Chapter 029 – Your Majesty, what incense do you use?

Xue Yuan wanted to go directly and kill Chu Wei, who had been provoking him, with the inkstone. However, if he beat Chu Wei to death, he feared that the young Emperor would be really angry.

The young Emperor getting angry wasn’t scary. Xue Yuan dared to do anything as long as he could survive and keep breathing. He could bear the young Emperor’s means of punishment, no matter the torture or ordeal he might be put through.

The only thing he couldn’t endure was repressing his own anger.

However, Xue Yuan, who didn’t fear anything, didn’t want to see the young Emperor’s angry look directed at him. The young Emperor had given him a bad look many times, and, at first, he didn’t care. But now Xue Yuan couldn’t stop thinking, how come even that thing gets a happy look from the Emperor?

He walked all the way to the Hanlin Academy while thinking about why the young Emperor wouldn’t smile at him.

If he smiled at him, he wouldn’t just wash the horses, even sweeping horse manure daily wouldn’t be a problem. If he gave him a better look, it wouldn’t be impossible for Xue Yuan to spend an entire day underwater.

The more he couldn’t get it, the more he wanted it. Xue Yuan was very bitter, and couldn’t endure being discriminated against. The more the young Emperor treated him so coldly, the more he punished him, the more Xue Yuan desired to see him smile at him.

So very bitter.1

When Xue Yuan arrived at the Hanlin Academy with the two inkstones, Chu Wei and Kong Yilin, who were the ones being rewarded by the Emperor, hurriedly walked out, and they saw him first.

Kong Yilin didn’t know Xue Yuan, but Chu Wei’s face became cold as soon as he spotted him, and he didn’t even bother to mask the expression of disgust on his face.

“And who would you be?” Kong Yilin asked, stepping forward with his hands folded in a salute.

Xue Yuan showed a cordial smile. “Are you the one His Highness mentioned? Scholar Kong?”

”
”
Kong Yilin nodded and lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on the carved wooden box in Xue Yuan’s hand.

Chu Wei stepped forward with no expression on his face, his hands cupped as well. “I’m sorry to have troubled you making you complete this errand, Official Xue.”

“How could it be any trouble to help the Emperor?” Xue Yuan replied, with a fake smile. “Every official should do just that.”

Kong Yilin didn’t seem to notice anything wrong between them. “Official Xue, I wonder, what has His Highness rewarded us with?”

Xue Yuan threw the two wooden boxes into his arms. “Inkstones.”

Kong Yilin smiled. “Many thanks to His Highness for the reward.”

Chu Wei glanced at the wooden box in Kong Yilin’s hand and smiled.

In Xue Yuan’s eyes, this smile was evidence of Chu Wei’s desire for the Emperor. Xue Yuan smiled, gave Chu Wei a cold look, and then turned around to leave, full of killing intent. Chu Wei gave him an equally disgusted glance towards his back. Both looked repulsed.

When Xue Yuan walked to the Emperor’s palace, his expression was still ugly.

As he walked to the bedroom with a calm face, the ‘great gift’ that Xue Yuan was carrying in his arms suddenly jumped out and ran away quickly.

Xue Yuan was caught off guard, and he furiously gave chase in the direction his ‘great gift’ had run off to, his eyebrows set.

The maid waiting in the hall felt something soft at her feet. When she looked down, her complexion suddenly changed and she screamed.

The little thing by her feet was frightened by the scream and floundered in a panic. One by one, all the maids in the palace turned pale and began to shake with fright, their formation all messed up.

Tian Fusheng called out, “What are you all screaming about?”

A lady of the court cried and said, “Chief Eunuch, there’s a mouse here!”

Where would people who served in the palace, especially those serving the Emperor directly, have ever seen such a thing?

Gu Yuanbai continued to eat his dinner calmly and ordered the guards to catch the mouse. Most girls were afraid of such things. If the mouse wasn’t caught, some would cry.

The guards ran around in a rush, and the entire hall was boiling in chaos. Gu Yuanbai suddenly heard a small squeak. He paused, put down his chopsticks, and looked under the table, running into a pair of small, black bean-like eyes.

“Little one,” Gu Yuanbai stretched out his hand and laughed. “You sure know how to hide.”

No one in the hall dared to come searching towards the Emperor.

