Chapter 225: Pure Consort Geng Passes Away

Whether to save the mother or the child — Liu Chengyou knew well that if he stayed at Cuifang Hall, this somewhat clichéd dilemma would likely be placed before him. And Lady Li's shooing him away was clearly because she had seen this too.

This mother of his.

Night had fully fallen, the bright palace lanterns casting their light upon Liu Chengyou, his very shadow weighed down with gravity. Liu Chengyou sat behind the imperial desk, his posture as upright as ever, flipping through memorials one after another, his expression calm — only the pace of his review was much slower than usual.

The elder Lady Fu was clever; she did not return to her own chambers but hurried to the imperial hall, silently keeping Liu Chengyou company without saying much.

The evening meal served by the palace eunuchs sat untouched on the food table, the hall growing quieter still, and the pile of memorials beside Liu Chengyou had grown a layer higher. He waved a hand, and the waiting palace attendants, without a word of protest, tactfully carried the memorials off to the Secretariat-Chancellery.

"Your Majesty, you haven't eaten since midday. Your imperial person is of the utmost importance — please take some food." Seeing Liu Chengyou set down his memorials, the elder Lady Fu gave a slight bow and urged him with warm words.

Looking at the elder Lady Fu, feeling her concerned gaze, Liu Chengyou let out a heavy breath and nodded.

Seeing this, the elder Lady Fu relaxed visibly and quickly said, "I'll have them prepare a fresh hot meal for Your Majesty."

"Enough!" Liu Chengyou pointed at the already-cold evening meal on the food table. "No need for the trouble — just heat this up, and we'll make do!"

Whether from genuine feeling or mere habit, even at a time like this, Liu Chengyou did not forget to put on a show.

"This..." The elder Lady Fu hesitated, but she knew his temperament well. Meeting Liu Chengyou's gaze, she said no more and obediently went to arrange it herself.

Halfway through the evening meal, hurried footsteps sounded, and a palace eunuch's figure flashed in to report: "Your Majesty! A report from Cuifang Hall."

"How is it?" The elder Lady Fu stood up first, asking urgently.

"The imperial prince has been born!"

A hint of joy surfaced between the elder Lady Fu's brows. She glanced at Liu Chengyou, saw his back and waist still ramrod straight, and asked again: "How is the Pure Consort?"

"The lady... has passed away!"

At these words, the elder Lady Fu's expression froze, and she could not help turning her head to look at Liu Chengyou.

As for Liu Chengyou, his expression was somewhat numb — apart from his knitted brows and tightly clenched fists, he showed no further reaction.

Silence. The candle flames flickering in the night wind reflected Liu Chengyou's far-from-calm heart. After a long while, he slowly rose and gave his order in a low, suppressed voice: "Prepare the carriage for Cuifang Hall!"

The last face Liu Chengyou saw was Lady Geng's remains. Disregarding all taboos, he stayed alone with her for half a shichen.

Liu Chengyou's nature was somewhat cold, but she was after all the woman who had followed him the longest — gentle in temperament, always obedient and proper, absolutely submissive to him. And now, she had even died giving birth to his son...

Pushing aside the curtain and walking out with heavy steps, Liu Chengyou had already buried the guilt budding in his heart deeper still. He swept a glance around — the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Noble Consort, and others were all present. Without saying much, he pointed toward the inner chamber, and palace maids immediately entered carefully to begin handling the funeral arrangements.

"Erlang, come and look at your imperial prince." Lady Li sighed silently and ordered the infant, already cleaned and swaddled, to be brought out.

Liu Chengyou took him from the palace woman's arms — he was very light. When he shifted him to a different hold, the newborn immediately began to cry, leaving Liu Chengyou somewhat at a loss. After holding him briefly, he gave a cold order: "Take him away and look after him well. If anything happens to the imperial prince, I'll have your heads!"

Liu Chengyou rarely showed emotion, and this murderous display startled everyone — the prince's cries grew even louder at once.

"Issue the edict: Pure Consort Geng, gentle and virtuous, long in attendance at the sovereign's side, meritorious in bearing a son; Heaven granted her no years, and she has sadly passed. Posthumously honor her as Chen Consort, and bury her with the rites of an empress!" As he stepped out of Cuifang Hall, Liu Chengyou gave the order flatly.

