I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 5
005 – His Majesty Is Angry
The early second lunar month was bitterly cold. The imperial doctor in the palace tried every means to keep the emperor’s physical condition in a stable state. Gu Yuanbai also cooperated very well. Fortunately, nothing happened afterward besides the wind chill that was going to kill him.
In his spare time, he tried his best to recall the plot of the drama Powerful Minister. Powerful Minister was the adaptation of the BL novel Jade in The Regent’s Palm, in which Gu Yuanbai did not at all understand the specific plot.
He only knew that the drama was very popular. However, what was more popular than the plot was the socialist brotherhood in it.
Gu Yuanbai was in a state of “having heard, familiar with, but not understanding” toward this kind of socialist brotherhood. He also felt very strange toward the two protagonists in the book. After he sent someone to inquire about it, he found out that so far, the two protagonists did not like men.
Gu Yuanbai washed his face and took the face towel to wipe off the water. He asked casually, “Is there a Southern Wind1 Building in the capital?”
Tian Fusheng took the towel in the emperor’s and replied, “Yes, [I] heard there are many.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled. It was no wonder Xue Yuan became a Prince Regent only after he died.
The two protagonists in the book were both men. Neither of them was a man who could serve as mermaid meat in the Southern Wind Building. Xue Yuan couldn’t leave any heir, and there wasn’t an heir to pass that fart of a position.
Presumably, after his death, the future Prince Regent could only support a puppet emperor among his clan relatives. As long as the successor was smart enough and could endure, there might be a chance to free himself.
Tian Fusheng stood on the side and saw the corner of the emperor’s lips hinted with a smile. A myriad of speculation emerged in his mind.
His Majesty suddenly asked about the Southern Wind Building. Could it be that His Majesty wants to have a male pet?
But in the whole capital, who can be worthy of receiving His Majesty’s favor?
His Majesty is so honorable that the people of the Southern Wind Building can never face His Majesty.
Tian Fusheng’s brain wandered around and suddenly decided to dwell on a man with an immortal aura that could shed off the dirt.
Chu Wei, the son of the fifth rank Secretary Chu of the Ministry of Rites.
*
The palace was heavily guarded as the Lantern Festival Banquet approached. The thief, who claimed to be a flower thief, was severely interrogated and finally spoke two days later. The interrogator came to report the matter to Gu Yuanbai.
“The thief is willing to say, but he wants to meet Your Majesty again.”
The interrogator said, “Your servant [I] suspect that this man harbors vicious intention. You Majesty decides whether to meet him or not.”
Today, the emperor changed into a thinner indigo cloak. The dark color draped on his body made his skin white as snow. Upon hearing this, he nodded and permitted, “Bring him up. Zhen wants to know what he has to say.”
After a while, the assassin was brought up. Since the assassin had to be in the presence of the emperor, they specially washed away the bloodstain on him. His prison clothes were neat and tidy, but there was still a strong smell of blood.
Gu Yuanbai stepped forward and stood not far away, “What do you want to tell Zhen?”
The assassin was interrogated for two days. His face was covered with hair and looked pale due to blood loss. His lips were dry and the whites of his eyes covered in blood streak. There were bruises on his exposed fingers, next to each other, and yet his pair of eyes were particularly spirited.
He said feebly, “If this commoner said it, can Your Majesty let me go?”
The assassin strenuously looked in the direction of Gu Yuanbai. After seeing the emperor, his haggard face gradually reddened.
Upon hearing that, Gu Yuanbai smiled, “If you said it, Zhen will let the people behind the scene accompany you to the netherworld together.”
The assassin felt chagrin and said, “Your Majesty has a clear judgment. There is no one behind me.”
Gu Yuanbai was about to speak when a tickling sensation rose in his throat. He slightly leaned sideways and pressed his lips as he coughed.
For a while, the whole palace had only the sound of his low cough. The assassin looked up and saw the young emperor coughed until the corners of his eyes moistened.
The emperor, who could torture him for two days, and the Lord of the country, who could look at him with such a miserable appearance, would tear up because of his little cough. At this thought, the assassin felt a deeper itch in his heart, as if feathers were tickling it.
The assassin said sincerely, “Your Majesty, you truly need to let me go quickly.”
Gu Yuanbai sneered. His voice sounded hoarse because of the cough, “Still dare to threaten Zhen?”
The assassin shook his head. “No, but if you don’t let go of me, my father is going to break my legs.”
Tian Fusheng pressed his throat as he snorted coldly, “Who is your father?”
