After watching the she-wolf give birth on the second day, Xue Yuan was busy.
When he was in the palace, he listened meticulously to the saint conferring with others. When the saint taught Gu Ran, he pondered along with him. When he returned to his home, he stayed in his study and read books.
Xue Yuan practically wasted his sleep and food, frantically enriching himself. His disciples also became active, asking for various dossiers, and one by one, they told the Grand Duke the twists and turns of them from all sides.
Xue Yuan was the pride of heaven, and when he seriously wanted to do something, almost no one could stop him.
And he is plainly posturing to enter the court.
Gu Yuanbai soon learned about this.
The regent in the original text was powerful and uncertain in his likes and dislikes. From time to time, he seemed to laugh and watch the farce open under his eyes, Gu Yuanbai did not know why Xue Yuan had turned into that inscrutable look, but after he came to this world, because the world was stable and the nomads of the northern borders had retreated, Xue Yuan gradually settled down to smoothness.
Gu Yuanbai raised his eyebrows.
He couldn't help but think, if Xue Yuan really became a member of the court, what kind of performance would he show?
This stupid guy, would he love the feeling that power brings?
Gu Yuanbai had both the anticipation of hoping that he would do something meritorious, as well as a few moments of the long-lost desire to conquer that ushered in the challenge.
He was also a crazy guy. He wanted to watch Xue Yuan blossom into his own light and appreciate how powerful he was. Such power shouldn't be smoothed out because of Gu Yuanbai, and he even thought about how they would have fought if he had met the Regent who had left the battlefield behind in the original text to get caught up in the official world.
The moment he thought about it, he was trembling, and Gu Yuanbai's nerve that loved challenges even wanted to hold Xue Yuan up to a high position before crushing him hard.
But that's just thinking about it.
Today's Daheng should be stable and should not go through useless ups and downs.
Gu Yuanbai suppressed such thoughts and began to teach him, intentionally or unintentionally, and Xue Yuan lived up to his expectations, his absorption of knowledge and keen political intuition almost allowing him to scurry into the court circle like a wolf.
Seeing him like this, Gu Yuanbai smiled and used the merit of escorting the driver during the Western Xia to transfer Xue Yuan to the Privy Council by an additional rank.
*
One month later.
Xue Yuan's dark-colored official robes raised and tumbled between his footsteps, his coat hunting behind him, he swept down the snow on his body after entering the palace, and removed the cold air when he walked to the heater, "The saint can get up?"
The palace attendant carefully took his cloak, "Lord Xue came a bit early, the saint has not yet risen."
Xue Yuan smiled, and after his palms warmed up, he entered the inner hall. Half an hour later, His Holiness walked out with Lord Xue fully clothed, the meal was served, and Gu Yuanbai took the jade chopsticks handed over by Xue Yuan and lazily said, "Just let the bystanders come up and serve."
Xue Yuan said, "I like to serve His Holiness."
The hot congee dispersed a rich rice aroma, and the two of them slowly used their morning meal, talking in low voices.
Tian Fusheng waiting in front of the door of the temple, Xue adults are busy and do not forget to take care of the saint's wear and three meals a day, which makes him an inner court governor have no role. After a long time, Tian Fusheng also adapted to this idle days, as long as Xue adults here, he did not go up to the left and right do not pleasing, generous laziness is.
After finishing the meal, the palace guards collected their things. Gu Yuanbai said, "Something has happened to the salt merchants in Huainan, and I'm going to have you bring someone forward to investigate." He paused, "Do you want to go?"
Xue Yuan nodded, "Go."
Early on, when Xue Yuan wanted to become an able minister who could make the saint rely on him, he knew that such things were rare. The short separation was only to enable the two of them not to be separated in the future, Xue Yuan thought for a long time and finally convinced himself.
Most importantly, it seemed that the Emperor did not want Xue Yuan to be trapped by his side. If the Emperor wanted him to go, then he would go.
Even if Xue Yuan is willing to do so.
Xue Yuan sighed darkly in his mind, he needed to take credit now, desperately needed credit.
Gu Yuanbai really smiled, "On this snowy day, I don't know when you guys will be back."
"It will take a month at the earliest," Xue Yuan held his hand and sighed, "On the day of the New Year's Festival, I still hope that Your Holiness will leave all of one day to me for the sake of my impending departure."
Gu Yuanbai hooked his deeply calloused fingers and let out a "hmm".
