I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 60

Chapter 60

The white jade cup was brought back home by Xue Yuan.

He sat alone under the moon, pouring wine into the cup that had touched the little emperor’s lips.

Despite the stifling summer heat, as soon as his lips touched the cup, he remembered the little emperor’s pale lips. The heat dissipated from his body, and his senses became intoxicated.

Xue Yuan couldn’t help but recall the kiss in the cave.

That kiss was the reason Xue Yuan could stay in South Jing for a whole month.

Every day, the more Xue Yuan thought about it, the more intense his desires became.

Gu Yuanbai was like wine, a few thoughts of him could intoxicate a person.

Xue Yuan sighed softly and thought about the transfer order given by Gu Yuanbai. He tapped the cup gently and muttered, “You heartless little devil.”

The next morning, as he was being attended to, Tian Fusheng whispered to Gu Yuanbai, “Your Majesty, this morning, Master Xue arrived. He said that as long as your imperial decree is not issued and the transfer is not made, he will remain by your side. He wants to protect Your Majesty’s safety.”

A palace attendant approached and wiped away the fine sweat from the Emperor’s forehead with a cold cloth. The almost melted ice basin was removed from the room and replaced with fresh ones.

There was no morning court today. After the celebration yesterday and finally letting go of a burden in his heart, Gu Yuanbai had finally slept well after a month and a half of discomfort. He woke up a little later today, and when he heard Tian Fusheng’s words, he hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet. “Does he love his position so much?”

Tian Fusheng pondered for a moment and roughly guessed the meaning of “love his position.” He didn’t know whether he should say more about Xue Yuan’s affairs in front of the Emperor, so he cautiously replied, “Master Xue probably doesn’t want to leave Your Majesty.”

That polite remark immediately snapped Gu Yuanbai back to reality. He thought to himself, let him not want to leave.

Gu Yuanbai couldn’t bear this kind of favor.

Now, both Xue Yuan and Chu Wei had shown varying degrees of loyalty to Gu Yuanbai. From this perspective, it seemed no different from what he had originally imagined.

The only difference was that there were no sparks between the two of them.

Gu Yuanbai sighed.

He decided to go with the flow and didn’t feel like meddling in matchmaking anymore.

The Emperor walked out of the inner hall with palace attendants following behind. The imperial kitchen had already sent the meals, considering that the Emperor had consumed rich food last night, today’s meal was deliberately made light and delicious.

Gu Yuanbai was quite satisfied with it. Xue Yuan was standing by the hall during breakfast, but Gu Yuanbai didn’t say anything about Xue Yuan’s presumptuousness.

Gu Yuanbai, who tarnished the loyal hearts of his ministers, chose to turn a blind eye to such a minor matter.

Xue Yuan watched the jade spoon and chopsticks play around his lips and revealed a familiar look to the chief guard.

The chief guard was extremely puzzled. “Master Xue, did you come on duty before having your meal? Are you hungry again?”

“Um,” Xue Yuan nodded heavily, his eyes fixed on Gu Yuanbai’s lips. He was hungry, hungry to taste the flavor of Gu Yuanbai’s mouth.

Last time was like a dream, floating in the air without touching the ground, influenced by the venomous snake. He only remembered that it was soft and sweet, but Gu Yuanbai couldn’t possibly be just soft and sweet.

The chief guard pondered for a moment. “If you’re really hungry, why not ask His Majesty for a favor and go downstairs to have a meal?”

In Xue Yuan’s mind, if he went up now and kissed Gu Yuanbai, he could probably be directly pressed into the bowl.

He replied, “No.” His eyes were still fixed on the Emperor’s pale lips that glistened with a watery sheen. He needed to find an opportunity to give Gu Yuanbai another moment of pleasure, to kiss him once more.

The Emperor appeared weak due to illness, but his personality was strong-willed. As long as he was pleased, even if Xue Yuan held his chin and kissed him, he wanted to taste him again.

After finishing the meal, Tian Fusheng brought today’s “Da Heng National Gazette” and placed it on the Emperor’s left side.

A palace attendant was wiping the Emperor’s hands with a cloth. The delicate and beautiful fingers seemed to appear and disappear between the folds of the cloth. After the hands were cleaned, the Emperor put on the jade finger guard that Xue Yuan had given him.

Xue Yuan’s lips curled up. When the palace attendant was about to leave, he calmly approached and took the cloth that had just been used to clean the Emperor’s hands from the attendant’s hands.

In today’s edition of the “Da Heng National Gazette,” the rebellion was still the main topic, but it also mentioned that powerful forces in Jiangnan were sending out letters in an attempt to trap local influential figures. However, these sealed letters were intercepted by the Emperor.

This matter was briefly mentioned, seemingly unimportant. The common people wouldn’t think much of it, but Gu Yuanbai knew that once those influential figures learned about this, they would become extremely restless and uneasy.

Especially the influential figures with connections to Jiangnan, they were afraid that those letters were addressed to them, containing tabooed information or unfavorable messages. Now that the envelopes were in the Emperor’s hands, with unknown contents and recipients, many people would find it difficult to sleep and live in constant anxiety.

Gu Yuanbai turned the jade finger guard in his hand and smiled. “The articles in the ‘Da Heng National Gazette’ are getting better and better.”

Tian Fusheng smiled and agreed, “Indeed. Many esteemed officials have put a lot of thought into it, and their writing skills have become more formidable.”

The articles in the “Da Heng National Gazette” were all written by the Ministry of Government Affairs. The ministry had set up a newspaper department specifically for this purpose, and Chang Yuyan played a role in its operation.

