Chapter 60
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The white jade cup was taken back home by Xue Yuan.
He sat alone under the moonlight, holding the cup that had touched the lips of the young Emperor.
Although it was hot in summer, as soon as his lips touched the cup, he remembered the light-colored lips of the young Emperor. With that memory, the heat dissipated, and his mind became dizzy.
Xue Yuan couldn’t help but think of the kiss in the cave.
Incredible.
Relying on the memory of that kiss, Xue Yuan managed to stay in Jinghunan for a whole month.
Every day, he couldn’t help but think more and more.
Gu Yuanbai was like alcohol; the more Xue Yuan thought about him, the more intoxicated he became.
Xue Yuan sighed suddenly, thinking of Gu Yuanbai’s relocation order. He tapped the cup lightly. “You heartless man.”
The next morning, after getting up and being attended to, Tian Fusheng whispered to Gu Yuanbai, “Your Majesty, Lord Xue has arrived early this morning. He said that as long as Your Majesty’s decree doesn’t come down for a day, he’ll still be the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Marquis Douyu, by Your Majesty’s side. He wants to ensure Your Majesty’s safety.”
The palace attendants wiped the sweat from the Emperor’s forehead with a cold cloth, and the almost melted ice basin was replaced with a new one.
There was no morning court today. After the celebration yesterday and finally letting go of a burden, Gu Yuanbai had finally slept well for the first time in a month and a half. He woke up a bit later today. When he heard Tian Fusheng’s words, he hadn’t fully awakened yet. “Is he so dedicated to his duty?”
Tian Fusheng pondered for a moment and roughly guessed the meaning of “dedicated to duty.” He didn’t know whether to say more about Xue Yuan’s matters in front of the Emperor, so he cautiously passed it off with a sentence, “Perhaps Lord Xue simply doesn’t want to leave Your Majesty.”
This polite remark suddenly brought Gu Yuanbai back to his senses. He thought to himself, it’s better to let it go.
Gu Yuanbai couldn’t bear such affection.
Now that both Xue Yuan and Chu Wei had offered their loyalty to varying degrees, it seemed no different from what he had originally imagined.
The only difference was that there were no sparks between the two.
Gu Yuanbai sighed.
Let it be. He didn’t feel comfortable going after marriage arrangements now.
As the Emperor left the inner hall, palace attendants followed behind. The chefs from the Imperial Kitchen had already sent up the meals, considering that the Emperor had eaten rich food last night, so today’s meal was deliberately made light and delicious.
Gu Yuanbai was quite satisfied with it. Xue Yuan was standing next to the hall during the meal, but Gu Yuanbai didn’t say anything about Xue Yuan’s unauthorized actions.
Gu Yuanbai watched as Xue Yuan’s eyes lingered on the delicate lips that touched the spoon and chopsticks, revealing a familiar look of admiration.
The Chief Attendant was puzzled. “Lord Xue, did you come on duty before having your meal? Are you hungry again?”
“Yeah,” Xue Yuan replied with a deep voice, his eyes still fixed on the Emperor’s lips. “Hungry.”
Hungry to taste what Gu Yuanbai’s lips tasted like.
Last time, it was like a dream. His feet barely touched the ground, influenced by the venomous snake. He only remembered that they were soft and sweet. But how could Gu Yuanbai’s lips just be soft and sweet?
The Chief Attendant pondered for a moment. “If you’re really hungry, why not ask His Majesty for a favor and go downstairs to eat?”
Xue Yuan thought, Gu Yuanbai is enjoying his meal so much now, I bet if I went up to him and kissed him, he’d probably just press me into the bowl.
He said, “No need.” His eyes still fixed on the Emperor’s lips, he thought about finding an opportunity to make Gu Yuanbai feel good again and kiss him.
The emperor may appear frail, but his character is strong-willed. As long as it pleases him, even if he’s held by the chin and kissed, Xue Yuan still wants to taste his flavor again.
After finishing the meal, Tian Fusheng brought today’s “The Great Heng Daily” and placed it on the Emperor’s left side.
The palace attendants wiped the Emperor’s hands with a cloth, and after cleaning them, he put on the jade ring that Xue Yuan had given him.
Xue Yuan grinned and, when the palace attendants were about to leave, quietly approached and took the cloth that had just been used to clean the Emperor’s hands from the attendants.
In today’s “The Great Heng Daily,” the main topic was still the rebellion, but it also mentioned that the powerful forces in Jiangnan were sending out sealed letters in an attempt to cage various local forces with them. However, all these sealed letters were intercepted by the Emperor.
This matter was glossed over, appearing seemingly unimportant. The common people wouldn’t think much of it, but Gu Yuanbai knew that once the powerful families learned of this, they would be extremely uneasy.
Especially those with connections to Jiangnan, they fear the letters were meant for them, containing taboo information that could be detrimental to them. Now that the envelopes have reached the emperor’s hands, with unknown contents and recipients, many are likely to be restless and anxious day and night.
Gu Yuanbai twisted the jade ring on his hand and smiled, “The articles in the ‘The Great Heng Daily’ are getting better and better.”
Tian Fusheng smiled and echoed, “Indeed. The officials have put a lot of thought into it, and their writing skills are getting more impressive.”
The articles in the “The Great Heng Daily” were all written by the Ministry of State Affairs. The Ministry had set up a special department for the newspaper, with Chang Yuyan playing a key role in it.
