On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Seeing this, Murong Yan almost subconsciously took out the heavy brocade bag that she almost never took off from the hidden pocket of her wide flared sleeves.

The brocade bag naturally contained special copper coins with her profile portrait printed on them, and even a few small golden melon seeds.

She took a step forward, and the three-meter-long tail made a slight rubbing sound on the ground behind her.

She didn't look at the gong in the troupe leader's hand, but her eyes fell on the girl who had just finished the performance and whose breath was still not calm.

Under everyone's astonished gaze, the Empress, who was dressed in an extremely luxurious black robe and looked like a goddess descending to the earth, actually stretched out her slender hands from under her trumpet sleeves and took out a special gold coin from the brocade bag. The coin was shining with golden light and engraved with a phoenix pattern. It was obviously not a circulating currency - it was usually used for major rewards or as a ceremonial object.

She bent down slightly—a movement that caused the heavy train behind her to ripple—and personally placed the heavy gold coin, whose value far exceeded that of an ordinary reward, into the hands of the stunned girl.

"This is a reward for you." Murong Yan's voice was clear and gentle, with a rare smile. "Your skills are excellent. I like them very much."

The girl was completely stunned. She looked at the heavy gold coin in her hand, which was beautifully carved with a phoenix and shone brightly in the sunlight. Then she looked up at the Empress in front of her, who had a peerless appearance, an extremely noble temperament, and a gentle smile on her face. She was so excited that her whole body was shaking. She couldn't speak. She knelt down with a plop and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Thank... Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

The people around were instantly excited!

Her Majesty the Empress not only watched the show in person, but also gave a reward herself!

Such precious gold coins!

What an honor and grace this is!

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The cheers and praises rang out like a tsunami, filled with genuine joy and love.

When people looked at Murong Yan, besides awe, they also had a strong sense of closeness and enthusiasm.

The owner of the circus was so moved that he burst into tears. He led the whole troupe to kneel down to express his gratitude and said that he would enshrine the gold coin as a treasure of the troupe.

Murong Yan watched the lively scene unfold before her, the girl's face flushed with excitement. A strange warmth grew within her, and a sincere, beautiful smile curved her lips. This seemed...more interesting than accepting the thanks of court officials in the palace.

Lin Zhen had been standing beside her, watching her actions with a smile, his eyes full of indulgence and pride.

His Yan'er deserves to be like this, respected and loved by people all over the world.

He stepped forward and naturally grasped her slightly cool hand beneath her flared sleeve, taking it into his palm. Then he calmly addressed the kneeling crowd, "Stand up. Your Majesty's reward is a blessing to you. In the future, you must practice your skills diligently and live up to His Majesty's grace."

"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Everyone then stood up tremblingly, still unable to suppress their excitement.

Murong Yan was in a great mood and watched the other performances for a while. Every time she saw something exciting, she would subconsciously touch the brocade bag containing the money. Lin Zhen laughed and gently pressed her hand, whispering, "My little money-grubber majesty, one reward is enough. If you reward them again, I'm afraid they won't be able to bear it."

Murong Yan stopped at this point, but there was still a happy smile in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

Until the sun was setting, Lin Zhen, fearing that she was tired, gently advised: "Yan'er, it's time to go back."

......

On a late spring afternoon, a gentle breeze caressed the peonies in full bloom in the courtyard of the Prince Regent's Palace, bringing with it bursts of sweet floral fragrance. The half-open glazed windows of the warm room let in the warm sunlight and the gentle spring breeze, filling the room with a cozy warmth.

The earth dragon had gone out, leaving only the cool, elegant, and pleasant aroma of dragon's brain emanating from the gilded animal-head incense burner in the corner.

Murong Yan lazily leaned on a rosewood chaise longue inlaid with mother-of-pearl, covered with cool, soft cushions of cloud-water silk. She was still wearing the same dark black nightgown with a hundred phoenixes that had become her trademark.

The extremely dark black background, under the bright light of spring that shines through the glazed windows, presents a texture as deep as the valley of an ancient pond. It absorbs the light, but reflects elusive blue and dark purple glimmers from the deepest part, mysterious and noble.

