IRBSC 100

Chapter 100

Gu Yuanbai scrutinized the group of assassins and said, “Send people to continue searching the surroundings to see if there are any stragglers.”

The guards nodded solemnly and immediately began searching the area. They indeed found a few “stragglers” who hadn’t managed to escape.

The servants from the Xue Residence knelt in a row, bowing their heads and remaining silent. Gu Yuanbai’s tone was unpredictable, “Are you all in this together?”

The servants from the Xue Residence looked at each other, and the last person to kneel spoke respectfully, “Your Majesty, we are not associated with these assassins.”

Gu Yuanbai asked coldly, “Then who are you?”

“We are all servants of the Xue Residence,” one of the servants hesitated, “This time, we came here under… the young master’s orders.”

The orders of the eldest son, followed by the second son. They really didn’t know which young master’s name to mention, so they glossed over it.

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Ebld Qw Zwydcyk blyae vbl osaep “Dwl Slpkeldnl,” bl oyp ycswv vs qwaaso bkp caso, cwv pweeldzu bye y alyzkgyvksd. Tl nszezu nbwnjzle y qlo vkxlp, “Fldv cu Dwl Zwyd, bwb?”

G bkdv sq ypvsdkpbxldv yrrlyale sd vbl plahydv’p qynl.

Gp lmrlnvle.

Dwl Zwyd dsv sdzu pldv oszhlp vs Qw Zwydcyk’p pkel, cwv bl yzps pldv rlsrzl vs xsdkvsa Qw Zwydcyk’p lhlau xshl? Ebyv oyp bl eskdt? Pke bl pll vbl Oxrlasa yp bkp rspplppksd, vs cl oyvnble yde nsdvaszzle yv yzz vkxlp?

Mbl Oxrlasa’p lmralppksd nbydtle, yde y qzknjla sq ydtla aspl okvbkd bkx. Tsolhla, ds xyvvla bso usw zssjle yv kv, kv oypd’v y qakldezu lmralppksd.

Mbl plahydvp qasx vbl Dwl Slpkeldnl pllxle vs wdelapvyde obyv bl oyp vbkdjkdt yde bwaaklezu lmrzykdle, “Zswa Yyflpvu, ol eyal dsv rau kdvs uswa oblalycswvp. El qszzsole Nsae Ubw vs nsxl blal.”

Qw Zwydcyk’p qynl pvkqqldle.

Gqvla y xsxldv, bl pweeldzu pxkzle psqvzu, “Alau olzz.”

Seeing his expression, the servant felt a surge of fear and came up with an idea: “We have no ill intentions, we’re just here to protect Master Chu!”

Using the excuse of protecting Master Chu is much better than telling the truth, which would have resulted in harm to Master Chu.

It’s normal for the main character’s followers to follow him. It’s normal, nothing out of the ordinary. They are destined to be together. Xue Yuan went to the northern frontier, so it’s only natural to send people to protect Chu Wei.

Love is stronger than steel.

When Chu Wei heard this, a cold smile appeared on his lips as he easily figured out why Xue Yuan did this.

Because Xue Yuan went to the northern frontier and Chu Wei stayed by the Emperor’s side, he couldn’t stand it. A deserted path, with no one around, was he planning to kill him here?

Just as Chu Wei was about to laugh out loud, Gu Yuanbai actually believed it. He said, “Since it’s your private matter with Master Chu, I won’t interfere. You can handle it yourselves.” After speaking, he smiled slightly. When his gaze swept over the servants from the Xue Residence, they couldn’t help but shiver.

Gu Yuanbai returned to the palace peacefully. The assassins were held down by the guards, ready for interrogation.

Once the Emperor returned to the palace, the two wolves wanted to rush up and playfully howl, but Gu Yuanbai ignored them and sat down behind the desk as if he hadn’t seen them.

The two wolves seemed to sense his mood and approached the table, tails tucked between their legs, and lay down. Gu Yuanbai remained expressionless, casually pulling out a memorial and started reading it.

The palace attendants already knew about the assassination attempt on the Emperor, their mouths tightly sealed, cautious and careful. The palace became increasingly quiet, with even the sound of breathing becoming distinct. After a while, there was suddenly a sound of a memorial being slammed on the table, causing Tian Fusheng to startle and instinctively look up.

Gu Yuanbai noticed his gaze and smiled, “Why is everyone so nervous?”

Tian Fusheng’s voice tightened, “We are all worried that the assassins have angered you.”

“What’s there to be angry about?” Gu Yuanbai chuckled. He tossed the memorial he had just slapped on the table onto the pile of corrected memorials and calmly said, “They are all a bunch of insignificant people, not worth making me angry.”

Alright, Tian Fusheng silently thought, he really is angry. The Emperor doesn’t usually speak like this, so gentle, as if he never gets angry. Those assassins must be really skilled to make the Emperor angry like this.

While waiting for the guards to interrogate the assassins, Gu Yuanbai pulled out another memorial from the pile. As he opened it and read the extravagant calligraphy inside, his eyes turned cold. As he looked at the contents, a cold laugh escaped his lips.

The entire document was filled with vulgar language and suggestive words.

Xue Yuan, you really are something. You’re truly amazing.

Coming to me and confessing, repeatedly saying you like me, rushing all the way to my side and going crazy, serving me intimately, and even saying you’d sacrifice yourself for me.

Then secretly, send someone to follow Chu Wei and protect your destined brother.

What a Xue Jiuyao, what a General Xue.

The first snow in the Northern Frontier can go to hell.

Gu Yuanbai directly threw the book on the ground.

