The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 940: Enthronement Ceremony
Chapter 940: Enthronement Ceremony
“Elder sister?” Bai Qingjue didn’t see what was in the alley, so he called Bai Qingyan softly.
“Let’s go back…” Bai Qingyan said.
Bai Qingyan bent down and sat in the carriage. Bai Qingjue, Fu Ruoxi, Xie Yuchang and the imperial guards also climbed on their horses.
Bai Qingyan sat in the carriage and closed his sore eyes. He was not sure if the moment he saw Ayu just now was just an imagination because he was too tired during this period.
Bai Qingjue, Fu Ruoxi and Xie Yuchang led the soldiers to guard in the front, and the carriage that Bai Qingyan was riding in slowly moved.
She thought of the glimpse just now, not giving up, and raised her hand to open the curtain of the carriage, but her hand holding the curtain suddenly tightened.
The man dressed in Rongdi costume and wearing a mask was standing at the entrance of the alley under the bright light. It was clearly… her younger brother Ayu.
Bitterness hit her eyes, and she looked at Ayu’s figure getting farther and farther away, her vision blurred by mist.
This was clearly the closest they had ever been to each other, yet they could only look at each other from afar, unable to meet or recognize each other.
She didn’t draw the curtains until she could no longer see Ayu… She sat in the carriage with her eyes closed, trying her best to suppress her emotions. She didn’t want to return to the Bai Mansion and let her family see her crying.
All that filled her mind was Ayu’s high-spirited figure when she went to the battle, and her confident smile when she said she would bring back the most beautiful pigeon blood stone for her.
It’s great…Ayu is still alive, Ayu…is back!
But she still hoped that the edict she announced to the world would bring back more members of the Bai family, even if… just one more!
The road from the prison to the Bai Mansion is not short… but not long either. When Bai Qingyan got off the carriage and Chuntao and Nanny Tong came forward to help her, her emotions had already calmed down.
Bai Qingjue personally sent her back to Qinghui Courtyard and told her, “Tomorrow is the coronation ceremony, so you should have a good rest tonight.”
Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Qingjue who had grown a lot taller and nodded: “You too, go to bed early…you will have a lot of hard work tomorrow.”
·
On June 20th of the first year of Yuanhe, the Empress of Zhou ascended the throne.
Bai Qingyan read memorials all night, and when it was dawn he dozed off for a short while before being called up to change clothes.
Ever since Bai Qingyan was scheduled to ascend the throne on June 20th, the palace had begun to rush to make the fur crown that Bai Qingyan would wear upon his accession to the throne. Bai Qingyan was chased by the Weaving Room Order and had a look at the heavy robes for the ceremony that the Weaving Room was preparing to make according to the old Jin Dynasty custom. Bai Qingyan only said… it didn’t have to be too gorgeous or complicated. The Weaving Room Order was panicked after hearing this.
It was Bai Jinse who gave the Weaving Room Master a hint, asking him to think about the black sail and white python flag of the Bai family army. Only then did the Weaving Room Master realize it and went back to speed up the production.
It was probably because the Jin Dynasty royal family was extravagant at the time, so the weaving room master came up with a unique idea. He split the silver thread into thin threads, twisted four silver threads and four white threads into one thin thread to weave a bright moon on the shoulder of the black robe, and wrapped the gold thread around the white thread to embroider dragon patterns and the sun.
The lightness and darkness of the colors are blended by the amount of gold and silver threads mixed into the white lines. The stars and mountain patterns on the back… the twelve auspicious patterns may seem plain at first glance, but they shine brightly in the sunlight… and candlelight.
Mrs. Dong came personally to help her daughter change her clothes and to tidy up Bai Qingyan’s fur crown. She stood under the lamp and looked at her daughter in the emperor’s black robes, with an upright posture. The girl in front of her was clearly still her daughter, but she felt that her daughter in the emperor’s fur crown was… not the same.
