The officials knelt and kowtowed three times, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor stood atop the high platform, coldly surveying the masses.
She didn't say "rise," so all the officials had no choice but to kneel. Kneel until the mountains and rivers crumbled, kneel until the land collapsed.
However, a month before, these officials kneeling on the ground did not even need to perform the proper etiquette when they met Princess Pingzhao.
The late emperor treated scholars with respect and granted officials the special privilege of not having to bow to imperial relatives. This fostered a culture throughout the dynasty that valued talent over lineage.
Even if you put together the children of ten former emperors, they wouldn't be as powerful as the position of a single capable minister.
No, even now, they still do not bow to Princess Pingzhao.
They were kneeling before the new emperor, before the dragon throne behind him, and before the eight large characters on the imperial seal in front of him: "By the mandate of Heaven, may his reign be long and prosperous."
Power, power, immortal power!
The world was silent.
In the midst of this frozen silence, the Director of the Imperial Household Department bowed and presented the Emperor with a blank imperial edict.
This is a custom that has been passed down through the dynasties. Before a new emperor sits on the dragon throne, he must first draft an imperial edict as his first decree.
The content of the imperial edict was entirely determined by the emperor himself.
Generally speaking, unless the emperor was too outrageous, he would write some official jargon and platitudes in his imperial edicts. For example, he would write things like granting amnesty to the whole country, reducing or exempting taxes, and encouraging agriculture.
There were also those absurd and incompetent emperors who, upon ascending the throne, issued their first imperial edict, ordering the selection of numerous concubines to enrich their harems.
Generally speaking, these imperial edicts are not too outrageous. After all, he had just ascended the throne, and it was necessary to put on a show.
Two servants from the Imperial Household Department knelt respectfully on the ground, holding the imperial edict high above their heads, flattening it in the air. Another mute servant held up a sandalwood tray, on which lay the Imperial Seal and a red clay tablet.
Everyone held their breath, awaiting the emperor's first imperial edict.
The emperor narrowed his phoenix eyes, reached out and picked up the dragon-hair brush, dipping it in thick ink.
The emperor used his left hand to hold up the wide sleeves of his robe, while his right hand wielded the brush with great skill, splashing ink as he wrote!
The emperor's writing movements were extremely graceful. Each stroke—pressing, pushing, hooking, blocking, and resisting—was as elegant as a pine tree and as fluid as a dragon, truly embodying the noble air of an emperor.
The Director of the Imperial Household Department lowered his head, and the servants of the Imperial Household Department also knelt with their heads bowed, not daring to look at the imperial instructions.
Only the old eunuch who had just taken up the whip secretly went to see what the emperor had written.
When the old eunuch finally saw the emperor's handwriting, his aged eyes widened in surprise!
On that blank imperial edict, the emperor wrote only one word!
I!
The characters were powerful and elegant, like dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing, their strength penetrating the yellow silk. The old eunuch seemed to see through the characters the new emperor's eyes, burning with ambition.
After writing this character, the emperor threw down the pen and casually reached for the imperial seal.
The action was performed with practiced ease, as if he had done it a thousand times. However, the moment he touched the cool jade of the Imperial Seal, the emperor's hand slightly recoiled, and a look of sudden realization flashed across his face for almost a second.
In an instant, the bewilderment on the emperor's face vanished.
The emperor gave a very slight smile.
That smile held arrogance, pride, and satisfaction. It exuded an air of domineering disdain for the world!
Unfortunately, at this moment, everyone around her was kneeling, and no one dared to look at her face.
The emperor looked down upon everyone.
The world was at her feet; she had been waiting for this day for twenty years.
Without hesitation, the emperor picked up the imperial seal and stamped it on the edict!
The eight vermilion seal characters, “By the mandate of Heaven, may your reign be long and prosperous,” were printed above the character “朕” (the emperor).
The emperor laughed loudly and casually tossed the imperial seal back onto the tray with a clanging sound.
A golden carp is no ordinary fish in a pond; it transforms into a dragon once it encounters wind and clouds!
The emperor slightly raised his arms, making a lifting motion as if to lift something up.
"All of you, rise."
"Cut!"
As Zheng Bohan's voice rang out, everyone seemed to wake from a dream.
The photographer, Xiao Li, who was closest to Shang Yechu, unconsciously wiped his forehead and realized that it was covered in cold sweat.
After a while, another cameraman complained quietly, "Damn! My cheek hurts so much."
The assistant beside him murmured, "Why?"
The cameraman whispered, "I don't know either. I just suddenly started clenching my teeth for no reason."
The assistant then came to his senses. "I'm not asking you, I'm asking Director Zheng. Why isn't Director Zheng coming over?"
Speak of the devil, and he appears. No sooner had the words left his mouth than Zheng Bohan walked towards Shang Yechu.
The makeup team is touching up Shang Yechu's makeup because they have another set of long shots to shoot in a little while.
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