The wife of the Marquis of Anding, Concubine Li, Princess Duan and others felt that they had lost more than they gained; those ladies who did not intend to participate in the selection of concubines just regarded it as a good show; the Shen Zhi sisters and the wife of Duke Mu exchanged glances with each other, not hiding the joy on their faces...

Regardless of what everyone thought, Queen Mother Yin's attitude was already clear: she had no intention of choosing a concubine for the new emperor. The female relatives present were also sensible people, and no one dared to mention the matter of choosing a concubine, lest it be disliked.

After a brief silence, some eloquent and graceful ladies took the initiative to start a topic and liven up the atmosphere. They complimented the empress dowager and flattered Shen Qianchen. Soon, the scene became lively again, with people talking and laughing, and there was no sign of the discord at all.

When the time was almost up, a middle-aged eunuch came to remind Empress Dowager Yin and Shen Qianchen that the banquet was about to begin.

Then, a group of female relatives surrounded the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and headed towards Baohedian. The team was huge.

Today's palace banquet will be held in Baohedian. This is the first palace banquet after the new emperor ascended the throne, so officials from the Ministry of Rites, Honglu Temple and Guanglu Temple are all on high alert.

The Baohe Hall was decorated with golden splendor and solemnity. After all the civil and military officials and ladies were seated, the music started at the auspicious time, accompanied by the eunuch's shrill and high-pitched voice: "The Emperor has arrived!"

"The Queen Mother has arrived!"

"The Queen has arrived!"

Everyone hurriedly saluted, the men bowed and kowtowed, and the women knelt and bowed, respectfully welcoming the Emperor, Empress, and Queen Mother.

Most people lowered their heads obediently, especially the officials who dared not move rashly in such a formal occasion. Instead, a few female members of the family could not help but secretly look up at the emperor and empress, and happened to catch a glimpse of the emperor and empress's hands clasped together.

The woman's small hand was completely held in the man's hand, and this intimacy required no words.

Isn't the new emperor too indulgent towards the queen?! The wife of Marquis Anding and the Princess of Duan County were so shocked that their jaws dropped. They were so shocked that they forgot to lower their heads.

As for those officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple who had witnessed with their own eyes how the new emperor placed the empress on the throne at the coronation ceremony, they were no longer surprised by now and simply thought they were blind and had seen nothing.

The following palace banquet was lively and festive. Although there was no singing and dancing, there was plenty of fine wine and delicious food. As the glasses clinked, everyone's face was tinged with a hint of drunkenness, and their faces were flushed.

The palace has not been this lively for a long time. Even the palace banquet held on the first day of the first lunar month this year was slightly inferior. The atmosphere in the air has become different. Everyone's eyes are bright and full of expectations for the future.

However, the wife of Marquis Anding and the Princess of Duan County were somewhat absent-minded. They had no appetite and kept glancing in the direction of the Emperor and Empress. They had no idea what they had eaten.

The palace banquet did not end until noon. The emperor, empress and queen mother left first, and everyone below respectfully saw them off.

The young couple first escorted Queen Mother Yin back to Shouning Palace, but before they could enter, Queen Mother Yin sent them away: "You two have been tired all day, go back and rest!"

"There is a long way to go. From now on, our family of three will live together. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to fulfill your filial duties."

"Let's go, let's go."

At the urging of the Empress Dowager, the young couple walked out of the gate of Shouning Palace hand in hand.

As Shen Qianchen walked, he couldn't help but act coquettishly towards Gu Jue: "I'm so tired."

She yawned lazily again. The grace she had at the palace banquet was no longer there, only the innocence of a young girl remained.

Gu Jue: "I carry you?"

Shen Qianchen: "No."

Gu Jue: "I hug you?"

Shen Qianchen: "No."

Gu Jue: "Sedan?"

Shen Qianchen: "No."

…

Although Amber and the others in the back were far away, the wind still carried the conversation between the two into their ears.

Amber felt deeply moved in her heart: the new emperor's behavior is not about pampering his wife, it's more like raising a daughter, and he raises her as the apple of his eye.

As the two of them were having a casual conversation, they walked leisurely back to the Qianqing Palace.

After saying "no" countless times, Shen Qianchen finally replied "OK" and sat obediently in front of the dressing table while Gu Jue took off her pearl hairpins and hair bun for her.

Her hair was black, thick and long, and the bun she wore today was more complicated than usual, so some of her hair was inevitably tangled together. Gu Jue carefully helped her straighten her hair, asking her from time to time:

"Does this hurt?"

