EHW Ch52

Ye Bao shouted without fear, “Tyrant!”

Gu Fangzhi, however, was afraid.
The last thing he wanted was for Pei Xin and Ye Bao to clash, so he hurriedly loaded a save file.

This save was the one he’d just made , right at the moment Ye Bao opened his mouth to speak.

He reloaded successfully. Ye Bao asked again, “What do you plan to do to me?!”

Pei Xin’s face darkened; he sneered coldly, “First I’ll pull out your nails, then your teeth…”

Gu Fangzhi reloaded again.

Ye Bao: “What do you plan to do to me?!”

Pei Xin: “First I’ll cut off your eyelids, then your face…”

Gu Fangzhi reloaded again and again.

Ye Bao: “What do you plan to do to me?!”
Pei Xin: “First I’ll break your arms, then your legs…”

The two of them were talking so fast that, no matter how many times Gu Fangzhi went back and forth, he couldn’t find a single moment to interrupt.

Pei Xin was like a walking torture manual now, each time he changed the order or added a new detail.

At this rate, if Gu Fangzhi let him keep talking, Ye Bao would be minced into dumpling filling.

He reloaded once more and, before Pei Xin could open his mouth, yanked on his sleeve.

Though still annoyed, Pei Xin felt the tug and leaned back slightly, propping his chin in one hand. He stayed silent.

Gu Fangzhi finally sighed in relief and smiled at Ye Bao.

“General Ye, don’t be nervous. His Majesty only wants to talk.”

Ye Bao snapped, “What could I possibly have to say to a tyrant!”

“Some things sound frightening only because of rumors,” Gu Fangzhi said, trying to speak up for Pei Xin. “His Majesty is not a tyrant, His Majesty is a man of the utmost benevolence.”

Ye Bao asked coolly, “The utmost benevolence, does that mean he’s extremely fond of killing, or extremely skilled at it?”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

…Who told you to improvise that line?!

No one liked being insulted to their face.

Worried Pei Xin would get angry, Gu Fangzhi glanced back at him.

Pei Xin, still propping his chin, hadn’t moved an inch.

He caught Gu Fangzhi’s movement from the corner of his eye, glanced lazily back, and asked, “What is it?”

Gu Fangzhi patted his arm in comfort.

Pei Xin quirked a faint, wry smile, the gesture was completely unnecessary.

At this point, his mental fortitude was superhuman.

Even if Yang Luhai suddenly ran in shouting that he was about to give birth, Pei Xin would just wave for a midwife and sincerely wish him and his child safety and peace.

He had already been forged, hammered and tempered, by his “living father.”

The strong had no need for comfort.

The carriage rumbled all the way back to camp.

Pei Xin had Ye Bao locked in an empty tent, then went straight to the command tent to meet with Gu Yunchuan and Qin Xuan.

This operation was even more urgent than the last, but having already run one infiltration, Pei Xin’s plan was now practically perfect, polished and airtight.

When the discussion reached the cavalry division responsible for circling behind and “wrapping the dumpling,” Pei Xin tapped twice on the map and turned to Gu Yunchuan.
“You’ll lead,” he said.

Both Gu Yunchuan and Gu Fangzhi froze.

The two brothers exchanged glances, and both saw the same flicker of surprise and delight.

Last time, Pei Xin had only appointed Gu Yunchuan after Gu Fangzhi had pleaded on his behalf, but this time, pressed for time and manpower, Pei Xin had chosen him on his own initiative.

Gu Fangzhi couldn’t help sighing. “Fate really is strange.”

Gu Yunchuan nodded. “It is.”

Pei Xin also nodded, “Mm. Right, right.”

Once Pei Xin finished issuing orders, less than two hours had passed.

Qin Xuan then asked, “And the man we brought back, what does Your Majesty intend to do with him?”

Strictly speaking, their conflict with Ye Bao’s faction was indirect.

The real enemy was Cangsheng Sect, who had used the Western Hu as a stepping stone to strike at Qi.

So Ye Bao was neither ally nor true foe, which made his presence rather awkward.

