Chapter 77 New Year's Gift
Chu Jiubian hasn't taken a bath in the past few days; he's only ever wiped himself down.
Since Qin Xiao wasn't here today, he had hot water prepared and took a nice bath.
In winter, taking a hot bath in a warm room makes your whole body feel so relaxed and comfortable.
Chu Jiubian felt relaxed and comfortable.
He squinted as he leaned over the edge of the bathtub, raising his hand to look.
He picked at his thumb nail a little more today, but only a tiny bit, and it doesn't hurt anymore.
When he was not fully conscious, Chu Jiubian would always use pain to keep himself rational.
As this happened repeatedly, his pain threshold increased, and minor pains were no longer enough to satisfy him. As a result, he sustained more and more injuries, and his wounds became deeper and deeper.
But today, he could feel even the slightest pain.
Is it the effect of the medication?
Before he even traveled through time, he had been taking various medications, but with little effect, and his condition was even worsening.
His condition is now considered "mild".
The system's products are indeed of high quality.
Her thoughts drifted away. Chu Jiubian gently touched her lips with her fingertips and could still feel a tiny mark, a bite from Qin Xiao.
It doesn't hurt anymore, but it feels a little itchy when I touch it.
He unconsciously rubbed the wound lightly with the tip of his teeth, reopening it and tasting the metallic flavor of rust on his lips once more.
"Things that can be seen with the eyes and touched with the hands."
"What you can feel in your heart is the truth."
The man's deep, pleasant voice seemed to still echo in my ears, and the image of his deep, dark eyes appeared before my eyes.
Along with this, the feeling of being restrained by a man also comes to mind.
Scorching heat, almost burning everything.
A man's embrace can be strong and fierce, yet it also contains boundless tolerance.
Chu Jiubian had to admit that such constraints brought him an indescribable sense of security, as well as a secret excitement that he could not share with outsiders.
He closed his eyes and let his body slowly sink down until his entire face was submerged in the bathtub.
The feeling of suffocation made his thoughts muddled, but his physical sensations became increasingly clear.
He suddenly remembered his first meeting with Qin Xiao, and the feeling of the other's rough palms tightly gripping his neck.
Chu Jiubian slowly raised his hand in the water and stroked his neck.
Then it slowly moved downwards, across the chest and abdomen...
With his knees pressed against the tub, the young man's back was taut like a bow, trembling slightly.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly poked his head out of the tub, clinging tightly to the edge like a drowning man.
The young man's eyes still held a lingering springtime feeling, and tears welled up in his eyes as he forced them to fall. He bit his lips until they bled, and his chest heaved even more violently as he rubbed against the edge of the bathtub, leaving red marks.
After a long while, he calmed down.
Chu Jiubian got up from the tub, asked someone to fetch another basin of hot water, quickly washed his body, and went into the inner room.
After getting into bed, he wrapped himself in the silky blankets and closed his eyes as if to escape.
The palace servants cleaned up the bath tub and washing marks in the outer room, leaving no trace of indulgence.
Inside, only a dim oil lamp was lit.
Chu Jiubian lay in bed with the blanket for a while, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
He slept very soundly, and didn't even know when Qin Xiao returned. He only woke up in the middle of the night and realized that he had gotten close to the other person again, which immediately dispelled his sleepiness.
This time it was even worse than before; he was no longer satisfied with just holding the other person's arms and chest.
Right now, he had actually snuggled into Qin Xiao's arms, resting his head on Qin Xiao's arm, placing one hand on Qin Xiao's chest, and draping his leg over Qin Xiao's waist.
The sound of a man's steady heartbeat came from his chest.
However, this evenness did not last long before it began to become somewhat impatient and chaotic.
Chu Jiubian's already stiff body became even stiffer.
Qin Xiao woke up.
Or rather, Qin Xiao knew he was awake, so his heart rate changed.
The two lay there knowingly for a while, and just as Chu Jiubian couldn't stand it anymore and was about to move his hand away, Qin Xiao suddenly spoke up: "Awake?"
Chu Jiubian silently withdrew his hands and feet, turned over and shifted his position, almost touching the wall.
Qin Xiao chuckled.
Chu Jiubian covered his head with the blanket.
"Don't sleep yet," Qin Xiao said again, his voice even softer than before. Chu Jiubian, covered by the blanket, almost didn't hear him.
But he heard it.
