The Seductive Beauty Breaks the Insecure Bottom Script [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 38.2

However, the red stood out conspicuously against Song Mingjiao’s originally snow-white skin, and it immediately caught the eye of Gu Linyuan, who already couldn’t control his gaze.

Gu Linyuan was supposed to be reporting, but he couldn’t resist glancing at Song Mingjiao’s hand. After reporting a few more paragraphs, he couldn’t resist again, his eyes darting back up.

It wasn’t until Song Mingjiao had roughly sorted out the overall military situation of the Great Liang Dynasty through the General that he reached out to take a sip of the nearby tea. He then set down the brush onto the paper already filled with writing.

“Beloved Subject is indeed Our pillar of the state. Good, We are informed. If there is nothing else, you may withdraw.”

Song Mingjiao didn’t look up, but after waiting for a while and seeing no movement from the person in front of him, he couldn’t help but look over. He saw Gu Linyuan staring intently at his wrist. Finally, Gu Linyuan said:

“Your Majesty’s wound needs timely application of medicine; otherwise, with the summer temperatures, it might become inflamed.”

Song Mingjiao followed Gu Linyuan’s gaze to his own arm and acknowledged the sentiment: “Very well, We know. You may withdraw.”

The lingering Gu Linyuan then performed a bow and retreated slowly. But after a few steps, he suddenly turned back, returning to Song Mingjiao’s side, and whispered: “Your Majesty, I am still uneasy. Let me help Your Majesty apply the medicine.”

Was this man obsessively focused on his hand?

Song Mingjiao looked at Gu Linyuan, who was entirely focused on him, and suddenly felt: why was this general not at all mighty, brave, or iron-fisted? Could he really protect the court? Did he need to be replaced?

Whatever, he’d use him for now.

Song Mingjiao set down the paper and deliberately rolled his sleeve up to his elbow. The undergarment was loose to begin with; once rolled up, it emphasized the fragility of Song Mingjiao’s arm, making the scratch appear somewhat more serious.

“General, you only wish to apply medicine for Us?”

Song Mingjiao held his hand out to Gu Linyuan and asked with a smile.

Gu Linyuan took a deep breath: “Yes, I would not dare to offend Your Majesty.”

“Fine,” Song Mingjiao replied, then raised his voice to call Eunuch Zhao. “Go and get the ointment.”

The moment Eunuch Zhao entered and heard this command, he was so startled he wanted to beg for forgiveness. The Emperor called him to rise, and after he hurriedly brought the ointment, he looked at the scratch on Song Mingjiao’s arm with heartache.

“It is all this old servant’s fault for not noticing Your Majesty’s injury. I deserve death! I shall go and summon the imperial physician immediately.”

“Enough. It is a minor injury; it will have nearly healed by the time the physician arrives.”

Song Mingjiao didn’t intend to make a scene, adding: “Besides, don’t we have our battle-hardened Great General right here? Surely the General must be quite experienced in handling wounds?”

“I shall do my best.”

Having finally obtained the Emperor’s consent, Gu Linyuan had already snatched the ointment from Eunuch Zhao’s hand as if he were seizing a prize.

Eunuch Zhao: ? What’s the rush?

“Come then.”

Song Mingjiao sat on a nearby carved wooden chair and rested his wrist on the table. A slender section of arm lay defenselessly before Gu Linyuan’s eyes, so fragile.

Gu Linyuan held his breath. Although he had requested to apply the medicine himself, when it came time to actually do it, he suddenly felt a wave of uncertainty.

Because Song Mingjiao’s skin looked too delicate.

The precious, pampered little Emperor, raised with the resources of the entire nation, showed no flaws even on his wrists, except for that conspicuous scratch.

It was completely different from Gu Linyuan’s own body, which was covered in rough scars. When he applied medicine to himself, he never had any scruples the faster, the better. He was a man so ruthless he wouldn’t make a sound even while pulling out an arrow.

Yet now, faced with a tiny scratch on the little Emperor, he showed a rare hesitation.

Gu Linyuan had used bows and arrows for years, and his fingertips were covered in a layer of thick calluses. This made him worry that his rough fingers would hurt Song Mingjiao’s fair skin during the application.

Particularly with Eunuch Zhao standing by like a supervisor, letting out cries of alarm from time to time.

“Ah! General, be gentler! Look, Your Majesty is frowning!”

“Lord Gu, will this ointment alone be enough? Perhaps I should still call the imperial physician?”

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Gu Linyuan had never found this eunuch so annoying before, but his hand was touching Song Mingjiao’s skin. Even if he was annoyed, he couldn’t vent his strength on Song Mingjiao.

Song Mingjiao watched Gu Linyuan pursing his lips and getting angry in silence, finding it somewhat amusing. He remembered ancient anecdotes like “A general embroidering flowers,” which seemed to share a certain similarity with the current Gu Linyuan.

Seeing that Gu Linyuan and Eunuch Zhao had unconsciously formed a united front—treating Song Mingjiao’s arm, which was actually fine but looked pitiful, with the spirit of scientific research—probing here and touching there for fear of missing any other injuries on the Emperor’s body.

“Alright, We said it was fine. If you keep rubbing it, this arm will be covered in ointment—it’ll be sticky and uncomfortable.”

Only then did the dutiful General Gu Linyuan reluctantly move his fingers away from Song Mingjiao’s wrist, though his other hand still clutched the box of ointment tightly.

“If the General likes it, then We shall gift this ointment to you. It is a new formula from the Imperial Academy of Medicine with excellent effects. It should be of great help to the General during your campaigns.”

