What the hell? He was just minding his own business, and now this Gu was acting up out of nowhere.
Jing Xuan, startled by the sudden jolt from the Gu poison, forced himself to suppress it.
But the moment he did, he realized that Gu Fang was kneeling properly before him. From his angle, he could see clearly that Gu Fang's knees were pressed firmly against the ground. This was no fake kneel.
"....."
Damn!
Could it be that Gu Fang really wanted to rebel? Otherwise, why would he kneel for real?!
Damn, damn, damn!
And that sudden reaction from the Gu just now, was it because Gu Fang truly had murderous intent toward him?!
Even though, for various reasons, he had no choice but to temporarily align himself with Gu Fang, that didn’t mean Gu Fang was completely trustworthy. After all, the premonitions in his prophetic dreams still lacked a clear explanation.
In an instant, Jing Xuan’s expression became noticeably more wary and filled with genuine fear.
Meanwhile, Gu Fang pressed his forehead against his sword, bowing deeply. His neck was grazed, a thin line of blood soaking into his plain white hemp clothing, stark and shocking. Yet his voice remained calm and unwavering.
“If Your Majesty will grant me this request, I will be forever grateful and repay Your Majesty in kind. However, she is gone, life and death are uncertain, and I cannot forget the departed. Therefore, I only wish to retire to her garden, plant a loquat tree with my own hands, count the stars in the spring sky, and spend the rest of my days in quiet mourning, no longer concerning myself with the fleeting affairs of the world. I hope Your Majesty will allow it.”
With that, he performed three kneelings and nine kowtows, the grandest of ceremonies. Then, without waiting for Jing Xuan’s response, rose to his feet and left with his Silver Crane Guards, composed and unhurried.
The entire court was stunned.
Was Gu Fang saying that he wanted to resign from his post and dedicate himself solely to mourning his lost love?
Impossible!
Leaving aside the fact that Prince Xiangding was never the kind of man to abandon his great cause for mere affection, even if he did intend to relinquish everything, had he handed over the Northern Border’s military token? The command of the Silver Crane Guards? The official seals of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice? Or the imperial seal for governing the nation?
Not a single one.
He was clearly using his resignation as leverage against His Majesty, threatening not just him, but the entire empire. Did Gu Fang truly believe that the Great Yan Dynasty would collapse without him?!
Everyone thought the same thing, yet none dared to voice it. Because if Gu Fang did intend to rebel, even if every civil and military official in Chang’an joined forces, they wouldn’t last a single day.
“Good, good, good. What a Gu Fang, what a Prince Xiangding! He dares to trample on my authority!”
Jing Xuan trembled with rage, his hand gripping his sword so tightly that it shook. His fury and hatred were now entirely unmasked.
The civil and military officials immediately dropped to their knees, crying out in unison, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
“Calm my anger? You worthless fools! You were all dead silent just now, and now you want me to calm down? Tell me, how am I supposed to calm down?! A bunch of useless trash!”
Jing Xuan’s curses were filled with genuine emotion.
Jiang Yue hurriedly spoke up, “Your Majesty, this subject has a plan to pacify the situation. I beg Your Majesty to grant me a moment to speak.”
Jing Xuan shot him a sideways glance and, irritated, threw down his sword. “Then get in here and speak!”
“You’re saying there are still thirty thousand taels of disaster relief silver unaccounted for? And the only lead suggests it was possibly sent toward the Northern Border?”
Jing Xuan, seated at the head of the court, frowned impatiently.
Jiang Yue knelt below and quickly affirmed, “Officials across all six ministries have been investigating day and night, but they still can’t trace the mastermind behind Golden Jade Pavilion. There simply aren’t many people in Chang’an with such vast influence.”
What he said was true, selectively true.
The thirty thousand taels had indeed been transported north for a while, but after a few detours, they vanished again.
In truth, he already had some unsettling suspicions, but until they were confirmed, he absolutely could not let Jing Xuan catch on. Otherwise, a single misstep could lead to the annihilation of his entire family.
Fortunately, after today’s events, he could at least confirm that Gu Fang and Jing Xuan were completely at odds now. With a little manipulation, he might be able to regain control of the situation.
Jiang Yue was quite confident.
Jing Xuan, however, wasn’t a complete fool. He frowned deeply. “If that’s the case, then why did he have Consort Xuan take her own life to incite public outrage, forcing the court to investigate this case thoroughly?”