He poked his head out from under the covers, but didn't turn around. In his usual cool and indifferent voice, he asked, "What are you doing?"
Qin Xiao sat up.
After a brief rustling sound, he reached out and gently patted Chu Jiubian's head, saying, "This is for you."
Chu Jiubian turned over to look at him.
The moonlight was quite bright tonight, and there was a faint light in the room, so he could see that Qin Xiao was holding something that looked like a jade pendant.
"What?" He held out his hand, and Qin Xiao placed the object in his palm, saying, "The Qin family patriarch's order."
Chu Jiubian was taken aback and looked up at him.
In the darkness, Qin Xiao's expression was not clearly visible; all that could be seen was that he was staring at him.
"Qin Chaoyang has told you everything, hasn't he?" Qin Xiao leaned against the bed frame, his long hair cascading down his back, his well-defined muscles undulating beneath his silk undergarment. "If I'm gone, all the power I hold will be handed over to you."
The warm jade pendant in Chu Jiubian's palm now felt almost hot.
“Now I’m handing it over to you,” Qin Xiao said. “Even if I live, you have the power to control all the resources under my command, and they will be above my priority.”
In other words.
If Chu Jiubian wanted to use Qin Xiao's men, such as Qin Chaoyang and An Wuji, to assassinate Qin Xiao, they would have to do it.
If they don't do it, according to the Qin family's rules, they can only commit suicide.
By entrusting such great power to Chu Jiubian, Qin Xiao was essentially handing over his life to Chu Jiubian.
This was an excellent opportunity for Chu Jiubian.
By holding this token, he would essentially become the true regent, possessing power in Great Ning second only to Baili Hong.
This was also what Chu Jiubian initially pursued.
Get close to Qin Xiao, gain his trust, and obtain greater power and status to protect yourself.
Now, Qin Xiao personally delivered all of these to him.
It seems that his promise to make Qin Xiao willingly submit to him has come true.
But his hand returned the token to Qin Xiao's, and his mouth opened and closed involuntarily, saying, "I don't want it."
Qin Xiao seemed to smile slightly.
The token was placed back into Chu Jiubian's palm, and the man's warm palm enveloped his hand, saying, "This is a New Year's gift for you, don't refuse it."
Chu Jiubian looked at his hand, which was wrapped up. The token in his palm was hard, but it didn't hurt his hand.
Warm, somewhat like Qin Xiao's hand.
“Once you give it to me, you will never get it back,” Chu Jiubian said.
Qin Xiao laughed: "Don't worry. There's no reason for me to take back what I've given away."
"Oh, you're really domineering." Chu Jiubian said calmly, pulling his hand back.
He put the token into his spatial storage and placed it together with the jasmine he had picked from the yard earlier.
This flower was picked by Chu Jiubian from the courtyard on the day Qin Xiao went to war. Before that, Qin Xiao had touched it.
Chu Jiubian picked it on a whim, simply because he thought the flower looked nice and tasted good.
But I kept forgetting to throw it away.
He glanced at the space again; the pure white flower branches and the tokens that were alternating between white and emerald green floated together, which was quite a sight.
Then let's keep this flower.
Chu Jiubian pulled the blanket tighter around herself and looked up at Qin Xiao: "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"
"Sleep." Qin Xiao lay down again, his body seemingly moving closer to Chu Jiubian.
Chu Jiubian stared at him for a moment, then closed his eyes.
In the darkness, he heard the man speak again, asking, "May I also ask the young master for a New Year's gift?"
Chu Jiubian scoffed lightly.
Indeed, every good thing comes at a price.
Qin Xiao wouldn't give him such a useful token for no reason; surely he had something else he needed from him.
"What do you want?" Chu Jiu argued. "Tell me first, and I'll think about it."
"I only need you to answer one question for me, young master," Qin Xiao said.
That simple?
Chu Jiubian opened his eyes and looked at him: "Are you sure?"
If Qin Xiao wanted any powerful weapon, a way to earn more money to enrich the national treasury, or anything else, Chu Jiubian could probably provide it.
Qin Xiao hummed in agreement: "Just one question."
“…Then ask away.” Chu Jiubian’s voice was a little softer.
If the price for giving him the token is simply asking a question, then there is essentially no price to pay.
Prince Ning is truly generous.
Qin Xiao tapped the brocade quilt lightly with his fingertips, seemingly considering his words before speaking slowly: "Is the matter of the love tribulation true, or are you just bluffing me?"
