Chapter 253: Conferring the Title of Concubine

One month after Ling Yue’s “death”, the current emperor passed away, and the sad news spread widely in the palace.

Amidst the silence, Crown Prince Jun Zechen obtained the imperial seal and inherited the throne.

According to the rules, the body of the late emperor had to stay in the palace for 27 days, during which time various complicated and solemn ceremonies were held.

Everyone in the palace looked sad, and the atmosphere was heavy and depressing.

But this month passed quickly. After sending the late emperor's body to the imperial mausoleum, Jun Zechen held a coronation ceremony and officially became the new emperor of Jun Kingdom.

The Queen Mother came to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

She was wearing a crimson robe embroidered with gold thread. The phoenix pattern embroidered on the robe was lifelike, as if it would spread its wings and fly away at any time.

She had a solemn face, with fine lines on her face bearing the traces of time and royal majesty.

His steps were steady and powerful, and every step exuded unquestionable grace and elegance.

After becoming the empress dowager, she moved to the Cining Palace.

When her son became emperor, her majestic aura became more and more powerful.

The Queen Mother, supported by palace maids, walked into the palace and sat opposite Jun Zechen.

She looked at her son calmly and spoke slowly.

"How does the emperor plan to appoint concubines?"

Jun Zechen did not hesitate and said, "The concubine has made great contributions to her pregnancy and has a distinguished family background. She deserves to be my empress and enjoy the honor of being the empress."

The firm tone was full of preference for Su Jingyao.

The empress dowager was not surprised by this. When the emperor was in the Eastern Palace, he favored his concubine. Now that Ling Yue had died suddenly, the position of empress was vacant. If the emperor wanted to appoint an empress, it would naturally have to be the concubine.

The Queen Mother nodded slightly, and then asked, "What do you think of the other seven concubines?"

Jun Zechen narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought for a moment.

In his previous life, the Ye family was confiscated and exterminated by him on the charge of treason. Because of the Ye family's ambition, Jun Zechen sent people to investigate, and indeed found private soldiers in the city under the jurisdiction of the Ye family. Naturally, Jun Zechen could not tolerate this.

I will not allow others to snore beside my bed.

After being reborn in this life, he has been secretly sending guards to investigate the Ye family. It took a lot of effort to find the Ye family's lair.

The Ye family has indeed been training private soldiers for a long time, but the current scale is still small.

If Jun Zechen had not used his memories from his previous life to investigate carefully, it would have been difficult to detect.

As for whether Ye Yaqin knew about these secrets of the Ye family, Jun Zechen was not quite sure at the moment.

Now that he has just ascended the throne and his foundation is not stable, he naturally cannot rashly start a killing spree.

General Ye has great prestige in the court and his influence cannot be underestimated.

Ye Yaqin could first be given a high position to appease the Ye family.

"Mother, Ye comes from a noble family, so you should make her the virtuous concubine."

Jun Zechen raised his head, his eyes were deep, and his tone was steady and decisive.

"Lin was diagnosed as pregnant by the imperial physician a month ago. Since she had a child, she was named Defei."

Jun Zechen tapped the table lightly with his fingers as he spoke.

"The rest were given titles based on their family background. Mu Liyue is the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and was given the title of Zhaoyi, the first of the Nine Concubines."

"Although Doctor Guanglu's daughter Yan Xiaofei has a high family background, she is a concubine and was named a third-rank noble concubine. Mo Zhirou is the daughter of Doctor Jianyi and was named Shurong. Xu Shiying was named a third-rank concubine."

Jun Zechen spoke in an orderly manner with a serious expression.

"Tang Suxi has the lowest family background, but she is already three months pregnant, so she will be given the title of Ronghua, a fourth-rank official. After she gives birth to an imperial heir, she will be promoted."

Jun Zechen finished speaking in one breath, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

When the empress dowager saw that the emperor was so decisive in announcing the titles of his concubines, it was obvious that he had already carefully considered the positions of the concubines in the Eastern Palace long ago.

When she came to ask, he spoke clearly and without hesitation.

The Queen Mother also listened carefully, with a look of scrutiny and thought in her eyes, and then nodded slightly to show her approval.

"The emperor's arrangements are all very reasonable. You have matured a lot in the past year or so."

A relieved smile appeared on the Queen Mother's face, and her eyes were full of admiration.

I felt a little emotional. The emperor is now more thoughtful in his handling of matters.

She used to be full of worries, worried that Ling Yue would delay him, and also afraid that he would neglect the woman in the backyard for Ling Yue.

Later, when the concubine entered the Eastern Palace, the same thing happened again, and the Queen Mother was also very worried at the time.

But fortunately, the emperor is no longer obsessed with being loyal to women. How could an emperor remain chaste for a woman?

He is not afraid of being laughed at by his other brothers if he tells others about it.

The Queen Mother was not a pedantic woman. Having been the Queen for so many years, she believed that the Emperor could have his favorite concubines, or even a favorite concubine. After all, no one is not partial.

However, the continuation of the royal lineage must not be affected, nor can women be allowed to influence the emperor's decisions on state affairs.

"As long as the Queen Mother is satisfied."

Jun Zechen nodded slightly with a calm expression, and did not show too much joy at his mother's satisfaction.

Jun Zechen has been the emperor for so many years that he has become less concerned about women. He is no longer obsessed with loving only his wife and not touching other women.

