What had he been doing all these years? Why hadn't he returned? Did he know about the palace coup on that day?
All these questions swirled in her mind, piece by piece, making her head feel chaotic.
She needed to calm down for a moment.
"Wu Hen, I want to be alone."
"Your subordinate will withdraw first. Your Highness, please be sure to tell your subordinate if anything happens. I will be outside," Wu Hen said.
"Alright, I understand."
She was finally alone in the empty room and could finally think properly.
"Brother, can I invite Sister to my enthronement?" Qi Yu Yuan sat in his chair, gazing at the endless memorials, and asked slowly.
Qi Yu Yuan said, "Of course, she is a concubine of the Qi Emperor and will travel with the Qi Emperor to your enthronement ceremony."
"That's great, I want Sister to see me become the Emperor."
"Why?" Qi Yu Yuan put down the memorial he was holding and asked.
Qi Yu Yuan shook his head, "I don't know, I just thought of it." He reached out and scratched his head, continuing, "Brother, is this wrong?"
Qi Yu Yuan shook his head, "No, Qi Yu Yuan, liking someone is correct."
Qi Yu Yuan's eyes lit up, "Brother, are you saying Qi Yu Yuan likes Sister?"
Qi Yu Yuan nodded, "Why are you so happy?"
Qi Yu Yuan smiled and said, "Because Qi Yu Yuan can also have the right to like someone."
"You will have many rights in the future."
"Many?" Qi Yu Yuan asked.
Qi Yu Yuan nodded, "Many, so many you can't count."
"Brother, I like being this Emperor."
"Why?"
"Because he allows me to like many people," Qi Yu Yuan's bright gaze made it impossible to refute him.
"Your Highness..." someone called from outside the door.
Qi Yu Yuan stood up, placed the memorials on the table, and said to Qi Yu Yuan, "Qi Yu Yuan, look at these yourself first. If there's anything you don't understand, your brother will explain it to you when he returns."
Qi Yu Yuan nodded, "Okay, I'll wait for Brother to come back!"
After Qi Yu Yuan left, Qi Yu Yuan's bright gaze dimmed. He looked at the memorial in his hand, his gaze obscure and unclear.
As the officials of the Ministry of Rites began, the enthronement ceremony commenced.
Xue Xing Yue sat not far away, watching Qi Yu Yuan don the imperial yellow dragon robe. The immaturity that did not belong to him transformed into a facile maturity.
He had grown up.
Although they had not spent much time together, she felt a strange sensation.
The entire ceremony was tedious. By the time it concluded, she felt a soreness in her neck.
She instinctively looked to her side and found that the Prince of Nanping was staring into the distance. The Prince of Nanping was unusually quiet today.
After the enthronement ceremony ended, Qi Shi Yu brought Qi Yu Yuan before the Prince of Nanping. Qi Shi Yu looked at the Prince of Nanping, his gaze shifting slightly before quickly returning to normal. He introduced, "Your Majesty, this is the Prince of Nanping?"
"Prince of Nanping, welcome to Qi Kingdom." Qi Yu Yuan, like a little adult, demonstrated the etiquette of Qi Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind," the Prince of Nanping said faintly.
Fan Wan Bai stepped forward to block Xue Xing Yue's attempt to touch the Prince of Nanping's wrist. Seeing this, she had no choice but to withdraw her hand and say, "Then I, the beautiful concubine, will escort His Majesty to change."
Fan Wan Bai said, "This concubine respectfully obeys the imperial edict of the Imperial Noble Consort."
"Your Majesty, please follow me!" Fan Wan Bai held the Prince of Nanping's arm.
The Prince of Nanping suddenly turned back and glanced at her. His gaze was still somewhat unfamiliar, but it seemed to hold a hint of expectation.
"Wu Hen, follow her," Xue Xing Yue said.
Wu Hen quietly followed. She knew that something must have happened to the Prince of Nanping, otherwise he would not be like this.
She hoped that Wu Hen could gather useful information.
"Sister, do you feel bored?" Qi Yu Yuan brought a pot of wine to Xue Xing Yue's side.
Seeing this, she instinctively reached out to snatch the wine pot from Qi Yu Yuan's hand, saying, "You are still a child, how can you drink alcohol?"
After speaking, she realized she had forgotten something. The current Qi Yu Yuan was no longer the ordinary Qi Yu Yuan she knew.
He was now the ruler of Qi Kingdom, the Qi Emperor who had issued a general amnesty.
Qi Yu Yuan said dejectedly, "Sister, must it be like this? Brother is also like this, he never calls me Qi Yu Yuan anymore. If I had known that becoming Emperor meant being alone, I would never have become one. Brother lied to me, he said I could like many people, but I found that many people no longer like me."
"Your Majesty, why do you say that?" Xue Xing Yue asked.
Qi Yu Yuan bit his lower lip and said, "Before, the eunuchs and maids in the palace used to play with me, but now when they see me, they are either respectful or scared and beg me to spare them. He didn't do anything wrong, and even if he did, it's not a big deal. Knowing one's mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue, but they don't understand at all."
"Your Majesty, you are now in a position of power and cannot understand the suffering of those below you. Think about it, what is the difference between your past situation and theirs now?"
Qi Yu Yuan was startled, then nodded, "I see. I thought it was only them, but I didn't realize I had unknowingly done it myself."
"Your Majesty, as long as you govern diligently and love your people, your people will come to like you."
"They will, Qi Yu Yuan will work hard," Qi Yu Yuan said happily.
"Your Majesty, I will go out for a moment," Xue Xing Yue said.
Although Qi Yu Yuan was reluctant, he still let Xue Xing Yue leave.
"Do you want her to leave?" Qi Shi Yu suddenly asked.
Qi Yu Yuan looked up, his bright eyes flashing, "Sister said that there are no eternal banquets, even the closest people will part ways."
"Your Majesty, do you want her to leave?" Qi Shi Yu asked again.
Qi Yu Yuan shook his head, "No, I don't want Sister to leave me."
"Then, can we not let her leave?" Qi Shi Yu asked.