Chapter 517: Spending the Night in Kunming Hall

The Son of Heaven had returned to the palace, and though only a single day had passed, the atmosphere in the Han palace had clearly changed—more settled, and more festive. The ladies of beauty in the rear palaces all bathed and dressed with far greater enthusiasm, awaiting the emperor's favor.

Over at Kunming Hall, the Empress, the elder Lady Fu, sat in tranquil composure, holding a scroll of scripture in her hands, reading calmly without showing much anxious anticipation. Her dignified, jade-like countenance radiated gentle virtue, and the bearing of a principal wife was on full display.

Only when a female official of the palace hurried forward to report: "Your Majesty, the Emperor has set out from his carriage and is heading toward Kunming Hall!"

At these words, a restrained yet confident smile still couldn't help but appear on the elder Lady Fu's beautiful face. She gracefully set down the scroll, stretched her body, revealing her fine waistline—the languid charm of a noble lady was quite alluring indeed.

"Shall we prepare to receive the imperial carriage?" a female attendant asked.

"No need!" The elder Lady Fu let out a soft sigh and instructed: "Keep everything as usual! Hmm... go prepare the bath water!"

After giving the orders, the elder Lady Fu no longer had the interest to continue reading. It was already late in the day; though her delicate body was somewhat weary, her spirits were clearly high. Not to mention anything else—as a woman, when her man returned, there was always some excitement to it. She returned to the inner bedchamber to remove her makeup and attend to herself a little...

Before long, Liu Chengyou's carriage arrived, and the elder Lady Fu came forward to greet him, bowing gracefully: "I welcome Your Majesty!"

"No need for ceremony, my lady!" Liu Chengyou raised the Empress up with both hands: "Rise quickly!"

He gave the elder Lady Fu a brief once-over—no powder or paint, a thin gauze skirt in translucent layers, undergarments clinging close, her jade body carrying a subtle fragrance, and those clever, intelligent eyes brimming with autumnal waves—extremely seductive. Seeing his beauty in such a state, Liu Chengyou's heart immediately grew hot, and he suddenly felt that the elder Lady Fu, besides being sensible and virtuous, had gained a certain playfulness.

Suppressing that stirring in his heart, Liu Chengyou entered the hall, took the Empress's slender jade hand, and sat with her at the same table. Leaning close against her, Liu Chengyou couldn't help stealing several glances at the elder Lady Fu's graceful figure, and when his gaze met her firm curves, he actually found himself looking away.

Seeing Liu Chengyou's "sneaky" manner, the elder Lady Fu couldn't help covering her mouth with a delicate laugh or two, which actually made Liu Chengyou blush—a rare occurrence. After all, he was no innocent young man...

Clearing his throat lightly, Liu Chengyou said: "During the time I was away, you've had a hard time here in the Eastern Capital, overseeing the rear palace and serving the Empress Dowager with filial piety!"

Hearing Liu Chengyou's words, the elder Lady Fu leaned gently against him and said in a low voice: "It was all my duty! It's enough that Your Majesty has returned safely!"

Feeling her soft, delicate body, Liu Chengyou still suppressed his restless desire and asked curiously: "Were you waiting for me?"

The elder Lady Fu smiled faintly: "In the rear palace, who is not waiting for Your Majesty?"

The Empress's voice was rarely so honeyed, nearly seeping into Liu Chengyou's heart. His eyes darted around for a moment, then Liu Chengyou asked: "Where's our second son?"

"He played all day and has already gone to sleep!" The elder Lady Fu's voice grew even more coquettish, her body soft as if boneless as she leaned against Liu Chengyou, sending him some subtle signals of allure.

Lowering his head, his gaze tangled with the elder Lady Fu's at close range, and he noticed the Empress's watery eyes clearly brimming with spring desire. No longer suppressing himself, Liu Chengyou's movements grew bolder.

"No!" But the Empress refused, blushing.

Liu Chengyou was first startled, then quickly understood, and said: "Right! Onto the bed then..."

The elder Lady Fu still gently shook her head, nearly whispering into the Son of Heaven's ear: "Your Majesty has traveled by carriage all the way and attended to state affairs upon arrival—you must be weary, and haven't yet washed off the dust of travel. I've already had people prepare the bath water. Your Majesty should first bathe and refresh yourself..."

