"Who asked you to send this?" Huo Wujiu asked in a low voice.
Sun Yuan stammered, "I didn't recognize…"
Huo Wujiu interjected, "I mean, whose order was it allowing you to send
me letters?"
His Highness wouldn't let him say!
Sun Yuan's lips twitched, but he didn't say a word.
Even if he did not say a word, Huo Wujiu understood from Sun Yuan's
appearance alone.
…Unbelievable.
Huo Wujiu followed his father back to Yecheng once or twice when he was
young, but he couldn't remember ever crossing paths with King Jing even
once.
It was beyond outrageous that King Jing fancied him as he had declared.
But, thinking about King Jing's performance in the past few days, it really
did seem to be the case…
There seemed to be an explanation to his sheep in wolf's clothing
appearance, his attempts at being fierce and tough, and his inexplicable
good treatment of Huo Wujiu.
But…
King Jing just had to insist on stirring some messy thoughts, huh. These
past few days, King Jing was akin to a fuel guzzler, prudently paying
attention to him and attending to him. Huo Wujiu witnessed all of this.
But…
He slowly rubbed his hand on the envelope's paper cover.
He was a prisoner of war escorted here by an enemy country, yet King Jing
dared to send this kind of thing to him. He wondered for a moment whether
King Jing was too bold, or whether he was too stupid. Or maybe…
Huo Wujiu frowned in confusion.
Could emotions really deceive people to the point that even their family,
country and life could take a back seat?
Huo Wujiu had always been proficient in the art of war and power, but
when it came to such things, he was a blank sheet.
His inexperience made him lose his judgment for a while.
His position suddenly became a bit chaotic.
As if whatever plans and calculations he had, it was all like bullying him
wantonly on account of his preferences.
——
After Sun Yuan tactfully retreated, Huo Wujiu opened the envelope in his
hand.
The letter paper was crumpled and wrinkled, and it was faintly visible how
righteously indignant the person was when he wrote the letter.
Huo Wujiu raised his eyes and looked out the window.
Meng Qianshan was talking to the carpenter who brought the wheelchair in
the courtyard. The carpenter was hurriedly taking notes with a pen and
paper, so Meng Qianshan was probably asking him to modify it. As soon as Meng Qianshan saw Sun Yuan come out, he hastily greeted him and let him
sit on the wheelchair, then pushed him around in the courtyard.
He was probably testing to see whether the wheelchair was sturdy.
Huo Wujiu lowered his eyes and unfolded the letter.
[It had been more than ten years since this lowly official parted ways with
the former Marquis. Speaking of the Battle of Xunyang, I'm both distraught
and angered, but had no way to help. I have no other choice but to feed on
His Majesty's official salary. And now, even though I am in Lin'an, I have
no face to see you, General.]
Teardrops in flower forms had blurred the words there.
Huo Wujiu frowned and first turned the letter to the last page where it was
addressed.
Ji Hongcheng.
He did have some impression of this person. Southern Jing currently had a
few generals, and his father's old friend, Lou Yue, was one of them. This
person, who wrote the letter, was probably Lou Yue's subordinate in the
army at that time, and now held a job in the Ministry of War.
Huo Wujiu turned the letter back over.
This man's remorse and guilt was hinted at in between the lines, but Huo
Wujiu did not take it to heart.
In those years, the previous emperor was afraid of the Huo family. Hence,
back when the war was tight, he intended to cut off reinforcements, cut off
food and grass, and also made up a crime to exterminate the Huo family
after the war. His father raised an army because of his deep hatred for the
late emperor. It had nothing to do with his home country, so naturally, he
didn't involve other colleagues, nor did he need them to join in the
rebellion.
Subjects were duty bound to the emperor and to the country. Only talents in
the Jianghu could do something such as rising together righteously on
account of the code of brotherhood.
Huo Wujiu's gaze faintly swept over the lines of heartfelt words and looked
straight back.
Then, his eyebrows slightly rose.
[I know that the General is now in a difficult situation. I hope the General
can grin and bear it and maintain your resolve for revenge. King Jing is by
no means a good person. Today at the court, he even spoke obscenely with
His Majesty and shamelessly shared his joyous intimacy with you in the
court. Afterward, His Majesty ordered to have you face him, but his disgust
was so overwhelming that he even gave up the right to repair the ancestral
hall just to keep you imprisoned in the backyard.
It is obvious that this person is dirty and despicable, so I hope you will take
care of yourself. General Lou is currently suppressing bandits in Lingnan,
so this lowly official's thoughts count for little. I'm at my wit's end, so I
can't repay the old marquis for his kindness. However, the General can rest
assured. If there comes a day when I can be of use to you, I'll do my best.]
That was the end of a short letter.
Huo Wujiu held the letter over the lamp on the table that Sun Yuan had
specially lit for him.
The fire licked the letter and immediately burnt one corner to ashes.
Huo Wujiu suddenly jerked the letter back from the fire.
He took the letter, which had been burned and mutilated, and after a pause,
his gaze fell on the penultimate paragraph again.
He actually couldn't help but read that passage several times.
