I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 39

A jade store.

After returning to the capital, Xue Yuan had never been to a store like that.

He paced back and forth with his horse, Gu Yuanbai filling his thoughts, and Xue Yuan’s eyes were fixated on the jade store the entire time. Finally, he snarled and dismounted the horse.

There had been a lot of steam in the air, and he might have been wrong.

He’d have to take another look with his own eyes to really know whether it actually was that color or not. Xue Yuan needed a way to get Gu Yuanbai to take off his pants in front of him.

How could he get that to happen?

Take them from him directly?

Xue Yuan stepped into the jade store while thinking about how to take them off. The owner of the jade store hurriedly came over to greet him. “What sort of jade ornaments are you looking for?”

Xue Yuan was still wearing the palace guard’s uniform, which was similar to the Inspector in chief robes, and they made him look tall and handsome. He glanced at the jade ornaments in the store, but didn’t see the type of jade pieces that he wanted, so he raised his eyes, looked at the owner and said, “Are there any jade pieces that are slender and pink?”

The store owner was dumbfounded. “Slender and pink?”

Xue Yuan made a gesture, and then asked, “Are there any like that?”

The owner smiled awkwardly, took Xue Yuan to the inner room, and then took out an exquisite carved wooden box. The box looked hefty and brand new. Xue Yuan glanced at the box and then at the owner.

The owner wiped the box clean with a towel and put it on a high table next to him. The box was opened and the contents appeared before Xue Yuan’s eyes.

They were long, slim jade pieces, some narrower and some thicker.

The jade was a translucent white shade, and the thinnest was no thicker than a finger while the thickest one was the size of a fist.

Xue Yuan picked up one at random, noticing they were cold to the touch, not like a cheap ordinary product.

It practically matched all of Xue Yuan’s requirements, except that they weren’t pink. Xue Yuan asked, “What is this?”

The owner said, “Sir officer, these are jade rods.”1

Xue Yuan pondered for a while. “Jade rods?”

The owner, sweating profusely, explained their purpose to Xue Yuan in detail.

While talking, the owner was puzzled. This official doesn’t even know what a jade rod is for, how come he thought of buying one?

After choosing a date for the Spring Hunt, Gu Yuanbai purposefully slowed down his workload and schedule for a few days. He was in a calm mood and he eased up on issuing Imperial orders. All the various government departments couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Whenever the Emperor was angry, heads would roll.

The officials and members of the Imperial family weren’t very tense, but after witnessing what happened with the Imperial Censor and Prince Qi a few days ago now they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The officials and the Imperial family consciously kept their distance from each other, and certainly didn’t take any bribes. They weren’t money, they were a curse.

The one who felt the most relieved was the head doctor of the Imperial hospital.

Gu Yuanbai needed regular medical exams and taking tonics to nourish his body, drinking so many that they wouldn’t taste bitter. But no matter how brilliant the Imperial doctors were, they couldn’t compare to the effects of the Emperor being open minded and willing to forgive.

When Xue Yuan was on duty the next day, he saw an Imperial doctor in the bedroom taking Gu Yuanbai’s pulse.

Before Gu Yuanbai got up, he had been lying on the bed. The doors and windows of the palace had been closed, and the incense smoke floated in the air.

A few days earlier, he had been extremely tense, and after suddenly relaxing he felt exhausted. Gu Yuanbai was dozing off, and it was hard to tell whether or not he was asleep.

Seeing him like this, Xue Yuan frowned and asked Tian Fusheng, “What’s wrong with the Emperor?”

Tian Fusheng still had a calm expression, and he sighed. “His Majesty must have been tired from a while ago, or perhaps he was irritated by Prince Qi. Now that he has relaxed, he got a little headache.”

Xue Yuan asked, “What did the Imperial doctor say?”

Tian Fusheng looked worried. “He hasn’t spoken yet.”

Xue Yuan’s brain suddenly flashed with a thought and a weird expression appeared on his face.

Could the headache be caused by what happened in the baths the day before?

…He’s really too weak.

At the same time, Gu Yuanbai, who had his eyes closed, was also a little embarrassed.

When taking a bath yesterday afternoon, Gu Yuanbai had given himself some love, and as a man who hadn’t had a good time for three years he couldn’t endure it. So that night, he gave himself a lot of self love.

And when he got up that morning, he had a headache.

