"General Feng, please calm down!"
Ouyang Yuming, wearing a royal blue jade brocade court robe with auspicious cloud patterns and a blue and kingfisher-inlaid phoenix-shaped hairpin on his head, walked towards Feng Jingyun and others at a leisurely pace, supported by the palace servants.
"General Feng, as the saying goes, 'Without rules, there is no order.' General Huoqi is a naturally upright person, and her words were only a little rude out of respect for the emperor. She meant absolutely no disrespect to the emperor, so please forgive her. I am here to apologize to you on her behalf."
Ouyang Yuming was about to bow and apologize to Feng Jingyun, but Feng Cailan stopped him. "The princess' adoptive mother and adoptive father have made great contributions to her upbringing and education, and this is a recognition from the emperor. Although they are not of high rank, their contributions are significant, so they naturally deserve this front-row seat. The general, like me, is a rough man, so his words are naturally not as roundabout as those of the civil officials. I understand. Since it's just a misunderstanding, there's no need to hurt the relationship."
Although Feng Jingyun, a senior member of the Laifeng Kingdom's imperial court, fully deserved Ouyang Yuming's courtesy, he was, after all, the emperor, and asking him to salute a subject was against etiquette. Since ancient times, the greatest taboo was to overdo one's achievements and threaten the emperor's position. If someone with ulterior motives used this as a pretext, the Feng family would likely suffer.
The turmoil over the seat quickly returned to calm due to the intervention of Ouyang Yuming and Feng Cailan, just like ripples on the water hit by rocks, as if nothing had happened before.
"The princess, the princess has arrived!"
At the end of the Chen hour, as the Imperial Household Department chanted loudly, Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige came slowly, surrounded by many palace servants. The two finally sat in the front row belonging to the East Palace.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Just after Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige took their seats, Emperor Nalan Yunzhi, who had arrived on time, was supported by Guo Dongbing and took the throne at the top of the Baohua Hall. Wherever she passed, people knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".
"All the nobles, please stand up!"
Nalan Yunzhi, who was sitting at the top seat, glanced at the crowd below with disdainful eyes, and then she raised her bare hand slightly and gave a light support.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After the emperor spoke, everyone who attended the ceremony and the palace banquet took their seats again.
"Lao Guo, let's start!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Following Nalan Yunzhi's order, Guo Dongbing immediately held the imperial edict, stood on her left and began to read it.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims:
"I hereby present Mu Lige, the adopted son of the Hua family of Huaqiao Village, Fufeng County. He is a man of excellent character and appearance, well-educated, diligent, docile, virtuous, and filial. He is noble yet frugal, diligently following the rules, a good follower of etiquette, upright and harmonious, harmonious and benevolent, a suitable family man, and a perfect match for the Crown Princess, Nalan Qingcheng. I hereby appoint Mu Lige as the Crown Princess of the First Rank, and the legitimate husband of the Crown Prince of Laifeng State."
"So ordered!"
"Prince Princess Zhengjun, please accept the order!"
Guo Dongbing walked up to Mu Lige with the imperial edict in his hand.
"Your servant, Mu Lige, thanks the Lord for His great grace! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!"
Since Nalan Yunzhi had previously issued an edict, allowing Mu Lige to be exempted from the kneeling ceremony during her pregnancy, Mu Lige only bowed slightly and took the imperial edict with both hands.
Mu Lige was wearing a black palace dress for a princess. Although she was pregnant with twins, her tall and slender figure was still graceful. Her every move revealed her dignified and elegant temperament and good upbringing, which was very pleasing to the eye.
After Mu Lige received the imperial edict, Hua Qingcheng came to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. From the royal family to the court officials and their families, everyone knelt down and bowed in greeting.
"Your Highness, Princess Zhengjun, may you live a thousand years! A thousand years! A thousand thousand years!"
"Stand up!"
After receiving everyone's kneeling greetings, Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige raised their hands to support themselves below, and then walked towards the seat below Emperor Nalan Yunzhi.
Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige, one stunningly beautiful and valiant, the other handsome and imposing. Walking side by side, they were a perfect match, the center of attention and a beautiful sight to behold.
"The palace banquet begins, play the music!"
After Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige took their seats, the powerful singing voice of the eunuch chief Guo Dongbing immediately spread to every corner of the hall, followed by the pleasant sounds of orchestral music.
Attendees of the ceremony and palace banquet for the conferment of the title upon the Crown Princess and the Prince included not only the royal family of Laifeng, some princes and nobles, officials of the third rank and above in the imperial court and their families, but also envoys from other kingdoms who came to offer their congratulations. As the male and female protagonists of the ceremony, Hua Qingcheng and Mu Lige naturally caught the attention of the envoys, especially those from Zhaoyang.
"Uncle, am I seeing things? How come the Princess Zhengjun of Laifeng Country looks so much like my late cousin Su Mu Lige? Moreover, what a coincidence, his name is also Lige, and his last name is Mu..."
In the VIP seats of the Zhaoyang Kingdom envoys, Su Mulihan looked at the handsome figure who was sitting hand in hand with Hua Qingcheng, his face full of disbelief.
[Su Mulihan: 19 years old, the same age as Mu Lige. The eldest son of Su Mutianjun and Qin Shuyao, and the current crown prince of Zhaoyang Kingdom.]
He narrowed his eyes dangerously, his gaze glued to Mu Lige, who was standing beside Hua Qingcheng. However, when he caught a glimpse of Mu Lige's large pregnant belly, Su Mulihan immediately shook his head.
How could his cousin, who had died early and been reborn, be pregnant with a child in a country where men were respected? Not to mention two children? Su Mulihan sneered, thinking it was just a matter of similarities, and at the same time, he laughed at himself for his own unrealistic thoughts.
"Your Highness, in my opinion, rather than making blind guesses, it would be better to investigate later."
Qin Zhenyi looked at Mu Lige sitting in the East Palace with a cunning face, and a calculation flashed quickly in his deep eyes.
A few days ago, Qin Zhenyi, the uncle of the king of Zhaoyang Kingdom, did not return to Zhaoyang Kingdom with Shangguan Yuechan, but continued to stay in the inn and met up with Su Mulihan who arrived later, to attend today's ceremony of enthroning the Princess Zhengjun of Laifeng Kingdom, as well as the upcoming marriage ceremony between the Princess of Laifeng Kingdom and Prince Helun of Zhaoyang Kingdom.
Qin Zhenyi had never expected to see the eldest grandson of the emperor, who was supposed to have died long ago, actually still alive? Although it had not yet been confirmed that the man was Su Mulige, the son of the former crown prince Su Mutiansheng, based on his exact resemblance to Su Mutiansheng, it was probably a close call.
Mu Lige, who was sitting in the East Palace seat, had a warm smile on his face when he was talking to the person next to him, but he could also feel the burning gazes from the VIP seats.
But Mu Lige turned his head slightly, glanced at Qin Zhenyi and Su Mulihan from the Zhaoyang Kingdom envoys in the VIP seats, and nodded slightly to them.
However, beneath Su Mulige's gentle eyes, there was a huge hatred and the gleam of swords and sabers.
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