After going off duty, Xue Yuan returned to his residence. He was very dusty, so Old General Xue called him over and said with a grave look on his face, "Xue Yuan, the saint values you, so you have to serve the saint well. My Xue family has three generations of loyalists, and loyalty to the king is the first rule of the family law. If you do anything against human ethics, you are worse than a beast, and I will be the first to spare you!"
Xue Yuan nodded casually, his appearance as if he didn't hear Old General Xue's words in his ears caused Old General Xue to become violently furious, "Don't jeopardize the Xue Mansion even if you do something! I would rather have you be mediocre than to have you overshadow the master!"
Xue Yuan sighed, "I have not wanted to merit high."
Elder General Xue was not convinced, "If you don't want it, then why the constant movements these days?"
"General Xue, you should know," Xue Yuan pulled up his lips, "If I want military honors, I can just move my hands, and those military honors in the past were not high? It's just a matter of getting it at my fingertips."
He lowered his voice, "I want something that's not at my fingertips."
It was wanting to be by Gu Yuanbai's side for the rest of his life.
Entangled, even if they cast off their feelings, they are destined to be separated for the rest of their lives.
*
Another half month, Kong Yilin and Xue Yuan from the Privy Council out. Kong Yilin was born extremely tall, Xue Yuan with him, the two walked slowly, Kong Yilin smiled and said: "Xue adults will be traveling in recent days?"
Xue Yuan nodded and smiled, "After I leave, if His Holiness is in any discomfort, please have more correspondence with me, Lord Kong."
"A letter over, you people are coming back," Kong Yilin dumbfounded, implicitly advised, "the saint is the nine-five, even if it's General Manager Tian, can not look at the saint all day long."
The tip of Xue Yuan's tongue topped his palate, squinting and smiling, "Lord Kong doesn't know."
Kong Yilin was curious, "Oh, I don't know what?"
"His Holiness doesn't like Chief Tian following him day and night," Xue Yuan revealed a few evocative looks, "but loves it when I follow him around."
Kong Yilin choked.
Xue Yuan smiled and slowly straightened his sleeve robes, "Even if the stage travels slowly, I am in a hurry, so I still have to trust Lord Kong. As for the others, I'll have to trouble Lord Kong to pay more attention as well."
Kong Yilin asked knowingly, "Lord Chu?"
"Not just him, other young ones, handsome ones, strong ones," Xue Yuan counted them one by one, "the Holy Spirit likes that."
Kong Yilin didn't hold back and said, "Is Lord Xue really not praising himself?"
Lord Xue raised his handsome eyebrows and leisurely smiled away.
His Holiness likes strong people.
A wolf is a wolf that mates with the fiercest one.
*
Shangyuan Festival.
Gu Yuanbai changed into his regular clothes, Xue Yuan had already waited in the outer hall. Turning back to see him, he froze for a while and praised without blinking, "Your Majesty's heavenly figure, Pan An Wei Jie is far inferior."
Gu Yuanbai hummed and laughed, slowly walking over, Xue Yuan reached out his hand and squared his waist jade pendant, the beautiful jade emitted the sound of a linnet collision, Xue Yuan's fingertips flicked, "Good to hear."
This was the second time Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan had spent the Shangyuan Festival together, the night was slightly dark, the lights were translucent, and the hands were unconsciously shaking hands with each other. Shoulders squeezed intimately together, and with the occasional turn of the head, lips brushed past the forehead.
"I brought my salary," Xue Yuan bought the lanterns that Gu Yuanbai had taken one more look at, "whatever Your Majesty wants, I have enough silver."
Gu Yuanbai was very supportive and gave him two claps.
"Does Your Majesty still remember?" As he walked through an alleyway, Xue Yuan deliberately lowered his voice and said, "I once pressed you in kissing in this alleyway."
Gu Yuanbai tsked, "Remember."
Xue Yuan and he glanced at each other in the colorful lanterns, their breathing thick and hot, their hands were pulled, and they went back to the dark alley.
It was still the same cold air, the same drops of water, the same gasping, confused kisses.
Gu Yuanbai answered him with open lips and kissed back even more ferociously. Xue Yuan gasped and soothed him, "There's no rush, take your time, more slowly."
Gu Yuanbai's breath couldn't come up, his air was stuffy and felt cool and uncomfortable, he glared at Xue Yuan and finally cursed out the words he had wanted to curse for a long time, "Fuck off you're fucking slow!"
