Chapter 113
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Gu Yuanbai said, “Come in.”
In the blink of an eye, a person jumped down from the tall city wall. The guards at the city looked at him instinctively, raising the long spears in their hands, and then quickly turned to look at Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai rubbed his temples and said to the guards, “Press him to the city gate and let him enter the palace through the palace gate.”
When Xue Yuan saw the Emperor again, he was already in the Xuanzheng Hall.
The Emperor had just finished his meal and was about to take a bath. When he saw Xue Yuan coming, he lifted his eyelids slightly, then dropped them back onto the memorial.
Xue Yuan smiled when he saw Gu Yuanbai, completed his bow properly, and said, “Your Majesty, can I confirm the Lantern Festival with you in advance?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he caught a book thrown at him. Xue Yuan looked up, but the Emperor’s expression remained unchanged as he picked up another memorial.
Xue Yuan chuckled helplessly, “Your Majesty, why are you willing to give me a chance now?”
Gu Yuanbai said, “First, tell me why you came to see me today.”
Xue Yuan handed the closed book to Tian Fusheng and said honestly, “I heard about Your Majesty’s visit to the Chu residence a few days ago.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded and let him continue.
“After hearing about it, I went to the Chu residence to see for myself,” Xue Yuan said, “I found that Lord Chu Wei’s fingers were intact. It seems that Your Majesty is very fond of Lord Chu’s hands. It’s understandable. Who wouldn’t like hands that can draw for Your Majesty?”
Gu Yuanbai suddenly asked, “What about the wooden statue you carved for me?”
Xue Yuan hesitated for a moment, coughed a few times, and said, “I’ll give it to you on the Lantern Festival.”
“Two days and two days more, Xue Jiuyao, if you cannot sculpt the statue, just say so plainly. There’s no need to delay like this,” Gu Yuanbai said with a silent smirk, finally looking up at him. “Are you regretting why those two wolves didn’t bite off Minister Chu’s fingers?”
Xue Yuan politely replied, “Not at all, not at all.”
Gu Yuanbai laughed, but his laughter soon turned into weakness and discomfort. He felt weak, short of breath, and his limbs felt heavy. He stopped laughing, furrowing his brows involuntarily.
Xue Yuan quickly rushed to his side, careful not to touch him, and asked, “Your Majesty?”
Gu Yuanbai grasped his arm tightly and sat up straight, “For some reason, I’ve been feeling weak recently. Laughing a lot in the past didn’t matter, but now…”
Panic rose in Xue Yuan’s heart. He calmed himself and asked, “What did the imperial physician say?”
“Fatigue,” Gu Yuanbai replied.
Xue Yuan tidied his hair by his ears, and Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes, feeling a bit better, “Every time I feel weak, it’s usually after walking in the imperial garden. After returning to the palace, I regain my strength in a moment, even feeling energetic. The imperial physician’s diagnosis is probably correct, but I can’t stay idle. Sitting in the palace all the time would be detrimental, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re right,” Xue Yuan agreed softly, but his brows were still furrowed.
Xue Yuan had taken over Tian Fusheng’s tasks, so the old eunuch had to gauge the Emperor’s mood before speaking. He said, “Your Majesty, it’s time for your bath.”
Xue Yuan suppressed his worry and blurted out, “Your Majesty, allow me to wash your hair.”
The hall fell silent for a moment. Gu Yuanbai suddenly smiled, “Then it’s up to you.”
***
In the Spring Palace Hall,
Gu Yuanbai laid back, his black hair floating in the spring water, rippling with the waves. Xue Yuan held this silky black hair, admiring it fondly. “Every strand of hair from Your Majesty is worth a fortune to me,” he said.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuanbai plucked a strand of hair and wrapped it around Xue Yuan’s wrist. “Then take this fortune,” he replied.
Xue Yuan thought to himself, this ungrateful person.
He took out a jade thumb ring from his pocket and placed it on Gu Yuanbai’s thumb. “Your Majesty, this item was bought with a fortune,” he said.
Couldn’t resist adding, “Please don’t lose it.”
The word “lose” made Gu Yuanbai feel guilty. He raised his hand and looked at the jade thumb ring, which still looked the same as before, exuding a deep green color. This jade thumb ring, even if it wasn’t worth a fortune, was now extraordinary because it had rolled from the palace to the northern frontier and back to the Emperor’s hand.
It had flown with birds, witnessed the bottom of the palace lake, and seen the great snows that covered the Great Wall in the north. No amount of wealth could buy such experiences.
Gu Yuanbai, being a good person, didn’t want to take advantage of others for nothing. So he picked up another loose hair and wrapped it around Xue Yuan’s other wrist, “Two, as your reward.”
Xue Yuan obediently let him tie it, “Your Majesty, don’t you want to go out for the Lantern Festival?”
Gu Yuanbai laid still with his eyes closed on the couch, “Tell me what’s out there.”
Xue Yuan opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. Having left home at a young age and spent years at war, he had forgotten almost everything he should have forgotten. After last year’s palace banquet, he went straight back home and had no idea what was happening in the bustling streets.
But he worried that if he said too much, Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t go out with him, so he said vaguely, “There are many things, too numerous to count.”
Gu Yuanbai said, “What?”
