Chapter 1186: The Little Matters of the Harem

At dusk, Emperor Liu was not in Chuigong Hall, but had graced Shulan Hall with his presence, staying together with the elder Lady Zhou, Pure Consort Zhou. Since the move to Luoyang, many of the palace halls and pavilions had chosen names unified with those in the Eastern Capital, such as the bedchambers of the higher-ranking consorts. However, though the names were the same, the environments differed greatly—more livable, and adorned with considerably more splendor.

Inside Shulan Hall, a scene of song and dance flourished. The melodies from the instruments were soft and languid, suffused with a tender decadence, and all twelve musicians were beautiful palace maids.

In the entire palace, Emperor Liu was the only true man. Another newly composed piece by Pure Consort Zhou played—the tune was light and cheerful, pleasing to the ear, and even the dancing figures in the hall moved more nimbly with the rhythm.

Emperor Liu could barely distinguish good music from bad, but he could feel the atmosphere and empathize. Of course, his main attention was still fixed on the elder Lady Zhou's somewhat alluring dance movements.

The elder Lady Zhou was not yet thirty-three, and her mature, full figure lost none of its soft beauty, still capable of performing all manner of difficult movements. It was already late autumn, with chill permeating the outdoors, yet the hall brimmed with springlike vitality.

Of course, what brimmed with spring was not the climate or temperature, but the graceful beauty, and Emperor Liu's rarely stirred heart. At this moment, Pure Consort Zhou was the very picture of a charming beauty—her dancing form seductive and enticing, her garments appearing "tattered," a snug undergarment unable to contain her heaving bosom, with only a light gauze draped over it, releasing a hazy allure that drew Emperor Liu's gaze.

The elder Lady Zhou's persona had always been gentle and elegant, talented and refined, seldom so bewitchingly seductive. Yet when she occasionally tore away her proper and virtuous facade to reveal this wanton, even indulgent side, her allure to Emperor Liu naturally surged. This extraordinary charm seemed to strike directly at his heart, making him reluctant to restrain himself...

Of course, accompanying Emperor Liu in drinking and watching the dance was also a young and lovely lady—the younger Lady Zhou. Last winter, Marquis Haiyang, Zhou Zong, had finally passed away. Living to a hundred was ultimately but a vain hope; once one reached great age, nearly every year brought another hurdle. However, Zhou Zong departed peacefully, dying of natural causes, and having lived to ninety-one, he could already be counted a legendary figure.

After Zhou Zong's death, the younger Lady Zhou's visits to the palace grew more frequent, for being "without support," the two sisters could look after each other. Emperor Liu also came to Shulan Hall once or twice each month, and in time, the tale of brother-in-law and sister-in-law naturally unfolded. Emperor Liu once again experienced the joy that sisters brought.

Though she had not yet been formally conferred a rank, many inside and outside the palace knew of the matter, and there was no small amount of private gossip. However, no one raised any objection. The court's rites and laws did not prohibit an emperor from taking sisters as consorts. This might merely be a matter of the emperor's private virtue, yet over so many years, truly few dared to remonstrate with Emperor Liu over private virtue and private affairs, saying he had done wrong.

There had been those in the past, but without exception, they had later suffered Emperor Liu's retaliation. Retaliation from the emperor—one could imagine what that meant. On matters of great right and wrong, of ritual and law, Emperor Liu's tolerance was swift, but for those who pointed fingers at his private life, there was only an apology to be offered.

Over time, the ministers below came to understand this. Thus, though the Great Han's court had many who dared to speak frankly, there were truly none who lacked tact; those without brains rarely lasted long at court...

Therefore, the romantic affair between Emperor Liu and the younger Lady Zhou, on the whole, stirred no great waves—even Empress Fu, the elder Lady Fu, said nothing much about it.

After all, in the Han palace, this was not the only pair of sisters. And among the Great Han's nobles and ministers, let alone keeping sisters, even mother-and-daughter situations were not uncommon, with all manner of diversions. Emperor Liu was well aware of all this. Speaking of morality, of values—among those who did things that would shatter a modern person's moral bottom line, there was no lack of learned scholars who left their names in history, capable administrators of state...

In Emperor Liu's era, women's status had not declined; rather, it had risen somewhat, thanks to remarkable women like Empress Dowager Li and Empress Fu who set examples for the realm. Likewise, among the nobles and ministers, there were many who were henpecked, and many who could be included in the Biographies of Exemplary Women—such as Yang Ye's wife, Lady Feng, who now bore the honorific title of a third-rank lady.

