Chapter 99
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Xiwandan’s head was the second dead head that Gu Yuanbai had seen up close.
It was quite a coincidence that both of these heads were presented to him by Xue Yuan, one as a gesture of merit and the other as a means of venting Gu Yuanbai’s anger. The head presented for merit was that of the leader of Wang Tushan’s fortress, while this one, remarkably, was one of the leaders of the Khitan eight tribes.
When the rebel army from Jinghunan was suppressed and beheaded in front of the capital, Xu Xiongyuan had been under Gu Yuanbai’s control from start to finish, a thoroughly defeated subordinate. Gu Yuanbai had no interest in watching him being beheaded, so all in all, he had only seen these two dead heads.
But Gu Yuanbai remained very calm.
It was a deep-seated calmness, one that he had not expected to possess, to be calm to the point of refuting the words of a dead person’s head.
After sending someone to dispose of Xiwandan’s head, Gu Yuanbai asked, “Is there anything else?”
The messenger said, “The relay station also sent something over, it was sent by General Xue.”
Saying this, he took out a handkerchief from his bosom, held it above his head with both hands, and respectfully presented it to Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai looked at the handkerchief for a while before reaching out to pick it up and slowly unfold it.
But there was nothing on the handkerchief, just empty space. Gu Yuanbai frowned, thinking that perhaps some secret method had been used. “Bring some water.”
As the palace attendants brought water, he walked to the front of the hall, holding up the handkerchief to the bright sun. Only then did he reluctantly notice a small, faint discoloration in the center of the handkerchief.
It looked like traces of sand and water that had dried up. If one didn’t look carefully, it would be completely unnoticeable.
“What could this be?” Gu Yuanbai pondered.
The messenger suddenly remembered, “Your Majesty, there’s also a note in the handkerchief.”
He searched for it and handed the note to the emperor. Gu Yuanbai took it and saw that it said at the top:
——The first snowflake of the northern border, for you.
***
The wind and snow in the northern border danced like goose feathers.
When Xue Yuan was writing the letter, someone peeked over and laughed, “Xue Jiuyao, it should be the wind and snow in the northern border dancing like duck feathers.”
This joke elicited laughter from everyone.
Outside the tent, the wind blew fiercely, rustling the tent. It had to be weighed down with rocks to prevent the wind and snow from blowing in.
Facing these people’s jokes, Xue Yuan calmly dipped his brush in ink and continued writing.
After everyone finished laughing at him, they continued chatting. After a while, someone asked, “Who is Xue Jiuyao writing all these letters to all day long?”
Everyone said they didn’t know. When someone wanted to ask Xue Yuan, he had already pulled back the curtain and run to a place outside alone to continue writing his letter.
The wind and snow outside directly hit his face, but he was protected by the warmth of his winter clothes. Xue Yuan was strong and sturdy, and with his winter clothes, he was emitting heat all over his body. The snow hadn’t even fallen on him yet, and it had already melted away from the heat emanating from his body.
Xue Yuan placed the inkstone on a rock, placed the paper on his hand, and continued writing, his speed increasing. There was no other way, it was too cold outside. If he didn’t write quickly, either the ink or the brush would freeze.
All these letters were for Gu Yuanbai.
Xue Yuan had written before, sending many letters to Gu Yuanbai before the day of the attack on the capital. But Gu Yuanbai was just heartless, he just wouldn’t respond. After returning from the capital, knowing that the other party wouldn’t reply, Xue Yuan still wrote more frequently.
For some reason, after returning from the capital, Xue Yuan missed Gu Yuanbai even more.
It was strange, the previous longing could still be suppressed and become wild weeds. But now the longing seemed to have found a way, it knew where Xue Yuan’s itch was, where he couldn’t cover up, so it grew and grew.
It was even more intense than before, more impossible to suppress. Even now, writing letters in the wind and snow, Xue Yuan felt a burning sensation in his heart, even a bit of anguish. It burned like liver fire, causing blisters on his lips.
The wind and snow also fell on this piece of paper, but the faint dark spot on it had a special meaning. Xue Yuan put away the letter, tucked it into his chest, and looked up at the sky.
The heat from his breath flew upward. He thought about Gu Yuanbai for a while, thought about his fingertips, which were as white as snow and as cold as snow, and thought about his neck, face, and lips.
Several times he thought about it and regretted it deeply. Why didn’t he think of kissing him more back then? Why didn’t he think of leaving a few marks on his neck?
Thinking about bringing back something that was close to him, even if it was just another bag of bathwater, going to drink the water that had slipped off Gu Yuanbai’s body… anything would be better than just dryly thinking about it like this.
The white jade cup he had brought back had long lost the smell of Gu Yuanbai, and the handkerchief only had dragon patterns left on it. Xue Yuan sighed deeply and returned to his tent.
