FIMA Ch82: Pigeon

In the early spring morning, especially in the woods by the river, there was a thin mist in the air.

People’s emotions also seemed to become ethereal and entangled.

Xie Xuan blinked his moist eyes. He raised his wide robe sleeves, revealing tender fingertips that looked like scallion whites, and touched the cold, sharp blade of the sword by his neck. His attitude was extremely contemptuous and unconcerned, not afraid of being hurt in the slightest.

Gu Siyuan raised his sword eyebrows.

He stared at those beautiful fingers dancing on the edge of danger, inexplicably feeling as if something belonging to him was being slighted and violated.

Separated by the thin, fine mist, it made his inherently stern face look even colder, and also possessed an inexplicable, profound charm.

Xie Xuan very clearly perceived that the person in front of him seemed unhappy. Thinking he didn’t like being spied on, he felt somewhat uneasy in his heart, and muttered an explanation: “I wasn’t peeking on purpose.”

Gu Siyuan’s gaze was fixed, his expression remaining as cold and solemn as before.

Xie Xuan felt somewhat embarrassed.

Clearly, he was a prince, high and mighty in status, but when this person revealed such an expression, he couldn’t help but become flustered.

Once his heart was flustered, his hands became even more flustered.

Originally, he was just fiddling with the sword body as a joke, but this time, the tender finger pad accidentally deviated, truly almost slicing across the sharp blade.

Gu Siyuan’s gaze turned cold. He reached out his left hand, grabbing directly toward those disobedient, fair, and slender fingers.

At this sudden movement, Xie Xuan’s eyes widened slightly, and his fingertips trembled.

Next, his entire palm fell into that wide, warm palm, and he could even clearly feel the slightly hard, thin calluses on this person’s hand born from holding a sword for a long time.

Gu Siyuan retracted the long sword with one hand, returning it to its sheath. With the other hand, however, he unconsciously tightened his grip, feeling the temperature of the delicate, soft skin in his palm, which was unfamiliar yet made one yearn for it.

Indeed, as wonderful as imagined.

Xie Xuan’s breathing was slightly chaotic, his heart beating as if it was about to jump out of his throat.

His mind was even more completely chaotic. He didn’t know what this person wanted to do, but his fingers simply couldn’t exert the slightest bit of strength, so he couldn’t struggle out of that palm.

Right at this moment, Gu Siyuan slowly let go of his hand and said coldly: “Don’t touch the blade casually.”

Xie Xuan rubbed his finger pads, ignoring the faint sense of loss in his heart, and answered softly with a lowered voice: “Ah…”

It took a good while before he vaguely realized that this person seemed to be warning him not to touch his sword just now.

Xie Xuan abruptly raised his head: “…”

Good for you, Gu Siyuan.

What’s wrong with touching your sword? Will it get dirty? Are you really that disgusted by me?

It was my fault for being so presumptuous just now! Bah, what presumptuousness!

It was just an illusion.

Xie Xuan puffed his cheeks, glaring fiercely at the person.

“…” Gu Siyuan.

Looking at this person’s changing facial expressions.

He narrowed his eyes, reached out, and pinched that puffed-up cheek: “What’s wrong with you? Getting angry after just a few words?”

Xie Xuan became even more annoyed. Glaring at him, he said arrogantly: “How audacious of you, daring to touch this Prince’s face, and even blaming the victim!”

Gu Siyuan’s expression was calm, nodding: “Go ahead and complain to His Majesty!”

“…” Xie Xuan.

How could I say this out loud?

Besides, it’s not even certain who his Imperial Father values more in his heart.

He puffed his cheeks unwillingly and complained: “Why are you like this? You don’t even know how to yield to this Prince. You grew so big for nothing, yet you’re so stingy as a person.”

Gu Siyuan helplessly let out a soft hmph.

Who exactly is stingy, getting angry and annoyed at the drop of a hat?

He crossed his arms, lazily leaning against the large tree nearby, and asked calmly: “What business does the Sixth Highness have coming to look for me?”

“Who came to look for you? The whole camp is only this big, isn’t it perfectly normal to pass by here?” Xie Xuan lightly flicked his sleeves, patted his neck, and restored his noble demeanor as a prince of the blood: “On the contrary, General Gu, be more careful when practicing swordplay next time. If the ones passing by were Imperial Father or my royal brothers, it might not be so easy to brush off.”