The Imperial doctor took his pulse for a while and figured out what was going on. There wasn’t an Imperial concubine in the palace, nor had he heard of a maid spending the night. After thinking it through, the Imperial doctor thought that, if he spoke directly, he’d make the Emperor feel ashamed, so, after a long minute, he just implied what he meant. “Your Majesty’s body is a bit weak, remember not to do certain stressful things in a short period of time. If it happens soon before you go to bed, this result is inevitable.”

Gu Yuanbai replied faintly, “Understood, let’s move on.”

When the Imperial doctor retired, Tian Fusheng stepped up to him and asked, “Imperial doctor, by ‘certain stressful things’, do you mean government affairs?”

The Imperial doctor thought for a while and responded vaguely.

Tian Fusheng understood clearly. He saw the Imperial doctor out and then said when he returned, “Your Majesty, I heard that there’s a new play in the capital’s theater. Why don’t we invite the troupe to the palace today?”

“A new play?” Gu Yuanbai asked. “What family’s?”

“It seems to belong to the Zhang clan from the Western District,” Tian Fusheng said.

Gu Yuanbai became interested. He had been waiting for the Zhang family from the Western District to make a move for a long time. Recently, they had been quiet and motionless. Gu Yuanbai originally thought that they were waiting for an offer, or had no plan of ​​becoming the Emperor’s checkbook, but now it would seem that he had been wrong.

In fact, the Zhang clan was nervous to death.

The Zhang clan had started as businessmen, and, no matter how rich it became, it had no backer. One just had to take Zhang Hao as an example: as a member of the clan, he had been put in the Chengbao Temple, and when the officials said a word, the family had to put in a lot of money and do a lot of groveling. Even then, the other temple disciples looked down on Zhang Hao for being from a merchant family.

With no power and no name behind them, anyone could send a Zhang to get flayed. The Zhang patriarch had enough experience having money with no power and felt humiliated. He wanted to prove his clan’s worth to the Emperor through some high-ranked official, to see if they could be put in charge of the business route that the Emperor planned to build. Even if they were paid pennies for the matter, they’d put their money into it.

As long as they could be of service to the Emperor, that’d already be enough.

However, it was then that Zhang Hao, who was a lay disciple at the Chengbao Temple, brought home great news.

The entire clan was shocked. They asked Zhang Hao to repeat what the Emperor had said word by word over and over. Although it was hard to guess what the Emperor meant, it wasn’t clear if he had plans to collaborate with them. Either way, the entire clan discussed the matter for an entire day and finally decided to go all together to see the Emperor when he returned to the capital.

In order to express their sincerity, all the members of the family rushed back from their provinces to the capital. Whether the Emperor was willing to see them or not, they had to at least be prepared for it.

After the entire family gathered in the capital, the Zhang clan began to befriend high ranking officials through various means, hoping to be introduced through them. However, they had the bad look that this happened at the same time that the Imperial court underwent a cleaning. After fixing the Imperial court and designing anti-corruption measures, the Great Heng ministers and officials felt that they were in a dangerous position and acted cautious with their words and deeds, obviously not introducing the Zhang clan and not daring to accept any gifts.

The Zhang clan returned unscrupulously, and it wasn’t able to get connections. They could only work on their business in the capital while remaining worried. The uncertainty made everyone feel anxious. In the end, they produced a theater drama that was well-liked among the rich and powerful, hoping to use it to make a couple of friends. A powerful person could give them the opportunity to meet the Emperor.

“That show is going to be playing later today,” Tian Fusheng said. “Is Your Majesty in the mood to attend?”

Gu Yuanbai sat up. “Inform the palace that We will go take a look.”

Tian Fusheng said happily, “Understood!”

There was a breeze blowing, and Gu Yuanbai sat in the shade, looking at the opposite stage.

Surrounded by fresh and tender fruits and the scent of tea, Gu Yuanbai was so close to sleeping that he had to squint to look at the drama across the room.

A show for the Emperor required their greatest effort. The people on the stage were full of energy, doing their best moves and their singing full of vibrato. Needless to say, they were all masters of their craft. Even Gu Yuanbai, who was used to all sorts of entertainment, could tell that the acting was good, the singing was good, and the story was somewhat interesting.

When Gu Yuanbai started to pay attention, he suddenly felt a shiver rise on his back. When he looked back, he saw Xue Yuan staring at him, and Gu Yuanbai asked, “What are you thinking, Inspector?”

