Chapter 565: No Favor Greater Than Lady Gao's

At the Linqing Prince's residence, everything inside and out was draped in white. Rows of white funeral banners fluttered in the autumn wind; every lantern and torch had been changed to white, and all gaudy ornaments were put away. The entire household was steeped in a palpable atmosphere of grief, like the already-withered autumn wind, stirring sorrow in every heart.

The mourning hall had long been set up. On the spirit seat, wine, fruit offerings, and an incense burner were arranged with great ceremony; the curling incense smoke carried a fragrance that brought tears to the eyes. After the great encoffining, Gao Xingzhou's remains had been placed within the outer coffin. In accordance with his last wishes, apart from brocade garments and pearls and jade, the armor, treasured sword, battle blade, and carved bow he had carried through years of campaigning were all placed inside, nearly filling every gap in the coffin.

The spirit tablet stood tall, its inscriptions written according to the rites for a Commandery Prince. Liu Chengyou personally devised Gao Xingzhou's posthumous name, styling him Wumu. He also directed Chancellor Feng Dao to compose an epitaph for Gao Xingzhou.

Gao Huaide, being Gao Xingzhou's only son, naturally served as chief mourner. But as his son was still young and unable to manage affairs, a nephew from among the Gao clan's close kin residing in the capital was chosen to assist with the mourning rites.

Amid the dirges, with hair disheveled, wearing mourning sackcloth and hempen band, his face etched with grief, he bowed in thanks to the guests who came to offer condolences. During his lifetime, Gao Xingzhou had held high rank and enjoyed great renown, so all civil and military officials in the capital with any standing whatsoever came in white mourning garments to express their sorrow.

Liu Chengyou arrived somewhat later, leaving the palace in person to visit the residence, accompanied by Noble Consort Gao, along with the Third Prince Liu Xi. Before the mourning hall, he looked upon the assembled civil and military officials. The civil officials went without saying, but the military officers had basically all come of their own accord, and not a few were generals from the vicinity outside the capital who had ridden posthaste upon hearing the news. Though the Gao family was not as populous as the Fu clan, its influence within the army was plain to see.

Of course, Liu Chengyou also believed that more of these civil and military officials were valuing Gao Xingzhou's status and the favor and trust that he, the Son of Heaven of the Great Han, had shown the Gao family.

Entering the hall to perform the rites, Liu Chengyou maintained a solemn expression, sighed with melancholy, and offered words of comfort to Gao Huaide: "The departed are gone; I pray you restrain your grief!"

Noble Consort Gao's spirits had been low these past two days. Gao Xingzhou's passing had been so sudden that no one could react in time, and the Noble Consort was deeply self-reproachful for not having seen her aged father one last time—after all, it was not as if they had been separated by a thousand li.

Now, finally accompanying the imperial carriage out of the palace, she felt the atmosphere around her and grief welled up from within; tears streamed down her face, soaking her silk handkerchief, yet still she could not stop. Seeing his mother weeping, the young prince Liu Xi, sitting to one side, followed suit—tears came as easily as that, and he burst into loud wailing. Noble Consort Gao's emotions were unstable, and Liu Chengyou sighed, stepped forward to help her up, and comforted her in a low voice.

"Sister is with child, I pray you take care and do not harm your health. As for Father's affairs after his death, your elder brother will manage them!" Gao Huaide could not help but add his own words of consolation.

This set off another round of weeping, and only then did Noble Consort Gao, supported by others, return to the palace with the Emperor. While the Son of Heaven was present, the crowd maintained solemn silence; after he left, the atmosphere of grief grew even thicker, but the assembled civil and military officials unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

On the imperial palanquin, Noble Consort Gao nestled against Liu Chengyou, her plump and graceful body pressed tightly against him. Though she looked lovely in mourning white—a rare sight of Lady Gao in this pitiable, endearing state—at this moment and in this place, Liu Chengyou was hardly in the mood for any lewd thoughts.

Seeing her eyes red and swollen, she looked up at Liu Chengyou and said: "Your Majesty, I wish to leave the palace and return to the residence, to keep vigil by my late father's spirit!"

