On the day when Mu Fulan took Xi'er to Shangjing, the streets of Yuecheng were deserted. The people who came to see them off filled the street leading from the palace to the city gate, making it very lively.
The war that was originally worried about turned out to be a false alarm. Not only that, the Changsha Kingdom continued to exist, and the founding empress of the new dynasty was still their Princess Mu. All kinds of happy events followed one after another. How could one not be proud of it
In Changsha, everyone has forgotten their dissatisfaction and contempt for the man named Xie Changgeng. In the eyes of the people, he is not only the founding emperor of the new dynasty, the true dragon emperor, but also a man who endures humiliation and values love and loyalty.
The convoy drove out of the city gate, and gradually went farther and farther away, heading for Shangjing, amid the devout kneeling and jubilant farewells of the people on both sides of the road.
More than a month later, on this spring day of the new year in the Dacheng Dynasty, the carriage carrying Mu Fulan gradually approached its destination.
The carriage slowly stopped, and the convoy also stopped, finally stopping in front of a post station several miles away from the imperial city gate.
The eunuch's voice came from the front: "My lady, the King of Qin is coming out of the city to pick you up. Please transfer to another carriage with the young master and enter the city."
The car door opened and Mu Fulan looked forward.
On the avenue opposite, a long procession of ceremonial guards was parked. The procession of ceremonial guards was the procession of an emperor—Xie Changgeng had not yet officially ascended the throne and was still using the old title, but the procession of ceremonies for entering and leaving the palace was on par with that of an emperor.
"Welcome to His Royal Highness Prince Qin!"
"Welcome to Her Highness! Welcome to Your Highness!"
On both sides, the officials and attendants knelt down and saluted. Amid the orderly salutes, Mu Fulan watched him roll off his horse and stride towards them.
From the very beginning, his sight seemed to be focused only on Xier who was beside Mu Fulan.
With a smile on his face, he walked to the carriage and personally carried him down from the carriage. Fang glanced at Mu Fulan, and his hand paused in the air before finally slowly reaching out to her.
Mu Fulan bent down and walked out of the carriage. Under the gazes of many people around her, she placed one of her hands lightly on the man's palm with a thin layer of calluses, lifted her skirt slightly, stepped on a cushion that the eunuch had quickly placed, and got off the carriage.
As soon as she went down, she withdrew her hand and instead held Xier's hand who was looking at her and him.
Xie Changgeng turned around silently and walked forward. She was also guided by several respectful officials to get on another luxurious car parked on the road.
The convoy started again. The majestic outline of the imperial city ahead gradually became clear amid the flying willow catkins.
The road was cleared, and the carriage finally entered the city gate and drove on the smooth and wide road leading to the imperial palace in Shangjing.
In the future, if it can continue like this, then it should be a good ending.
That man ascended to the position he had always dreamed of. Xi'er made up for his previous shortcomings, although he himself did not know it. The people of Changsha no longer had to worry about wars and drastic changes in their lives. And those ministers who had served the Mu family for many years were able to continue to keep everything they originally had.
Everyone is happy, she thought.
…
Three days later, Xie Changgeng, supported by all officials, ascended the throne and became the founding emperor of the Dacheng Dynasty. On the same day, Mu Fulan was also canonized as the empress.
Tomorrow will be the prince's enthronement ceremony.
This ceremony will be held in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Imperial Astrologer, who is in charge of astronomy, will calculate an auspicious time, and then the emperor will personally preside over the ceremony and put the crown on the prince.
Since the emperor took the matter so seriously, the officials below naturally did not dare to slack off in the slightest. They made all preparations early on, waiting for the ceremony tomorrow.
Mu Fulan was extremely busy these two days. After the enthronement ceremony, she had been summoning ladies. Among those people, there were new nobles who followed the new dynasty, and there were also old people left over from the previous dynasty. Today, she met with everyone and gave a banquet in the palace. After the banquet, it was already the middle of the night before she returned to her bedroom and asked Xier.
This palace was my aunt's old residence. She also lived here when she was a child in the palace. After the death of Empress Yuan, it has been vacant for nearly 20 years, with only cobwebs left.
Today, this palace has been renamed Ziwei Palace. In just a few months, it has been decorated with gorgeous carvings and many flowers and trees have been planted here. It is so magnificent that it looks like a fairy palace on earth.
Xier originally had a separate bedroom arranged for her, but after he arrived, he asked for her permission to live closer to him.
Since he was a minor, Mu Fulan naturally agreed and asked him to live with her temporarily and sleep in the side hall of Ziwei Palace.
The palace servants said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was summoned to Yuanchen Palace by His Majesty the Emperor.
Yuanchen Palace was the imperial study room where the emperor of the new dynasty handled affairs after the court meeting. The new dynasty had just been established, and state affairs were complicated. Xie Changgeng was naturally busier than her. Since she arrived in Beijing and entered the palace, she had not seen him for several nights. He should have rested there.
Mu Fulan waited for a long time. It was late at night, almost the end of the night, but Xier still didn't come back.
She looked at the time, hesitated for a moment, and went to Yuanchen Palace.
She walked through the palace corridors lined with palace guards and arrived in front of the palace. From afar, she saw lights on in the palace. Several eunuchs guarding outside saw her coming and hurried down the steps to kneel to greet her.
Mu Fulan asked the prince. The eunuch said that His Majesty had been taking the prince to review memorials and summoning ministers tonight.