Pei Xin’s gaze shifted toward Gu Fangzhi. “What does Teacher think?”

Gu Fangzhi asked, “Could we form an alliance?”

In the game Founding Emperor, players could choose to wage war or form alliances with other nations.

Gu Fangzhi was normally the ‘attack everything in sight’ type, but he knew some players preferred the pacifist route.

Qin Xuan mused aloud, “Ye Bao’s troops may be few, but they’re all elite, brave and battle-hardened. Many powers covet them, hoping to absorb them under their command.
We share no deep hatred with them. If we could ally, we might finally crush the Cangsheng Sect completely.”

He paused.

“The only question is, what are Your Majesty’s thoughts, and Ye Bao’s?”

Pei Xin toyed with the white jade ring on his finger, thoughtful.

After a long silence, he neither agreed nor refused.

He only said, “Let’s go see him first.”

When they stepped outside, dawn was breaking.
The horizon glowed faintly pale; morning light filtered through the mist.

Inside the tent, Ye Bao was asleep, soundly, in fact, so much that he didn’t notice Pei Xin and Gu Fangzhi entering.

Pei Xin motioned for Gu Fangzhi to wake him, then leaned against the wall some distance away, pulling from his coat a small iron tin.

Gu Fangzhi recognized it immediately, the milk candies he’d given Pei Xin as a birthday gift.

Pei Xin didn’t even bother removing his gloves.

He simply unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth.

Gu Fangzhi asked, “Does Your Majesty like it? My younger brother adores those.”

Pei Xin said blandly, “It’s… fine.”

In truth, it wasn’t.

The candy was overly sweet, but every time he thought of that kiss in the carriage, the one that hadn’t quite happened because Ye Bao woke up, a faint irritation stirred in his chest.

He needed something, anything, to distract himself.

The soft, cloying sweetness spread over his tongue.

Pei Xin asked, “Teacher, are you tired?”

Gu Fangzhi replied, “Compared to Your Majesty, how could I dare say I’m tired?”

And it was true.

Last time, when they’d failed to capture Ye Bao, Pei Xin had at least managed a few hours of sleep.

Now, he hadn’t closed his eyes in nearly three days, yet still looked composed. Gu Fangzhi was honestly impressed.

Pei Xin said, “Then later, you’ll stand watch for me tonight.”

Gu Fangzhi nodded. “Of course. Has Your Majesty’s nightmare gotten any better lately?”

At the mention of it, Pei Xin thought of his last dream, the one where he had actually reached out and held Gu Fangzhi’s hand.

Utterly unlike him.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit that aloud.

He merely said, “It’s fine. Just the usual dreams, battles, killing, that sort of thing.”

Gu Fangzhi, quick to flatter, said brightly, “As expected of Your Majesty! Even in dreams, you’re still so valiant and fearless!”

Pei Xin: “……”

***

On the bed, Ye Bao quietly opened his eyes.

He might have been sleeping heavily, but he wasn’t dead.

Gu Fangzhi and Pei Xin had been talking for quite a while now, so of course he’d woken up.

He squinted, studying Pei Xin.

Just as he was listening intently, Pei Xin raised his voice.

“If you’re awake, stop pretending to sleep.”

Ye Bao opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

His weapon had long since been confiscated, and his clothes were stripped down to his inner garments.

Still, he refused to lose his momentum.

“Give me back my sword!” he demanded.

Pei Xin, who already found Ye Bao annoying, the man seemed to appear out of nowhere and then haunt Gu Fangzhi’s side like a ghost, almost laughed at his words.

“…Should I give you a sword so you can cut me down with it?”

He turned to Gu Fangzhi. “Teacher, the way you protect people makes you look like an idiot.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

…Did he have to say that so bluntly?

Ye Bao’s face darkened for a moment, and he shouted, “If you’re going to kill me, do it already!”

Pei Xin didn’t bother with formalities.

“You and your soldiers, come over to our side.”

Ye Bao snapped, “Impossible! You- ”

He seemed ready to start denouncing Pei Xin’s cruelty, but just as he opened his mouth, a voice came from outside the tent.

