“So, all of you know now?”
“Mm, we all know.”
Jing Xuan sat at the head seat, draped in a large cloak, looking down at the dense crowd kneeling before him. He closed his eyes, unwilling to open them again.
Fu Chang, one.
Hua Ting, one.
Bu San Bu Si, three.
Gu Fang’s trusted aide, one.
The male beauties Gu Fang gifted him, ten.
Not one more, not one less. Just enough to form a five-row, three-column elite battle formation.
Jing Xuan let out a long sigh. “Then it will be you guys.”
Everyone: “?”
Jing Xuan spoke with deep sincerity:
“The various nations of Xiqiang have long harassed our borders. You fifteen are loyal, brave, and righteous. I now order you to infiltrate the enemy camp and charge straight through. I expect you will flatten Xiqiang in no time. Set out immediately.”
Everyone: “???”
We’re going to fight Xiqiang?!
The others might still manage, but Fu Chang, who was over sixty years old, and Hua Ting, who couldn’t even truss a chicken, instantly threw themselves at Jing Xuan’s leg, wailing loudly:
“Your Majesty! No, Your Majesty! We only came in to take care of you! Your Majesty!”
Jing Xuan opened his eyes, pointed at his hoarse throat, then at Gu Fang who was leisurely watching the spectacle while reviewing memorials.
“This is how you all took care of me?”
Fu Chang: “...”
Hua Ting: “...”
The two of them were guilty as sin.
“Well…” Hua Ting was the first to speak. “I really didn’t expect that Liu Chou’er was hiding his true nature so well. He usually acts like an ordinary scoundrel, but behind the scenes, he actually has such audacity.”
Fu Chang coughed twice. “That… Although Your Majesty instructed this old servant not to tell Prince Xiangding, this old servant truly did not believe that His Highness harbored disloyalty. And I was greatly concerned for Your Majesty’s safety. I thought it would be better for His Highness to know than the Minister Zuo and the others to find out, so…”
“So you betrayed me?”
Jing Xuan was unnervingly calm.
Fu Chang wept bitterly. “Your Majesty! This old servant did it for Your Majesty! For the great land of Yan, Your Majesty!”
Hua Ting, being more perceptive, immediately turned to Gu Fang and knelt.
“Your Highness! Please, you must stop His Majesty! We swear we won’t breathe a word of this to anyone! And I have a seventy-year-old grandfather at home, as well as three pet civets! If I were to die on the battlefield like this, what would become of them, Your Highness?”
As he spoke, he pulled Bu San Bu Si along with him, and soon the room was filled with loud sobbing.
The remaining eleven, however, remained motionless.
Jing Xuan’s heart ached even more.
Why was every single person Gu Fang brought along so capable in a fight, while his own side was either old, weak, sickly, or just blockheaded? When the time came, what was he supposed to use to compete with Gu Fang.
Fortunately, Gu Fang was at least somewhat self-aware. He kept his head down, reviewing memorials while casually remarking, “Your Majesty is the ruler and I am but a subject. How could I possibly control Your Majesty?”
Hmph. If he’d had this understanding earlier, they wouldn’t have both ended up poisoned.
Jing Xuan let out a cold laugh.
Gu Fang continued, “However, as Your Majesty’s dear beauty Fang, if any of you could persuade His Majesty to grant me a promotion, I might consider whispering a few sweet words in his ear on your behalf.”
“…Gu Fang!”
Jing Xuan, who had thought his heart was already dead, didn’t expect to be angered back to life. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”
Gu Fang’s expression remained unchanged. “I have preserved my chastity for 28 years, only to offer myself to Your Majesty in a single night. Do I not even deserve a minor promotion for my sacrifice?”
“Yes! Your Majesty, at the very least, grant Prince Xiangding the rank of Jieyu!”
Fu Chang kowtowed and cried, tears streaming down his face.
“???”
Promoting a prince to the rank of Jieyu?
Did they even hear themselves? Could this be considered human speech?!
Every single one of them was a traitor willing to sell out their master for personal gain!
Just as Jing Xuan was about to fly into another fit of rage, Gu Fang spoke again in an even tone. “It’s not that I want to take advantage of this title, but palace affairs are what they are. Without an official position, it will be difficult to root out certain parasites within the inner court.”
After finishing, he raised his eyes. “Your Majesty, do you know what the current state of the palace is?”
Jing Xuan paused.
After being poisoned last night, indulging in excess, then waking up to a pounding headache, he had exhausted all his energy just coming to terms with what had happened between him and Gu Fang. In all that, he had genuinely forgotten that Jiang Yingxue was still in the palace.
