Heaven above, earth below—the Empress Dowager, reigning over court affairs, was herself the embodiment of both.

"Bow to the elders!"

With the crisp command, Chen Yi and Dong Gong Ruoshu stepped past the offering table and gracefully bowed before the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager gazed at the scene, her eyes stinging as two silent tears fell.

Once, she too had been wed. But on the day of her marriage, the late emperor—madly intrigued by cultivation—had not appeared. She, being the second empress, had knelt alone before the previous Empress Dowager, and then performed her bows to an empty space.

As she reflected on days past, a sense of bittersweet nostalgia swept over the Empress Dowager. Yet, all that was history now. For this couple, they would not endure such loneliness.

For this day to come, she didn't know how long she had waited.

But it had finally arrived.

"Bow to each other as husband and wife!"

At the command, Dong Gong Ruoshu, draped in radiant red silk, hesitated for a moment. But still, with effort, she knelt alongside Chen Yi and bowed gracefully.

Through a faint gap in the hazy glow, Miss Donggong glimpsed Chen Yi's nearly unmoved, placid expression as he too completed the act of kneeling and bowing with her.

As for Little Yin, Zhou Yitang, Min Ming, Dong Guifei, and the other bridesmaids—Dong Gong Ruoshu could no longer discern their expressions. The only sensation she felt was a certain chill.

Her head began to spin.

As though an immense weight was pressing down on her from all sides.

............

After the bowing ceremony, the bride would first be escorted back to the bridal chamber, while Chen Yi remained in the main hall to toast guests, distribute red envelopes and festive wine cakes, and graciously accept everyone's congratulatory wishes.

This included, naturally, the bridesmaids.

Each of the women's gazes held a different meaning, but all of them were fixed on Chen Yi.

The little fox gazed at Chen Yi with eyes brimming with tears; Little Yin's face had gone pale, her eyes carried both inquiry and grievance; Zhou Yitang's gaze brought a palpable chill; Min Ming's stance was that of indifference, aloof and unconcerned.

The Empress Dowager glanced around and, holding back a smile, asked:

"Why? No words of congratulations for the groom?"

As the words settled in the air, the uproar the Empress Dowager had half-expected failed to unfold.

The women seemed to have already made peace with themselves. Except for the one-armed Sword Armor, each of them offered begrudging but polite congratulations to Chen Yi in turn.

Yin Weiyin said, "May you two enjoy a lifetime of celestial harmony."

Yin Tingxue added, "Wishing you an eternity of marital bliss."

...And so on, with varying tones and expressions. Their words carried different weights, as did their emotions. The Empress Dowager carefully observed it all, hoping for some intrigue or spectacle—something akin to the chaotic confrontations at previous private banquets. Yet on this grand wedding day, the best outcome was a smooth conclusion, no unnecessary drama.

Once the congratulations concluded, the Empress Dowager promptly called for a bookstand to be set. She intended to personally write a celebratory couplet.

Her brushstrokes, bold and powerful, exuded an energy like coiled dragons and serpents. The ink lent the red wedding couplet a commanding aura, nearly overshadowing its celebratory undertones:

"A union forged by heaven, enduring ages long.

Four generations in harmony, with peace eternal."

Chen Yi stepped forward with a few rehearsed yet slightly stiff words of praise. The Empress Dowager's lips curved into a subtle smile at his expression.

She took a moment to look Chen Yi over. A tide of emotions surged within her as her mind briefly drifted to her own wedding—a scene of emptiness and suffocating stillness.

The former Empress Dowager had sat atop the dais, her sagging skin layered in folds, appearing as if half-dead. Crimson drapes accentuated an endless gloom. The Empress Dowager herself had spent that entire wedding night alone in an empty bridal chamber.

So much had changed since then. People often said that parents projected their unfulfilled hopes onto their children—a sentiment the Empress Dowager now deeply understood. Tears welled up anew, overtaking her earlier tears.

"Your Highness, why… are you crying?" Chen Yi asked, his voice breaking the moment.

"Foolish Yi'er… You shouldn't have spoken," she replied, and her tears flowed more freely. Stifled laughter escaped her as she covered her mouth, bowing her head to shield her tears. But the more one attempts to hide tears, the more heartbreakingly vivid they become.

Certain truths began to crystallize in her mind. She slowly raised her head again, her gaze soft as it lingered on Chen Yi.

"I… I shouldn't cry at this moment—I'll ruin your happiness. Sigh…"

She wiped at her tears with her fingertips, but feeling it unseemly, sought a handkerchief. Yet, through her blurred vision, she failed to locate one. Suddenly, a gentle brush of silk crossed her face—Chen Yi, having wordlessly lifted his sleeve, was wiping away her tears.

"Oh… oh… what are you doing? Wiping away my tears will just make me cry more… Look, look, now you've dirtied your wedding robe…"

Her sighs and soft admonishments came one after another.

Chen Yi watched her silently.

He stifled the emotions threatening to surface, refraining from offering words of comfort. An ineffable sense of helplessness weighed on him—after all, no solution could ever truly satisfy both sides completely.

As her tears finally began to subside, the tenderness of Chen Yi's gestures etched themselves into the Empress Dowager's memory. She couldn't help but reflect on Chen Yi's past distance and resistance toward her. Back then, he had been utterly unwilling. But now? Could he have changed?

Juxtaposing the past with the present, the Empress Dowager was filled with a quiet satisfaction. She considered teasing him with a few witty remarks, but the faint gleam of light against his chest caught her eye—it was an amulet inscribed with the character "Yi." The words on her lips faltered and retreated unspoken. Softened by an unprecedented gentleness of expression, she let the moment pass. After all, he was still just a child—how could she hold such trifles against him?

Yes, just a child… a child seeking the comfort of a mother…

Suddenly, a thought struck her. She asked in a gentle voice, "That Princess of Annan—have you ever called her 'Mother'?"

It was a question without preamble. Her tone shifted ever so slightly, causing Chen Yi to visibly pause as he struggled to fathom this woman's thoughts.

Chen Yi answered truthfully, "No, I haven't."

"And yet… you consummated the marriage with her," she remarked, her tone turning oddly ambiguous.

Chen Yi froze briefly and then lowered his voice to reply:

"She and I do not share such a relationship."

The Empress Dowager, hearing this, pressed further: "You… never had her pretend to take my place, did you?"

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