Chapter 30
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Gu Yuanbai’s temples throbbed, and he almost shouted “presumptuous” again.
Incredibly, he felt there was a hint of teaching in Xue Yuan’s tone.
What nonsense!
Gu Yuanbai coldly said, “Remove your hand from me.”
The soft flesh of the emperor’s waist felt incredibly comfortable even through clothes. Xue Yuan obediently let go, pointing to the nearby wasp, “Your Majesty, I was afraid it would sting you.”
Gu Yuanbai’s expression softened slightly, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Half an hour later, the chaotic situation finally calmed down. Those stung by the wasps went to the Imperial Hospital. Gu Yuanbai had thought his guards, being robust, would be fine, but the most affected was his loyal Chief Guard.
Gu Yuanbai gave the Chief Guard a leave of absence, telling him to rest until he recovered. As a result, the only one left to accompany Gu Yuanbai closely was Xue Yuan, who had secured his position through connections.
But as long as Xue Yuan obeyed, he was incredibly useful.
And now, Xue Yuan was indeed very willing to listen to Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai said he wanted to starve Qi Wang for three days, so Qi Wang was indeed starved for three days. In the days when court was held, some courtiers hinted to Gu Yuanbai, subtly inquiring about the current situation of Qi Wang.
Among them, the most anxious but least likely to ask directly was the Deputy Censor-in-Chief.
The Imperial Censorate was like a pit where those who entered needed a distinguished background and endured a lot once inside.
The longer you stayed, the more you participated, making you a purer stream. The Imperial Censorate was like a pool of deep, murky water. On the surface, it seemed calm, but beneath it, the mud was stirred up by those within.
Yet, this was still the central supervisory institution of the country. But if Gu Yuanbai couldn’t intervene in the Imperial Censorate, what use was there?
The Grand Imperial Censor was getting old and should retire. Gu Yuanbai had originally planned to do something about this, but now, he had a better option.
In court, some aristocrats were worried and frightened by the emperor’s ruthlessness. They spent a lot of money hoping to inquire about Qi Wang through some officials.
It was a profitable business, just asking a few questions without breaking any taboos. Why not accept this money?
So, when these officials dared to ask about Qi Wang in court, they found that no one else spoke up except for the mid-level officials who had accepted their bribes.
Everyone else remained silent as if they hadn’t heard their words.
At this point, these officials, neither high-ranking nor low-ranking, but with average intelligence, realized something was wrong.
Why didn’t any high-ranking officials speak up? With the methods of those aristocrats, they should have easily persuaded some high-ranking officials, right?
Something was very wrong.
When they asked about Qi Wang, the emperor was still smiling and even spoke kindly. But after court, their colleagues who usually interacted closely with them avoided them.
They were left bewildered, not understanding what was going on.
Sometimes, being a bit slow or greedy wasn’t a problem, but not being politically sensitive was. If you lacked sensitivity, at least don’t say anything!
The youngest son of Qi Wang had always had a reputation for kindness. The narrative surrounding Qi Wang’s household was “eradicating rebel forces,” so why would you foolishly ask the emperor about these rebels who had been eradicated? When would they be released? How were they doing? Many people cared about these rebels. Please, emperor, show mercy and release them soon?
Get the h*ll out of here, go, don’t drag us down!
***
In the Xuanzheng Hall, Gu Yuanbai welcomed General Cheng and his deputy.
The imperial guards, in collaboration with the households of various aristocrats, had found many spies planted by Lu Feng. Some of these spies were men and women, some were originally servants in these households, but because of Lu Feng’s bribery, they became his people.
These people were dug out one after another, and now, with “gifts” and the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, only Chu Wei’s father, Chu Xun, was left to be brought back.
As long as Chu Xun didn’t return, Gu Yuanbai would calmly wait.
After the report was completed, General Cheng couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, since the matter of Qi Wang may be related to the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, why not order his arrest?”
Gu Yuanbai said, “I have other plans.”
General Cheng couldn’t figure it out, but he stopped asking and chose to trust the emperor completely.
Gu Yuanbai wasn’t in a hurry, and neither was the imperial guards under him. They simply obeyed the emperor’s orders and threw those spies caught in the households of the aristocrats and ministers into prison. Some of these people were resentful, some desperate, and more cried and begged the emperor for mercy.
But no matter how they begged, Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t relent.
They wouldn’t be taken away immediately; there was still a chance for them to live. In any case, as the emperor said, everything would be discussed after Chu Xun returned.
But Qi Wang couldn’t hold out until Chu Xun returned. In fact, on the second day of fasting, Qi Wang, already in his forties and never having endured such hardship, was too weak to move.
And his sumptuous, mixed diet meal was rewarded to the prison guards by Gu Yuanbai, who ate it voraciously, dripping with oil. Watching them eat, Qi Wang felt even more miserable.
On the third day, succumbing to the pain of hunger, Qi Wang, with a pale face and weak voice, ordered the guard, “Bring me the food.”
Why subject himself to such torture for Gu Yuanbai?
