Chapter 59
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After a month and a half, Xue Yuan stepped into Gu Yuanbai’s Xuanzheng Hall once again.
Gu Yuanbai was seated behind the desk. When he heard their arrival, he looked up and smiled faintly.
Xue Yuan saw the smile on his lips from afar, gazing directly at it for a while before catching up with General Dingyuan’s steps. Suppressing his emotions, he muttered to himself, “Seems like he’s in better spirits.”
Approaching to pay their respects, Gu Yuanbai gently called them up, and after they reported on the matter of suppressing the rebels and the current situation in Jinghunan, Gu Yuanbai nodded and allowed them to return home to rest.
General Dingyuan obediently stepped back, but Xue Yuan remained motionless. Gu Yuanbai looked at him, his gaze shifting from his eyebrows to his neck, secretly pondering what kind of weather it was in Jinghunan that could make someone’s complexion darken by several shades.
“What else is there Official Xue?” Gu Yuanbai asked.
In July, the weather was scorching. Ice buckets were placed in the Xuanzheng Hall, and outside, the sun accompanied by the disturbing cries of birds and cicadas distorted the air.
One month and seventeen days later, Xue Yuan finally saw Gu Yuanbai again.
Gu Yuanbai’s face had turned slightly red from the heat, and his clothes were thinner. The joints under his jade finger ring were still plump and fair.
Xue Yuan, dressed in casual attire with his armor removed, still carried the aura of sand and wind. Smiling slightly, he said calmly, “As the Commander of the Imperial Army, Marquis Douyu, it is my duty to protect Your Majesty’s safety and accompany you at all times.”
Gu Yuanbai pondered for a moment before saying, “That’s not necessary. The decree promoting Lord Xue will be issued shortly. Lord Xue is a talented individual, and there is no need for you to stay by my side in the future.”
A stiff smile appeared on Xue Yuan’s face for a moment, and a hint of bitterness lingered on his tongue. He asked slowly, “Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?”
Tian Fusheng, seeing Gu Yuanbai’s silence, chimed in with a smile, “Lord Xue, His Majesty recognizes your talents and wants to promote you!”
The fire that had just ignited in his heart was extinguished once again.
Xue Yuan’s eyes darkened. He looked at Gu Yuanbai for a long time, then after a while, he coldly smiled, “This official obeys.”
He turned and strode out of the Xuanzheng Hall.
Gu Yuanbai watched him leave, noticing the anger in his strides. He rubbed his nose and turned to Tian Fusheng, “Rewarding him with a good position isn’t enough? I don’t understand what Lord Xue is thinking.”
Tian Fusheng was also puzzled, “Even I can’t fathom Lord Xue’s thoughts.”
“Forget it,” Gu Yuanbai rubbed his brows in frustration, unable to understand what Xue Yuan was thinking, “Let’s not bother about him.”
Once Xue Yuan stepped out of the palace, he stopped expressionlessly.
The palace behind him gleamed with golden light, immense and grand, but also cold and devoid of any warmth, just like its master.
Xue Yuan clenched the dragon-patterned white handkerchief in his sleeve, returning to the Xue Mansion without a trace of expression.
Gu Yuanbai.
The people of the Xue Mansion had been waiting for him for a long time. Even after Xue Yuan finished bathing and laid down in his room, he still stared at the beams above his head.
After thinking for a night, for a long time, he finally came up with a solution.
If the young Emperor thought he could get rid of him like this, he was too naive.
The first time Xue Yuan went to the battlefield, he had his eye on a dagger carried by an enemy leader. He almost lost his life on the battlefield for that dagger. But the dagger eventually became his. What Xue Yuan wanted, as long as he was alive, he would do everything to get it.
Either kill him.
Or give himself to him.
Wasn’t it good as long as it is satisfying enough? Wasn’t it enough to let him enjoy himself?
Gu Yuanbai didn’t give the rebels more than a day to live. At noon that day, he executed the important figures among the rebels in the city, displaying their heads as a warning.