By the time he came back to his senses, he was on the verge of memorizing
it. He subtly froze and passed the letter to the fire, burning it cleanly along with the envelope.
The flames danced slightly in his eyes.
Huo Wujiu stared at the fire, his brow furrowed in several gullies.
He really did not expect…
Even his father's old friends knew what it was to be worldly-wise and play
safe. However, such a timid white rabbit, who had nothing to do with him
and was fierce in appearance but faint in the heart, could contend in the
court on his behalf, even in exchange for the power in his hands.
…Just so that I would suffer less humiliation from the emperor.
He never thought that he would one day be protected by a person with such
thin shoulders.
Jiang Suizhou naturally did not know how Huo Wujiu received that secret
letter scolding him. He happily basked in a round of idleness in the Ministry
of Rites, then returned to his house and went to his study.
Due to that day's conversation, Ji You's attitude towards him became much
better. Today, Ji You also lent him two books, saying that they were for him
to read.
Of course, it was two books of unofficial history.
Jiang Suizhou was not very fond of unofficial history because of his
personal experience, so after thanking Ji You's kindness, he collected the
two books and put them on his desk like nothing.
Who would want to read them? He didn't want to take the risk of somehow
transmigrating again.
What was more, he had other things to do ——
For example, the secret letter that the two ministers sent him.
He was extremely cautious and put the letter away when he received it early
in the morning. It was only now when no one was around that he unfolded
and read it.
——Similar to his conjecture, the letter did not provide much useful
information.
These two courtiers were not high officials, but happened to be in the
Ministry of Works. Therefore, when the Ministry of Works took over this
project, they figured out the budget amount and the person in charge with some inquiries. They also did some calculations for Jiang Suizhou, and
figured out how much spoiles Pang Shao could get here.
The amount was really hefty.
The two courtiers must have felt anxious because of this, and asked him in
the letter if they should plant some of their own people in the project.
Jiang Suizhou fell into deep thought.
According to his current understanding of the original owner, he would
definitely do something. Even if there would be no return or even loss, he
must try it.
But Jiang Suizhou knew that it was all useless.
Pang Shao would never let any official he was not comfortable with handle
the money. Thus, even if they slipped their own officials in, they could
never touch the money allocated by the court. In this case, all their spies
could do was to collect evidence of corruption and report it to the court…
But, how was the relationship between Pang Shao and the Emperor, and
how was his relationship with the Emperor?
This was obviously courting destruction.
Moreover, the officials who have been inserted would be pushed to the cusp
of the storm, making it easy for Pang Shao to persecute them.
Before transmigrating, he had read history books and found that a lot of
Southern Jing officials suffered accidental deaths in certain projects, and
those accidents were left unsettled.
Jiang Suizhou did not dare to risk lives.
He pondered for a moment, and read the letter carefully. He wrote down
some numbers and names, and then put the letter into a secret compartment
on the side of the table.
There were already a lot of letters in there.
All of them were saved by the original owner. Jiang Suizhou took a lot of
effort to find this secret compartment.
He also roughly determined the original owner's sphere of influence based
on the letters in it.
Most of the information collected in the letters stored there were
fragmentary and of little reference value. But according to the positions of
the officials who wrote the letters, it was clear that these people had little
real power in their hands, and these fragmentary and pitiful pieces of
information were the results of their best efforts.
These officials would painstakingly collect information and give it to the
original owner, and the original owner did not disappoint their efforts.
There were always traces of circled annotations on the letters in the box,
which showed how diligent the original owner's regard to them was.
Jiang Suizhou stored this letter together with the rest. He carefully locked it
up, and then began to write his reply to the two officials.
He did not refuse directly, but only said that they should stay put, and he
would act accordingly. If he found a chance to plant them in as spies by
then, he would notify them as soonest possible.
Fortunately, there were several letters in the study that the original owner
had not yet sent, so Jiang Suizhou barely learned his manner of speaking
and finished writing the letter.
After writing, Jiang Suizhou read the letter through and waited for the ink
to dry.
He couldn't help but sigh.
It had been three years since Southern Jing fled across the Yangtze River,
and gradually came out of the fear of the country's destruction. They
appeared to have accepted the current division of the river and governing countries on either side. Until a month or so ago, Huo Wujiu led his troops
to the south and disrupted the original balance. But then, he was besieged
and captured when the reinforcements were cut off during the river
crossing.
This time, even General Huo of the Northern Liang was gone, so the
Southern Jing courtiers were naturally more at ease.
It was precisely for this reason that Pang Shao comfortably embezzled and
sought power, while the emperor was only devoted to worldly pleasures.
The original King Jing and the courtiers behind him were trying their best
to seize power from Pang Shao's party, searching for a clear way out of that
dark cloud.
However, none of them knew that the dynasty was nearing its fated end, and
the edifices were on the verge of collapse.
They were struggling to climb a skyscraper that was about to topple over.
Jiang Suizhou looked out the window.
He gradually accepted the fact that he was brought into this period in
history. At the same time, he was also caught in this mighty torrent.
He gradually kind of wanted to help them.