Gu Yuanbai was ruthless, and now Qi Wang was a bit afraid of him, but wasn’t the illustrious Qi Wang better than two prison guards?
Gu Yuanbai had kept them locked up for so long; surely his anger had dissipated by now?
Gu Yuanbai had kept them locked up for so long, so he should have calmed down by now, right?
Qi Wang didn’t know for sure, but despite his fear, once that fear subsided a bit, his arrogance, cultivated over forty years of pampered living, reasserted itself.
However, the jailer who heard Qi Wang’s words paid him no mind and continued to eat his meat, oil dripping from his mouth.
Qi Wang had decided to go on a hunger strike. What could his sons do but follow suit?
Watching the jailer eat with great relish, the dozen or so male members of Qi Wang’s household felt their stomachs growling. By the third night, someone finally couldn’t take it anymore. They took their meal, hid in a corner, and devoured it ravenously, even though someone nearby was being punished. Their lack of dignity, akin to pigs, made a few of Qi Wang’s sons, some of whom were older than the Emperor, cry as they ate.
Most of them had been dragged into this by their father’s blind ambition. Now, unable to blame the Emperor, they couldn’t help but wonder, why?
Why couldn’t Qi Wang just be a peaceful Wangye?
They had no great ambitions, only wanting to live a life of wealth and luxury. But now, while Qi Wang’s favorite and the one he wanted to put on the throne remained in the palace enjoying good food and drink, they had to suffer imprisonment. Why?
The fragrance of food wafted into the prison, and the weak eyes of Qi Wang widened. With his last bit of strength, he moved to the door of the cell and angrily shouted, “What are you all eating?!”
But none of his sons replied.
Resentment took root in their hearts. After starving for two and a half days, their stomachs were rumbling like drums. Having witnessed their father’s foolishness, the descendants of Qi Wang would be even more aware of what they shouldn’t do.
If they did, they wouldn’t get to eat.
***
After Gu Yuanbai finished dealing with state affairs, the magistrate of the capital city handed him a message, saying that the Chengbao Temple in the outskirts of the capital had returned many fields to the court. At the same time, one thousand and five hundred monks had returned to secular life and were registering their information at the magistrate’s office.
Such minor matters usually didn’t need to be reported to the emperor, but since Chengbao Temple was a royal temple, the magistrate was uncertain.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Yuanbai smiled and threw the memorial on the table in a very relaxed and happy manner, humming a tune off-key. He said, “The abbot of Chengbao Temple seems to know how to read the situation.”
Xue Yuan watched his smile and thought to himself, “I’ve started reading your cues, let alone a monk. Who asked you to look good?”
The emperor played with a piece of sheep-fat white jade on the table, his face slightly flushed. His happy appearance was infectious, and those around him couldn’t help but smile.
Gu Yuanbai stood up, walked out from behind the table, stretched his muscles and wrists in the hall, and said, “Let those who return to secular life do so. I will have a place to use these people soon. As for the temple fields, let the magistrate return them.”
Someone immediately went to take care of it. Gu Yuanbai stretched out his hand, and the wide sleeves fell from his forearms, revealing a small piece of fair wrist bone and bright yellow inner garment. He rubbed his wrists and thought, “Master Chu, all that’s left is for you to come.”
When you arrive, everything else can begin.
***
Just as Chengbao Temple had returned the temple fields to the court and was relieved, they heard that the court had refused to accept these fields.
The abbot of Chengbao Temple was bewildered and barely maintained his composure. “Mr. Magistrate, why didn’t the court accept these temple fields?”
The magistrate couldn’t understand it himself, so he smiled and said nothing, politely escorting the abbot of Chengbao Temple out the door.
This smiling silence frightened the abbot of Chengbao Temple.
Chengbao Temple, as a royal temple, owned the entire mountain as its temple fields. These fields were tax-exempt, and the monks in the temple didn’t need to pay various taxes to the court. Life was too comfortable. But because of this abundance, whenever the abbot thought of the destruction of Buddhism during the Three Disasters, he felt a chill.
The people who came to Chengbao Temple were all influential aristocrats. Those aristocrats, scared by Gu Yuanbai, began to come to Chengbao Temple more frequently to pray for peace of mind.
From the mouths of these influential aristocrats, the abbot also learned some things.
If the emperor could act against influential aristocrats, what about them, monks? Now that the court didn’t want their temple fields, the abbot was filled with fear. After returning to Chengbao Temple that day, he recounted the temple fields, and with determination, he left only enough fields for the monks to eat, giving the rest, ninety percent of it, to the court!
But the second offer was also rejected by the emperor.
When the abbot of Chengbao Temple came out of the magistrate’s office for the second time, his eyes went from blank to serious. On his way back to the temple, he solemnly instructed, “Bring me paper and pen.”
The novice monk brought paper and pen. The abbot took a deep breath, steadied his trembling hands, and wrote an article.