Chu Jiubian: "..."
That's it?
However, this question seems to be quite difficult to answer.
He thought about it carefully.
Calling it a "love tribulation" wouldn't be wrong.
After all, they are now sharing a bed and have kissed twice, so their relationship is indeed somewhat ambiguous.
Who knows, they might really be here to undergo a tribulation.
However, it wasn't him undergoing the tribulation, but Qin Xiao.
So Chu Jiubian said, "Yes."
Qin Xiao's tense hands relaxed.
Chu Jiubian looked at him. In the darkness, the man had a high nose bridge and particularly outstanding profile, while the corners of his lips seemed to be slightly upturned.
Chu Jiubian inexplicably felt good and asked, "Is there anything else you want to ask? Or is there anything you want to ask?"
"That's all for now," Qin Xiao said.
Chu Jiubian: "Once the time is up, we won't wait."
Qin Xiao fell silent, then turned over to face Chu Jiubian.
For some reason, when he turned over like that, Chu Jiubian felt as if the distance between them had become closer.
Qin Xiao's eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light. He spoke in a deep voice, "Then ask me one more question."
"What?"
Do you like it when I touch you?
Chu Jiubian's heart skipped a beat.
How is he supposed to answer this question?
Say you like it? That would be awkward.
To say I don't like it? That seems a bit insincere.
After a moment of silence, Chu Jiubian asked instead of answering, "What do you think?"
Qin Xiao chuckled softly and said, "I think you like it."
That tone... if you didn't know better, you'd think it was some spoiled brat harassing someone.
Chu Jiubian wanted to face the wall again.
However, Qin Xiao wrapped his arms around the waist inside the blanket. The thin undergarment could not hide the muscles on the man's arms, which were hard and firm against the young man's supple waist, and the heat was continuous.
Chu Jiubian's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was somewhat hoarse when he spoke: "You've crossed the line."
"Hmm." Qin Xiao tightened his arms and pulled Chu Jiubian closer, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Chu Jiubian did not resist. He rested his head on the man's arm and gently brushed his lips against the man's prominent Adam's apple.
"Go to sleep." Qin Xiao lowered his head, burying his face in the young man's neat hair.
My freshly washed hair still had a slight dampness and a light shampoo scent.
Qin Xiao didn't know what this tasted like, but he felt the same way Chu Jiubian gave him: distant and aloof.
He unconsciously tightened his arms, holding the person even closer.
Chu Jiubian sensed the change in the man and fell silent, closing his eyes as well.
Early the next morning.
Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao had breakfast with Baili Hong in the main hall.
The children still love rice as always, their little faces puffing out as they eat the soft, fluffy white steamed buns, looking like little hamsters.
However, the little hamster suddenly stopped chewing and stared at Qin Xiao with wide eyes.
Qin Xiao also raised his hand at almost the same time, touched his nose, and found it stained with a lot of bright red blood.
He glanced at Chu Jiubian, then got up and walked outside.
Baili Hong looked at his back, then at Chu Jiubian, and asked in shock, "Uh-huh, what's wrong with my uncle?"
Why is your nose bleeding?
Chu Jiu argued, "It's nothing, he just has a bad temper."
Baili Hong suddenly realized.
It must be because the room is too hot, and my uncle and husband are sharing a bed, which makes it even hotter.
So, he quickly came up with a plan and, after dinner, secretly asked Xiaoyu to prepare a new bed and put it in Qin Xiao's bedroom.
That way, my uncle and husband won't be hot anymore, and they'll definitely be pleasantly surprised when they see it tonight!
He is such a smart and sensible nephew.
That night, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao returned to their bedroom and immediately saw the new bed placed against the wall, several meters away from the original bed.
Chu Jiubian chuckled and turned to look at Qin Xiao: "This time you don't need to get angry."
Qin Xiao also smiled: "Your Majesty has truly gone to great lengths."
Chu Jiubian laughed even more heartily.
==
After the Lunar New Year, everything was still not back to normal, and everyone was looking forward to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
However, the Lantern Festival in the Da Ning Dynasty had not yet developed into the lively Lantern Festival of later generations. It was just that the people had a special fondness for the "fifteenth" day, which is why they paid attention to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
On this day, people spontaneously hold activities similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as lantern viewing and garden tours. However, due to the cold weather, it is not as lively as the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Officials, on the other hand, don't really celebrate this festival, because they resume work on the tenth day of the month.