“This…” Jiang Yue hadn’t expected Jing Xuan to actually think things through and was momentarily caught off guard. He quickly responded, “Perhaps Consort Xuan was unaware beforehand, or perhaps Gu Fang anticipated this move and deliberately did the opposite to confuse the investigation and mislead everyone.”
“It’s not entirely unreasonable.” Jing Xuan had a bit of intelligence, but not too much. “That man has always been ruthless. If that’s the case, then why haven’t you arrested him yet?”
As expected, though His Majesty had been angered into clarity by Gu Fang, at his core, he was still a useless fool.
Jiang Yue felt even more assured upon seeing Jing Xuan like this.
“Your Majesty, leaving aside the fact that there is no solid evidence yet, even if there were, with the power Gu Fang holds, who among the court officials would dare to arrest him? Moreover, he has just suffered the pain of losing his wife and the humiliation of kneeling. If there is even the slightest disturbance, with the military authority in his hands, Chang’an could be in grave danger. Furthermore—”
Jiang Yue paused slightly, his expression sorrowful.
“Zhao Wei was also forced to his death by him. Now, in all of Chang’an, who else can oppose him? That is why I urge Your Majesty. Endure, if you can!”
After speaking, Jiang Yue bowed deeply. Advising restraint on the surface, but in reality, fanning the flames.
As expected, Jing Xuan took the bait, sweeping all the bamboo scrolls off the table in fury. “How much longer must I endure?! Until he marches into my Hall and takes my head?!”
The engraved bamboo scrolls crashed down, smacking Jiang Yue squarely on the head.
Jiang Yue sucked in a sharp breath from the pain but had no choice but to maintain his composure. “Your Majesty, I do have a plan.”
“Speak!”
“In the past, the late emperor was overly benevolent and allowed Prince Rui to retain his army to guard the southwestern tribes. Now, with unrest frequently occurring among the Xiqiang in the northern border, and many veteran generals still stationed there, Gu Fang cannot easily deploy his forces back to Chang’an. In terms of military strength, only Prince Rui can match him.
“Your Majesty need only travel to the Wenquan Palace, pretending to indulge in pleasure with Beauty Fang, appearing to abandon state affairs. This will lower Gu Fang’s guard while in secret, Prince Rui can be recalled with an elite force to enter the capital unnoticed.
“Then, during the winter hunt, under the pretext of offering sacrifices to the ancestors, Gu Fang will be compelled to attend. At that moment, we can seize him in the hunting grounds. This way, we avoid harming the people of Chang’an while eliminating Your Majesty’s greatest threat.
“After all, even if Gu Fang insists on resigning and withdrawing from court, he still bears the title of the late emperor’s sworn brother. For such a significant ancestral ritual, if he refuses to attend, we can immediately charge him with grave disrespect. Either way, we will severely weaken his authority and curb his arrogance, bringing Your Majesty peace of mind.
“However, this matter must be acted upon swiftly. I urge Your Majesty to make a prompt decision.”
Jiang Yue finished his speech and once again bowed deeply, his voice firm and righteous, brimming with loyalty.
What a remarkable minister of state.
Had Jing Xuan not already predicted that Jiang Yue would propose this exact plan, he might have been moved.
Unfortunately, every step Jiang Yue wanted to take had already been anticipated to perfection, to the point that Jing Xuan found it almost boring.
Jing Xuan lazily smirked. “Beauty Fang? From now on, address him as Zhaoyi Fang. As for when to confer the title and when to depart for the palace retreat. Let’s set it for the seventh day after Consort Xuan’s death. A wedding and a funeral on the same day. Let’s make it lively.”
“Understood.”
Jiang Yue bowed, but his expression darkened slightly when he caught sight of the faint marks on Jing Xuan’s collarbone.
If on the next full moon, Jing Xuan consummated with Jiang Yingxue and made him the emperor’s brother-in-law, so be it.
But if he continued to dote on that foxy Zhaoyi Fang and allowed the Gu poison to erode his body—if the emperor wasted away in debauchery and died young, leading to a shift in power—then Jiang Yue, as a minister would not hesitate to act.
---
“So which unprincipled old bastard came up with the idea of having His Majesty parade grandly to Wenquan Palace on the very day of someone’s wife’s funeral?”