At that moment, Xu Xiongyuan looked at the crowds of people in the capital who were watching the excitement, their eyes filled with excitement and a desire for swift retribution. It was then that he realized he had been thoroughly defeated.
Could Gu Yuanbai really have the ability to execute Lu Feng and then allow him to escape the capital with five thousand soldiers? Perhaps from the moment he was chosen by Gu Yuanbai, he was already doomed to fail.
But he understood it too late.
At three-quarters past noon, heads rolled.
The next evening, Gu Yuanbai held a small banquet for the victorious generals.
The palace maids were busy serving alcohol and dishes, and palace dancers were gracefully dancing in the open space of the banquet.
The current Emperor was indifferent to women, and even his gaze while watching the dancing was clear. Xue Yuan would take a sip of alcohol and glance at the Emperor, his gaze burning, almost scorching.
During the banquet, to show friendliness, the Emperor wore a bright yellow robe. Occasionally, the faint gleam of gold threads on his clothes could be seen when he raised his cup or lifted his sleeve. Xue Yuan traced the subtle patterns with his eyes and drank cup after cup of alcohol.
Seated beside him was General Dingyuan, who had already become slightly intoxicated from the toasts. When he turned to look at Xue Yuan, he was shocked to see the empty alcohol bottles around him. “Hey! Lord Xue, how can you hold so much liquor?”
Not far away, Chang Yuyan heard this and laughed heartily, raising his cup to Xue Yuan and General Dingyuan. “General Dingyuan and Lord Xue have been in Jinghunan for over a month. Don’t you know Lord Xue’s capacity for alcohol?”
General Dingyuan said, “He climbs up to the eaves every day with a bottle of alcohol. I always ask him if one bottle is enough, but I underestimated Lord Xue’s capacity.”
Chang Yuyan laughed and downed his cup.
Suddenly, Xue Yuan stood up, holding a cup of alcohol, and walked towards the Emperor. However, before he reached him, Heqin Wang, sitting at the Emperor’s lower left, also stood up and raised his cup to Gu Yuanbai, whispering, “I toast Your Majesty.”
Gu Yuanbai glanced sideways and inadvertently caught sight of Xue Yuan stopping in his tracks not far away. Xue Yuan’s long eyebrows were slightly raised, and he seemed to be smiling as he looked at the two of them, as if watching a good show.
It seemed as if, all of a sudden, the mad dog had returned to its original state. But it also seemed completely different from the original state.
Gu Yuanbai withdrew his gaze, turned his head to Tian Fusheng, and gave an order. Then he raised his cup, gestured to Heqin Wang, and took a shallow sip.
Heqin Wang finished his drink to the last drop, looking at Gu Yuanbai taking a shallow sip, he didn’t say anything either. He sat down silently again, as if he was simply offering a toast to the emperor.
After Heqin Wang sat down, Xue Yuan approached. Tian Fusheng had just brought a new jug of alcohol, and he poured another cup for the Emperor. Gu Yuanbai smiled and said, “Lord Xue, you’ve stolen the limelight again this time.”
At this remark, Xue Yuan’s gaze halted. “Where did the water on Lord Xue’s hand come from?”
Xue Yuan looked down casually and replied, “The alcohol cup has a crack.”
Gu Yuanbai had someone bring him a new cup. After Xue Yuan took the new cup, he raised his sleeve, just about to bring the white jade cup to his lips, when Xue Yuan said, “Your Majesty, please don’t drink.”
Gu Yuanbai paused and looked up at him.
The Emperor’s eyes reflected a gleam of water, and Xue Yuan’s throat rolled. He drained the cup in his hand in one gulp, then suddenly stepped forward, swiftly snatching the cup from the Emperor’s hand and drinking every last drop.
The clear water disguised as alcohol tasted sweet to Xue Yuan. With a smile on his face, he said politely, “Your Majesty, this alcohol is extraordinary.”
