Chapter 156
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A few days after the imperial exam, news spread that Li Bao’s youngest son, Li Huan, had contracted a venereal disease.
The news shocked everyone. How could the youngest son of such a great scholar like Li Bao contract such a disease? Li Bao was equally ashamed and shut his doors early, refusing all visitors.
Recently, Li Bao had been highly praised. Not only by scholars but also by great recluses from all over Great Heng, who had written articles extolling Li Bao for contributing punctuation marks. Letters of praise poured into the Li residence like snowflakes. This spectacle made Li Bao feel elated, as if he had suddenly become ten years younger, his face rosy, and his steps brisk.
All the scholars in the world respected him so much, and with the Emperor’s promise of glory for three generations, Li Bao had long forgotten the fear he felt when he first agreed to be the Emperor’s spearhead, feeling reborn.
But as soon as the news about Li Huan spread, it was like a loud slap in Li Bao’s face.
He had been cautious all his life, yet his two major disgraces were both because of Li Huan. Li Bao’s face turned red with anger as he glared at his youngest son on the bed, repeatedly shouting, “Disgraceful! Disgraceful!”
His eldest son was anxious beside him, “Father, if brother’s illness is used against us, how can I continue my career? It’s so shameful, just a joke for others. I feel embarrassed just hearing about it.”
“What will the world think of us? The Emperor has promised to protect our family for three generations, but if the Emperor wants to promote me and this happens, what will he think? My future cannot be ruined.”
Li Bao roared, “Shut up!”
Li Huan’s face was pale, his lips trembling. His once handsome face now looked neither human nor ghostly, extremely miserable. Li Bao had always favored his youngest son for his cleverness and charm, but ever since he dared to break into the palace alone, Li Bao had cooled towards him.
How could a son without achievements be more important than the entire family?
Because of his youngest son, Li Bao had been controlled by the Emperor. Who knew that good fortune would turn into disaster again due to Li Huan.
Thinking of how the scholars and great recluses might talk behind his back made Li Bao burn with anger. He left the room with a dark expression.
On the bed, Li Huan was drenched in cold sweat. His consciousness was fuzzy, but he heard the words “venereal disease.”
Since catching a glimpse of the Emperor three years ago, Li Huan’s romantic interests had shifted from soft women to handsome men. Li Huan indulged in debauchery, but no matter how beautiful these men were, they were only a substitute. He longed for the Emperor, always recalling the Emperor’s angry face, his side profile, and his flushed earlobes. He truly wanted to see him again.
But before he could see the Emperor, he had contracted this dirty disease.
Li Huan felt something was wrong, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Few people with venereal disease lived well. Thinking of this made him feel unwilling. His feeble fingers reached to his waist, touching a delicate sachet.
Suddenly, someone asked, “What’s this?”
Li Huan instinctively replied, “It’s a treasure.”
“A treasure,” the person murmured, “It must be something good.”
Li Huan found the voice unfamiliar and was startled. The next second, he felt a pain in his neck and plunged into darkness.
***
Xue Yuan’s subordinate brought the sachet to him.
Xue Yuan covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief and asked nonchalantly, “Is it clean?”
“Rest assured, sir. We have thoroughly cleaned the sachet,” the subordinate said. “There will be no trace of disease.”
Xue Yuan nodded, slowly opening the sachet through the handkerchief. A strand of hair slipped out, clear against the faint scent of the sachet.
Xue Yuan looked at the strand of hair, frowning slightly.
With his fingertips, he picked up the strand of hair and slowly walked outside into the blazing sun. The strand of hair looked as if it had been gilded, shining brilliantly in the sunlight.
Xue Yuan’s expression changed abruptly. He turned around, took out a jade box hidden deep in a wooden chest, and opened it. Inside the white jade box were neatly arranged strands of hair. Xue Yuan picked up one and examined it in the sunlight. It was identical to the one from Li Huan’s sachet.
It looked as if it were carved from gold, exuding a sense of opulence from top to bottom.
His face darkened.
Li Huan was truly audacious, deserving of death.
***
Gu Yuanbai was busy with the palace exam and counting the number of people from Xixia participating in this imperial examination, unaware that the youngest son of the Li family had fallen ill.
After the palace exam, the household registration statistics for Jinghunan and Jiangnan were finally presented to Gu Yuanbai. The previous underreporting of households was indeed severe. After officials personally visited and counted the population, Jinghunan alone had more than 600,000 additional peasant households.
These were all real labor forces that had been hidden until now.
Gu Yuanbai had long known that after counting the household registration and taxes, there would be a shocking result. This project had lasted for two to three years, ensuring that even the smallest villages were recorded. With over 600,000 peasant households in Jinghunan alone, how many acres of land could be cultivated?
The newly counted population in Jiangnan was 200,000 more than in Jinghunan.
Although Gu Yuanbai had expected this, he was still furious. In the young emperor’s memory, the previous emperor had been extremely burdened, largely due to hidden fields and underreported households.
Thus, during the morning court session, he expressed his anger with a mix of genuine and feigned outrage.
The officials were equally shocked by this result. After Gu Yuanbai’s outburst, orders from the capital spread in all directions, demanding that each provincial government also count their household registrations. With Jinghunan and Jiangnan’s underreported numbers as precedents, any province failing to uncover tens of thousands of additional households would be considered deceptive.