“…Your Majesty.”

Pei Xin looked up. “Come in.”

It was a messenger, dusty from travel.

He saluted and handed over a bundle. “These are the memorials for the past few days.”

Ye Bao asked, “What’s that?”

“Reports,” Pei Xin said, taking a few folded documents from the bundle.

He flipped through them with his usual calm expression, picked up a red brush, and began marking a few lines before saying to Ye Bao-

“You were saying?”

Ye Bao: “……”

Was he seriously multitasking?

Gu Fangzhi quickly explained, “His Majesty hasn’t been able to rest for several days. He’s working at peak efficiency, not showing you disrespect, General Ye, please be understanding.”

“That sounds awful,” Ye Bao muttered. “Is being emperor always this exhausting?”

Pei Xin’s tone was as calm as if wrapped in holy light. “It’s… manageable.”

Ye Bao pressed his lips together.

“The Cangsheng Sect claims to bring peace to the world. Yet your Great Qi runs rampant, trampling the people. How can you possibly bring peace that way?”

Pei Xin gave a cold laugh.

Ye Bao frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Pei Xin said, still flipping through the reports. “My dog bit through the pillars in my sleeping quarters.”

Ye Bao: “…………”

What-

What kind of reply was that?

Was this even an appropriate setting for a serious discussion?!

Completely thrown off, Ye Bao almost forgot his outrage.

Then Pei Xin said flatly, “All this talk about ‘bringing peace to the world’, it’s no different from others who crave to stand above the people.”

He lifted his gaze, sharp and commanding.

“It’s those who act in the name of benevolence who’ve brought chaos to the land, not I.”

Gu Fangzhi, blood stirring with excitement, immediately chimed in, “Exactly! Exactly! Exactly!!”

The sudden shout nearly made Pei Xin laugh out loud, but he caught himself and kept a straight face.

“Tonight, I’ll take Wucheng,” he said. “Your soldiers are still inside the city. Whether you choose to pull them out, that’s up to you.”

Finishing his words, Pei Xin glanced down again at the reports, frowned at something, and clicked his tongue in irritation before turning to leave.

Gu Fangzhi stayed where he was.
He felt like he should say something, but there were too many things crowding his throat, and in the end, he couldn’t find a single word.

The silence dragged on, long enough to make him seem stupid.

So he reloaded a save, rewinding to the moment Pei Xin had just turned away.

Gu Fangzhi told Ye Bao, “If you don’t believe him, you’ll see proof tonight. Also, if you get hungry, just call someone, they’ll bring you food.”

He smiled, then turned to leave as well.

Outside the tent, Pei Xin: “……”

Damn it. He’d let his guard down around his living father again.

…His red-ink approvals… he’d left his imperial annotations half-finished…

Inside the tent, after they left, Ye Bao sat in silence.

The so-called heartless, merciless, savage tyrant, didn’t actually carry the aura of a tyrant. If anything, there was something calm, even monastic, about him.

After exchanging only a few words with Pei Xin, Ye Bao realized: the man was genuinely busy.

Looking at that towering pile of reports, Ye Bao thought he might just collapse into enlightenment at any moment.

Still, there was something else, something faintly unsettling he couldn’t shake.

Back in the carriage, when Ye Bao had seen them almost kiss, he’d thought Pei Xin and Gu Fangzhi had that kind of… relationship.

But after overhearing their conversation just now, it had sounded entirely proper.

So maybe the two hadn’t crossed the line between ruler and minister yet.

Still, Pei Xin definitely liked Gu Fangzhi.

Ye Bao wasn’t sure if Pei Xin himself realized it, but whenever he spoke to Gu Fangzhi, his tone softened, his posture leaned subtly toward him, his head dipped to match the other’s height,
even when he wasn’t speaking, he somehow kept his shoulder tilted in Gu Fangzhi’s direction, as if they had to be close for him to breathe easy.

A tyrant? Not really,

What Ye Bao sensed most clearly was that Pei Xin was lusting after Gu Fangzhi’s body.

…Yikes.