Chapter 417: Idle People

In the sixteenth year of Taixing, in the eleventh month, in the year of Gui Chou, the emperor issued an edict to pass the throne to the crown prince.
Shortly after, while returning from the private palace, the emperor was attacked and passed away.
Crown prince Li Mu Ling ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Wu.
……
"Your Majesty...long live the king..."
The sound of officials paying their respects echoed from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, penetrating several palace doors and still resonating, as if thunderous.
Tang Xiaobai heard the voice and looked outside, feeling somewhat trance-like.
“太子妃？”
唐小白回神笑了笑，转身听女官奏禀丧仪事。
李穆已经在前朝称帝，她在后宫还是被称作太子妃。
后宫的晋封历来比前朝晚一些, 而且历史上没能成为皇后的太子妃也大有人在。
So generally, after the previous emperor dies, the harem is primarily managed by the empress or the empress dowager.
If there is neither, then it falls to the crown prince's consort.
Currently, both the empress and the empress dowager exist, but it is the crown prince's consort who is in charge—
Tang Xiaobai found it a little funny to recall the expression on Queen Yuan's face after she returned yesterday.
She really didn't promise anything to Queen Yuan, nor did she want to compete for control over the harem. The new calendar system and the map were the most important projects for her at the moment.
If the former empress is reliable, Tang Xiaobai doesn't mind letting her continue to manage the harem.
Why not... find a chance to communicate?
"Crown Princess -" A Kui ran over from the east and whispered two sentences in Tang Xiaobai's ear.
Tang Xiaobai looked at her suspiciously.
Akui nodded like a little chicken pecking rice.
Tang Xiaobai smiled: "If I don't come out in fifteen minutes, you can go in and bring them out."
Just as the words were spoken, there was a commotion outside the hall: "The Emperor has arrived -"
Tang Xiaobai stood by the door of the Ganlu Hall, raised his head and turned around, and saw the newly appointed emperor in a long plain robe appearing at the end of his field of view, outside the Ganlu Gate and in Yongxiang Street.
Yongxiang Street is a cross street that separates the former dynasty and the harem. Crossing Yongxiang Street and crossing the Ganlu Gate will take you to the harem.
The Emperor stood outside the Ganlu Gate, with hands behind his back, looking aloof.
For some reason, Tang Xiaobai wanted to laugh as soon as she saw him, so she had to suppress her laughter and lead the female officials forward to greet him.
Before her knee could bend, she was grasped and pulled up by His Majesty the Emperor.
He pulled with a little too much force, causing Tang Xiaobai to stumble forward, almost colliding into his embrace.
As she lifted her head, she met his eyes and indeed saw a trace of smugness.
The emperor is still so childish!
Tang Xiaobai pinched his hand with both anger and amusement.
Li Mu remained calm, slightly bowing his head with her figure reflected in his dark eyes.
"You've worked hard, Ao Jiao," he whispered.
Tang Xiaobai slightly lifted the corners of her mouth and whispered, "How did you come over?"
He leaned closer to her ear and said softly, "I just, ascended the throne."
"Puff-" Tang Xiaobai almost laughed out loud.
This is still a national mourning!
She panicked and threw herself into Li Mu's arms, hiding her face.
So impressive!
Did he leave behind all the civil and military officials just to show off in front of her?
Tang Xiaobai tried hard to suppress his laughter, trembling.
The surrounding palace servants and guards looked over, only to see the newly crowned emperor patting the trembling shoulders of the young girl in his arms, with a calm and faint expression, as if silently comforting her.
都说先前的皇帝同新帝夫妇关系不怎么好，还有逼宫之类的传闻, 没想到太子妃竟然悲痛如斯？
果然人言不能尽信！不少人暗自摇头。
Tang Xiaobai finally managed to straighten her lips and was about to leave Li Mu's arms when she heard voices behind her: "The Empress is here--"
Empress Yuan has come out...
Remembering the news that Ah Kui had recently reported, Tang Xiaobai was a little curious about Empress Yuan's intentions.
Although the concubines are still confined to the palace, the empress is different. Tang Xiaobai sent someone to invite the former empress, but she declined on the grounds of poor health.
So, why now—
Tang Xiaobai raised his head and took a thoughtful glance at Li Mu.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor at this moment was frowning, emitting a cold aura, and his displeasure was evident.
Why is he angry?
Tang Xiaobai hadn't figured it out yet, and Empress Yuan was already there.
"I haven't seen you in a few months, Your Majesty seems to have grown taller," Empress Yuan respectfully changed her address, with a kind and gentle expression, appearing like an elder. "I heard that Tubo is bitterly cold and Your Majesty has been fighting for several months, it must have been exhausting," she turned to Tang Xiaobai, "Ah Tang, you must take good care of His Majesty."
Tang Xiaobai ignored her words and glanced at the white-clothed girl beside her.
The white-clothed girl immediately walked towards Tang Xiaobai obediently.
She took only one step before being stopped by Empress Yuan.
"This is Princess Shun Ning, Your Majesty has not seen her before?"
Empress Yuan said softly, looking at Xu Fei with a gaze full of pity.
"When Xu Fei came to the capital alone, the late Emperor originally intended for the Crown Princess to stay in the Eastern Palace and take care of her until Your Majesty returned to the capital. Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess bonded with Xu Fei at first sight and even recognized her as her daughter--" At this point, Empress Yuan coughed and covered her mouth, "Xu Fei and the Crown Princess are the same age, it would be acceptable if they recognized each other as sisters, but to actually recognize her as a daughter, it's truly mischievous!"
The former queen cast a glance at Li Mu.
This young man had deep, pitch-black eyes, and it was hard to distinguish his emotions. Just looking at him was somewhat intimidating.
But now that the conversation had reached this point, it had to be continued: "Now that Your Majesty has ascended to the throne, there is only the crown prince's consort in the harem. It would be better to bring Afei into the palace as well--"
"No--" Xu Fei's face turned pale.
But before she could refuse, she was interrupted by Li Mu--
"Crown Princess?" The Emperor's tone was chilling, even Tang Xiaobai, who had been observing coldly, looked surprised.