Gu Siyuan pressed his palm on the sword hilt, looked sideways at Xie Xuan, his voice icy cold: “Then I must thank the Sixth Highness for your magnanimity.”

“Is that it?” Xie Xuan immediately widened his moist eyes, retorting triumphantly, “What you did just now was a crime of insubordination and overstepping your bounds!”

…Wants to pinch that face again.

Gu Siyuan’s fingers stroked the rough patterns on the sword hilt, nodding: “I would like to hear the details.”

Xie Xuan coughed lightly, looking very self-assured: “This Prince won’t make things difficult for you either. You just need to honestly answer one question for this Prince.”

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes to scrutinize him.

Still saying you were passing by, isn’t it obvious you came with a purpose?

This riverside is far away from the camp, extremely secluded.

Being stared at by his gaze, Xie Xuan felt ashamed and annoyed, puffing up in anger: “You won’t agree?”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained as cold as before: “Let’s hear it.”

Xie Xuan felt slightly settled in his heart.

After a moment, he finally stared at Gu Siyuan and asked slowly: “Those assassins… you caught, did they really not say anything?”

As he spoke toward the end, his tone became somewhat erratic, not knowing what answer he wanted to get.

Gu Siyuan lifted his eyelids, waving his hand indifferently: “Come here.”

Xie Xuan blinked his eyes, taking two steps closer obediently and docilely: “Speak.”

Gu Siyuan moved his hand slightly down, directly pinching that small chin, forcing him to raise his head. Their gazes met head-on, his voice low and deep: “Whether the assassins speak or not doesn’t matter, the Sixth Highness has to pretend not to know anyway.”

Xie Xuan’s face turned pale: “What… do you mean?”

Gu Siyuan sneered coldly: “The Sixth Highness knows clearly in his heart.”

“Don’t harbor unrealistic expectations toward His Majesty. Pretending not to know anything can at least ensure a period of peace for now. Take this opportunity to build up your strength; perhaps there will still be a day to escape with your life in the future.”

Xie Xuan’s pupils contracted slightly. He raised his hand and directly grabbed the large palm on his chin, looking straight at the person in front of him: “Do you know what you’re saying?”

Gu Siyuan finally gave that warm, soft cheek meat one last pinch, then withdrew his palm, his expression flat: “This official didn’t say anything. It’s getting late, His Majesty is returning to the palace today, this official still has to go manage things, taking my leave.”

After saying that, he only left behind a tall and cold back figure.

The morning sun rose, the veil-like thin mist in the woods dissipated.

Light and shadow flickered in Xie Xuan’s beautiful pupils, swirling with a faint shade of blue.

After a long while, he gently rubbed his chin and side face that had been pinched slightly red, as if he could still feel the faint temperature and thin calluses on that dry, large palm.

That was a palm completely different from those of princes and nobles like him who were pampered since childhood; firm, steady, vigorous, and powerful, as if it could hold up the entire heaven and earth.

And on the sacrificial platform, it was indeed this pair of large palms that protected him.

However, Xie Xuan still couldn’t help but curl his lip: “Reminding is reminding, what’s with taking advantage of me on purpose? Looking all serious, he really knows how to put on an act.”

…

That day, just past the hour of Chen, the mighty imperial procession broke camp and set off to return to the palace.

The collapse of the sacrificial platform and the matter of the assassins inevitably spread out.

Along the way, the common people pointed and discussed animatedly.

Gu Siyuan, wearing his sword, rode on a horse at the front of the procession, secretly thinking in his heart: Turning a perfectly fine sacrificial ceremony into this, just to help his beloved son and strike a blow against another son, Emperor Jianzhao is truly quite creative.

Qing County was no more than eighty-odd li away from the imperial city. That evening, the imperial carriage arrived at the palace gates.

Whether it was because his goal wasn’t achieved or for other reasons, when he stepped out of the sedan, Emperor Jianzhao’s complexion wasn’t exactly looking very good.

In Qing County, he only needed to deal with the assassins.

After returning to the capital, the troubles of this matter were only just beginning.

Assassins were actually hiding under a perfectly fine sacrificial platform. Putting aside everything else, the Ministry of Works responsible for the construction work would definitely bear the brunt; secondly, the people responsible for supervising the progress from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Astronomy Bureau would also find it hard to escape punishment.

