Chapter 120
Fusang is truly wealthy.
After Gu Yuanbai finished, a knock came at the door. Xue Yuan knocked urgently, but his voice was gentle and soothing: “Your Majesty, I’m here.”
His words were strange.
If he was here, he was here. Why state the obvious?
Gu Yuanbai glanced at the rain still falling outside, his tone gloomy. “Come in.”
Xue Yuan entered, trailing water, his robes, already wet once today, now dripping again. Gu Yuanbai turned to look at him, saw the tender sprout in his hand, and said with a faint smile, “Xue Jiuyao, you truly are not afraid of death, truly not a coward.”
When Xue Yuan climbed the tree to break off the sprout, he vaguely heard the Emperor’s roar, but the sound was too distant, fragmented by the rain. He didn’t dare to hope, fearing disappointment. Now, his eyes finally lit up, staring intently at Gu Yuanbai. “Your Majesty was worried about me?”
Gu Yuanbai: “I’ve just never seen someone so reckless with their life for something so trivial.”
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“Sleep,” Xue Yuan’s voice was deep and husky. “I’ll take care of it.”
Gu Yuanbai didn’t know what he was going to do, so he simply lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes, and in his drowsiness, he felt something hot touch the soles of his feet, hard like a stone.
Xue Yuan’s muffled groans faintly reached his ears, droplets of sweat falling onto his jade-like feet. After Gu Yuanbai fell asleep, he tried to turn over, but his feet were still held against something. Annoyed, he curled his toes and pressed against it.
As a result, the irritating stone became even hotter, so hot that the soles of Gu Yuanbai’s feet trembled, and he wanted to pull them back.
“Get out…” Exhausted, his words were slurred. “Uncomfortable.”
“It feels good,” the stone slowly pulled his foot back, the voice frighteningly low. “You can do it.”
In his dream, vines entangled his feet, something persistently tickling his soles. Vaguely, he felt this tickling sensation throughout the night.
The next day, when Gu Yuanbai woke up, his feet felt strange, slightly sore. He sat up and saw that the soles of his delicate feet, which had rarely touched the ground, were rubbed raw, a deep red, almost bleeding. The skin wasn’t broken, but the slightest touch of the bedding sent a jolt of pain through him, a needle-like discomfort.
Gu Yuanbai was bewildered, unable to understand how this had happened. He tentatively put on his socks and shoes. Each time the white sock brushed against his skin, he gasped. “Where’s Xue Jiuyao?”
What had he done?!
“Master Xue looks very energetic. He went out to practice with his sword early this morning before dawn,” Tian Fusheng said. “This servant will call him right away.”
When Xue Yuan entered, his eyes burned at the sight of Gu Yuanbai, a blazing heat.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he strode forward and, regardless of the presence of others, knelt on one knee beside the bed, placing his hands on either side of the Emperor. He looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
His tone was very gentle.
Gu Yuanbai’s initial words of questioning were caught in his throat by Xue Yuan’s gentle tone. He paused, then asked, “During that half hour last night, after I fell asleep, what did you do?”
I did things that made me happy. “I did some things I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
Gu Yuanbai maintained a neutral expression, trying to guess what Xue Yuan had wanted to do for so long. “Tell me.”
Xue Yuan thought for a moment, straightened his kneeling posture slightly, and pushed himself up with his arms. He leaned close to the Emperor’s ear and whispered, “Yours is white, but mine is somewhat ugly, the color is a bit dark. You want me to say it now, but I’m thin-skinned, I feel ashamed, and I’m embarrassed to say it out loud.”
He added another sentence to explain himself. “There’s nothing I can do about it. People are different, and I naturally can’t compare to Your Majesty. I just hope I won’t scare Your Majesty in the future. If Your Majesty finds it distasteful, we can just turn off the lights.”
Gu Yuanbai was completely confused. He frowned. “What?”
“Nothing,” Xue Yuan composed himself. “Let me help Your Majesty get up.”
Gu Yuanbai wanted to kick him. “My feet hurt! Just tell me, what did you do?!”
