Just then, His Majesty finally seemed to have woken up, and he sat upright
on the throne.
"I heard two days ago that Fifth Brother moved General Huo to your
courtyard." Seeing that no one was presenting memorials anymore, His
Majesty slumped back into the throne and asked slowly.
…Here we go again.
Jiang Suizhou stepped out among the courtiers and took out his prepared
statement.
"Truth is, that man is restless in my harem and has injured the rest of my
concubines. After thinking it over, I decided to put him by my side and keep
an eye on him," he said.
His Majesty propped up himself the throne and leaned forward. "But I also
heard that since General Huo entered your harem, he has never left your
bedroom?"
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes and saw that the emperor's eyes were shining,
seemingly filled with the words "forbidden-domain."
Jiang Suizhou was a little speechless, but still obliged and lowered his head.
He held a fist against the front of his mouth with some embarrassment and
cleared his throat.
His Majesty took it as a tacit admission of his speculation.
For a time, His Majesty roared with delight.
"It seems that I've decreed the right match, didn't I?" He said, "Fifth
Brother is very satisfied with General Huo!"
Jiang Suizhou held back his nausea and hurriedly explained along with his
words, "That's not quite the case…his wild nature is difficult to tame, so I
can only use some tactics. Brother Emperor, please don't mention it again."
His Majesty discerned the relish in his tone and laughed heartily.
"Good, good, I won't mention anything in Fifth Brother's room anymore,"
he said.
"However, in another half month, it will be my birthday banquet. Fifth
Brother, there is no royal consort in your house, so why not let Madam Huo
accompany you to the banquet?"
Jiang Suizhou gritted his teeth.
Here we go again.
The last time he asked Huo Wujiu to enter the palace to "return to maternal
home," he rejected it for Huo Wujiu, but he didn't expect that His Majesty
would continue to persist on the matter. It seemed that he had to bring Huo
Wujiu into the palace once before he would stop.
Jiang Suizhou was busy thinking of countermeasures, pondering for a
moment, and did not reply for a while.
The look of distress on his face made His Majesty think that he was
embarrassed again. In an instant, he became more spirited and smilingly
said, "Fifth Brother, although I married him off to you, you shouldn't keep
your concubine in your love nest like this, you know? When everyone
comes with their families by then, what will you look like alone?"
Before Jiang Suizhou could say anything, he saw His Majesty grin and ask,
"Uncle, don't you agree?"
Pang Shao echoed, "Your Majesty is right. I heard that His Highness's two
concubines, one from a brothel and the other a commoner, are not worthy to grace your table, so how can they be brought before Your Majesty?"
The two echoed each other, making His Majesty all the more elated.
Jiang Suizhou pursed his lips. He knew that this time, he could not avoid it.
He paused and answered in a low voice, "This minister will comply with
your decree."
His Majesty beamed in response: "That's more like it —— Alas, Fifth
Brother, I don't know what is so wonderful about men that makes you
reluctant to part with them so much!"
He sighed with emotion and did not expect a reply from Jiang Suizhou.
But Jiang Suizhou felt suffocated this time. Upon hearing his sigh, he raised
his eyes to him and breezily said, "As for the mystery, Brother Emperor will
know once you try it."
Hearing his words, the emperor subconsciously looked at him, and his gaze
swept over the court of men.
They were all middle-aged and old men, with wrinkles all over their faces.
Among them were a few particularly ugly, such as that big man, Ji
Hongcheng. He was dark and tall, and was quite conspicuous in the crowd.
From a distance, he was as ugly as a ghost.
His Majesty was rendered speechless for a moment and felt his stomach
churn a bit.
——
Ever since His Majesty ascended to the throne, his annual birthday has
become the most important banquet of the year for the Jing Dynasty. Not
only should the banquet be held extravagantly, but the ceremonies before
the banquet should also be held with the grandest pomp; so half a month in
advance, the Ministry of Rites became busy.
After Jiang Suizhou left the court, he rushed to the Ministry of Rites and did
not return until nightfall.
The lights flickered, and an invitation was placed on the table in front of
Huo Wujiu.
It was sent by a court official named Chen Ti. Huo Wujiu had no impression
of this person, but he was probably young and with a low official post.
Chen Ti invited Huo Wujiu to his residence in a month's time for a flower
appreciation banquet hosted by his wife.
The handwriting on the letter was pretty regular script in lower case
calligraphy. There was a layer of fragrance floating on it, which was
undoubtedly used by the ladies for socializing.
Without having to think about it, Huo Wujiu knew that this person was
trying to please others and had invited him there specifically to humiliate
him.
These people, however, had always been proficient at packaging such ugly
thoughts magnificently —— They pretended to be ignorant of Huo Wujiu's
original identity and who he was. Instead, they regarded him as the beloved
lady in King Jing's mansion and wrote a letter to him, as if they really
wanted to invite him to enjoy the flowers together.
Huo Wujiu knew that as a prisoner, he should be able to endure any
humiliation. But the incense on the letterhead drifted to his nose and still
made him irritable.
Just then, Sun Yuan came in from outside. He saw that Meng Qianshan was
not beside him, and hurriedly stuffed a thin object into Huo Wujiu's hand.
It was another letter.
The envelope was not signed and was discreetly folded tightly, resembling
the letter sent by Ji Hongcheng a few days ago.
It had only been a few days. What kind of secret news was there to send
him?
