The next day, Bai Chuxiao and Chu Tianze led their men to wait at the entrance of the imperial city early in the morning, as a large procession of carriages from the Prince of Yan's mansion slowly drove up.
Bai Chuxiao couldn't wait any longer. She leaped forward and quickly boarded the first carriage.
Before the carriage had even stopped, the curtain was lifted, and Madam Xu was startled. "Xiaoxiao, it's you..."
Bai Chuxiao looked at the little person in Lanxiang's arms beside her; the little bun was fast asleep.
"Your Highness, the young prince is doing well. It's just that when you left, he cried and kept calling for you, but with the little princess around, he recovered quickly."
Bai Chuxiao felt a surge of tenderness in her heart and picked up the little dumpling. The little dumpling had just woken up, his eyes still blurry, and he was waving his hands.
"Mother~"
"Mommy's here. Did Baozi miss Mommy?" She had originally thought that Baozi, who was still young and didn't remember things, would forget her after being gone for two months. But she recognized him at a glance.
The little dumpling said crisply, "I want to~"
After exchanging a few words, the carriage finally stopped. Chu Tianze lifted the curtain and said helplessly, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Bai Chuxiao pointed at him and teased the little dumpling, "Little dumpling, who is this...?"
The little dumpling shook its head and snuggled closer to Bai Chuxiao.
"You brat, come here right now."
When Chu Tianze saw that he didn't recognize him, he got angry and grabbed him and turned him around.
"ah……"
"Trying to play tricks on me..." Chu Tianze said through gritted teeth.
"Mommy~", the little boy said, on the verge of tears.
"That's enough. Let's take the little dumpling for a walk around the city."
Madam Xu smiled and said, "That's fine. The child hasn't seen you for so long, spend more time with her. I'll head back now."
The carriages following behind were those of the Murong family, the Song family, the Shen family, the Kong family, and others.
Bai Chuxiao smiled as she approached Kong Xihan's bicycle. "Sister Xihan, how about we take Huanhuan to play for a while?"
Kong Xi smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll take a break. You guys take him to play with Baozi."
"Godmother~", Murong Changhuan, who was playing on the blanket to the side, called out, looking very cute.
Chu Tianze, who was watching from the side, said to the bun in his arms, "Look how well-behaved your sister is, unlike you who only knows how to cry."
"Godfather~ Hug~", Murong Changhuan stretched out his arms...
Chu Tianze put the little dumpling aside and picked up Murong Changhuan, "Our Huanhuan is so good, godfather will take you to play..."
In the imperial city, Chu Tianze and Bai Chuxiao walked in the middle of the city, carrying two children, and strolled around, attracting the attention of many people.
"That must be the Prince of Yan's heir, he's so cute."
"That little girl must be Princess Anle. She is indeed extremely favored."
Little Baozi and Little Huanhuan looked at the bustling street with curiosity and excitement, constantly looking around.
Only when both children were tired did the two return to the Prince of Yan's residence.
"Your Highness, when do you plan to enter the palace...?"
Inside the hall, all of the Prince of Yan's trusted confidants gathered.
"We've dragged this out long enough, let's do it tomorrow," Chu Tianze said, glancing at the woman who had no objections.
"I will arrange it immediately."
"The arrangements for the coronation ceremony have all been made. How about we set it for three days from now?"
Murong Cheng asked, having previously served in the Ministry of Rites and being very familiar with the procedures. With Kong Yuan also returning to the capital, the preparations were naturally quick.
"Let's do as my second uncle says!"
The next day, Chu Tianze and Bai Chuxiao, along with Madam Xu and the entire Yan Prince's residence, moved directly into the palace. Madam Xu originally did not want to set foot in the palace again, but she chose to stay there anyway in order to take care of her grandson.
The nearest palace, Bixiao Palace, had already been renovated, so Bai Chuxiao chose it as her sleeping quarters. Naturally, Chu Tianze didn't need to build a separate palace for himself like previous emperors.
"Your Highness, it's not too much trouble for you to live with me, is it?"
"Don't talk nonsense," Chu Tianze glared at him, annoyed.
The palace had already been arranged. Lanxiang and the others were still the head maids, and the others were all regular maids brought from the Prince of Yan's residence. In the future, the huge harem would be idle, and there would be no need to select so many palace maids and eunuchs as before.
The day of his coronation.
The red carpet stretched from the palace gate to the Taiji Hall, with layers of Changning soldiers on the outside and civil and military officials on the inside.
A huge dragon and phoenix carriage slowly drove by, and on the carriage, Chu Tianze and Bai Chuxiao, dressed in dragon and phoenix robes, sat hand in hand.
The heavy and elaborate clothes and headdress made Bai Chuxiao feel drowsy. Chu Tianze squeezed her hand and said softly, "You're sleepy already? How can you be an empress?"
Bai Chuxiao mouthed "Get lost!", as if she were really ascending the throne today.
The carriage stopped at the bottom of the long steps. Chu Tianze led Bai Chuxiao down, and they walked up the steps hand in hand. They held up three incense sticks to pay homage to the heavens and then placed them on the altar in front of them.
After the sacrificial ceremony was completed, the two people at the top of the steps turned around and looked down at the civil and military officials below.
Chu Tianze did not intend to use eunuchs, so the important task of delivering the message fell to Mo Yan.
Mo Yan shouted, "One kowtow!"
The civil and military officials below all knelt down in unison, creating a grand and imposing scene. This made Bai Chuxiao feel a little dazed. No wonder so many people wanted to be emperor. This step originally belonged to Chu Tianze alone, but he insisted on bringing her along so that they could share this moment.
"Two kowtows!"
Everyone stood up in unison, and then knelt down in perfect unison.
"Three kowtows!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!" The crowd knelt on the ground and shouted in unison.
The shouts were deafening, but Bai Chuxiao secretly curled her lip. What kind of rule was this? The emperor and empress couldn't be the same age? Wasn't this cursing her to die young?
Chu Tianze saw through her thoughts, squeezed her hand, and whispered, "I already protested, but my second uncle doesn't agree..."
"I know, it's okay to complain..."
Bringing her to today's ceremony violates the ancestral rules of the Great Xia Dynasty and breaks the traditions passed down through generations. It's understandable that my second uncle can't accept it.
Next, the Ministry of Rites recited a long string of words, but Bai Chuxiao didn't hear a word of them, only hoping that the ceremony would end soon.
After noon, the grand ceremony finally ended, and Chu Tianze and Bai Chuxiao boarded the dragon and phoenix carriage again and headed towards the palace.
Upon returning, Bai Chuxiao instructed people to remove all the frivolous and impractical things from her clothes.
When Chu Tianze, having changed into his everyday clothes, walked behind the bronze mirror, Bai Chuxiao had just removed her hairpins and outer robe, revealing layers upon layers underneath.
Chu Tianze chuckled, "Xiaoxiao looks beautiful in her phoenix robe."
"There's no need for suffering to be beautiful. Aren't I beautiful enough normally?" Bai Chuxiao sneered.
Chu Tianze nodded, "Beautiful!"
He then waved his hand dismissively, "You all go ahead!"
"yes!"
Bai Chuxiao looked at the man with dark eyes in the bronze mirror and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is my husband trying to do?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com