"I am already the emperor, so where does the crown princess come from?"
Xu Xiaojunzhu suddenly became clever and immediately bowed and said, "Shunnings pays respect to Empress Dowager!"
Only then did His Majesty's complexion improve slightly, but his tone still carried reprimand. "Since Empress Tang has acknowledged you as her daughter, why do you not serve her and instead flatter others? Has anyone from the Xu family taught you etiquette?"

Xu Fei's face turned red: "Daughter knows her mistake."
Tang Xiaobai cleared her throat and explained on her behalf: "Fei entered the palace from Yongchun Gate, and was called over when passing by the Hall of Government. She hadn't had a chance to come to me yet!"
方才阿葵来报的，就是徐斐被元皇后截胡的事。
元皇后也是异想天开，竟然觉得当初徐斐封郡主的事能离间她和李穆。
The emperor, who holds a grudge against her family, looked at the displeased empress dowager and coldly said, "I dislike having idle people in the palace. It was the same in the Eastern Palace before, and it will be the same in the Taiji Palace. The empress has already arranged a good place for Princess Shuning, so there is no need for outsiders to worry about it!"
The former empress's face turned red and then white, but she was awed by Li Mu's power and dared not argue.
But the emperor continued, "All the members of the harem will be moved out of the Taiji Palace as well!"
Tang Xiaobai hadn't reacted yet, but Empress Yuan became anxious: "There is only a little over a month left before the new year. Your Majesty wants to move all the concubines out of the palace within a hundred days after the Emperor's passing?"
Li Mudi glanced at her faintly: "I'm not a concubine in the harem, but the current owner of all the palace rooms in the Taiji Palace."
"Are you going to kick me out too?!" Empress Yuan's voice became sharp.
Li Mu no longer looked at her, he pinched the hand of his little empress and said, "I don't like idle people in the palace. I will trouble the empress to choose the palace quarters."
With her almond-shaped eyes, she nodded cutely.
Li Mu couldn't help but soften his tone: "I have something to attend to first, so I'll go now. We can talk later--" He noticed the girl's eyes suddenly widen and realized he had said too much, so he hurriedly closed his mouth.
"Your Majesty!" Empress Yuan raised her voice.
Li Mu paid no attention and squeezed Tang Xiaobai's hand. "I'm going."
"Li Mu!" Empress Yuan angrily shouted, "Even if you become the emperor, I am still the Empress Dowager!"
Li Mu didn't even look at her, turned and left.
Tang Xiaobai saw Empress Yuan with an uncontrollable anger and didn't want to cause a big scene. She was about to ease the situation with a few words.
Suddenly, Empress Yuan glanced at her and smiled coldly.
Huh?
Tang Xiaobai raised an eyebrow.
Do you still want to bully her?