“Rong Ning wronged her; the late emperor cruelly hurt the heart of an old minister. But my father, though a loyal and capable general, was not a good husband. Despite the outside world’s claims of how loving and devoted he and my mother were, he let her die alone. Perhaps he had no choice back then, but now, I want him to make amends for his mistakes.”
"Oh? You're capable of scheming against me?" Shu Chengfeng asked, pinching her chin.
"Yes. Everyone in the harem does it. If you don't scheme, it just means you don't like them. Those who like you will scheme against you. Scheming doesn't mean harming. They scheme just to get you to look at them more, to have them come again. Of course, it might also be for the sake of their family or their offspring. But you know I'm not like that."
Shu Chengfeng wanted to ask, how can you be so sure that I know you aren't?
But I didn't ask.
Because he genuinely believed she wasn't.
“I had a hard life growing up. I was born into a wealthy family, but I lived in constant fear. My last marriage almost cost me my life. It ruined my health. In this world, my aunt and you are the closest people to me. But although my aunt loves me, she also has four children of her own.”
"And you, I am your concubine, and I dare not say that you are my husband in public. But you are so good to me, even though it is partly because of my family, I can see that your kindness to me is also due to me personally."
"That's why I can't bear to lie to you. Yes is yes, no is no. If you ever tire of me, I have nothing to say. For now, I will only tell you the truth."
Shu Chengfeng remained silent for a while, without answering, but simply hugged her.
His feelings were complicated, an indescribable mix of joy and a touch of sadness.
Isn't he the same way?
I was always cautious from a young age, and I still feel like I'm walking on thin ice as an adult.
The mother is still alive, but the bond between mother and son has long since changed.
As an emperor, he shouldn't have such thoughts, but he was also a human being.
Even if he wanted to reprimand someone for the sake of his pride, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
It's not that no one has tried to use his childhood lack of affection to create topics to get close to him.
But no one, like Yan Nangui, openly laid out their past. It was as if she were saying, "Look, this is who I am."
If you don't mind me getting so close to you, please allow me to.
To put it bluntly, you are the closest to me, and I will not lie to you.
He really couldn't help but believe it.
"You, no one knows how to be charming better than you." Shu Chengfeng patted her back.
Yan Nangui smiled and said, "I haven't been eating well lately. Although the banquets were full of meat and fish, there wasn't anything I particularly liked. Can we eat here today?"
"Hmm, what would you like to eat? Tell someone to make it," Shu Chengfeng asked.
Yan Nangui thought for a moment and actually managed to name a few people.
Shu Chengfeng called someone in and repeated, "Tell the imperial kitchen to prepare it properly."
The eunuch acknowledged and hurried off to relay the message.
At lunchtime, the food Yan Nangui wanted to eat was laid out, and she ate it without hesitation.
Seeing her eating like that, Shu Chengfeng also had a great appetite and ate the most he had in the past two weeks.
While everyone was tidying up, they chatted in the beautiful scenery.
"You know, His Majesty's appetite has improved since Consort Yan came. He hasn't eaten three bowls of rice in so many days."
"His Majesty is young and has a good appetite. However, he was probably busy a few days ago, and today, with Consort Yan around, he has developed a good appetite."
"Indeed, Consort Yan also ate two bowls of rice. She really loses weight so easily."
"You say... Consort Yan is quite favored now, isn't she?"
"Right? She's come to Beichen Palace several times since she entered the palace. We've seen that she still speaks so freely with His Majesty after entering the palace."
"It's quite comfortable."
After a satisfying meal, Consort Yan dragged His Majesty to take a nap – a pure afternoon nap.
His Majesty is quite tired; he went to bed late last night and went to court this morning.
I slept until dusk.
Yan Nangui got up and took his leave.
It's not time for me to stay overnight yet.
The enthronement ceremony is on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, and today is the sixteenth, so it will be soon.
However, the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department had already begun preparations, and it was almost ready.
The investiture ceremony for the Empress and others will have to wait until after the mourning period ends.
The titles of Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager are merely honorary titles; they simply need to change their clothes.
On the day of the investiture ceremony, the concubines also had to worship their ancestors.
Then, in the Taichen Hall, Shu Chengfeng received the homage of all the officials.
The concubines also had to pay their respects.
This is evidence of the openness of the Dayan Dynasty. In previous dynasties, women were not allowed to appear on this day.
After a day of worship, everyone was exhausted.
The time for the banquet has finally come; today is a state banquet.
Envoys from various countries have arrived.
Gan Gongguo remains the eldest prince.
The crown princess of Mengzhu Kingdom has already ascended the throne as queen, but she is pregnant, so this year the king's consort has come.
This royal consort was none other than Luo Ren's fifth prince; they got married the year they returned home.
Luo Ren sent a prime minister, and the fifth prince happened to represent both small countries.
The woman from Zhu Kingdom was also a prime minister, but the queen was seriously ill and the crown princess could not come.
The delegation from Baiye Kingdom consisted of several high-ranking officials. It wasn't that King Baiye didn't want to come, but rather that Shu Chengfeng forbade him to come.
It was obvious that Consort Wanshu would return home after the coronation ceremony.
The entire Taichen Hall was solemn and dignified, with people coming and going offering gifts.
Shu Chengfeng sat at the highest point, receiving the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" from his subjects.
Thus began the first year of the Jingjing era, and he officially became the Jingjing Emperor.
This ushered in the prosperous Jingjing era.
That night, he summoned the Empress to stay overnight at the Beichen Palace.
This also means that he can now favor his concubines, but they cannot have children.
It's like telling the public that they're just being served by concubines.
In short, one should not indulge in excessive pleasure.
Of course, they couldn't stay overnight in the inner palace; they could only be summoned to the Beichen Palace.
After wearing palace attire all day, Yan Nangui was almost exhausted.
The imperial concubines' palace attire consisted of several layers, with the outermost layer being the thickest and stiffest because it had to have special patterns.
Wearing it really makes you feel so tight that you can't bend over or hunch over.
I feel extremely uncomfortable.
I felt so relaxed after taking my clothes off at night.
"This tattered garment must weigh at least fifty pounds!"
It doesn't weigh fifty pounds, but it is indeed heavy, and the gold and silver threads on it are genuine.
Moreover, because it needs to maintain a good shape, this is a garment with several layers stacked together.
Yan Nangui was so tired that she didn't even want to eat: "Go ask for leave for me first thing tomorrow morning."
"Your Majesty... I'm going to see the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager tomorrow." (First day after ascending the throne...)
Yan Nangui sighed, "Never mind, I'm going to sleep. We'll eat tomorrow morning." After saying that, she was so tired that she didn't even want to wash up. She just casually said, "Wipe my face," and closed her eyes.
I fell asleep instantly.
When a person is extremely tired, insomnia is no longer an option.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