“Undre–” Xue Yuan returned to his senses, and then he smiled in a gentlemanly manner. “This official is thinking about peeling lychees for Your Majesty.”

After a whole night of thoughtful thinking, Xue Yuan still couldn’t believe that someone as ruthless as Gu Yuanbai could look so cute. In order to prove his theory, he had been thinking about how he could take off Gu Yuanbai’s trousers for verification.

If this idea was for someone else, Xue Yuan would have taken action right away, but the young Emperor couldn’t even endure breathing a strong fragrance. He was too weak. If he got rid of his pants, Gu Yuanbai would probably get angry again.

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he felt.

Since he couldn’t use tough methods, should he coax him?

Pretend to be good again?

Gu Yuanbai asked him to come closer and pushed the porcelain plate with a bunch of red lychees in front of Xue Yuan. Before Xue Yuan reached out with his hand, he did not forget to ask, “Are your hands clean?”

Xue Yuan showed Gu Yuanbai his hand. “Your Majesty, look.”

His palms were full of thick calluses and small scars, and his palm lines were extremely deep and powerful. His fingers were large and slender. These hands looked extremely masculine and reliable. Gu Yuanbai still remembered the feeling of those hands touching his body, as if a stone was rubbing against his skin.

But it was impossible to know how many people these hands had killed, how many heads they had carried.

Gu Yuanbai said, “Inspector, your hands are clean, but We still remember the way you carried a head in it yesterday.”

Xue Yuan was peeling the lychees, and he said leisurely, “Your Majesty, that wasn’t a cheap head.”

Gu Yuanbai replied straightforwardly, “We remember giving you rewards that aren’t cheap, either.”

Xue Yuan couldn’t help but laugh.

The play on the stage went on singing for a while, and the peeled crystal clear lychee piled up on the porcelain plate. Gu Yuanbai tasted one, and the sweet delicate flavor filled his mouth.

Eating lychees made him think of tomatoes with sugar.

What a shame.2

After the people on the stage finished singing their piece, Tian Fusheng asked the Emperor whether he wanted to watch it again. Gu Yuanbai nodded his head dispassionately, and the people on stage started playing again.

After a while, a palace attendant came over with a clump of green coral jade and said softly, “Your Majesty, this piece of jade has been gifted by the Za Theater.”

The coral jade was faintly green, somewhat transparent all the way through, and Gu Yuanbai stroked it. “Where is the person who sent this jade?”

The palace attendant retreated and led the man up.

Following behind was a middle-aged man who seemed excited but was restraining himself. When he came up to Gu Yuanbai, he gave a big bow. “This peasant pays homage to the Emperor!”

This man was from the Zhang family, from the Western District. Gu Yuanbai asked, “Is this jade you sent Us a gift?”

The Zhang man said cautiously, “One of my family members discovered this beautiful jade by accident on a trip by the sea. This jade lump hasn’t been carved into this shape, but instead grew naturally like this. Such a thing is only meant to be used as a gift to Your Majesty to show its extraordinary nature.”

Gu Yuanbai smiled slightly. “Are you a member of the Zhang family in the Western District?”

The Zhang man was nervous and sweating profusely. The sweat on his back soaked through his clothes. “Yes, that’s this peasant’s family.”

Gu Yuanbai rubbed the coral jade and smiled. “What a coincidence, We precisely wanted to discuss business with you.”

Gu Yuanbai knew that their cooperation would not remain unprofitable for long. Since he proposed cooperation, it would naturally make the Zhang clan money as well.

And what he asked the Zhang clan to do was to build a business route with the border nomads.

Sell ​​them grains, tea, cloth, salt, etc. from the Great Heng and then buy their cattle, sheep and horses at low prices.

This trade route would be monopolized by Gu Yuanbai, and its safety would also be guaranteed by Gu Yuanbai. The best horses they bought were taken to the army to train light cavalry and heavy cavalry. The inferior horses, the cattle and sheep were sold at high prices, and half of the cattle and sheep would be split and taken to the army so that the soldiers could eat more meat.

Gu Yuanbai kept in mind that power comes out of the barrel of a gun. Taking care of soldiers for a thousand days just to use them for a moment. To have strong soldiers, it was necessary to have a lot of money to pay for their food.

