Chapter 424: Who Asks: How Am I as a New Bridegroom?

If one were to ask what was the most brilliant color in the Central Plains at this moment, there was no settled answer yet — but if one were to make a ranking of beautiful women, Lady Feng, the Lady of Wu, would certainly be near the very top.

Lady Feng was the second daughter of Feng Meng, the former Defender of Yedu, and had been exceptionally beautiful since childhood.

Six years earlier, Shi Jingtang, who had not yet rebelled, had specifically sought Lady Feng in marriage for his most beloved adopted son, Shi Chongyin, precisely because he had taken a fancy to her beauty.

But Shi Chongyin did not have that good fortune. Not long after the wedding, Shi Jingtang raised his troops in rebellion at Jinyang.

He and Shi Jingtang's eldest son, Shi Chongying, were both in the Eastern Capital, Luoyang. In their terror, the two hid in a well at a commoner's house, but in the end they were still found, and they even dragged that commoner's family into being killed along with them.

Lady Feng was fortunate — she had gone back to her maiden home to visit her parents at the time, and so she escaped that calamity.

Yet such a beautiful woman without a husband naturally drew the covetous eyes of countless men. Fortunately for her, all manner of lechers dared not lay a hand on her out of fear of Shi Jingtang, because Shi Chongyin was Shi Jingtang's most beloved adopted son.

But this did not stump Shi Chonggui. Behind Shi Jingtang's back, he often used the excuse of visiting his aunt to go to Lady Feng's residence and carry on with her, and no one else dared mention it to Shi Jingtang.

As for why Lady Feng, who had clearly married Shi Chongyin, had become Shi Chonggui's aunt — well, that was even more interesting.

This Shi Chongyin had originally been Shi Jingtang's youngest brother, but Shi Jingtang was so very fond of this younger brother that he simply adopted Shi Chongyin as his own son.

This... what the hell kind of logic was that?

In any case, Zhang Zhao had never been able to figure it out. He saw his little brother was adorable and loved him so much that he simply turned his brother into his son so he could dote on him properly, right?

What sort of person could come up with such a clever little trick? Did Shi Jingtang have an addiction to being other people's father and being other people's son?

So, on the surface, Shi Chongyin was Shi Chonggui's elder brother, but in fact he was his uncle.

It had to be said, our Emperor Chu really knew how to have fun — sister-in-law plus aunt, double the pleasure, presumably.

And this Shi Chonggui was not merely fooling around with Lady Feng; he genuinely adored her.

Shi Jingtang's bones were not yet cold, and the seat beneath Shi Chonggui's backside was not even fully secure. After promoting Feng Dao to Duke of Yan, before even bestowing rewards on his meritorious officials, Shi Chonggui could not wait to make Lady Feng the Lady of Wu, and later even made her his empress.

Today was the day of Shi Jingtang's funeral procession. His sister-in-law and daughter-in-law, the newly made Lady of Wu, Lady Feng, had ingeniously turned even mourning dress into a display.

She had gathered a few plain white flowers and pinned them to her full, swelling bosom. The powder on her face was applied with great skill, complementing her mourning clothes perfectly and further highlighting the theme that one in mourning white is at one's most alluring.

The sight made Shi Chonggui's heart bloom with delight, and he could not help but grin from ear to ear, clearly already thinking of countless delightful ways to play.

As for Lady Feng, although she had thrown in her lot with Shi Chonggui, it was no more than the need, having lost her man, to find someone to lean on.

At this moment, though inwardly quite pleased, she still knew that this occasion was truly not one for careless laughter.

"Your Majesty, you must not laugh. Beware lest the Empress Dowager find out!"

"Oh! Right, right!" Shi Chonggui, taking advantage of the eunuchs' inattention, quietly reached over and squeezed Lady Feng's soft little hand.

At this time, Shi Chonggui had not yet fully changed his mindset, and he still felt some fear of Empress Dowager Li, Shi Jingtang's wife.

The two had only exchanged a few words when Feng Dao, Feng Yu, Jing Yanguang, He Ning, Zhao Ying, and the other civil and military dignitaries all came in.

The moment Jing Yanguang, Feng Dao, and the others saw Lady Feng swaying her hips as she slipped away, they immediately recalled that Shi Chonggui had just promoted Lady Feng to Lady of Wu.

It had to be said that these men, especially the civil officials at this time, had indeed been tamed by the military men to the point of having no shame whatsoever.

Feng Dao, He Ning, and the others actually stepped forward to congratulate Shi Chonggui on newly taking the Lady of Wu.

This... Shi Jingtang's coffin was still right there beside them!