After the articles were written, they were sent to the Zhang family for publication. The bookstore behind the Zhang family was now state-owned, and the Zhang family was only managing and developing it. When the bookstores were spread nationwide, the “The Great Heng Daily” would represent the most direct voice of the country.
This method was much more efficient than directly handing it over to the Zhang family as before. With reduced pressure on the Zhang family, the production of the newspaper began to gradually increase. Recently, many merchants had expressed interest in cooperating with the Zhang family to spread the “The Great Heng Daily” to various regions.
Gu Yuanbai was pleased with this situation and allowed the Zhang family to choose several partners for cooperation. He believed that soon the newspaper he was currently reading would be in the hands of various local powerhouses.
Gu Yuanbai had the newspaper put away, pondering how to use the fear of local powerhouses to his advantage. But before he could think much longer, Tian Fusheng said, “Your Majesty, it’s already the 20th of July. Taifei has urged many times, and the weather has become hot. It’s time for you to go to the summer palace.”
In fact, the Emperor should have gone to the summer palace to escape the heat long ago, but now various affairs had kept him busy until now.
Tian Fusheng counted for the Emperor, “The anti-corruption matter has come to an end, and vacancies in various offices have been filled by new appointments. General Dingyuan and Lord Xue have already returned. If Your Majesty doesn’t go to the summer palace now, Wan Taifei will be very anxious.”
Gu Yuanbai asked, “Isn’t everything prepared?”
Tian Fusheng smiled wryly, “It’s been ready for a long time, just waiting for Your Majesty’s command.”
Now was the hot season, and both the Emperor’s bedroom and the offices for handling state affairs had to be equipped with ice blocks. Gu Yuanbai’s body was weak, and using ice blocks to cool down was not as effective as a cool breeze. These days, while the Emperor was busy with state affairs, the palace attendants were busy serving him, afraid of him feeling too hot or too cold at any moment.
The officials in various government offices, whether attending court or handling official business, had their official robes soaked with sweat. Many people had secretly inquired about when the Emperor would depart.
After pondering for a while, Gu Yuanbai said, “In that case, let’s set off in five days.”
Tian Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Yes.”
Previously, Gu Yuanbai had been too busy to notice the heat, but now that the government affairs were less busy today, he turned back from his busyness and realized that even his temples were damp with sweat.
Many ice basins were still placed in the Xuanzheng Hall. Glancing around, he found that he was still relatively comfortable, but many others had their necks soaked with sweat.
“Go outside and enjoy the breeze,” Gu Yuanbai said, “It’s cooler by the lake. Bring everything with us, I want to fish.”
The palace attendants carried the items and ice basins and followed him to the lakeside pavilion. The lakeside was full of tall and dense willow trees, their branches blocking the sun, leaving behind a cool shade.
With the gentle breeze blowing, carrying the coolness from the ice basin, it was finally not as sultry as inside the hall.
Gu Yuanbai opened his arms, had his heavy outer garments removed, and changed into a light, thin robe, feeling much more comfortable.
Xue Yuan was sweating profusely, feeling extremely uncomfortable. “Your Majesty, can I take off my outer garment too?”
“Now you feel hot?” Gu Yuanbai chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Xue Yuan. “I let you rest at home, but you chose to come by my side. And now you find it hot. Just keep your clothes on. I can take mine off, you can’t take yours off.”
With that glance, Xue Yuan’s breath paused, and he instinctively covered himself.
His mind was filled with Gu Yuanbai’s brows and eyes.
Suddenly, the heat surged within him.
After changing his clothes, Gu Yuanbai felt much more comfortable. The fishing rod was placed by the lake by the palace eunuchs. He lifted his robe, sat down beside it, and looked at the verdant water, exhaling comfortably.
The fish in the palace were very stupid. As soon as the bait was thrown down, they swarmed up in groups to peck at it. Gu Yuanbai caught one after another in no time, then threw them back into the lake, enjoying himself immensely.
When he was happy, his brows and eyes stretched out, and his fair face, accompanied by the serene pool, was as beautiful as a fairy. It seemed that if one didn’t pay attention, they would be abducted by those shameless immortals in the sky.
Watching him trance out, Xue Yuan, after this thought emerged, silently tensed his nerves, sent away the palace eunuch who was changing fishing bait for the Emperor, and squatted down beside Gu Yuanbai.
He was so tall that when he stood, he was slender and straight. As soon as he squatted down, he was even more eye-catching than the sitting Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai glanced at him and casually asked, “Official Xue, how tall are you now?”
In the Great Heng Dynasty, one chi was about 32 centimeters. Xue Yuan seemed to be about 1.9 meters tall, very tall and conspicuous.
Xue Yuan casually replied, “This official hasn’t paid attention.”
Gu Yuanbai became interested and asked someone to bring a measuring tape. Xue Yuan stood up straight, motionless. Gu Yuanbai also stood up, his black hair in Xue Yuan’s eyes. Xue Yuan lowered his gaze, and the usually fierce and ruthless person unexpectedly showed a hint of tenderness.
But this tenderness was not Xue Yuan’s nature after all. When his gaze slid to Gu Yuanbai’s neck, it turned into a strong aggressiveness.
To want an emperor, one must either conquer him or be conquered by him.
How difficult and exciting.
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