Jinghong Tower

At this moment, the sound of whips was heard, and the officials who were still whispering immediately quieted down. Not far away, a strong voice came: "The emperor is coming to worship heaven and earth."

There was silence in the square. Everyone saw the dragon chariot coming towards them. The woman wearing a crown and a dragon robe sat on it. She had a calm expression and a firm and distant gaze.

The man guarding one side of the dragon chariot was wearing a red flying fish suit, with an embroidered spring sword hanging from his waist. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. He just glanced over here, and everyone felt a chill down their spine, as if a knife was scraping across their bodies.

The chief eunuch Yuan Xiaodong shouted, "Kneel!"

Everyone bowed their heads, lifted their robes and knelt down. The dragon chariot slowly passed in front of them. They could hear the sound of orderly footsteps, but they did not dare to look up.

The footsteps gradually faded away, and Yuan Xiaodong's voice sounded again: "Get up!"

Everyone stood up and walked towards the altar under the leadership of Feng Xieying and He Xiulong.

This altar was built under the supervision of He Jinghong before Zhou Chi ascended the throne.

The blueprint of the altar was drawn by He Jinghong himself. At that time, He Jinghong once said to himself with a smile: "If this altar is not burned down by war, there may be no Temple of Heaven in the future."

He Jinghong never imagined that in the past, she would stand in front of the altar that she had built with her own hands in her previous life, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth to show that she was destined to be there.

According to the rules, after the new emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, he had to go to the Taimiao to worship his ancestors. Every emperor did the same. Founding emperors like Zhou Chi would build the Taimiao in the capital before ascending the throne to worship the ancestors of the Zhou family.

According to He Ran, she wanted to cancel this part.

But Feng Xieying argued with her and listed to her the dangers that would result from doing so.

Yes, harm.

The emperor's every move has far-reaching consequences.

If the emperor starts by not recognizing and respecting his ancestors, then officials and common people will follow suit.

Worried that she would insist on her own way, Feng Xieying invited Lao Guanghuai. In fact, he was worrying too much. Although He Ran had a clear attitude, she was not incapable of adapting.

She was 80% sure that this body was the daughter of Master He and Mrs. Lao. Master He abandoned his own daughter on the snow. Fortunately or unfortunately, the little baby girl did not freeze to death, but was picked up by someone and later trained to be a killer. She started killing people at the age of eight or nine and was silenced by Prince Jin when she was fourteen.

He Ran had no good feelings towards the He family of Zhending. As for the original owner, the so-called grace of life was only for the original owner's mother, Lao Shi. As for the biological father, Mr. He, the moment he abandoned the original owner, there was only mortal hatred between the original owner and him, and no grace of life.

However, as an emperor, He Ran could not abandon the He family, so even if Lao Guanghuai did not show up, He Ran would still agree to worship his ancestors.

She had her own ideas, so she handed the matter over to He Zongqun.

Although He Zongqun was only a member of the He family's side branch, his achievements and the heights he would reach in the future were beyond the reach of all the He family's ancestors combined.

Just before He Zongqun returned to Zhending, the elders of the He family had already opened an ancestral hall and adopted He Zongqun's father, who had died many years ago, under the name of the old grandfather of the legitimate wife. In this way, He Zongqun's family became the legitimate branch.

After hearing this, He Zongqun was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

He Zongqun asked people to search everywhere and finally found an old man named He Zhiyi.

The old man was over 60 years old. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 18. Not long after that, he became disabled because of saving someone. He never married. Over the years, he lived on the five acres of land in his family, copying books and writing letters. He never asked his relatives for money, but even so, some people in the clan still had their eyes on him.

He was disabled and could not farm, so he had rented the land to relatives over the years. As time went by, the relatives thought the five acres of land were their own and stopped paying the rent.

Now seeing that He Zhiyi is old, they are worried that after his death, the five acres of land and the three tiled houses where He Zhiyi lives will be taken away by the clan, so they use both soft and hard tactics to force him to adopt one of their grandsons.

Old man He Zhiyi had long seen through the ruthless nature of this family and was determined not to adopt the child, so the family came to their house every few days to make trouble.

He Zongqun presented He Zhiyi's information to He Ran. After reading it, He Ran nodded and said, "It must be him."

It was precisely because of He Zongqun's own precedent that the elders knew what to do immediately after receiving his hint.

Old Master He had passed away for many years, and He Zongqun told them that when Old Madam He arrived in Nanjing, she remarried, taking Mr. He San and his son with her. This was absolutely true. He Zongqun brought the marriage certificate of Old Man Yu and Old Madam He, and Mr. He San's son He Shuquan even changed his surname to Old Man Yu and changed his name to Yu Quan.

Hearing this, the elders of the He family were ashamed and angry. Widows in this dynasty could remarry, and Old Madam He could remarry, but they could not bypass the clan and remarry with their children and grandchildren. They even had to change their grandchildren's surnames. This was a humiliation to the He family.