“I already told you,” Xue Yuan said, tenderly taking his foot. “I’ve already applied medicine twice. Let me take a look. Chief Steward Tian, do you have any better ointment?”
After applying the medicine, Xue Yuan carried Gu Yuanbai to eat, then carried him down the mountain to the carriage, willingly acting as his beast of burden to make up for his roughness.
The Captain of the Guard ran after them, sweating profusely. “Master Xue, let me do it.”
But as soon as he said those words, Xue Yuan would quicken his pace. In the end, the Captain, empty-handed, couldn’t keep up.
“Master Xue!” His shouts grew fainter. “Slow down—”
Gu Yuanbai looked back, the wind from their rapid descent fluttering his hair ribbon. He couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Xue Yuan, are you even human?”
How could he carry him so effortlessly? They had already descended half the mountain.
Xue Yuan’s expression remained unchanged, his breathing even. He glanced at the path ahead. “It’s a bit steep ahead. Your Majesty, please get on my back.”
He carefully placed the Emperor on a clean rock, then bent down. “Come on up.”
Gu Yuanbai climbed onto his back. Xue Yuan secured him with his arms and walked down the mountain step by step.
His steps were steady, as if he would carry Gu Yuanbai like this forever.
Gu Yuanbai rested his head against Xue Yuan’s back, looking at the unfamiliar surrounding mountains and forests. The sunlight warmed his skin, just enough to make him feel lazy.
He closed his eyes, his mind filled with Xue Yuan. Is this guy’s brain broken? What strange things is he always thinking about? As he thought, his mouth, without his permission, called out, “Xue Yuan.”
Xue Yuan turned his head slightly. “Hmm?”
Gu Yuanbai was speechless. “Did I call you?”
“You did,” Xue Yuan turned back, adjusting Gu Yuanbai’s position on his back. “Were you thinking about me?”
Gu Yuanbai pondered for a moment and nodded. But Xue Yuan didn’t see the nod. Not hearing a verbal response, he assumed Gu Yuanbai didn’t want to talk to him. Xue Yuan chuckled. “Your Majesty has it much better. When I was in the Northern Frontier, I had to get up before dawn every morning to wash my pants.”
Gu Yuanbai: “What do you mean?”
“I was dreaming about you,” Xue Yuan said casually. “Young and vigorous, so I had to get up early to wash my pants.”
Gu Yuanbai understood. He should have been angry, but he only felt amused, burying his head in Xue Yuan’s back and laughing softly. “Xue Jiuyao, aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed,” Xue Yuan nodded seriously. “Your Majesty has no idea. When I was drying my pants in front of the tent, everyone passing by would laugh at me behind my back.”
“Laughing at you for being obsessed with lust even during war?”
“Laughing at me for actually having someone on my mind,” Xue Yuan said. “No one believed that the Xue Jiuyao of the Northern Frontier, who only knew how to fight and kill, would have a day where he washed his pants for half a month straight.”
Gu Yuanbai lifted his eyelids to glance at the back of Xue Yuan’s head, then let them droop again, falling silent.
“Other generals asked me if I had someone in my heart,” Xue Yuan’s voice drifted, as if coming from the distant Northern Frontier, slightly distorted. “What do you think I would say?”
Gu Yuanbai opened his mouth. “Tell the truth.”
Xue Yuan chuckled, his throat vibrating. “I also think that’s what I should do.”
“Your Majesty, why don’t we say a sentence each?” Xue Yuan suddenly had an idea, turning his head slightly, his nose high and straight. “There’s indeed someone in my heart. Is there anyone in yours?”
Gu Yuanbai’s fingers twitched. “No.”
Xue Yuan: “I knew it.”
He raised his head to block a low-hanging branch. The foot of the mountain was in sight, and the sounds of the people behind them grew closer. This journey was nearing its end.
“You even know if there’s someone in my heart,” Gu Yuanbai’s tone was lazy. “Then tell me, who is the most annoying person in my heart?”
“Me.” Xue Yuan was amused.
Gu Yuanbai curled his lips and chuckled. “General Xue, not bad. It’s important to have self-awareness.”