Huo Wujiu withdrew his gaze and opened the letter.
Then a line of extremely scrawled, angry words jumped to his eyes.
[King Jing is shameless and really inhumane!]
Huo Wujiu gave a start, and the irritation that was suppressed in his heart
dissipated somehow. Even an untraceable arc rose in the corners of his lips.
He moved his hand and turned the letter to the next page.
He was a little expectant. He wanted to see what inhumane words His
Highness Jing had said during the court today.
Ji Hongcheng's tone was utterly brusque. From the letter, Huo Wujiu
figured that Ji Hongcheng wrote it for Jiang Suizhou's eyes.
After all, even if Ji Hongcheng was stupid, he would not believe that his
letter could be delivered to Huo Wujiu so easily, especially right under
Jiang Suizhou's eyes.
In the letter, he detailed the evil deeds of Jiang Suizhou this morning; from
the time he met Jiang Suizhou to the impudent remarks Jiang Suizhou made
in the court. Ji Hongcheng castigated each of them at length.
Because he was a military official with little culture, his emotions got the
best of him, and he wrote several crude profanities in the letter that couldn't
be spoken in public.
The letter was used to scold Jiang Suizhou.
The corners of Huo Wujiu's mouth involuntarily rose as he read on.
He did not expect that His Highness, King Jing, who was careful in front of
him and had to deliberate on his words for a long time, would be so
arrogant behind the scenes. He was so self-confident in his righteousness to
the point of lying to all the civil servants of the court.
He said he defiled him? And that he used some "tricks" because his wild
nature was untamed?
Huo Wujiu's fingers involuntarily rubbed the edge of the letter slowly.
He suddenly wanted to see what Jiang Suizhou looked like when he
blatantly said these words.
Sun Yuan, who was standing behind him, was alarmed.
Beneath the candlelights, he didn't know what Madam Huo read, but the
curvature of his mouth actually stretched wider and wider. He was born
cold and sharp, so his smile at this moment was rather like a wild beast in
the dark, ready to pounce and bite off his prey's throat.
Huo Wujiu quickly finished reading the letter.
But then, Sun Yuan saw him pause. He glanced up to the beginning of the
letter, and carefully read it again.
…Huh?!
Sun Yuan even thought for a moment that what he had sent to Huo Wujiu
was a secret letter to assassinate the present emperor.
—— Otherwise, how could he be so interested?
…Should I notify His Highness?
Just then, the candle flame on the table jumped slightly, and some footsteps
sounded faintly outside the window.
Jiang Suizhou has returned.
Sun Yuan also heard the faint sound. He quickly stepped forward, took off
the lampshade for Huo Wujiu, signaling him to quickly burn the letter.
Huo Wujiu brought the letter to the lamp, but stopped when the fire was
about to lick the edge of the paper.
Sun Yuan looked at him in surprise.
He witnessed Huo Wujiu pause and actually take back the letter.
He folded the letter again and put it into his sleeves.
His behavior struck Sun Yuan dumb.
Huo Wujiu raised his eyes to him, his gaze quiet and indifferent. The
curvature of his lips also disappeared.
"Why are you standing frozen there?" He asked.
His eyes were pitch-black and deep, as if they could dig out a person's heart
and see through it. Sun Yuan was stupefied, but he hurriedly reattached the
lampshade amidst the sound of approaching footsteps.
——
It was already very late at night when Jiang Suizhou returned to his house.
The morning court session had exhausted him enough, and he was busy at
the Ministry of Rites. By the time it was dark, he was already drifting a bit
on his feet.
Fortunately, Ji You knew that he was unwell, so he did not make things
difficult for him. Ji You transferred a large part of the work that Jiang
Suizhou should have been in charge of to his disciples.
Because of this, Jiang Suizhou was able to return home at this time.
He rode all the way back to the courtyard in his palanquin. He felt parched
as he entered the door heavy-headed. Sitting down at the table, Jiang
Suizhou asked Meng Qianshan to pour him tea.
Meng Qianshan noticed his pallor, so he quickly brought the teacup into
Jiang Suizhou's hand. He bowed and asked, "How are you, Your Highness?
Shall I send someone to call the doctor to check your pulse?"
Jiang Suizhou waved his hand and when he spoke again, his voice was
hoarse and was a bit breathless. "No need."
He felt dizzy and exhausted at the moment. Instead of asking the doctor to
toil until midnight, he should just rest earlier.
Meng Qianshan complied uneasily and retreated to the side.
Jiang Suizhou took a few sips of tea, moistened his throat, and felt much
better.
He put the cup back on the table and was about to get up to wash, when he
saw an envelope on the table.
It looked beautiful and exquisite, like a love letter from a girl to her crush.
Jiang Suizhou couldn't help but be a little curious. "Who sent this letter?"
Meng Qianshan had brought this letter to Huo Wujiu today, so he knew the
content of the letter. Once Jiang Suizhou asked, it was as if Meng Qianshan
had found a place to complain, so he quickly stepped forward and cut in,
"Your Highness, it's from Mrs. Chen, Lord Chen Ti's wife!"
Chen Ti?
Jiang Suizhou frowned.
Although he was only a fifth-rank official, he was a distant relative of Pang
Shao's. He was not much else, but was an expert at toadying for personal
gain. He was the best at kissing Pang Shao's ass, so he was making a good
living in the capital.