Xue Yuan laughed so hard that his chest quivered.
The night passed, and on the second day before dawn, Xue Yuan woke up from his bed. His chest and neck were covered with bright red scratches and hickeys, and Xue Yuan admired them for a long time before gently waking up the Saint and coaxing him to suck out another deep mark on his neck.
The saint was sleepy, he was annoyed with the fire, inhaled half a day and then his teeth clenched, the taste of blood burst in his lips in an instant.
Xue Yuan let out a hiss, and Gu Yuanbai struggled to open his eyes, unconsciously licking the blood from his lips. Xue Yuan looked down at him for a long time and brought the other side of his neck up.
Today is the day of traveling, Xue Yuan packed himself up and went to say goodbye to his parents with a neck mark.
Old General Xue and Mrs. Xue shivered and rattled a few times in the middle of the bedroom, and after a while, Old General Xue put on his coat and walked out, "Go."
Xue Yuan bent down and saluted, and between the hidden sky colors, the old general Xue seemed to see some traces left between the beds between his neck.
Elder General Xue was stunned, Xue Yuan had already put on his thick cloak and turned around to head out.
The old general was frozen in fear for a long time, he could no longer sleep, and unknowingly walked to Xue Yuan's door. Outside of Xue Yuan's courtyard were the guards from the palace, Old General Xue walked over, the head of the guards lifted his sword to stop him, and said in a warm voice: "General Xue, His Majesty is still resting."
Elder General Xue stiffened, his knees went weak, and he fell heavily to the ground.
*
The matter of Huainan salt merchants is very deep, Xue Yuan led the investigation, and then investigated the matter of private salt.
Since Xixia was annexed by Daheng and renamed as Ningxia, Xixia's green salt naturally ceased to be private salt. Many salt dealers who relied on Xixia's green salt to sell private salt were hit hard, and because the salt mines in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were put into the market, under the fall of official salt, there was almost no room for private salt to survive.
The huge interests of salt merchants, and the strong and powerful suppression of the government, there is chaos in the two places of Huainan and Jiangnan.
Jiangnan before the rebel army had been scourged once, the big power no, small shrimp and small crab is a lot. Together with the merchants coming and going in Huainan, the situation is complicated, Xue Yuan daily endure temper to participate in the feast, a long time, has been able to not move.
Socializing with people of all shapes and sizes, secretly latching on to news, it is when one is in the middle of it that one's skills are most honed. Xue Yuan's brow is getting more and more composed, the smile at the corner of his mouth is getting deeper and deeper, occasionally hitting his eyes, it seems like he's really a good gentleman to get along with.
The time dragged on, and it dragged back another month.
Xue Yuan smiled as he bid farewell to Lu of Huainan, and after entering the residence prepared for him by the local officials, he sensed that something was wrong.
He raised an eyebrow and entered the door, but it turned out that someone had sent him two women, who were standing by the bedside in the middle of the bedroom dressed in muslin.
"Get the hell back," Xue Yuan furrowed his brows in disgust and turned to exit the compound, kicking the slave guarding the door on his way out, "You fucking let anyone in?!"
The boy guarding the door was scared shitless by him and hastily knelt on the ground, "I know I'm wrong, I won't dare to do it again."
Xue Yuan's face was grim, dark clouds rolling over his always smiling face.
The boy was afraid to go up and hugged his calves and cried bitterly, a mouthful of "wrongly accused", "was blinded". Xue Yuan kicked him again, hostile voice, "I have established rules."
Thinking of what this boy did, not enough to take out the anger, and make a ten percent force, a foot will let the boy pout over.
"Take them down," Xue Yuan's face was expressionless, "Burn all those things in the bedroom."
The henchman said, "Yes."
Xue Yuan looked to the sides and stared at one of them, "See clearly? Laozi didn't touch those two women."
Pretending to be an official of the Supervision Department under Xue Yuan, "...... See clearly, Lord Xue."
Only then did Xue Yuan feel his anger drop a little.
After this matter spread out, the merchants outside who were trying to send people to Xue Yuan to get hitched only stopped this action.
Salt merchants, I thought the fastest January will be. But Xue Yuan ignored the intermingling of interests, until the first signs were detected and remedied, it has been delayed for two and a half months.
When Xue Yuan hurried back to the capital, it was already springtime.