I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 69
Upon returning home, Xue Yuan immediately took off the clothes he was wearing. The blood from his wounds had already stained the fabric. Xue Yuan’s face remained expressionless as he exerted force, trying hard to stop the bleeding. However, blood gushed out from the wound again.
On the table in Xue Yuan’s room, there were medicinal herbs bestowed by the imperial court. Of course, these herbs were not given by Gu Yuanbai as a reward, but rather sent by someone on behalf of Gu Yuanbai to Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuan had never used these medicinal herbs; he simply left them there to look at. He breathed heavily and after taking a few breaths, he asked someone to call for a doctor. As he turned his head, he saw a bloody mess behind him and couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Sustaining such a serious injury and jumping into the lake afterward, soaking in the water for such a long time, he estimated that his wound was probably infected.
But he was happy. His happiness was priceless.
After a while, along with the doctor, Xue Yuan’s mother, Lady Xue, also arrived. She stood outside the door and exclaimed loudly, “Xue Jiuyao, what on earth did you put under your bed?”
Lady Xue had always been gentle and reasonable, a completely different presence within the Xue residence. But now, she raised her voice with anger in her questioning, leaving the servants in the room startled, almost dropping the medicine bowls they were holding, completely stunned.
Xue Yuan lazily replied, “A jade ornament.”
Lady Xue angrily retorted, “Is that really a jade ornament?”
“I said it’s a jade ornament, so it can only be a jade ornament,” Xue Yuan said. “Did Mother see it?”
Lady Xue coldly snorted, “Not only did I see it, but I also threw it away. In your usual antics, I have never interfered with you, nor has your father. But for the sake of the Xue family… You are the eldest, how can you behave like this? You are not young anymore; it’s already time for you to get married. Earlier, in the Northern Frontier, I didn’t ask you to come back and marry. But now that you have returned from the Northern Frontier, in my opinion, we should arrange a marriage for you. You’re already an adult, how can you learn such bad behavior?”
Xue Yuan replied, “It can’t be thrown away.”
However, Lady Xue did not hear those three words. She continued speaking on her own for a while. Towards the end, tears welled up in her eyes, and she wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. “My good son, take care of yourself. Mother will find you a good girl. After you get married, be more mature, and then I can rest assured.”
Xue Yuan smiled and said, “If you dare to give me a wife, I dare to kill her.”
Lady Xue’s tears immediately stopped, and she felt uncomfortable with anger. She turned around and was about to leave.
Xue Yuan raised his voice and said, “Remember to give it back to me.”
The doctor in the mansion couldn’t help but be curious and asked, “The eldest son is already twenty-four, why is he unwilling to marry?”
If the eldest son doesn’t marry, naturally the second son can’t marry either. With Xue Yuan’s growing reputation, his name was becoming highly regarded, while the reputation of the second son, Xue Er, was getting worse. It was estimated that he wouldn’t be able to find a wife.
Xue Yuan kept his eyes closed and didn’t answer.
When he smiled, his sharpness was revealed, and when he didn’t smile, he appeared much more profound. Xue Yuan had a handsome appearance that differed from the young gentlemen in the capital. His years in the borderlands and his military experience had formed a contradictory mix of wild freedom and repressed gloominess. There was a touch of wickedness and a sharp edge in him.
A resolute man with a sturdy and vigorous character probably wouldn’t lack suitors. The doctor saw that the eldest son didn’t want to speak and didn’t say anything more.
After a long while, Xue Yuan, with his eyes closed, muttered as if he were talking in his sleep, “As long as I can get married, it’s fine.”
The doctor spoke kindly, “If the eldest son Xue wishes to marry, in my opinion, there is no one he can’t marry.”
Xue Yuan chuckled softly into his pillow, even his shoulders moved a little, then he raised his voice and said, “Someone, bring the silver. That was well said, and it deserves a reward!”
On the other hand, after returning from the emperor with the royal marriage, the prince locked himself in his study, his face gloomy, and he didn’t come out until late at night.
Early the next morning, the prince’s consort brought a bowl of nourishing soup and came to visit the prince with utmost care and effort.
No one stood in front of the prince’s study, as it seemed the prince deliberately dismissed the attendants. The prince’s consort asked a maid to approach and knock on the door, calling out, “Prince?”
No one answered from inside the room.
Feeling worried and puzzled, the prince’s consort pushed open the door. With a creak, a few rays of sunlight shone directly onto the floor of the study through the crack in the door.
The study room was tightly closed, with windows and doors shut, creating a somewhat oppressive dimness. The prince’s consort received the nourishing soup from the maid and entered the study alone.
The study had two sections, inner and outer. There was no one outside, so the prince’s consort turned into the inner chamber and immediately saw the prince sleeping on the bed.
