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Chapter 202.1
“Niangniang, niangniang!”
Yaoniang snapped back to her senses and realized it was Yu Chan calling her.
“Niangniang, this is such a joyous occasion.”
“Yes, yes, it truly is,” Yaoniang nodded repeatedly.
Everyone in the room had smiles on their faces, and the joy was almost palpable. Yaoniang instinctively wanted to say “reward,” but after some thought, she changed her words, “This is a great celebration, and according to custom, rewards should be bestowed. However, it is too ostentatious to do so with so many eyes upon us. Let’s wait a few days before giving any rewards.”
As soon as Yaoniang reminded them, everyone understood.
Indeed, His Highness has not ascended the throne yet, and besides, the emperor was still alive. If the manor were to be decorated with lights, with drums and gongs sounding at this critical moment, it could be seen as disrespectful and may lead to complications.
Xiao Shunzi immediately said, “Niangniang is right. This servant will go down and remind them to be cautious.”
The servants dispersed, and only then did Yaoniang turn to look at Xiaobao. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say, all in all, she was in a strange mood.
But soon her attention was drawn to Erbao. The little rascal was actually holding the tail of Xiaobaibai, lifting the kitten up. With a chubby face and a smiling expression, he even used his little finger to tease Xiaobaibai’s belly.
Yaoniang hurriedly reached out to stop him, because sure enough, Xiaobaibai extended its claws. It was still young, and its claws were soft. When they scratched an adult’s hand, it felt prickly. But if it were to scratch someone like Erbao, a young child, it would be painful enough for him to throw the cat away.
Xiaobao was also startled, and as the mother and older brother, they began to teach the youngest a lesson.
Explaining it in different ways, they made Erbao understand that you shouldn’t pull a cat’s tail. Cats have claws and can scratch people, and it would hurt to get scratched.
After dealing with this matter, the two of them no longer had their previous mixed feelings of surprise and joy.
In the following days, Jin Wang became extremely busy. After the imperial edict was issued, it had to be distributed everywhere, announcing it to the world.
But that was not all. They needed the Bureau of Astronomy to calculate auspicious dates and set the date for the coronation ceremony. Then the Ministry of Rites would prepare for the grand ceremony.
These matters were delegated to the subordinates, but the details had to be discussed with Jin Wang. There were also ceremonies for worshipping the heavens and ancestral temples and the matter of the Emperor Emeritus and the dowager consorts and imperial concubines moving to new palaces. Even the details of how the dragon robe should be made—all of it had to be approved by Jin Wang. Therefore, Jin Wang was so busy that he didn’t even return home and stayed in the palace.
On the other hand, in Jin Wang Manor, Yaoniang was also very busy. Every day, people came to congratulate her. Most of them wanted to get close to her before her status permanently change.
As the consort of Jin Wang, she couldn’t reject everyone at the door, but she was really overwhelmed. In addition, the New Year was approaching, and there were many preparations to be made. Considering the fear of public gossip, she could only pretend to be sick and temporarily avoid the visitors.
Thus, it went on until the twelfth lunar month when Jin Wang finally ascended the throne.
The new reign title would be changed in the following year, so this year was still during the year of Hongjing.
As for the matter of the Emperor Emeritus and the dowager consorts and imperial concubines moving to the new palaces, due to the belief that it was inauspicious to move or renovate in the twelfth lunar month, nothing had been done yet. Jin Wang could only temporarily stay in an empty palace. Everything would be done after the New Year since there were only a few days left.
On New Year’s Day, the new emperor changed the name of the new era during the grand court assembly, replacing Hongjing with Jin’an.
From then on, Jin Wang was no longer Jin Wang but Emperor Jin’an.
As the Emperor Emeritus had not moved to the new palace, the new emperor’s family had not moved into the palace either. Therefore, the customary New Year’s greetings by the imperial consorts were exempted this year.
Usually, at this time, Yaoniang would be busy accompanying Jin Wang to various banquets and events, but this year, she found herself with idle time. Emperor Jin’an held grand and small banquets in the palace, while she leisurely spent her days with the two children in the manor.
On the sixth day of the lunar year, just before dawn, someone arrived from the palace to escort Yaoniang.
Yaoniang rode in a carriage all the way into the palace, taking several turns until she arrived in front of a palace hall. The eunuch who came to welcome her had an extremely pleasing smile and respectfully led her inside.
Since she had not formally moved into the palace, Yaoniang couldn’t be considered a proper mistress of the palace. But now, everyone in the palace knew that she would be the future mistress soon. The new emperor favoured her, the beloved consort, who had accompanied him while he was still a prince for many years.
“Niangniang, please have a seat for a while. His Majesty is still busy right now.”
Yaoniang nodded and looked around.
The palace hall was lavishly decorated but exuded a chilly atmosphere as if it were rarely inhabited. Everything was orderly, without any personal touch.
After sitting for a while, several palace maids walked in from outside. They respectfully invited Yaoniang to the rear hall to serve her in changing clothes and bathing.
Yaoniang was completely confused. She didn’t recognize anyone inside the palace. If it weren’t for Yu Chan accompanying her all along, she would have felt even more anxious.
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