But it was necessary to take care of them. Soldiers and cavalry were the root of an Emperor’s capacity to instill fear. And an Emperor that wasn’t able to instill fear wasn’t an actual awe-inspiring Emperor.

As long as the Zhang clan completed this trade route, the army would be able to save a lot of money, and the court would also earn white money by selling cattle, sheep and horses at high prices.

With that silver, the Imperial court could do a lot of things. The first thing would be building roads and infrastructure.

Naturally, the Zhang clan refused to accept the benefits offered by the Emperor. They originally planned to use their own money to do what the Emperor ordered. They were already satisfied knowing that they didn’t have to give any money.

Gu Yuanbai said, “We take 80%, and you take 20%.”

Zhang refused several times, and finally accepted it with Gu Yuanbai’s insistence. Feeling concerned, Gu Yuanbai noticed his uneasy look, and calmly said, “You are also one of Our people. Rules against corruption are written in the Great Heng’s Law. We should lead by example and not break the law. You work so hard, We can’t let you do everything and work for nothing.”

The ruler of the country was not willing to take advantage of them, and his words were warm and compassionate, yet the corrupt officials were arrogant and domineering.

Zhang’s eyelids instantly turned red, and after he paid a last salute to Gu Yuanbai, he was escorted away.

Soon after, the Imperial doctor hurried back with Chu Wei.

The Imperial doctor and Gu Yuanbai discussed the Imperial court. Behind the doctor, Chu Wei was holding a rolled up painting in his hands, waiting patiently.

Xue Yuan saw that the Emperor was just going to talk, and seeing that the lychees in the plate were going to go stale, he took a juicy lychee and placed it before Gu Yuanbai’s lips.

Gu Yuanbai took it into his mouth without thinking, and his warm lips touched Xue Yuan’s fingers.

Chu Wei watched this scene from the sidelines, his previously calm expression slightly twisting.

Xue Yuan glanced at the young Emperor’s lips and, stretching out his hand in a very natural gesture, he placed it under Gu Yuanbai’s lips and caught the black lychee seeds that Gu Yuanbai spit out.

He didn’t mind his hands getting dirty, so he wiped them and fed the young Emperor another lychee.

Gu Yuanbai was focused on talking with the Imperial doctor. After he finished speaking, he savored the sweet taste in his mouth and rewarded the Imperial doctor with a plate of lychees.

The old official had very tiring days, and before he had to take on such an unpleasant task, Gu Yuanbai did not forget to comfort him. “We are lucky to have an officer like you in the Imperial Court.”

The Imperial doctor laughed and replied, “Your Majesty has ordered it, so, no matter how hard I have to work, this old official will do Your Majesty’s will.”

Gu Yuanbai patted the Imperial doctor’s hand, smiled and said some kind words to him.

After the Imperial doctor left, Chu Wei, who had been waiting quietly in the back, finally took a step forward, holding the painting between his hands, and said, “This official has finished the painting.”

Tian Fusheng stepped forward to take it and unfold it, and a portrait of Gu Yuanbai appeared on the smooth paper.

The man in the painting looked energetic, with a calm and confident aura, and his appearance matched the flowers behind him. It is said that the way others saw someone in their eyes was the way they would paint them as well, and Gu Yuanbai nodded with satisfaction, feeling in Chu Wei’s heart he had the very aura of a ruler.

Chu Wei looked at the Emperor’s expression and, seeing that he was satisfied, he let out a breath he had been holding in his heart. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Why should he feel uneasy because of his painting skills?

“They are really lifelike.” Gu Yuan caressed it lightly with his hand and exclaimed, “Official Chu’s painting skills are masterful.”

Chu Wei smiled slightly and raised his hand to point to a hidden detail in the painting, but he didn’t expect that the Emperor would also happen to raise his hand. The fingertips of the two of them touched slightly in the air, and the two of them were startled.

Both hands were as beautiful as jade carvings, except one was more slender and a bit longer while the other looked well taken care of, and, when placed together, they looked as beautiful and pleasant to the eye as a painting.

Gu Yuanbai withdrew his hand first and couldn’t help but glance at Chu Wei’s destined socialist brotherhood. As it turned out, Xue Yuan was also looking at Chu Wei with dark eyes and a blank expression.

Chu Wei’s fingers flinched before he retracted them into his sleeves. He looked down at the painting and continued to explain faintly, “Your Majesty, there’s a detail here, here…”

The lychee was brought to his mouth, and Gu Yuanbai ate it without thinking. When he was about to spit out the seeds, he suddenly had two hands in front of him.

