Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

One month later

Today is the coronation ceremony for the Empress, and also the wedding day for Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen.

Therefore, the Su residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, filled with joy and excitement. The servants were busy and excited, and all had smiles on their faces.

Youlan Courtyard

Su Qianrou wore a golden crown with nine dragons and nine phoenixes, symbolizing the emperor and empress's unity and mutual affection. Hundreds of dazzling gemstones and pearls were inlaid in it, making her radiant and exuding nobility. She wore an exquisite and gorgeous dress, with lifelike phoenixes embroidered with gold thread. Every gesture she made revealed her graceful and noble demeanor.

Chang Le, Yang Shanshan, Li Nanyi, Liu Xinyue, and Xu Linlin walked in.

Yang Shanshan joked, "Quickly, quickly, greet our Empress," and then said in a fake manner, "Greetings to the Empress, may the Empress be blessed with long life and peace."

Su Qianrou played along, saying, "No need for formalities, Your Highness, there's no need for such formalities."

After saying that, they couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought my cousin marrying the Regent was already incredibly wealthy, but who would have thought that one day she would become the Empress, the mother of the nation, and I would be the Empress's cousin. From now on, I can walk around the capital with impunity and no one will dare to say anything to me. Just thinking about it makes me happy."

Li Nanyi ruthlessly exposed him, saying, "You talk as if no one dared to say anything about you before."

Liu Xinyue also said, "You are the Crown Princess of the Prince of Ying's Mansion, who would dare to say anything to you?"

Chang Le said, "There used to be some people who didn't know their own mortality, but there aren't any now, and probably there won't be any in the future. However, it's not because of Qian Rou, but because of her family's heir. You don't know, do you? Two years ago, Yan Xiang, the son of the former Vice Minister of Works, harassed her, and the next day he was arrested by her heir and taken back to the Ministry of Justice. He wasn't released until half a month later, but he was half dead and had to stay in the mansion for almost half a year before he could get out of bed."

"I didn't expect Prince Ying to be so protective of his wife," Su Qianrou said.

"What? He deserved it. He took advantage of his family background to prey on the people, bullied others, and forcibly took women. It's good that he wasn't beaten to death."

"Princess Consort, today is Her Majesty's joyous occasion, so it is inappropriate to discuss death," the head maid from the Imperial Wardrobe reminded her.

Yang Shanshan lightly slapped her own mouth, "I misspoke."

Xu Linlin then said, "I regretted not being able to personally send you off on your wedding last time. Now, I can make up for it."

Su Qianrou took her hand and said, "Me too. It's a real pity I couldn't attend your wedding."

"It's such a coincidence that you two chose to get married on the same day. But isn't this a kind of serendipitous encounter? It's quite rare for good sisters to get married on the same day in different places," Chang Le said.

Su Qianrou and Xu Linlin exchanged a smile, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

"Mommy, Xiaoxiao and Daddy have come to pick you up!" Su Xiaoxiao ran in excitedly.

"His Majesty has come in person," Yang Shanshan exclaimed in surprise.

Su Xiaoxiao ran up to Su Qianrou and was immediately stunned. She had always known that her mother was very beautiful, but today she had a different kind of beauty. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was different, but she was just very beautiful.

Su Qianrou stroked her little face, "Little one, why do you have such an expression? Is it because your mother doesn't look good in this outfit?"

"No, Mother is very beautiful, Mother is the most beautiful."

Su Qianrou couldn't help but laugh.

"Rou'er, I've come to pick you up," Mu Jinchen said as he walked in.

Everyone bowed in greeting, but Su Qianrou remained seated and motionless.

"Your Majesty"

No need for formalities.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Mu Jinchen walked up to Su Qianrou, looking at her with a smile, his eyes almost overflowing with affection, and then extended his hand to her.

Su Qianrou smiled gently and placed her hand on his.

Mu Jinchen helped her up.

Su Qianrou asked softly, "Why are you here?"

Mu Jinchen leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'm afraid you'll run away."

For the past month, he asked every day, no less than ten times, "Is Rou'er in the manor?" Only after receiving an affirmative answer could he feel at ease, for fear that she might desert him and run away.

Having finally waited for this day, how could he sit still? He couldn't wait to come and fetch his bride in person, and no amount of persuasion could change his mind.

Su Qianrou chuckled, "If you wanted to run, you would have run long ago. Why would you wait until now?"

Moreover, disobeying an imperial edict is a capital offense punishable by the execution of the entire family. If she runs away, what will happen to her family? Even if Mu Jinchen doesn't care, the ministers won't agree. In that case, even if she doesn't die, she won't have a good ending. Besides, she never intended to run away, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed.

Mu Jinchen didn't say anything, he just held her hand tightly.

Chang Le joked, "We're all still here, Your Majesty, why don't you restrain yourself a little?"

"What, you have a problem with that?"

Chang Le hurriedly waved her hand, "No, no, how could I dare?"

Su Qianrou smiled but remained silent.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the auspicious time has arrived. Please come out."

So, Mu Jinchen took Su Qianrou's hand and walked out.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Civil and military officials stood on both sides according to their ranks.

Mu Jinchen helped Su Qianrou slowly walk up the steps, one by one, until they reached the top.

As the military governor, Song Mingxian was the one who read the imperial edict aloud, so he called out, "Su Shi, receive the edict."

Just as Su Qianrou was about to kneel down, Mu Jinchen stopped her, saying, "From now on, you only need to kneel to heaven and earth, not to anyone, including me."

Since he had said so, Su Qianrou naturally wouldn't seek trouble. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, this is against etiquette."

"Minister Song, please proclaim the decree."

Song Mingxian had no choice but to open the imperial edict and read it aloud: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Princess Pingluo, daughter of Su Jing'an, Minister of Revenue, is gentle and dignified, virtuous and kind, and prudent in her conduct. She has long been a model of virtue and has won the Emperor's heart. Therefore, she is hereby appointed as Empress, to be the mother of the nation, to continue the ancestral temple, to establish the foundation of the world, to be honored with the imperial seal and ribbon, and to enjoy lasting prosperity and peace. She will share the same honor as the Emperor and jointly govern the world."

The imperial edict was written by Mu Jinchen himself, so no one knew its contents. Therefore, when Song Mingxian read the last sentence, he was greatly shocked and almost threw the edict away.

The eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs immediately presented the golden book and the golden seal.

Mu Jinchen gave it to Su Qianrou.

Su Qianrou accepted it, saying "Thank you, Your Majesty," and then handed it to Chunzhu and Juxia.

"kneel".

All the ministers knelt down.

"bye".

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!"

Mu Jinchen held Su Qianrou's hand as they received the ministers' homage.

Then, the two went to the Phoenix Cry Palace and sat down at the table.

"We would like to invite Your Majesty and Your Highness to drink the nuptial wine together."

Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen each picked up half of the gourd, drank it together, and then put it back together.

"Tonight we are joined in marriage, husband and wife as one, forever united in heart, together we will write a new chapter."

Now that only the final step remains, everyone tactfully withdrew.

Mu Jinshen looked at Su Qianrou with increasingly intense gaze.

Su Qianrou, oblivious to her feelings, said, "What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and help me take off the phoenix crown." She was about to be crushed by the weight.

Mu Jinchen then realized what was happening and hurriedly got up to help her remove the phoenix crown.

After dismantling it, I picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Su Qianrou was startled. "What are you doing?"

"What do you want to do? We still have one last step to complete," he said, placing her on the bed before eagerly leaning down to kiss her alluring red lips.

Soon, sounds that made one blush could be heard coming from inside the room.

(End of text)