Furthermore, there was also the commander of the Capital Garrison who came to clear the area and stand guard several days in advance before the official start of the sacrificial ceremony, who also committed the grave crime of dereliction of duty.

And these people, since they could turn a blind eye and let the assassins in, regardless of their purpose, they were actually handling matters for the Fourth Prince, Xie Huan.

If Emperor Jianzhao punished them severely, wouldn’t that be cutting off Xie Huan’s arm?

Because Xie Huan didn’t have the help of a maternal family, his forces were inherently weaker compared to the other princes, and most of them were secretly given to him by Emperor Jianzhao.

However, not dealing with it was definitely even more unacceptable.

If he let off lightly the matter of assassinating the Emperor, not to mention that the courtiers and Xie Xuan would become greatly suspicious, just imagine how many people would follow suit in the future, coming up with a collusion to commit insubordination whenever they had nothing better to do?

Emperor Jianzhao himself valued his life too.

And besides these considerations, what was even more terrifying now was that after Noble Consort Lu in the inner palace heard about what happened in Qing County, she immediately came crying to the front gate of the Huangji Hall.

Emperor Jianzhao was truly annoyed beyond belief, regretting for the first time finding such a shield.

As the General of the Household of the Imperial Guards, Gu Siyuan’s status was only beneath the Commander-in-Chief and Vice-Commander.

Aside from when the imperial carriage went out, when in the imperial palace, his main daily defensive perimeter was from the Taihe Hall to the Qianqing Palace and Huangji Hall. Basically, wherever Emperor Jianzhao was, he was there.

At this moment, acting in accordance with his usual temper, he kept a cold face and reached out his hand to block Noble Consort Lu’s path: “His Majesty is handling state affairs in the Huangji Hall, people from the inner palace are not allowed to enter without authorization.”

The surrounding colleagues, including eunuchs and palace maids, all cast an extremely admiring glance at him.

As everyone knew, His Majesty doted on Noble Consort Lu extremely, and had never once refused her requests for an audience.

But this fellow Gu Xun was like a piece of ten-thousand-year unyielding wood, blocking Noble Consort Lu every single time. He truly wasn’t afraid of offending people at all.

Noble Consort Lu was already forty years old, but maintained herself extremely well. She had a straightforward personality to begin with, full of vigor and spirit, and her dressing style leaned towards the gorgeous and beautiful, making her look like a woman in her thirties at a glance.

Although she was blocked by Gu Siyuan at this time, she didn’t get angry. Such matters had been staged many times, and she was also extremely clear about this General Gu’s temper. Expecting him to show favoritism was impossible; she could only glare at the young eunuch beside her: “Seeing that this Palace has arrived, why aren’t you going in to report quickly?”

“Yes.” The young eunuch immediately ran inside.

Noble Consort Lu fiddled with the bright red fingernail guards on her hands, and looked at Gu Siyuan again, saying: “I heard that at the sacrificial ceremony, it was General Gu who saved Xuan’er?”

Gu Siyuan’s expression was cold: “This official was responsible for guarding the sacrificial ceremony, protecting the safety of the Sixth Highness is my bounden duty, it cannot be considered as ‘saving’.”

Noble Consort Lu smiled: “No matter what, this Palace still has to thank General Gu.”

Gu Siyuan stopped answering.

Seeing him like this, Noble Consort Lu was too lazy to talk nonsense anymore. Her footsteps turned slightly, about to walk toward the Huangji Hall again.

The next moment, she was rapidly blocked by Gu Siyuan again.

Noble Consort Lu frowned: “This Palace has already sent someone in to report, His Majesty will definitely summon me immediately.”

Gu Siyuan remained completely unmoved, only saying: “Then wait until His Majesty’s oral edict comes.”

Emperor Jianzhao naturally heard the commotion outside. Although his impression of Gu Xun had always been pretty good, this time, he truly and exceptionally realized Gu Xun’s good points.

If all his subjects were as honest as Gu Xun, obeying only him in everything, how could he have so many vexing matters?

Wang Chengying beside him added another reminder: “Your Majesty? The Noble Consort is seeking an audience outside?”

Emperor Jianzhao frowned, rolling his eyes at him.

I heard it long ago, do I need you to remind me? No sense of observation at all.

After remaining silent for another moment, he raised his hand slightly, gesturing for Wang Chengying to go out and bring the person in.

In the evening, the setting sun was like fire.