On the robe, the one hundred phoenixes woven with countless rare gold and silver threads and the peerless "gold-plated and velvet-embroidered" technique seem to be injected with lively life under the abundant light. Each feather flows with a different brilliance: red gold is dazzling, rose gold is gorgeous, silver is bright, and purple gold is noble.

The phoenix eyes were inlaid with tiny red and blue gemstones, shining brightly. As her extremely subtle breathing rose and fell, the phoenixes seemed to soar and flow leisurely in the inky cloud brocade universe, like living creatures.

The extremely wide bell sleeves were spread on the cushions on the couch, and the fine black pearl tassels on the edge of the cuffs were motionless, exuding a warm luster.

The giant black jewel-studded train, three meters long and seamlessly connected to the robe, meanders down from the edge of the couch with a homely laziness. Part of it is piled on the Persian shag carpet under the couch, and part of it is like an inky river, spreading over the mirror-like golden nanmu floor. The black diamonds, black jade and deep sapphires inlaid on it sparkle with low-key but not negligible bright stars in the sun, as if a galaxy is draped over the ground.

She did not tie her hair up, and her long black hair fell down like a waterfall, flowing over the phoenix pattern on her black robe and the cloud and water silk cushions. The black and white were distinct and breathtaking.

She was barefoot, a pair of delicate and beautiful jade feet sticking out from under the layers of her black robe, slightly curled up, accidentally rubbing against the cool silk surface beneath her body.

Her gaze rested not on the scrolls or account books, but focused on the front. Two maids were carefully unrolling a large hanging scroll of ink landscape painting. The centerpiece was "Rongxi Zhai Tu" by the hermit master Ni Yunlin of the previous dynasty. The sparse brushwork and desolate atmosphere formed a strange contrast with the extreme splendor of her surroundings.

Lin Zhen was sitting in a rosewood armchair not far from her, wearing a simple and elegant dress of rain-soaked sky-blue Hangzhou silk, his black hair half-tied up with a bamboo hairpin, holding a book of drawings on the principles of steam engine improvement in his hand, but his eyes did not linger on the complicated mechanical drawings, but he smiled as he looked at the person on the couch who was lost in thought while staring at a withered landscape painting.

"Yan'er, why are you in the mood to look at Ni Gaoshi's paintings today?" He put down the drawing, picked up the cup of tea beside him, took a sip, and said in a gentle voice.

Murong Yan heard the voice and tilted her head slightly, her flared sleeves brushing lightly against the couch as she moved. She didn't answer immediately, but instead extended her delicate, bare hand, pointing to the thatched pavilion nestled among the sparse trees and rocky slopes in the painting. "Look, my dear," she said, "this pavilion may be small, barely wide enough for a knee, but nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with a view of the wilderness... Those who live here must find peace of mind, right?"

There was a subtle hint of yearning and confusion in her voice.

Lin Zhen looked in the direction of her finger, looked at the simple and profound painting, and then looked at the gorgeous and heavy Hundred Phoenix Black Robe she was wearing, which was enough to crush any ordinary woman, and understood.

His Yan'er, who had been kept in a golden cage for a long time, occasionally caught a glimpse of a different world, and her heart was moved.

He put down his teacup, walked over to the couch, and sat down naturally on its edge, right where the three-meter trail began. He didn't look at the painting, but instead let his gaze linger tenderly on her profile, softened by the sunlight. "Ni Yunlin spent his life wandering, living in seclusion, seeking only inner peace. Yet, the landscapes he depicts, though indifferent, ultimately reveal a sense of loneliness and coldness."

He stretched out his hand, and his fingertips gently brushed the golden phoenix feather embroidery on the collar of her black robe, which was looking back and combing its feathers. The touch was cool and delicate.

"My Yan'er, you were born a phoenix, destined to live in a palace of jade, worshipped by the people, and enjoy boundless honor. This landscape in the painting is good for just a look. If you were to live there, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to endure the hardship for even a single day."

Murong Yan hummed softly upon hearing this, seeming to agree, yet also seemingly not fully listening. She continued to gaze at the painting, her gaze somewhat distant. "But... sometimes, wearing such heavy clothes, listening to the endless court meetings... I do think it would be nice to have a day of relaxation..."

Her voice was very soft, as if she was just talking to herself, and her fingers under her flared sleeves curled up unconsciously.