Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Chapter 228 The Empress Ceremony

Time quickly came to the day of the coronation ceremony, and the entire palace was immersed in a solemn atmosphere.

A large altar stood in the center of the palace, with a golden censer on it, from which wisps of incense smoke rose.

At this moment, the civil and military officials had already arrived at the street between the palace and the imperial city, and lined up neatly on both sides of the street according to their official rank and grade.

Dressed in court attire, their faces solemn, they quietly awaited this historic moment.

Before the sky had fully brightened, at the Prime Minister's command, the officials filed in, slowly entering the palace from the left and right sides. They moved with steady steps and in an orderly manner, taking their places on either side of the Taiji Hall.

As the eastern sky gradually turned a pale white, a ray of sunlight shone down on the earth, and an exquisitely decorated chariot slowly drove into everyone's view.

This chariot was specially prepared for the Queen's grand ceremony. Its body was made of precious wood and carved with exquisite patterns; the carriage curtains were made of the finest silk and inlaid with gemstones, which shone brightly in the sunlight.

The carriage curtains were particularly ingenious, embroidered with various auspicious flowers, all lifelike.

Just then, a burst of rousing drum music rang out, and Xue Huaiyu's imperial palanquin, escorted by numerous imperial guards, slowly arrived in front of the Taiji Hall.

Wearing the imperial robes symbolizing supreme imperial power, Xue Huaiyu stepped down from the imperial palanquin, ascended the jade steps, and then sat steadily on the throne.

Immediately afterwards, the master of ceremonies loudly proclaimed the commands for the obeisance. Civil and military officials alike, with their long sleeves billowing, bowed in unison towards the throne.

After the worship ceremony ended, the master of ceremonies cleared his throat again and announced the decree to establish an empress.

With all the civil and military officials as witnesses, Chen Xianlin finally ascended to the throne of Empress and became the head of the six palaces.

Xue Huaiyu stepped forward and took Chen Xianlin's hand. The two walked side by side up the jade steps that were as white as jade. Then Xue Huaiyu whispered gently, "You have finally become my empress!"

Chen Xianlin smiled sweetly, like a spring flower in bloom, and softly replied, "Yes! Finally!"

But the truth is clear to both of them: Xue Huaiyu originally intended to make Lin Wanwan his empress, but unfortunately the Lin family ran into trouble, leaving only Chen Xianlin. If things dragged on any longer, it was hard to guarantee that the Chen family wouldn't break off relations, and Xue Huaiyu dared not gamble.

Standing beside Xue Huaiyu, Chen Xianlin naturally understood Xue Huaiyu's true thoughts perfectly.

Chen Xianlin knew the man's character well, and she also knew that her current status was entirely due to the Chen family and the Pei family behind her. Now, the only ones who could stand up to the Prime Minister were the Chen family, and Xue Huaiyu would not dare to easily eliminate them.

Now, without realizing it, the only leading official in the imperial faction is the Chen family. Chen Xianlin doesn't believe that the Prime Minister wasn't behind this, but so what?

Now, Chen Xianlin no longer cares whether Xue Huaiyu can maintain his position. It's much better for Xue Huaiyu to continue being his puppet emperor while she becomes an empress with real power. After all, she has the resources to confront the Prime Minister's Mansion, while Xue Huaiyu has nothing without the Chen family.

Having spent years in the palace, Chen Xianlin had come to a realization: rather than relying on Xue Huaiyu to hand over power to her, it was better to fight for it herself, just like now, when she had secured the position of Empress.

Thinking of this, Chen Xianlin couldn't help but reveal an uncontainable joy on her face. For so many years, she had been waiting for this moment to arrive, and now she had finally achieved her wish and become the Empress.

At this moment, dark clouds began to gather outside the Taiji Hall, blocking out the sun and making the whole sky gray, as if foreshadowing an important event.

Zheng Luoqi stood quietly below the stage, his gaze fixed on Xue Huaiyu and Chen Xianlin, who were interacting on stage. The two were chatting and laughing, seemingly oblivious to the strange things happening around them.

Zheng Luoqi narrowed her eyes slightly, raised her head without making a sound, glanced at the sky outside, and silently calculated the time.

Zheng Luoqi thought to herself, "Hmm, it's about time. It's time to make my move. Pei Wenyu, you better not disappoint me this time!" With that thought, Zheng Luoqi's eyes became even more mocking.

At this point, Xue Huaiyu and Chen Xianlin had finished their exchange on stage and were preparing to go to Fengxian Temple to pay respects to their ancestors.

Fengxian Temple is where the imperial family of all dynasties worshipped the ancestral tablets. It was also an important place for the royal family and the court. Fengxian Temple was usually guarded by special guards to prevent others from entering the temple and disturbing the tranquility of the ancestral tablets.

Just then, a flustered eunuch suddenly came running from a distance. He jogged up to the imperial guards at the palace gate and whispered a few words to them.

The guards' previously composed expressions instantly turned serious, and a fine layer of sweat even appeared on their foreheads.

The imperial guard dared not delay and quickly stepped forward, found Eunuch Zhang beside the emperor, and reported the news he had just heard to him in detail.

At first, Eunuch Zhang didn't take it seriously, but after hearing the whole story, his expression suddenly changed, and he was so shocked that he almost cried out.

However, Eunuch Zhang quickly regained his composure. He frowned and said angrily in a low voice, "Hurry up and put out the fire! Send more people over! While the fire is still small, don't let it spread to other palaces. We absolutely cannot let this accident affect the Empress's investiture ceremony! If anything goes wrong, you will all lose your heads!"

"For no reason, a fire could break out in the harem. Who knows who might be trying to ruin this investiture ceremony!"

Upon hearing this, the imperial guard nodded repeatedly as if granted a pardon, then turned and hurriedly left to join the firefighting team.

At this moment, Zheng Luoqi looked up and met He Jinyu's gaze. A slight smile appeared on her lips. He Jinyu understood and immediately retreated quietly.

A fire suddenly broke out inside the palace, and the flames spread rapidly, threatening to spiral out of control. Seeing this, the Imperial Guards had no choice but to urgently dispatch a portion of their forces to fight the fire and provide assistance.

The guards were slightly more lax than usual at this moment, but it would not be easy to succeed.

Zheng Luoqi looked up and saw that white smoke had begun to rise from a certain place in the palace. The fire was not large and there was not much white smoke. It would not be noticed unless you looked carefully. Zheng Luoqi couldn't help but sigh in her heart: "Consort Jiang chose a really good position. If this position were a little forward, it would affect the investiture ceremony. If it were a little backward, it might not attract the attention of others!"

Zheng Luoqi stood quietly in place, her gaze shifting to the receding figures of Xue Huaiyu, Chen Xianlin, and the others. She murmured unconsciously, "In the end... she still became Empress!"

Just then, Zheng Yuxiang, who was standing nearby, keenly noticed his daughter's unusual behavior. He followed Zheng Luoqi's gaze and saw the backs of Xue Huaiyu and his group, who were almost disappearing into the distance. So he asked, "What are you looking at?"

Upon hearing her father's question, Zheng Luoqi was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained her composure and said with a faint smile, "It's nothing, Father. I'm just... just a little curious, curious about what Her Majesty the Empress will do?"

Zheng Yuxiang could naturally see what Zheng Luoqi was thinking, and said, "Everything will be clear tonight, let's go!"

Zheng Luoqi nodded and replied, "Yes, Father is right!" After saying that, the father and daughter turned around and left together, their figures quickly disappearing around the street corner.