Old General Xue, who had gone out to patrol, also returned. He looked at him with extreme puzzlement and said, “It’s so cold in the middle of winter, why are you so hot-tempered?”
“I don’t know,” Xue Yuan lifted his eyelids to look at him, touched his lips, and thought, thought about how even in the dead of winter, Gu Yuanbai could have such a temper, it was a pity, if only this pain was caused by Gu Yuanbai biting him, he sighed, “General Xue, hurry up and go in, everyone is waiting for you.”
Father and son entered the military camp. In the middle of the generals was a sand table with various flags inserted into it, representing the territories of the other nomadic tribes in the northern border.
“Let’s discuss the battle plan for next year,” General Xue said, “Hahaha, after we finish discussing this final battle, we can start preparing for the New Year! This year is bound to be a good one. At this critical juncture, we still need everyone to hold on a little longer.”
The generals were spirited and exclaimed in unison, “Yes!” and began to enthusiastically discuss.
***
As winter approached, the days became shorter and shorter as daylight dwindled. Not only in the northern border, but also in the capital, the days were the same, albeit the winter in the capital was just slightly better than in the northern border.
In mid-December, His Majesty went out specifically to inspect the lives of the citizens in the capital. Chu Wei was also by his side. The group took a thorough look, and on the way back, there was a bit more of a smile on Gu Yuanbai’s face.
On their way to the countryside together, a person who had been following Chu Wei slipped away and returned to the Xue residence to inform the second young master, Second Young Master Xue, of the situation.
“The Emperor is traveling with Chu Wei?” Second Young Master Xue suddenly sat up from his bed, “Then why haven’t you found an opportunity to take care of Chu Wei yet? Don’t you know Xue Yuan’s temper? If things aren’t handled properly, it’s either your life or mine!”
The servant replied, “It would be your life.”
Second Young Master Xue shivered in fear, “Knowing that, why haven’t you taken action yet?”
“Second young master, it’s not that we haven’t tried,” the servant explained, “but we discovered that there’s another group targeting Chu Wei as well.”
Second Young Master Xue was curious, “Who are they?”
The servant shook his head, “We don’t know. But they’ve been following Chu Wei since early this morning, and now that Chu Wei is with the Emperor, if they make a move, it could cost them their lives.”
“Great!” Second Young Master Xue said with delight, “Then do nothing. Let that group handle Chu Wei for us.”
The servant respectfully replied, “Understood.”
The people following Chu Wei were sent by the Xixia prince.
The Xixia prince intended to secretly teach Chu Wei a lesson. Since he liked Chu Wei, he wouldn’t go too far; he just planned to have Chu Wei kidnapped and humiliated. After venting his anger, he would release him. Even if the Emperor of Great Heng investigated, he would need evidence, wouldn’t he?
The people sent by the Xixia prince did not know Gu Yuanbai’s identity. They were vigilant against Gu Yuanbai and Chu Wei’s guards, passing messages among themselves: “There are too many people now, it’s hard to make a move.”
“But it’s also hard to make a move in the city,” the leader said, sweating profusely, “There are patrols in the city; the countryside is our only chance.”
“Look at that young man walking in front,” a subordinate said, “He looks weak and defenseless. There’s a slope ahead; we can ambush there. One group will capture Chu Wei, and another will capture that young man. We can use him to threaten the guards, making them afraid to advance.”
The leader nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead, “Let’s do it.”
***
Gu Yuanbai and Chu Wei were walking slowly, chatting and laughing. As they reached a slope, suddenly someone shouted and charged at them with a large blade. In an instant, dozens of people rushed towards them from both sides.
The guards immediately drew their swords and stepped forward. Chu Wei’s expression changed as he protected the Emperor, “Your Majesty, please leave quickly!”
As he spoke, the ambushers had already reached them. Just as Chu Wei prepared to face death bravely, he heard the sound of arrows whizzing past his ears. The first attacker screamed, clutching his chest, and fell to his knees.
Chu Wei was stunned. Turning around, he saw the Emperor calmly holding a small crossbow, shooting arrows at the attackers. The Emperor was extraordinarily calm, raising his arm and smoothly aiming at the next person after hitting the first.
In the blink of an eye, the guards had engaged the attackers. Soon, the clashing of weapons ceased, and the assailants were subdued and forced to kneel.
Gu Yuanbai put away the custom-made crossbow from the Engineering Department. Seeing Chu Wei staring at him, he smiled gently, “Official Chu, were you scared?”
Chu Wei felt his heart racing. He clenched his hand, his face flushing slightly, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his smooth, jade-like forehead.
Gu Yuanbai patted Chu Wei’s arm reassuringly and then walked over to the first attacker. He smiled coldly, “I’ve had this crossbow for half a year. Today is the first time I’ve used it, and it was on you.”
The wounded attacker, pale and covered in blood, widened his eyes in shock.
The Emperor?!
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