I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 61

Chapter 61

After Gu Yuanbai measured Xue Yuan’s height, he discovered that although he wasn’t nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was still quite close.

With such a figure, if he were to wear armor and mount a spirited horse, lifting a great sword or long spear, he would undoubtedly possess a striking and fearless appearance.

Tian Fusheng, along with Gu Yuanbai, expressed their surprise and admiration. Then Tian Fusheng took out a measuring tape and said, “Your Majesty, shall I measure you as well?”

Gu Yuanbai smiled and stood straight, saying, “Go ahead.”

Tian Fusheng wasn’t as tall as the emperor, but he still placed the measuring tape in Xue Yuan’s hands. Xue Yuan measured his height from under his feet and chuckled, “Your Majesty is slightly shorter than me.”

Since Xue Yuan was standing close to Gu Yuanbai, the vibrations from his laughter seemed to be right in front of them. Gu Yuanbai pursed his lips, smiling ambiguously, and said, “Do you think you’re exceptionally tall, Xue Qing?”

Xue Yuan softly replied, “It’s just better to be taller than you, Your Majesty.”

Gu Yuanbai retorted, “Get out of here.”

At this moment, the Crown Prince arrived with the guidance of palace attendants, witnessing this scene.

The Emperor’s hair cascaded down like smooth silk, obstructing his vision. Xue Yuan reached out and gently brushed aside the strands, as if scooping up a fingerful of water.

Prince He’s feet froze.

A eunuch beside him cautiously asked, “Your Highness, shall I inform someone?”

Prince He suddenly regained his senses, shifted his gaze away, and looked at the long branches of a willow tree beside him. He nodded absentmindedly and replied, “Go ahead and inform.”

In truth, there were countless beauties in the world.

Perhaps due to Gu Yuanbai’s usual dominance and danger associated with him, being by his side was akin to being with a tiger, causing Prince He to overlook the fact that his younger brother also had a handsome appearance.

Suppressing the myriad of thoughts in his mind, Prince He walked out and greeted Gu Yuanbai, briefly glancing at the fishing rod by the lake. He adopted a stern tone, asking, “Your Majesty, when do you plan to go to the summer palace?”

Prince He was always so disagreeable. Gu Yuanbai couldn’t be bothered with him, while Tian Fusheng seized the opportunity to interject, saying, “Prince He, Your Majesty has already given orders to move to the summer palace in five days.”

Prince He nodded. “If that’s the case, I shall return to the residence and make preparations as soon as possible.”

“Very well,” Gu Yuanbai lazily responded, “If Prince He has the time, you should learn more about the palace etiquette. This morning, I waited and waited but didn’t see the Prince coming for the meal. Did you sleep until noon?”

The Prince was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied, “Yes.”

Gu Yuanbai actually waited for him to have a meal?

Prince He’s mood improved a bit. He glanced at Gu Yuanbai and felt that his brother’s lips were rosy, his teeth were white, and he wasn’t as annoying as he was during their youth. It seemed that he had lost some of his usual terrifying majesty.

Gu Yuanbai loosely held the fishing rod and noticed the Prince’s gaze. He raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled as he looked over. “Does the Prince have something else to discuss with me?”

The Prince tried to maintain a calm tone. “What were you doing with the guards just now, Your Majesty?”

Gu Yuanbai casually replied, “Just fooling around.”

The Prince had originally intended to leave, but upon hearing Gu Yuanbai’s casual response, he couldn’t move his feet anymore. With a stern face, he ordered the eunuch, “Bring me a fishing rod as well.”

The eunuch brought a chair, bait, and fishing rod. Gu Yuanbai asked someone to move his position a bit farther and half-jokingly said, “Don’t snatch my fish.”

As ripples formed on the water’s surface due to the wind, Gu Yuanbai dozed off after fishing for a while. After a moment, a eunuch came to report that another batch of charitable donations had arrived from outside the capital.

Gu Yuanbai’s eyes lit up, instantly awakened from his drowsiness. He threw the fishing rod aside and swiftly walked, his robe billowing behind him. “Let’s go and take a look.”

He was in such a hurry that the fishing line got caught on his robe. Xue Yuan reacted quickly and walked over, grabbing him by the wrist with a serious expression. “Can you slow down?”

Gu Yuanbai turned his head and said, “I’m in a hurry.”

Xue Yuan held his wrist firmly and only released it when Gu Yuanbai completely stopped walking. He bent down to untangle the fishing line, his tone not very pleasant. “Your Majesty, if you take one more step, the fishing line will cut into your flesh. With your delicate skin, it would draw blood in an instant.”

Tian Fusheng glanced at Xue Yuan’s expression and couldn’t help but admire him.

Take a look. Even when saying such things, his expression remains unchanged. From beginning to end, this man’s courage has never wavered, daring to say anything to the Emperor. Having someone like him by the Emperor’s side would be great, with the audacity to urge the Emperor to eat and rest, ensuring the Emperor’s well-being. But unfortunately, the Emperor doesn’t like Xue Yuan.

Well, saying he didn’t like him might not be accurate. If he truly didn’t like him, Xue Yuan would have been punished long ago.

After Xue Yuan untangled the fishing line, Gu Yuanbai strode out, and Xue Yuan watched his retreating figure. He balled up the fishing line and threw it aside, then quickly caught up with him.