“Then I also want Your Majesty to guess,” Xue Yuan’s tone was calm and even. “Your Majesty, guess who the person in my heart is.”
The spring breeze rustled through the leaves, swirling around, playfully lifting Gu Yuanbai’s robes and blowing towards Xue Yuan.
The sun was shining brightly, the sky clear. It was truly a perfect day.
After a long while, Gu Yuanbai said, “Me.”
“The person in your heart is me,” Gu Yuanbai’s fingers twitched again. “You like me.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. It’s important to have self-awareness,” Xue Yuan chuckled softly. “But you got one thing wrong. I adore you.”
The bright moon shines, the great river flows, so much adoration for you.
After the carriage returned to the capital, Tian Fusheng reminded Gu Yuanbai that he should visit the Prince of Heqin’s mansion.
The purpose of the visit was, of course, to see if the Prince was taking good care of his wife, the Princess of Heqin. Except for a few individuals, the officials and imperial relatives didn’t know that the Prince of Heqin was adopted by the late Emperor from a brother’s family. Gu Yuanbai was happy to keep it that way. Now, the Princess’s pregnancy, regardless of the baby’s gender, would be the firstborn of the next generation, which would reassure everyone. Gu Yuanbai was delighted and felt that the Prince of Heqin should be even more so.
However, upon arriving at the mansion, it was much quieter than Gu Yuanbai had imagined.
Someone, with a strange expression, tried to go ahead and announce their arrival. Gu Yuanbai raised his hand expressionlessly, and the guards behind him quickly stepped forward and restrained the person.
The Princess was pregnant and naturally couldn’t manage the household, Gu Yuanbai thought, looking at the withered winter flowers among the roadside plants and turning his jade thumb ring, but it shouldn’t be this desolate.
“Where is the Prince of Heqin?” he asked in a deep voice.
A trembling servant whispered, “In the study.”
With each step, Gu Yuanbai felt a twinge of pain in his feet. He suppressed the discomfort and walked slowly to the study. The guards stationed there paled and were about to enter and announce the Emperor’s arrival when Zhang Xu, the Captain of the Guard, and his men swiftly apprehended them.
Gu Yuanbai looked at the wooden door of the study, his right eyelid twitching violently. He rubbed his temples and pushed the door open.
The study was empty. There was no sign of the Prince of Heqin. Gu Yuanbai looked around and noticed an inner chamber. He stepped towards it.
Inside the chamber, there was a bed, and on the bed lay a figure. Gu Yuanbai stepped closer and saw it was the Prince of Heqin, his face much thinner, giving him a gloomy appearance.
Gu Yuanbai frowned, about to call out, when his gaze fell upon something in the periphery and he froze.
Hanging on the wall near the foot of the bed was a large scroll, as tall as himself. The person in the painting had bright, kind eyes, a faint smile playing on their pale lips, their hair wet, their clothes slipping off one shoulder, revealing a round, white shoulder.
The half-covered shoulder and the polite smile took on a strangely alluring quality.
The person in the painting was Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai’s memories flooded back, recalling the first time he had met the Prince of Heqin after transmigrating to Great Heng.
Midsummer. The Prince of Heqin, stripped of his military power, had stormed into the palace, bursting into Gu Yuanbai’s presence as he was cooling off in the water. Hearing the commotion, Gu Yuanbai had gotten out of the water and put on his clothes. Before he could properly adjust his attire, the Prince of Heqin was already standing before him, his hair tied high, his handsome face ablaze with anger. “Gu Lian—!”
That year, Gu Yuanbai had smiled faintly at him and politely addressed him as “Brother.”
Gu Yuanbai abruptly clenched his fists, his breathing growing rapid, his temples throbbing, his forehead veins bulging – just like the Prince of Heqin’s furious demeanor back then.
Xue Yuan, following behind, his pupils constricted, slammed the door to the inner chamber shut with a bang, leaving everyone outside.
The Prince of Heqin, startled awake by the sound, abruptly sat up. Before anger could register on his gaunt face, he saw Gu Yuanbai standing before the painting.
He froze, his blood turning to ice, his body completely rigid on the bed.
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