"If it hurts, tell me."

"It's almost done."

“…”

It took two cups of tea just to undress her and comb her hair. Shen Qianchen placed his hands on his knees, his posture extremely obedient.

She stared at the man behind her through the bronze mirror with a smile. She could see his cautiousness, his cherishment, and his love, and she felt extremely satisfied.

At this moment, his fingertips accidentally brushed against her scalp, and she suddenly felt a tingling shiver rolling down her spine, and her white jade-like cheeks suddenly turned red.

"Hurt?" Gu Jue thought he had hurt her.

Shen Qianchen quickly shook his head, then rubbed his head against his chest, and said in a soft voice: "I'm happy!"

The end of her voice rose slightly, like a cat spoiled by its owner, rubbing and touching him restlessly.

At this time, Shen Qianchen had taken off his heavy outer clothes and was only wearing a frosty white undershirt. When she rubbed against him, her flawless white neck looked even more slender, and a beautiful and soft arc was drawn along her shoulders.

The subtle fragrance emanating from her body filled his nose.

Gu Jue restrained the back of her head with his palm to prevent her from rubbing it, and said word by word: "I am happy too."

His cold voice turned low and hoarse, with a hint of seductive charm.

He was glad to meet her.

He was very happy that he could hold her hand and sit on the throne together, letting the world know that he was her husband and she was his wife.

While he was happy, Gu Jue also felt that it was really terrible.

Why hasn't his little girl grown up yet?

His back became more and more tense, and he told himself for the umpteenth time that it would be almost there.

The sunlight poured in through the transparent glass windows, coating the two people hugging each other with a layer of dazzling gold powder.

The entire palace fell silent as the banquet came to an end. The birds that had been hiding before began to reappear, chirping as if they were talking or cheering.

From the imperial palace to every corner of the capital, there was a bustling scene everywhere.

Different from the hustle and bustle outside, the area outside Baiyun Temple has always been very quiet. There are no sounds of firecrackers, nor cheers to celebrate the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

But even so, Chu Qianhuang in the side room knew that Gu Jue's coronation ceremony was over.

A few days ago, when she went to the Dharma Hall to listen to the monks in the temple preaching, she heard a few monks mention that Gu Jue had ascended the throne today and said that Baiyun Temple would provide porridge to celebrate.

Chu Qianhuang looked out the window at the blue sky, and faintly heard the monks shouting outside: "Hurry, the porridge in front is almost gone! We have to make up for it quickly."

"Here it comes. Here it comes."

The monk's voice came quickly and went away quickly, fading away with the sound of hurried footsteps.

Just separated by a wall, it seems like there are two worlds, one bright and one dark.

In the room, Chu Qianhuang's fingertips were clenched fiercely, and her eyes were as dark as the sea on a stormy night.

She had been imprisoned in Baiyun Temple for half a month.

At first, she was still hoping for a chance to escape, but even in the temple, there were always people watching over her, and she could not go anywhere except the wing rooms and the Dharma Hall; once she walked out of the wing room, she could not leave the sight of the servant woman and several Black Armor Army soldiers.

Her daily routine consisted of listening to sermons, listening to sermons, and listening to sermons. She ate simple meals without any meat, and then she had to copy sutras in her room every day. If she didn't, they would have other ways to punish her.

She had been living a miserable life for the past half month.

Due to the lack of information, she had no idea what was happening outside. No one would tell her, and no one would talk to her. All she knew was what she accidentally heard from the monks.

Before today, she thought that the general trend would not change. She thought that something would happen during this period of time that would bring the future of Da Qi back to its original track.

However, Gu Jue actually ascended the throne.

Gu Jue did not support any prince to ascend the throne, but ascended the throne himself.

Until this moment, Chu Qianhuang still felt weird and unbelievable.

She couldn't help but wonder: Did she really travel into a novel? Or was there something deceiving her, making her see a false future, or...

As she thought about it, Chu Qianhuang felt her forehead begin to ache, twitching and making it impossible for her to think calmly.

She had been thinking about it alone for half a month, and her mind was still very confused.

The lighting in the room was not very good. There was a candlestick lit on the desk, and the candlelight illuminated the desk. In the middle of the desk was a half-copied Buddhist scripture she had placed. In addition to writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, there were also piles of scriptures such as "The Sutra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" and "The Diamond Sutra" piled up next to it.

Chu Qianhuang picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write down her dreams bit by bit according to the timeline, sorting out some of the events shown in the dreams.