Bath water! A shared bath? Liu Chengyou no longer suppressed his excitement...

In the deep of night, when all was quiet, the lamps in Kunming Hall had dimmed somewhat. Liu Chengyou woke from his dreams, gently moved aside the jade arm still wrapped around his neck, and turned his head to look at the elder Lady Fu.

Under the dim lamplight, the Empress slept soundly, her jade face flushed pink, a few strands of hair messily plastered against her cheeks, her breathing noticeably heavier—as if evidence of the great energy she had expended.

He rose from the bed and tucked the brocade quilt around the elder Lady Fu. Below, her jade body lay sprawled, wearing only scraps of cloth; the spring night was still cold, and Liu Chengyou showed rare tenderness to keep her from catching a chill.

Gently parting the bead curtain, he slowly stepped out of the inner bedchamber, startling the female attendant on night duty. He made a gesture to her, signaling her to keep silent, then said in a low voice: "Prepare a lamp!"

"Yes!" The beautiful female attendant glanced briefly toward the inner chamber and answered respectfully.

Rubbing his face, he sat behind the phoenix desk, roused his spirits, and took out two memorials he had brought from Chongzheng Hall—those submitted by Guo Wei and Wei Renpu.

The Bureau of Military Affairs' proposal to select elite armored soldiers from the prefectures and garrisons—this was an inevitable matter, and none of the other large or small regional commands would pose much of a problem. Zhang Yanwei of Chengde had always been the court's echo; relying on the friendship forged with Liu Chengyou through fire and water back in the day, so long as he kept to his proper place, he could enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor.

As for Fu Yanqing of Weibo, given this old father-in-law's way of doing things, he would basically never defy the court. The only one to worry about was the Prince of Taiyuan, Defender of the Northern Capital, Military Governor of Hedong—Liu Chong.

Toward Liu Chong, this imperial uncle, just as with Liu Xin before him, Liu Chengyou felt no affection. And as for Liu Chong as a man—his conduct, integrity, and ability were nothing to commend. He had governed Hedong for nearly five years, yet in administration, governance of the people, and military command, he had accomplished nothing. More importantly, he lacked reverence for the court.

In recent years, military governors from across the realm had successively come to the capital for audiences and reports, receiving the Son of Heaven's instruction and gaining the court's trust. Last year, on the Jiaqing Festival (the Northern Han had made Liu Chengyou's birthday the Jiaqing Festival), Liu Chengyou summoned all regional military governors to the capital to pay homage. Even Sun Fangjian of Dingzhou, who was thick with bandit airs, came to Kaifeng for the first time—only this imperial clansman, the Prince of Taiyuan, remained unmoved, making excuses and refusing to come. One should know that last year was Liu Chengyou's twentieth birthday—a major one.

Though Liu Chengyou had not shown it, he was naturally extremely displeased in his heart.

Furthermore, after investigation, the prefectures of Hedong had a registered population of only a little over four hundred thousand, yet the various local armies combined numbered nearly forty thousand—nearly one conscript from every two households, one able-bodied man from every five. Given the Great Han's current situation, where was the need to maintain such a scale of military force in Hedong?

And with a sparse population supporting a large army, this was greatly disadvantageous to Hedong, seriously obstructing the court's national policy of letting the people rest and restoring development. In the early days of the state, Hedong had been a prosperous and powerful region, contributing much to the Great Han's consolidation of the Central Plains, serving as the Liu family's most solid backing.

But over these years, under Liu Chengyou's governance, the various regions had gradually regained their vitality; the Central Plains and Hebei were all moving forward—only Hedong remained stagnant, even falling behind. It paid no heed to the court's edicts and new systems, and Liu Chong seemed intent on turning Hedong into his own independent kingdom.

Of course, to say Liu Chong truly harbored rebellious intentions—that wasn't quite to that point yet. This imperial uncle was simply too lacking in self-awareness, unworthy of his position, holding heavy authority while getting a bit carried away with himself.

