In Xuzhou, Mrs. Dong ignored the shouting outside and drank the rice porridge in silence. After finishing the rice porridge, she looked at her son again before lying down again and closing her eyes.
The maid carefully carried the tray out, and when she saw the woman being stopped by the maid outside, she snorted in her heart.
Mrs. Dong did not sleep, but just closed her eyes to rest. This premature birth also hurt her body. Not only did she have to stay in bed for two months, but she also had to take good care of her body in the next few years.
Dong curled her lips. She really shouldn't have been so polite to her sisters-in-law from her mother's side. She thought of the medicine her second sister-in-law gave her, saying it was a pregnancy-preserving medicine. If it weren't for Mrs. Song being around, she might have given birth prematurely due to impatience, and her son might have died in the womb.
When Mrs. Song came back from arranging the front yard, she heard shouting. Then she came in with a sullen face and scolded the maids and servants in the main yard, "Are you all dead? Why don't you take them away quickly? The third wife needs to rest and the young master needs to be quiet, don't you know?"
When the old women heard this, they no longer hesitated and took the person away with a few people.
Mrs. Song pressed her brows. She felt really tired these days. No, it should be that she had not had a relaxing time since coming to Xuzhou. The third wife's sister-in-law came to see her and went back after staying for two days.
Unexpectedly, the Second Wife arrived with her son soon after. Not only did she refuse to leave, she was even more anxious about the baby than the Third Wife. The Third Wife didn't care, so this man deceived her. Fortunately, she understood pharmacology.
Mrs. Song walked into the room and looked at the Third Madam with her eyes closed. She sighed in her heart. The Third Madam had a difficult life too. If it wasn't for the dignity of her family, she would have wanted to chase everyone away.
Mrs. Song sat next to the crib and whispered, "The child has just been sent back to the yard. I have already arranged a carriage and we can set off tomorrow."
Dong then opened her eyes, "Sorry to bother you, old man."
Today she deliberately let her second sister-in-law into the yard. Only in this way could Mrs. Song get angry, and her husband could take advantage of the situation when he came back in the evening. If she wasn't considering her natal family, why would she go to so much trouble.
Two days passed in a flash. Before dawn, the whole capital city was already bustling.
Zhou Shuren put on his official uniform and hat. Not to mention that he hadn't been excited for a long time, he was particularly excited today. The preparations for the new emperor's accession to the throne had taken a long time, and the money requested by the Ministry of Rites had also flowed in like water.
Many palaces in the imperial palace have been renovated. After the new emperor ascended the throne, some supplies in the Ministry of Rites were replaced with new ones. Zhou Shuren thought of the ceremonial supplies he saw yesterday, and thought, wow, those were all silver.
Zhou Shuren, "I'm leaving."
"Um."
Tomorrow, she, a lady of noble birth, will go to the palace to pay homage to the queen.
When Zhou Shuren went out, Chang Yi and Chang Zhi were already waiting in the front yard. How many people live to see such a smooth succession of imperial power? This was a prosperous era, a prosperous era that would be praised by later generations.
Zhou Shuren straightened his back and said, "Let's go."
Changyi and Changzhi responded and followed their father out.
The streets outside the palace were decorated with lights and the residents living along the streets all got up early. The brave ones even opened their doors to watch the carriages going towards the palace.
In history, there were many people who abdicated and succeeded to the throne, but most of them were forced. Few of them voluntarily abdicated to the next emperor, so you can imagine the grand ceremony of the new emperor's succession to the throne today.
Many responsible ministers did not leave the palace yesterday, and the palace was brightly lit last night.
In the palace, the prince took tranquilizers before falling asleep because he was too excited. Even as calm as he was, he was still too excited to fall asleep.
The prince slept for three hours, a total of six hours, and was in great spirits. In contrast, the crown princess who entered the palace yesterday looked tired.
The couple had already changed into dragon robes and phoenix robes. They sat opposite each other without saying anything. All words would be pale now, so it would be better to wait quietly.
The Queen and the Emperor no longer live in the Queen's bedroom. Yesterday, the Emperor moved out of the Zheng Palace completely, and the Queen also moved out of the Queen's bedroom. The two of them moved into the Empress Dowager's residence.
The other concubines, because they all had sons, had left the palace and moved into the prince's palace early the day before.
The Queen shared the proposal with several concubines. They had been trapped in the harem for many years and had seen through the Emperor over the years. They no longer had any expectations. Since the Queen had brought it up, they naturally agreed.
In fact, they thought they had to wait until the emperor died before they could leave the palace, and they had to endure it. Unexpectedly, the emperor would let them leave the palace and live with his son. This was already the emperor's kindness to them.
The emperor had changed his clothes and stood motionless in front of the mirror.
The queen watched quietly. Even though the emperor was as rational as he was and behaved in a carefree manner, in the end he still couldn't let go. The fact that her husband tossed and turned last night was proof of that.
The queen just sat there and accompanied him. Her husband had to overcome the gap on his own. She could not help at all. Unlike her husband, she was not the queen. Instead, she was promoted to the empress dowager and was still the most powerful concubine in the harem.
The emperor took a deep breath and finally moved, "I am not a saint after all!"
Queen, "You and I are both ordinary people in this world."
The emperor laughed, "Yes, we are all ordinary people. Since we are ordinary people, we will have selfish desires. I have always been a biased and selfish person!"
The queen smiled when she saw her husband's cheerful tone. She had finally figured it out. "Although we are both ordinary people, you are a good father in my heart. Not only to our son, but also to the King of Qi."
The emperor held his wife's hand and said, "Well, let's go. It's almost time."
Zhou Shuren and other ministers were all standing in their designated positions. They were all standing outside. Today's new emperor's succession was very complicated, and many of the procedures were invisible to them, the ministers.
Zhou Shuren stood there for a long time. He could only estimate the time by looking at the height of the sun.
Zhou Shuren lamented the cumbersome process. Before the crown prince ascended the throne, he had already drafted an edict to post notices in various states. Just as he was thinking about it, there was finally movement in the front and palace music sounded.
The emperor and the prince both strode over in dragon robes. The emperor took the prince step by step up the steps leading to the throne. Then the process continued until the emperor helped the kneeling prince up and handed the imperial seal to the prince.
At this time the emperor stepped aside, and the prince turned around to face the ministers. At this moment all that could be heard was the officials paying homage.
Zhou Shuren had come back to his senses during the inheritance ceremony. This close-up view was really shocking. During the subsequent kowtow, Zhou Shuren bowed very seriously.
Don’t think that’s the end, there’s more to come. It’s really tiring, but no one dares to make a mistake.
Zhou Shuren really admired this point. It really stimulated people's endless desire to survive. Driven by the desire to survive, there were small problems in the succession process but no one made mistakes.
The emperor became the emperor emeritus. After all the officials finished their worship, the new emperor entered the hall and ascended the dragon throne. When he was waiting for the ministers to enter the hall, the emperor emeritus had already left.
The emperor walked up to the high platform, from where he could hear the sounds inside the hall.