Song Mingjiao thought Gu Linyuan had taken a fancy to the ointment. Indeed, swords and spears have no eyes; even with Gu Linyuan’s martial skills, it was inevitable he would be injured on the battlefield. As Emperor, he should show appropriate care for his subordinates.

“I thank Your Majesty for the reward.”

Seeing Gu Linyuan treat the ointment as something precious after receiving it, Song Mingjiao felt: I truly am a considerate and kind Emperor.

“Oh dear, I almost forgot something important. Your Majesty, the Chancellor is outside requesting an audience.”

Eunuch Zhao slapped his own forehead. His mind had been entirely on the Emperor’s injury, and he had temporarily forgotten He Wen waiting outside.

“Mmm, invite him in.”

Song Mingjiao gave the order to Eunuch Zhao, then turned to look at Gu Linyuan. The man seemed rooted to the ground, with no intention of leaving. It wasn’t until he saw the Emperor’s puzzled gaze that he slowly performed a bow to take his leave.

“I thank Your Majesty for the gift of this ointment. I shall keep it in my manor and cherish it day and night.”

Song Mingjiao felt that Gu Linyuan’s way of “cherishing” it was a bit exaggerated. However, he was satisfied that this general was a well-mannered and loyal subject who knew how to appreciate the Emperor’s kindness for even a box of ointment. This was much better than certain people who used his wealth and resources but felt entitled to them.

He Wen had waited outside the hall for quite a while without being called in. The Emperor was busy with government affairs and couldn’t find the time He Wen had originally felt there was no problem with waiting a bit longer.

But he hadn’t expected that when the hall doors opened, it wasn’t just the reporting Eunuch Zhao who came out, but also General Gu Linyuan, who had returned to the capital unnoticed.

He Wen even heard words like “reward” and “ointment.”

When He Wen entered, he brushed past the exiting Gu Linyuan. The two were of equal rank, and besides official business, they had basically no interaction and weren’t familiar; they merely nodded to each other.

Yet for some reason, He Wen felt a sense of displeasure. This displeasure reached its peak when he saw the Son of Heaven wearing only a single undergarment, which wasn’t even worn properly, revealing his snow-white arm and neck.

The ancients said: “Our bodies, down to every hair and bit of skin, are received by us from our parents.”

Gu Linyuan was used to campaigns and wasn’t that refined, so he didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about touching and rubbing Song Mingjiao’s skin.

But the Lord Chancellor was a man raised with a traditional, orthodox education. Song Mingjiao’s current behavior was far more scandalous than the time he had teased him with a jade pendant in the garden.

“Your Majesty, etiquette must not be neglected.”

The Chancellor lowered his eyes, advising the little Emperor like the most loyal and upright of ministers.

Song Mingjiao had actually put He Wen out of his mind after teasing him that day, and hadn’t granted him a private audience since.

Today, He Wen happened to request an audience, and he intended to discuss with his Chancellor how to arrange for his “dear brother” to enter the court and participate in politics.

But he didn’t expect this man to start picking on him the moment he walked in!

Song Mingjiao was angry!

Although the clothes he was wearing were indeed unsuitable for receiving an outside official, the haughty little Emperor still couldn’t stand being lectured.

Song Mingjiao’s face darkened as he threw a memorial onto the desk. Memorials of this era were quite substantial, and it made a significant noise when it hit.

“Is the Chancellor teaching Us how to do things? Or does the Chancellor wish to work in the Ministry of Rites or the Censorate, like those officials who do nothing all day but stare at Our every move to see if it conforms to ancestral etiquette? And then constantly remonstrate before Us until Our heart is vexed?”

This sentence was definitely not directed at He Wen alone. These days, although Song Mingjiao held great power as Emperor, he was also subject to many constraints, especially the various remonstrances from the censors.

Song Mingjiao was a modern person and found the various ancient etiquette constraints very uncomfortable and tiresome having to maintain so-called “Imperial Etiquette” and “Imperial Dignity” at all times. Lately, those old ministers in the Censorate had frequently submitted memorials about these issues.

But the ministers were merely fulfilling their duties, so Song Mingjiao couldn’t easily lose his temper. Seeing He Wen walk right into the line of fire, he naturally vented his long-accumulated dissatisfaction.

“I would not dare.”

He Wen knelt straight down. Yet what surfaced in his mind was his own lack of appetite and sleep during this period. The jade pendant the little Emperor had gifted him was something He Wen cherished, yet it also felt like a hot potato; he had tossed and turned, unable to fathom the Emperor’s intentions.

He knew the Emperor had once taken an interest in the top scholar of the new imperial examination, and he knew that “male winds” (homosexuality) were not rare in this dynasty. He had even, in the absence of a clear stance from the Emperor, gone and studied areas he had never explored before.

Therefore, when he heard the conversation between Gu Linyuan and Eunuch Zhao earlier and heard the word “ointment,” He Wen’s first reaction was actually the “lubricating grease” used between men.

Seeing the Emperor disheveled, a variety of complex emotions flooded his heart.

“In what capacity is Our Beloved Subject saying these words to Us?”

Song Mingjiao walked out from behind the desk. When he patted He Wen’s face, his sleeve slid down again, revealing the medicated scratch on his arm.

He Wen’s pupils constricted. In an instant, he forgot the sourness and jealousy in his heart, catching Song Mingjiao’s arm regardless of status, wanting to check it urgently.

“Is Your Majesty injured? How are the people in the Hall of Mental Cultivation serving you! Has the imperial physician been called?”

But Song Mingjiao pulled his hand away and pushed He Wen back fiercely. His voice could not hide his coldness and fury:

“Get out.”

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