When Shi Chonggui heard the officials' congratulations, his mouth stretched into a grin that reached his ears, and Lady Feng behind the curtain was likewise overjoyed. But Shi Chonggui immediately remembered Empress Dowager Li's words and hurriedly waved his hand.

"The Empress Dowager has commanded that today, as we bear out the late Emperor for burial, we should not rejoice."

Indeed, Empress Dowager Li had said that today, at Shi Jingtang's funeral, Shi Chonggui was not to show a happy expression. After today, whatever he did, Empress Dowager Li would not interfere.

The assembled ministers nodded repeatedly in agreement, but judging from Shi Chonggui's expression, no one took those words seriously.

Shi Jingtang's mausoleum was called the County Magistrate, located on the outskirts of the Western Capital, Luoyang. But given the Later Jin's national strength, there was hardly any money to build the mountain tomb.

Shi Jingtang probably had not expected to die so early, so not only was the mountain tomb unbuilt, even the burial mound and its accompanying gardens had not been started, and the stone beasts had not even been carved. For now, only the site had been selected.

But Shi Jingtang's coffin could not remain in the imperial palace indefinitely, so a plot of land on the outskirts of the Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture, was chosen as a temporary resting place for the coffin.

Once the burial mound at the County Magistrate was completed, the coffin would be transported there for interment. The mountain tomb and such could be built slowly over time.

At once, Shi Chonggui, accompanied by Empress Dowager Li, transported Shi Jingtang's coffin to the outskirts of Kaifeng Prefecture. Because the coffin was quite large and the journey not short, it took a very long time.

Shi Chonggui held back again and again, but in the end he truly could not bear it. He immediately had someone call Lady Feng over from afar onto the carriage, and the two of them, in the carriage behind Shi Jingtang's coffin, whispered sweet nothings and drank heartily.

By the time they reached the place where the coffin was to rest, Shi Chonggui was already somewhat tipsy. Wine emboldens the timid, and all the more so now that he was the Son of Heaven, with a beauty at his side — naturally he was unwilling to lose face.

Shi Chonggui looked at Empress Dowager Li in the distance, and while sprinkling wine before Shi Jingtang's coffin, he deliberately said to the attendants on his left and right in a strange, affected tone.

"The Empress Dowager did instruct me that I must not laugh before the late Emperor's tomb. All of you, remember that well!"

The attendants standing to the left and right were all Shi Chonggui's own men. The moment they heard Shi Chonggui speak like this, they actually burst out laughing.

For a moment the assembled ministers were astonished. Empress Dowager Li was so angry her face turned ashen, but she had now lost her support, and Shi Chonggui was not her own son, so she could do nothing about it.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Li dared not speak, Shi Chonggui grew even more pleased with himself. He set down the wine bowl, reached out and pulled the alluring Lady Feng beside him into his arms, looked at the surrounding attendants, and asked with a great laugh.

"How am I as a new bridegroom today?"

Lady Feng and those around him all laughed heartily and cried out in unison: "Your Majesty is dashing and handsome — a fine new bridegroom indeed!"

No one had imagined that Shi Chonggui, who ordinarily seemed steady and quite filial, would turn out to be this sort of person.

Feng Dao, He Ning, Zhao Ying, and the others wore expressions of pained disapproval, while the rest of the civil and military officials looked shocked.

Empress Dowager Li covered her face with both hands and wept aloud before Shi Jingtang's coffin. Only Shi Chonggui, his attendants, and Lady Feng laughed heartily there.

"Who is so bold as to behave so outrageously before His Majesty's spirit?"

At that very moment, a stern shout came from the distance. More than ten riders in white mourning garb, carrying a Three Stars banner commonly used in Liangzhou, came galloping from afar.

The man at their head wore a plain white robe and a white cap, imposing and majestic.

Several cavalry officers of the imperial guard spurred their horses from the outer perimeter to intercept the white-robed man.

The white-robed man gripped his horse with his legs, and the horse reared up. He pointed with his right hand and shouted, "Who are you people? How dare you block my horse's path?"

By now, the newcomers had all seen clearly who had arrived, and the junior cavalry officers of the imperial guard responsible for security cried out in alarm.

"It's Xue Baipao of Liangzhou!"

"When did Zhao Zilong of Wuwei get here?"

"Could it be that Commander-in-Chief Murong has arrived in person?"

At once, a stir ran through the crowd. It was not only the junior cavalry officers who began cheering — even many of the generals started shouting.

"Is that Brother Xinchang? Do you still remember your old brother?"

"Young Lord Xinchang, you still owe me a drink at the Return-to-Allegiance Tavern!"

