webnovelvip Chapter 345 Qin Mu's wedding, Xu Longxiang is about to cry!
Chapter 345 Qin Mu's wedding, Xu Longxiang is about to cry!
At 3:45 AM, at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
As dawn broke and the sky was still a pale white, the white marble square in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple was already packed with people.
The civil and military officials were arranged on both sides according to their rank, wearing purple, scarlet, and blue robes, with distinct colors and an orderly appearance.
No one spoke, no one whispered, and even their breathing was kept to a minimum.
All eyes were fixed on the tightly closed gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, waiting.
The Imperial Ancestral Temple was where emperors of the Qin Dynasty worshipped their ancestors, and it was also the place where the investiture ceremonies were held when emperors of each dynasty got married.
For three hundred years, this ancient building has witnessed the weddings of more than a dozen empresses and countless grand ceremonies marked by the resounding of bells and drums.
But never before has anyone held their breath like today.
Because the empress to be crowned today is the Empress of Liyang.
At the exact hour of Chen (7-9 AM), the gates of the Imperial Ancestral Temple opened.
Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the door, illuminating the enormous bronze incense burner inside the hall with a dazzling golden glow.
Sandalwood incense burned in the incense burner, and wisps of smoke rose, condensing into a pale blue, straight column of smoke in the morning light, reaching all the way to the top of the hall.
Zhou Yan, the Minister of Rites, stood at the entrance of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, holding the bright yellow imperial edict of investiture in his hands. His voice, aged yet resonant, echoed across the square:
"The auspicious time has arrived—please, Your Majesty, enter the temple—"
As soon as he finished speaking, bells and drums rang out in unison.
The bell tolled from the bell tower behind the Imperial Ancestral Temple, deep and resonant, one beat after another, like a heartbeat surging from the earth.
The drumbeats followed closely behind, dense and rapid, like a torrential downpour hitting roof tiles, like a thousand troops marching across a stone bridge.
The bells and drums mingled together, enveloping the entire imperial city in a solemn, awe-inspiring, and breathtaking sound.
All the civil and military officials in the square knelt down.
Knees slammed into the gold bricks with a rhythmic, dull thud, like a field of wheat felled by the wind, row upon row collapsing from front to back.
Their foreheads touched the cold ground; no one looked up, no one dared to look up.
Zhao Qingxue walked out from a side hall next to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
The morning light shone in from behind her, making her slender figure stand out clearly.
She wore her wedding dress, a dark black robe covered by a bright red gauze robe. The collar and cuffs of the robe were embroidered with a pattern of nine phoenixes facing the sun in gold thread. Each phoenix was lifelike, with every feather clearly visible, and they shimmered with a dazzling golden light in the sunlight.
Her skirt trailed on the ground, a full three feet long, and was inlaid with pearls and jade in cloud and ruyi patterns. It swayed gently with her steps, reflecting a rainbow of colors.
She wore a phoenix crown on her head.
That was no ordinary phoenix crown; it was the Nine-Phoenix Crown, passed down through generations of the Li Yang royal family, which only the empress was qualified to wear.
Made of pure gold, it is inlaid with 999 pearls from the East China Sea and 99 rubies. In the center, the phoenix holds a thumb-sized luminous pearl in its beak, which glows with a warm and cool light in the morning light.
The phoenix crown was so heavy that her neck stiffened slightly, but her back remained straight and her head held high, like a plum tree that had been weighed down by wind and snow for too long but had never broken.
She was wearing makeup.
Her eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, her lips like newly parted rouge, and a light blush on her cheeks made her already stunning beauty even more radiant and incomparable.
But there was no emotion in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
There was no joy, no sorrow, no expectation, no fear.
There was only calm, as calm as a frozen lake, where the wind could not stir up a ripple.
She was followed by sixteen female officials, dressed in scarlet palace attire, their steps were synchronized and their postures were dignified.
The leading female official held the rolled-up, bright yellow imperial edict of investiture, which Zhou Yan had just read aloud. Now, she held it in her hands as if it were a fragile, priceless piece of porcelain.
Zhao Qingxue walked to the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and stopped.
She looked up at the open palace door.
The hall was dark, with only the flickering light from the incense burner and a small patch of sunlight seeping in through the crack in the door.
She couldn't see what was inside the hall, only the huge bronze incense burner and the blurry, majestic, and indistinct figure behind it.
She took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold.
The hall was darker than she had imagined.
Sunlight streamed in through the doorway, illuminating only a small area in front of it, while the deeper areas remained a deep, solemn darkness.
