I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 68
Chapter 68
Xue Yuan’s current appearance somewhat resembles the image of the regent king in the book.
Gu Yuanbai narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Xue Yuan glanced at a eunuch sneaking away from behind the rockery, deep in thought, then turned back to Gu Yuanbai with a casual smile. “I’m looking at the mountains and waters, admiring the flowers and plants.”
“Xue Qing seems to have a leisurely mood,” Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes, “How is your recovery going on this day of rest?”
Xue Yuan replied, “It’s still manageable.”
He stood about two steps away from Gu Yuanbai. After he finished speaking, the two of them fell into silence.
A moment passed.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan suddenly spoke up.
Gu Yuanbai lifted his eyelids and glanced at him.
Respectfully, Xue Yuan asked, “Are there any relatives residing within the palace?”
“There are some relatives,” Gu Yuanbai said nonchalantly, “Whom did you offend this time?”
Xue Yuan couldn’t help but smile. “Your Majesty worries too much.”
After saying these two sentences, the air quieted down for a while. At that moment, a call came from outside the pavilion, “Your Majesty!”
Gu Yuanbai turned his head and saw Tian Fusheng, whom he had sent to inquire about the news from the palace maids.
Tian Fusheng was panting heavily from exhaustion. As he entered the pavilion, he was about to report to Gu Yuanbai when he lifted his head and saw Xue Yuan. His eyes widened, and he froze in place.
Xue Yuan nodded politely to him. “Assistant Tian.”
“Xue, Xue Daren,” Tian Fusheng regained his senses, smiled apologetically at Xue Yuan, then continued to address the Emperor, “Your Majesty, you’ve come such a long way. I couldn’t see your figure behind me, and I was afraid I would lose sight of you. My heart nearly jumped out of my throat in fright.”
“Enough,” Gu Yuanbai laughed openly and said, “Did you find out the information I asked you to inquire about?”
Tian Fusheng glanced at Xue Yuan from the corner of his eye and then said in a composed manner, “Your Majesty, the palace maid responsible for sweeping and cleaning doesn’t know much, but I followed the eunuch above her and found out some things.”
Gu Yuanbai said, “Tell me about it.”
***
After the eunuch sneaked away from behind the rockery, he went straight to the Prince’s residence.
Upon hearing the eunuch’s words, the Prince’s face turned cold, especially when he heard the phrase “Your Majesty and Xue Daren are very close.” He sternly asked, “How close are they?”
The eunuch replied tactfully, “I didn’t dare to look more, but I know that Xue Daren stood right in front of Your Majesty and even cleaned his face for him.”
That means he even touched the Emperor’s face.
The Prince suddenly stood up and paced back and forth, his expression changing. “Did the Emperor get angry? Did he punish anyone?”
“The Emperor did not reprimand Xue Daren,” the eunuch said cautiously, “and it seems there was no sign of anger.”
“… ” The Prince stopped in his tracks, fell silent for a while, and then suddenly said, “You may leave.”
After the eunuch in the palace withdrew, the Prince called for a personal eunuch to come over.
As the personal eunuch entered the room, he saw the Prince sitting in a shadowy corner, his features obscured by darkness. The Prince’s voice sounded suppressed, “Send a beautiful palace maid to the Emperor.”
Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan, Gu Yuanbai… Could it be that Gu Yuanbai likes men?
The information Tian Fusheng gathered wasn’t particularly significant. It was just a matter of receiving some money and instructing his subordinates, the eunuchs and palace maids, to learn the melody of a poem. The poem itself was good and catchy, so as it spread from person to person, everyone could hum a line or two.
After hearing Tian Fusheng’s report, Gu Yuanbai ordered the captain of the guards to take the kite and return the same way they came.
When they reached the four-cornered pavilion surrounded by water on both sides, they happened to see a palace maid using a handkerchief to wipe the carved stone table inside the pavilion.
This palace maid had a beautiful face, and her slight blush might have been due to the heat or shyness. Her delicate hands and modest attire accentuated her figure.