The prince’s consort breathed a sigh of relief and was about to place the soup down. However, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a faintly glowing painting hanging on the wall directly facing the bed. The paper of the painting was exceptionally translucent, as if emitting light in the dim room.
A sense of curiosity welled up in the prince’s consort. She walked over quietly and vaguely made out that it seemed to be a portrait of a person.
Whose portrait would the prince hang on the wall?
The lighting was too dim, and it wasn’t until she was about to press her face against the painting that she could clearly see who it was. But the moment she recognized the person, the prince’s consort’s hand trembled, and the soup in her hand fell heavily to the ground with a loud crash.
The porcelain shattered into pieces, startling the prince’s consort and bringing her consciousness back from her daze. She hastily took two steps back, and when she turned her head, she met the prince’s gaze.
There was a dark shade beneath the prince’s eyes. He gathered the covers and sat up, his gaze fixed on the consort.
The consort’s heart trembled, and a chill ran through her. The spilled soup splattered messily onto her skirt, and the chunks of meat within the soup were trampled into a muddy mess in the panic, dirty and sticky.
The prince’s gaze passed through her side and landed on the painting hanging on the wall. “Princess, did no one inform you of my presence?”
The princess’s voice trembled, and her fingers gripping her skirt trembled as well. “Prince, there was no one outside.”
Indeed, after the prince returned from Gu Yuanbai’s place yesterday, he dismissed the attendants and entered the study alone. Because he had a guilty conscience, he sent away everyone outside the study as well.
Then, alone, he took out this painting.
It wasn’t the two dubious paintings he obtained from the Marquis of Pingchang’s eldest son and the Minister of Revenue’s son. It was a new painting that the prince had someone redraw.
This painting was too well-done, and he didn’t dare to look at it too often. After returning from Gu Yuanbai’s place, the prince was originally planning to tear these paintings directly, but when he saw the back of this painting, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
In the end, he gave up and hung the painting in a place where he could see it with a single glance. The prince stared at this painting and fell asleep without realizing when it happened.
The study room remained dim, with no sound except for the previous crash.
The prince’s consort felt an inexplicable sense of terror. She felt like she had discovered something extraordinary, but the disbelief was too strong, so she subconsciously dismissed the thought.
However, deep within her heart, fear had already started to creep in.
“Prince,” the prince’s consort tried her best to remain calm, “I…”
The prince slowly interrupted, “Princess, without my permission, you are not to step into the study again.”
The prince’s consort quickly replied, “I understand.”
“Leave,” the prince said in a low voice.
The prince’s consort hurriedly stepped out of the inner chamber, leaving oily footprints on the floor with each quick step. She became more and more anxious as she walked, eventually even running in fear, lifting her skirt.
The door closed with a sound, shutting out the vast sunlight. Left alone in the dimness, the prince wrapped himself in the covers, covered his head, and lay down, closing his eyes.
It was only during the evening meal that the prince emerged from the study.
He had changed his clothes, but the dark circles under his eyes remained, evidence of a restless night.
No one dared to speak at the dining table, and only the sounds of utensils clashing could be heard. After a while, the prince suddenly spoke, “The emperor’s birthday is at the end of September. The preparations for the prince’s gift to the emperor’s birthday should begin now.”
The princess spoke cautiously, “I started preparing two months ago. I have arranged for a hundred embroiderers to stay in the prince’s residence, working on a magnificent landscape embroidery.”
When the late emperor was alive, it was the prince who personally handled the preparations for his birthday every year. But after Gu Yuanbai ascended the throne following the late emperor’s death, the prince couldn’t be bothered with these matters. Gradually, the task of preparing birthday gifts for the emperor fell under the full responsibility of the princess.
After hearing her response, the prince felt that nothing was amiss and nothing stood out. He frowned slightly, “Is that all?”
The princess suddenly remembered the painting she saw in his study, and her body trembled imperceptibly. “Does the prince feel that something is missing?”
The princess wanted to ask the prince why he hung a painting of the emperor in his study. Was it out of respect or missing his brother?
But the content of the painting could never be something an older brother should see! The princess became timid and dared not ask any further.
The prince hesitated for a moment, “Never mind, that will do. Does the emperor even care about the gift from a mere prince like me?”
As he spoke, his anger began to rise subtly. “I bet the Xue Residence is more favored by him than my prince’s residence!”
When the master was angered, no one dared to make a sound. After a moment of silence, the prince suppressed his temper, his mood fluctuating. “Summon someone to inquire about the eldest son of the Xue Residence.”
How could the emperor stray from the right path?
Gu Yuanbai would never be interested in men, absolutely not. If he had an inclination towards men, it must be because someone else was seducing him.
But what if…
What if Gu Yuanbai really did have an interest in men?
Gu Yuanbai couldn’t be interested in men. How could he be?
If he truly had feelings for another man, what did Gu Zhaoyue mean to him then?