On the second floor of a refined teahouse by Zhuque Avenue, Xie Buzi lounged in his chair, propping his feet up on the tea table. He spat out melon seed shells as he looked down at the grand and ostentatious imperial procession on the street below, clicking his tongue in disdain.
His young attendant was even more dismissive. “Who knows? And he even conferred the title of Zhaoyi on a man, flaunting it so brazenly, sharing a carriage like that. Absolutely shameless.”
“What a pity about that beauty though,” Xie Buzi sighed, though his expression lacked any real regret. Instead, he seemed to be mulling something over. “She was pretty, had an interesting personality, and now she’s just gone, just like that. She’d have been better off with me.”
“Oh my, young master, you’re still thinking about that?” The attendant looked troubled at his words. “Master and Madam have said plenty. Our family may be wealthy, but at the end of the day, we’re just merchants. Other than being the richest family in Shu, we have nothing. They told you not to get involved in these murky waters, so why are you so fixated on this?”
“But there’s clearly something wrong with that silver procurement batch. I saw it last time. The serial numbers on it are identical to those on the batch from Jiangnan.”
“But that’s all the government’s business. What does it have to do with us mere merchants?”
“What do you know? No egg remains unbroken beneath a fallen nest. If turmoil really breaks out in the Southwest, do you think my family’s warehouses full of silver can withstand it, or will it be Prince Rui’s blades and spears that prevail?”
He had thought that alerting Prince Xiangding would at least prompt a thorough investigation. But looking at things now, that one was just another useless man obsessed with women.
Xie Buzi flicked the melon seeds onto the tea table. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about this for now. Bring me my Western spyglass.”
The attendant rummaged through the bag. “Why do you suddenly want that?”
“What else? Just to see whether that man is really as beautiful as the rumors say. A proper emperor, reduced to such a useless state. He must have some redeeming qualities.”
Saying so, Xie Buzi lazily set up the spyglass.
Just then, a gust of cold wind lifted the carriage curtain, revealing a small glimpse of the interior.
Had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have been able to see clearly.
But Xie Buzi happened to be holding a telescope imported from the West, capable of magnifying objects tenfold.
Thus, he saw it with perfect clarity. The emperor inside the carriage, his skin as fair as frost-covered snow, sharp brows, finely sculpted features, lips thin yet strikingly red, teeth like jade. Even as he bit his lip in anger, scolding someone within the carriage with a temperamental expression, he was still so breathtaking it made one's heart jolt.
And he looked exactly like Consort Xuan, the one who had toyed with him at the gambling house the other day.
Xie Buzi: “...”
—
Inside the carriage, Jing Xuan was oblivious to all of this, fuming as he berated Gu Fang. “There are so many palaces in the retreat, why must you insist on sharing a room with me? If you’re not disgusted, I certainly am! And you, a man nearly thirty prancing around in such flamboyant clothing, have you no shame?!”
Gu Fang, determined to emphasize his new status, was dressed today in a pale pink silk robe with a cross-collar design. His hair was left untied, loosely gathered at the back of his waist. With a few days of rest from court, his complexion had improved significantly. As he leaned lazily against the cushions and lifted his long, slender brows at Jingxuan, his charm rivaled that of the top courtesans of Jiangnan’s finest pleasure houses.
Just looking at him made Jing Xuan seethe. “Do you have any idea how many memorials I’ve had to approve each day since you stopped attending court? My hand is about to fall off from writing, and I’m getting dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep! Yet here you are, here you are—”
Jingxuan struggled for the right words, finally blurting out in indignation, “Here you are seducing the ruler!”
Gu Fang smirked. “That only works if the ruler is actually seduced.”
The past few days had been rather relaxing for Gu Fang in Chunshui Pavilion. With nothing much to do, he had even taken the time to trace and improve an entire set of erotic paintings, leaving him in an excellent mood. “I offered to move into Zichen Hall to help you review memorials, but wasn’t it you who refused? Now, poor me, all alone, left with nothing to do but paint to pass the time. And that makes me guilty of seducing the ruler?”
“Because—because…”
Because he didn’t know why either!
Sometimes, even when he was properly reviewing memorials, properly attending court, or properly sleeping at night, the Gu inside his body would suddenly twitch a few times, making him itch all over and causing his dreams to turn unbearably filthy.
He had always prided himself on his self-restraint, yet even he couldn’t help but… succumb once.
So it was definitely the Gu’s fault!
