Chapter 155
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Gu Yuanbai shared his thoughts about the sports event, and Xue Yuan, after some thought, said slowly, “You should exercise more too.”
Gu Yuanbai chuckled, thinking about exercising on Xue Yuan, “Have you bathed?”
Xue Yuan replied, “I’m clean.”
Gu Yuanbai, sitting in his chair, beckoned, “Come here, give me a kiss.”
Xue Yuan glanced around instinctively. The people in the hall lowered their heads, acting like wooden figures, pretending not to hear. Besides the palace servants, there were also officials from the Supervision Bureau disguised as Xue Yuan’s subordinates.
Seeing Xue Yuan’s look, the officials from the Supervision Bureau smiled discreetly.
Feeling reassured, Xue Yuan approached. Gu Yuanbai reached out, and Xue Yuan obediently leaned down, receiving a loud kiss from the Emperor.
Gu Yuanbai bit his lip, then licked it, “You taste sweaty.”
“Just from the pain earlier,” Xue Yuan hesitated, “Your Majesty, please don’t pull there again.”
Gu Yuanbai loved teasing him, “Whether there’s a next time depends on your performance.”
He snapped his fingers at the Supervision Bureau officials watching the scene.
One official pulled out a ledger, detailing meticulously, “On February 15th, Lord Xue spoke to a woman by a bridge in Ying Tianfu.”
Xue Yuan frowned, remembering, “I said, ‘I’m not buying cakes,’ and ‘Step aside.'”
The official continued cheerfully, “That woman stared at Lord Xue for a long time after you passed.”
Gu Yuanbai narrowed his eyes, smiling as he stroked Xue Yuan’s lips, “Our Lord Xue is quite popular with the ladies.”
Xue Yuan said expressionlessly, “If I recall correctly, that girl was just a child.”
Gu Yuanbai: “…”
He turned to the official.
The official remained calm, flipping the page, “On the morning of February 16th, a woman at a relay station brought breakfast to Lord Xue and engaged in a lengthy conversation. Lord Xue was very patient, discussing the food in the capital with her.”
Xue Yuan’s forehead veins bulged with anger, and he couldn’t bear it anymore, “That was an old woman from the capital who got married off.”
The Supervision Bureau person found it strange. Lord Xue had become inscrutable and composed during his stay in Huainan, but in front of the Emperor, he turned into a different person.
Despite the curiosity, the Supervision Bureau person turned another page.
The ledger was thick, detailing every move. Gu Yuanbai, understanding the situation, estimated that the Supervision Bureau officials, knowing about his relationship with Xue Yuan, were increasingly displeased with Xue Yuan and took every opportunity to cause him trouble.
As the ledger pages dwindled, Xue Yuan’s expression grew more serious. He hadn’t done anything to betray Gu Yuanbai, but he knew the Supervision Bureau would heavily report on the merchants in Huainan sending women to him.
Sure enough, the officer detailed this event over two pages. However, after hearing the explanation, Gu Yuanbai wasn’t angry. He dismissed the officer, playfully tugged at Xue Yuan’s chin stubble, and smiled, “Lord Xue, are you unhappy that I have people watching you?”
Xue Yuan broke into a cold sweat, “Of course not.”
Gu Yuanbai feigned politeness, “If you don’t like it, just say so. I’m not unreasonable.”
The implicit threat in his words was clear to Xue Yuan, who quickly shook his head, “I like it very much, Your Majesty.”
Satisfied, Gu Yuanbai rubbed his cheek against Xue Yuan’s stubble, turning his smooth skin red. In a low voice, he said, “My desire to control is no less than yours.”
If they weren’t together, it would be one thing, but now that they were, Xue Yuan had to accept Gu Yuanbai’s control over everything, down to the smallest detail. This intense desire for control and possessiveness had kept Gu Yuanbai from dating anyone in the modern era.
No one could endure him, and Gu Yuanbai didn’t want to trouble others.
After becoming Emperor, this desire for control had only grown, with the Supervision Bureau catering precisely to his needs.
He placed his white, delicate arms on Xue Yuan’s shoulders, speaking so softly it melted one’s heart, “Do you really like it?”
“Really,” Xue Yuan whispered in Gu Yuanbai’s ear, “Your Majesty, we are naturally a couple, destined to be a pair of lovebirds.”
“You have people watching me, and I have people watching you,” Xue Yuan continued, “We are perfectly matched. If someone dared to touch you while I was away, I’d kill them.”
His gaze was serious, and his words carried a chilling tone. Xue Yuan’s obsession with Gu Yuanbai satisfied the Emperor greatly, even his possessive nature felt content.
“A couple?” Gu Yuanbai chuckled, “Lord Xue, you have great ambitions. Do you want to be my Empress?”
Xue Yuan was speechless.
After being apart for so long, Gu Yuanbai set aside his work to spend the afternoon with Xue Yuan. They strolled through the Imperial Garden, and as they passed by the lake, Xue Yuan suggested, “On a good day, I’ll take Your Majesty to swim at my estate.”