However, these applied only to principal wives. Concubines and secondary wives still held low status. Such was the ethos of the age, such were its values—this too was an expression of the order of rank and precedence.

And for Emperor Liu, though both were sisters, the Zhou sisters brought him distinctly greater pleasure and were more uninhibited. After all, toward the elder Lady Fu, after all these years, besides deep affection, there was also considerable awe. The elder Lady Fu would not join Emperor Liu in his dissipation, and besides, there was the saying that a concubine outshines a wife...

On the other hand, regarding her younger sister being taken in, the elder Lady Zhou naturally felt ill at ease. Yet what was helpless and sad was that she had no recourse whatsoever, no room for the slightest objection—she even had to force a smile.

She was not the Grand Consort Zhou of official history, and Emperor Liu was a sovereign so forceful he brooked no defiance. Her recent behavior was likely also a way to release the melancholy in her heart—immersing herself in music and dance might make things somewhat more bearable.

By the food table, Emperor Liu held two chopsticks, tapping them against cups and bowls, calling it percussion. In truth, it was entirely out of sync with the dance music, but he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

When Pure Consort Zhou finished her dance, a trace of fragrant sweat seeped from her brow and she was breathless. Even as she had whirled through her movements, she had kept watching Emperor Liu and the younger Lady Zhou. By now, Emperor Liu's hand had already naturally come to rest on the younger sister's shoulder, and she, with a smile at the corners of her mouth and a tipsy flush on her pretty face, was nearly nestled in Emperor Liu's arms.

A flicker of heartache passed through her beautiful eyes, along with a measure of helplessness, and she sighed softly. The gauze skirt she wore was of fine quality—after dancing continuously, it showed not a single wrinkle, still smooth and delicate. With lotus steps, she approached gracefully to Emperor Liu's side, and with a tenderness tinged with timidity, she lowered herself in a bow.

Emperor Liu beheld the beauty, heard the pleasant words, and his whole body softened somewhat. Breaking into a smile, he beckoned to the elder Lady Zhou: "That dance was beautiful—you've worked hard! Come, sit!"

The elder Lady Zhou knelt and sat on the soft mat, and soon Emperor Liu was immersed in the decadent life of holding a beauty in each arm—one woman in each hand, the feel and touch distinctly different.

"Sister danced so well!" The younger Lady Zhou had clearly drunk some wine; her pretty face was flushed red, her eyes hazy, as she laughed.

"A reward is due!" Drops of liquid clung to Emperor Liu's beard. Releasing the sisters, he personally poured a cup of wine and handed it to the elder Lady Zhou: "This cup of wine is your reward—taste this bamboo-leaf green!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The elder Lady Zhou took it, raised the cup, and drained it in one go without any pause, though the flush on her jade-like face deepened at once.

Seeing this, Emperor Liu beamed with delight, thoroughly pleased, while he himself took only a small sip.

Looking at the two sisters, Emperor Liu added: "If one of you played the zither and the other the flute, you would complement each other perfectly!"

Though Emperor Liu had not given an order, both women were perceptive. Each left her seat to fetch an instrument, and soon the melodious, pleasing sound of zither and flute arose...

Emperor Liu lay on his side on the mat, eyes closed, listening. Though he understood nothing of music, he listened with great relish. Perhaps what he listened to was not the music at all—he was simply enjoying the ambience.

Since falling ill last year, Emperor Liu had recuperated for nearly a full year, and only recently had he begun to loosen up. He was, after all, still a man of worldly desires; when at leisure, asking him to persist as an ascetic was clearly impossible.

What a waste it would be to have nurtured his kidneys back to health and then not use them!

The amorous atmosphere in Shulan Hall was soon broken. The one who broke it was none other than the chief eunuch Yan Tuo. This fellow was in fact somewhat uneasy, afraid of disturbing Emperor Liu's pleasure, yet he dared not conceal the matter and fail to report it.

Learning that Liu Xu and his party had arrived in the capital and, together with Crown Prince Liu Yang, had entered the palace to pay their respects, a thought flashed through Emperor Liu's mind for a single instant—don't see them, deal with it tomorrow. Wasn't a beautiful woman more fragrant?

In the end, he still rose, flicked his sleeves, abandoned the pair of sisters, and slowly made his way back to Chuigong Hall...