The coronation ceremony ended. As per tradition, three days of holiday were given. The civil and military officials filed out one after another. Soon, only Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu remained in the main hall of Weiyang Hall.
“How did I perform just now?” Qin Yu asked Luo Shangyu urgently.
“Hmm, very dignified, very domineering.” Luo Shangyu said as she walked to Qin Yu’s side, gently patting her head in encouragement.
“That’s good…” Qin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Her biggest worry was that she would lose her composure during the coronation and fail to display the posture befitting an emperor.
She relaxed and held up the imperial jade seal, examining it closely.
The seal was made of flawless jade, about eight centimeters long, six centimeters wide, and four centimeters high. On top was a lifelike golden dragon, though its material was not immediately discernible.
On the underside of the seal were engraved eight large characters: “Received Mandate from Heaven, May It Last Forever and Ever.” The strokes were vigorous and powerful.
Qin Yu infused a slight amount of magic into the seal. Suddenly, it lit up, becoming clear and transparent, emitting dazzling light while releasing an endless imperial pressure.
The sudden reaction startled Qin Yu, and she quickly withdrew her magic.
‘So this is… the imperial pressure?’ Qin Yu thought, placing the seal on the desk in front of her.
“The imperial court is on holiday for these days. How should we handle the documents?” Luo Shangyu sat beside her and asked.
“Oh, that…” Qin Yu appeared completely unconcerned. “There will always be someone on duty in the Grand Secretariat. Even if the number is small, it should be more than enough to handle the document work.”
“Let’s go take a look at the Rear Palace. I want to see how we can change the layout. I’m not particularly satisfied with the current layout of the Rear Palace.” Qin Yu said, taking Luo Shangyu’s hand and heading toward the Rear Palace.
As the imperial palace of the Chengji Empire, Changle Palace had gone through nearly ten thousand years of history, boasting an extremely grand scale. The Rear Palace, as the main residence of the emperor, consisted of building after building, with winding corridors and overlapping covered walkways spanning between the palaces, countless in number.
Although this was not Qin Yu’s first time in the Rear Palace, this time her identity as the ruler made her experience completely different. Walking into the palace, all traces of Qin Ling inside had been removed, and the rooms had been carefully cleaned, appearing as good as new. At the same time, she was surprised to find that many of the decorations and furniture were identical to those in her East Palace, obviously specially arranged for her.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu entered the bedroom. All the decorations in the bedroom were identical to those in Qin Yu’s current bedroom, only slightly larger in scale with more space.
At that moment, a person came to Qin Yu from a corner of the palace, sweating profusely: “Long live Your Majesty!”
Qin Yu turned to look and saw a middle-aged man with an honest look. Despite the cold winter, he was wearing only a thin garment, but his face was covered in sweat.
“You are…” Qin Yu thought carefully but couldn’t immediately recognize the man.
“Your humble servant is the Manager of Internal Affairs…”
“Ah!” Hearing that, Qin Yu suddenly remembered him. “You are Manager Zhang, right?”
“That’s right.” Manager Zhang was secretly delighted that Qin Yu could call out his surname, even if only the surname.
“I have specially arranged maids to renovate the Rear Palace and have added furniture modeled after the East Palace. May I ask if you are satisfied?”
“I am very satisfied.” Qin Yu nodded and patted Manager Zhang on the back to encourage him.
Manager Zhang gained great motivation and bowed deeply to Qin Yu. “Thank you for your recognition, Your Majesty. I will continue directing the work!”
Just as Qin Yu was holding Luo Shangyu’s hand and leading her along the corridors of the Rear Palace, admiring the magnificent architecture, a young eunuch ran to their side.
“Your Majesty,” the young eunuch bowed and said, “Murong Xue, Master of the Lingyan Pavilion, requests an audience.”
The Rear Palace was an important imperial residence. Except for members of the imperial family, eunuchs, and palace maids, no one else was allowed in without special permission from the emperor. Therefore, Murong Xue could only send a eunuch to deliver the message.
“Tell her that we are waiting for her in the pavilion of the Imperial Garden.” Qin Yu said to the young eunuch.
Watching him go to inform Murong Xue, Qin Yu took Luo Shangyu’s hand and led her toward the Imperial Garden.
“Speaking of which, this is my first time going to the Imperial Garden!” Luo Shangyu’s face was filled with excitement. “I’ve heard that the Imperial Garden has all kinds of rare plants. I’ve always wanted to see it!”
“You’ve lived so long, and you’re still interested in such rare plants?” Qin Yu found it strange. “Shouldn’t you have seen everything by now?”
“Not at all.” Luo Shangyu waved her hand. “There are many rare plants in the world that went extinct long ago. Only a few samples remain that were intentionally preserved.”
“The Imperial Garden of the Chengji Empire began at the time of the empire’s founding, shortly after the end of the Divine King era. Many plants that are now gone were abundant back then. Now they have disappeared.”
As they spoke, the two arrived at the Imperial Garden, located north of Changle Palace.
In the howling cold wind, the garden was filled with a hundred flowers in full bloom, a colorful and vibrant scene. This abnormal scene did not surprise Qin Yu too much. It was a time-attribute magic that made the time of each plant nearly pause, allowing them to turn a brief bloom into almost eternity.
She had long been accustomed to such scenery. Luo Shangyu, though she had heard similar rumors, was still greatly shocked to see a hundred flowers blooming amidst the icy snow.
The two entered the garden and followed the winding path into it. The low green grass brushed against their long hemlines. Before a grand Chinese-style pavilion, they ascended the steps.
Knowing that Qin Yu would be receiving guests here, magic heaters had been placed in the pavilion, and the table was laden with pastries and snacks. A pot of strong tea was steaming on the side. Seeing Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu approach, the maids working nearby hurriedly bowed to them before returning to work.
Luo Shangyu did not sit down immediately. Instead, she stood at the edge of the pavilion, leaning against the railing, carefully observing every plant and tree in the garden. Each plant was like a specimen, frozen at the most beautiful moment of life, displaying nature’s touching posture to Luo Shangyu.
Suddenly, a sound of footsteps pulled Luo Shangyu’s thoughts back. She saw a tall woman with a serious expression walk into the pavilion.
She had silver hair, but with golden streaks mixed in. Some strands were even a gradient of gold and silver. What shocked Luo Shangyu the most were the two golden dragon horns on top of her head and a long, slender tail behind her—unmistakable characteristics of the Dragon Race.
Luo Shangyu turned to look at Qin Yu. Qin Yu actually stood up from her chair.
“So this is the Master of Lingyan Pavilion?” Luo Shangyu quickly came to Qin Yu’s side, ready to greet her together.
Actually, when it came to Lingyan Pavilion, Luo Shangyu didn’t know much about its function. She only knew it was somewhat similar to an imperial mage corps, an organization that operated very mysteriously.
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