The government affairs that piled up during the holidays all need to be dealt with at once. It would take half a month to finish them all. How could there be time to enjoy the lanterns and stroll in the garden?
After the morning court session began, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao did not mention how to manage the Western Regions, but instead rewarded those who had made contributions.
The Western Regions were actually quite wealthy, and they were rich in jewels and agates. As a result, the spoils that Qin Xiao brought back greatly filled the national treasury and Baili Hong's private coffers.
Therefore, the rewards this time were also very generous.
Needless to say, Cheng Shuo almost killed Qin Xiao this time, but he was forced to do so. Moreover, he had made many contributions before this, so he received gold, silver and treasures and was promoted.
He was granted the title of Earl of Xiuling, but this title only governed matters such as rites and sacrifices and did not grant him any real power.
Cheng Shuo knew that Qin Xiao had already given him a great deal of face, and that he was to take good care of himself and manage the household well in the future. Therefore, he accepted the decree without any complaints and even expressed his gratitude.
Then came Hu Fang.
This veteran's achievements were not much less than Cheng Shuo's, and since he had not previously held an official position in the capital, Qin Xiao directly bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Dingyuan, highlighting his merit in quelling the border rebellion.
However, he was still quite old for a military general and had a chronic illness, so even though he was granted the title of Marquis, it only meant that he had more military power, and nothing else changed, so it did not affect the situation in the court.
Therefore, no one objected to the reward given to him.
When it came to the turn of Wang Pengyi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Kou Qiao, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, who were in charge of transporting the grain and military supplies, and Cai Peng, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of transporting the second batch of grain, opinions were divided.
Of these three people, Wang Pengyi was naturally from the Wang family, Kou Qiao was Qin Xiao's subordinate, and Cai Peng was a protégé of Xiao Huaiguan, the Minister of Personnel.
The three individuals represent three different factions, and all are high-ranking officials who wield considerable influence in the court.
Therefore, once they are given greater power and status, these issues will become even more difficult to resolve than they are now.
However, no one harbored any hostility towards Kou Qiao. After all, he was a military officer, and his eloquence and strategic skills were far inferior to those of a civil official. So even if he were to be promoted and receive a raise, it wouldn't cause any trouble.
Wang Pengyi and Cai Peng are somewhat troublesome.
It's clear that the Wang family and Qin Xiao have reached some kind of cooperation, so the amount of power Wang Pengyi holds determines the amount of energy he can exert in cooperation with Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian.
Therefore, everyone did their utmost to suppress him and prevent him from having too much power.
However, Wang Pengyi is already a vice minister. If he wants to advance further, he can only become a minister, or gain power from others and interfere in other matters.
But right now, there is indeed no such position for him in the court.
Therefore, Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian had no intention of promoting Wang Pengyi; they only gave him a lot of treasure.
When a ministerial post becomes vacant in the court, Wang Pengyi will be the most suitable candidate to fill the vacancy.
As for Cai Peng, even Wang Pengyi, who had made greater contributions than him, only gave him treasures and that was it. Naturally, he did not gain any higher power.
He was unwilling to accept this.
Wang Shilang had nowhere to be promoted, but as a minor official, he had plenty of opportunities to advance.
He glanced several times at Xiao Huaiguan, the Minister of Personnel, who was sitting at the very front, hoping that the other party would put in a good word for him.
But the other person was hunched over, with cloudy eyes, as if he couldn't hear anything and didn't notice him at all. Or even if he did notice him, Xiao Huaiguan's mind was a bit blank at the moment, and he didn't know what to do.
He had previously been able to devise a plan to kidnap Su Xier, sow discord between Su Sheng and Qin Xiao, and also protect the Xiao family at crucial moments, bringing them benefits.
But now, his once sharp mind is no longer working properly.
Thus, isolated and helpless, Cai Peng could only swallow his anger, express his gratitude, and accept the reward.
No one expected that after a morning of arguing, the outcome would be like this, just like Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian's "one-man show".
At this point, everyone realized that since the Wang family had become close to the imperial power, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao had unknowingly taken control of most of the court and no longer needed to feign compliance.
Therefore, they only reward those they want to reward, without mentioning how to manage the Western Regions.
Because they had already decided how to govern, which was to establish a Protectorate General, combining military power with local religious forces, and in conjunction with the prefecture-county system, to achieve a completely new form of rule.