The beginning praised the emperor’s benevolence, and under the guidance of the Buddha, Chengbao Temple requested that the emperor accept ninety percent of the temple fields offered by Chengbao Temple. Let these temple fields also contribute to the welfare of the world and fulfill the compassion of the Buddha. After writing these words, the abbot’s hands trembled even more violently. He gritted his teeth and continued to write the final paragraph.
Chengbao Temple called on all compassionate temples in the world to donate their temple fields together.
The abbot almost tearfully sent this article down the mountain.
He could almost imagine how many people would curse him to death when they saw this article. How much praise he would receive from the people, and how much hatred he would receive from the temples affected by the loss of interest.
The only one benefiting without drawing attention was probably the court.
***
When Chengbao Temple sent the temple fields for the third time, Gu Yuanbai looked at the accompanying letter and opened it, chuckling dumbfoundedly.
The person who came to report asked, “Your Majesty, are you going to reject it again?”
“Since ancient times, it’s been three refusals and three offers,” Gu Yuanbai shook his head, chuckling. “I didn’t plan to do anything, but the abbot of Chengbao Temple is confusing himself.”
Many dynasties had used Buddhism to rule people’s minds. There were many benefits to the existence of temples and Buddhism. Even if Chengbao Temple was redundant, Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t be too harsh. Moreover, Chengbao Temple was a royal temple established by the former emperor. How could Gu Yuanbai treat it unreasonably?
It could only be said that the abbot of Chengbao Temple was scaring himself.
Continuing to let them speculate was getting a bit out of hand. Gu Yuanbai said, “Privately tell the abbot that I am very satisfied with the article he wrote.”
With this sentence, even if the temple fields were returned again this time, Chengbao Temple would probably be able to calm down.
Compared to thousands of mu of temple fields, what Gu Yuanbai was currently more concerned about was the matter of white cotton.
A few days ago, Kong Yilin had presented the cotton seeds. Gu Yuanbai had never grown such a thing, so he transferred Kong Yilin from the Hanlin Academy and went to study these small seeds with the officials of the Ministry of Works.
He vaguely remembered that cotton seemed to be planted in March or April, but he didn’t know the specifics. Although it was a bit late now, it might still be possible to catch up.
If cotton could really be planted this year, how many lives could be saved in terms of livelihoods and military affairs?
Gu Yuanbai was lost in thought for a moment. Tian Fusheng poured tea into his cup and said, “Your Majesty, the people from the stables just brought news. They said Hongyun has injured another person.”
Gu Yuanbai came back to his senses and sighed at the news. “This thing is here in the palace just to consume my energy.”
“Let’s go and see it.”
The group headed towards the stables. Inside, Gu Yuanbai saw a small mouse nibbling on fruits on the side. He found it amusing and didn’t expect Xue Yuan to actually bring this little mouse for Hongyun to play with.
However, it seemed that Hongyun wasn’t interested in the mouse at all.
The Ferghana horse was well taken care of, but it didn’t want to be harnessed. It only had a rein on it. As soon as Gu Yuanbai walked in, the horse, with a bit of human understanding, neighed at him.
The chestnut coat charmed Gu Yuanbai. Without hesitation, he turned to Xue Yuan and said, “Let me ride the horse.”
Xue Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Your Majesty, are you sure you’re healed?”
Gu Yuanbai replied, “Just follow my orders.”
Xue Yuan complied. He led the horse out, without stirrups. Gu Yuanbai couldn’t easily climb on. The palace attendants wanted to bring a stool, but Xue Yuan found it troublesome. He directly lifted the young emperor by the waist and hoisted him onto the horse.
After Gu Yuanbai was on the horse, Xue Yuan sat behind him, holding the reins. “Your Majesty, am I riding it properly?”
Leaning back, Gu Yuanbai felt comfortable. “Let’s go.”
With a flick of the whip, the horse galloped like the wind.
Gu Yuanbai’s robe and hair fluttered. Xue Yuan glanced at him, lips quirking. In the brisk wind, his sharp brows and eyes were revealed. After riding with the young emperor for a while, Xue Yuan considerately slowed down the pace.
“How does Your Majesty feel?” he asked.
Gu Yuanbai made a sound of satisfaction. “Refreshing.”
But his body still felt weak, and there was still a burning sensation on the inside of his thighs.
Xue Yuan heard his hissing sound and tightened his grip on the reins. Although he had anticipated that the young emperor might get hurt, actually witnessing it made him feel uneasy.
How could he be so delicate?
Finding a secluded spot under the shade, Xue Yuan asked Gu Yuanbai to dismount. Before getting on the horse earlier, Tian Fusheng had handed Xue Yuan a bottle of ointment, fearing that the emperor might get injured.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan knelt in front of Gu Yuanbai, separating his legs, “let me apply the medicine for you.”
Gu Yuanbai looked at him with amusement. “Guard Xue, are you going to apply the medicine yourself?”
Xue Yuan calmly replied, “Your Majesty, as your escort, it’s natural for me to feel worried when you’re injured.”
Gu Yuanbai chuckled skeptically, not believing he would be so obedient. So, he lifted his robe and said, “Go ahead and apply it.”
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