The little mouse, covered in gray fur, sniffed at Gu Yuanbai’s hands. Probably because of the scent of the food in his hands, it kept sniffing and crawled onto Gu Yuanbai’s hands.

Gu Yuanbai lifted his hand and stroked the little one’s fur. Its fur was bright and smooth, and the chubby soft body made it seem like a domestic pet.

Tian Fusheng spotted the thing in the Emperor’s hand and physically jumped. “Your Majesty!”

When the guards looking for the mouse looked up, they were also startled. The guard captain hurriedly took two steps forward and said anxiously, “Your Majesty! This official will catch the thing!”

“No need.” Gu Yuanbai placed the little mouse on the table and took a piece of meat with his chopsticks, placing it in front of the mouse. After watching the little mouse nibble the piece of meat, he leisurely slid his fingertips along the little mouse’s fur. “It’s just a small thing, it feels nice to pet.”

Tian Fusheng saw that the mouse didn’t seem like it would bite anyone, so he straightened out the servants in the palace. The maids wiped away the tears on their faces, suppressed their fear, and went back to their positions with a disciplined attitude.

Xue Yuan walked in while he was eating. As soon as he came in, he saw the mouse eating meat on the table. His eyelid twitched. So here it was.

Gu Yuanbai saw him come in. “Did you deliver the items?”

Xue Yuan said, “Yes.”

Gu Yuanbai also wanted to ask him if he had taken a fancy for Chu Wei, but then he thought better of it and decided he couldn’t be bothered to ask, so he nodded lazily and asked him to stand to the side.

However, Xue Yuan didn’t move and instead said, “Your Highness, this little pet is something I raised.”

After hearing these words, Gu Yuanbai paused for a moment and looked up at him. “Official Xue, you raised it?”

Xue Yuan nodded. “This official thought that the little ingrate might feel lonely in the palace, so I brought a small pet to give it company.”

Little ingrate? Gu Yuanbai was surprised. “Who’s the little ingrate?”

“It’s the Emperor’s Akhal-Teke horse,” Xue Yuan replied honestly. “That horse has no conscience. This official has fed it and bathed it, but in the end, not only did it not appreciate the work, it even whined and kicked me some.”

Gu Yuanbai, amused by the mental image, said, “The horse is called Red Cloud.”

Xue Yuan suddenly understood. “This official will remember it.”

Gu Yuanbai touched the mouse and said, “What is this thing called?”

Xue Yuan said, “I have not named it yet.”

Seeing that the little mouse was done eating the meat, Gu Yuanbai grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up, throwing it at Xue Yuan. “Since it’s for Red Cloud to play with, give it to Red Cloud.”

Official Xue Yuan managed to catch the mouse and asked, “Does Your Highness not like it?”

The Emperor was wiping his hands with a handkerchief. Even the exquisite embroidery on the fabric didn’t look as nice as his hands. He glanced at Xue Yuan and said, “Compared to this little thing, We prefer the wolves raised in Official Xue’s mansion.”

Xue Yuan said, “Your Majesty, wolves can bite people.”

The Emperor wasn’t afraid and simply stated, “After a few beatings and skipping a few meals, won’t it become obedient?”

Xue Yuan smiled. “It’s as Your Majesty says.”

The remains of the meal were taken away by the palace servants, and Gu Yuanbai went out for a walk with some people to aid his digestion. He walked in front, wearing darker clothes that day. The dark patterns became visible as he walked. The darker the clothes, the more delicate the skin at his wrists and neck looked.

Xue Yuan followed behind, took a look at his back, and then at the little mouse in his arms.

“Useless thing.” His lips snarled in barely suppressed disgust. “You can’t even attract someone.”

The little mouse blinked its beady black eyes back at him, unable to understand Xue Yuan’s words.

The Imperial gardens were dazzling and colorful, with all sorts of flowers and plants. Gu Yuanbai walked slowly for a while, and finally arrived at a lush tree.

Tian Fusheng looked around, then he suddenly pointed at the top of the tree with a smile. “Your Majesty, look.”

Gu Yuanbai looked up and saw that, on the top of the tree half-hidden between the leaves, the small yellow corner of a kite was peeking out. Tian Fusheng smiled and said, “This kite looks old. A concubine of the late Emperor must have been the one that put it there.”

