Chapter 42
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Xue Yuan calmed down, his madness subdued, easily pacified by Gu Yuanbai. Even Gu Yuanbai himself was somewhat surprised.
He warmed himself by the fire, thinking about what Xue Yuan had said. It felt like a thorn lodged in his heart. Not just for him, but for all the border soldiers, the inaction of the court was a deep-seated issue.
The nomads needed to be fought, to be so thoroughly defeated that their lands could be claimed, and their people used as free labor. But to fight them, the imperial cavalry had to be trained.
To train cavalry, a large number of horses were needed.
Nomads were fierce horsemen, and cavalry had always been the nemesis of infantry. Without a substantial cavalry force, it was impossible to conquer the nomads of the grasslands.
The court currently lacked enough cavalry, and with poor transportation infrastructure, couldn’t immediately conquer the nomadic lands. Instead, they needed to teach the nomads a lesson before establishing trade routes, ensuring they would obey. The government would provide military support for Zhang’s trade routes, dealing with scattered nomadic groups as needed to enforce border trade agreements.
The firelight flickered on Gu Yuanbai’s face. Suddenly, Xue Yuan snapped out of his reverie and dashed out of the cave.
Outside, it was still pouring rain.
Gu Yuanbai: “…” Xue Yuan really is insane.
Drenched by the rain, Xue Yuan hoped the water would clear his mind. He wiped his face, feeling more rational, and turned back to the cave. His first sight was of Gu Yuanbai among the crowd.
The young emperor looked up at him, surprised by his bedraggled appearance, then smiled.
Xue Yuan stared at Gu Yuanbai, something flickering in his eyes. Just as Gu Yuanbai tried to grasp the feeling, Xue Yuan looked away and walked toward him.
Soaked through, his clothes clung to his strong body. Xue Yuan stopped beside Gu Yuanbai, who stifled a laugh, “Guard Xue, did you ruin your brain in the rain?”
Xue Yuan, frustrated by his racing heart, looked at Gu Yuanbai’s pale lips. “Your Majesty, something seems wrong with me.”
Gu Yuanbai, his robe spread out, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I… Whenever I see you, my heart pounds,” Xue Yuan paused for a moment, “I always want… to take off your pants.”
Nothing he said felt right.
Xue Yuan glanced at Chief Guard Zhang, wondered if he felt the same urge toward him, and immediately felt nauseated.
After feeling disgusted, Xue Yuan thought to himself, “It seems like it’s not my problem after all. I still don’t like men.”
Then why do I feel so flustered around Gu Yuanbai? Why do I want to take off his pants?
Why is it that now… all I can think about is Gu Yuanbai?”
Xue Yuan was perplexed.
After a while, he leaned down to Gu Yuanbai and whispered forcefully, “Your Majesty, I want to see if it’s really pink.”
This tone was as if he was seeking an ultimate answer.
Ignoring everything else, Xue Yuan just wanted to confirm if seeing it would set him right.
Gu Yuanbai, puzzled, asked, “Where?”
Xue Yuan, breath hot, boldly replied, “Your progeny root.”
The guards sitting around the fire pit in a circle were chatting quietly when suddenly, there was a “bang” sound from beside them. They turned to look and saw Marquis Douyu was kicked by their Majesty right in the groin.
The Emperor’s face was grim, with cold sneers. Xue Yuan had already knelt down on the ground, bending over in pain, feeling a sour and refreshing sensation. Seeing Xue Yuan’s expression of pain, the guards couldn’t help but shiver, feeling a chill.
Gu Yuanbai had kicked hard, but fortunately Xue Yuan stepped back in time to lessen the force, otherwise he would have been seriously injured, perhaps even becoming the first eunuch in the Xue family.
But even with the force reduced, it still hurt. Xue Yuan bent over in pain, and seeing him like this, Gu Yuanbai finally felt some relief on his face.
Gu Yuanbai stepped forward and scoffed, “You still feel pain?”
Xue Yuan, sweating, looked up at Gu Yuanbai, his heart racing again. Following his impulse, he grabbed Gu Yuanbai’s ankle, wincing, “Your Majesty, don’t hurt yourself kicking me.”
As the rain poured down, the Imperial Observatory’s official heart sank.
But no one cared about their concern. Palace attendants and the Imperial Guard were busy, bringing back nobles and ministers from their hunt to shelter from the rain. The most urgent and important figure, the emperor, had yet to be found.
The emperor had the weather checked multiple times because it was a critical period in the anti-corruption campaign. Gu Yuanbai was the backbone. If he fell ill, during this time of recovery, without the emperor’s support, the reformers would hesitate, and the local tyrants would seize the opportunity.
But on such an important day, the Imperial Observatory failed to predict the rain!
Palace attendants and the Imperial Guard were so worried they were getting blisters from fretting, fearing the Emperor might catch a cold or wasn’t adequately dressed. When Heqin Wang was brought back soaked by his personal guards, he learned that the Emperor had not yet returned.
Heqin Wang stood still for a moment before abruptly waking up to the situation. He turned and quickly left, instructing his guards to prepare rain gear and ready the horses to search for the Emperor.