All the factions wanted to send their own people so they could control the Western Regions.
Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao didn't even acknowledge each other, clearly indicating that they had someone they preferred.
As expected.
A few days later, Kou Qiao, who had been promoted to the position of Vice Minister of War, led his troops to the Western Regions and took up a post in the Protectorate General's Office, becoming a powerful regional official.
The territory that was once the Western Regions' Sai Kingdom was also completely in Qin Xiao's hands.
That being said...
After the first morning court session after the New Year, everyone made another important discovery: it seemed that Minister of Personnel Xiao Huaiguan was failing.
The other person looked aged; just a few months ago they were full of energy, but now they seemed to have aged much faster than they had in six months.
He was so thin that he looked like a walking skeleton, and his face was covered with mottled age spots. Baili Hong didn't dare to look at him much anymore.
Moreover, he seemed to be getting senile. Cai Peng's eyes were practically bleeding in the court, but he didn't react at all, as if he didn't care what would happen to the Xiao family.
While others were unaware of the reason, Chu Jiubian knew it perfectly well.
Xiao Huaiguan was hopelessly addicted to datura, and his health suddenly deteriorated because the other party had recently changed the way he ingested datura. From mixing some into his food every day, he now directly inhaled the smoke from burning datura multiple times a day.
If you consume too much, your body will naturally deteriorate faster.
The reason the other party was able to discover this method was naturally because "someone" taught it to him.
This person was none other than the secret guard that Chu Jiubian had ordered Qin Chaoyang to find, but to Xiao Huaiguan, the other party was not a secret guard, but a "Western Regions merchant".
Xiao Huaiguan's life is now in Chu Jiubian's hands. As long as he tells people to stop selling mandalas to Xiao Huaiguan, the old man will not be able to withstand such pain and stimulation and will soon die.
So now, it's just a matter of when Chu Jiubian will take his life.
After the morning court session, all government affairs returned to normal.
However, there were indeed many things to do during the holidays, and Emperor Baili Hong had just as many things to do as other officials.
Before the Lunar New Year, Chu Jiubian had been helping him all by himself, but now that Qin Xiao has returned, it has greatly reduced Chu Jiubian's burden, and he can now free up his hands to continue working on the imperial examinations.
The papers for the third exam have been graded, and unsurprisingly, Lu Yao came in first place.
What surprised Chu Jiubian was Tan Yuzhu, who came from Baxian County.
She was the only female candidate in the classical studies subject. She was young and learned, and what impressed Chu Jiubian the most was her policy essay.
Although her answers to the same questions were not as comprehensive and detailed as Lu Yao's, her perspective was always more unique.
Moreover, her writing reveals that she cares deeply about ordinary people, women, and all vulnerable groups.
She genuinely wanted to become an official and do practical things for the people.
The more Chu Jiubian looked at her exam paper, the more satisfied he became. This was exactly the kind of new talent he wanted.
If he weren't currently unable to draw new believers using his points, he would definitely have done so.
He flipped through the list in his hand; there were a total of sixty-eight people.
These are the first batch of students at the Imperial College, and once this list is released, it is believed that various forces will pay close attention to these students.
It's fine if they want to recruit, Chu Jiubian won't restrict the students' choices.
If one is tempted and swayed by various forces at this point, even if one truly enters the Imperial Academy, one will still have ulterior motives in the future.
Instead of doing that, we should start filtering out these people now.
However, Chu Jiubian would not allow anyone to lay a hand on the students.
He ordered the list to be published, and also sent people on horseback to various places to spread the news of the successful candidates to the students' homes with great fanfare.
Just as the messengers were arriving in various places, a literary gathering was being held in Baxian County.
Among the many literati and talented young people, a girl in a pure white dress stood out.
“I knew it! How could a woman enter officialdom?” A male voice rang out from the crowd, and everyone turned to look.
A slightly plump man in a dark brocade robe leaned lazily against a low table. Even under the gaze of several people, he did not restrain himself at all. Instead, he laughed even more loudly: "I heard that someone in the neighboring county received a letter from the imperial court yesterday, passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom, rising rapidly in rank."
His mocking gaze fell on the beautiful figure in the crowd, a lewd glint flashing in his eyes, and he said, "Some women have ambitions that are higher than the sky. If you ask me, it's better to get married early while you're young and beautiful, so you won't be unable to get married when you're old and faded."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com