Chapter 14 - His Majesty returns to the imperial palace (1/2)

Xue Yuan put Gu Yuanbai on the bed, and the palace servants that were in the room knelt on the ground.

With tears in his eyes, Tian Fusheng carefully took off the Emperor’s shoes and socks, rolled up the hem of his pants,the swollen ankle joint appearing before their eyes.

The Emperor’s ankle was already slender, and, after swelling, it looked horrifying. Xue Yuan lowered his head and glanced at it, his brow furrowed. He actually felt bad.

Gu Yuanbai looked at the door expressionlessly. A moment later, a rush of footsteps approached, and the guard, Zhang Xu, brought in the imperial doctors to treat Gu Yuanbai’s injuries. Behind them was General Xue, who kneeled on the floor as soon as he crossed the door.

General Xue knocked his head heavily on the ground, his heart desolated. “Your Highness, your servant is guilty!”

The two imperial doctors washed their hands and carefully touched Gu Yuanbai’s foot, which was like a figure carved from jade. Now that he had suffered such an injury, the two doctors frowned helplessly, not even knowing where to start.

“General Xue, what crime are you guilty of?” Neither joy nor anger could be detected in the Emperor’s voice.

General Xue sounded defeated when he spoke. “Your Highness suffered a fright in this official’s mansion and your dragon body received an injury. This servant is to blame.”

Gu Yuanbai said: “We believe it was all a coincidence. During the day, Prince He sent someone to bring Us a bowl of deer blood, but the young man accidentally spilled it by the window. In the middle of the night, ferocious wolves followed the smell of blood into Our rooms. Everyone around the courtyard was asleep, and the guards were tired. We just happened to wake up at that time and run into these two wolves. Official Xue, We feel that this was the will of the Heavens.”

A bead of sweat slid down General Xue’s forehead as he bowed his head deeply.

Xue Yuan followed his father and knelt behind him. While the Emperor remained in silence, one could have heard a pin drop in the room. The guards standing around were holding onto their big swords that hung on their waists, looking at the Xue family members with cold, fierce eyes.

Earlier, when Gu Yuanbai had Xue Yuan carry him, he had been dismissing him; his words now were dismissing General Xue.1

Xue Yuan knelt on the ground, his face gloomy.

Such coincidences don’t exist in the world, and yet it was all a coincidence. If he didn’t know that it was impossible, Xue Yuan would have thought that the Emperor had guessed that the wolves would appear in the yard in the middle of the night and went there on purpose.

Xue Mansion was suddenly all lit up in the middle of the night. Prince He’s servants, as well as those from Xue Mansion, knelt in a group, while Zhang Xu, the captain of the guard, sullenly checked them one by one with his subordinates.

After a stick of incense,2 Zhang Xu’s guard sent someone to press the frightened second son of the Xue family to the ground before the Emperor while Zhang Xu himself stepped forward, whispering on the side about what had happened into the Emperor’s ear.

Gu Yuanbai raised his eyebrows, glanced at the second young master Xue, and leisurely signaled for him to be released.

The second son of the Xue family was an idiot. He had gotten jealous of Xue Yuan after learning that he wouldn’t be allowed to visit the Emperor the day before. The wolves kept by the household were all Xue Yuan’s pets. Xue Yuan had trained them to be very obedient, and they’d go to Xue Yuan’s courtyard to be fed every day. Since the Emperor was staying at the Xue Mansion that day, Xue Yuan hadn’t had time to feed the wolves, and the second young master had a bad idea.

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, he released two hungry wolves and let them run into Xue Yuan’s courtyard. They would surely bite people if they had no meat to eat. If Xue Yuan got bitten, he would not be able to visit the Emperor the next day.

The second young master thought that he would then be the only healthy heir in the Xue Mansion, so he went through with it.

But what he didn’t expect was that the wolves, who had been starved for a day, would be attracted by the scent of deer blood while they were on their way and jump at Gu Yuanbai.

What a fool, Gu Yuanbai thought.

But nonetheless, he felt pleased to know that there was such an idiot in General Xue’s household.

Gu Yuanbai waved away the unrelated people and then let Zhang Xu tell General Xue what had happened. The face of the second young master Xue went red and his legs weren’t able to support him.

General Xue’s breathing gradually grew ragged, and he stared, wide eyed, at his second son.

Xue Yuan sneered.

For a time, it seemed like General Xue was getting older by the second. He bowed his head towards the Emperor awkwardly. “Thank you, Your Highness, for your mercy.”

Since unrelated people had been all sent away, at least this ridiculous event would not become known by everyone.

At this time, Gu Yuanbai sighed and spoke with an amiable expression: “Official Xue, why would We be bothered by this? Since We know that it was just a coincidence, of course, this matter won’t be pursued any further.”

The Emperor’s swollen ankle was right in front of his face. It was a shocking sight, and General Xue didn’t even dare to look. Every glance condemned him further. With tears in his eyes, he proclaimed: “This official’s son made a grave mistake! It would only be natural for Your Majesty to punish him. This official would have no complaints!

“This official failed to protect Your Highness properly, and is just as guilty!” Two lines of tears fell down General Xue’s face. “It is this official’s fault for not raising him properly, and I am willing to accept my punishment!”

Xue Yuan said politely: “These wolves were my wolves, so naturally I am also guilty. Your Majesty’s foot is now broken. If necessary, I can accompany Your Highness and be at Your Highness’ service.”

Among the three of them, he was the only one who spoke in a calm tone. Hearing that sentence, the second master Xue shivered and came close to peeing his pants in fear.

Such an unpleasant thing had happened right in front of the Emperor, and the two of them were already trembling. At this point, General Xue would do anything as an apology, as long as it would make the Emperor not be displeased with the Xue family.

When he heard Xue Yuan’s words, he immediately realized it was an opportunity to regain the Emperor’s favor. Previously, he had even sent an imperial physician from the palace to treat him. Didn’t that mean that Yuan-ger had gained His Majesty’s favor?

General Xue immediately said: “This dumb son of mine can’t use pen, ink, paper, and inkstone,3 but his martial arts are still remarkable. It would be inconvenient for Your Highness to walk right now. Although this dumb son is no better than the palace guards, at least he’s a bit strong. If Your Highness does not dislike him, allow him to enter the palace to accompany Your Highness.

”

”

Xue Yuan’s smiling mouth froze, and his expression suddenly turned gloomy.

The Emperor was such a villainous character that he pretended to think for a moment before saying reluctantly: “Since that’s the case, let it be so.”

Tian Fusheng promptly said: “General Xue, and the two young masters, go to rest. The Emperor needs to go back to sleep.”

After they left, Gu Yuanbai slowly leaned back on the bed. The imperial doctor had been applying medicine on him, and every time it touched him, he felt a sharp pain. The imperial doctor was completely concentrated on the task at hand, and he did not dare to stop for a moment. Gu Yuanbai had been enduring it for a while. He leaned against the bed frame and groaned, unable to hold it in, when he saw that everyone had gone away.

Xue Yuan had already stepped outside of the door, but still heard a muffled groan. He couldn’t resist glancing back. The bed canopy hid the Emperor’s face, but his hands were grasping onto his robes, creating deep folds on Xue Yuan’s satin clothes.

The Emperor was a very controlled person, and the white fingertips revealed the level of his restraint. Even if the pain was severe, he’d just tighten his grasp to endure it.

Xue Yuan frowned and looked away.