At first, the dream was exactly the same as reality, until last spring, when some things began to deviate slightly. Later, the deviation became larger and larger, leading to the current situation step by step.

Chu Qianhuang wrote and reviewed at the same time. If she couldn't finish on one piece of paper, she would write on the second, third, and fourth pieces of paper... Occasionally, she would pick up a pen and draw a wavy line on certain events, and occasionally she would go back and tear up a few of the pieces of paper.

The scraps of paper on the ground fluttered down like catkins and scattered all over the ground.

Half an hour later, Chu Qianhuang finally threw away the pen in her hand. Her slender fingers tightly grasped one of the pieces of silk paper, and her eyes fell on a certain line of words.

She stared at the words "Gu Jue's death date" with burning eyes, as if the paper was about to be ignited by the fire in her eyes.

The candlelight was swaying in the wind from the window, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, making her eyes and expression seem unfathomable.

There should be no doubt that this novel has Uhajaro as its protagonist.

In the past, Chu Qianhuang had never paid too much attention to the differences between reality and dreams. After all, this was a matter of Da Qi.

These differences were nothing more than the result of her gently flapping wings like a butterfly, which led to changes in some people and things in Da Qi, and that was all.

For Wuhejialou, the diplomatic mission to Da Qi was just a very short experience in his life. The death of one more person on Da Qi's side or the survival of one more person who deserved to die would not affect the overall situation at all.

In the final analysis, the part of the plot concerning Uhagaru was not affected: for example, Uhadra had usurped the throne;

For example, Wuhejialou was hunted down and his whereabouts are unknown...

Therefore, Chu Qianhuang always felt that Wuhejialou must not be dead, and he must be lurking somewhere unknown to her. One day, he will restore his throne and take back his throne! Chu Qianhuang was very convinced of this, and she persuaded herself in this way countless times when she was shaken.

But the prerequisite for all this to happen is that the Emperor of Da Qi is Gu Lang, it must be Gu Lang.

In the novel, the Great Qi Emperor Gu Lang is a narrow-minded waste who is obsessed with immortality.

After Prince Gu Jue passed away, Gu Lang became more and more incompetent without anyone to restrain him. He deposed the crown prince, favored Taoist priests, and allowed those Taoist priests who spread false rumors to stir up trouble in the court. In just a few years, the Great Qi Dynasty was in decline and was on the verge of collapse.

Later, Wuhejialou personally led the Nanhao army across the river and headed north, fighting all the way to the capital.

According to the novel, Wuhejialou is a man of both civil and military talents, and a master of military tactics. He is the son of destiny bestowed by God on the Hao Kingdom, destined to climb the top of Mount Tai, unify the north and south of the world, and become the greatest emperor of all time! To put it bluntly, it was the incompetent emperor Gu Lang who made Wuhejialou's grand ambitions a reality.

But now, the history of Da Qi has completely changed.

After Gu Lang passed away, Gu Jue ascended the throne. Once he has consolidated the rule of Da Qi, can Wuhejialou still unify the north and the south?

Even Chu Qianhuang couldn't answer this question.

Whether it was the description in the novel or from some of the things she had heard this year, Gu Jue was a man of extraordinary talent. In the novel, his death was like the tragic death of the champion Hou Huo Qubing in history.

Even when Wuhejialou recalled Gu Jue, he would praise him as "resolute and decisive, able to make big decisions."

Thinking about Gu Jue again at this time, Chu Qianhuang couldn't help but sigh, maybe the dead are perfect.

Gu Jue in the novel seemed to have suffered some hidden injury in the north, and he did not force the emperor to abdicate. In the end, he died young, so the only impression he left on the world was his glorious military exploits. Therefore, everyone praised him, making him a ray of flawless white moonlight for future generations to remember.

Now Gu Jue is leading a large army to force the emperor to abdicate, so—

Did his hidden injury heal, or did he not have any hidden injury at all? In any case, Gu Jue's ambition has been revealed, just like Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, who usurped the throne from his nephew. He is destined to be questioned by future generations in history books.

Yes, the fact that Gu Jue likes a woman like Shen Qianchen also shows his character.

What lid goes with what pot.

Chu Qianhuang curled the corner of his mouth sarcastically and crumpled the piece of silk paper in his hand into a ball as if to vent his anger.

She raised her hand to throw the paper ball away, but hesitated, her eyes flickering.

Then she quickly unfolded the crumpled paper and spread it out flat.

Her eyes looked at the line of words again, and this time her eyes lingered on the four words "Gu Jue's death".

If you want to correct the plot line, then the only starting point is "Gu Jue's death."

