IRBSC 146

Chapter 146:I Do—To Us, Together (Part 1)

On the carriage ride back to the capital.

The suburbs were a dense, tangled web of forest, the shadows of trees dappling the ground. The carriage swayed occasionally, and a steed snorted loudly.

Inside, a white sleeve had been draped over the man’s back and the nape of his neck. When the arms moved away, the robe slid from Xue Yuan’s body. Xue Yuan braced a hand against the carriage wall, and beneath him, His Majesty’s face was flushed a deep crimson.

Gu Yuanbai’s eyes were filled with a sated, lustrous light. When he looked up at Xue Yuan, his gaze, combined with his blood-reddened lips, was like an ink wash painting bleeding across paper. Xue Yuan’s breath caught, and he lowered his head again to touch those moist lips.

Gu Yuanbai’s fingers slipped under Xue Yuan’s collar from behind, feeling several uneven, healed scars. His fingertips paused, tracing them back and forth twice. “They still left scars.”

Xue Yuan gripped his forearm. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“It’s just irritating,” Gu Yuanbai said in a low voice. “This was supposed to be flawless.”

“A scar from protecting Your Majesty, one that I can keep for a lifetime,” Xue Yuan said with genuine delight. “Not just anyone can have this.”

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He raised an eyebrow and pulled the collar tight. “Where do you think we stand?”

Xue Yuan snapped back to reality, uncharacteristically flustered. He balled his hand into a fist and coughed several times. His face looked calm, but a beam of light filtering through a crack in the carriage wall revealed that his ears were flushed a translucent red. Watching his awkward fidgeting, Gu Yuanbai felt a smile begin to play on his lips.

After a long, squirming moment, Xue Yuan finally knelt down. He took both of Gu Yuanbai’s hands in his and said with resounding conviction, “We’re at the point of discussing marriage.”

His eyes were bright and full of spirit.

The carriage fell silent. Only his words lingered, as if they had traveled from an ancient time, stretching on for thousands of li without end.

Something inside Gu Yuanbai’s chest began to beat faster.

He knew what this meant. His lips pressed tighter, yet they held an unusual shade of red. He forced himself to turn his head away as the heat in the carriage rose.

His tense jawline was already slick with a damp sheen.

Xue Yuan, in his nervousness, thought he was angry and quickly explained, “We don’t actually have to get married.”

He buried his face in Gu Yuanbai’s lap, his head resting on Gu Yuanbai’s hands, and offered up his fiery, sincere heart. “I don’t want any sordid rumors spreading about you and me. I don’t want others fantasizing about you when I’m not around. Just seeing you like this, right now—I don’t want anyone else to see it.”

A sudden sense of relief washed over Xue Yuan. He was glad Gu Yuanbai was the emperor, and that he held no power over him. Otherwise, with his own dark thoughts, he might have locked Gu Yuanbai away on his own territory. Or worse, he might have erased Gu Yuanbai’s name from the history books, ensuring no future generation could even glimpse him.

How terrifying. He had even wondered if the Xue manor could hold Gu Yuanbai for a lifetime.

But His Majesty was destined to fill many pages of history. Since that was the case, Xue Yuan only wanted Gu Yuanbai’s name to be pristine. He didn’t want him to be leered at by any stranger in a later age, to be flippantly associated with salacious tales.

“…” The skin on Gu Yuanbai’s lips felt stuck together, cloyingly sweet. “Is that why you always meticulously straighten my hair and clothes after you kiss me?”

Xue Yuan gave a muffled “Mm.”

Gu Yuanbai’s jaw tightened, his delicate Adam’s apple bobbing. He could feel the heat on his own face, and his eyes stung from it, forcing him to clench his teeth.

His long neck was stiff.

If Xue Yuan had looked up then, he would have seen His Majesty’s face completely flushed.

“Discussing marriage,” Gu Yuanbai finally managed to say after a long pause, a poor attempt to cover his reaction. “Yes, we certainly can’t discuss marriage.”