Gu Siyuan stood on the high steps outside the Huangji Hall, listening to Noble Consort Lu crying and making a fuss inside.

He didn’t know how long it had passed before the commotion slightly subsided.

With a burst of clinking sounds from jade ornaments, Noble Consort Lu, with slightly red eyes, walked out of the main gate of the Huangji Hall, followed by two people carrying a pile of rewards.

When passing by Gu Siyuan, Noble Consort Lu paused her footsteps, took out a few items from that pile of rewards, and threw them down.

“General Gu, although protecting Xuan’er is your bounden duty, this Palace isn’t a stingy person either. I’ll reward you with these few trinkets.”

After saying that, she walked away arrogantly.

Displaying the aura of a Noble Consort whose favor overshadowed the six palaces to the fullest extent.

Gu Siyuan glanced at the things on the ground, sneered coldly, and pretended not to see them, going back to stand his post.

Wang Chengying, who was seeing Noble Consort Lu out from the side, saw this and helplessly chuckled softly.

Serving by His Majesty’s side, he naturally knew Gu Siyuan had always looked down on Noble Consort Lu and the Lu family.

However, these were all items bestowed by the Emperor, how could they be left lying on the ground like this?

He ordered the young eunuchs under him to pick them up, then handed them to Gu Siyuan, smiling good-temperedly: “General Gu, Her Highness the Noble Consort is generous, you can’t throw a temper tantrum, His Majesty will also be unhappy if he knows.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him, and only then reluctantly took the things over, stuffing them casually into his sleeve.

Wang Chengying entered the hall chuckling.

Emperor Jianzhao looked at him, asking casually: “Did Siyuan show disrespect to the Noble Consort again?”

Hearing His Majesty using severe words but with a light tone, Wang Chengying knew His Majesty was actually very satisfied with Gu Siyuan’s performance in his heart, and hurriedly explained what had just happened briefly.

Emperor Jianzhao scolded lightly: “This dog temper.”

Wang Chengying also smiled: “General Gu is just like this. Besides Your Holy Majesty, who has he ever given face to?”

Emperor Jianzhao fell silent for a moment, and then opened his mouth to say: “The Noble Consort cares about Xuan’er and rewarded Siyuan, let me also reward him with something. I heard the storehouse recently presented a pretty good precious sword…”

After the hour of You, Gu Siyuan changed shifts with his colleagues from the Imperial Guards, and left the palace to return to his residence with his newly obtained precious sword.

Gu Siyuan’s grandmother, Madam Cao, was Emperor Jianzhao’s wet nurse, and their past affection was quite deep. After Emperor Jianzhao ascended to the throne, he bestowed a moderately sized mansion not far from the foot of the imperial city.

Although Madam Cao had passed away a few years ago, the mansion was kept all along.

After taking an arrow for Emperor Jianzhao over ten years ago, Gu Siyuan’s father, Gu Guangyao, would complain of headaches and slight fevers at the drop of a hat. Emperor Jianzhao then arranged a leisurely purchasing position for him in the Imperial Household Department, yet with plenty of extra income.

When Gu Siyuan arrived home, the main hall of the Gu mansion was brightly lit, the atmosphere lively, and they were having dinner.

The moment he entered, the air seemed to instantly stagnate, and everyone’s expressions changed.

Especially his stepbrother and stepsister, whose bodies trembled even more, clearly still having lingering fears toward the original owner.

Gu Guangyao frowned, scolding: “Why did you come back at this time? Weren’t you accompanying His Majesty to the sacrificial ceremony?”

Gu Siyuan lifted his eyes to cast a glance at him, saying casually: “Assassins appeared at the sacrificial ceremony yesterday, so the imperial carriage returned early.”

Gu Guangyao was greatly shocked: “His Majesty was assassinated?”

If there was anyone who sincerely hoped Emperor Jianzhao would live to be a hundred years old, Gu Guangyao was absolutely one of them. He now drank wine, had tea, and fought crickets every day; these good days were all given to him by Emperor Jianzhao. If the emperor changed, who knew what would happen?

He immediately scolded angrily: “Weren’t you responsible for guarding His Majesty? How could you be so useless? You actually let His Majesty get assassinated?”

Gu Siyuan cast a chilling glance at him: “Who said His Majesty was assassinated?”

After saying that, he didn’t pay attention to this group of people anymore, walking directly toward his own courtyard.