Liu Chengyou furrowed his brow and said: "Cangyong can properly manage the funeral affairs. Your body is not in a convenient state, and to avoid stirring painful memories, it is best you rest in the palace. On the day of burial, you may leave the palace and see your father-in-law off on his final journey!"

However, Noble Consort Gao, who had always been obedient and deferential to Liu Chengyou, this time looked at him stubbornly: "I beg Your Majesty to grant this!"

"Very well. Since you have this filial devotion, how could I forcibly deny you? Return to the palace and pack your things—I grant your request!" Liu Chengyou sighed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Noble Consort Gao could not hold back her tears again.

Back in the palace, he sat upright at the imperial desk, pondering for a long while, then summoned Li Fang. Fixing his gaze on him, he asked: "Those military officers who violated regulations by privately entering the capital to offer condolences—have you recorded them all clearly?"

"Following Your Majesty's command, I have written them down. Altogether thirteen men, all commanders of the imperial army and garrison forces in the vicinity. The others either had leave or were off duty, so they were not recorded. I beg Your Majesty to review this!" Meeting the Emperor's gaze, Li Fang was somewhat cautious as he presented a thin sheet of paper. Though it was as light as a drifting feather, he held it as if it were a boulder, his hand trembling slightly.

Taking it, Liu Chengyou scanned through it. There were no high-ranking generals—all were mid-level officers, old subordinates of Gao Xingzhou. With a hint of emotion, he said: "These men are all loyal and righteous. The court should employ them well. Mingyuan, don't you think so?"

Upon being asked, Li Fang still answered cautiously: "Your Majesty speaks truly!"

Of course, what Li Fang's expression clearly conveyed was "whatever Your Majesty says is right," only he could not say it outright. Seeing his cautious demeanor, Liu Chengyou waved his hand: "Go and see if there are any new memorials!"

"Yes!" Li Fang breathed a sigh of relief and turned away, his heart full of deep reflections.

The Son of Heaven's favor toward the Gao family could be said to be profound, scarcely less than that shown to Lady Fu, born of the Empress and Consort Hui. But even though he had only been asked to record the names of some mid- and low-ranking officers, Li Fang felt that the sage's mind was unfathomable, as if treading on thin ice.

Liu Chengyou scanned the list once more, then gently picked it up, took out a key, and locked it away in one of his "secret files" that he had accumulated over many years.

Toward these officers, Liu Chengyou had no intention of severe punishment. After all, they had acted out of a sense of righteousness, and since Gao Xingzhou had only died two days ago, it would not be convenient for him to move against his old subordinates—that would look too unsightly and harm the image of him as the Son of Heaven of the Great Han.

However, they had ultimately violated the regulations. Though there would be no great punishment, small admonishments were indispensable—warnings must be given. As for their superiors, they too bore the fault of lax discipline over their subordinates. On Liu Chengyou's side, all of this was recorded in the files...

"Your Majesty, Feng Hui, Defense Commissioner of Jinzhou, has died of illness. His subordinate officers and clerks jointly recommended his son Feng Jiye to serve as acting commissioner and have submitted a memorial to the court requesting his appointment!" Li Fang brought Liu Chengyou a piece of news.

Feng Hui, Defense Commissioner of Jinzhou, was also a veteran of the battlefield, long experienced in war, having served four dynasties, and came from the famed "Silver Spear Valiant Army." Beginning in the fourth year of Tianfu of the Later Jin (939), over a decade he had twice been posted to Lingwu, keeping Liangzhou and the Hexi region in check. In office he had used both grace and force, and had joined with Yao Yuanfu to decisively defeat the Tangut, achieving no small merit.

However, in the fourth year of Qianyou, Liu Chengyou issued an edict sending Duke of Zheng Guo Shi Hongzhao to the frontier as Military Governor of Shuofang, and Feng Hui was naturally transferred away. The old man had been sensible enough to obey the order obediently. It was said that at nearly sixty years of age, his health was failing, and even if he had the will, he lacked the strength to resist the court—especially since the Tangut barbarians were causing disturbances at the time, making things quite unsettled.

