The three ministries and six departments in the palace, civil and military officials, eunuchs, palace maids and other people with any official position in the palace were all gathered in it in an orderly manner.
The genuine officials were all dressed in high-ranking sacrificial robes, auspicious robes, or blue or purple, holding jade tablets and court tablets, and standing all around the Temple of Heaven.
Thousands of guardsmen gathered here, standing firmly with their spears hung with red tassels or small flags, almost motionless.
Xi Heng was also wearing a ceremonial fur coat that the emperor wore when he participated in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. The surface of the clothes was printed with celestial patterns and images of dancing phoenixes and coiled dragons, and the decoration was luxurious and grand.
This extremely luxurious and elaborate dress made her look noble and majestic just by standing there.
Being treated with respect by thousands of officials around him, Xi Heng's mentality also changed a little.
"So this is how the emperor feels..." Xi Heng stood in front of the Taixiao Palace, on dozens of white marble steps, looking down at his subjects below, feeling a sense of loneliness in his heart.
It seemed as if all the civil and military officials on the earth who were bowing to her were no longer comparable to her.
In this world, there is only one word "sky" above her, and billions of other creatures are below her.
Xi Heng knew that he would probably only be an emperor for a short time, and perhaps after today's coronation ceremony, he would be assassinated immediately in the evening.
She had no power in the imperial court, nor did she have any supporters. She didn't even have time to contact the aristocratic families and promise them benefits to gain their support.
Although she was the emperor in name, she couldn't accomplish anything alone, let alone play politics. She couldn't even name a few of her ministers...
The only thing that allowed her to obtain the position of emperor was just her illusory bloodline.
Now at the coronation ceremony, although it seems that he is surrounded by others, in fact, it is just an attic in the air.
But...it felt pretty good to be bowed to openly by these civil and military officials who once felt they were high and mighty.
"I can just enjoy this feeling for a while." Xi Heng sighed in his heart.
Although he had the title of emperor, he was not the real emperor.
In the palace now, there are probably only a few of the most rigid eunuchs and sacrificial masters who behave in a disciplined manner and will listen to her and do things for her.
Just like now, it is the old imperial teacher of the Imperial Household Department who is presiding over the coronation ceremony.
This person was dressed in a white gold ceremonial fur coat, wearing a Jinxian crown on his head, holding a purple gold brocade scroll in his hand. He opened the brocade scroll steadily and read aloud in the center of the Tiandi Zongji altar:
"Take out the hu tablet, bow down, offer sacrifice to the heaven, and rise."
The sound was continuous and lasting, like ripples on the water caused by a strong wind.
Giant drums were beating in all directions, and all officials held up their tablets and knelt toward the east.
Xi Heng had listened to the master of ceremonies and the palace maid explain today's etiquette several times last night, and had also rehearsed it several times to ensure that the coronation ceremony was carried out successfully.
But when the moment came, during the coronation ceremony, her movements and demeanor became more casual.
Anyway, no matter how serious you are, you will die soon, so you might as well take it easy.
Xi Heng just casually bowed towards the east, and when the drum sounded, she slowly walked down the white jade steps and went to the altar to offer sacrifices.
The so-called sacrifices were nothing more than pigs, sheep, and cows, and at most some fruits and fine cloth.
If the so-called "God" really has consciousness, he would not be satisfied with these simple offerings.
Xi Heng walked through the process slowly, and then heard the Imperial Master shouting:
"Take out the hu tablet, prostrate yourself, offer sacrifice to the earth, and be happy."
The official knelt down and leaned towards the west again, while Xi Heng walked to the other side under the guidance of the old eunuch.
"Take out the sceptre, prostrate yourself, offer sacrifice to the altar of the state, and rise."
Around and around.
Xi Heng was almost dizzy as he walked around the altar carrying the jade and silk.
Also, for some reason my calves feel a little sore.
She had been running outside for an hour before her body felt tired.
I had only been walking slowly in the palace for less than a quarter of an hour, but I was already physically and mentally exhausted.
"So boring..." Xi Heng wanted to reload the game quickly.
During the coronation ceremony, as the process went on, Xi Heng had a vague illusion that he was holding his own funeral.
After walking around the altar again, she asked in a bored tone as she passed by the Imperial Master, "Is it almost time to finish?"
"It's still early!" The white-haired imperial teacher said solemnly, "We still have to worship the ancestors in the Imperial Ancestral Temple later."
“……”Xi Heng wanted to run.
……
After a whole morning, the coronation ceremony was finally over. Amidst the shouts of "Long live the emperor", she immediately left the temple.
