Chapter 117
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While the physicians checked the Emperor’s pulse, Xue Yuan stood nearby, staring intently.
Gu Yuanbai’s mood soured from the ten days of inhaling Xixia’s national incense, his expression fluctuating between anger and discomfort. Xue Yuan assumed he was unwell and stood by like a cold-faced judge, exuding a chilly aura.
After feeling the Emperor’s pulse, the imperial physician confirmed under the intense gazes of both lords, “I can stake my life on it: His Majesty’s body has not been infiltrated by any medicinal substances from these incenses.”
Gu Yuanbai corrected, “It’s poison.”
The physician wiped sweat from his forehead. “Yes, it is poison.”
The physicians didn’t understand the concept of addiction or its side effects. They only knew there was no lethal poison, just invigorating ingredients. Historically, even when Five Minerals Powder caused deaths in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it remained popular among the elite.
They didn’t see the dangers and didn’t believe in its perils.
Gu Yuanbai had every imperial physician in the entire Imperial Medical Institute examine his body one by one. From their words, he concluded that he had not yet reached the point of addiction.
His weak constitution reacted strongly within just ten days, but prolonged, undetected exposure might have ensnared him unawares.
The thought of this filled Gu Yuanbai with cold anger. Before bed, his hands still trembled with fury.
Xue Yuan poured him warm tea and, seeing the slight tremor of the Emperor’s jade-like hands on the silk quilt, his eyelid twitched. He held Gu Yuanbai’s hand. “What are you afraid of?”
Gu Yuanbai gritted out, “I’m angry.”
His face showed a murderous intent. “Their ambition is vast and their methods vile. How big must their appetite be to think they can swallow both us and Xixia whole?”
Xue Yuan looked around as the palace servants left the sleeping quarters. He began undressing, the rustling disturbing Gu Yuanbai’s thoughts. Gu Yuanbai looked up, seeing Xue Yuan about to remove his inner garments.
“What are you doing?”
Xue Yuan continued undressing until only his underclothes remained. “I’m sleeping with you tonight.”
He stepped out to fetch a basin of hot water, removed his boots, and soaked his feet by the Emperor’s bed. Gu Yuanbai kicked his back, feeling a headache. “Xue Jiuyao, how shameless can you be?”
Unfazed by the kick, Xue Yuan took the basin away and returned with his face and hands still damp. “Your Majesty, I’m clean now. May I join you on the bed?”
Despite asking, he was already climbing onto the bed.
“Xue Jiuyao, not even a blade can penetrate your thick skin,” Gu Yuanbai said. “I feed and house you, not to let you sleep in the Emperor’s bed.”
Xue Yuan pretended to be deaf and mute, pulling up his clothing to wipe away the water droplets on his face, revealing his solid abdomen to Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai took an extra look. Such a good physique was forged through countless drills and training, each part having experienced numerous battles, like a poised wolf’s head. Just by looking at it, one could sense the immense strength contained within, rock-hard with several well-defined muscles.
As he moved, a scar on his waist became faintly visible. Gu Yuanbai leaned forward and gently touched the scar.
Xue Yuan froze, lifting his face from his clothes to look heavily at Gu Yuanbai.
The young emperor, with his black hair down and the anger and ruthlessness gone from his face, leaned halfway out of the blankets, one hand on the bed. His silk clothes covered him tightly, but his expression and the atmosphere made him look like… a wife peeking out from under the blankets.
“Don’t touch.” His voice was hoarse.
Luckily, the young emperor was an ally, the Emperor of Great Heng. If it were an enemy, lying in front of Xue Yuan like this before a battle, he might lose all his vigilance, allowing even a child to stab him to death with a blade.
Gu Yuanbai followed the scar around to Xue Yuan’s back, but it was obscured by his clothes. “Turn around, let me see.”
Xue Yuan muttered, “It’s ugly,” but he obediently turned around, lifting his clothes to reveal his broad back.
The scar extended from his waist to his back, indicating the severity of the wound. Gu Yuanbai examined the scar’s size and color, imagining the impact of this slash, inflicted by the common people, on the young Xue Yuan.
His gaze moved to Xue Yuan’s back.
There were no other scars; Xue Yuan had protected himself well, leaving a large area for Gu Yuanbai to scratch.
Recalling what Xue Yuan had said, Gu Yuanbai raised his hand and traced a white line on his back.
Xue Yuan trembled all over. Unable to bear it, he turned suddenly and pinned Gu Yuanbai onto the bed.
The bed made a soft, muffled sound.
Gu Yuanbai fell onto the thick quilt, his head cushioned by Xue Yuan’s hand. “Are you mad?”
Xue Yuan turned over, pulling Gu Yuanbai onto his chest and covering them both with the blanket. “It’s night, Your Majesty. If you don’t want to sleep, I’ll massage your legs.”
Gu Yuanbai tried to get off him, but Xue Yuan held his waist. Tired, he relaxed, using Xue Yuan as a pillow. “Go ahead.”
Outside the hall, Tian Fusheng guarded the door. From time to time, he heard the dull sounds of the bed frame coming from within, causing his face to change abruptly. He then drove the other attendants further away.
Worried, he thought to himself, “Your Majesty, please don’t torment Lord Xue too harshly.”
What the old servant outside thought, those inside the room didn’t know. Xue Yuan’s hand moved down to massage Gu Yuanbai’s thigh. The pressure was just right, and Gu Yuanbai sighed, almost closing his eyes.