"Your Majesty once said that the Queen can come in whenever she comes."
Mu Fulan walked in slowly and stopped outside the imperial study.
The door of the study was half-open. Through the door, she saw that the lights inside were as bright as day, and two figures, one big and one small, were sitting behind the desk, with more than a dozen officials kneeling in front of them, civil officials on the left and military generals on the right.
She recognized several familiar figures, all of whom were old acquaintances from Hexi.
Xie Changgeng was wearing a dragon robe and had a solemn face. He said to the people kneeling in front of him, "You are all old people who have followed me for more than ten years. You don't need to show your loyalty. I know it myself. You deserve the glory today. As for the so-called "the bow is put away after the birds are all killed", you who are here don't have to worry about it. I might as well tell you straight, everyone I summoned here tonight is a loyal minister and good general I have identified."
Liu An and others who were kneeling on the ground were extremely grateful and kowtowed to express their gratitude.
Xie Changgeng glanced at the young boy beside him and continued, "Tomorrow is the day I will appoint a crown prince. Although the crown prince is young, you all know his character and conduct. I summoned you here to tell you that from now on, you must be loyal to the crown prince as you are to me, assist the crown prince, and help him become a wise ruler in the future."
"Did you understand everything?"
All the ministers responded in unison.
The voice faintly entered Mu Fulan's ears.
She stood quietly for a moment, then stepped out and returned to her bedroom. About an incense stick later, a palace servant called "Your Majesty" from outside the palace.
Mu Fulan turned her head and saw the man walked in, but did not go inside. He stopped beside the floor-length curtain that separated the inside and outside of the bedroom, and looked at her silently.
Mu Fulan walked over and asked, "Is Xi'er asleep?"
He nodded.
"I have sent him to the side hall to rest. As it is late, I told him not to come to you to greet you again." He whispered.
"The palace maid told me about your previous visit. I had a lot to do tonight and came back late, so I kept you waiting. I will send someone to send him back earlier in the future, so you don't have to worry." He added.
Mu Fulan thought of the scene she had seen before and suddenly didn't know how to respond.
He seemed to have nothing to say, and stood for a while in the shadow that was not illuminated by the palace lanterns, and suddenly said, "It's late, you should rest."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left, his back quickly disappearing into the night outside the palace gate.
That night, Mu Fulan lay alone on the gorgeously decorated phoenix bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time. The next morning, she got up, dressed Xi'er herself, and led her to the eunuchs waiting outside.
According to the regulations, the empress did not need to go with the crown prince, and the emperor would take the crown prince to the Taimiao.
The eunuch said that His Majesty the Emperor was already waiting in front of the Zichen Gate leading to the Taimiao.
After Xier said goodbye to her, she followed the eunuch away.
Mu Fulan stood on the steps outside the palace, watched his figure disappear from her sight, then turned and went to Xingning Palace.
Xie Changgeng's mother, the current empress dowager, lives in Xingning Palace.
The sudden change in the waterside pavilion that day probably frightened her too much. When she woke up, she was not in a very good spirit. Later, she finally recovered a little, but when she learned that her son was going to be the emperor, she became excited and restless again, and she couldn't sleep well at night. She was already quite old, and she accidentally caught a cold a few days ago, and she fell ill all of a sudden. Although the imperial physician treated her carefully, she was still bedridden.
Before Mu Fulan came to Beijing, Xie's mother had been bedridden for nearly a month. Until these few days, Yin Xi'er came and was very well-behaved, often visiting her, and she seemed to be happy again, and her condition seemed to be getting better.
After Mu Fulan entered the palace, she had consulted with the imperial physician several times.
When she was halfway there, she suddenly saw thick smoke rising from the direction of Xingning Palace in front of her, which looked like a fire.
Most of the buildings in the palace were made of wood, so the control over the use of fire must have been strict. Moreover, it was early in the morning and all the candles were out, so how could a fire suddenly start
"Oh no!" At this time, several palace maids from Xingning Palace rushed over in panic, saw Mu Fulan, and knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, the Queen's bedroom just caught fire! When the servants were putting out the fire, the Queen was caught by a maid from the Garden Department who sneaked in during the chaos. She threatened that you, the Queen, must go over there, otherwise she would kill you!"
Mu Fulan was shocked and immediately asked someone to call the palace guards and inform Xie Changgeng, and then she rushed to Xie's mother's residence.
In Xingning Palace, where Xie's mother lived, the fire had spread along the flaming curtains. The palace guards had not arrived yet. Dozens of palace maids and eunuchs, some fell to the ground, howling and slapping the flames on their bodies, and some ran around like headless flies, shouting "fire, help!" Everyone was in a panic.
Through the door that was already on fire, Mu Fulan saw that Xie's mother was being held against the neck by a woman who looked like an old palace maid with a pair of scissors at her neck. The two of them were trapped inside together. There was also a person lying on the ground who seemed to have been knocked unconscious by a blunt object. It was Ah Mao.
This palace maid must have had a dark skin due to working in the Siyuan Department for many years. In addition, the hall was filled with smoke, so her face could not be seen clearly. At first glance, Mu Fulan felt that the other party looked familiar, but she could not remember who she was for a moment, and she did not know why the other party was so bold as to threaten her with the current queen mother.
"Mu Fulan, do you still recognize me?"
The palace maid shouted her name sharply across the smoke and fire.
Mu Fulan finally recognized it.
The old palace maid opposite was actually Qi Lingfeng.