Having gained a son was, for Liu Chengyou, naturally a good thing — an heir to carry on the line held positive significance for the entire court, and indeed for the whole Great Han.

At court, the mood was jubilant; the trouble-plagued Great Han dynasty had finally welcomed a rare happy occasion. Taking it very seriously, Yang Bin submitted a proposal suggesting Liu Chengyou hold a celebration to mark the imperial prince's birth — which Liu Chengyou flatly refused.

The reality was stark: no one cared about Lady Geng's passing. Indeed, even Liu Chengyou's wish to bury her with the rites of an empress met with opposition from some ministers led by Yang Bin — and this despite Lady Geng having just brought the Great Han an imperial prince.

At this, Liu Chengyou flew into a towering rage. On the court, he unleashed his wrath and berated Yang Bin without the slightest regard for his face. This was the first open clash between Liu Chengyou and Yang Bin since his ascension, and its impact was great. For a single instant, Liu Chengyou even wanted to issue a direct decree demoting Yang Bin, this chancellor who repeatedly opposed him.

He forcibly held himself back. If he dismissed a chancellor over this, the one in the wrong would likely be him, the Emperor. In the end, however, the outcome still followed Liu Chengyou's wishes — no matter how stiff Yang Bin's neck, it could not be stiffer than the Son of Heaven's might. The Liu Chengyou of today was hardly the powerless young sovereign of the original history.

Lady Geng's funeral was handled very simply — partly out of frugality, and partly because Liu Zhiyuan's own burial had come before.

Perhaps Liu Chengyou truly did feel guilt toward Lady Geng. Within two days, he sent men to Jinyang to enfeoff her elder brother as a Marquis, with a fief of one hundred households. Even after entering the Eastern Capital, Lady Geng's family had not followed to enjoy the luxuries — reportedly on Lady Geng's own instruction.

At dawn, Liu Chengyou left early, and the accompanying lady's attendant and two palace maids entered carrying washing articles.

Having been favored by Liu Chengyou the night before, the elder Lady Fu's cheeks carried a hint of rosiness as she went through the elaborate morning toilette under the palace attendants' service.

"What His Majesty favors most is still Your Majesty..." The attendant combed the elder Lady Fu's long flowing hair while making idle chatter in a light tone.

The elder Lady Fu's spirits were not high; she sighed. Since Lady Geng's death, Liu Chengyou's mood had clearly been poor, and she too was somewhat unwilling — in their intimate moments, she felt Liu Chengyou was merely using her as a tool for release, which was rather too much for the proud, headstrong elder Lady Fu.

"Since Pure Consort Geng died, His Majesty has only come to Your Majesty's side," the attendant added.

The elder Lady Fu's phoenix brows knitted slightly, her gaze sharpening for a moment before easing. In a deep, low tone she said: "I hear Lady Geng died of sheer pain in childbirth. The agony of bearing a child — so terrible it is. What kind of pain must that have been..."

Setting the hairpin flower into the elder Lady Fu's coiffure, the attendant sighed along with her: "It's also that Pure Consort Geng lacked good fortune. Had she delivered smoothly and borne the prince, judging by His Majesty's recent behavior, all the favor of the harem would have been concentrated on her and her son!"

"Mind your tongue!" At this, the elder Lady Fu snapped sharply, displaying her authority for the first time.

"Yes!" The attendant was startled.

But the elder Lady Fu could not help reaching down to stroke her own belly. In the deep palace, without a child, one truly could not rest easy — and especially as Empress, the pressure on her was all the greater.

"Your Majesty." After a moment, the attendant ventured a call.

"Speak."

"The prince has no mother. Your servant has heard rumors that Noble Consort Gao's side intends to ask His Majesty to let her adopt him," the attendant said.

At these words, the elder Lady Fu's expression changed at once. She stood up, her face shifting sensitively for a moment: "Is this so?"

"Your Majesty must not be caught off guard by Noble Consort Gao's intentions. As things stand, neither of the two palaces has produced a child, and the newborn prince is His Majesty's only son..."

The elder Lady Fu was clearly somewhat concerned by this news. After a moment's deliberation, she sat back down steadily and said unhurriedly: "The child is with the Empress Dowager for now!"