The assassin grinned, “My father is Li Bao. I’m the youngest in the family. My surname’s Li and name’s Huan.”
There was silence in the palace hall. Gu Yuanbai suddenly stepped forward and walked to the assassin with an ugly face. He crouched down and grabbed the assassin’s chin, “It turns out to be my Imperial Preceptor’s youngest son?”
Tian Fusheng couldn’t hide his surprise and looked at the assassin in shock. He was actually… He was actually the son of Li Bao, the Imperial Preceptor of the once Crown Prince?
The assassin was beaten up almost half to death. He lowered his eyes and saw the fingers of the emperor holding his chin. The fingertips turned white. One could see how much strength he exerted and the anger he bore. The assassin said with a wry smile, “I made the big mistake myself, so I was punished by Your Majesty for two days. The injuries on this body can’t heal without lying in bed for a year or so. If Your Majesty is angry, I beg Your Majesty for the sake of the information I told on my own accord to spare this cheap life of mine.”
Gu Yuanbai released him. His expression looked gloomy and uncertain.
The assassin said in distress, “If Your Majesty is still angry, please allow me to go home and report to my father. My father is already 70 years old. He can’t get a shock. After I reported home, Your Majesty can punish me however you want.”
It was exactly because of this that Gu Yuanbai couldn’t summon Li Bao to the palace to plead guilty.
It was only proper to let him plead guilty. However, in case he died, he mustn’t die under the fury of the emperor. The old gentleman had high virtue and a glorious name. His disciples were all over the country.
Gu Yuanbai was so angry that he laughed. His chest burned with suppressed anger. Tian Fusheng cried out in alarm as he staggered over and consoled him to sit down.
A scene of chaos took place in the palace hall. The assassin hadn’t expected this. With eyes wide opened, he watched a group of people surrounded the emperor.
“He knows that Zhen will not tell Li Bao,” Gu Yuanbai clenched his hands until they turned pale. “He knows Zhen has to spare his life for his father’s sake.”
Tian Fusheng said in a hurry, “He tried to assassinate Your Majesty. This can put his whole clan to death!”
“That is Zhen’s Imperial Preceptor!” Gu Yuanbai clenched his teeth. Li Bao’s help was indispensable for the young emperor to ascend the throne. The young emperor was also close to Li Bao. Moreover, this boy was very clever and courageous. From the beginning to the end, he only said that he was a flower thief. Where did the assassination come from when he didn’t even get close?
A quarter of an hour later, the imperial doctor came to check the emperor’s pulse. The assassin lay on the stretcher and looked at the crowd with earnest worry.
He couldn’t move. His whole body was in pain. At this time, when he saw this scene, his heart couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. He truly felt a bit regretful.
The assassin gathered his strength and said in a loud voice, “If Your Majesty is still angry, you can continue to punish me. I, Li Huan, have a cheap life. No matter how much punishment, I can endure it all!”
Someone kicked him hard and shouted angrily, “Shut up!”
After a stick of incense burnt, the pale-faced Gu Yuanbai dismissed the crowd with a wave of his hand.
Li Huan looked at his expression and swallowed the blood in his throat.
That day, Li Huan took a brothel girl to the riverside for an outing. While playing with the girl, they both fell into the water. There were reeds in the water that could prolong underwater breath. The feeling of flirting underwater was exciting, so Li Huan did not rush to take the girl ashore. When he pulled his head out of the water to breathe, he happened to catch a sight of the emperor coming toward the river.
Li Huan spontaneously sunk to the bottom of the water. The river was muddy. He grabbed the brothel girl and got into the reeds. The dense reeds concealed them. Afraid that the woman next to him would make any noise, he covered her lips and locked her limbs, while he watched the person on the riverbank from between the gap.
The person on the riverbank looked down at the water while not knowing people were watching him from within the reeds.
Undoubtedly, Li Huan was not at the bottom of the water, and yet he held his breath like he was suffocated. After the emperor left, he took the girl ashore. He almost killed a person because of the insensibility within the tension.
Who would have known that the man on that day was the emperor? What he was looking at was a sacred face?
Gu Yuanbai calmed down for a while. The look in his eyes was heavy as he asked coldly, “Who let you into the palace?”
Li Huan opened his mouth wide, but uncommunicative.
“Whatever you say, Zhen doesn’t care,” said Gu Yuanbai. “Who knows if what you’re saying is true or false. Zhen will personally investigate it. After checking the source, Zhen will invite Youngest Gongzi Li into the palace to see if Zhen has caught the right person or not.”
The emperor said it word by word gently and without any stress, but Li Huan felt chill on his back.