Chu Wei had rolled up his sleeves, and respectfully raised his hand and placed it before his lips like Xue Yuan.

Xue Yuan’s smile now looked even more gloomy.

Gu Yuanbai paused and tilted his head and spat on Xue Yuan’s hand.

After all, Chu Wei was delicate, and his appearance was very elegant, and he was his courtier, not as rough and coarse as Xue Yuan was. How could he spit on Chu Wei’s hand?

Wouldn’t it be a shame?

Seeing this, Chu Wei took his hand back in silence. The performance before them was still ongoing, so Gu Yuanbai asked that the painting be put away so that Chu Wei could watch it next to him.

Gu Yuanbai waved his hand to end the show at noon, when he started to feel a bit tired, and he returned to his bedroom to rest.

That day, when it was time to retire.

Chu Wei left the Hanlin Academy, his colleagues scattering around him. After getting on a horse carriage, Chu Wei said, “To Ancheng Academy.”

The carriage stopped in front of the Ancheng Academy. Chu Wei got out of the carriage and took some steps towards Ancheng College, but suddenly someone covered his nose and mouth from behind, and he was pulled into a side alley.

Chu Wei struggled to free himself, his gaze resembling ice, and several tall figures stood in the shadows around him. They raised their fists without a word and rushed straight at him.

Chu Wei escaped one blow, but the next one hit him in the abdomen. The beating in the alley continued. Chu Wei breathed in deeply, but arrogantly refused to cry for help.

He had also practiced some martial arts to build up his body, so he could tell that these men were also trained and purposefully targeting him!

The fists of these men avoided his face, and from the outside the blows looked harmless, but the pain was almost unbearable. It was not until he coughed blood that Chu Wei heard a sound from the entrance of the alley.

He reluctantly turned his head and saw Xue Yuan riding a horse, its hoofbeats clacking as it paced slowly across the alley.

As if noticing the movement in the alley, Xue Yuan slowly turned his head to the side. He looked straight at Chu Wei as if he hadn’t seen anything, and there was no fluctuation in his expression.

Chu Wei swallowed blood, his eyes clouding.

It was him.

Xue Yuan.

Chu Wei returned home with a cold expression. His face looked fine, but he was in fact covered in dark bruises. He hid his injuries so as to not alarm anyone, and when he was on duty the following day, he returned to the Imperial Academy and was tasked with being at the Emperor’s side recording everything he did and said.

Chang Yuyan was with him. It was the first time that Chang Yuyan had been selected to speak to the Emperor, and he was unable to suppress his smile. Chu Wei walked with him for a while, and suddenly asked, “Master Chang, you seem to be very familiar with the Inspector in Chief?”

Chang Yuyan smiled slightly, nodded a bit, and asked, “Why is Master Chu asking about him?”

Chu Wei’s tone was cold and icy. “I heard that young master Xue only returned to the capital this year and that he has been at the border post in the past. He should be an impressive person, right?”

Chang Yuyan smiled and said, “I don’t know that much about Jiuyao’s deeds.”

Chu Wei’s lips twitched coldly and he stopped talking.

When the two of them entered the palace, Chu Wei looked up and saw Xue Yuan standing to the side. The haze in his eyes lifted up, and he looked down to bow before the Emperor with Chang Yuyan.

After half an hour, when Chu Wei stepped forward to record the name of the document the Emperor was reading, his wide sleeves got stuck on the corner of the table. Chu Wei frowned and lifted his hand to pull away his sleeves.

The Emperor raised his head from the document he was reading, spotted the dark bruise on his arm, and frowned. “Official Chu, what happened?”

Chu Wei said in a calm tone, “Yesterday, this official left the Imperial Academy to go buy some brushes, inks, paper and inkstones, but a stranger dragged me into an alley to give me a beating.”

The Emperor frowned more deeply. “Did they take any money?”

Chu Wei replied, “Nothing.”

The Emperor’s voice turned cold. “There’s evildoers right under the Imperial court’s nose.”

Chu Wei raised his head and glanced at Xue Yuan across the room. Xue Yuan’s expression didn’t change, and he easily sneered at Chu Wei.

Chu Wei’s heart sank, his eyes lowered and he said, “Indeed.”