Chapter 158: Volume 1, Chapter 158 — Which Palace Do You Want to Live In

The new ruler's enthronement ceremony was of utmost importance, and Rong Luoge was kept busy along with everyone else. First was His Majesty's dragon robe — because the new emperor's dragon robe had been rushed into production in the shortest possible time, it had to be carefully inspected for any oversights, to make sure no one had tampered with it in secret.

According to custom, dragon robes should have been prepared for the new ruler while the Late Emperor was gravely ill and unconscious. But because the Late Emperor had been indecisive in his attitude, the Imperial Household Bureau had not known what to do, so by the time the Crown Prince ascended the throne, they could only rush to get it done.

Rong Luoge had already inspected the dragon robe with particular care the previous night, checking it over and over again, and only then breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there were no problems.

Han Xinglan said with a smile from the side, "The Imperial Household Bureau wouldn't dare play tricks. Come over and get some rest too."

Rong Luoge went over and sat down next to Han Xinglan. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, she said, "You should rest quickly. You have to rise early tomorrow — the enthronement ceremony can't be delayed."

Han Xinglan held Rong Luoge's hand. These past few days had been so busy he barely touched the ground, and he and she had not had a proper conversation in a long time.

Han Xinglan was clearly very tired, yet he couldn't fall asleep. He looked at Rong Luoge and said, "I used to always think about what I would do when I ascended the throne."

"What did you think?" Rong Luoge could tell that Han Xinglan didn't seem to want to sleep, so she leaned against him, pulled over a soft pillow, and tugged him to half-recline together while they talked.

"I thought that after I ascended the throne, I would definitely demote and dismiss everyone who had ever opposed me, and everyone who had harmed me would be dealt with." Han Xinglan's voice was very flat — so flat that one couldn't tell whether he still had that kind of impulse now.

"And now?" Rong Luoge grasped Han Xinglan's hand in return and asked.

Han Xinglan gave a light laugh. "Now that I sit in this position, my thinking has changed. If I killed all these people, who would manage court affairs for me? As long as these people aren't guilty of the most unforgivable crimes, they can't be killed. Not only can they not be killed, I must even grant them favors, so that they'll happily work their lives away for me, this new emperor."

Rong Luoge laughed upon hearing this. "That's a good idea. Those people will feel uneasy in their hearts, knowing full well what they've done before. To put your mind at ease, they'll certainly do their utmost to assist you, and they absolutely wouldn't dare do anything improper for a good while. Having these people work for you in constant fear and trepidation is far better than simply killing them."

Han Xinglan smiled. He knew Rong Luoge would understand his thinking. A few years ago, he could never have imagined that he would be able to deal with his enemies so calmly. But now, sitting in this position, he felt that this way of thinking was quite good.

Who knows how long they talked before Han Xinglan finally fell into a deep sleep. Rong Luoge looked at his sleeping face for a long while and sighed softly. Perhaps the profession of emperor, aside from the relative pleasure of being a foolish ruler, required a wise ruler to balance the court officials — and sometimes even the emperor himself had to swallow his grievances.

It was not easy.

If it weren't for the sake of staying alive, who would want to be a wage slave for all the people in the world?

The next day was the enthronement ceremony. Early in the morning, Shi An came to wake them. Rong Luoge hurriedly sat up and nudged Han Xinglan beside her.

Han Xinglan opened his eyes, not wanting to move — he was too exhausted.

He pulled Rong Luoge back and held her in his arms, sighing softly.

Rong Luoge: …

Was he being clingy?

"Shi An is already urging you — you need to get up. The enthronement ceremony is today; it can't be delayed," Rong Luoge said with a smile.

Han Xinglan had no choice but to sit up. He looked at Rong Luoge and said, "I'm too tired."

"Just get through today and it'll be fine," Rong Luoge said gently.

Han Xinglan roused himself and got out of bed. Standing before outsiders, he was once again the imposing and formidable emperor.

The first step of the enthronement ceremony was to lead the court officials in paying homage to Heaven, Earth, and the ancestral shrine, beginning when the auspicious hour arrived. Moreover, the homage was not simply a matter of bowing and burning a stick of incense — a minister from the Ministry of Rites would read proclamations beside them, and Han Xinglan had to continuously offer prayers according to the content announced. The entire process was very protracted and very solemn.

After the prayers were complete, he proceeded to the main hall to receive the kneeling homage of the court officials, and then accepted the imperial seal — only then was he a legitimately enthroned emperor.

Finally, he still had to proclaim it to the world, issue edicts as the new emperor, reduce or exempt taxes, grant a general amnesty, and change the reign title. It sounded simple, but it was extremely exhausting and time-consuming.

After the daytime affairs were concluded, a banquet still had to be held in the evening, convening all civil and military officials. Because the new emperor had not yet established an empress, the families of officials were excused from entering the palace.

If the new emperor had previously conferred the title of Crown Princess, or had long since settled on a candidate for empress, the empress enthronement ceremony would be held simultaneously during the enthronement ceremony.

However, there had been no Crown Princess in the Dong Gong previously, and the choice of empress was also a matter of dispute.

Han Xinglan naturally wanted to enthrone Rong Luoge, but Rong Luoge had the matter of her divorce in her past, which was a blemish on her reputation, and the court officials were vehemently opposed.

Marquis Ningyuan joined with others to attempt submitting memorials urging His Majesty to establish Song Huihe as empress, but Han Xinglan refused to agree. With the two sides pulling against each other, the matter of establishing an empress was temporarily postponed.

Han Xinglan had his own plans. Right now, Prince Qi's forces had not yet been completely eradicated. If he forcefully enthroned Rong Luoge as empress, it wasn't that he couldn't, but starting his reign at odds with the court officials would be detrimental to the promotion of his policies afterward.

Once he held court power firmly in his hands, and once Rong Luoge became pregnant, then establishing the empress would follow naturally.

By then, with a child to secure her position, the matter of the divorce would no longer have much impact on Rong Luoge.

Because when you care about someone, you care about everything about them.

Forcing the enthronement of an empress was naturally possible, but doing so would cause Rong Luoge too much harm — she would inevitably be branded a beauty who brought disaster, which for an empress would be nothing short of catastrophic.

After Han Xinglan finished the grand banquet with the court officials, he returned to Yuzhao Gong and looked at Rong Luoge with considerable guilt.

Rong Luoge saw him like this and asked, "What's wrong?"

Han Xinglan looked at her. "Ever since you entered Yuzhao Gong, you've never once asked me about establishing an empress. Don't you want to ask?"

Rong Luoge just laughed. "What's there to ask about?"

Han Xinglan looked at her. "Why?"

"As far as things stand now, apart from me, you don't seem to have any other woman you're fond of — the court has already argued one round over the choice of empress. If you haven't enthroned me as empress, ruling out the possibility that you've had a change of heart, then the only remaining explanation is that the timing isn't ripe. If that's the case, what is there to ask about?" Rong Luoge said with a smile.

Hearing her say this, Han Xinglan found it happened to coincide perfectly with his own thoughts, and said, "You always think the same way I do."

"We've been together for so long — even if we don't read each other's minds, we still have a fair bit of unspoken understanding," Rong Luoge said with a smile. "Go to sleep early. There will still be many things to busy ourselves with tomorrow."

"In this Hou Gong, which palace have you taken a fancy to?" Han Xinglan asked. Fengyi Palace couldn't be lived in for the time being, but the other palaces were all fine.