If Jinghunan, even before mining, had 600,000 additional hands, extrapolating this to the whole country, millions were unrecorded in the government registers.
This outburst from the emperor prompted local governments to tighten up and begin counting from the bottom up.
In addition to household registration, Gu Yuanbai specifically instructed the establishment of more academies across the country, hoping that over time, the registration of students would gradually take root.
All these tasks required time.
While the court and local governments were busy, Gu Yuanbai packed his belongings and visited Xue Yuan’s estate on a rest day.
Xue Yuan’s estate had nothing special, just a dug-out pool and fields of sweetleaf grass. He wanted to take Gu Yuanbai swimming. Gu Yuanbai glanced at the weather and only changed into light clothing at noon.
The pool occupied the best spring scenery on the estate. Once the courtyard gates were locked and the servants dismissed, only Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan remained in the yard.
Xue Yuan’s hand casually rested on Gu Yuanbai’s waist. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts made by Gu Yuanbai’s servants. The heat radiated from him to Gu Yuanbai. “Your Majesty, let me teach you.”
Gu Yuanbai replied, “I already know how.”
Xue Yuan looked surprised, then smiled. “Then you can teach me, Your Majesty. I’m not very good.”
Gu Yuanbai sincerely said, “Xue Yuan, your skin is getting thicker.”
When entering the water, Gu Yuanbai thought that even under the scorching sun, the water would be somewhat cool, but to his surprise, it was warm.
He glanced back at Xue Yuan and remarked, “The supervision bureau officials told me you feast day and night in Huainan, with fish and meat becoming commonplace. I thought you would have gained some weight, but looking at you now, you haven’t gained a bit.”
Xue Yuan lied without changing his expression, “No matter what I eat, I don’t gain weight.”
In truth, he was afraid that Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t like it if he gained weight, so he spent a lot of time maintaining his trim figure.
Gu Yuanbai believed him and entered the water. Xue Yuan quickly followed. The emperor moved swiftly, gliding far ahead. Xue Yuan muttered, “He really can swim…”
Clearing his throat, Xue Yuan propped his arm on the pool’s edge and called out, “Your Majesty, please save me. I haven’t swum in a long time and have forgotten how.”
Gu Yuanbai turned to look, his hair floating around him, lifted by the water and mist. Xue Yuan stared, forgetting his previous words, and submerged himself, swimming towards Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai raised an eyebrow, droplets of water falling into the clear pool. “Lord Xue, are you challenging me?”
Xue Yuan reached for his ankle, but Gu Yuanbai dodged, creating ripples. Xue Yuan hoarsely asked, “Challenge what?”
“When I entered your estate, I saw fields of sweetleaf grass,” Gu Yuanbai chuckled. “A fine estate, yet instead of cultivating famous flowers, you plant cheap wild grass. Little Brother Xue, you are truly simple.”
Xue Yuan moved closer, “Your Majesty likes sweetleaf grass.”
Gu Yuanbai, “Hm?”
“When you were at the summer palace, you tasted it. Have you forgotten?” Xue Yuan patiently explained. “The common people, when they have no money but crave a treat, pick sweetleaf grass to eat. You once said it was sweet.”
Gu Yuanbai slowly said, “I remember.”
Xue Yuan smiled, “With so much sweetleaf grass, if Your Majesty wants to see it later, we can pick some together.”
“Alright,” Gu Yuanbai suddenly said, “Minister Xue, call me by my name.”
Xue Yuan immediately corrected himself, “Yuanbai.”
“Good,” Gu Yuanbai was pleased. “If I win, all this sweetleaf grass will be mine.”
“And if I win…” Xue Yuan slowly said, “I am two years older than you. You should call me Older Brother Xue.”
Gu Yuanbai swam away, “Whoever reaches the other side first wins.”
He was confident, with skill and long legs. He had already gotten a head start on Xue Yuan, so he didn’t believe he could lose. But he underestimated Xue Yuan’s determination for the title “Older Brother Xue.” Xue Yuan put in all his effort, showing no mercy, and reached the other side first. Then he swam back to Gu Yuanbai with a triumphant smile.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan urged, “you lost.”
Gu Yuanbai looked at him with an uncertain expression, incredulous at the defeat. He hadn’t even made it across, yet Xue Yuan had already returned?
Xue Yuan circled around Gu Yuanbai, creating ripples in the water. “A gentleman’s word is his bond.”
It wasn’t a big deal. Being called “older brother” was nothing in modern times, and Gu Yuanbai had even been called “father” by many. But now, under Xue Yuan’s intense gaze and urgent prompting, he didn’t want to say it so easily.
He watched Xue Yuan’s anxious state with interest, and only when Xue Yuan was so agitated that he stood up did Gu Yuanbai leisurely say, “Older Brother Xue, let’s go eat some sweetleaf grass.”
Xue Yuan suddenly dived into the water, creating a splash and a few excited exclamations.
Gu Yuanbai watched him with a smile, his limbs relaxed in the perfectly warm pool. He looked up at the clear sky, every cloud was beautiful.
It was a truly wonderful day.
While relaxing, Gu Yuanbai suddenly felt like he had forgotten something. His thoughts, slowed by the water, finally brought to mind his original plan to use the rest day to find a few well-mannered children as companions for Gu Ran.
Gu Yuanbai’s thoughts turned, and an image of a young, serious face appeared—Chu Wei’s little uncle, Chu Yi.
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