Perhaps she knew that from today on… her daughter would not only be her daughter, but also the king of the Great Zhou Kingdom.
Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinzhao, Bai Jinhua, Bai Jinse and Bai Qingyan’s aunts all stood aside and looked at Bai Qingyan in her fur crown with tears in their eyes. They felt that she was becoming more and more majestic, as if she had the power of lightning and the force of collapsing mountains.
None of them had ever thought that Bai Qingyan would lead the Bai family to this point today, let alone thought that Bai Qingyan would ascend the throne and become emperor.
No one expected that Bai Qingyan would personally realize the ambition of Bai family ancestors to unify the world, rather than… pinning such ambitions on the monarch they submit to.
Dong’s eyes were red as she personally arranged the jade hooks and jade pendants, the large double ribbons and the small double ribbons for Bai Qingyan. She gently stroked the embroidery on her body and said, “The twelve emblems of the Qiu crown are auspicious. Hua Chong… take its texture, Fen Mi… provide for the people, Zao… noble character, Fu… distinguish right from wrong, Huo… bright and upright, Zong Yi… loyal, righteous, benevolent and filial, Shan… stable as a mountain, the sun, moon, stars, and celestial beings… bright, and they will naturally take care of the people in all directions!”
She looked at Bai Qingyan with red eyes and whispered with sobs: “A mother hopes that you… can be a good emperor who is virtuous and benevolent to all, and live up to the aspirations of your grandfather, father, uncle, and the ancestors of the Bai family, and unify the world! Bring peace to the people and establish peace in the world.”
Bai Qingyan looked at Dong and bowed to her: “I will remember what you said, mother! Your daughter… will be a good emperor who will benefit all the people, and will lead the Great Zhou… to unify the world, and will never give up… until death.”
When Bai Jinzhao heard Bai Qingyan’s words, he knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists towards Bai Qingyan: “Bai Jinzhao swears to follow my elder sister until death! To unify the world… I will never give up until I die!”
Be determined and never give up until death.
This was where their grandfather Bai Weiting’s courtesy name “Buyu” came from.
Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinhua and Bai Jinse also knelt on the ground. As descendants of the Bai family, they knew from birth that they would contribute to the unification of the world in the future.
Bai Qingyan wore a crown and robes to offer sacrifices to heaven, worship the ancestral temple and kowtow to his ancestors.
The Wude Gate was wide open, and the black sails and white python flags on the city walls fluttered in the wind. The imperial guards in golden armor and silver helmets lined up on both sides of the long street to guard. Bai Qingjue, Bai Jinzhao, and Bai Jinhua were in the front in military uniforms, leading nine rows of black-armored heavy cavalry holding black sails and white python flags and marching forward in order.
Eight precious horses, all as black as ink, pulled the emperor’s carriage, and Bai Qingyan, wearing a crown and robes, sat upright in the carriage.
The heavy cavalry of the Bai Family Army led by Bai Qingjue are those who have truly experienced the killing on the battlefield, fought in the bloody battlefield, and returned from near death. The black armor of the Bai Family Army’s heavy cavalry is far less bright and beautiful than that of the imperial guards. The black armor shines with a cold light, and there are traces of swords and axes on the thick black armor. The swords in the scabbards at their waists have long had gaps, but this is a symbol of their glory.
The usually majestic imperial guards had no aura in front of the murderous soldiers of the Bai family army who returned from hundreds of battles, and were only glorious in appearance.
Today, Bai Qingyan asked Bai Qingjue to lead the Bai family army for protection, just to let the people see… this is the Bai family army that protects the country and the people, and they are protected by such soldiers.
The brilliant morning light penetrated the sea of clouds in the eastern sky, and the entire capital city was shrouded in golden light.
The old and heavy city gate of Wude Gate was wide open, and the glazed tiles on the double-eaved palace were shining brightly in the morning light.
The ceremonial music played, the golden drums were beating, and the trumpets blew.