“Elder Sister?” Bai Qingjue hadn’t seen anything in the small alley and gently called out to Bai Qingyan.

“Let’s return…” Bai Qingyan spoke.

Bai Qingyan bent down and sat inside the carriage. Bai Qingjue, Fu Ruoxi, and Xie Yuchang also mounted their horses with the Imperial Guards.

Sitting inside the carriage, Bai Qingyan closed her tired, swollen eyes, uncertain whether that instant glimpse of A’Yu had been her imagination due to exhaustion during this period.

With Bai Qingjue, Fu Ruoxi, and Xie Yuchang leading troops as escorts ahead, Bai Qingyan’s carriage slowly began to move.

Thinking of that glimpse just now, unwilling to give up, she raised her hand to lift the carriage curtain. Her hand gripping the curtain suddenly tightened.

That figure dressed in Rongdi attire, wearing a mask, stood right there under the clear radiance at the alley entrance. That was clearly… her younger brother A’Yu.

Sourness flooded her eyes. She watched A’Yu’s figure growing more distant, her vision blurred by mist.

This was the closest the two siblings had ever been, yet they could still only gaze at each other from afar, unable to meet, unable to recognize each other.

Only when she could no longer see A’Yu’s figure did she release the curtain… closing her eyes as she sat in the carriage, forcefully suppressing her emotions. She didn’t want to return to the Bai mansion and let her family see that she had been crying.

Her mind was filled with A’Yu’s spirited bearing when he went to war, with A’Yu’s confident smile when he had said he would bring back the most beautiful pigeon blood ruby for her.

How wonderful… A’Yu was still alive, A’Yu… had returned!

Yet she still hoped that her imperial edict proclaimed to the world could bring more Bai family children home, even if… just one more would be good!

The road from the great prison to the Bai mansion was neither short nor long. By the time Bai Qingyan stepped down from the carriage and Chun Tao and Nanny Tong came forward to support her, her emotions had already stabilized.

Bai Qingjue personally escorted her back to Qinghui Courtyard and instructed, “Tomorrow is the enthronement ceremony. Elder Sister must rest well tonight.”

Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Qingjue, who had grown considerably taller, and nodded: “You too, rest early… tomorrow will be taxing.”

On the twentieth day of the sixth month in the first year of Yuanhe, the enthronement ceremony of the Great Zhou’s Empress.

Bai Qingyan had reviewed memorials all night. When dawn barely broke, she dozed for a short while before being roused to change clothes.

Ever since Bai Qingyan had set the twentieth of the sixth month for her enthronement, the palace had begun rushing to complete Bai Qingyan’s coronation robes. Bai Qingyan had been chased by the Weaving Office Director to look at the ceremonial heavy robes they were rushing to complete according to the old Jin dynasty standards. Bai Qingyan had only instructed… that they needn’t be too ornate and complex. With just this one sentence, the Weaving Office Director’s heart was filled with anxiety.

It was Bai Jinse who provided a hint, telling the Weaving Office Director to think about the Bai Family Army’s black sail, white python flag. Only then did the Weaving Office Director have an epiphany and return to rush the completion.

Perhaps because the Jin dynasty’s imperial family had been accustomed to extravagance, the Weaving Office Director used his ingenuity, splitting silver threads into fine strands, twisting every four silver threads with four white threads into one fine strand to weave bright moons on the shoulders of the black robe. He wrapped split gold threads around white threads to embroider dragon patterns and suns.

The light and dark colors were all harmonized by how much gold and silver thread was mixed into the white thread. The stars and mountain patterns on the back… the twelve auspicious chapter patterns appeared plain and unadorned at first glance, but when walking under sunlight… or in candlelight, they would shine brilliantly.

Dong Shi personally came to dress her daughter, arranging Bai Qingyan’s coronation robes properly. Standing under the lamp, looking at her daughter dressed in the emperor’s black robes, her posture upright, the person before her was still her daughter, yet she felt that her daughter wearing this imperial coronation robe… was somehow different.

Perhaps she knew that from today onward… her daughter would not only be her daughter, but also the sovereign of this Great Zhou nation.

Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinzhao, Bai Jinhua, Bai Jinse, and all of Bai Qingyan’s aunts stood to the side, watching Bai Qingyan in her coronation robes with tears in their eyes. They only felt she had become even more majestic, possessing the awesome power of thunderbolts and the strength to topple mountains.

None of them had ever imagined that Bai Qingyan would lead the Bai family to this point today, much less that Bai Qingyan would ascend the throne and become emperor.

They had never expected that Bai Qingyan would personally fulfill the Bai family ancestors’ grand ambition of unifying the realm, rather than… placing such aspirations on the monarchs they served.

With reddened eyes, Dong Shi personally arranged Bai Qingyan’s jade hooks and jade pendants, the large and small double sashes, gently stroking the embroidered patterns on her robes as she said: “The coronation robe’s twelve auspicious chapter patterns: the ornamental insects… represent refined culture; the rice grains… provide nourishment to the people; the water plants… signify noble character; the axes… represent clear judgment of right and wrong; the fire… represents integrity and honesty; the ancestral cups… represent loyalty, righteousness, benevolence, and filial piety; the mountains… represent stability like mountain peaks; the sun, moon, stars, and constellations… represent brightness, naturally illuminating the people of all four directions!”

Her completely red eyes looked at Bai Qingyan: “Mother hopes you… can be a good emperor who benefits all four directions, not failing your grandfather’s, father’s, uncles’, and all the Bai family ancestors’ aspirations to unify the realm! Restore peace to the people and establish tranquility in the mortal world.”

Bai Qingyan looked at Dong Shi and performed a deep bow to her: “I will remember Mother’s words! Your daughter… will be a good emperor who benefits all four directions, will lead Great Zhou… to unify the realm, unwavering in determination… until death.”

Hearing Bai Qingyan’s words, Bai Jinzhao knelt on one knee and cupped her fists toward Bai Qingyan: “Bai Jinzhao swears to follow Elder Sister to the death! To unify the realm… unwavering in determination, until death!”

Unwavering in determination, until death.

This was where their grandfather Bai Weiting’s courtesy name “Buyu” (Unwavering) had originated.

Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinhua, and Bai Jinse also knelt. As Bai family bloodline, from birth… they had known that they would inevitably contribute their efforts to unifying the realm.

Bai Qingyan, wearing the coronation robes, offered sacrifices to Heaven and worshipped at the ancestral temple, kowtowing to all the ancestors.

Wude Gate opened wide. On the city walls, black sail, white python flags fluttered proudly in the wind. Golden-armored, silver-helmeted Imperial Guards formed ranks along both sides of the long street as escorts. Bai Qingjue, Bai Jinzhao, and Bai Jinhua in military dress led at the front, leading nine columns of black-armored heavy cavalry holding high the black sail white python flags, controlling their reins as they advanced in order.

Eight magnificent steeds, black as ink all over, pulled the imperial carriage. Inside the carriage, Bai Qingyan, in coronation robes, sat upright with proper bearing.

The Bai Family Army heavy cavalry led by Bai Qingjue had truly experienced battlefield slaughter, truly bathed in blood on the frontier, returning after countless near-death experiences. The black armor of the Bai Family Army heavy cavalry was far from as bright and gleaming as the Imperial Guards’. Their black armor gleamed with cold light, and the heavy black armor still bore traces of cuts from swords and axes. The swords in the scabbards at their waists already had chips in them, but these were symbols of their glory.

The normally imposing and dignified Imperial Guards, in the presence of the Bai Family Army soldiers who had returned from a hundred battles with their murderous aura, had no presence at all, merely possessing a bright appearance.

Today, Bai Qingyan had Bai Qingjue lead the Bai Family Army as escorts precisely to let the people see… these were the Bai troops who protected the nation and secured the people. They were being protected by such warriors.

The morning’s myriad rays of sunlight burst through the sea of clouds on the eastern horizon, enveloping the entire capital in golden light.

The ancient and imposing Wude Gate opened wide. The glazed tiles on the multi-eaved palace halls gleamed brilliantly in the morning light.

Ceremonial music played, golden drums urged onward, and horns sounded in unison.