When the army running back to the capital from the northern frontier passed the post station halfway, they happened to meet the flowers sent by the palace to the northern frontier.
The people who sent the flowers were overjoyed, never imagining that there would be such a coincidence. After hearing what they were delivering, the expressionless Xue Yuan was stunned and hurriedly rolled over and dismounted from his horse, walking to the flower delivering team in a lively step.
Thousands of petals to deal with the time than Tian Fusheng thought a little longer, enough to the end of January, these petals were packed in a wooden box, by the stagecoach rushed to send to the northern border.
The two parties have different news, one goes forward, the other back, if they don't meet in front of the post, I'm afraid that they really have to be wrong about this!
Lord Xue's hands were still wearing gloves made of duck down knitted by the people of the Northern Borderlands, and the rough, benzene gloves were placed over his hands, but they were propped up by his slightly longer-than-usual fingers to give them a slender shape.
Duck down gently stroked from the wooden box, Xue Yuan's gaze fixed on the top and didn't move, "This is what His Holiness gave to me?"
The post official said: ''Yes. The petals in this wooden box are all the famous flowers that His Holiness sent down to be dried in the sun, and all of them are highly respected and worth ten thousand gold. It took twenty days of work to process them into their present form."
Xue Yuan's fingers touched the latch from the edge of the wooden box, and with a snap, the wooden box was lifted up by him.
The scent of the fragrant flowers floated with the breeze, and the colorful and soft petals remained the same. Xue Yuan took off his gloves, picked up one from it and looked at it, smiled, "Famous flower, stained with the blessings of His Majesty?"
The closer he got to the capital, the more the bandit and rogue nature in Xue Yuan's heart could not be suppressed, wanting to say dirty words to Gu Yuanbai and do something bad to him.
Bad idea after bad idea, stupid idea after stupid idea.
After the post official said no, Xue Yuan smiled as he brought the petals in his hand to his mouth, sucking and flipping the petals with his tongue in his mouth before swallowing with a knot in his throat.
A mouth full of flowers.
He wiped away the flowery color left on his fingers and closed the wooden box, picking it up and turning to leave, his cloak hunting and flying as he rolled cleanly onto his horse.
The wooden box holding a thousand famous flowers was not small, and had already covered Xue Yuan's belly when it was placed horizontally on the horse's back. The post official asked, "Lord Xue, why don't I transport it back for you again?"
"No." With a flick of the reins, a large number of military horses dusted off and galloped out after Xue Yuan. He grunted, his voice low, "I have to bring it with me. When I get to the capital, I still have to think of some way to scatter these dried flowers in the saint's pool."
And then one by one, I'll give it to you to eat.
*
A dozen days later, on the occasion of the craggy and light cold, the generals of the northern frontier returned to the capital.
After the news came, the Xue Mansion sent its servants to wait at the city gates day after day. The Grand Duke left the Mansion in September, five months ago, and Elder Lady Xue misses him, so does Lady Xue, and the servants who are worried about the lack of a capable male master in the Mansion are also waiting for him with joyful anticipation.
But Xue's eldest son returned to the capital, the first thing he did was to go straight to the palace, footsteps hurried, while walking and asked the palace attendant who guided the way: "The Holy Spirit these days can be sick?"
"His Holiness was slightly chilled some days ago," said the palace attendant, picking up a few words that were not taboo, "but this year there are kangbeds everywhere, so His Holiness rested for a few days and was fine."
"A bed?" Xue Yuan recited, "What is this?"
"Lord Xue does not know should be, this is the saint this year sent people to make things," the palace attendant smiled and said, "outside like a solid bed, there is a hole in the air. With a furnace day after day under the body baked like, the heat does not go out, can be the whole house is also warmed to the hot air, the saint will rarely feel the cold this year."
Xue Yuan perfunctorily pulled his lips and smiled, "Is that so?"
As if offhandedly, he asked, "So, does His Holiness like this stuff?"
"Like it, His Holiness has a cold body, how can you not like it when you can only have a good night's sleep after having a kang bed?"
Xue Yuan smiled and answered in a good voice.
The Xuanzheng Hall was right in front of him, and Xue Yuan unconsciously sped up his steps. The palace guards around him were about to trot along, and the general following behind reminded in a low voice, "General, slow down."
Xue Yuan took a deep breath and said, "Good."
However, he was still getting faster and faster, the sound of his heavy boots hitting the ground was loud, and Gu Yuanbai, who was in the middle of the Xuanzheng Hall, seemed to be aware of something and raised his head to look outside the hall.
Xue Yuan saw this glance he raised as he approached.
Breathing stopped.
His Holiness wore bright yellow regular clothes, the warmth of the temple, so he had not put a coat over his body, the bright color lined his face, the vitality is more vigorous than the spring sunshine.
Black hair bunched up, jade crown warm, the corners of the lips seem to be with a smile, fingers pinching the zhengzuo, eyes in the god, black eyes far away, is looking at the dusty self.
Xue Yuan seemed to have been struck by a heavenly thunderbolt that hit his body, he was numb and all he knew was to freeze in place, dumbfounded and go to look at the little emperor.