Gu Yuanbai.

You’ve already slept with the man. Why do you still feel this utterly mortifying sense of shame afterward?

A confession is a confession.

Why did he have to say it with such sincerity?

Gu Yuanbai fought to suppress the turmoil on his face. Sweat beaded on his temples, soaking the black hair there, a dishevelment he couldn’t hide.

Xue Yuan was still resting on his lap, continuing, “No marriage. But we’ve already come this far. I asked Master Kongxing; Your Majesty’s constitution is frail, unable to bear children. What if neither of us marries anyone, and we just spend the rest of our lives like this?”

A lifetime.

How dare he say such things?

Gu Yuanbai suddenly asked, “What if your parents threaten their own lives to force you to marry?”

Xue Yuan let out a low chuckle. “They wouldn’t dare.”

Gu Yuanbai thought of Xue Yuan’s wild streak. It had been so long since he’d acted recklessly in front of him that he had almost forgotten the untamable spirit in his bones. If he said they wouldn’t dare, then Old General Xue and his wife truly couldn’t force him. Gu Yuanbai shifted his legs. “Get up. You’re crushing me.”

Xue Yuan obediently sat up. When he saw His Majesty’s flushed face, he grew concerned and reached out to feel his forehead. “Are you hot?”

Gu Yuanbai slapped his hand away, mumbling, “It’s nothing.”

Xue Yuan was still worried. Gu Yuanbai licked his lips; his tongue touched them, and they, too, were burning.

He frowned, feeling he was getting too worked up, and started fanning himself with his hand. Xue Yuan understood instantly, pulling the gold and silver jade fan from his waist and fanning Gu Yuanbai with it.

“Open the window,” Gu Yuanbai said.

Xue Yuan opened it with one hand. The captain of the guards outside met his gaze and nodded with a smile.

A cool breeze blew in from both sides, the cross-draft sweeping away the lingering intimacy. Gu Yuanbai’s head gradually cleared. He looked at the greenery outside the window. Every tree was lush and verdant, and with a gentle breeze, all their leaves and branches began to sway.

“I’ve told you many times,” Gu Yuanbai murmured. “I reminded you to stop while you were ahead. Since you insisted on pouncing, I decided to stop holding back.”

Xue Yuan moved to embrace him from behind. “Your Majesty.”

“If I hadn’t seen a glimmer of hope for survival, I wouldn’t have led the expedition myself,” His Majesty chuckled. “And I wouldn’t have wanted to hold anyone back. But your repeated disobedience, again and again… it was truly troubling at the time.”

Xue Yuan hated hearing him say such things, but he held his tongue and listened.

“I never stopped secretly searching for famous doctors. Heaven never seals off all exits. Since I came into this world, there had to be a chance for me to live,” Gu Yuanbai said. “But I am only human, and humans have their moments of disappointment. I want to live, but the world is so vast, and the chance of survival so slim. If I were to die without finding that chance, would I be content?”

“Time is fleeting, like a galloping horse seen through a crack in the wall. I couldn’t waste that precious time indulging in love,” the carriage suddenly jolted, and Gu Yuanbai fell backward into Xue Yuan’s arms. “I want to live. I want to live very much. I’ve used every means possible to find a way, and now, I finally have hope. But after the war, even in victory, there’s still a rootless, floating emptiness.”

Xue Yuan suddenly tightened his grip on Gu Yuanbai.

Gu Yuanbai looked up at the blue sky and white clouds.

He whispered to himself, “So you’ll have to find a way to hold me tight.”

Hold me tight to this land.

The officials of the court gathered outside the imperial city to welcome His Majesty’s return to the capital.

When Gu Yuanbai stepped out of the carriage, a eunuch’s high-pitched call rang out, and the officials knelt in unison, shouting three times, “Long live Your Majesty!”

