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Rong Shu took the wooden box and opened it with a gentle "crack." Inside, she saw a jade bracelet carved with a hundred images of Buddha, which left her momentarily stunned.

The bracelet consisted of forty-nine jade beads, one of which she had worn since childhood.

Two years prior, on New Year's Eve, she had returned that particular bead to Empress Qi through Gu Changjin's hands.

Gently caressing the familiar jade bead she had worn since young, Rong Shu spoke softly, "Does Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have any other instructions?"

Zhu Jun smiled and said, "Her Majesty mentioned that when His Majesty ascended the throne today, he already paid tribute to heaven, earth, and our ancestors at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and declared his intention to confer you as the Empress. The grand ceremony will be in three days. In these coming days, you must purify yourself by abstaining from meat and other unclean things, as it is considered inauspicious."

Zhu Jun went on to relay Empress Qi's numerous reminders for quite some time.

Rong Shu listened attentively, and after Zhu Jun finished speaking, she nodded, putting on the bracelet and saying slowly, "Let the purification and abstinence begin from this moment."

That night, Gu Changjin hosted a banquet for all the officials in the palace. According to tradition, he would not return to the Eastern Palace for the next two days.

As Rong Shu was about to lay down with Yingyue, she heard hurried footsteps outside. She put on an outer robe and got off the bed, just as Yingque excitedly called out from the corridor, "Her Highness the Crown Princess, madam is here!"

Both Yingyue and Yingque, having received meticulous guidance from Zhu Jun, no longer dared to address Rong Shu as "miss." Yingque, in particular, had transformed from being impetuous in the past to displaying the demeanor of a senior palace maid.

Only Shen Yizhen's arrival could elicit such excitement from her.

Rong Shu hastened to open the door and greet her, "Mother!"

Shen Yizhen appeared weary from her journey, but the moment she laid eyes on Rong Shu, all exhaustion vanished.

"Upon arriving at Obeying Heaven Mansion today, Your Highness, no, His Majesty, sent Eunuch Qi Xin to escort me to the capital, hoping I'd come to keep you company sooner," Shen Yizhen said with a smile, looking at Rong Shu. "Fortunately, Mother arrived just in time."

Rong Shu's eyelashes glistened with moisture. No matter how old a daughter was, she would always be a child in the eyes of a loving elder.

Clinging to Shen Yizhen's arm, she coaxed in a charming tone, "Tonight, Zhaozhao wants to sleep with Mother."

Shen Yizhen took up residence in a side palace of the Purple Imperial Palace.

Rong Shu, adhering to ancestral customs, observed a three-day fast. On the twenty-eighth of May, while the sky was still barely illuminated, messengers from the palace arrived.

Shen Yizhen personally adorned her with a phoenix crown adorned with twelve flowering trees. Though she was the mother of the Crown Princess, being an external noblewoman, she was not permitted to attend the ceremony at the Imperial Great Hall in person. Instead, she had to wait until the rites were completed before she could pay her respects at the Kun Ning Palace.

The imperial palanquin proceeded slowly towards the Fengtian Gate. By the time it arrived at the Huangji Hall, the Ministry of Rites and the Board of Ceremonies had already arranged the ritual tablets and treasure cases within the grand hall.

Rong Shu emerged from the palanquin, supported by the attending officials, and lifted her gaze to see the entire assembly of ministers in their formal attire, standing in two orderly rows below the dais.

Upon the dais stood the new emperor, before his precious case - that was her Gu Yunzhi.

Gu Changjin wore a dark robe embroidered with golden dragons, adorned with a twelve-stringed imperial headdress. His eyes held a gentle smile as they met hers.

From a distance, Rong Shu returned his smile.

The sun illuminated the grand palace. As the ceremony official requested the ascent to the hall, the sound of bells and drums resonated, accompanied by the grand music.

With each step, Rong Shu advanced towards Gu Changjin amidst the solemn peals of the bells and the respectful bows of the officials.

Gu Changjin watched the maiden approaching him, memories of the previous enthronement ceremony flooding back.

Back then, the young emperor had walked steadily from the Heavenly Gate, carrying the urn of the former Empress on a spring day when the first snow had melted, and the sun shone warmly.

It had been a beautiful day, but all he could see then was the persistent autumn rain before his eyes.

Since her passing, the autumn rain of Jiayou 23rd year had never ceased in Emperor Yuanzhao's life.

But this lifetime was different.

In the tranquil early summer, on a fragrant day when the grass was yet to wither, his Zhaozhao walked towards him, bathed in the thin morning light.

Gu Changjin watched her silently, not wanting to miss a single glance.

Their eyes met, they smiled together. As she drew near, he extended his hand towards her.

Their fingers intertwined, they paid respects to heaven and earth.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom" —

The solemn and majestic tolling of the bell sounded once more, sealing the ceremony.

From that moment on, Gu Yunzhi and Rong Zhaozhao would be etched into the annals of Great Yin's history as emperor and empress.

They would share a bed in life and a tomb in death.

Never to part again.

Chapter 128 - The Third Life (Emperor Jia You and Empress Qi's Story, Buy with Caution)

Xiao Yan thought that he should have looked at her one more time when she rode away that day.

As the bells and drums of the imperial enthronement ceremony resounded, Xiao Yan and Qi Zhen stood in a secluded corner of the Heavenly Mandate Gate.

They watched as the child walked slowly toward Emperor Yuanzhao under the morning light, observed them hold hands and offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, receiving the obeisance of a hundred officials.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but recall the time when he had stood in the Imperial Majesty Hall, watching Qi Zhen approach him step by step, to become his Empress.

Unwittingly, twenty-three years have passed.

Indeed, time hastens the aging of all, yet we, in turn, never spare it mercy.

"Let's depart," Xiao Yan whispered to Qi Zhen, turning his head slightly. "This palace will now belong to them. You don't need to worry; Chang Jin will take better care of it than I did. He'll be better to that child than I was to you."

Qi Zhen withdrew her gaze from Rong Shu, offering a gentle smile. "In this concubine's heart, Your Majesty has always been the wisest of emperors."

Xiao Yan offered a faint smile and began walking toward the palace gates.

Gui Zhong attempted to support him, but Xiao Yan waved him off, preventing him from approaching. His body was already frail, yet he wished to take one last look at this imperial city, reminiscing as he left.

Qi Zhen, understanding his thoughts, slowed her pace to walk alongside him toward the carriage waiting outside the palace.

The carriage they rode in had been specially modified by palace craftsmen, spacious and comfortable with an exterior reinforced by an iron framework, making it incredibly sturdy.

The carriage rolled forward, its wheels producing a rhythmic clatter as they headed towards the city gates.

The most prosperous city of the imperial realm, after a night's slumber, began to stir gently in the dawn light, as the cries of vendors selling breakfast echoed melodiously. Children laughed and ran along the streets, their giggles as sweet as tinkling silver bells.

Xiao Yan gazed out through the carriage window.

Once, he was the one who kindled the firewood to keep this lively and peaceful world burning. But from this day forth, he would be a part of that very world, immersed in its mundane yet enchanting hustle and bustle.