The generals behind them gasped and followed, they hurriedly straightened their robes and pushed Xue Yuan, "General, the face of the saint is here."
The small eunuch in the temple happened to finish his briefing with His Holiness, stifled a smile, glanced at Xue Yuan, and raised his voice, "Please, generals, enter."
Xue Yuan came back to his senses as he led the way and walked in, saluting towards His Holiness with the generals behind him.
Gu Yuanbai hooked his lips, very gentle. He had people give him a seat and rewarded him with tea, and talked with the generals about border matters.
Xue Yuan did not utter a single word, he seemed to be thirsty, holding a cup of tea and downing it. Then borrowing the action of drinking tea, he peeked at the saint under the cover of his sleeve robe.
He did it really too secretly, no one found Lord Xue's behavior. Just flirting in his heart: Lord Xue drank so much tea, if a person has three emergencies in a while, wouldn't it be embarrassing?
Gu Yuanbai followed suit and took a sip of tea, suddenly feeling a burst of hot sight between his lips, he moved languidly and raised his eyes towards Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuanzheng lowered his head, the hot tea mist covered the look between his brows and eyes, covering the corners of his lips seemingly smiling.
Seemingly sensing the saint's gaze, Xue Yuan lifted his eyelids and revealed a smile towards the saint.
Gu Yuanbai calmly averted his eyes when he didn't see anything from him.
Although the saint stayed in the capital, but on the northern border matters but every piece of knowledge. The generals are talking to him about the illness and death of the great chief of the Khitan, saying, "The time of his illness and death was too coincidental; he had been sick for a long time and still managed to hold on strongly for several years, but now he died suddenly when all the tribes were preparing to unite, and the Khitans are in great turmoil, and the great chief's son, Yelu Zheng, thinks that his father must have been killed by a traitor."
The saint nodded, and after speaking with them for a while, he looked at the tiredness on everyone's faces and smiled, "All of you have traveled a long way back to the capital, you should have rested for a day and then come back with me to resume your orders, and today you are in a hurry, so it is inevitable that you will be tired and sleepy. Now take advantage of the early return to the house to rest, to be tomorrow to get enough spirit to come back with me to properly talk about the northern border."
The people did not excuse themselves, for they were indeed tired, especially with General Xue's desperate way of rushing, and they had not had a good night's sleep in a long time.
As everyone excused themselves one by one, Gu Yuanbai flipped through a page of zhangfu and casually said, "General Xue stays."
Xue Yuan then stayed.
It was very warm in the palace, but in a few moments, Xue Yuan broke out in a hot sweat. He got up and respectfully inquired, "Your Majesty, can I remove my outer robe?"
Before the audience, the weapons and armor on their bodies had been removed by the palace guards, and Gu Yuanbai looked at the sweat at the corners of his forehead and said with a slight smile, "You may not."
Xue Yuan stifled a couple laughs, "Yes."
The saint left him behind, but did not say what it was about. Xue Yuan then stood properly, his spine slightly curved, occasionally raising a glance, seemingly unintentionally crossing over the saint.
Eye jets as long as lupines swayed, casting a fine shadow under their eyes.
The little emperor's neck, face, and slender hands were lined with white to the point of translucency amidst the swimming of the dragon's lines.
The more you look at it, the more enthusiastic you get, and you feel like it's not enough, and you start to get burnt out.
This one stop will stand directly for one and a half hours, such as the sky outside from bright dark, Gu Yuanbai only closed the folders rubbed his wrist and saw Xue Yuan, I do not know whether it is true or not surprised: "Xue Qing how to still be here?"
Xue Yuan grinned and took the initiative to say of his own accord, "Without an order from His Holiness, I don't dare to leave."
"Then accompany me out for a walk," Gu Yuanbai stood up and headed out of the hall, casually saying, "Xue Jiuyao, long time no see, how have you been?"
Xue Yuan was somewhat flattered as he followed closely behind His Holiness, "Everything is fine, just doubly missed Your Holiness."
Gu Yuanbai laughed, unimpressed, "When you came back from the Northern Border, was there still flying goose feather snow there?"
"Yes, why not," Xue Yuan recalled, "I came when the wind and snow was full of snow, snow into water, the gale ran even faster than the speed of its fall, I looked back at that time, the top of anyone's head is topped with a layer of white snow, like a night of white hair. "
Gu Yuanbai listened for a while, nodded and said, "Snow also falls in the capital, but in the end, it's not as fierce as the northern border."
Xue Yuan: "My heart rejoices in this."
Gu Yuanbai sniffed and smiled sideways towards Xue Yuan with deep meaning in his eyes. But Xue Yuan was only charmed by his smile to delirium, the wise and godly all of a sudden disappeared, after five months in the army, at this moment, the meat words are going to the edge of the mouth.
He smacked his lips and licked away the skin that had dried on his lips, pretended to step on a stone block without thinking, and in the midst of a stumbling step forward, he took hold of the saint's hand and hastily wrapped his arms around his waist.
In a flash, Gu Yuanbai only felt a dark shadow coming at him, his waist tightened, and the next second Xue Yuan was already two steps away from him, bowing down.