Hidden in the shadows are the memorial tablets of emperors from past dynasties, row upon row, line upon line, from the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty to the late emperor. Each tablet bears a name engraved in gold, faintly glowing in the darkness, like open, silent eyes.
Qin Mu stood in front of the incense burner, his back to her.
He wore a dark black imperial robe and a twelve-tasseled crown, with pearl and jade tassels obscuring his face, revealing only his hard jawline and slightly upturned lips.
His back was straight and upright, like a sword that had been repeatedly tempered, standing there silently, as immovable as a mountain.
Zhao Qingxue stopped three steps behind him.
The ladies-in-waiting stood behind her, hands at her sides, without speaking or moving.
The hall was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling of the charcoal burning in the incense burner, so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat.
Zhou Yan emerged from the shadows beside the hall, walked to the incense burner, unrolled another bright yellow edict, and read it aloud.
The sound echoed in the empty hall, each word clear and distinct, like a hammer striking an anvil, again and again.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Empress Zhao Qingxue of Liyang, born into a distinguished family, possesses both virtue and talent, and is gentle and virtuous, a model for all. Now she has entered into a marriage with me, sharing the mandate of Heaven. Therefore, she is hereby conferred the title of Empress and bestowed the name Zhaode. So be it."
After the edict was read aloud, Zhou Yan closed it, held it in both hands, walked up to Zhao Qingxue, and bowed deeply.
Zhao Qingxue knelt on the ground, her bright red gauze robe spread out on the gold bricks, like a flower in full bloom, about to wither.
She reached out and took the imperial edict.
The imperial edict was very light, as light as a feather, but the moment her fingers touched it, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
She held it in her hands, lowered her head, and whispered, "Your Majesty, I obey the decree."
Qin Mu turned around.
The pearl and jade tassels swayed gently in front of his face, making a soft, crisp clinking sound, like icicles breaking or wind chimes being blown by the wind.
He looked at Zhao Qingxue, stretched out his hand, palm down, towards her.
Zhao Qingxue stared at that hand for a long time.
Then she reached out and placed her hand in his palm.
Her hands were cold, her fingertips trembling slightly, like a leaf blown down by the autumn wind, finally finding a place to rest.
Qin Mu closed his hands together, holding her hand in his palm.
The force was not strong, very light, very gentle, yet it was impossible to break free.
He gently pulled her up from the ground.
They stood face to face, no more than a foot apart.
Her phoenix crown almost touched his flat crown. Pearls and jade beads gently collided between the two of them, making a soft, crisp sound, like two worlds colliding, or like two worlds merging.
Zhou Yan's voice rang out again, higher and brighter than before, filled with barely suppressed excitement: "Kneel—"
Qin Mu and Zhao Qingxue turned around at the same time, facing the row of memorial tablets for emperors of past dynasties in the hall, and slowly knelt down.
Their knees hit the ground simultaneously, making a rhythmic, dull thud.
"Bowing to Heaven and Earth—"
"Bowing to the parents twice—"
"Husband and wife bow to each other—"
After bowing three times, Zhou Yan's voice was almost a shout: "The ceremony is complete!"
The bells and drums sounded again.
This time it was louder, faster, and more intense than before.
The sound of the bell traveled from the Imperial Ancestral Temple to the Imperial Palace, from the Imperial Palace to the Imperial City, and from the Imperial City to the entire city.
The sound of drums followed closely behind, like a torrential rain, like thunder, like thousands of troops marching across a stone bridge, like the wind sweeping through the pines of ten thousand valleys across the hills.
Qin Mu held Zhao Qingxue's hand, turned around, and faced the palace gate.
Sunlight streamed in from outside, making her squint slightly.
But she didn't bow her head or back down; she just stood there, holding his hand, gazing at the golden light.
He took a step, and she took a step too.
They walked side by side out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, out of the deep, solemn darkness, and into the warm, bright, and overwhelming light.
Outside the hall, civil and military officials knelt on the ground.
A sea of black people knelt from the entrance of the Imperial Ancestral Temple all the way to the end of the square.
No one looked up, no one spoke.
Qin Mu raised his hand, and Zhao Qingxue's hand was also raised by him.
They interlocked their fingers, raised them into the air, and held them up in front of everyone.
Qin Mu spoke, his voice soft yet penetrating all the noise, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present: "From this day forward, Empress Li Yang shall be my Empress."
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"
The voices of civil and military officials surged like a tide, wave after wave, echoing from the entrance of the Imperial Ancestral Temple to the end of the square, from the end of the square to the palace gate, from the palace gate to the imperial city, and from the imperial city to the entire city.
Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, incense smoke curled upwards from the incense burner.
Xu Longxiang stood in the corner at the very edge of the square, hidden in the shadow of the coiled dragon stone pillar.
His face was expressionless, except for his deep brown eyes, which were fixed on the entrance of the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
She's out!
Zhao Qingxue walked out of the side hall, dressed in her wedding attire, a dark black robe covered with a bright red gauze robe, and wearing a nine-phoenix crown!
She walked slowly and steadily, her back ramrod straight, her face devoid of any emotion.
She walked step by step toward the Imperial Ancestral Temple, toward another man!
Xu Longxiang clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging into his palm!
Blood seeped through his fingers, but he didn't feel it!
He just stared intently at that figure, at that figure he had kept hidden in his heart for many years!
She walked to the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, stopped, looked up at the open gate, and then stepped over the threshold!
Her figure disappeared into the shadows inside the door!
"No--!!"
Xu Longxiang roared inwardly!
The sound made his own internal organs tremble!
But there was no expression on his face at all!
His mouth was tightly closed, and his teeth were grinding together!
He saw her kneeling down!
Her back was bent, and the pearls on her phoenix crown drooped down, sweeping across the ground!
He saw her accept the imperial edict, bow her head, and say, "Your Majesty, I obey!"
The voice was very soft, but every word was like a red-hot iron nail, driving it hard into his heart!
He saw Qin Mu turn around, reach out, and pull her up from the ground!
They stood face to face, no more than a foot apart!
Her phoenix crown almost touched his flat crown!
The pearls and jade beads gently collided between the two, making a soft, tinkling sound—a sound like a dull knife, cutting into his heart again and again!
Then they turned around at the same time, faced the memorial tablets in the hall, and slowly knelt down!
"First bow to heaven and earth—" Their foreheads touched the ground!
"Bowing to our parents again—" They bowed once more!
"Husband and wife bow to each other—" They turned around, faced each other, and bowed down at the same time, their foreheads almost touching!
"The ceremony is complete!!"
Xu Longxiang took a sudden step forward!
That step was big and rapid, like a bolt of lightning!
His knees bent sharply, his whole body like a fully drawn bow, the arrow on the string, the string stretched to its limit!
He's going to rush in!
He wanted to rush into the ancestral temple, reach her, grab her hand, and say to her—Come with me!!!
Those three words rolled wildly in his throat, making his Adam's apple tremble, his lips shake violently, and he almost screamed out loud!
But—he saw Qin Mu's back!
That dark figure stood there silently, like a sword that had been repeatedly tempered, as immovable as a mountain!
That silhouette was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, chilling him to the bone!
His foot suddenly stopped!
It was just half an inch off! Half an inch!
He was only half an inch away from rushing in!
But that half-inch was like an insurmountable chasm, standing between him and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, between him and her, and between him and his lifelong obsession!
His knees straightened up little by little!
His body gradually retracted!
He loosened his fingers one by one, pulling his nails out of his palms, leaving sticky streaks of blood!
We can't go!!!
Don't act impulsively!!!
A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan!
He roared madly in his heart!
The sound was as loud as thunder, so loud that it made his eardrums ache!
He gritted his teeth, his cheeks bulging out, his teeth almost breaking!
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath!
That breath contained the gold bricks she had knelt on, the imperial edicts she had held, and the warmth that flowed from her lips when she lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty, I obey the decree!"
He swallowed that breath hard, swallowing it down his throat, into his chest, and into the deepest part of his heart!
That breath was burning there, like a red-hot charcoal, scalding his internal organs and causing them to spasm!
But he swallowed it!
He had to swallow it!
He opened his eyes!
He gradually suppressed the surging, turbulent waves in his eyes!
It didn't subside! It was forcefully suppressed! Suppressed into his bones! Suppressed into his flesh! Suppressed into an abyss from which he could never escape!
Hold on!!!
Just stay calm!!!
As long as you don't act impulsively!!!
As long as we can wait—there's always a chance!
He also has the North!!!
There are still 300,000 iron cavalry!
And those veteran generals who fought alongside the Xu family for decades!!!
And those brothers who were willing to die for him!!!
Li Yang is gone, but Zhao Qingxue is still here!
She's still in that palace! Still by that man's side!
As long as she's there! As long as he's there! As long as he's alive—there's still a chance!!!
We absolutely cannot let a moment of impulse ruin his years-long plan!
absolute!!!
cannot!!!