But he didn’t know what exactly was causing it. He wanted to ask Liu Chou’er, but he hadn’t had a chance to leave the palace. He considered asking Gu Fang if he had experienced the same thing, but he couldn’t possibly bring himself to ask.
Because it was obvious. Aside from the full moon nights when the Gu flared up, Gu Fang was always composed, calm, and as chaste as a monk. There was no sign of anything unusual at all.
If things were like this, and he had to share a room with Gu Fang, wouldn’t it be utterly humiliating if Gu Fang discovered his… irregularities? He might even misunderstand and think that he was lusting after his beauty!
That would be worse than death.
“In any case, I would rather die than share a room with you!” Jing Xuan drew his final line in the sand.
Gu Fang, however, was quite agreeable. “Naturally, I respect Your Majesty’s wishes. But this time, as we travel to Wenquan Palace, to demonstrate imperial favor, all officials of fourth rank and above, along with their families, are accompanying us. If Your Majesty does not share a room with me, I’m afraid it’s unclear who you will end up sharing a room with.”
Jing Xuan recalled Jiang Yue’s predatory gaze: “...”
“Besides,” Gu Fang continued slowly, in a tone of absolute reason, “Liu Chou’er said that Your Majesty and I are bound by this Gu poison. We cannot be more than a hundred li apart, or our lives may be in danger. Given the current circumstances, if I do not stay close to Your Majesty, I would be deeply uneasy.”
His words were methodical and logical, as if discussing official business.
Jing Xuan nearly fell for it. But he had grown wiser with age, and immediately let out a cold laugh. “Ridiculous! I am the emperor, master of three palaces and six courts. Do you think you are the only man I can favor?”
He spoke with confidence, but the moment he finished, the previously nonchalant Gu Fang lifted his gaze slightly. “Your Majesty still intends to favor other men?”
His tone was unhurried and melodious, yet somehow carried a trace of hidden grievance.
Jing Xuan suddenly felt guilty.
Why did he feel like a heartless scoundrel?
But he wasn’t!
Just because he had been poisoned with a love Gu, did that mean he was truly in love?!
Jing Xuan instantly straightened his back and declared righteously, “The more men I favor, the more believable my reputation for indulging in male concubines will be. The more convincing our act becomes! I am sacrificing myself for the country. What right do you have to object?”
Gu Fang looked at him for a moment. It seemed he truly had no right to object. So he merely lowered his gaze slightly and said softly, “Mm, Your Majesty is correct. As an emperor, there is naturally no reason for you to remain chaste for me.”
After speaking, he turned his head toward the window. His expression remained indifferent, yet the corners of his eyes and brows were filled with a kind of sorrow and melancholy that Jing Xuan couldn’t quite understand.
Wait why did he look heartbroken all of a sudden?!
Since when did the fearsome, ruthless Prince Xiangding have such a sentimental, poetic side?!
Jing Xuan, who had always been resistant to hard tactics but soft-hearted in the face of weakness, suddenly found himself completely at a loss.
Should he comfort Gu Fang?
But what had he done wrong? Why should he comfort Gu Fang?!
Before he could figure it out, an anxious, breathless voice suddenly came from outside the carriage. “Your Majesty, this is bad! A servant just reported that a young master surnamed Xie has blocked the road ahead! He claims he fell in love with Your Majesty at first sight, but you toyed with his affections and abandoned him after taking his wealth and body. He’s demanding to see Your Majesty one last time. Otherwise, he’ll hang himself at Zhuque Gate!”
Gu Fang’s eyes flickered.
Jing Xuan’s eyes widened in horror. “???”
What the hell?!
And that damned Gu don’t you dare move right now!!!
—
Hi! I feel like so many people will be confused, so here is the explanation.
Gu Fang's concubine has two titles. One of them is Lady Yi, and the other one is Consort Xuan. But the real rank is below Jieyu
As for Jing Xuan's concubine, we will no longer address him as Beauty Fang but as Zhaoyi Fang. Zhaoyi is below Consort Rank.
Imperial Titles Pyramid
Empress
▲
Noble Consort
▲
Consort
▲
Zhaoyi
▲
Zhaorong
▲
Zhaohua
▲
Jieyu
▲
Meiren
▲
Ronghua
▲
Xiurong
▲
Cairen
▲
Daying
▲
Female Attendants
▲
Palace Maids