Xue Yuan replied more vaguely, “Everything.”
“I didn’t hear that,” frowned Gu Yuanbai, curling his finger. “Say it to my ear.”
Xue Yuan leaned closer, about to speak, but the hot breath sprayed onto Gu Yuanbai’s ear. He couldn’t help but glance at the Emperor’s ear. The Emperor laid on the couch, wearing only a thin robe. From his ear to his neck, everything was clearly visible.
The single garment covered below the neck, the slender neck gleaming with a faint white light. The collar had a slight ripple, as if with a gentle touch, one could follow it down further.
Xue Yuan forgot everything he wanted to say.
The warm and humid breath, like that night when Xue Yuan tasted Gu Yuanbai’s earlobe, made Gu Yuanbai uncomfortable. He straightened his legs, intending to make Xue Yuan suffer as he did that night.
“Official Xue,” he smiled wryly, “speak.”
“I…” Xue Yuan opened his mouth, leaning closer, every word seemed to touch the Emperor’s ear, as if one more word would be enough to taste it, his voice hoarse, “During the Lantern Festival, there are many delicacies in the streets. The donkey meat pastries you had last time will be available. We can walk from one end of the street to the other, and I can buy whatever you want.”
Gu Yuanbai felt uncomfortable with the hot breath, and he moved his ears, intending to turn his head.
Xue Yuan held his head in place, telling him not to move, and chuckled softly, “Your Majesty, you’re still washing your hair.”
Gu Yuanbai turned his head back again. His earlobes moved in Xue Yuan’s eyes, seemingly deliberately attracting General Xue’s full attention. Unable to resist, General Xue wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to “accidentally” taste it, but just as he was about to approach, Gu Yuanbai said, “Are you finished talking?”
Xue Yuan choked, closed his mouth, and thought of an excuse, “There are also games, many of them. I carved a wooden figurine for you, and there should be craftsmen making sugar figurines during the Lantern Festival.”
Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes and covered the corner of his mouth with a barely visible smile, “Sugar figurines, are they good?”
Xue Yuan got even closer, and his lips almost touched the pearl-like ear. Gu Yuanbai turned his head lazily, “Wash my hair.”
Xue Yuan: “…”
He took a deep breath and left to wash Gu Yuanbai’s already soaked black hair.
A fleeting smile appeared on the Emperor’s face, then quickly disappeared.
***
Before the Lantern Festival arrived, the items sent by Xixia were stored in the warehouse.
“Five thousand good horses, ten thousand cattle and sheep, five million taels of silver, three million stones of grain,” the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue reported, “Not a single item less.”
Gu Yuanbai pondered for a moment and ordered someone to invite the Xixia envoy to an audience.
Two hours later, the second prince of Xixia, Li Angyi, along with the Xixia envoy, were received. Gu Yuanbai saw the second prince’s face for the first time. He resembled the seventh prince to some extent, but there seemed to be a perpetual worry between his brows. Occasionally meeting Gu Yuanbai’s eyes, his gaze would dodge, showing a trace of timidity rather than the demeanor of a prince.
The ministers in the hall glanced at him and then shifted their gaze to the officials behind the Second Prince of Xixia. The two sides exchanged glances, with Gu Yuanbai remaining silent throughout. The Second Prince of Xixia kept his head down without uttering a word. After the confrontation ended, prompted by his courtiers, the Second Prince of Xixia timidly spoke up, “Emperor of Great Heng, can you now release my seventh younger brother?”
Gu Yuanbai looked at him and replied calmly, “Bring him here.”
The Xixia people who had been under house arrest in Mingsheng Relay Station were already waiting outside the hall. The guards politely escorted Li Angshun and his entourage into the hall. Upon seeing his seventh younger brother, the Second Prince of Xixia hurriedly approached and anxiously asked, “Seventh Little Brother, how have you been these days?”
Li Angshun shook off his hand, his face dark and gloomy, “Why did you come so late?”
After the two groups met, the Second Prince was ready to take his leave with his people, when suddenly Gu Yuanbai smiled warmly and said, “In a few days, Great Heng will celebrate the Lantern Festival. There’s no rush for you to return. After the festival, let me host a banquet for you all, so you can experience the festivities of Great Heng.”
The Second Prince was about to speak, but Li Angshun had already agreed first. The Second Prince hesitated, closed his mouth helplessly.
As the group bid farewell and left, Gu Yuanbai watched their figures depart, lifted a teacup, and took a sip of warm tea. Just as the Xixia people were about to step out of the palace, Gu Yuanbai suddenly called out loudly, “Li Angyi!”
Li Angyi quickly turned to look at the Emperor, though his body remained facing forward. “Yes.”
Gu Yuanbai took another sip of tea and remarked, “I quite like the incense of your country.”
Li Angyi relaxed a bit, nervously expressed his gratitude, and cautiously departed.
As the others disappeared from sight, Gu Yuanbai lowered his eyes and used the lid of the cup to sweep away the floating tea leaves.
Li Angyi had the look of a wary wolf.
A wary wolf refers to someone who turns their head to look back without turning their body, showing a fierce nature and often harboring thoughts of harming others.
The Second Prince of Xixia was not to be underestimated.
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