“This rebellious son!” Gu Guangyao slammed the table angrily.

After returning to his own courtyard, Gu Siyuan directly left the room door wide open. First, he put down the precious sword in his hand, then took out the few items on his body.

These were what Noble Consort Lu said were rewarded to him today.

A moment later, Gu Siyuan looked at the grey powder poured out, smelled it gently, and found it was like spices.

Frowning for a moment, he ignited it with a fire stick.

After that, he loudly instructed the people outside to send over a portion of dinner.

Gu Siyuan had always had a prestigious reputation in the mansion; even Gu Guangyao wasn’t as tough as him. Once his order was given, in less than half a cup of tea’s time, three dishes, one soup, and a large basin of rice were delivered.

The three dishes were pickled cabbage with mutton, steamed fat chicken, and garlic eggplant, and the soup was meatball, cabbage, and sliced tofu soup.

Gu Guangyao was someone who enjoyed life, and the culinary skills of the chefs in the Gu mansion were quite outstanding.

Gu Siyuan tasted a few bites and began to feast heartily. Just as he had almost finished his meal, a slight movement came from outside the window.

A snow-white pigeon without a single blemish stepped its thin claws steadily on the window frame, peeping its head into the room, its mung-bean-sized eyes looking quite clever and human-like.

Gu Siyuan raised his eyebrows, scraped a bit of the remaining rice in the basin into his palm, spread it out toward the little fellow, and let out a light whistle.

The pigeon stared at him with its mung-bean-like small eyes for a good while before flapping its wings and flying over, seeming to finally realize this person in front of it was harmless.

Gu Siyuan’s eyesight was extremely good. He had already seen the small strip of paper tied to its leg, and was just preparing to reach out and take it off.

However, who knew if Xie Xuan had abused this Pigeon Master, it buried its head in the rice and wouldn’t come out. When Gu Siyuan wanted to touch it, it would directly jump up and kick people.

But Gu Siyuan was naturally not a good person either. If the soft way didn’t work, he’d use the hard way. Grabbing its little back, he directly flipped it over entirely, pressed it on the table surface, and forcefully removed the strip of paper.

After a long while, the pigeon was still lying on the table surface motionless, its wings reservedly covering its abdomen, its small mung-bean eyes full of the unspeakable, as if it had never seen such a rough human before.

After finishing reading the contents of the paper strip, Gu Siyuan cast a glance at it and sneered coldly: “Keep playing dead, and I’ll throw you into the chicken coop to mate.”

“…”

Pigeon Master’s entire pigeon self was a mess in the wind.

The next instant, it scurried far away with a “swish”. It wanted to stay away from this terrifying and cruel human; it wanted to go back and complain to its fragrant and soft master.

Only now did it know the goodness of its master, and would never be a picky eater casually anymore.

In the main courtyard of the Sixth Prince’s mansion, Xie Xuan was holding a book in his hand, staring at a certain page, having not turned it for a long time.

Right at this moment, “Flap flap flap…”

The familiar sound rang by his ear.

Xie Xuan immediately turned his head. Without needing him to open his hands, Pigeon Master had already eagerly fluttered over.

Xie Xuan’s eyebrows and eyes curved into a smile. Habitually, he first raised his hand wanting to stroke its smooth feathers. For the first time, Pigeon Master didn’t resist, obediently staying under his palm for a long time without moving slightly, its small mung-bean eyes also looking at him affectionately.

“…” Xie Xuan.

Isn’t there something wrong here?

Usually, in this prince’s mansion, Pigeon Master is the boss, and I am the second. What’s going on today?

He also stared at Pigeon Master with burning eyes, saying: “Did you make a mistake? Did you do something bad?”

Pigeon Master remained motionless, still as affectionate as before.

Xie Xuan’s heart felt chaotic. He glared at it: “Could it be that you didn’t deliver the letter I just asked you to take? Did you fly halfway and dive into someone’s kitchen?”

As he spoke, Xie Xuan reached out to pull its leg, only to find the small bamboo tube inside was completely empty, having already been taken away by someone.

Now, Xie Xuan no longer cared about Pigeon Master either, directing a belly full of grievances at Gu Siyuan.

“Hmph, since you saw it, why didn’t you write a reply letter? Really putting on airs.”

“Who is the Sixth Highness scolding?”

A cold yet three-parts casual familiar male voice suddenly rang out outside the specially wide-open window.

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