Their faces were flushed with emotion, their eyes filled with hot tears. Every shout, every kowtow, was done with all their might. Tian Fusheng followed Gu Ran forward. Gu Ran clasped his hands and bowed deeply, his small frame not having grown much taller, and said in a clear voice, “Congratulations on your triumphant return, Father Emperor!”

Gu Yuanbai patted his head, his gaze sweeping over the imperial city. A sudden smile touched his lips, and he declared, his voice carrying, “All officials, rise.”

He took Gu Ran’s hand and walked slowly through the ranks of the officials.

The officials bowed respectfully, the older ones trembling slightly, the younger ones filled with fervent excitement. This clear path led directly to the emperor’s palace.

Gu Ran looked up at the officials on either side, then up at Gu Yuanbai.

Father Emperor was dressed simply, his steps slow but exceedingly steady. With every footfall, he seemed to tread out ten thousand li of peace for the rivers and mountains.

Gu Ran tightened his grip on his father’s hand.

He blinked calmly and, mimicking his father, looked straight ahead, slowly walking the path before him. His gaze never wavered, fixed only on what was in front.

Will I look as dashing as Father Emperor?

After His Majesty’s return, he was busy until the end of the month before the capital’s fervent excitement finally began to calm.

Gu Yuanbai’s life returned to its usual rhythm. The matter of establishing schools and spreading education in Fusang and the nomadic lands was handed over entirely to the Department of State Affairs and the Bureau of Military Affairs; he only needed to be updated on their progress.

The reorganization and establishment of schools in various parts of Xixia were slowly getting on track, and many officials were successively transferred to posts there. After a large quantity of salt from Liangzhe entered the market, the price of salt dropped. Coupled with the state’s vigorous crackdown on salt smuggling, the Minister of Revenue had been grinning from ear to ear these days. Gold and silver poured into the national treasury in droves, and every time Gu Yuanbai went to check the treasury’s accounts, his mood would become exceptionally good.

Life thus eased its way into the ninth month.

At the beginning of the month, Gu Yuanbai took Gu Ran to visit Princess Heqin’s daughter, the little commandery princess Gu An’er.

When An-jie’er turned three months old, Gu Yuanbai had bestowed a title upon her and had repeatedly expressed his affection for her. This protection from the emperor made the princess’s life very comfortable. Her complexion was now much rosier, and she spent her days playing with her daughter. When the weather was fine, she would take her to climb the mountains to offer incense, always finding new joys.

The little commandery princess was being raised extremely well. She was fair and chubby, and a gentle press on her arm left a small, fleshy dimple.

Gu Ran watched as his little sister drooled with delight upon seeing Father Emperor, and his brow furrowed as he secretly tugged on his father’s sleeve.

Gu Yuanbai didn’t notice his small gesture. Though he enjoyed making children cry, that was limited to boys. With a soft, fragrant little girl, he would spoil her in every way possible. Gu Yuanbai gently wiped the drool from the little commandery princess’s face and held her in his arms for a while longer.

The little commandery princess had only seen Gu Yuanbai a few times and, at her age, shouldn’t have been able to remember him, yet she was utterly delighted by him. She left sticky little drool prints all over Gu Yuanbai’s face, which were less like kisses and more like nibbles.

Gu Yuanbai chuckled a few times before handing the little commandery princess back. He beckoned Gu Ran over and ruffled his hair. “Ran-ge’er, come and meet your little sister An.”

Gu Ran looked at the little commandery princess in the wet nurse’s arms, who was still eagerly reaching for Gu Yuanbai, and set his jaw. “Hello, Sister An.”

Half an hour later, the group finally left the Prince Heqin Manor.

The sky was clear and vast. Gu Yuanbai thought for a moment, then lowered his head to ask Gu Ran, “Do you want to go climb the mountain with Father Emperor to offer incense?”

Gu Ran’s dejected expression vanished in an instant. He shot his head up, his eyes shining, and nodded vigorously.