After the articles were written, they were sent to the Zhang family for publication. The bookstore behind the Zhang family was state-owned, and the Zhang family was only responsible for managing and developing it. When the bookstores were established nationwide, the “Da Heng National Gazette” would represent the most direct voice of the country.

This method was much more efficient than directly entrusting it to the Zhang family as before, relieving the pressure on the Zhang family, and the newspaper production began to gradually increase. Recently, many merchants wanted to cooperate with the Zhang family to spread the “Da Heng National Gazette” to different regions.

Gu Yuanbai was pleased with this situation and allowed the Zhang family to choose a few of these cooperations. He believed that soon, the newspaper he was currently reading would be in the hands of influential figures everywhere.

Gu Yuanbai had the newspaper put away and pondered how to use the fears of the local influential figures to his advantage. But before he could think for long, Tian Fusheng interjected, “Your Majesty, it is now the 22nd day of the seventh month. Consort Wan has urged several times, and the weather has become hot. It’s time for you to go to the summer palace.”

In reality, the Emperor should have gone to the summer palace to escape the summer heat long ago, but due to the busy affairs, it had been postponed until now.

Tian Fusheng counted for the Emperor, “The anti-corruption matter has come to an end, and vacant official positions across the country have been filled by transfers. General Ding Yuan and Lord Xue have already returned. If you don’t go to the summer palace soon, I will be urged by Consort Wan.”

Gu Yuanbai asked, “Isn’t everything being prepared?”

Tian Fusheng smiled bitterly, “It has been prepared long ago, just waiting for your command.”

During this scorching season, blocks of ice were placed in the Emperor’s sleeping quarters and places where official duties were conducted. Gu Yuanbai’s body was weak, and using ice to cool down was not as effective as a cool breeze. In these days, while the Emperor was busy with state affairs, the palace attendants were busy serving him, fearing that he would feel hot or cold at any moment.

Officials from various government offices who attended court or handled official business had their official robes soaked in sweat. Many of them had secretly inquired when the Emperor would depart.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Yuanbai said, “In that case, we shall depart in five days.”

Tian Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Yes.”

Previously, Gu Yuanbai had been too busy to pay attention to the heat, but now that the government affairs were less demanding, he turned his attention back to himself. As he touched his face, he realized that even his sideburns were damp with sweat.

There were still many ice basins in the Xuanzheng Hall. When he looked up, he could see that he was relatively better off compared to others, as their necks were already soaked in sweat.

“Let’s go outside and feel the breeze,” Gu Yuanbai said. “The lakeside is cooler. Have someone bring our things and let me do some fishing.”

A palace attendant carried the items, holding the ice basin, and followed along to the cool pavilion by the lake. The lakeside was filled with tall and dense willow trees, their branches lush, shielding the area from the scorching sun and providing a cool shade.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying the coolness from the ice basin. Finally, it was not as stuffy as it was in the hall.

Gu Yuanbai spread his arms and had someone help him remove a layer of heavy outerwear, replacing it with a light and thin robe.

Xue Yuan’s sweat dripped down from his forehead like beads. Seeing Gu Yuanbai changing clothes, he felt even more uncomfortable in the heat. “Your Majesty, may I also remove my outerwear?”

“Now you feel hot?” Gu Yuanbai chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and glanced sideways at Xue Yuan. “I told you to rest at home, but you didn’t listen. Now that you’re by my side, you find it too hot. Just dress properly. I can take it off, but you can’t.”

With that glance from the corner of his eye, Xue Yuan’s breath hitched, and he turned to the side to shield himself.

Gu Yuanbai’s eyebrows and eyes filled his mind.

Suddenly, the heat surged within him.

After changing his clothes, Gu Yuanbai felt much more comfortable. The fishing rod was placed by the lake by the young eunuchs, and he lifted his robe, sat down, and leisurely watched the tranquil green water, taking a contented breath.

The fish in the palace were quite foolish. As soon as the bait was thrown in, they swarmed to peck at it. Gu Yuanbai quickly caught one after another. After catching them, he released them back into the lake, thoroughly enjoying himself.

When he was happy, his eyebrows and eyes relaxed, and his fair face had a touch of tranquility, making him look like a celestial being. It seemed that if one wasn’t careful, those shameless celestial beings in the sky would abduct him.

After having that thought, Xue Yuan silently tensed his nerves and dismissed the eunuch who was changing bait for the Emperor. He squatted down beside Gu Yuanbai without saying a word.

His tall figure stood tall and upright. Once he squatted down, he appeared even more eye-catching than the sitting Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai glanced at him and casually asked, “Xue Qing, how tall are you now?”

In the Great Heng Dynasty, one chi (a traditional Chinese unit of length) was about 32 centimeters. Xue Yuan appeared to be around 1.9 meters, quite tall and conspicuous.

Xue Yuan replied casually, “I have never paid attention to it.”

Gu Yuanbai became interested and had someone bring a measuring tape. Xue Yuan stood up straight, unmoving. Gu Yuanbai also stood up, and his black hair was right at eye level for Xue Yuan. Xue Yuan lowered his gaze and looked at him. In this moment, the usually wild and fierce person unexpectedly revealed a hint of tenderness in his eyes.

However, this tenderness was not a characteristic of Xue Yuan. When his gaze slid down to Gu Yuanbai’s neck, it transformed into a strong sense of aggression.

To have an emperor, one must either conquer him or be conquered by him.

How difficult and stimulating it was.