If he remembered correctly, based on what Liu Chou’er had said, Minister Zuo had once requested the Full Moon and Blossoms Gu to be used on him and Jiang Yingxue in order to secure the empress position.
Jiang Yingxue hadn’t known exactly what kind of Gu it was, only that she was supposed to pretend to have been bitten.
But he had actually been poisoned by it, which was why Minister Zuo had been so confident.
Now however, things had taken a turn. He and Gu Fang were the ones affected.
Then, over on Minister Zuo’s side…
Jing Xuan abruptly looked up.
Gu Fang set down the last reviewed memorial. “I’ve already ordered all information to be sealed. The only word sent to Minister Zuo was that last night, beauty Fang personally attended to Your Majesty in the Zichen Hall.
“As for Jiang Yingxue, for the sake of self-preservation, she has agreed to cooperate.
“But there’s a bigger problem now, we’ve captured people from Prince Rui’s faction in Chang’an.”
Jing Xuan’s brows furrowed.
Gu Fang continued, “We’ve also found clues regarding the corruption case in Jiangnan. Some of the silver was tainted with a specific pollen unique to the border between the southwest and Jiangnan. This suggests that the silver first moved from Jiangnan to the southwest, then from the southwest to Chang’an.
“As for Xie Buzi, I’m sure Your Majesty has already noticed he speaks with a southwestern accent.
“And the southwest, coincidentally, was once under the jurisdiction of Minister Zuo. His eldest illegitimate daughter is also Prince Rui’s concubine.”
As expected.
Jing Xuan’s frown deepened.
From the beginning, he had never believed that all the silver in Jiangnan had simply been embezzled by the local officials.
Not that he thought those officials were particularly virtuous, but they wouldn’t be foolish enough to drain the pond to catch the fish unless an external force was pressuring them to do so.
And while there had been disturbances in the northern border and Xiqiang, neither had escalated to full-scale warfare. It was unlikely that military funding shortages were the cause.
On top of that, the ones causing trouble in Chang’an weren’t from Jiangnan but from the southwest.
Add to that the Minister Zuo’s near-mad desperation to install an empress.
Jing Xuan had long suspected that Prince Rui was amassing wealth for some grander scheme.
Now, Gu Fang’s findings only served to confirm it.
“The national treasury is empty, foreign threats loom, and our enemies lurk in the shadows while we are exposed. If we act recklessly, it could once again lead to bloodshed and suffering.
“Great Yan has only just begun to recover. We cannot afford another catastrophe.
“So…”
Gu Fang’s expression was solemn. “We will have to put on an act as a foolish emperor and the bewitching consort to make them lower their guard.”
…Foolish emperor and bewitching consort?
Jing Xuan immediately became alert upon hearing this suggestion.
Gu Fang continued leisurely, “Minister Zuo has now confirmed that he was inflicted with the Gu poison, yet he has had no relations with Jiang Yingxue. Given that Your Majesty would never allow the world to know that the one who shared the same fate and was poisoned alongside you was your minister, then there is only one reason that can pacify Minister Zuo.”
“Which is that I love Beauty Fang so madly that I would rather die than touch anyone else?” Jing Xuan tested.
Gu Fang praised him, “Your Majesty is wise.”
Jing Xuan: “...”
It felt as unbearable as being screwed over by a dog.
“Gu Fang, I think you’ve simply become addicted to playing the seductive fox spirit!” He ruthlessly exposed him.
Gu Fang shamelessly retorted, “Then may Your Majesty offer a better reason.”
Jing Xuan: “...”
He paused slightly, his confidence wavering.
“I am a man of unyielding integrity, a heroic figure, able to see through deceptions, and righteous beyond compare.”
The fifteen men fell silent and turned their heads to the sky.
Jing Xuan: “...”
Was his image as an emperor really this far from being grand and majestic?
“You fifteen, go conquer the Xiqiang for me immediately! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!”
Jing Xuan, furious and humiliated, ordered.
The fifteen men scrambled away in a hurry, rolling and crawling.
Before the door closed, Fu Chang didn’t forget to remind, “Your Majesty, the deer whip soup that strengthens yang and replenishes the kidneys is on the table. Please remember to drink it while it’s hot.”
With that, with a loud “pa,” the door shut instantly.
Jing Xuan was seething with rage.
Traitors, traitors, he was surrounded by nothing but traitors.
“All your fault!”
Jing Xuan turned back, glaring viciously at Gu Fang.
Gu Fang had already scooped out a small bowl of soup from the purple clay pot. Stirring it with a spoon, he lightly blew on it. “Mm, all my fault. So come here, have some soup first to settle your stomach.”