Gu Yuanbai: "......"
He paused and did not show his anger, instead he smiled gently towards Xue Yuan.
The smile was so mild that Xue Yuan's eyelids fluttered.
The two of them returned from a walk around the outside, and the evening meal had already been set out.
Xue Yuan was left to dine in the palace, but instead of a fine and delicious meal, what was placed in front of him was an exquisite wooden box that could be held with both hands.
The box is carved with a high mountain and a tree with five popcorns.
Xue Yuan opened it and saw that it was holding the set of jade potentials he had hidden under the bed.
The palace attendant beside Gu Yuanbai presented the silver chopsticks, and His Holiness cleaned and wiped his hands, took the silver chopsticks, smiled softly, and said, "Since Xue Qing likes this thing, then lift the chopsticks and have your meal."
Xue Yuan stared at the jade potential and said, "Your Holiness, even if I have iron teeth, that won't be able to bite the jade block."
"There's no rush," the saint smiled gently, his eyes softly looking at Xue Yuan, "Eat slowly."
Xue Yuan picked up his chopsticks and tried, "Your Majesty didn't read that letter from the minister?"
"Xue Qing is a brilliant writer," Gu Yuanbai said slowly, "I read your letter and realized why this thing is, what it is for. Sure enough, what Chang Yuyan said is true, Xue Qing is not what he seems."
Xue Yuan's eyelids jumped, abruptly raising his head to look at Gu Yuanbai, startled: "Wasn't it precisely because of this thing that His Holiness got angry with my minister?"
Gu Yuanbai raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"
Xue Yuan's heart rises inauspicious, he thought things back and forth, he always felt that something was not right, since the saint did not know about the jade potential earlier, then, "I received the saint's returned letter in the northern border."
"It has nothing to do with this matter," as soon as Xue Yuan's words left his mouth, Gu Yuanbai immediately picked up, "I was about to forget about this thing, but then I was reminded of it by one of Xue Qing's letters, and it was thanks to Xue Qing's blessing. Xue Qing, eat without speaking, have your meal."
The old man put himself in harm's way?
Xue Yuan's complexion changed back and forth as he thought to himself how could he be so stupid while clamping the jade potential in the wooden box.
But he wrote in the letter with a thousand words to write the results of his own practice, he looked at all want to touch themselves, the Holy Spirit read it did not have half a heart?
In order to be able to serve the king with color, Xue Yuan really put in a lot of effort.
His expression was so wonderful that Gu Yuanbai didn't know what was going on in his head, and only thought that he was insulted and wasn't willing to "eat" Yu Shi. Gu Yuanbai ate a mouthful of food, chewing slowly and methodically, his arm propped up on the table, resting on the side of his face and watching him like a play.
The palace guards in the hall were silent, not making a single sound, each with their heads lowered, not glancing up at the table.
Even Tian Fusheng, with his eyes on the ground, acted as if he didn't see Xue Yuan's movements.
It was difficult for a pair of silver chopsticks that had been polished smooth to attempt to hold a more rounded and heavy jade piece.
Xue Yuan clamped a few times did not clamp out, only when the two touched like a musical instrument like a pleasant sound. This sound resounded for a long time, the saint finally got up, walked behind Xue Yuan, opened his arms and bent down, reaching out from the side of his ear, accompanied by a gust of heavy incense, his robe enveloped Xue Yuan.
The ten fingers are as sharp as bamboo shoots, and the wrists are like white lotus roots.
The bones of these hands were clear, although slender, but the back of the hand veins and undulations decidedly quite a lot, veins and clear, such as the most profound painting skills of a painter, pouring out his life to paint a top of the best paintings.
The imperial aroma from His Holiness came, such an aroma mixed with the flavors of incense, sandalwood, dragon's brain and musk, and after settling down, there was only dignity and an imperial majesty that drenched the human heart.
Gu Yuanbai's hand traced over the jade potentials in the wooden box one by one, his fingertips gently tapping over each jade piece, and asked with a smile in Xue Yuan's ear, "Xue Qing, tell me, which one is your favorite to use on a regular basis?"
The saint embraced Xue Yuan in his arms, and in his soft voice, he did not lose the certainty and strength of saying one thing.
Xue Yuan suddenly felt weird.
His Holiness's attitude towards him seemed to have steeply softened, and it seemed to have added a few moments of the frivolity and charming ambiguity of being a powerful person to his other half.
Such frivolity, although subtle, was still keenly captured by Xue Yuan, as if he, Xue Yuan, had become the one being invaded and plundered by His Holiness.
Xue Yuan was silent for a moment, unable to think of a reason, so he told the truth, pointing to a jade gesture of the same size as His Holiness, one that he usually liked to use for practice, "This one."
Gu Yuanbai then slowly picked up this jade gesture, his pampered fingers casually touched the jade gesture a few times, white hands with white jade, this image directly caused Xue Yuan to look at it with hot eyes and a restless heart.
Gu Yuanbai laughed a few times, picked it up and brought it closer to Xue Yuan, and said without haste, "Don't be in a hurry, I'll feed it to you."