Chapter 68
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Xue Yuan’s current demeanor somewhat resembled the image of a regent from a book.
Gu Yuanbai narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Xue Yuan looked at a eunuch sneaking away from behind the rockery, then turned back to Gu Yuanbai with a casual smile, saying, “Just admiring the scenery, the flowers, and plants.”
“You seem leisurely,” Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes lazily, “How’s your recovery on these days of rest?”
“Acceptable,” Xue Yuan replied.
Standing about two steps away from Gu Yuanbai, after saying this, the two fell silent.
After a moment,
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan suddenly spoke up.
Gu Yuanbai raised his eyelids to glance at him.
Xue Yuan respectfully asked, “Are there any relatives staying in the palace?”
“There are some relatives,” Gu Yuanbai replied nonchalantly, “Have you offended someone again?”
Xue Yuan couldn’t help but laugh, “Your Majesty, you worry too much.”
After these two sentences, the wind seemed to calm down suddenly. Just then, a voice came from outside the pavilion, “Your Majesty!”
Gu Yuanbai turned to look, only to see Tian Fusheng, whom he had sent to inquire about news from the cleaning maids, approaching.
Tian Fusheng was panting from exhaustion. When he reached the pavilion and was about to report to Gu Yuanbai, he glanced up and saw Xue Yuan. His eyes widened, and he froze in place.
Xue Yuan nodded politely to him, “Steward Tian.”
“L-Lord Xue,” Tian Fusheng regained his senses, gave a forced smile towards Xue Yuan, then continued addressing the emperor, “Your Majesty, I didn’t realize you had gone so far ahead. I couldn’t see you from behind and almost thought I had lost sight of you. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat in fear.”
“Alright,” Gu Yuanbai chuckled openly, “Did you manage to find out what I asked?”
Tian Fusheng glanced at Xue Yuan out of the corner of his eye before speaking cautiously, “Your Majesty, the cleaning maids didn’t know much, but I followed the lead of a eunuch and found out some information.”
“Go on,” Gu Yuanbai prompted.
After the eunuch sneaked away from behind the rockery, he went straight to Heqin Wang’s mansion.
Heqin Wang listened to his words with a cold face. When he heard about how “His Majesty and Lord Xue were very intimate,” his expression suddenly changed.
He asked solemnly, “How intimate are they?”
The eunuch tactfully replied, “I didn’t dare to look too closely, but I saw Lord Xue standing next to Your Majesty, even wiping His Majesty’s face.”
He had even touched His Majesty’s face.
Heqin Wang stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth incessantly. “Did His Majesty get angry? Did he punish anyone?”
“His Majesty did not scold LORD Xue,” the eunuch said cautiously, “and he seemed to show no signs of anger.”
“…” Heqin Wang halted his steps, remained silent for a while, then suddenly said, “You may leave.”
After the eunuch left the palace, Heqin Wang called for a close attendant.
As soon as the close attendant entered, he saw Heqin Wang sitting in the shaded part of the room, his face barely discernible in the darkness. He spoke in a suppressed tone, “Go and send a beautiful maid to His Majesty.”
Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan, does Gu Yuanbai… does he like men?
The news Tian Fusheng gathered wasn’t particularly special.
It was just some silver exchanged, and the eunuchs and maids under his command were taught the melody of the poem. The poem itself was quite good and catchy, so it spread quickly through word of mouth, and everyone could hum a few lines.
After listening to Tian Fusheng’s report, Gu Yuanbai instructed the chief guard to collect the kite and led the group back the way they came.
As they passed the Four-Corner Pavilion surrounded by water, they happened to see a palace maid wiping the carved stone table inside.
This palace maid was quite beautiful, with a hint of blush on her face, whether from the heat or shyness. Her delicate hands and simple attire accentuated her figure.
Tian Fusheng immediately noticed the maid’s extraordinariness. However, the ones who could send maids were the masters of various mansions, or even Wan Taifei. Tian Fusheng kept his composure, not daring to speak up without His Majesty’s orders.
Gu Yuanbai walked over and sat down, casually saying, “You may leave.”
The maid looked disappointed, “Yes.”
But due to her distracted mind, she accidentally knocked over the tea cup on the table. The hot water poured down rapidly, flowing along the table. Gu Yuanbai quickly stepped back two steps, frowning.
His sleeve was soaked with hot water, and he glanced at the maid.
The palace maid knelt on the ground, her face pale with fear. “Your Majesty, this servant deserves death. Please forgive this servant.”
Gu Yuanbai sighed. “You may withdraw.”
The palace maid quickly bowed low and cautiously left the pavilion.
Tian Fusheng was instructing someone to clean up the water stains on the table. Gu Yuanbai walked to the sides of the pavilion, his hand resting on the railing as he looked down at the water.
Soon, a small bird landed by the railing, chirping incessantly. Gu Yuanbai instinctively reached out to touch the feathers of the bird.
But the conspicuous jade ring on his thumb seemed to attract the animals. Before he could touch the bird, it unexpectedly snatched the jade ring from his finger and flew off with it.
Gu Yuanbai chuckled. “Even you, little fellow, want to steal from me?”
As he reached out to grab it, the bird panicked and fluttered its wings. With a splash, the jade ring fell into the lake beside the pavilion.
Gu Yuanbai followed the jade ring’s descent into the lake, his smile fading.
