end of the year.
The New Year's Eve banquet of the first year of Xiantian was very different from previous years, as both the retired emperor and the emperor would attend. The civil and military officials attending the banquet were also very nervous, checking themselves over and over before entering to ensure that there were no flaws.
Because it was the new emperor's first visit to the throne, the palace banquet was even more grand than in previous years. Xiao Wan'er, as per custom, led Liu Mingyin to the venue. After entering the main gate, Liu Mingyin went to the seats for seventh-rank officials. Xiao Wan'er, whose rank rose with her own nobility, walked alone to the area closest to the main seat.
Aside from the elderly, the only people seated at this table were members of the Li and Tang royal family. Xiao Wan'er sat silently, not recognizing anyone around her, yet still had to exchange greetings with them from time to time.
Just when I was feeling bored, Pei Yingguan came.
Pei Yingguan, who had been granted the title of Duke of Ying upon the emperor's ascension to the throne, was now enjoying a period of prosperity. He was surrounded by fawning admirers, and people of his rank were always polite to him. Naturally, at the banquet, a round of greetings was inevitable. After a round of pleasantries, Pei Yingguan naturally sat down next to Xiao Wan'er, regardless of her attitude.
Xiao Wan'er felt even more annoyed and pretended that she couldn't see it.
Pei Yingguan was not annoyed. He just smiled and sat beside her until the retired emperor and the emperor arrived.
The two men displayed a perfect display of fatherly love and filial piety. The emperor consciously stepped back, allowing the retired emperor to speak first. After a few brief remarks, the retired emperor automatically paused, allowing the emperor to continue. The ministers at the table were deeply moved by the harmonious relationship between father and son, and the atmosphere quickly changed significantly from when they first arrived.
The palace banquet officially began, with the palace servants serving dishes in an orderly manner. The retired emperor then asked Princess Taiping to join him and the emperor in a speech. The emperor had changed his pre-auspices aggressive attitude towards Princess Taiping, acting like a truly filial nephew. Princess Taiping also showed great kindness, completely different from the life-and-death struggle she once had with the emperor.
The retired emperor sat in the main seat in the center, looking pleased.
Xiao Wan'er just lowered her head to eat the food at the banquet, but she didn't expect that while talking, a few people actually talked about her.
"Kangle has been in the court for some time now. Is there any young man you've taken a fancy to?" the emperor asked with a smile. The old ministers at the table were already getting nervous. "If not, how about I act as a matchmaker today? My Duke of Ying also became a Duke at a young age and has never had any concubines. I think he would be a good match for you, Kangle."
Xiao Wan'er didn't expect that this matter would be brought up again, but with the emperor around, she felt more confident.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. However, I am focused on my breakthrough in cultivation and have no mood for romance, nor do I want to delay others."
The emperor said nothing and let Xiao Wan'er go. He only asked Pei Yingguan, "What about Pei Qing? There are many young ladies from the royal family waiting to be married. I also have two sisters who practice Taoism. I think I can discuss Taoism with Pei Qing."
As a result, Pei Yingguan also did not accept it.
"Your Majesty, I share the same aspirations as my junior sister. I simply want to focus on my cultivation. I'm afraid I'll disappoint Your Majesty's kindness."
After being rejected repeatedly, the emperor's expression was almost unbearable.
Princess Taiping was very happy watching this and immediately changed the subject without stopping. The emperor didn't want the conversation to remain awkward, so he followed suit.
After all, it was New Year's Eve, and the emperor couldn't lose his temper in front of the emperor emeritus and his ministers. He had to quickly control his expression and return to the palace banquet.
The situation was stable until the end of the palace banquet.
Many people thought that this stability would continue - however, after only two years, the situation changed completely.
Unexpectedly, the first to take action was the emperor.
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