“Master Bai,” Xue Yuan asked, “What is addiction? Can it kill?”
Gu Yuanbai replied, “It’s worse than death.”
Xue Yuan frowned, listening intently.
Gu Yuanbai explained the dangers of addiction in detail. Though his tone was casual, Xue Yuan’s expression grew increasingly grim and sinister.
If Gu Yuanbai hadn’t discovered it, would he have become a puppet for someone behind the scenes?
Just the thought ignited a fury within him, wishing to drag out the culprit and tear them apart.
His expression was clear, and Gu Yuanbai smiled, his eyes deepening. “I also want to know who’s behind this. The net they cast is so large, aren’t they afraid it might snap halfway?”
“If what Your Majesty says is true, and the dangers of addiction are so severe, driving people mad and making them follow orders,” Xue Yuan’s tone turned dangerous, “then Xixia is already a puppet state.”
Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes, recalling historical tragedies, and repeated, “From the emperor to officials and wealthy… It is indeed already a puppet state.”
Terrifying.
How many years had the people or the country behind this been planning to reach such a stage?
They were silent for a moment. Xue Yuan then placed Gu Yuanbai back on the pillow. Gu Yuanbai grumbled, “Was I crushing you?”
Xue Yuan said nothing, diving under the blankets to massage the Emperor from neck to foot.
The quilt was wrinkled, and the Emperor, feeling comfortable, clenched the fabric for an hour, groaning several times.
***
The next day, Gu Yuanbai ordered the Imperial Medical Institute to investigate the ingredients of Xixia’s national incense. He also forcefully dispatched a team to the coast to trace the incense’s source, with civil and military officials accompanying to eradicate the incense entirely, leaving no trace.
Better a bloody mess than allowing such a substance to spread within Great Heng.
Ban it, absolutely! Investigate thoroughly!
Even if it startled the snake, Great Heng, as the dominant power, had the strength to back this move. Gu Yuanbai wanted to provoke the mastermind, forcing them to act rashly.
The physicians and ministers, though intimidated by the Emperor’s authority, felt he was overreacting, thinking it unnecessary to make such a fuss.
They all believed the matter wasn’t severe. The imperial physicians had said the incense was merely invigorating. If Xixia dared to use it as their national fragrance, could they be foolish enough to poison themselves?
The ministers had secretly advised Gu Yuanbai several times, suggesting that investigating the source of the incense was sufficient and that there was no need to go to such lengths to ban it. However, the usually receptive emperor was exceptionally adamant this time. This firm stance caused many to worry, although they kept their concerns to themselves.
The emperor had ruled for two years, managing the empire with great order. Could he be becoming arrogant and unwilling to heed advice?
Gu Yuanbai not only sent people to crack down on the drug but also employed some subtle tactics in the capital. He ensured that half of Xixia envoys caught colds, prolonging their stay in the empire.
Xixia envoys wanted to leave, but given that a simple cold could now be fatal, they decided to stay in the capital for treatment, valuing their lives over an early departure.
The Emperor was deeply concerned about this issue and specially dispatched the imperial physicians to the post station to treat the Xixia envoys.
“Make sure they can’t leave Great Heng for two months. Ideally, they should stay at the post station all the time and go nowhere,” Gu Yuanbai ordered the physicians. “If they recover too quickly, find ways to worsen their condition.”
The imperial physicians, sweating profusely, engraved every word of the Emperor into their minds. “Yes, yes, Your Majesty, we understand.”
Orders were given one by one, and the Supervision Bureau redirected their efforts to secretly investigate Xixia. The border guards were also on high alert. Gu Yuanbai didn’t believe that the mastermind behind this could react quickly enough to his sudden actions.
Xue Yuan, amused, asked, “What if the Xixia envoys recover from their colds within two months? What will Your Majesty do then?”
“They better not recover too quickly,” Gu Yuanbai laughed, glancing at him. “Unless they want to lose their legs.”
The Xixia envoys, having caught severe colds, were treated by the Imperial Medical Institute. Within half a month, their condition worsened to the point where they were bedridden, unable to get up.
The imperial physicians, relieved, watched the envoys closely. If anyone showed signs of improvement, they would quickly intervene, ensuring the person couldn’t even lift their hands.
By the time the Xixia envoys began recovering, Great Heng’s quinquennial martial examinations had begun with great fanfare.
Along with the martial exams, the Emperor issued an edict changing the interval from five years to three years. Additionally, the exams would be more detailed, specifying what the army and navy should be tested on, which was announced to the public.
Gu Yuanbai had originally been indifferent to naval development, believing that maritime resources were not yet on anyone’s radar. England was still small and chaotic, America’s natives were in a primitive state, and the world was led by China.
However, he had relied too much on his subconscious historical knowledge, forgetting that history had changed since the emergence of Great Heng.
This was not the world he had known; it was a new world where any possibility could arise.
As long as the incense had been brought into Great Heng from the outside, there would inevitably come a day when war would break out at sea.
Gu Yuanbai had prepared too late, but he had uncovered the enemy’s plot in advance. With Great Heng’s resilience, even if they didn’t win, they certainly wouldn’t lose. The Ministry of Works had never stopped researching ships.
Gu Yuanbai was extremely patient. While keeping an eye on the military examinations to see if any promising talents could be discovered, he also waited to see if the timid enemy hiding behind Xixia would start to panic.
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