Murong Xinzhang had once spent a year in the Eastern Capital. He spent lavishly, excelled in the martial arts, and had even served as Commander-in-Chief of the Left Feathered Forest and the Left and Right Dragon Cavalry of the imperial guard.

Though these were honorary posts in name only, a great many officers and men of the imperial guard genuinely respected and admired him.

Moreover, Murong Xinzhang was a man of open, generous spirit. Whether it was men of all walks of life, anyone who came to his door — out of travel money, or needing to lie low from an enemy — as long as they found him, he never failed to help.

Of the fighting men who came to the Eastern Capital, so long as they had any small reputation, there was not one who had not drunk Murong Xinzhang's wine.

Add to that the prestige of his status as son of the King of Liang and former son-in-law of the previous dynasty, and the moment he appeared, it felt as though the chief of the martial world had arrived.

The several junior cavalry officers who had meant to intercept him naturally fell in behind Murong Xinzhang, as if they had become his attendants.

While still mounted, Murong Xinzhang clasped his hands and bowed to all around.

"Today the Great Emperor is borne to his grave. My old ties with you all can wait until later. In three days, at the Return-to-Allegiance Tavern — all of you come, and we will not leave until we are drunk."

With that, Murong Xinzhang swung down from his horse. A few tears actually welled from his eyes, and he made a formal bow toward Shi Jingtang's coffin.

"Your Majesty departed in such haste — your younger brother could not even see you one last time."

Then he turned his gaze to the Empress Dowager Li, her face streaming with tears. Just then Princess Yongle arrived as well, and husband and wife prostrated themselves before their elder sister, who had been like a mother to them.

"Please restrain your grief, Third Sister!"

Only now did Empress Dowager Li seem to have found someone to lean on. She rushed over, threw her arms around Princess Yongle, and wept aloud.

Murong Xinzhang, meanwhile, turned and walked toward Shi Chonggui. A moment earlier, when Shi Chonggui saw that it was Murong Xinzhang coming, he had felt an inexplicable pang of guilt.

Though Murong Xinzhang was younger than him, he was his fifteenth uncle by marriage.

And back when they were in the Eastern Capital, Murong Xinzhang had often spoken well of Shi Chonggui before Shi Jingtang. Even more often, Shi Chonggui had obtained Hexi goods through Murong Xinzhang and made a fortune reselling them.

More importantly, this was an age when military men held power. In the Eastern Capital, with no father like Zhang Zhao pressing down on him, Murong Xinzhang had shone brilliantly. With the Kingdom of Liang behind him, he did not fear Shi Chonggui in the least.

"A man from the wild borderlands pays his respects to Your Majesty!" But though he said "pays his respects," Murong Xinzhang did not kneel. Instead he explained coolly.

"Regrettably, the Kingdom of Liang has already declared independence. As a son, I must know filial piety, and so I must obey the command of my father, the Heavenly King Zhang, and cannot perform the full ceremonial obeisance to Your Majesty."

Shi Chonggui felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. Only now did he remember that, besides his grandfather Yelu Deguang, he also had a grand-uncle, Zhang Zhao.

At this moment, Shi Chonggui finally understood a little of that stifled feeling Shi Jingtang had had upon hearing that Yelu Deguang and Zhang Zhao had sworn brotherhood.

And now, intimidated by Murong Xinzhang and with the word "filial piety" thrown in his face, Shi Chonggui's drunkenness sobered up almost completely in an instant.

But just as he was about to speak, the eunuch attendant beside him had already stepped forward.

This eunuch had also drunk a good deal of wine and was still giddy with the excitement of being a personal attendant to the Son of Heaven. He actually advanced several steps and furiously berated Murong Xinzhang.

"Who are you? Is the Son of Heaven not greater than some Heavenly King? Why do you not present yourself with the rites of a subject?"

Murong Xinzhang smiled coldly, then turned his head to look at Empress Dowager Li. "May I ask, Third Sister — was it this man who laughed before the spirit tablet just now?"

Empress Dowager Li knew that Shi Chonggui could no longer be restrained, and she understood Murong Xinzhang's intent: he wanted to help her recover some standing, for otherwise life in the palace would be hard from now on. She nodded at once.

"You insolent beast! Dog-hearted and heaven-daring — is the Heavenly King a name for the likes of you to utter? Courting death!"

With a roar, Murong Xinzhang — in full view of Shi Chonggui and the assembled civil and military officials — stepped forward with his right leg, exhaled sharply, and drove a straight punch hard into the eunuch's chest.

A crisp crack rang out. The eunuch shuddered violently and stared at Murong Xinzhang in disbelief.

Then he let out a terrible scream and collapsed on the spot, convulsing on the ground as he began vomiting great mouthfuls of blood. It was clear he would not live.

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