It was the New Year.
The young emperor had only been on the throne for two years when he began to purge his political opponents on a large scale, plunging the kingdom of Daye into turmoil.
Fortunately, Prince Yan, Song Yinghuai, joined forces with the Xu and Lan families. With minimal losses and at lightning speed, they staged a counter - coup and quelled the largest - scale civil unrest since the founding of Daye, restoring peace to the people's lives.
The young emperor was imprisoned in the palace. However, constantly being in the company of Li Muge, who had been tortured into a "human pig", his fragile mind couldn't bear it. Within a few days, he went mad.
Before the New Year arrived, in a fit of madness, the young emperor knocked over a candleholder, setting his bedroom ablaze.
The cowardly and sensitive young man and his sycophants were burned to death in the raging fire.
Meanwhile, Lu Baiwei, who was imprisoned in the water dungeon of the Yangtze River Navy, couldn't withstand the cold and froze to death.
When her body was carried out of the water dungeon, except for her head, her whole body was pale and swollen.
Song Yinghuai still ordered that the young emperor and Empress Lu be buried in the imperial mausoleum, so as to preserve their dignity in death.
The goose - feather snow fluttered down, covering Shangjing in a white mantle.
Streams of red silk fluttered on the glazed tiles, exuding an air of celebration.
Under the support of his officials, Song Yinghuai officially ascended the throne in the Chengqian Palace of Shangjing.
The man was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe and wore a jade crown. Sitting high on the dragon throne, he was peerless in dignity, extraordinary in bearing, and handsome beyond compare, looking like a celestial being!
After the officials paid their respects, they stood on both sides in five rows each.
The huge hall was extremely quiet.
However, except for Sheng Jiangli, who stood first on the right side, everyone's hearts were in turmoil.
What was coming next was the time to reward the meritorious officials and confer titles.
Eunuch Cen, the chief eunuch who had served three generations of emperors, slowly unfurled the imperial edict, his face beaming with joy.
"By the mandate of heaven, the emperor decrees: I have just ascended the throne, and the state has just been stabilized. Now there are meritorious officials such as the Lan and Xu families, as well as Tan Xiong, Zhu Xiao..."
Eunuch Cen named dozens of meritorious officials and conferred titles on them one by one.
Sheng Jiangli, Xiao Rencheng, Xu Ziyi and others were all promoted to the rank of first - class dukes, and the officials congratulated them.
Xiao Rencheng and Xu Ziyi bowed in return, while Sheng Jiangli grabbed the imperial edict nonchalantly and was about to leave.
"Stop." Lan Yuanyi called out to him from behind.
Sheng Jiangli turned around and looked at Lan Yuanyi helplessly, calling out, "Father - in - law."
Lan Yuanyi frowned and lowered his voice, "Where are you going? The emperor's conferment ceremony isn't over yet. If you leave now, where will the emperor's face go?"
Sheng Jiangli stared, "What? I still have to give him face? In terms of seniority, he should call me second brother!"
"Presumptuous..." Lan Yuanyi coughed lightly, "What second brother? He is the most noble emperor in the world. Who dares to be his elder brother?"
Sheng Jiangli let out a soft laugh but didn't refute. In his heart, he thought, You old man even wants to be his father!
"Father - in - law, it's no use for me to stay here. Let me leave first." Sheng Jiangli pleaded.
Lan Yuanyi stared at him for a long time until Sheng Jiangli gradually put away his nonchalant expression. Only then did the old man slowly say,
"I know you don't want to see what's coming next, but you have to learn to face it... A Li, since you've decided to let go, then let go completely. The children of the Lan family have always been able to take on and let go!"
The smile on Sheng Jiangli's lips disappeared. He tightened his grip on the duke's seal and replied.
"... I hope that from now on, you will all, as always, be loyal to the emperor and love the country, and make new contributions to the state and the people of my kingdom."
