Ashes to Crown

Chapter 202: Chapter 30: Palace Banquet, Part 2

Chu Zhao said with a smile, ”Of course we will. When the time comes, perhaps we should also name a female champion and grant her titles and promotions?”

The young ladies in the hall erupted into a clamor upon hearing this.

Qi Leyun even jumped to her feet. ”Yes, yes!” she cried, ignoring her mother, who was pinching her leg from the side.

The ladies could only watch with helpless smiles, not daring to intervene. Besides, they, too, felt a stir of excitement. ’If a girl from our family could truly be named champion in the Imperial Palace Hall, it would bring immense honor to our clan.’

Amidst the talk and laughter, Eunuch Qi entered with a smile.

”Lady,” he said with a smile. ”His Majesty’s audience is concluding. He requests that you join him.”

The Empress was hosting her banquet, while the Emperor was in the front hall receiving high officials and members of the Aristocratic Families. At these words, the hall fell silent. The ladies were about to kowtow and take their leave when they saw Chu Zhao stand up.

”In that case, ladies, you shall all accompany me to see His Majesty.”

By the time the ladies-in-waiting followed Chu Zhao to the front hall, word had already arrived. The area to the right had been cleared to make room for the women.

The men and women stood on opposite sides, watching as Chu Zhao slowly made her way to the front.

The child, dressed in the Emperor’s ceremonial robes, sat upon the Dragon Throne. He watched the young woman approach and desperately wanted to stand and greet her, but a soft cough from Deng Yi, seated just below the dais, stopped him. He could only wait for Chu Zhao to draw near.

Chu Zhao first paid her respects to the Emperor. Once he bade her rise, she stepped forward, took the hand the boy could no longer resist reaching out, and sat down beside him.

The front hall was far more imposing than the rear hall. Seated high above, the small figures of the Emperor and the Empress were too august to be looked at directly. The men and women in the hall all bowed and kowtowed in unison.

”Long live His Majesty, for ten thousand years! Long live the Empress, for a thousand years!”

The earlier coronation and investiture ceremony had been a proclamation to Heaven and Earth; this banquet was their formal debut before the court and society.

The child Emperor and the Empress, that daughter of the Chu Family, were no longer just names in conversation or words in an imperial edict. They were here, living and breathing, right before their eyes.

The court saw with their own eyes their faces and expressions, felt their youthful energy, and also sensed the majestic authority of the imperial house.

As it was still a period of mourning, there was no wine, no song or dance, and no music. The banquet concluded shortly after dusk.

The Xie family had no female relatives in the Capital City, so Mr. Xie and Xie Yanfang had only attended the Emperor’s reception.

No one had expected Chu Zhao to bring the ladies over. Normally, when the Empress hosted a banquet, the Emperor was not required to appear. Of course, he could choose to, as the late Emperor had done when he doted on a certain Imperial Concubine and wanted to lend her his support. Even then, however, it was always the late Emperor who visited the Concubine’s palace.

”Hosting a banquet in the rear halls is one thing, but why did she have to bring that crowd of women to the front hall?” Mr. Xie grumbled from his seat in the carriage, his brow furrowed in displeasure.

Imperial Street was crowded with carriages and pedestrians. Even the Xie family’s procession had to slow down, the carriage proceeding at a crawl.

Xie Yanfang, who was sitting at an angle reading a scroll, looked up with a small smile. ”Because she needs everyone to see the Empress standing beside the Emperor. It projects a much greater sense of authority.”

Mr. Xie immediately scoffed. ”I knew it—”

Before he could finish, Xie Yanfang set down his scroll and cut him off. ”We should all understand this by now. The two of them are young and must rely on one another. Whatever one does for their own benefit also helps the other.”

Mr. Xie was taken aback for a moment. ”Yanfang,” he said, resigned, ”you certainly are protective of Miss Chu.”

’He won’t even let me say a single ill word about her.’

Xie Yanfang smiled. ”She saved Yu’s life, and she saved the life of the Xie family. That makes her my savior and my kin. Seventh Uncle, you know how I treat my saviors and my kin, don’t you?”

Mr. Xie gave a small laugh. ”How you treat a savior, I can’t really say. It’s always been others who are indebted to you. I’ve never seen you be the one in someone’s debt.”

’How could the Third Young Master Xie ever need anyone’s help? He’s always the one solving problems for others, leaving them in his debt. And of course, those debts are always collected.’

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily.

Mr. Xie didn’t let him speak, continuing, ”But I know how you treat your kin. You’re protective, tolerant, caring—I understand all that.” He shook his head. ”I also understand the points you’ve made. But whenever I think about how that woman became the Empress, I can’t help but get furious. She should have at least consulted the Xie family, shouldn’t she?”

Xie Yanfang just smiled and shook his head. ”She didn’t need to.”

Mr. Xie’s brows shot up. ”What do you mean she didn’t need to? She’s not the Emperor!”

Only the Emperor himself could arrange a marriage for Xiao Yu without consulting the Xie family. Even the Crown Prince would have been obligated to ask.

Xie Yanfang smiled. ”Of course she can’t be compared to the Emperor. But what about Deng Yi?”

’What about Deng Yi?’ Mr. Xie paused, momentarily confused.

”If it were Deng Yi arranging a marriage for Yu, would he have consulted us?” Xie Yanfang asked with a smile.

’That son of a bitch Deng Yi! Of course he wouldn’t!’ Mr. Xie gritted his teeth. ”He wouldn’t just *not* consult us.”