"Huh..." Miss Xi Heng, wearing a dragon robe and a twelve-piece imperial crown on her head, returned to the Taixiao Palace, sat on the highest dragon throne, and quickly asked the palace maid to bring some water.
But after a while, she looked up and saw that the palace maid who came over respectfully with a tray of tea and fruits was actually Hanyu, a palace maid from Sijia Palace who had made her drunk in the previous life and then sent her to the stone chamber as a first-grade precious medicinal material.
Xi Heng held her forehead with her hand. When she saw this man, she recalled the desperate fight with Zhao Qianyuan.
When she took the warm tea handed to her by the palace maid, she suddenly asked:
“Is this water poisonous?”
"..." Han Yu was stunned for a moment, then bowed carefully and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. No villain will want to harm Your Majesty."
"How could there not be any? Isn't this palace full of villains?" Xi Heng shook his head: "But forget it, it doesn't matter whether it's poisonous or not, life and death are all determined by fate."
After saying that, he raised the glass and drank it in a few gulps.
"Cough cough..." Then he choked on the water.
Xi Heng thought that the poison was taking effect, but after coughing a few times, he became calm again and sighed.
The first glass of water she drank after ascending the throne was not poisoned - she was really underestimated.
I'm afraid that in the eyes of those other princes and princesses who want to compete for the throne, although I have already sat on the throne, there is actually no need to worry at all... Maybe I can take some time to stabilize the power and relationships I have. If they want to kill her, they can just find a random time. There is no need to rush.
Xi Heng seemed to be suffering from paranoia and kept thinking about these things.
Then she slumped over on the dragon chair and said in boredom, "Why hasn't anyone come to kill me yet?"
The palace maid next to her didn't dare to reply.
After a while, the old eunuch who had led Xi Heng to complete the entire enthronement ceremony and the imperial teacher came to the Taixiao Palace together. They first patted their formal attire, bowed in the palace and addressed him as Your Majesty, then said:
"Your Majesty, there have been a lot of memorials piled up recently. Please return to the palace as soon as possible to deal with them."
"Why do you start talking about serious matters right away?" Xi Heng picked up a grape from the fruit plate brought by the palace maid and put it into his lips: "Don't rush me. I have only been the emperor for less than ten minutes. I haven't enjoyed anything yet. I have been wandering outside the capital for my whole life. Can't I enjoy myself first?"
"The situation in the territory of Great Zhao is grim right now! The Yan Meng foreign tribes in the north are eyeing us covetously, the people of Huangmei Mountain in the east have set up their own faction, bandits in the south have already captured Jinshi, and the barbarians in the west who were vassal states of Great Zhao are causing chaos one after another. Your Majesty, please put order out of this chaos!" the eunuch said in a shrill voice like an opera.
"Me?" Xi Heng pointed at himself:
"Are you blind? What can I accomplish? Even if I survive, I will only be a puppet emperor."
She yawned again and waved her hand, saying, "Please find someone else."
Xi Heng just planned to take a rest, so he went directly to the royal study to find some martial arts secrets to use in the next life after loading the file.
As for the political affairs of the Great Zhao? Let's talk about it after she makes sure she can survive.
Inside the hall, the old eunuch and the old imperial teacher looked at each other and nodded slightly.
"The truth is not what your majesty said!" The national teacher stepped forward again: "Now, the person who can correct the court and the country is no one except your majesty!"
What is this guy talking about...
Xi Heng just thought that the other party was old and confused and ignored him.
"I heard it!" The Imperial Master said, "Your Majesty mentioned a poem in the court yesterday. On the surface, every line of the poem describes the scenery, but in fact, every line describes the danger of the country and the people. The future of the Great Zhao is uncertain!"
"I can tell from the poem that Your Majesty is also a scholar of character who is concerned about the country and the people. Today, for the sake of the Great Zhao, I have a favor to ask of you!" He knelt on his knees and slammed his knees with two loud bangs, obviously using all his strength.
"Speak." Seeing that the other party was so serious, Xi Heng thought he should listen.
"This matter is of vital importance. Your Majesty, please follow me!" The old imperial teacher stood up, patted his dusty robe, and walked towards the back door of Taixiao Palace.
The old eunuch followed behind him.
Xi Heng, who was sitting on the dragon throne, looked around, sighed lightly, and slowly followed the pace of the two men.
After passing through the long corridor in the palace and turning two corners, we arrived at the emperor's office in the rear hall of Taixiao Palace.
The old national teacher opened the door, and behind it was not a screen used in ordinary rooms, but a purple wooden shelf covered with all kinds of rare flowers and plants, strange stones, antiques, and gold, silver and jade carvings.
