Chapter 23 - His Majesty takes another type of risk (1/2)
Xue Yuan, speaking into his ear, sounded like a hungry wolf or a mad dog.
The dangerous, bloody smell rushed to his head. Looking down, Gu Yuanbai saw several wounds on Xue Yuan’s hand.
Ordinary people, after being dragged for such a long time, would have died. Xue Yuan was very strong and healthy, and the strength he used to hold the reins now was terrifying. Except for the scent of blood and those wounds, he looked no different.
Gu Yuanbai’s face remained expressionless.
Just now, he had really wanted to kill Xue Yuan. Kill this man, who kept offending him and would take away his power in the future. As he dragged Xue Yuan behind him, Gu Yuanbai felt a moment of satisfaction.
How nice it’d be to have Xue Yuan die, to kill the future regent.
But when he came back to reason, he knew that he couldn’t be killed like that. Ordinary means wouldn’t be enough to kill him.
Xue Yuan’s whole body was tense. As he held the young Emperor in his arms, his fury ran deep, and the bloody scent and the pain made him angry. The madness hidden inside his depths appeared once again, and his expression was horrible, but he did nothing to hurt the young Emperor.
He sneered with a dark expression. “I’m right, am I not?”1
“‘I’m’?”2 Gu Yuanbai looked calm and composed. He turned his head and glanced at Xue Yuan, and smiled slightly. “So it turns out, Guard Xue, that you hurt the horse.”
He recriminated him leisurely. “You ruined one of Our good horses and damaged some of Our good blankets. Even if it won’t help matters, We still have to punish you, Guard Xue. Three months of salary, to set an example.”
Xue Yuan sneered. Raising his hand with the whip, he made the horse shoot out like an arrow from a string.
“Your Highness!”
The guards exclaimed at their back, and shouted angrily, “Xue Yuan, stop!”
The scenery at their back disappeared quickly, and the jolting of the horse gave him vertigo. Gu Yuanbai stretched out his hand to pull the rein, but Xue Yuan continued to stubbornly hold onto it, and Gu Yuanbai wasn’t able to take it away.
Damn it.
Gu Yuanbai’s body felt uncomfortable all over, and he shouted angrily, “Xue Yuan!”
Xue Yuan said out loud, “Your Highness, after seeing you speed up so much, this official thought that you wanted to gallop! Isn’t that right?”
Gu Yuanbai: “——We command you to stop!”
Xue Yuan pulled the reins harshly. The horse’s forelegs left the ground and it reared, making Gu Yuanbai’s back fall towards Xue Yuan’s arms. Xue Yuan’s chest and abdomen were hard, and after hitting it, his back hurt all over.
The base of his legs hurt more than his back. Gu Yuanbai, after a moment, laughed coldly.
Very well, very well.
It clearly wasn’t easy to make a mad dog feel pain.
His anger and desire to conquer rose harshly. Gu Yuanbai had an adventurous spirit, but his body wasn’t in a good enough condition that would allow him to take risks.
However, the process of taming Xue Yuan seemed to be another kind of adventure in itself.
Killing wouldn’t be exciting enough, it wouldn’t be a successful adventure. A successful adventure would be making him obedient, making him obediently prostrate at the Emperor’s feet.
Seeing him so angry, Xue Yuan smiled instead. He adjusted the hold around the young Emperor with one hand, allowing him to be comfortable in his arms, and he acted as the Emperor’s backrest. The horse slowed down, and it seemed to be leisurely walking.
“Your Highness,” Xue Yuan offered, “Today you’re going to accompany Grand Imperial Concubine Wan to visit the temple. It is really not suitable to ride a horse. Your Highness’s body is soft, it won’t be good if you wear out your skin.”
Gu Yuanbai, “Hah.”
“Of course, this official must keep it in consideration for Your Highness.” Xue Yuan pulled up his sleeve and let Gu Yuanbai see the scrapes at the hem of the fabric from being dragged for dozens of meters. The abrasions covered his entire arm, with blood oozing from the skin and flesh. It clearly looked painful. “Look, this official has such wounds on his body, and the blood on his back is still sticking to his clothes. It hurts to death to change the bandages. Your Highness, after you treat me like that, I’ve only wanted to take Your Highness to ride a horse for a moment. Am I not being thoughtful enough?”
The Emperor’s lips went up and he said slowly, “We have punished you once, and you remember it and retaliate. You’re really a good guard.”
“Your Highness must be joking again,” Xue Yuan said slowly. “Just like only a moment ago this official thought Your Highness was going to kill me. What retaliation? Your Highness is mistaken. Your Highness is the son of heaven and the Emperor of the Great Heng, how would this official dare?”
Next to them, many white butterflies and small insects fluttered above the grass. The most common one in the spring was the white butterfly. Gu Yuanbai glanced at them and thought to himself, you crushed that butterfly because no one was looking. Of course, you get to say whatever you want to say.
You retaliated against me because no one was looking. Now that your mouth is full of loyalty and integrity, it just makes me laugh.
Gu Yuanbai had no regrets about having tried to kill Xue Yuan. He was angry because of Xue Yuan’s temper. He dared to act so bold towards the Emperor, forcing him to act impulsively, and he also dared to do so openly and sincerely. What else did he dare not to do?
The guards at the rear chased them, and were relieved when they saw that Gu Yuanbai was alright. The guard captain glared at Xue Yuan for a moment and said abruptly, “If you don’t know how to ride a horse, don’t be imprudent.”
Xue Yuan was in a bad mood. When he heard the words, the corners of his lips twitched, and he said with a smile, “Mind your business.”
The guard captain went red with anger. “You—”
“That’s enough,” Gu Yuanbai said. “We command you all to shut up.”
No one dared to speak anymore. Gu Yuanbai straightened his back with no expression on his face. The atmosphere was oppressive and strange,and it stayed like that all the way to the outskirts of the capital.
Grand Imperial Concubine Wan had been looking forward to that day. The weather was good and the elderly woman was also very energetic.
Gu Yuanbai supported Grand Imperial Concubine Wan and walked slowly to the temple.
The Imperial temple was called Chengbao Temple. It covered a huge area and it had a pagoda dozens of meters tall. The winding roads were secluded, and the temple was hidden among the vegetation, giving it a special feeling of calmness.
“Your Highness.” After a while, Grand Imperial Concubine Wan could not walk anymore. She was aided to go sit in a pavilion by the side and she looked at Gu Yuanbai with a smile. “I can’t keep walking. Your Highness, please go on ahead, and burn an extra stick of incense for me.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled and said, “Then, I will go up first.”3
Grand Imperial Concubine Wan nodded with relief. She smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead after watching the Emperor’s figure disappear among the vegetation.
Chengbao Temple was built on the mountainside, and the abbot and many monks on the mountain had already heard the news about the arrival of the Emperor and Grand Imperial Concubine Wan. When Gu Yuanbai finally arrived at the temple, he saw that it was full of monks with bald heads.
The monks, wearing uniform monk garments, were led by the abbot to salute Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai’s warm voice told them to get up, and his eyes swept over the monks in the temple.
He estimated that there were over two thousand people.
Gu Yuanbai narrowed his eyes, said nothing, and was led by the abbot to wander around the temple.
The abbot sighed. “When the late Emperor was there, he also brought Your Highness to come worship the Buddha. However, Your Highness was still young at that time, so you likely do not remember it.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled and said pleasantly, “Abbot, you have lived among the beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers all year round, and the wild mountain forests are far from the noise of the world. From your perspective, WeI fear that those times seem just like yesterday.”