latelenovela Chapter 321 The New Emperor's Sorrow
Chapter 321 The New Emperor's Sorrow
After the Emperor's funeral, the next events will be the coronation ceremony of Crown Prince Canglan Jingyun and the ceremony for bestowing the title of Empress. These two events are extremely important to the entire court, so the officials of the Ministry of Rites have been extremely busy lately, one could even say they are "smoking" from exhaustion.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Su Nuannuan. Her only hope now was that the new emperor could ascend the throne smoothly, so that she could leave the palace and go to Prince Yong's residence to live with her son.
One thing worth mentioning is that Princess Jianping, Canglan Jingyao, was extremely anxious after learning of her father's death. She traveled day and night, riding at top speed, to return to the capital. In the end, she successfully arrived the day before the late emperor's burial and kept vigil in front of the mourning hall for an entire night.
On this day, the weather was clear and sunny, and the emperor's enthronement ceremony officially began.
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to watch the new emperor's enthronement ceremony?" Jinse asked softly, standing to the side and looking at Su Nuannuan, who was still lying on the recliner under the grape trellis.
Su Nuannuan kept her eyes closed, seemingly undisturbed by Jinse's words. She replied calmly, "No, what's there to see? It's not only boring, but we also have to find a place to sneak around and watch. How tiring! It's much more comfortable to lie in my own palace."
"With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, I will now be a concubine dowager, and the empress will naturally become the empress dowager," Su Nuannuan said leisurely, as if all of this had nothing to do with her.
She slowly opened her eyes, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her lips. "To be honest, I really want to abduct the Empress Dowager and hand over the entire harem to the Empress to manage. After all, the new emperor's harem currently only has the Empress."
Su Nuannuan sighed softly and continued, "But this coronation ceremony must have been really tough on the Empress. She was heavily pregnant and still had to attend such an important ceremony."
Hearing that her mistress had such an absurd idea, Jinse quickly spoke up to dissuade her: "Your Majesty, you must not think like this! Although the new emperor's harem currently only has the empress, she is six months pregnant and needs someone to take care of her. Moreover, the palace needs an elder to keep order and maintain order."
Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan's smile froze slightly before she regained her composure. "I was just saying that casually. As for when I will be able to leave the palace, I'm afraid even I don't know."
The morning passed quietly amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd. The Emperor's coronation ceremony and the Empress's investiture ceremony finally came to a close, everything appearing so solemn and dignified.
The new emperor's reign title was set as "Dewu," and this year became the first year of Dewu, marking the beginning of a brand new era.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, his first task was to bestow titles upon the other princes and princesses. Among them, Canglan Jingcheng was distinguished because of the title of Prince conferred by the previous emperor, while the other princes were all granted the title of Prince of the County and were also granted mansions.
The Prince Yong's Mansion is closest to the Imperial Palace, while the Princess Jianping's Mansion is the next closest.
The other princesses also received corresponding titles and residences, but in terms of fiefs and estates, they could only enjoy the treatment of ordinary princesses, which was worlds apart from Princess Jianping, Canglan Jingyao.
If the late emperor's concubines had children, they could leave the palace to live with them; if they did not have children, they could choose to live in the westernmost Shou'an Palace or go to a temporary palace.
However, most of the concubines chose to stay at the temporary palace, with only a few deciding to remain at Shou'an Palace.
However, there was one exception: Su Nuannuan. She could not only leave the palace to go to Prince Yong's residence, but also to Princess Jianping's residence, and even choose to stay in Cuiwei Palace.
Indeed, Cuiwei Palace has now been left to Su Nuannuan by the new emperor. The reason for this is, of course, that Su Nuannuan is not only the new emperor's teacher, but also the concubine he himself has recognized as his mother.
At this very moment, the other concubines of the late emperor were busy packing their belongings, preparing to move out of their original palaces and to their new residences. However, Su Nuannuan seemed exceptionally leisurely. She didn't need to be as busy as the others; she could simply enjoy this rare moment of tranquility.
The Empress Dowager had already moved to Cixi Palace, while the Empress, pregnant, had struggled to move to Anning Palace. In comparison, Su Nuannuan was probably the most carefree person in the entire palace.
On the second day after the new emperor's ascension to the throne, news spread like wildfire—Canglan Jingcheng had actually applied to be stationed at the border! This decision worried the new emperor, Canglan Jingyun, so he rushed to Cuiwei Palace as soon as court was over, wanting to discuss the matter with Su Nuannuan.
"Your subject greets Consort Zhuang." As soon as the new Emperor Canglan Jingyun stepped into Cuiwei Palace, he quickly walked up to Su Nuannuan and respectfully bowed.
Seeing this, Su Nuannuan quickly reached out to help him up and asked with concern, "Why has the Emperor come?"
After settling down, Canglan Jingyun didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Mother Consort Zhuang, my fifth brother is going to guard the border."
Su Nuannuan smiled slightly, as if she had expected this. She looked at the new emperor calmly and said softly, "If he wants to go, let him go. Not only your fifth brother, Jianping is going too."
“Mother Consort Zhuang, swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield, what if…” Canglan Jingyun said hesitantly, his face showing worry.
Su Nuannuan sighed and said helplessly, "That's his fate."
Canglan Jingyun paused for a moment, then suggested softly, "Why don't we let Fifth Brother get married first, so that he can have an heir? Otherwise, his lineage will end."
Su Nuannuan shook her head and said with a wry smile, "It would be great if your fifth brother were willing to get married. Your Majesty, don't worry, his lineage will not end. When that time comes, Your Majesty can simply adopt a prince to inherit his princely residence."
“Mother Consort Zhuang…” Cang Lan Jingyun wanted to continue persuading her, but Su Nuannuan waved her hand to interrupt him.
"Don't try to persuade him. Your fifth brother has had two wishes since he was a child: one is to eat all the delicious food in the world, and the other is to guard the border for you." Su Nuannuan said slowly, a hint of doting in her eyes.
Canglan Jingyun frowned, feeling a pang of heartache, and said, "But why is Jianping going to join in the fun again? She's a girl!"
Su Nuannuan smiled slightly and explained, "Your sister Jianping has lofty ambitions! Besides making money and practicing medicine, she also wants to go to the battlefield and earn merit for herself."
Cang Lan Jingyun frowned even more deeply and said worriedly, "But Jianping is already of marriageable age."