Gu Yuanbai’s hand remained frozen in place, and he raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”
“Tian Fusheng,” he said, looking directly at Xue Yuan, “give this jug of alcohol to Lord Xue.”
Tian Fusheng complied, handing the jug to Xue Yuan. Xue Yuan held onto it but didn’t leave. His shadow seemed to be about to engulf Gu Yuanbai. After a moment, he said, “Your Majesty, you promised me something last time, but you haven’t given it to me yet.”
Gu Yuanbai suddenly remembered the cave.
His thoughts drifted for a moment, recalling how well his younger brother had been served by Xue Yuan that time.
This man was like a bandit, rough-handed, but when he touched him, it felt like he was handling a treasure.
Gu Yuanbai felt a twinge of guilt, but he softened his voice. “What do you want?”
Xue Yuan grinned, bowed low, and whispered, “Your Majesty, you once wore a garment of mine.”
Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help but laugh. “You, the eldest young master of the Xue family, are still concerned about an old garment of yours?”
“It’s not that,” Xue Yuan said. “I just thought that garment looked good on you and should be worn more often.”
He had already exchanged many words in front of the Emperor, and many people had glanced over. Sitting at the lower left of the Emperor, Heqin Wang couldn’t hear their conversation over the music, but he could see how close they were, and he frowned and said loudly, “Lord Xue, are you not finished speaking yet?”
Xue Yuan exerted force on the cup in his hand, almost cracking it again. He smiled and said, “Your Majesty, do you still have the jade finger ring I gave you?”
Gu Yuanbai thought, why is Xue Jiuyao asking such questions today? But he still raised his hand, revealing the white fingers with the jade finger ring wrapped in delicate flesh, shining like a dew-covered flower.
Xue Yuan admired it for a moment, wanting to reach out and touch it, but he couldn’t. Suppressing his thoughts, he bowed to Gu Yuanbai, took the alcohol cup and a deliberately hidden white jade cup, and leisurely walked back.
Heqin Wang glanced at Gu Yuanbai’s hand and then quickly averted his gaze. But when he saw Xue Yuan’s back, the feeling of panic turned into a deep-seated anger.
General Xue’s eldest son is too bold. It’s one thing to offer a toast, but he actually dared to snatch the alcohol from Gu Yuanbai’s hand. But what truly irked Heqin Wang was that Gu Yuanbai didn’t punish him.
Could it be that the Emperor’s favor is enough to indulge such audacity in this person?
What others were thinking had nothing to do with Gu Yuanbai.
The evening breeze around noon was cooler than during the day. Gu Yuanbai drank some water, ate a few bites of food, and when he felt it was time, he ordered the banquet to be disbanded.
As the Emperor withdrew from the banquet, Heqin Wang also stood up and followed behind Gu Yuanbai in silence. He followed along the way until they were close to the sleeping palace when Gu Yuanbai asked, “Is there something Heqin Wang wishes to discuss with me?”
“No, nothing,” Heqin Wang replied in a dull voice, unwilling to look up at Gu Yuanbai. “I miss the late Emperor and wanted to visit the palace.”
Gu Yuanbai found it amusing, sensing a hint of unusual meaning. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Very well. Since Heqin Wang misses the late Emperor, you shall stay in the palace overnight. The late Emperor used to prefer staying in Huayi Palace, so Heqin Wang shall stay there tonight.”
Heqin Wang responded with a deep voice, glanced at Gu Yuanbai, and then left with the eunuch.
Gu Yuanbai squinted at his retreating figure and ordered, “Find out if anything has happened recently with Heqin Wang.”
After Tian Fusheng acknowledged, he continued towards the sleeping palace.
After washing up and lying in bed, Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes with a sheep-fat white jade in his hand. He rubbed the jade pendant a few times with his fingers and suddenly remembered the white jade cup he had used at the banquet.
Where was that cup?
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