The guards tried to dissuade him, “Your Highness, the Imperial Guard has already been dispatched to search. If we all go, it would just be a drop in the bucket.”
“Then let it be a drop in the bucket,” Heqin Wang mounted his horse, rain drumming on his raincoat and sliding down, “Hurry up.”
The guards, seeing no alternative, donned their raincoats and followed. The horses struggled on the muddy paths, slipping multiple times due to the rain. Heqin Wang shouted for the Emperor several times but grew impatient and finally called out loudly, “Gu Lian—”
Gu Lian was the Emperor’s personal name, his courtesy name being Yuanbai, which carried the meanings of origin and purity, perfectly complementing his personal name. When the former Emperor passed away, the current Emperor had not yet been crowned, and on his deathbed, he bestowed these characters to Gu Yuanbai.
Heqin Wang was accustomed to calling the Emperor by his personal name. As he shouted, his guards’ faces changed dramatically, cautioning him, “Your Highness! You must not call the Emperor by his name!”
Heqin Wang wiped his face, a bitter expression crossing it as he murmured, “I actually forgot…”
He was lost in thought for a moment, then snapped back to reality, continuing to call loudly with his men, “Your Majesty—”
In the cave, the Emperor, who everyone was anxiously searching for, was leisurely warming himself by the fire. Xue Yuan, despite being kicked by the Emperor earlier, was cheerfully tending the fire with renewed vigor. Gu Yuanbai’s expression remained stern, showing no signs of a good mood.
Normally not a talkative person, Xue Yuan found himself babbling incessantly, trying to amuse the stern-faced young Emperor.
His front side facing the fire had dried, but his hair was still tangled and wet at the back, making him look neither handsome nor ugly, but certainly comical.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan said with a smile, “Let me tell you a funny story.”
He recounted a tale of a scholar who, sent to the countryside to teach, pretended to know about crops but clearly did not. The inherent conflict between scholars and warriors made the story amusing; scholars despised warriors for their roughness, and warriors looked down on scholars for being pretentious. Xue Yuan’s story elicited discreet smiles from some guards and outright laughter from others.
Gu Yuanbai glanced at Xue Yuan. Though still inclined to kick him again, he listened to the story.
At first, it seemed amusing, but on deeper reflection, it evoked a sense of frustration and helplessness.
Some scholars of the Great Heng Dynasty had indeed never set foot in the fields, never knowing where their food came from. Many, despite living humbly before entering officialdom, became corrupt once in power, causing suffering for the common people. This rampant corruption and decadence among officials were deeply ingrained, with one of the most notorious being Li Shen, the author of “Sympathy for Farmers,” whose drastic change had nearly shattered young Gu Yuanbai’s worldview.
He sighed, worrying about his hair and longevity, wondering when this long road would end.
Seeing everyone laugh except the Emperor, who sighed instead, Xue Yuan felt a bit at a loss. Summoning his soldierly resolve, he said firmly, “If Your Majesty doesn’t like that story, I have more.”
Just as he finished speaking, they heard loud cries of “Your Majesty” from outside the cave. The guards near the entrance quickly stood up, cautiously peeking out, and reported, “Your Majesty, Heqin Wang is here with his men!”
“What are they doing here?” Gu Yuanbai looked at the still pouring rain outside, “Even if they find me, I can’t go back in such a downpour.”
It wasn’t that Gu Yuanbai feared the rain, but his health was crucial to the nation’s fate; he couldn’t risk falling ill.
The guard hesitated, “Shall I tell Heqin Wang to return?”
“Let them come in,” Gu Yuanbai ordered, “They can warm up by the fire and we’ll leave together once the rain stops.”
The guard ran to the entrance, shouting to Heqin Wang and his men. Moments later, Heqin Wang and about ten guards, drenched and clad in raincoats, entered the cave. They shed their soaked coats, and Heqin Wang, seeing Gu Yuanbai looking well, breathed a sigh of relief.
“What good is that Imperial Observatory,” Heqin Wang grumbled, sitting beside Gu Yuanbai and extending his hands toward the fire, “They couldn’t even predict the rain on such an important day. If you hadn’t found this cave, everyone would’ve caught a cold.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded in agreement, “They deserve to be punished.”
Heqin Wang couldn’t help but laugh, glancing at him, “How long have you been by the fire? Your face is all red.”
“Really?” Gu Yuanbai was also a bit thirsty. He was about to ask Zhang Xu to bring him some water when a water pouch was handed to him from the right side, precisely by Xue Yuan.
Gu Yuanbai took it, sipping, “Heqin Wang, how are things outside?”
Heqin Wang updated him, his expression softening for a moment as he saw Gu Yuanbai listening intently, then suddenly stiffening, his tone turning rigid, “…The ministers are very concerned for Your Majesty. No one is injured or ill.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded, “That’s good.”
Heqin Wang stared into the fire, falling silent.
The flickering flames seemed to torment him as if he were being roasted alive.
Or perhaps, it was because Gu Yuanbai was so close, his presence causing such pain.
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