A shadow flashed by his side, and in his final glance, he saw Xue Yuan stepping onto the railing and jumping into the lake without hesitation.
Gu Yuanbai’s eyelids twitched, and he hastily left the pavilion, calling out loudly, “Xue Yuan!”
The guards followed him out of the pavilion, and one of them even dropped his sword and jumped into the lake with a splash.
The chief guard’s face was grave as he expressed his concern. “Lord Xue, his injury…”
Gu Yuanbai’s expression fluctuated, finally settling on a particularly grim look.
The guards in the lake shouted loudly, diving and resurfacing repeatedly, but Xue Yuan remained silent. Gu Yuanbai’s face grew darker and darker. Suddenly, a figure emerged from beside the wooden walkway.
Water gushed as Xue Yuan’s upper body surfaced. He was soaked, water streaming down his black hair.
He smiled helplessly at Gu Yuanbai. “Your Majesty.”
“Is Minister Xue always this reckless after being injured?” Gu Yuanbai’s tone was harsh. “I ask you, if you were to lose your life, how would I explain to General Xue!”
His anger simmered, his eyes fixed on Xue Yuan, containing a fiery glint.
Beautiful, the whole world illuminated.
Xue Yuan said, “Your Majesty’s jade ring must not be lost.”
“I have plenty of jade,” Gu Yuanbai’s voice lowered, his gaze intense. “I don’t need anyone to risk their life to find a plain jade ring for me! It’s just an inanimate object—”
Gu Yuanbai’s voice abruptly stopped.
Xue Yuan quietly watched him, half of his body still submerged. He raised his hand from the water, fingers spreading apart, revealing a jade ring, dripping with water and shining green.
Water flowed from his palm, droplets clinging to the jade ring, turning green like it.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan said casually, “this plain jade ring has been found by your subject. If Your Majesty has no other jade rings to wear, then please bear with it for now and use this one.”
He reached out his hand to Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai took a deep breath and extended his hand.
Their wet hands clasped, and with his other hand, Gu Yuanbai slowly placed the jade ring on his thumb. He looked down at Xue Yuan, scanning his face, but Xue Yuan was too focused on Gu Yuanbai’s hand to notice the searching gaze.
The green jade ring returned to its place, and Gu Yuanbai withdrew his hand. “Minister Xue, come up.”
Xue Yuan smiled, “My clothes are all wet. It might offend Your Majesty’s eyes. I’ll climb out of the water after Your Majesty leaves.”
Gu Yuanbai’s throat moved up and down as if he wanted to speak, but in the end, he said nothing. He gave Xue Yuan a deep look, then turned and left.
The group of people departed in a grand procession, the guards searching for Xue Yuan in the lake followed behind. When their figures were almost out of sight, Xue Yuan relaxed his smile. He propped himself up with his hands, using his arms to pull himself onto the shore.
After pulling himself onto the shore, he closed his eyes and took a moment to rest.
His lower body remained submerged in the water, his soaked clothes revealing traces of blood. Thankfully, Gu Yuanbai had left; otherwise, if he were seen like this, how could Xue Yuan still claim to be the most useful?
After a while, Xue Yuan regained his composure. He opened his eyes and glanced towards the pavilion, spotting a familiar folding fan on a stone bench inside.
It was the folding fan that His Majesty had held, a gift from Chu Wei. It seemed that it had been left here in haste.
A smirk tugged at Xue Yuan’s lips.
He rested for a while longer before standing up, still dripping wet. He walked into the pavilion and picked up the fan, swiftly unfolding it to reveal the landscape painting and the accompanying poetry.
Xue Yuan finished reading and remarked, “A man of culture.”
He smiled sardonically, then with a swift motion, cleanly tore the fan into two halves.
“I don’t like cultured individuals other than myself.”
Gu Yuanbai returned to the palace, instructing his soaked guards to go and dry themselves. He sat at the table, deep in thought.
A servant announced from outside, “Heqin Wang is here to see Your Majesty.”
Gu Yuanbai snapped out of his reverie. “Let him in.”
Shortly after, Heqin Wang strode into the palace.
He immediately got to the point. “Your Majesty’s birthday is approaching, isn’t it?”
Tian Fusheng replied, “Yes, Your Highness, there is still a little over a month left.”
“After the birthday celebration,” Heqin Wang continued, “Your Majesty will turn twenty-two, and it’s about time for you to have a consort.”
Gu Yuanbai, who was busy with paperwork, paused, looking up at him. “A consort?”
Heqin Wang looked at him with barely suppressed anger, his fists clenched tightly. “Has Your Majesty never considered it?”
His tone was almost accusatory, and Gu Yuanbai, already in a foul mood, burst out laughing in anger. He didn’t bother to save face for Heqin Wang and pointed to the palace door. “Get out!”
Heqin Wang’s expression changed abruptly, a mix of disbelief and shock as he stared at Gu Yuanbai.
“This is the last time I’ll say it,” Gu Yuanbai said sternly. “Get out!”
Heqin Wang’s face turned ashen. His lips moved as if to speak, but he finally turned and left.
Gu Yuanbai turned to Tian Fusheng. “What did you find out from investigating him?”
“Nothing,” Tian Fusheng replied cautiously. “We haven’t found anything suspicious.”
Gu Yuanbai remained silent for a while, then stood up and walked towards the inner hall, his anger simmering like a brewing storm. “I’m going to rest. Wake me in half an hour.”
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