Tian Fusheng could tell at a glance that this palace maid was extraordinary. However, the ones who could send palace maids were the masters of various mansions, or even Concubine Wan. Tian Fusheng kept his eyes on the ground, not daring to speak or drive her away without instructions from the Emperor.
Gu Yuanbai walked over and sat down, casually saying, “You may leave.”
The palace maid felt a bit disappointed and replied, “Yes.”
However, due to her distracted state of mind, she accidentally knocked over the teacup on the table while withdrawing. The hot water poured out rapidly, flowing down the table. Gu Yuanbai quickly stepped back two steps, his brows furrowing.
His sleeve was stained with hot water, so Gu Yuanbai shook his hand twice and looked at the palace maid.
The palace maid knelt on the ground, her face pale with fright. “Your Majesty, this servant deserves death. Please forgive this servant.”
Gu Yuanbai sighed, “You may leave.”
The palace maid quickly bowed down and left the four-cornered pavilion cautiously.
As Tian Fusheng was instructing someone to clean up the water on the table, Gu Yuanbai walked to the sides of the pavilion and placed his hand on the railing, gazing into the water.
Before long, a small bird landed on the railing, chirping incessantly. Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help but reach out his hand, wanting to touch the feathers of the bird.
However, the prominent jade ring on his thumb caught the attention of the animals, and before Gu Yuanbai’s hand could touch the bird, it unexpectedly pecked at the jade ring on his finger, then spread its wings, preparing to fly away with the jade ring in its beak.
Gu Yuanbai chuckled, “You little thing, you think you can steal from me?”
He reached out to grab it, startling the bird. The bird flapped its wings in panic and opened its beak. With a “plop,” the jade ring fell into the lake beside the pavilion.
Gu Yuanbai followed the jade ring’s trajectory on the lake’s surface and his smile froze.
A black shadow flashed by his side, and in his last glance, Gu Yuanbai saw Xue Yuan stepping onto the railing without hesitation and jumping into the lake.
Gu Yuanbai’s eyelids twitched, he lifted his robe, quickly walked out of the pavilion, and called out loudly, “Xue Yuan!”
The guards quickly followed him out of the pavilion, and one of them put down his sword and “plopped” into the lake.
The captain of the guards had a solemn expression and expressed his concern, “What about Xue Daren’s injury…”
Gu Yuanbai’s expression changed repeatedly, finally settling on a particularly unsightly complexion.
The guards in the lake repeatedly shouted and dived in and out of the water, but there was no sign of Xue Yuan. Gu Yuanbai’s face grew increasingly grim. Suddenly, a person emerged from beside the wooden path beneath his feet.
With a splash, large amounts of water surged onto the wooden surface as Xue Yuan emerged from the water, his upper body soaked. Water flowed down his body, tracing the contours of his wet black hair.
Helplessly, he smiled at Gu Yuanbai and said, “Your Majesty.”
“Is this how reckless you are even when injured, Xue Qing?” Gu Yuanbai’s tone was harsh. “Let me ask you, if you lose your life, how can I explain to General Xue?”
Anger surged within him as he stared directly at Xue Yuan, his eyes burning with fire. He was dazzling, illuminating the entire world.
Xue Yuan said, “The jade ring of Your Majesty must not be lost.”
“I have plenty of jade,” Gu Yuanbai suppressed his voice, his expression intense. “I don’t need anyone to risk their life to find an ordinary jade ring for me! It’s just an inanimate object—”
Gu Yuanbai’s voice abruptly stopped.
Xue Yuan calmly looked at him, half of his body still immersed in water. He raised the hand submerged in the water, opened his fingers, and within them was a vivid green jade ring, dripping with moisture.
Water flowed through his palm and slipped through his fingers. The jade ring was adorned with a few droplets of water, turning them green as well.
“Your Majesty,” Xue Yuan smiled indifferently, “this ordinary jade ring has been found by your servant. If you don’t have any other jade rings to wear at the moment, then please bear with it and use this one for now.”