One account Liu Chengyou had received was that Liu Chong wanted to emulate Zhao Kuangzan of Youzhou, hoping the court would grant Hedong to their branch of the family, to be inherited in perpetuity...

Could Liu Chong's foolishness really reach such a degree? The Son of Heaven's promise of "enfeoffment and division of territory" to the Zhao family—he himself didn't believe it, and Liu Chong actually took it seriously!

But regardless, the Hedong problem had reached the time for resolution. Remove his trusted confidants, take away his elite soldiers, disband his troops, then transfer him from his post and send capable court officials to govern the locality. The entire sequence of follow-up actions had long since taken shape in Liu Chengyou's mind; the timing was ripe, and Liu Chengyou had the free hands to act.

Liu Chong should thank his identity, and the fact that he hadn't revealed rebellious intentions or the matching ability—otherwise, even surviving would have been difficult.

After reading through it, Liu Chengyou picked up his brush and approved with a single "Approved" on the memorial.

As for the regulations for rewarding and ennobling the southern expedition officers that Wei Renpu had submitted, Liu Chengyou read them with greater care. After one major campaign, the imperial army's original structure had been somewhat shattered; too much fresh blood was surging forth among the officers—another opportunity for adjustment that Liu Chengyou could not afford to take lightly.

He went through them item by item. Seeing the string of names on the list, along with the proposed military posts, Liu Chengyou's expression remained calm throughout, but his eyes clearly betrayed a hint of ease.

Wang Jun was proposed to advance to Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard, succeeding the ailing Gao Xingzhou in overseeing the Imperial Guard Command; Murong Yanzhao was promoted to Deputy Chief Commander of the Palace Command, waiting only for when Liu Chengyou would strip Shang Hongqian of his post; Guo Rong was proposed for Vice Minister of War, with ennoblement and increased salary; Zhao Kuangyin advanced to Chief Inspector of the Palace Command; Han Tong was transferred to the Imperial Guard Command as Deputy Chief Commander; Sun Li received increased rank and salary, retaining his former post; Gao Huaide became Chief Commander of the Longqi Army; and the other great generals—Li Chongjin, Wang Yansheng, Wang Quanbin, Guo Chongwei, Shi Yanchao, and others—all received advancements.

And Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Yongde, An Shouzhong, Pan Mei, Dang Jin, and even Shi Shouxin, Han Lingkun, Han Chongyun, Ma Renyu—a string of familiar names, all on this list.

Liu Chengyou had no objections to the arrangements for most of them, but he still picked up his brush and made a few minor adjustments.

Looking back suddenly, one could see that since ascending the throne, Liu Chengyou had worked with painstaking effort, planting seeds in the imperial army; after several years of taking root and sprouting, the southern expedition had brought them to full bloom.

Within the imperial army, stars of generalship shone brilliantly.

Shifting his thoughts, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but wonder—once these men had fully matured and commanded the imperial army, how would he control them then? After only brief consideration, Liu Chengyou laughed at himself—a confident laugh.

To unify the realm and achieve great deeds, how could one do without capable generals? Wars could never be fought with a bunch of mediocre commanders. Rather than racking one's brains to suppress generals, better to deepen the institutions, strengthen imperial authority, and fundamentally reinforce control over the military.

"Second son!" While Liu Chengyou was lost in thought, the elder Lady Fu's voice drifted into his ears.

Turning around, he saw the Empress with her hair loose, a simple robe draped over her jade body with her figure faintly visible, holding an outer garment in her hands. She draped it over Liu Chengyou and said: "The weather is cold—don't catch a chill!"

Pulling the garment onto himself lightly, Liu Chengyou said: "I wasn't paying attention! Did I wake you?"

The elder Lady Fu reached out and gently stroked Liu Chengyou's face, saying: "I've always known you're diligent in governance, but you must also mind your health. Don't overwork yourself—you should rest a bit earlier!"

Holding the elder Lady Fu's hand, gazing at the rising and falling contours of the Empress's figure, desire suddenly stirred in him again, and he gave a rare, roguish smile: "My lady, to the bed then!"

This drew a light spit of disdain from her, but meeting Liu Chengyou's burning gaze, her body was still quite honest as she headed toward the inner bedchamber...