Chapter 72
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The original shou wanted Gu Yuanbai to grant the original gong a marriage.
Finding it amusing yet exasperating, Gu Yuanbai sighed inwardly.
Unless the Xue family requested it, he wouldn’t grant a marriage proactively.
A marriage decree, after all, would bind two people. Gu Yuanbai had no patience for such haphazard matchmaking.
That afternoon, just after discussing Xue Yuan, the Xue family sent Gu Yuanbai a letter and a palm-sized wood carving.
The wood carving was a small curved blade, smooth and polished, with rough patterns. Due to its small size, the blade was thick and harmless, like a child’s toy.
Gu Yuanbai examined the wooden blade, found nothing unusual, and set it aside. He then opened the letter.
The paper was white and faintly scented with wine. Gu Yuanbai, with his keen sense of smell, immediately pictured Xue Yuan smiling slyly, tossing a wine jug from the second floor of the Scholar’s Building.
He chuckled and opened the letter. There was only one sentence: “My chess skills surpass Chang Yuyan’s by far. I have prepared the board and tea, awaiting Your Majesty’s presence.”
The handwriting was bold and barely fit on the page.
Even when ill, he could cause such a fuss.
Gu Yuanbai showed the letter to those around him. Tian Fusheng laughed, “If General Xue is so confident, his chess skills must indeed be top-notch.”
Gu Yuanbai hadn’t noticed before, but now he realized. Xue Yuan praising himself was unusual in an era where modesty was valued. This showed Xue Yuan’s extreme confidence.
Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help but smile.
The Chief Guard, concerned, said, “Your Majesty, Lord Xue is unwell and likely can’t move. That’s why he invited you to the Xue residence.”
“I understand,” Gu Yuanbai replied.
His fingers instinctively played with a jade ring, still smooth and warm to the touch. Looking at the translucent jade, he remembered Xue Yuan falling into the water and decided, “Let’s go visit.”
In the afternoon, a gentle breeze blew, and thick clouds hinted at a yellowish sky.
The summer palace was vast, surrounded by hills and springs, with greenery bringing a cool atmosphere. The residences of nobles and officials were nearby, amidst a continuous chorus of birds and insects.
Chu Wei followed the Emperor silently, looking troubled. Occasionally, he glanced at the Emperor’s back with a lost expression.
Though handsome, his demeanor evoked sympathy. But knowing his thoughts were for the Emperor, his beauty no longer seemed appealing.
The Chief Guard suddenly addressed Chu Wei, “Lord Chu, if you’ve made mistakes, you should correct them.”
Chu Wei looked puzzled, “What do you mean, Lord Zhang?”
The Chief Guard replied sternly, “Both you and I serve His Majesty. He is our ruler; we are his subjects.”
“So?” Chu Wei asked, feigning ignorance.
Seeing this, the Chief Guard’s face reddened, “Lord Chu, remember, neither I nor Lord Xue will let anyone with ill intentions near His Majesty.”
Chu Wei’s brows furrowed instantly, his eyes cold and icy.
look.
Chu Wei appeared noble and pure, but his heart was dark, filled with rebellious thoughts. In contrast, Xue Yuan, though bold and brash, was at least straightforward and honest.
Once exposed, didn’t Chu Wei’s face immediately change?
The Chief Guard’s impression of these scholarly types worsened.
Chu Wei finally understood what was happening and looked displeased. Ahead of them, a childish voice suddenly rang out, “Nephew!”
The top scholar’s eyebrows twitched as he instinctively looked up. He realized they had somehow arrived in front of the Chu residence, where a cleanly dressed, well-behaved child stood. Seeing him, the child smiled reservedly and called out loudly, “Zihu Nephew!”
Chu Wei didn’t speak for a while. The Emperor turned back, smiling with interest, “Is this the top scholar’s elder?”
The gatekeeper of the Chu residence had seen the Emperor before and was so scared he stood motionless. He quickly whispered a reminder, “Young master uncle, this is the Emperor.”
The child’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly knelt, performing a full prostration before Gu Yuanbai, “This child greets Your Majesty.”
“Rise,” Gu Yuanbai said. “Can you stand?”
The child clumsily got up, holding his hands together nervously, his eyes repeatedly glancing at Chu Wei, eager for his nephew to teach him how to speak to the Emperor.
The child looked about five or six years old but behaved like a little adult. Gu Yuanbai walked over, lifted his robe, and sat on the steps of the Chu residence. He addressed the stunned child, “What is your name?”
The child clasped his chubby hands together, bowed properly, and said, “This child’s name is Chu Yi, but my family calls me Chu Xiaosi.”
“Yi Ger,” Gu Yuanbai chuckled, pointing to Chu Wei, “You call him nephew?”
“This is my Nephew Zihu,” Chu Xiaosi said. “Nephew Zihu is amazing; he became the top scholar!”
Chu Wei’s ears turned slightly red, and after the Emperor said, “Indeed amazing,” the redness deepened, making his ears clearly blush.
Gu Yuanbai smiled, “Since you are the top scholar’s elder, if he makes a mistake, you must discipline him, correct?”