When did Gu Jue die in the novel? Probably in the last few months.

In other words, the key to the problem is whether the current Gu Jue will die?

Thinking of this, Chu Qianhuang placed a corner of the silk paper on the candle flame.

The candle flame immediately ignited the paper, greedily and rapidly devouring it, quickly burning it to ashes.

She raised her hand lightly, and the ashes scattered, dancing in the air like black butterflies.

Chu Qianhuang felt a little relieved.

If Gu Jue died like in the dream, the plot line would naturally be corrected and return to the main line of the novel, then I would probably have a way out.

That's right, it must be like this! Chu Qianhuang's heartbeat quickened, and she told herself in her heart that maybe she could wait a little longer.

She believed that she would not travel through time and space for no reason, and that her travel through time and space must be valuable and have a mission.

Her originally chaotic heart began to calm down gradually, like a pool of still water under the sun.

Gusts of warm wind blew in through the window again, carrying with them the unique smell of incense from the temple. Gusts after gusts blew on the piles of scriptures on the desk, and the pages of the books turned one by one with the wind, making a rustling sound.

The sound of chanting could be heard faintly from outside.

There was a solemn and dignified atmosphere in the air.

Looking at the scriptures that were turning pages automatically in the wind, Chu Qianhuang suddenly remembered a passage in the novel: Although Uhagaru suffered a national upheaval and his father and brothers were all slaughtered by his uncle Uhadula, he had learned Buddhism since he was a child and had practiced in the temple for many years. Even when he encountered a major change, he still maintained his Buddhist heart and did not become a murderer.

When he broke through the capital of Da Qi, all the Da Qi imperial guards threw down their weapons and surrendered, kneeling on the ground in submission. It was a bloodless victory.

That night, the sound of Buddhist scriptures and chanting of Buddha resounded throughout the capital, and the Buddha's light enveloped the world.

"...Buddha's light covers the world." Chu Qianhuang silently recited the last sentence, and looked out the window. The sun was setting, and the fiery clouds dyed the sky red, as if in full swing.

The sun sets slowly in the west, and the moon rises as the sun sets.

This night was particularly lively because there was no curfew. Some people even set off fireworks in the middle of the night. The bright and colorful fireworks illuminated the dark night sky red.

On the next day, when the sky just turned light, the capital woke up from its slumber. The first people to go out were probably the court officials who were rushing to attend the morning court.

The morning court session resumed after a month's suspension. This was also the first morning court session after the new emperor ascended the throne.

All the civil and military officials gathered below the Golden Throne Hall were somewhat nervous.

Since the death of the late Emperor Gu Lang, Gu Jue has begun to handle government affairs, but all reports regarding government affairs are first submitted to the cabinet, which then handles them and then reports to Gu Jue.

During that period, other people basically had no chance to contact Gu Jue. They just did their own things honestly and nervously every day, and at the same time judged and guessed his style of doing things based on some of Gu Jue's ideas.

It always takes time for the ruler and his subjects to get along with each other.

Because it was the new emperor's first morning court, most people were just watching. Not many people came out to report, and everything that could be delayed was delayed. Therefore, today's morning court was relatively free.

After three or four ministers reported some minor matters, no one stepped forward.

There was silence in the hall for a while.

Then, Yang Xuanshan, the Minister of Rites, stepped out in front of everyone and mentioned the matter that had been hidden in his heart for more than ten days: "The emperor has no son, and the succession is related to the country."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell into silence, and everyone looked at Gu Jue who was sitting on the throne in front of them.

Throughout the dynasties, emperors took concubines not only to continue their bloodline, but also to strengthen their ties with noble court officials, to make important officials work for them, and to use this to make arrangements in the court and have court officials check and balance each other.

As an emperor, one must not only know how to govern the country, but also how to control his subordinates. Taking concubines is one of the ways to do this.

This is Yu Jun.

Yu Chen also has benefits.

Once the daughters of court officials had the opportunity to enter the palace to serve the emperor, if they could gain the emperor's favor and give birth to a prince, they might even have a chance to "ascend to heaven".

From then on, when one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

Therefore, all the officials were extremely concerned about this matter and wanted to see what the new emperor himself thought about the selection of a concubine.

Some officials have become more active.

In their opinion, since Gu Jue had just ascended the throne, he probably wouldn't hold a large-scale selection ceremony to avoid giving rise to gossip. Usually, concubines would be chosen from the families of court officials and nobles. Therefore, these newcomers would be able to get a position as soon as they entered the palace.

(End of this chapter)