Outside the White Jade Palace, the unrest among the people continued.
After such a surprise, the remaining process had changed its flavor.
Once the coronation ceremony was over, the crown prince and the newly crowned crown princess hand in hand step down, leaving a circle of people staring at each other. Her Majesty the Emperor obviously was also shocked, the speech that should have been ten minutes was shortened by Lin Ge into ten sentences, after speaking she also ran away. The reclusive empress dowager Sylph was still sitting in the royal air vehicle covered with white silk on all sides this year, only showing the people a shadow.
When the empress dowager also stepped down, the ceremony became completely boring.
Old Marshal Chen’s face turned black as the bottom of a pot, and under the begging eyes of the ritual officials, he climbed onto the stage to save the scene.
There’s no way, the process that should be gone through still had to be gone through with a stiff scalp. Even if the spectators below have visibly started to look down and brush the Intelligence Network, they have long been too lazy to look here…
****
White Jade Palace, back garden.
Lin Ge lazily sat on the rattan chair, holding the photo of the founding emperor and empress in her arms.
The photo laid peacefully in the gold-edged photo frame carved with roses, and one could tell it’s heavy just by looking at it.
There were footsteps approaching from behind.
Lin Ge didn’t look back, and said with a smile, “You’re here, so slow.”
She was still in her gorgeous dress, still as dazzling as a flower splashed with ink and cinnabar, the lace-stacked skirt trailing behind her, shining brightly.
“I don’t think I’m slow, maybe you’re too casual.”
The chief of the Black Shark Base somehow stood behind the emperor, “Did Your Majesty cry just now?”
“Yes, it was so unexpected, Zhen was scared to tears.”
The female emperor laughed, her red prosthetic eye flashing with light. “Just like Zhen didn’t expect back then, that little rascal knew the truth about the Crystal Nest and could make up his mind so quickly to leave Mingming behind to die.”
“But today he’s pulling this stunt again, oh…would you say he’s a scoundrel or not?”
“…” The chief hesitated for a moment, wanting to speak but stopping, finally sighing slowly without saying anything.
Lin Ge looked at the sky, “But if Kaios could really be manipulated, then he wouldn’t be himself anymore.”
She squinted her eyes and turned back, letting the wind blow her hair, “What is this called…is it the so-called human will that your base believes in?”
“It could also be fate.” The chief said in a calm electronic voice. She slightly turned her face, although her face was covered under an iron mask, it seemed like she was looking at the photo in the female emperor’s arms.
“Just like when the horn of the expedition is about to blow again, they are still standing side by side at the top of the White Jade Palace, and we are watching them.”
Lin Ge’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and her right eye under her eyelashes showed a strange luster.
A few seconds later, she pursed her red lips into a curve. “Is it about to start?”
“The side effects of the third-generation tranquilizer have basically been eliminated, and it can be used by the whole population soon.”
The chief said indifferently. “The fifth experiment of the mecha’s mental manipulation technology was also very successful, I plan to let the Silver Big Dipper in the third fortress try it first.”
Lin Ge raised her eyebrows. “So soon.”
Chief: “It’s only natural. Your Majesty used to forcibly grab a lot of big mecha masters for the base under the guise of conscription.”
Lin Ge waved her hand and laughed with her head down. “No way, wartime state, wartime state.”
The two of them chatted casually again. Lin Ge suddenly straightened up and complained. “But you are also stubborn, do you have to wear such an iron lump every day? Zhen can hardly remember your face and voice.”
As the female emperor spoke, she casually reached out to the side, but her fingertips touched the cold black armor gloves.
The chief indifferently withdrew her hand. “This is not important, Your Majesty.”
“What nonsense.” Lin Ge let out a mournful sigh, raised her hand to mess up her long hair, regardless of the jewelry hair accessories falling to the ground, “For more than fifty years, those two bastards threw this mess to Zhen, and you refused to see Zhen properly…”
Black hair fell from the empress’s fingers, she lowered her head and propped her forehead, her expression was gloomy. “Counting the time, it’s indeed almost the last moment.”