These were the constraints he imposed on himself when he was young; no one would ask him to do so.

However...

His eyes softened. He really liked Su Jingyao and wanted her to be his queen and his wife.

Perhaps in this life, Su Jingyao is the only surprise gift God has given him, making Jun Zechen feel that his life will no longer be so boring.

Then the Queen Mother's expression straightened and she mentioned another matter.

"Emperor, after you ascend the throne, I will prepare to select a beauty for you in three months."

"You still have too few concubines in your harem, and the royal heir has not yet been born. The selection of concubines cannot be delayed."

There was determination in the Queen Mother's eyes and a hint of urgency in her tone.

When Jun Zechen heard this, his brows instantly wrinkled.

"No, mother, the queen is already eight months pregnant. According to the report of the imperial physician Li, she may give birth in more than a month."

"After the Empress gives birth and has finished her confinement, I will hold a ceremony to crown her as the Queen."

Jun Zechen's words hit the ground with a loud bang.

"The coronation ceremony will be a grand event. All six bureaus in the harem will have to work on it. We probably won't be able to mobilize more people to hold the beauty pageant."

Jun Zechen paused and continued, "Besides, after the ceremony of crowning the empress, my eagerness to select the best candidates will easily lead to criticism and make others think that the empress does not enjoy my favor and respect."

Seeing how the Emperor was so devoted to the Empress in front of her, the Empress Dowager didn't know how to retort for a moment. She opened her lips slightly but stopped herself from speaking.

Finally, the Queen Mother sighed and said helplessly: "Then I will let you choose a show at the beginning of next year."

This was the Queen Mother's final concession.

Jun Zechen did not refute again, and his expression softened a little.

After the empress dowager left the Qianqing Palace, Jun Zechen issued an imperial decree to confer titles on the empresses and concubines.

Jun Zechen personally brought the imperial edict to the Empress to confer the title of Queen to the Shuening Palace.

Shui Ning Palace.

Su Jingyao was sitting on the couch at this time, gently stroking her bulging belly, her eyes were a little dazed and her expression seemed a little trance, as if she was immersed in her own thoughts.

Is the baby in the belly still a star?

The time of pregnancy in this life was much later than in her first life.

Jun Zechen entered the Shuining Palace and walked up to her. He saw that the person in front of him had not yet come to her senses. He couldn't help but pinch her smooth and delicate face with a hint of intimacy in his movements.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jun Zechen's voice was low, gentle, and caring.

Su Jingyao slowly raised her head and looked at Jun Zechen. There was a layer of mist in her eyes, making it difficult to understand.

Ever since Ling Yue's "death", her memories have been coming back like a tide, constantly awakening her in the form of dreams.

By now, she has completely integrated the memories of three lives, and her chaotic thoughts make her feel entangled.

Even at this moment, she didn't know how to face Jun Zechen.

The "Jun Zechen" who had loved her for two lifetimes, the "Jun Zechen" who taught her how to love, was not the man in front of her who had been the emperor for decades and whose majesty was growing day by day.

Su Jingyao tried hard to suppress the awkwardness in her heart, raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and responded with a faint smile.

"Your Majesty, I am thinking of a nickname for the unborn prince."

Her voice was soft, yet with a hint of reluctance.

Jun Zechen sat next to Su Jingyao, put his arms around her waist, and let her lean on his arms.

Jun Zechen was in a good mood today and did not notice anything unusual about Su Jingyao.

However, because of his intimacy, Su Jingyao felt a surge of resistance in her heart and her body stiffened slightly, but she quickly suppressed the emotion and slowly leaned on him.

"Have you thought about it?"

Jun Zechen tilted his head slightly, his eyes searching.

"I've decided, call her Xingxing." Su Jingyao opened her red lips and spoke softly.

"good."

Jun Zechen's eyes were as deep as a pool, and his thoughts were surging.

It really is this nickname, it seems everything is as expected.

He got a lot of information about Ling Yue's past life from her, and it turned out that Ling Yue did not lie.

Maybe she was indeed pregnant with a prince. Thinking of this, Jun Zechen's mouth corners slightly raised, and he was naturally satisfied with this.

Just as she had said before, their child should be extremely noble from birth, the eldest and the legitimate son.

Then Jun Zechen continued, "I came here today to bring the imperial decree to crown her as queen."

After saying that, he turned to look at An Shun who was standing beside him, "An Shun, read it out."

When Su Jingyao heard the word "imperial edict", she subconsciously stood up and kneeled to receive the order.

Junze kept his hands on her waist, not letting her move at all.

"I came here in person today to spare you these formalities. Jiaojiao is about to give birth, so there is no need to kneel."

Jun Zechen's tone was firm and gentle.

Su Jingyao remained calm and did not refuse.

In fact, if it weren't for the last bit of rationality in her mind constantly reminding her that this man was not the "Jun Zechen" in her memory, Su Jingyao probably wouldn't have even performed the greeting.

She and "Jun Zechen" had long since dispensed with these red tapes, and there had never been a distinction between monarch and subject between them.

But the man next to him was a monarch who was high above him, and there was a clear distinction between them in terms of status.

However, although Su Jingyao did not need to kneel, all the palace maids in Shuening Palace knelt down.

Su Jingyao was pregnant, so the number of palace maids in Shuening Palace increased a lot more than before.

At this time, there was a huge crowd, and everyone knelt on the ground respectfully.