Gu Yuanbai just looked at it for a couple seconds before Xue Yuan stepped forward. “Your Majesty, should I go take it down?”

The way he looked at Gu Yuanbai now, his expression was extraordinarily attentive, as if he had been domesticated. Gu Yuanbai knew that he wasn’t tame at all, but he was actually quite satisfied with Xue Yuan’s attitude.

It gave him the satisfying feeling of a successful conquest.

Gu Yuanbai nodded. Xue Yuan raised his head and glanced at the tree, then he threw the little mouse to the ground, and, with forceful steps, he rushed towards the tree.

He was a tall man, with long arms and legs and extraordinary strength. He managed to climb the branches in just two or three movements and reached the kite, making it look easy and like he put no effort into it at all.

The people around, seeing him like that, determined that Xue Yuan would be fine. However, Xue Yuan, after having such an easy time climbing up the tree, unexpectedly jumped down, landing next to the Emperor. Gu Yuanbai, startled at the sudden appearance next to him, took a step back and his balance failed. Xue Yuan also followed and fell towards Gu Yuanbai.

Gu Yuanbai’s back hit the trunk of the tree and Xue Yuan pressed him against it. Xue Yuan barely managed to brace himself with both hands against the tree to avoid pressing him against it. After steadying his balance, he apologized. “Your Majesty, it seems I stepped on a small stone and lost my balance.”

His warm breath hit Gu Yuanbai, and the delicate, soft skin of the Emperor became red from the heat of Xue Yuan’s body. The Emperor was too delicate. At such a close distance, the white skin on his face looked just like a cloud, as if it could melt in Xue Yuan’s mouth.

Gu Yuanbai tilted his head, his neck stretched, and he frowned impatiently, saying, “Back off.”

Xue Yuan was about to step back when he spotted a hive of hornets suddenly rushing over. His expression changed immediately and he pressed the Emperor’s head into his arms, lowering his own head to bury his face in the young Emperor’s dark hair.

“Where did so many hornets come from?!” Tian Fusheng asked in horror.

“This isn’t good, guards!” The guard captain’s face changed. “Eunuch, someone from the back accidentally ran into a hornet’s nest!”

Everyone gathered around Gu Yuanbai. Gu Yuanbai’s eyebrows jumped, his face buried in Xue Yuan’s arms.

Steaming hot air rose from Xue Yuan’s chest. Gu Yuanbai thought to himself, what did this man eat when he was growing up? How can he be hot like a stove?

“What’s going on out there?” Gu Yuanbai’s voice sounded muffled. “Who was so reckless?”

Xue Yuan frowned and pressed the young Emperor tightly. “Don’t talk.”

A blue vein bulged on Gu Yuanbai’s forehead. Xue Yuan, as if he knew he was angry, looked up and spotted a bush. Holding Gu Yuanbai, he rolled there, just barely managing to avoid the hornets.

When Gu Yuanbai came back to his senses, he could no longer hear any hornets.

He got up and saw that the area outside the bush was full of people running around after being stung by hornets. Hornets from the past were wilder than the ones in the modern era. They stung angrily when touched, they stung when they saw people, and they were more toxic. It was possible that simply a palace attendant stumbling into a nest had been enough to cause such a situation.

Xue Yuan stood beside the young Emperor, and asked casually, “Your Majesty, what incense do you use? How come even your hair smells so nice?”

Gu Yuanbai was focused on watching the situation not far away, giving it his full attention, and he did not hear clearly. “What?”

Xue Yuan didn’t repeat the question. With a casual glance, he spotted a hornet that had landed on a blade of grass to the side. He grabbed the young Emperor’s waist with his arms, pulling him in, and then quickly took a few steps back.

Gu Yuanbai felt dizzy for a while, and then, just after coming back to his senses, he noticed that Xue Yuan had already started talking nonsense behind him.

“Your Majesty, in the past, you scolded me for being impudent. This official feels that it wasn’t fair to call that impudence, and I felt wronged,” Xue Yuan said without moving, with his hands still on the young Emperor’s waist. “Emperor, now this is called being impudent.”

Do you understand?
If any man dares to do something like this to you in the future, they’re being impudent.

—For example, Chu Wei should be dragged outside and decapitated.

But it was different if Xue Yuan was the one touching him.

Xue Yuan wasn’t attracted to men, so, if he did something like that, it would be fine.