Jinzhou was located in the southwest of the Great Han, a narrow and remote place—bordered by the Qinling Mountains to the north, resting against the Ba Mountains to the south, with the Han River running through it. The original Defense Commissioner, Kang Yanhuan, like Zhang Jianxiong, the Prefect of Puzhou who had been killed by Guo Rong last year, had also seized power for himself during the chaos at the end of the Later Jin and pledged allegiance. For years he had monopolized military and civil affairs, amusing himself in Jinzhou.

After Zhang Jianxiong's death, Liu Chengyou thought of this man and simply transferred Feng Hui to Jinzhou. Kang Yanhuan foolishly attempted to defy the order and was beheaded by Feng Hui, whose head was sent to the Eastern Capital. What displeased Liu Chengyou was that the vast wealth Kang Yanhuan had amassed during his tenure in Jinzhou had not a single coin delivered to Kaifeng—it was said to have been divided up among Feng Hui's sons.

Now Feng Hui was dead, and his son wanted to be his successor, even daring to brazenly submit a memorial requesting the appointment.

"Ha!" Liu Chengyou tossed the memorial onto the desk and looked up to ask: "What day is it today?"

"To answer Your Majesty, it is the tenth day of the seventh month in the fifth year of Qianyou!" Li Fang replied.

Liu Chengyou's tone was full of ridicule: "I thought time had turned back a dozen years or more, still the old game of military provinces dividing the realm, father dies and son inherits? Who does this Feng Jiye think he is, daring to demand office from the court like this?"

Seeing the Emperor angered, Li Fang hastily explained: "Your Majesty, Feng Jiye is the youngest son. Additionally, the Administrative Assistant of Jinzhou has secretly memorialized the court, saying that Feng Jiye, in order to fight over the family property, took advantage of Feng Hui's grave illness to murder his elder brother. The officials of Jinzhou who jointly petitioned the court did so under duress from Feng Jiye!"

"Well done! In all my years on the throne, this is the first time I've encountered such a situation!" Liu Chengyou laughed in fury and instructed Li Fang: "Have the chancellors deliberate on how to handle this! Though Jinzhou is narrow and remote, it is still territory of the Great Han—it cannot tolerate such a vile criminal who murders his brother and defies his superiors!"

"Yes!"

To Liu Chengyou, the Jinzhou affair was but a small matter. So many military governors had been easily handled by him; a petty Feng Jiye, acting against all reason, could hardly stir up any waves. However, the situation in Jinzhou, set against the broader backdrop of the Great Han court's reforms to centralize power and rectify internal governance, did appear somewhat exceptional.

Before long, Noble Consort Gao left the palace and returned to the residence to keep vigil by her late father's spirit. Liu Chengyou immediately ordered the Imperial Observatory to survey feng shui for Gao Xingzhou, select a burial site, and divine an auspicious burial date. He also directed the Ministry of Works to design the tomb and allocated funds and grain for its construction.

Liu Chengyou wished to have Gao Huaide inherit the title of Linqing Prince, but Gao Huaide firmly declined. Liu Chengyou insisted on rewarding him by virtue of his being the father of the Empress's kin, but Gao Huaide said that he had already received his father's protection and dared not covet more—a true man, if he desired rank and honor, should earn them through his own achievements.

Liu Chengyou greatly admired Gao Huaide's bold spirit, but he still insisted on bestowing Gao Xingzhou's legacy upon him, elevating Gao Huaide's title from Marquis of the County to Commandery Duke of Linqing...

The conversation between Liu Chengyou and Gao Huaide was, of course, a piece of theater. To cool down those who advocated for "hereditary succession in perpetuity," Liu Chengyou had in recent years been curbing the granting of titles. As for the past excesses—when former-dynasty officials died, their titles were taken back, with no principle of inheritance.

But the founding meritorious officials required Liu Chengyou to proceed with caution.

Afterwards, Liu Chengyou issued another edict: when Gao Xingzhou was buried, all civil and military officials in the capital of the fifth rank and above were to attend.