“I’m not drinking it! I’m in perfect health! Unlike you who at such an old age are already depleted and need to drink more to strengthen your yang and replenish your kidneys!”
Jing Xuan had little to strive for in this life, but he would never lose a battle of words.
Gu Fang remained calm, cooling the soup for him, and simply said two words: “Three times.”
Jing Xuan: “...”
His face turned red.
But he quickly tried to reclaim his masculine dignity: “Three times a night, I can handle it just fine!”
“Mm.” Gu Fang uttered two more words, “Without lasting.”
Jing Xuan: "...."
He really wasn’t incapable. It was just that he had remained pure for so long, barely even touching himself. Then, suddenly faced with such an intense situation, how could a clean and innocent virgin like him possibly endure it?
But he was a man. A man could lose anything, but not his pride.
Otherwise, the next time they needed to break the Gu’s effect, would he have to be the one underneath again?
Where would that leave the dignity of an emperor?
At this thought, Jing Xuan immediately puffed out his chest and stubbornly argued, “I was just a beginner, lacking experience! If you have the guts, why don’t you try being underneath next time? Besides, you even said you were serving me. With your lousy skills, I won’t even bother criticizing you. Your so-called service was completely unsatisfactory, and you barely lasted at all! No wonder you’ve had no wife, no concubine, and not even a male pet all these years it turns out you’re just incapable!”
Having suffered such humiliation, Jing Xuan had long been bottling up his rage with no place to vent it. Now that he finally found an opening to insult Gu Fang recklessly, he seized the chance and spewed out every vicious word he could think of without restraint.
After speaking, he even stepped one foot onto the stool beside Gu Fang, his beautiful eyes glaring fiercely, his imposing presence aggressive and menacing—determined to reclaim his masculine dignity.
Then, Gu Fang simply lifted his gaze to look at him.
Jing Xuan felt a chill down his spine, but remembering that he now held the real Silver Crane Guard’s command token, he immediately straightened his back.
Back when he had those preconceptions, he assumed that Gu Fang only acted that way toward him because he was captivated by his beauty, so he had been trying to avoid him at all costs.
But now it had been proven that the only reason Gu Fang had done those things to him was purely to survive after the Gu poison flared up—it had nothing to do with personal desire. So what was there for him to fear anymore?
After all, the Mid-Autumn full moon night had passed. No matter how much he provoked, what could Gu Fang do to him?
Jing Xuan in his ignorance was fearless.
Gu Fang, however, suddenly felt a bit regretful.
In order to placate this little thing, he had portrayed himself as merely acting under the Gu poison’s influence. And now, it had emboldened the brat.
But there was no helping it.
Given the situation, given the timing, given the nature of this stubborn little fool, his terrible temper, and that incredibly enticing face and body…
If he admitted outright that he had long harbored improper thoughts about him, this little emperor would probably be so terrified that he’d retreat into his shell on the spot, never daring to face him again.
And considering how far things had come between them, if they were ever to reconcile, it wouldn’t happen overnight. The path ahead was treacherous, and he couldn’t afford the risk of any hasty or reckless moves.
So, for now, he would just scare the little brat a bit.
Gu Fang set down the bowl and asked, “Your Majesty, have you ever heard of a common folk saying?”
“?”
Gu Fang, without changing expression, grasped his ankle, lifted it, and placed it against his own waist. Then, he raised his eyes, looking calmly at him. “It goes ‘The moon on the fifteenth night is full, but the sixteenth is rounder.’”
His long fingers firmly gripped the slender ankle, the bones in his wrist prominent, hard and powerful. Against them, the pale, delicate foot seemed too soft, yet it still arrogantly pressed down on the slightly raised surface of the dark golden-black silk robe.
The high-relief dragon embroidery was trampled and abused, exuding an indescribable sense of debauchery.
And the familiar curvature and hardness beneath his sole instantly reminded Jing Xuan of that entire night when he had been whipped by those bamboo rods—of the intense pain and pleasure combined.
“..."
There was only one possible explanation, Gu Fang was simply not human.
🌸✨ Attention, Readers! ✨🌸
Hey cuties! If you’re confused, don’t worry I got you! Here’s a quick reminder~
🎀 Minister Zuo = Minister Jiang Yue! 🎀
Zuo is just a title! Don’t get mixed up!
🌟 What is the Jieyu rank? 🌟
It’s a mid-level concubine rank—below the Empress and Noble Consort but still prestigious!
📢 11 chapters left?! 📢
NOOO the story isn't over yet! The author put it on hiatus at Chapter 31! Let’s wait together~
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