After walking around these priceless rare objects, you will see the magnificent interior of the room.
A huge plaque with a golden dragon border was hung in the center, with the four large and neat characters "govern with wisdom" written on it.
There were densely written royal rules under the plaque. Xi Heng read through them and found them extremely complicated.
On the other wall is a map, which not only depicts Da Zhao, but also other surrounding countries of all sizes.
In the picture, the vast Yanmeng Kingdom in the north stands on the head of the Great Zhao like a heavy object pressing down.
Below the map is a long desk with multiple layers of various files placed on both sides of the desk, and books with blue-gray covers are neatly arranged on the bookshelf on the right.
The upper part of the book titles often contain the word "仙", while the lower part often contains the word "国".
On the table, multiple layers of memorials were piled up like bricks, making people feel overwhelmed just by looking at them.
However, the old imperial teacher did not ask Xi Heng to deal with the memorial. Instead, he walked to a bookcase nearby, took out four volumes of golden imperial edicts from the stack at the bottom, and walked towards Xi Heng with them in his hands.
"What is this?" Xi Heng approached.
"This is the imperial edict left by the previous emperor, which is to abolish the old dynasty and establish a new one, eliminate treacherous officials and villains, and establish capable people!"
The imperial teacher placed the imperial edicts on the desk and unfolded them one by one.
Xi Heng only saw that the words on it were menacing, with murderous and angry intent faintly visible between the iron hook-like strokes.
"...How come the imperial edict to eliminate the treacherous ministers has the word Prime Minister on it?"
"The ones who need to be killed are these three former prime ministers!" The state teacher's tone was filled with anger:
"These three people whitewashed the situation, took bribes and perverted the law, exploited the people, bullied the lower and flattered the higher, framed the loyal and good, wantonly extorted the people's money, imposed heavy taxes, and caused the people to be angry and the Southern Tianliang Uprising. They must be executed by slow slicing."
"Three, all prime ministers?"
"Cai Yuan served as prime minister for nearly twenty years, Li Shimei was conferred the title five years ago and is still prime minister now, and Wang Xiangfu served as prime minister for three years." The old eunuch at the side explained in a low voice.
"You want them to die?"
"For the sake of the people of the world, these three treacherous ministers must be executed!" The national teacher said, "The late emperor had already drafted these three imperial edicts a month ago and was ready to implement them slowly. Unfortunately, the late emperor passed away and did not have the opportunity to pass them down. Now, the opportunity has come!"
"At this moment?"
"It's at this very moment!"
"..." Xi Heng felt as if he had been running towards death since he arrived at the palace.
This ill-intentioned national teacher wanted her to settle accounts with the prime minister, who was the most powerful person at the top. Even if she succeeded, she would inevitably suffer unimaginable revenge in the future.
"You not only want them to die, you also want me to die." Xi Heng complained.
"I will do my best to protect Your Majesty!" said the eunuch on the other side.
"Protect me? What is your martial arts level?
"I used to be a Hua Jin warrior, but I fell to a lower level due to a failure in my skills. Now I have mastered the An Jin realm." said the old eunuch.
"I feel like the Dark Power is not strong enough..." Xi Heng shook his head and said, "Come to think of it, I don't even know your name."
"Your Majesty, just call me Xiao Gaozi."
"Then let's call him Lao Gaozi." Xi Heng waved his hand casually, then turned back to look at the three imperial edicts that had been unfolded on the table, his thoughts flowing.
"Hmm..." She lowered her head and pondered for a long time, then glanced at the two old men beside her: "With only eunuchs, priests, and me, a nominal emperor, can such a big thing succeed?"
The Imperial Master nodded and said, "Ma Yi, the commander of the 3,000 Imperial City Guards, knows about this and has agreed to it. The Imperial City Guards are your Majesty's personal troops and are loyal to you."
"Are you sure they won't turn against us at the last minute?" Xi Heng asked.
"Commander Ma Yi and I have been good friends since entering the palace. He was once favored by the late emperor and swore to be loyal to the royal family."
"He is loyal to the royal family. If other princes and princesses get involved in this, who will he be loyal to?"
After hearing this, the old eunuch hesitated for a while and said, "Most of the other princes have disappeared. Now there are only two princes in the palace, one is three years old and the other is five years old."
"Huh?" Xi Heng vaguely understood why he could successfully complete the coronation ceremony, and asked again: "What about the princess? I remember there was a girl named Chu Xiao, who was quite a bit older than me."
"There are only two princesses left in the palace, but Princess Chuxiao spends all day playing with flowers, birds, calligraphy and painting, and has never seriously studied government affairs, while the other one... is still in the arms of the Fourth Princess."