The eunuchs and palace maids in the palace held their breath and all knelt down, “Your Majesty, please calm down.”

Gu Yuanbai stood up, touched the jade ring on his hand, and coldly looked down at the memorial from a commanding position.

Xue Yuan can dislike Gu Yuanbai, he can pursue Chu Wei, and he can like anyone he wants. But he shouldn’t send such passionate letters to Gu Yuanbai while entangling himself with Chu Wei.

You passionately pursue me while entangling yourself with someone else, Gu Yuanbai finds it utterly ridiculous.

Even though it’s still equivalent to Gu Yuanbai enjoying Xue Yuan for free, this action by Xue Yuan clarifies the relationship between the original protagonist and antagonist in Gu Yuanbai’s eyes. Gu Yuanbai suppresses his anger, feeling like he’s the one being taken advantage of.

Do you think I’m a fool?

“Burn it,” Gu Yuanbai suddenly spoke.

Tian Fusheng was about to bend down to pick up the memorial on the ground when Gu Yuanbai said again, “No, burning it would be a waste. Return all these things to the Northern Frontier, one by one. Whoever wrote them, return them to their embrace.”

His voice became colder and colder as he picked up the letters from Xue Yuan that had turned to ashes one by one and threw them on the ground. “Tell him. If he dares to write another word like this to me, I’ll kill him directly.”

Tian Fusheng responded softly, lowered his head, with trembling hands, picking up the memorials from the ground. There happened to be a page of a letter unfolded in front of him. Tian Fusheng unintentionally glanced at it and saw the sentence, “I miss you so much, you’re in every dream of mine.” He was so startled that his heart skipped a beat. He quickly closed the letter and looked away, not daring to look at it again.

Gu Yuanbai had already sat in his seat, the white jade ring on his thumb rotating back and forth. He sat there expressionless, silent, his dignity making the air tense.

Finally, the people who went to interrogate the assassins came back with strange expressions, “Your Majesty, those assassins said they were sent by the envoy from Western Xia.”

Gu Yuanbai paused the movement of the jade ring, raised his eyes to look at the guard, and smirked, “Western Xia envoy.”

Very well.

The punching bag has arrived.

*

The guards had never seen anyone dumber than the envoy from Western Xia and this group of assassins.

However, they didn’t care whether the envoy from Western Xia was momentarily overwhelmed by excitement. They immediately received the order and went to surround the Mingsheng station to capture the envoy from Western Xia.

The heavily-armored imperial guards hurriedly ran towards the Mingsheng station, approaching with sharp weapons. Inside the palace, the courtiers quickly rushed towards the Xuanzheng Hall, urgently devising strategies following the train of thought of the emperor.

The envoy from Western Xia attempted to assassinate the emperor, and they were caught red-handed. Their crimes were heinous! From now on, they are criminals of Daheng and must be imprisoned as such. We need something from the Western Xia emperor to redeem them!

Time is of the essence. Gu Yuanbai decisively declared, “Five thousand fine horses, ten thousand cattle, ten thousand sheep, five million taels of silver, and three million stones of grain. Let the Western Xia emperor empty his treasury to redeem them!”

The emperor’s tone was filled with murderous intent, and the courtiers thought it was due to the assassination attempt by the envoy from Western Xia. Some of them were hesitant and asked, “Your Majesty, what if they refuse to give such a large amount?”

“We’ll discuss it when the time comes,” Gu Yuanbai replied, “If they refuse, then they can await the arrival of their son’s corpse and my mighty army!”

In warfare, it is most detrimental to have both sides engaged in battle. Currently, the border situation is urgent, and Da heng cannot afford to go to war with Western Xia. However, they must find a way to strip Western Xia of its resources.

Considering the small size of Western Xia, these things are practically their entire treasury.

It would be best if Western Xia’s treasury doesn’t even have as much as this. It would be great if Emperor Xialuo favors his seventh prince, Li Angshun, and if we can forcibly seize the wealth of the wealthy.

On the way back with the envoy from Western Xia, the ministers had already debated the issue of compensation several times. Gu Yuanbai saw that they were still struggling with the amount of compensation and took a sip of tea, casually saying, “Gentlemen, have you forgotten about the gifts the envoy from Western Xia once presented to you?”

The courtiers were stunned.

“Pearls of the night, rare medicinal herbs, and extraordinary treasures that are seen once in a hundred years,” Gu Yuanbai narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled softly. “The Western Xia people are wealthy, you know.”

Yes.

The courtiers suddenly realized that Western Xia is indeed wealthy.

They savored the taste and looked around at the other ministers. The old fellows in the court were leisurely sitting in their seats, enjoying the specially brewed tea from the emperor, living a comfortable and happy life!

The arguing individuals came back to their senses and stopped arguing. They sat down to catch their breath and enjoyed a cup of delicious hot tea. After their hearts had settled, Huang, the Confucian scholar who had been the most vocal in the argument and had suggested further reducing the compensation, chuckled foolishly and said, “Your Majesty, the quantity you have set now, is it perhaps a bit too small?”

“… ” Gu Yuanbai replied calmly, “It’s not too little.”

The Grand Councilor sighed, “Huang, although Western Xia is wealthy, it is still a small place. This quantity set by Your Majesty seems just right. It’s better to start with a stronger demand. If the Western Xia emperor truly cannot produce it, we in Da heng will understand and appropriately reduce it.”

“You’re right,” the Councilor of State Affairs nodded seriously, “We are a country of courtesy after all, and we must be lenient and understanding.”

Huang stroked his beard and said with satisfaction, “Indeed, it should be like this.”