An attendant by the Prince’s side asked, “Your Highness, are you going as well?”

With their master, the largest figure, gone, the servants by his side followed suit, leaving the lakeside momentarily empty. As the cool breeze blew, it seemed somewhat desolate.

The Prince sat motionless in his seat, while the fish in the lake came and ate the bait, creating ripples on the water’s surface. The people fishing just watched, as if seeing something else through the ripples.

After a while, the prince sneered disdainfully, “I came here to fish. Does that mean wherever the Emperor goes, the pond will follow?”

The attendant chuckled awkwardly and didn’t dare to say anything more.

After Gu Yuanbai finished counting the donated funds that arrived in the capital, he transferred all of it to be used for construction in South Jing and Jiangnan.

After dealing with this matter, Gu Yuanbai was covered in sweat. Tian Fusheng asked if he wanted to bathe, but Gu Yuanbai shook his head and refused. While shaking his head, his peripheral vision glanced past Xue Yuan, lingering on him for a second before shifting his gaze away.

The young Emperor’s face was sunburned, showing a hint of a healthy complexion. Xue Yuan could bear to look at him for three days and nights without closing his eyes, but Gu Yuanbai was unwilling to spend even a moment with Xue Yuan.

Xue Yuan let out a sigh.

Even with a basin of cool water in the palace, it was still stuffy. Gu Yuanbai didn’t stay long and, after finishing his business, stood up and prepared to head towards the lakeside.

Halfway there, they passed through a dense forest. Suddenly, one of the guards not far behind the Emperor felt a pain in his knee. Before he could react, he lost his balance and crashed straight into the Emperor.

People trying to stop him were in a panic, those rushing to protect the Emperor were anxious. In the blink of an eye, chaos ensued.

Amidst the chaos, Gu Yuanbai was seized and pressed against a tree.

The leaves shook violently, a few green leaves fell, and the tree’s shadow swayed. There was a subtle and cool atmosphere in the dense foliage.

Xue Yuan grabbed Gu Yuanbai in front of everyone, pressing him against the tree trunk. With a demeanor that seemed serious yet playful, Xue Yuan asked, “Your Majesty, you said before that once I figured out what I wanted and told you, you would give it to me. Is that true or false?”

The heat radiating from Xue Yuan made Gu Yuanbai uncomfortable, so he reached out to push him away. “The words spoken by Us naturally have no reason to be untrustworthy.”

Gu Yuanbai’s hand couldn’t budge Xue Yuan’s chest. When he touched it, it felt surprisingly elastic. Gu Yuanbai furrowed his brows and decisively flicked Xue Yuan’s brow with his finger, his voice low, “Move away.”

“Where should I go?” Xue Yuan, with a fleeting red mark on his brow, asked, “I haven’t said what I want yet.”

Gu Yuanbai finally looked up at him and locked eyes with Xue Yuan. “What does Xue Qing want?”

Xue Yuan opened his mouth, and Gu Yuanbai thought he was about to answer, but unexpectedly, he abruptly changed the topic. “Your Majesty, was that time enjoyable?”

Gu Yuanbai: “…”

Xue Yuan was honest. After a brief silence, he said frankly, “It seems that I’ve told you before that everything is fine except for my hands being a bit rough.”

As if waiting for that exact response, Xue Yuan immediately continued, “Your Majesty, even during my time in South Jing, I never forgot to use fish oil to care for my hands. Compared to before, they have become much smoother, so touching you will be even more comfortable.”

Gu Yuanbai had a vague premonition. “So?”

Xue Yuan grinned and glanced downward. “So, I want to serve Your Majesty once again.”

Only the young Emperor could receive such treatment.

In order to practice how to please the young Emperor in his hands, Xue Yuan even took out the box of jade artifacts covered in dust from the bedroom to practice.

However, the jade artifacts were still just jade artifacts. They couldn’t compare to the feeling of the young Emperor’s touch.

Xue Yuan, behaving like a rogue bandit, looked at the stunned young Emperor and casually laughed a few times. He said, “If Your Majesty feels it’s unfair or that I am bullying you, then I can also show you my ‘tools’.”

He paused for a moment and continued, “If you want to touch… it’s not impossible.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had made himself sound lewd.

A loud slap echoed, leaving a red mark on Xue Yuan’s face as he openly acted like a hooligan.

Gu Yuanbai swiftly withdrew his hand. “Did that feel good?”

Xue Yuan’s face twitched for a moment, and he paused, feeling the stinging sensation on his face. After a moment, he licked the side of his face where he was slapped and turned his head to face Gu Yuanbai, revealing a smile that seemed both amused and not. “Your Majesty, the strength behind that slap was a bit weak.”

Gu Yuanbai’s gaze focused on Xue Yuan’s face, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Such a focused gaze was solely directed at Xue Yuan. The people who fell into chaos outside did not receive Gu Yuanbai’s attention, nor did the grain, the affairs of state, or even the lake and its fish. They were all deprived of Gu Yuanbai’s gaze.

Xue Yuan grew somewhat excited under that intense gaze. He smiled and reached out, clasping Gu Yuanbai’s pampered hand and placing it on his own face, coaxing, “With such little force, how can I know what pain feels like?”

“Apply a little more force,” he used his tongue to touch the young Emperor’s hand, his own face in between, and smiled playfully, “Make me bleed, then it’ll be impressive.”