“Sometimes Zhen thinks, Zhen has worked hard to tidy up the empire into what it is now, even in his eyes, Zhen should barely pass, right?”
“But then Zhen thought, can we really win this war?”
Lin Ge said in melancholy, “If we can’t win, what’s the point of all this?”
The chief bent over to pick up the female emperor’s hair accessories and put them on the small table next to her. “You shouldn’t think too much about those.”
“Why?”
“Because you are a genuine fool, Your Majesty.” The chief naturally concluded, “What you don’t understand, it’s more suitable for you to fight with a knife.”
Lin Ge was stunned for two seconds, then she burst into laughter, she started to laugh loudly, patting the armrest of the chair with her hands.
Until tears were also laughed out, the female emperor leaned on the chair and turned her head back, her reddened eyes were wet. “…I missed them.”
The chief stood still, she was like a hard black mountain. “I know, Your Majesty.”
“I really miss…” Lin Ge laughed, her eyes teary, she recited word by word with force, “I miss them very much.”
One of her hands was clasped on the armrest of the chair, trembling slightly, and the other arm was holding the golden photo frame in her arms tighter.
The chief paused for a moment and said softly, “Me too.”
“And you.”
Lin Ge said with a sorrowful smile.
The female emperor closed her eyes, her murmur mixed with sighs: “…Sylph, I miss you too.”
The chief took a silent breath, still responding in an inorganic electronic voice. “I know, Lin Ge.”
The wind of the White Jade Palace blew between the two of them, the late winter grass rustling.
It hadn’t changed, the wind blew the same way 64 years ago as it did today. The only thing that changed was people.
Lin Ge lowered her eyes, she placed the heavy imperial couple’s portrait on her legs, solemnly opened the rose gold frame, and slowly took out the paper photo from it.
In the photo, there was still the young emperor with a stern and cold look, wearing a crown, draped in a thick robe, holding a scepter in his left hand, which were the three ceremonial items used in today’s ceremony.
On the right was Empress Sylph, holding a bouquet of lilies in her right hand, her soft and smiling appearance was pure and refined.
However, as Lin Ge lifted the photo, the mystery was revealed – all four directions, up, down, left, and right, were folded in.
If outsiders saw it, they should be scared at this moment. This well-known imperial couple’s portrait in the empire was far from the full picture of the actual object.
Lin Ge first unfolded the top and bottom, and the photo suddenly expanded by a large half. One could see that the background was in the White Jade Palace, this back garden full of golden roses.
Even the open space where the photo was taken was right in front of the emperor now, just stand up and walk two more steps.
Then, she opened the right corner.
As soon as the right corner was opened, an extra person appeared in this photo that should have only had the emperor and empress.
That was clearly the current female emperor, Lin Ge herself who was still the crown prince at that time. Lin Ge in the photo looked younger than she was now, her arms were wrapped around Empress Sylph’s left arm that was not holding flowers, showing a brilliant and rogue smile.
Lin Ge stared at her younger self, saying, “Indeed like a fool.”
The chief watched silently, motionless. For some reason, she put her hand on Lin Ge’s shoulder.
After a long time, about two or three minutes, Lin Ge slowly opened the left corner.
Her fingers were a bit stiff. It seemed like she was standing in front of an old friend’s door, gathering courage to push it open.
The left corner also opened.
The bright sunlight fell on the shimmering golden tassels, which was a commander-in-chief’s military uniform of the old imperial system.
The commander-in-chief himself was surprisingly young, with soft black hair and a pair of deep black eyes. His face was extremely pale, as if he had been ill for a long time. His expression was helpless and gentle, slightly sideways, as if he wanted to escape from the camera but couldn’t.
Looking down, his wrist did not have crystal condensation, he was a recognized inferior disabled human in that era.
And the reason he couldn’t “escape” was that his hand was held by Emperor Kaios next to him, wrists crossed, and ten fingers tightly interlocked.
Originally, in the imperial couple’s portrait, the great emperor’s expression was dignified and solemn.
But with this added angle, it turned into a serious act of bullying, very naughty.