The elders of the He family opened the ancestral hall again and deleted Old Madam He, as well as Mr. He San and his son from the family tree. Mr. He Da was an official and had disappeared on his way to take up his post, so he could not be deleted along with them.

The clan elders made the decision on behalf of Mr. He and adopted He Ran and He Shuqiao under the name of He Zhiyi.

When He Zongqun returned to Zhending this time, in addition to bringing the marriage certificate of Old Man Yu and Old Madam He, he also brought the divorce letter written by Lao Guanghuai for his daughter who had passed away many years ago.

This divorce agreement was signed and sealed by the elders of the He family and then sent to the government office for filing. From then on, the He and Lao families no longer had any in-law relationship.

As a result, the only person under Mr. He's name was the deceased He Shuming.

There are no daughters' names in the family tree of the Zhending He family. He Ran is the only one, and a separate page is given to her. Fortunately, He Shuting doesn't know about this yet. If she knew that He Ran could be on the family tree but she couldn't, she would probably be furious.

And the so-called fake daughter He Shuyuan is certainly not on the family tree.

Lao Guanghuai's two sons also came and moved Lao's grave. Lao and Mr. He finally reconciled in the afterlife, and Lao's coffin was escorted back to Beijing.

Therefore, He Ran is still the daughter of the Zhending He family, but she has no relationship with the branch of Master He. She and He Shuqiao are now the children of He Zhongyi.

He Ran could not go back, but He Shuqiao could. After escorting Wu Guochang back to Beijing, he went to Zhending and kowtowed to He Zhongyi to acknowledge his relationship with him.

It is said that the relative who was bent on exterminating the family, upon learning that He Zhongyi had an adopted son, came with a dozen people, intending to cause trouble. However, before they entered the house, they saw soldiers standing outside. Upon asking, they learned that the adopted son was actually an officer in the army.

Relying on the fact that he also had the surname He, the relative shamelessly approached and tried to say a few sarcastic words, but was thrown out directly. Now, their family could not even step into the threshold of the lonely old man's house.

Without them having to ask, someone told them that the lonely old man was now very powerful. Not only did the elders of the clan come to ask about his well-being, but even the officials came to visit him. But it was said that this situation would not last long because he was going to Beijing. As for the five acres of land and the three large blue brick and tile houses, don't think about them. Even if he doesn't want them, he will never let you get a bargain.

Therefore, when He Ran offered sacrifices to her ancestors today, she was still offering sacrifices to the ancestors of the He family, but it had nothing to do with the branch of Mr. He. He Zhiyi was still alive, and a hundred years later, the tablet of this old man would be enshrined in the Taimiao.

Now, in addition to the three generations of ancestors of He Zhiyi, there is also the tablet of the Lao family in the Taimiao.

Although Mrs. Lao was no longer a wife of the He family, she was still He Ran's biological mother. Before He Ran reburied her, she named her Madam Jingci.

At this moment, He Ran stood in front of the tablet of Madam Jingci and worshipped sincerely. Madam Jingci was the biological mother of her original body. The Lao Guanghuai family truly treated He Ran as their own granddaughter. In the court, the Lao family was even more of a meritorious minister.

After offering sacrifices to the ancestors, He Ran once again mounted the dragon chariot and returned to the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the coronation ceremony officially began.

Under Zhong Yi's protection, she stepped down from the dragon chariot and walked up the steps. She kept moving forward, climbing higher and higher, and walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, sitting on the lofty dragon throne.

Amid the unanimous congratulations of all civil and military officials, He Ran ascended the throne as emperor, named the country Cheng, and the reign title Taiping.

He Ran likes these two words very much. They are simple, but have good meaning.

But it is only the end of April now, and the official change of era name will not take place until the first day of the first lunar month next year.

Old man He Zhiyi was also conferred the title of Marquis of Fu'an when He Ran ascended the throne.

The founding emperors of all dynasties would posthumously confer the title of emperor on their ancestors, but He Ran did not. This time Feng Xieying did not preach. He Ran conferred the title of Marquis of Fu'an on He Zhiyi, but only for one generation. As the heir, He Shuqiao could not inherit the title. He Shuqiao's future lay in his military exploits.

Among the officials who came to watch the ceremony, there was an eye-catching woman. She was Nong Liuniang, who was visiting Beijing for the first time.

After the coronation ceremony, He Ran summoned Nong Liuniang alone. The two had known each other for many years, but this was the first time they met.

Nong Liuniang also accepted the official position given to her by He Ran. She was still the King of Dong, but also a third-rank official of the Dacheng Dynasty.

In addition to Nong Liuniang, He Ran also summoned Wu Guochang.

Wu Guochang had returned to Beijing for some time. He Ran asked someone to find the Wu family and invite an elderly couple of high moral character to come to Beijing to take on the responsibility of raising and educating Wu Guochang.

