Chapter 59: I’ve Been Thinking of You Part 3

Gu Huaiyu decided to test his growth. His finger tapped lightly on the armrest. “Oh?”

Xie Shaoling dropped to his knees, adopting an almost submissive posture before the Chancellor. His eyes shone with a devout light. “If I had played the hero and died back then…”

“Who would be watching the dikes in Jiangzhou now? Who would be demanding justice for the elderly and the orphans?”

He lowered his head and laughed softly, then looked back up, his eyes never leaving Gu Huaiyu. “Lord Chancellor, living is so much harder than dying. Living means watching grain merchants skim from the relief supplies and still having to play nice with them. It means enduring the double-dealing of local officials while maintaining a polite facade…”

Dying for an ideal was easy. A blade to the neck, a splash of blood, and a line in the history books about a “loyal martyr.”

But living for an ideal meant meticulously tracking every bushel of grain, making sure every stone in the dike was laid solid, and listening to an old woman cry about her lost fields for the third time.

To endure day by day, to fight step by step—it was far more difficult than a quick death.

Gu Huaiyu reached out and patted his cheek. The boy’s head was sharp; his schemes hadn’t gone to waste. “Clever.”

Xie Shaoling leaned into the palm, his cheek lightly brushing Gu Huaiyu’s hand. His eyes were startlingly bright. “Why are you so good to me, Lord Chancellor?”

Gu Huaiyu arched an eyebrow and spoke the truth. “Because you remind me of myself when I was young.”

Xie Shaoling’s face burned against Gu Huaiyu’s palm. He understood immediately. It wasn’t about physical resemblance; it was that core of pride, that stubborn refusal to bow, that was exactly like the Gu Huaiyu of years past.

Did that mean… he was unique? Irreplaceable to Gu Huaiyu?

Xie Shaoling suddenly leaned forward, burying his hot face against Gu Huaiyu’s lap, his voice muffled. “I’ve been thinking about you constantly.”

Gu Huaiyu looked down at him. Why on earth was he thinking about me?

Xie Shaoling breathed in the faint, elegant scent clinging to the Chancellor. As his cheek pressed against the man’s inner thigh, he could feel the faint warmth of his body. He suddenly realized how inappropriate the position was.

He took a sharp breath, his ears turning scarlet, and straightened up as if nothing had happened. He reached into his robes and pulled out a plain silk handkerchief, carefully unwrapping it to reveal…

A hard, moldy piece of pastry with a single bite mark on it.

Gu Huaiyu stared at the moldy thing for a long moment, then looked at Xie Shaoling in bewilderment.

Was this really worth such a solemn presentation?

Seeing that the Chancellor didn’t remember it at all, Xie Shaoling gritted his teeth and forced a smile. “You gave this to me before I left. I’ve kept it with me ever since. Whenever I missed you, I’d take it out to look at it, to smell it… it felt as if you were right there with me.”

Gu Huaiyu was actually moved by this display of loyalty.

He let out a light chuckle and patted Xie Shaoling’s shoulder. “Such absolute devotion. I shall remember this sentiment.”

The gesture was clearly that of a master praising a subordinate.

Xie Shaoling’s expression flickered subtly. He carefully tucked the pastry away again and stared straight at Gu Huaiyu, his voice dropping low. “Do you know, Lord Chancellor? Every day I was away, I wondered… when would I finally be worthy of standing by your side?”

Gu Huaiyu couldn’t help but laugh. The hand on the boy’s shoulder moved up to pat his cheek. “If you want to be my confidant, you must first surpass Shen Jun.”

“If you can prove yourself more capable than him, I will naturally place you in a position of power. Work hard.”

Xie Shaoling opened his mouth as if to speak, but his gaze was so full of unspoken longing it could practically drip.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside.

Liu Erlang entered carrying a large wooden box. Seeing Gu Huaiyu, he bowed respectfully. “So the Lord Chancellor is here.”

He stepped forward and whispered, “The Eastern Liao delegation has just passed through the city gates. they have officially begun their journey home.”

Gu Huaiyu nodded, his eyes falling on the box.

Liu Erlang held it out with both hands. “It’s from that interpreter… the one from Eastern Liao. He left this at the Diplomatic Hostel, saying it was a gift for the Lord Chancellor.”

Gu Huaiyu arched an eyebrow, took the box, and flipped it open.

He pulled out a heavy, dark leather horse bridle—a tool for taming wild steeds. The iron buckles were intricately engraved with wolf patterns, looking both fierce and elegant.

“Hmm? What is the meaning of this?”

Liu Erlang’s expression was a bit strained. “The interpreter also left a message in the Eastern Liao tongue. The translator at the Court of State Ceremonies told me the meaning is—”

“‘On the day we meet again, I trust the Lord Chancellor will place this around my neck with his own hands.'”

Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes. He snapped the bridle back into the box with a sharp clack and let out a cold, mocking sneer. “Does he think I’m incapable of marching my armies into Eastern Liao? What a blatant provocation.”