Yan Nangui chuckled and shook his head, not caring at all.
The opposition from the outside has lost its strength.
Therefore, on the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Jingjing, the emperor issued an edict to establish an empress.
There's no need to repeat the lavish praise; the gist is that Consort Duanyi, of the first rank, was made Empress. Historical records state: Consort Duanyi, of the Yan clan, was the legitimate daughter of General Yan, the Duke of Zhenguo. She had given birth to a seventh princess.
Choosing an empress is no small matter.
The imperial edict has been issued, but the date for the empress's investiture ceremony has not yet been set, and the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department need to carefully consider it.
Sometimes, you can't catch the right day for these kinds of events, and you can wait a few years to do them.
However, the official status has already been established.
This edict is already a public announcement to the world.
Empress Yan Nangui issued her first imperial edict, summoning all the women of the capital to the palace to pay their respects.
They ordered people to clean Fengxiang Palace and renovate it.
An imperial edict was also issued to the inner palace, instructing the Empress not to move for the time being. She would continue to reside in Zhaochun Palace.
Fengxiang Palace was only used for entertaining guests on weekdays and for holding banquets during festivals.
The women in the harem no longer need to pay their respects every day; they can continue to do so on the first and fifteenth of each month.
However, His Majesty rejected this later.
His Majesty has issued a decree that all concubines in the harem must respect the Empress and pay their respects every five days. They must not be absent during festivals.
After all, Yan Nangui was the new empress, and he himself refused to live in Fengxiang Palace, so he was worried that the women in the harem would not behave themselves.
That's overthinking it. If a concubine can overpower everyone, why wouldn't an empress be able to?
But sometimes when a man is caught up in those thoughts, you shouldn't try to call him.
Having settled the matter, an imperial edict was issued to bestow the title.
The first was Consort Mei's promotion to Consort Mei Hui. She then resided in Yujing Palace.
Consort Jin was promoted to Consort Jin and moved to Liuyun Palace.
Consort Wan was promoted to the rank of Consort Concubine, just as news broke that Consort Sang Wanrong was pregnant. These two sisters seem to be getting promoted together.
Consort Song was promoted to the rank of Lady Wanyi.
Consort Shun was promoted to the rank of Noble Lady and moved to Guiyun Pavilion.
Consort Yang and Lady Feng were promoted to the rank of Jieyu. Their residences remained unchanged.
Consort Li, having a prince, was promoted to the rank of Jieyu. Since Consort Jin was ordered to move to Liuyun Palace, His Majesty ordered her to move out to Zhenxia Pavilion.
After all, I'm worried about the children.
There are only so many people who have been promoted so far, and it's basically impossible to get another major promotion.
Where there is birth, there is death.
Just as everyone was celebrating the promotion, the Imperial Concubine Xiang died of illness. She was posthumously granted the title of Xiaoyi and her remains were sent to the Imperial Concubine Mausoleum.
When she first entered the manor, things weren't so bad. She brought this upon herself, and her short life was no one else's fault but her own.
Since there is already an empress, a selection of consorts will be inevitable next March, and His Majesty has not done so for several years.
There aren't many concubines left; it's time to select a batch to enter.
Furthermore, the imperial clan also needs them. The late emperor's fifteenth and sixteenth sons are not yet married.
After Yan Nangui secured her position, other issues arose.
It's already winter, and this year's Lunar New Year celebrations will be a grand affair. After all, we now have an Empress.
Consort Jia helped her with a lot of things.
They were sitting and talking.
"They say that Consort Sang can't even get up, she's vomiting like crazy. She can't eat anything, and sometimes even drinking water makes her vomit badly. His Majesty can't even go to see her, she can't see him at all." Consort Jia shook her head.
"What did the imperial physician say?" Yan Nangui asked.
Jiangxiang replied, "The imperial physician said it's also a matter of constitution, and it will get better after four months. It's only been a little over two months now. We've already had a nurse to take care of me. We're adjusting slowly, and it doesn't matter what I eat, as long as I can eat, that's good."
"Yes, have the imperial physician examine these things. This is my first pregnancy since I became empress. Something must not go wrong."
"If Your Highness says so, this servant will have someone keep a close eye on things to prevent anyone from doing anything underhanded," Jiangxiang said.
"Heh, you probably won't resort to tricks now. But if you really were, you wouldn't be able to escape," Yan Nangui said.
Consort Jia also said, "Yes, this is the perfect time for Your Majesty. I doubt anyone would be so bold."
Yan Nangui nodded and started talking to her about other things.
After Consort Jia left, the Seventh Princess returned. The child kept calling her by the wrong name, first calling her "Mother Consort" and then correcting herself.
Actually, the child will be eight years old after the New Year, which is quite a big age. But we're used to it now.
Yan Nangui scratched his head: "Why are you only getting back now?"
"After class, I went to see my father. He said he was having lunch with his ministers. He also said I could stay if I wanted, but I didn't want to because that minister has a lot of beards," the Seventh Princess said.
"If your brothers heard you say that, they'd be furious." The Emperor wouldn't even let you stay; how infuriating!
“I know, they all want to be the crown prince. Mother Consort… uh, Empress Dowager, they all want to be the crown prince, but there can only be one crown prince, so who should it be?” The Seventh Princess cupped her face in her hands.
"What do you think?" Yan Nangui asked.
"I don't know. My eldest brother is always like that... like he's all grown up, and I don't like that. My second brother is very polite. He even gives me toys. As for my third brother, I remember, his mother isn't good. My fourth brother, um, my fourth brother is so annoying, I don't like him anymore. My fifth brother is no good either, he's stupid. My sixth brother can't be with Qimula either. My eighth brother is still too young..."
Yan Nangui listened to her with a smile.
After finishing, he asked again, "Didn't you used to like your fourth brother?"
"Mother, I think he's a bit strange. The way he looks at me is odd. Although he's very kind to me, I don't like him now. I don't like Wei Huan as much." The Seventh Princess's eyes lit up as she spoke. "By the way, Wei Huan said that I'm a legitimate princess. The most noble princess. It's only right that everyone is kind to me. Everyone is supposed to be kind to me, so it's not a virtue that he's kind to me. Uh..."
The Seventh Princess thought for a moment and then said, "He said... that it's only right for everyone to be nice to me, so if someone tries to be especially nice to me or treat me the best, I should be careful. I think that's what Fourth Brother is like, isn't he?"
"Oh? What else did Wei Huan say?" Yan Nan returned with interest.
He also said that if Fifth Brother treats me well, then it is genuine kindness.
Yan Nangui laughed: "Alright, go wash up and come have dinner with Mother in a bit. Call Qingfeng over."
Qingfeng is the eunuch who serves the Seventh Princess. He was reprimanded last time, but he is still quite capable, intelligent, and quick-witted.
The Seventh Princess nodded, and soon after, Qingfeng entered.
After he kowtowed, Yan Nangui told him to stand up and reply. He then had Yuanhua repeat what the Seventh Princess had just said.
"I ask you, when were these words said?"
"Your Majesty, it was the day before yesterday. At that time, the Fourth Prince brought our princess a very beautiful spinning top. He also explained in detail the benefits of this spinning top. He said that although girls don't usually play with these things, it's fine as long as the Seventh Princess likes it. He added that if Father Emperor forbids it in the future, he can secretly find another one for the Seventh Princess. At that time, the Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, Eighth Prince, and others were all present. Their respective study companions were also there." Qingfeng paused for a moment and then continued.
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