Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

The coronation ceremony was extremely simple.

Following the recent death of the late emperor, the new emperor decreed that everything should be kept simple.

The dragon robe was modified from the old system, and the ceremonial regalia was also reduced by several percent.

All the officials knelt and bowed, and the new emperor received the seal of office, thus completing the ceremony.

Some veteran officials sighed privately, saying that the enthronement ceremony was too shabby.

The new emperor heard it, but pretended not to hear it.

However, he refused to allow the coronation ceremony to be simplified again the following day.

The central palace hall was decorated with black and gold colors everywhere.

The palace staff removed all the old curtains in the hall and replaced them with new curtains embroidered with phoenixes and golden lotuses.

The phoenix crown was made anew, and nine more pearls were added to it than in the old custom.

Upon seeing this, the Empress whispered.

"Your Majesty, the national mourning period is not over yet; there is no need for you to go to such lengths for me."

The new emperor smiled.

"I've wronged you for so many years, I can't let you suffer even on this one day."

He spoke softly, but the empress's eyes reddened.

She didn't try to persuade him anymore, and let him lead her by the hand as she climbed the jade steps one by one.

After the ceremony was completed, the emperor and empress went to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices.

The procession moved slowly, and the wind was cold, but the new emperor sat upright the whole way.

He personally straightened the Empress's phoenix hairpin and then whispered to her if she was cold.

The empress shook her head.

"With His Majesty here, it's not cold."

The new emperor smiled and led her into the imperial carriage.

After the main hall ceremony, the Crown Prince accompanied them with great enthusiasm throughout.

But his voice gradually faded away soon after the imperial carriage left the ancestral temple.

The Empress was speaking and did not hear a response.

She turned her head to look.

The new emperor had already leaned on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

He was sleeping soundly, his breathing was deep and even, and his face appeared exceptionally pale inside the dark gold curtains.

The Empress did not move.

She just sat there, letting him lean against her.

The procession was still moving outside, the wheels rolling over the stone slabs with a soft thud.

She reached out and gently pulled his cloak back up.

It was very quiet inside the imperial carriage.

It was so quiet that she could hear even his slightest breathing.

Her fingers slowly tightened.

This kind of sleep is not ordinary tiredness.

Only someone who can't even wait to walk back to their palace, who can't stay awake on the way, could sleep like this.

Today, she has gone from being the Crown Princess to the Empress.

Her husband made her the most honored woman in the Great Liang Dynasty.

But she felt no joy whatsoever.

The Empress placed her hand on her lower abdomen, hoping that the Crown Prince could spend more time with her and the child.

The day the Crown Prince first ascended the throne as the new emperor, it was bitterly cold.

Charcoal fires had been lit inside the hall, but the officials, dressed in plain clothes, still felt a chill.

The crown prince removed his mourning clothes and donned a brand-new dragon robe, attending court for the first time as emperor.

His complexion was still not good, but he sat on the dragon throne with an even more solemn expression than usual.

The assembled officials bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

The new emperor raised his hand.

"Rise."

The sound wasn't loud, but it silenced the entire hall.

The princes below were also released.

They changed into plain clothes and went to the palace.

Having not left the house for several days, they were all looking rather listless, their faces pale and tired.

But what truly bothered them was not the humiliation of being placed under house arrest.

Instead, the person sitting at the head of the table had changed into a dragon robe.

The new emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his face still showing signs of illness, and his figure was thinner than before.

But once he put on that black and gold dragon robe, he was already different from before.

Several princes followed the officials in bowing down, their heads kowtowed, but each had their own feelings.

There was a time when they were very close to that chair.

When the Wing King was still alive, who didn't think that the throne would eventually fall into the hands of the fourth prince?

In those years, they didn't dare to compete, but they never really thought the crown prince could hold onto his position.

He was born with a poison and has been ill for many years; he even needs help to walk for long periods of time.

How could someone like that possibly hold onto power?

But somehow, he held on.

It wasn't through forming factions, nor through the influence of the empress's relatives, nor through the favoritism of the late emperor.

Xiao Fang was standing next to him.

With just Xiao Fang, he brought down the Wing King and suppressed everyone else.

Now that the Wing King is in the Dark Prison, none of the other princes dare to make any rash moves.

Xiao Fang, meanwhile, was still fighting for him in the northern border.

This person doesn't even need to return to the capital; he treats these princes like caged birds.

One Xiao Fang is more powerful than a thousand troops.

The new emperor didn't look at them.

He simply raised his hand, signaling the officials to rise.

"We will only discuss one matter today."

"The fight in the North must continue."

The princes raised their heads, exchanged glances, and then lowered their heads again.

They knew it in their hearts.

This capital city is no longer under their control.

The new emperor looked around and his gaze fell on the front of the court, where there was an empty seat.

Xiao Fang wasn't in the capital, but he had to get that kid to avenge the Xiao family.

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the hall.

An old minister immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, the late Emperor has passed away, and the national mourning period has not yet ended. How can we mobilize troops at this time?"

This violates ancestral rules and goes against the natural order!

Another person stepped forward.

"The war with the Northern Hu has reached a stalemate. If we were to withdraw our troops now, giving the Northern Hu a chance to regroup, it would be disastrous for the country!"

The two sides immediately started arguing.

The new emperor did not interrupt.

He waited until they had been arguing for a while before gently placing his hand on the dragon table.

"The late emperor has just passed away, and I am not willing to wage a large-scale war."

But do you know what Bei Hu is thinking?

He paused.

"What the northern barbarians are most looking forward to now is our national mourning."

They can take this opportunity to attack. If we hesitate, we'll be playing right into their hands.

An old official from the Ministry of Rites wanted to say more.

"But Your Majesty..."

"If the kingdom is lost, to whom will we still uphold propriety?"

The new emperor's voice wasn't loud, but it struck the old minister like a hammer, leaving him speechless.

"I will observe the mourning period for the late emperor."

I will bear the infamy of being unfilial.

But Xiao cannot stop fighting in the North.

"Without eliminating the Northern Hu, the Great Liang will find no peace."

He spoke very slowly, and every word was clear.

"By imperial decree, I order Prince Zhongyong, Xiao Fang, to continue the northern expedition."

Provisions, weapons, and rewards will continue to be allocated as usual.

Anyone who delays will be punished as a traitor to the country.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

The ministers dared not offer any further advice.

Because they saw in the eyes of this new emperor a decisiveness that the late emperor had never shown.

That's the kind of courage to gamble everything.

The new emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his voice softening.

"In addition, the child in the Empress's womb was designated as the Crown Prince."

I want you all to know that I have an heir.

This statement acted like a stabilizing force, calming the anxieties of many.

The other princes and nobles had figured it out: in the current court, there was only one voice.

That was the voice of the new emperor.

Anyone who dares to defy the new emperor, regardless of whether their plans succeed, will be dealt with immediately by Xiao Fang's henchmen left in the capital.

Let alone the fact that the new emperor wants to appoint a child whose gender is unknown from the womb as the crown prince.

Even if the new emperor said the sun was square, no one would dare to question it.

The new emperor closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he had become that gentle yet unquestionable young emperor once more.

"The court session is adjourned."

The courtiers knelt to see them off.

Once everyone had left, he leaned back in his chair and coughed softly.

The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward.

He waved his hand.

"Bring over Xiao Fang's request folding book."

"I will personally oversee matters concerning the border."