Chu Xiaosi nodded solemnly, “If Nephew Zihu does something wrong, I will not shield him. The book says: ‘If the child is not taught, it is the father’s fault.'”
“That’s right,” Gu Yuanbai said, troubled. “Today, the top scholar made a small mistake and upset me. As his elder, what do you think should be done?”
Chu Xiaosi was stunned. He looked at the Emperor, then at Chu Wei. Finally, he put on an elder’s demeanor and scolded, “Nephew Zihu, how could you do that?”
Chu Wei couldn’t help but glance at the Emperor, who noticed his gaze and winked at him with a smile. Chu Wei understood the Emperor was just teasing his little fourth uncle and couldn’t help but smile and lower his head.
Chu Xiaosi rarely had the chance to act as an elder. After scolding Chu Wei, his face was flushed with excitement, and he bowed, “Your Majesty, the child has finished scolding.”
Gu Yuanbai pondered, “Oh? Does the top scholar realize his mistake?”
Chu Wei helplessly smiled, “I realize my mistake.”
“Then, for the sake of your fourth uncle, I will let it go this time,” Gu Yuanbai said with a smile. “Don’t waste your little uncle’s efforts.”
Chu Xiaosi’s face turned even redder.
Tian Fusheng stifled his laughter as he brought a soft cushion and said softly, “Your Majesty, let me place a cushion for you. The ground is too cold and not good for you.”
Gu Yuanbai stood up, “No need to sit anymore. Let’s go.”
Chu Wei was about to follow when Gu Yuanbai looked at him and said with a smile, “Since we’ve reached your residence, Minister Chu, you should take Yi Ger back home. No need to accompany me further.”
Chu Wei said nothing. His little uncle ran over to hug his leg. Chu Wei bent down to pick up the child, looked at the Emperor, and couldn’t help but say, “Your Majesty, it looks like it might rain soon. Why don’t you rest at my residence for a while?”
Gu Yuanbai looked at the sky, seeing the thick, yellow-tinged clouds and feeling the cool breeze swaying the trees, indicating rain.
Gu Yuanbai pondered, but before he could decide, he felt a cool drop on his cheek. Wiping it off, he found a trace of moisture.
The dry ground began to show damp spots; it was starting to rain.
Raindrops fell, first slowly then steadily, landing on the chessboard.
By the stone table, where pastries, tea, and a wine jug were laid out, the rain mixed with the aromas of tea and wine.
Xue Yuan, waiting beside the stone table, sat straight, draped in a black cloak, silent as a statue.
A raindrop fell from his forehead, sliding down his chin.
A servant hurried with an oil-paper umbrella, but Xue Yuan called out, “Don’t come over.”
The servant halted, “Young master, it’s raining!”
“Hasn’t your master been rained on before?” Xue Yuan grabbed the wine jug, took a few swigs mixed with rainwater, and lifted his head to drink.
The servant exclaimed, “Young master, the doctor said you mustn’t drink or get wet.”
“Too late,” Xue Yuan said, shaking the jug. “Already drank, already wet.”
He stood up, soft raindrops falling on his face. At this late summer moment, even the rain seemed gentler, but no matter how gentle, it still felt cold when it drenched him.
His face, adept at deception, hid a heart more ruthless than anyone’s.
Xue Yuan walked to the end of the corridor.
Only then did the servants in the corridor breathe a sigh of relief. Some fetched towels, others ginger soup, while Xue Yuan alone stood motionless at the edge of the corridor, watching the rain turn from sparse to dense.
He stood straight, his outer robe draped over him, taking up a large space. Xue Yuan’s eyesight was sharp; with a slight squint, he could see the carefully prepared pastries on the stone table gradually being scattered by the rain.
Xue Yuan took another sip of wine and tilted his head to ask, “Where are they?”
Just as he finished speaking, a person ran in through the rain, drenched from head to toe, “Young master, I saw the Emperor turning into the Chu residence from the alley.”
The residences of the nobles and ministers around the summer palace were clustered together in groups. The Chu residence and the Xue residence were particularly close, one at the front and the other at the end. Ever since Xue Yuan arrived at the summer palace, he had been punished with fifty lashes and hadn’t shown his face much at the front gate.
When these words were spoken, the servants held their breath, fearing Xue Yuan might lose his temper. However, Xue Yuan just laughed, “So he really did come.”
Xue Yuan’s mood improved. He smiled, stretched out his hand, and said, “Give Laozi the umbrella.”
A servant handed him the oil-paper umbrella, and Xue Yuan asked, “Where’s the bird?”
Another servant hurried to bring a birdcage from under the corridor. Inside the cage was not a rare, precious bird, but a little gray sparrow.
Xue Yuan lifted the birdcage in front of him, looking at the sparrow inside. With a spark of interest, he chuckled and asked, “Do you think the jade thumb ring was intentionally taken by the Emperor, or did you actually snatch it yourself?”
The sparrow, of course, didn’t understand what he was saying, its head turning left and right, pecking at its feathers.
Xue Yuan grinned, carrying the birdcage and the umbrella as he leisurely walked out of the Xue residence.
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