Gu Yuanbai said with a smile, “Come, send Gongzi Li to Imperial Preceptor’s house. Bring the best medicinal materials and let one hundred palace servants follow. Send him to Li Residence with great fanfare and enthusiasm!”
Captain of the Imperial Bodyguard’s expression was solemn as he responded, “Your servant obeys the order.”
“If Imperial Preceptor asked,” Gu Yuanbai said, “just tell the truth. If Imperial Preceptor wants to enter the palace to plead guilty, tell him to wait for his son to recover first.”
“Yes.”
Li Huan was carried out of the palace with a wry smile. He supposed that this procession was more extravagant than when the emperor went out of the palace.
The emperor might feel that two days of punishment was not enough to vent his anger, and thus planned to do something like this. He had thought that the emperor would not tell his father lest his father died under exasperation.
Yet, he didn’t expect the emperor had a mutual affection with his father. Nevertheless, even if his father was angered to death, it couldn’t be compared with letting the emperor’s cool his temper.
At this time, even if his father was angered to death, the people in the country would say that he died because of this unfilial son of his. Not only that, they would be grateful for the emperor’s benevolence and grateful for the emperor’s grace toward the Li Residence.
From then on, his father could no longer speak brazenly about his mutual affection with the emperor.
“Ai,” Li Huan sighed and chatted with the person beside him, “Big brother bodyguard, if my father doesn’t ask, please don’t take the initiative to tell him.”
The Imperial Bodyguard’s face was expressionless, but there was faint anger.
Li Huan was silent for a while. Suddenly, he opened his fist which had been clenched. There was green silk wrapped in his fist. He put the green silk into his clothes with difficulty and looked at the horizon as his mind wandered.
He had the position of an emperor and the appearance of a celestial being.
Status, power, and the country were all in the hand of that person. The emperor raised by the whole territory of Great Heng even had hair as smooth as satin.
The next time he wanted to see the emperor, he had to wait until this body healed.
*
After Li Huan was sent back, Imperial Preceptor Li Bao wanted to go to the palace to plead guilty. However, Gu Yuanbai did not want to see him and let people sent him back to his residence. After three days of going back and forth like that, Li Bao’s spirit withered. His whole person seemed to have a 70-year-old man’s lethargy in an instant.
All the people who should know about Li Bao’s three days of going to the palace yet not entering was aware of it. Except for some well-informed people, outsiders did not know why Li Bao could not get the emperor’s favor overnight.
Two days later, a few of the Imperial Bodyguards in the palace were executed. The bloody corpses were transported to Li Residence at night. Li Bao was horrified and directly fainted.
Li Bao sat in the ancestral hall once he gained consciousness. After dawn, he wrote a thousand-word apology letter to the emperor.
After the letter was submitted, Li Bao anxiously waited for news from the palace. His eldest son had become an official in the Imperial Court, but his qualifications were mediocre. Now, he only wandered in the bottom, but he still had the chance to advance.
However, right now, their whole family from the elders to the children knew it had been spoiled.
The eldest son’s face looked grim. Everyone had an unsightly expression.
Li Huan was placed in the room to recuperate. The family could not criticize him at this time, but they were still resentful.
Why is he so bold as to break into the palace?
That’s the Imperial Palace! The Forbidden City! It’s the place where the emperor lives! How dare Li Huan?!
Li Bao looked haggard. He had never had such an experience in his whole life. Nowadays, the emperor treated his ministers well and he was even closer to him. But now, when he wanted to see the emperor, he couldn’t even enter the palace gate.
After some unknown time passed, the palace finally sent someone to his door.
The messenger’s face was indifferent. After politely greeting Imperial Preceptor Li Bao, who came with a cane, he spoke bluntly, “His Majesty sympathizes with Imperial Preceptor’s health. Currently, Youngest Gongzi Li is seriously injured. The whole of Li Family should be busy taking care of Youngest Gongzi Li. In this case, there is no need to participate in the Lantern Festival Palace Banquet.”
Those who could attend the palace banquet could be said to be the people who were part of the center of the political right in the whole Great Heng Dynasty. Now that they couldn’t attend the palace banquet, they were excluded from the center of the political right?
Hearing this, everyone’s expression turned rigid. Li Bao’s hands fiercely shook. He knelt on the ground and sobbed, “Many thanks to His Majesty for His compassionate kindness.”
The emperor was truly angry.
For the first time, the people of Li Residence kneeling on the ground recognized the facts in front of them.
Was there any future for them and Li Residence after they had infuriated the emperor?