He extended his hand towards Gu Yuanbai. Taking a deep breath, Gu Yuanbai also extended his hand.
Their damp hands clasped together, and with the other hand, Xue Yuan slowly slid the jade ring onto Gu Yuanbai’s thumb. Gu Yuanbai looked down at Xue Yuan, his gaze sweeping from his eyebrows to his body. However, Xue Yuan was too focused, his attention completely on Gu Yuanbai’s hand, oblivious to the searching gaze.
The emerald-green jade ring returned to its rightful place, and Gu Yuanbai withdrew his hand. “Xue Qing, come up.”
Xue Yuan smiled, “My clothes are all wet. They will obstruct Your Majesty’s vision. Once you leave, I will climb out of the water.”
Gu Yuanbai’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent. He took one last deep look at Xue Yuan, and as he wished, turned around and left.
The large group of people departed in an imposing manner, and the guards searching for Xue Yuan in the water followed suit. Once their figures were barely visible, Xue Yuan’s smile faded. He propped himself up with both hands and used the strength of his arms to drag himself onto the shore.
After pulling himself ashore, he closed his eyes and took a moment to catch his breath.
His lower body remained submerged in the water, and his soaked clothes revealed faint traces of bloodstains on his back. It was fortunate that Gu Yuanbai had already left. Otherwise, with his current appearance, how could Xue Yuan still have the face to claim he was the most useful?
After a while, Xue Yuan recovered. He opened his eyes and looked towards the Four Corner Pavilion, where he spotted a familiar folding fan on the stone bench.
It was the folding fan that the Emperor had held in his hand, the one Chu Wei had given him. It must have been discarded here in haste.
A sly smile appeared on Xue Yuan’s lips.
He rested a little longer before pushing himself up from the ground. Dragging the traces of water with him, he walked into the Four Corner Pavilion. Bending down, Xue Yuan picked up the folding fan and swiftly unfolded it, revealing the landscape painting and the accompanying poem.
After reading it, Xue Yuan murmured, “A man of culture.”
He smiled in a peculiar way and then with a tearing sound, cleanly ripped the folding fan into two halves.
“I don’t like cultured individuals apart from myself.”
Gu Yuanbai returned to the palace, ordering his drenched guards to go and attend to themselves. He sat at the table, deep in thought, his brows furrowed.
Someone announced from outside, “Prince He seeks an audience.”
Gu Yuanbai snapped out of his reverie, “Summon him.”
In no time, Prince He strode into the palace.
He went straight to the point and asked, “Your Majesty’s birthday is approaching, isn’t it?”
Tian Fusheng replied, “Yes, my lord. It’s a little over a month away.”
“After the birthday,” Prince He said, “Your Majesty is already twenty-two years old. It’s time to have palace consorts.”
Gu Yuanbai, who was currently engrossed in handling state affairs, froze for a moment and looked up at him. “Palace consorts?”
Prince He’s gaze seemed to be suppressing his anger, his fists clenched tightly. “Has Your Majesty never considered it?”
His tone was almost accusatory, and Gu Yuanbai was already in a bad mood. Upon hearing the words, he couldn’t help but laugh out of anger. He didn’t even spare Prince He any face and pointed towards the palace gates. “Get out of here!”
Prince He’s face immediately changed, a mix of disbelief and astonishment as he stared at Gu Yuanbai.
“I’ll say it one last time,” Gu Yuanbai’s voice was sharp, “Get out!”
Prince He’s expression turned livid. His lips trembled for a few moments before he turned and left.
Gu Yuanbai turned to Tian Fusheng and asked, “Did you find anything when I asked you to investigate him?”
“No,” Tian Fusheng answered cautiously, “We haven’t discovered anything suspicious.”
Gu Yuanbai fell silent for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the inner chamber with a brewing anger. “I’ll rest for a while. Wake me in half an hour.”