Empress Sylph’s smile had always been interpreted as a saintly broad gentleness.
But now being held by Lin Ge in a rogue manner, it had become half annoyed and half shy, a more beautiful and lively smile.
The sky in the photo was as clear and light blue as it was today, 64 years later, and the sunlight was slanting down from the thin clouds like a waterfall, shining on the still young men and women.
In the photo, from right to left, were Crown Prince Lin Ge, Empress Sylph Song, new Emperor Kaios, and the founding commander-in-chief Dawn Aslan, who had hardly left his true face in the records of the empire.
Behind was the golden rose garden of the White Jade Palace, with sparrows and pigeons resting in the trellis woven by vines. Each of them looked so relaxed and natural, as if after going through war and stardust, they have finally arrived at a peaceful paradise.
Here, anyone could rest their weary body and mind to their heart’s content.
Could love, could be happy, could be eternally beautiful.
“…”
Her Majesty the Emperor Lin Ge stared at the photo for a long time, her face was calm, but tears fell from her right eye again.
A hand hidden under the cold black armor reached out.
Quietly caught that tear.
****
Outside the White Jade Palace.
The ceremony had just finished, but people had not yet dispersed.
But this was not surprising, it was rare to have so many big figures gathered together, whether it was to talk about business, climb relationships or watch the excitement, it was no harm to stay a little longer.
Kevin ran through the crowd, panting heavily. He looked around in panic, and suddenly a beautiful figure passed in front of him.
“Excuse me.”
Donna Sekt indifferently lifted her own dress and passed by Kevin.
As the two passed by, the chain on her wrist flashed. There were eight agates polished into round beads on it, and one could tell at a glance that it was expensive.
For a moment, Kevin only felt a cold current rushing from his head to his feet, scaring him stiff.
It was exactly the same shape and luster as the gem he had just picked up in Laurent’s mansion!
When he came back to his senses, the lady with the bracelet had already left gracefully.
Kevin was struck by lightning, and suddenly someone pushed him. The boy staggered for two steps before standing firm, raising his head in panic…
He only realized then that he had run into the circle where the nobles and other upper-class people gathered, and many people looked at his simple, sweat-soaked clothes and walked away with a faint frown.
The hot blood in his head seemed to have cooled down, Kevin’s teeth chattered, and he looked around blankly again.
In the dark, he vaguely felt that this matter might be more urgent and dangerous than he had imagined. But Jiang was not here, and he didn’t know anyone…
Suddenly, Kevin’s gaze fell on a glimmer of hope.
That was the figure of a silver-haired youth surrounded by a crowd. The youth’s every move was handsome, and he spoke with a smile. From a distance, he looked as elegant as an iceberg snow lotus.
But Kevin had seen a more friendly side of him. He had once extended his hand, wearing white silk gloves, to the ordinary him and said…
“Don’t be formal, Jiang is my friend. If you are good with him, then we are friends too.”
Kevin wiped the sweat off his face in a mess, gritted his teeth to suppress his inferiority, and mustered up the courage to squeeze to the front, shouting weakly, “Lan…Your Excellency Lance!”
Audrey Lance turned around when he heard the sound.
Kevin was afraid that the other party would not take him seriously, or even simply forget him, so he hurriedly stammered out his request. “Hello, I want to find…Jiang! No… Colonel Jiang! I have something very important, no, very urgent–”
“You are…Jiang Kevin?”
Audrey quickly recognized him, this young man he had seen before the festival, was a military academy student of Kaios, Jiang’s junior.
However, at this moment, this child’s forehead was covered with sweat beads, he was panting and couldn’t speak clearly, his face was pale, and his legs were still trembling. Audrey sensitively realized that something was abnormal, raised his hand, and said “excuse me” to a few nobles who were in the middle of a conversation.
The silver-haired youth walked out of the crowd, Kevin was a bit dazed, he saw His Excellency Lance placed his hand on his shoulders, with a comforting meaning.
Audrey slowed down his tone and said seriously. “Jiang and His Highness the Crown Prince have gone into the palace together. Perhaps…is there anything I can help you with?”