It took more than an hour to confer titles on all the meritorious officials according to the imperial edict.
Just when everyone thought everything was settled and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of ceremonial music came from afar!
Everyone turned around in surprise!
What was going on?
Lan Yuanyi and others knew exactly what it was and couldn't help but show smiles of joy on their faces.
Wasn't it a great honor for a family to have a queen?
Moreover, the emperor - son - in - law respected him and loved his daughter dearly. Naturally, he was more than happy to see this.
Below the stage, the palace maids and eunuchs on both sides knelt down.
Song Yinghuai stood up, walked through the middle aisle, and quickly walked down the steps.
The procession wound out. First, the soldiers in armor led the way. Then, Xiang Ye and Qing Qing stood on either side of the sedan chair, dressed in peach - colored clothes. The palace maids behind them held palace lanterns and walked lightly.
A gray wolf swaggered in front of the sedan chair, looking down on everyone.
The eight - carried sedan chair behind was hung with bead curtains, and a graceful woman could be faintly seen sitting inside.
Everyone suddenly realized.
It turned out that there were two happy events today. The emperor and the queen were going to ascend the throne together!
Xiao Rencheng was the first to kneel down, "Long live the emperor! Long live the queen!"
Everyone immediately followed suit. For a moment, the shouts echoed like a mountain roar and a sea cry.
Lan Yuanyi pulled hard on Sheng Jiangli, who was standing beside him, "Kneel down!"
Sheng Jiangli sighed. He glanced at the smiling woman behind the bead curtains and finally slowly knelt down.
A warm smile appeared on Song Yinghuai's cold lips, and his eyes were full of doting.
"Greetings to the emperor, long live the emperor!" Xiang Ye shouted.
Cai Yu, who was sitting in the sedan chair, was startled by Xiang Ye's loud voice.
She suddenly came to her senses and wanted to reach out to lift the bead curtain.
But the man was quicker. He couldn't wait to lift the bead curtain.
What came into view was a peerless beauty.
Song Yinghuai's deep eyes looked at her, full of smiles.
His woman!
From a young girl, she had grown into a woman. Now, she was about to share the kingdom with him and become the queen of this land.
The prosperous kingdom was as beautiful as a painting. He only wished to roam the world hand in hand with her.
His big, bony hand firmly took her soft little hand.
They walked up the steps together.
Every step was a footprint they left behind, engraved in the annals of history.
Eunuch Cen presented the queen's gold seal, which was a symbol of the queen's power and the mother of the nation.
Cai Yu took the gold seal with both hands and knelt down to express her gratitude.
Song Yinghuai looked down at her from above. Behind his cold eyes was hidden tenderness and joy.
As soon as Cai Yu stood up, the officials behind her shouted again, "Long live the queen!"
Amidst the sounds of worship, Cai Yu walked up the steps step by step.
She passed by Sheng Jiangli's line of sight, looking gentle.
The man's body trembled slightly. Then he lowered his eyes, curled his lips, and said, "Your Majesty the Queen, please go up."
She had chosen this path, and he could only wish her well.
A Ye stopped and let out a low whine. Instead of following Cai Yu up, it stopped at Sheng Jiangli's feet.
It arched its body, and its furry head lay on his instep.
The lone wolf, let them keep each other company for now.
Cai Yu pursed her lips and finally turned her head away, firmly walking towards Song Yinghuai.
Brother A Li, I hope you can let go of your grudges and find your own happiness.
Song Yinghuai took her hand and stood on the highest platform together.
Cai Yu stood beside him.
The former wildness and liveliness had diminished a lot. Dressed in a phoenix robe, she was beginning to show an air of dignity, luxury, and grace that befitted a queen.
Perhaps the road ahead was still long and full of uncertainties.
Perhaps she still needed to continue to grow and learn to handle the affairs in the palace more smoothly.
But Song Yinghuai was right. Why didn't she give this man, who was the most trustworthy in the world, a try?