Now he is no longer the King of Chang'an, but just Young Master Wu.

The five-year-old Master Wu adapted to the new environment very quickly. When he was in Longxi, his health had not been very good and he suffered from minor illnesses frequently. Perhaps the climate in the capital was more suitable for him. After coming to the capital, he not only stopped getting sick, but also gained a lot of weight.

When He Ran saw him, his little face was chubby and rosy, and he was bowing properly, imitating the adults. When He Ran asked him questions, he answered in a childish voice, and he was not as stupid as the legend said.

Obviously, this is just an ordinary child. As long as he is not measured by the standards of an emperor, he is a normal child.

In fact, most children are like this. There is only one genius among millions.

He Ran rewarded him with a set of four treasures of the study and encouraged him to study hard and make progress every day so that he could serve the country when he grew up.

A few years later, Wu Guochang passed the examination to become a scholar, but he never passed the examination to become a juren. Fortunately, his family was wealthy, so Wu Guochang simply lay down his hands and opened a private school, enrolling a dozen students every year. He did not inherit his ancestral business and become a military general, nor did he achieve much, but he did not learn bad things, nor did he go to extremes. He taught people, had children, and enjoyed the peace and prosperity leisurely and contentedly.

After the coronation ceremony, He Ran's coronation edict was published in the morning newspaper and spread throughout the world a month later.

In a small town far in the southwest, it started raining heavily again. Zhou Cangyue was soaked like a drowned rat. He ran back to the tent, but saw several personal soldiers holding pots and pans to catch the rain. The tent was too old and there were many leaks.

Zhou Cangyue carefully took out an oilcloth bag from his arms. He was wet all over, but the things inside the oilcloth bag were dry, without even a drop of water.

It was a morning paper, dated April 29th.

And now it is May 29th, a whole month ago.

There is no way. We have already left Aoki, but it is still very far away from the capital.

People in the small town had never heard of the morning paper, and there were not many literate people here. This morning paper was brought back from Guidi by the only scholar in the town.

In fact, at the scholar's house, Zhou Cangyue had already read the contents of the morning newspaper, and pointed to the enthronement edict in the morning newspaper and said to the scholar, "How do you know that I know the emperor?"

Scholar
Now, Zhou Cangyue sat in the leaky tent, listening to the tinkling sound of rain falling into pots and pans, and reading the edict word by word.

After making sure that he had memorized it by heart, he called all the clerks in the army and generously handed them the newspaper, asking them to copy hundreds of copies of the edict and send them to the army.

At this time, the white dog came in and asked, "There was no emperor before. No, it was the same whether there was an emperor or not. But now it is different. Now there is a real emperor. What should we do?"

Zhou Cangyue: "What do we have to do with you?"

White Dog: "We are the Huwei Army, we are the Huwei Army, not the Ran Army. Look at the Chang'an Army, Ganzhou Army, and Zhuanglang Army. They have all changed their flags and are now called the Ran Army. Looking around the world, there is no one named Ran Army, except the bandits and us."

Zhou Cangyue thought about it and agreed, but there was no rush.

"Don't worry about these things for now. When the rain stops tomorrow, we should hurry up and wipe out the remnants of the Precious Elephant King. This is the most important thing."

In the blink of an eye, a month passed and the Huwei Army had left that small town and went to another small town. Another month later, they arrived at a larger city, and Zhou Cangyue finally received a letter from the capital.

There were three letters in total, all written to him by He Ran. The earliest one was nine months ago. During these nine months, He Ran wrote him a letter every three or four months. Unfortunately, these letters were not delivered to him in the first place.

The third letter He Ran wrote to him was dated April 28th.

On the night after the coronation ceremony, He Ran wrote this letter to him under the lamp.

The letter was very short, only three lines.

"I'm the emperor!"

"Would you like to come to Beijing?"

"I'll buy you a drink."

Zhou Cangyue looked at the letter. There were only fifteen words in it, but each word was like a small hammer, hammering on his heart.

Zhou Cangyue sat there for a long time, holding his heart in his hands. Suddenly, he jumped up from his chair: "Prepare the horses, prepare the horses, I want to go to the capital!"

When Zhou Cangyue rode out of the city, the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared. There was a group of ragged people on the roadside.

Zhou Cangyue pulled the reins and asked, "Leaving the city so early, where are you going?"

The old man who was the leader of the people said with a smile: "General, now that there is no war, we are going back home to farm."

Zhou Cangyue waved to them and continued riding forward. Not long after he went, he met another group of people, who were dragging their children, the elderly and the young. Although they were dressed in rags, there was light in their eyes and smiles on their faces. They were also going home. Because of the war, they had moved to many places and now they could finally go home.

"General, now that the war is over, are you going home?"

Zhou Cangyue laughed loudly and said, "I'm going to the capital to meet an important person."

At this time, the sun is shining and the breeze is not dry.

(End of text) (End of chapter)