Gu Yuanbai gladly agreed.
***
Xue Yuan walked back to his residence from the palace, his mind wandering with thoughts of what he could do with the Emperor at his estate, feeling restless.
But as soon as he entered the Xue residence, he was met with a gust of wind and a sharp arrow. Xue Yuan’s expression hardened as he dodged the arrow and saw General Xue glaring at him with a murderous look.
Seeing his father, Xue Yuan smiled, “How are you, Father?”
Old General Xue was taken aback, then coldly tossed aside his bow and picked up a stick, shouting, “I’m going to break your legs!”
The Xue residence descended into chaos. Hearing the commotion, the second son hurried over, carried by servants, eager to watch the scene, “I must see how Father breaks Xue Jiuyao’s legs.”
The farce continued until the moon was high in the sky. Xue Yuan remained unscathed, while the second son, disappointed, was carried back to his room. As the crowd dispersed, Old General Xue pointed at Xue Yuan and cursed, “What is going on between you and Chu Wei?”
Xue Yuan, distracted, replied, “What does Chu Wei have to do with me?”
Old General Xue barked, “Don’t lie! Your mother said Chu Wei is the one you fancy. Is that true?”
His expression was stern, and his heart pounded with fear.
If Xue Yuan were truly disloyal, even if he were punished or executed by the emperor, he would still risk his life to kill Xue Yuan.
At least this way, he could save the lives of the other members of the Xue household.
“Where did Madam Xue hear such nonsense?” Xue Yuan sighed, exuding the grace of a gentleman. “If praying to gods and Buddhas worked, then I hope that Chu Wei dies sooner.”
He smiled maliciously, “Die a clean death.”
General Xue let out a deep breath and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as if reborn, muttering with relief, “Thank goodness it’s not true, thank goodness it’s not true…”
Xue Yuan walked over and crouched down beside him. “General Xue, could you tell me why you were so intent on killing me the moment I returned home?”
His father, infuriated, laughed bitterly. “You rascal, Xue Jiuyou! You told me you were loyal to the emperor. I let you serve him, and this is how you serve?”
Xue Yuan responded with a nonchalant “Hmm.”
The old general’s anger surged, and he spoke in despair, “What you’ve done makes me wonder how I can face our ancestors, how I can face the late emperor! If I’d known this would happen, I should have strangled you at birth to prevent you from harming the emperor now!”
Xue Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he listened. After the old general had finished his tirade, Xue Yuan suddenly laughed. “General Xue, you should be glad you didn’t strangle me. You wouldn’t want the emperor to be haunted by a vengeful ghost, would you?”
The old general shuddered, staring at him in shock.
Xue Yuan patted his shoulder and smiled. “It’s late, General Xue. You’re getting old and can’t withstand the chill of the night. You should go and rest.”
After finishing his words, he rose and bowed properly to Old General Xue, then turned and walked into the darkness.
Old General Xue stood there, feeling a bone-chilling coldness.
This act of bowing before leaving was something Xue Yuan had never done before. This time away had made Xue Yuan’s thoughts even deeper; he seemed much better and even more gentle.
The old general couldn’t tell whether the Xue Yuan who despised human relationships and morality was scarier, or the Xue Yuan who calmly abided by worldly rules was scarier.
As the evening dew descended, Old General Xue came back to his senses and let out a deep sigh.
***
After returning to his room, Xue Yuan summoned the guests in the residence to see him.
A guest arrived discreetly. “Young master, the matter you asked us to investigate has yielded some results. Three years ago, the youngest son of the great scholar Li Bao, Li Huan, was caught trespassing into the palace. Out of respect for Li Bao, the Emperor had him sent to the residence and also sent many precious medicinal herbs.”
Xue Yuan turned the jade thumb ring in his hand, identical to the one the Emperor had, and squinted his eyes slightly.
“Why did he trespass into the palace?”
The guest whispered, “I investigated for several months and found some secrets from the Li residence. It is said that Li Huan caught a glimpse of the Emperor outside the palace and then claimed to be a flower thief and broke into the palace.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill around him.
Xue Yuan remained silent for a long time, then spoke in a sinister tone, “How could the Emperor spare him?”
The guest was about to speak when Xue Yuan muttered to himself, “He should have been killed.”
“At that time, the Emperor had just taken power, and Li Bao was a great scholar and the Emperor’s tutor,” the guest explained gently. “The Emperor spared his life to keep Li Bao under control.”
Xue Yuan laughed, “Things are different now.”
The guest remained silent.
Xue Yuan asked another question, “Is the estate in the suburbs ready for me? In ten days at most, the smokeless charcoal fires around the pond must be lit. Make sure the water doesn’t get cold even if the wind picks up at noon, understood?”
The guest responded and left.
Only then did Xue Yuan withdraw his smile, muttering to himself: Li Huan.
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Li Huan, RIP.
These two scare me too!