Gu Changyun heard no response from Xu Du, so he turned his head to look
at him. He saw Xu Du staring at the chess game on the board,
expressionless and lost for words.
Gu Changyun smiled and teased him, and followed his gaze to the chess
board: "What's so captivating about this chess board? It's just…"
His speech came to an abrupt halt.
On the board, Xu Du's white piece had forced his black piece into a
desperate situation, but after Huo Wujiu's piece had settled, the black piece,
like a trapped beast, bit down on the white piece's throat.
The situation on the board had turned tables. The black piece recovered
from its losing position and was gaining momentum.
Gu Changyun froze and laughed.
"He's quite good at chess, huh?" He said.
Xu Du, however, shook his head.
Just now, Huo Wujiu dropped that piece and raised his eyes to look at him
when he withdrew his hand.
His deep and cold black eyes, akin to the black chess pieces, were raging
and ruthless; they were so cold that it made him feel like he had plunged
straight into a cold pool.
For a moment there, Xu Du felt a chill down his back. It was as if Huo
Wujiu wanted to kill all the white pieces on the chessboard.
A moment passed, and he shook his head.
Gu Changyun asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Xu Du stayed silent for a moment.
"Nothing," he said, "I just wonder…when did I provoke General Huo?"
——
After noon, it drizzled a bit.
Jiang Suizhou's eyes were blue underneath. After the morning court
session, he wearily rushed to the Ministry of Rites again.
Even though Ji You had taken great care of him, he couldn't just do nothing.
Today, seeing that Jiang Suizhou looked terrible, Ji You took a look at the
early morning sky outside and asked him to go outside the city to inspect a
batch of materials needed to decorate the venue.
Ji You smiled and told him that after he had made an inventory according to
the account book, Jiang Suizhou didn't have to return to the Ministry of
Rites; he could just have the carts carrying the materials driven to the
courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.
Jiang Suizhou knew that Ji You was deliberately letting him off the hook so
that Jiang Suizhou could return to his house early after his official work.
He was very grateful. He not only thanked Ji You for his gentle nature and
being a good man, but also thanked himself for shooting his mouth that day
and chatted with Ji You more.
However, after he left the Ministry of Rites, the rain fell heavier and
heavier.
Just as he left the northern city gates, someone came to report that the
carriage transporting the materials had gotten stuck in the mud ten miles
outside the city and could not get free.
Now, that was a good deal of torment.
The rain outside the city was worse than in the city, plus Lin'an roads were
muddy outside. After the emperor arrived in Lin'an, he utilized what little
money he had left in his hands to repair his own imperial city and had never
considered repairing the roads.
Thus, the materials that could have been delivered in the afternoon didn't
make it to the city gate until it was dark.
Jiang Suizhou tagged along in the damp and cold wind outside the city for a
whole day. When the caravan arrived, he had to command his men to count
the goods and clean up the mud.
By the time he returned to the royal residence, it was already the second
night watch1
.
He ate something for dinner outside the city. When he returned to the house,
he felt so tired that he could barely open his eyes. The moment he
completed a little cleaning, he fell asleep.
Meng Qianshan carefully waited for Jiang Suizhou to lie down on the bed,
and then raised his eyes to look sideways.
Madam Huo was sitting on his wheelchair next to the couch by the window.
He lowered his head and quietly flipped through the book in his hand.
Meng Qianshan roughly remembered that Madam Huo usually would not
sleep so late…was it because the book he was reading was particularly
interesting, and not because he was waiting for the King?
Meng Qianshan didn't dare to ask, he just walked out quietly.
The door to the room closed.
The book in Huo Wujiu's hand rustled to another page.
In the book, a poor talented scholar climbed over the courtyard wall of the
Prime Minister's house and had a private tryst with a beautiful young lady under the moon. The young lady shyly handed him a silk handkerchief that
she had embroidered herself, but the scholar grasped her soft hand…
Huo Wujiu's eyes fell on the page, but his gaze was empty.
He was halfway through the book, but he didn't even understand what kind
of book he was reading.
A moment later, he raised his eyes and glanced in the direction of the bed.
Jiang Suizhou was lying there, seemingly asleep.
Huo Wujiu's fingers slowly crumpled the pages of the book.
From the time he finished his evening meal alone at nightfall today, he was
inexplicably annoyed, so annoyed that he couldn't register a single word.
Huo Wujiu only thought that this irritation came from his legs.
The injuries on his legs were gradually healing, but he hadn't been able to
feel anything. It wasn't until a few days ago when the sky began to turn
gloomy that he felt a twinge in his legs.
But it was a vague tingling pain from the damaged meridians in his legs.
The pain was different from the severe pain of being cut. It wasn't too
severe, but felt more like a dull knife scraping his bones. But because that
pain wasn't all that intense, a few days down the road, Huo Wujiu also did
not suffer from it.
Until it rained today.
The dampness was provoking, and it was as if his injuries had sensed
something. It affected his meridians all the way to his lumbar spine, and
produced a bone-eating kind of pain.
Huo Wujiu quietly endured it.
Footnote: 1
Second night watch – 21:00-23:00
However, something was strange. He sat quietly with his book, but
whenever footsteps came in or out, he would subconsciously concentrate
and listen to the sound of those footsteps.
He didn't know what he was waiting for, but every time he listened,
irritation rose deep in his heart.
Occasionally, he heard Meng Qianshan sending other servants out to ask
when Jiang Suizhou would return. Multiple servants were sent several
times, only for them to return saying that the king was busy.
Huo Wujiu frowned without a trace.
It wasn't until the sound of rain outside the window diminished and the
hour-glass struck the second night watch that Huo Wujiu finally heard the
particular sound of footsteps.
It was somewhat floaty and not at all fast. As soon as it fell into Huo
Wujiu's ears, he knew that Jiang Suizhou had returned.
He lowered his eyes and turned a page of the book.
Was he not going to spend the night at his concubine's today?
An inaudible cold snort escaped from Huo Wujiu's lips. The irritation that
had accumulated all night in his heart dissipated little by little with this
sneer.
Even the corners of his mouth were raised in an arc.
However, Jiang Suizhou did not talk to him today, and after cleaning up a
bit, he fell asleep on the bed.
Now that no one was around, Huo Wujiu finally raised his head. His gaze
quietly fell on him.
Sick man. It was only yesterday, but after spending the night with that wimp
and mud stick, you ended up this sapped. You're this weak, yet you still
want to fill your harem aplenty?
You're going to get yourself killed.
Such a sickly man should be content with his lot and be protected under his
wings. He should be kept in a safe house, away from the elements. He
wouldn't let him suffer, and would never let him give birth to those flowery
thoughts that would, in turn, attract others.
These thoughts actually made Huo Wujiu's heart beat faster. It was as if the
thoughts kindled something that made his heart itch a little.
He stiffened, quietly withdrew his gaze, and picked up the book in his hand
again as if trying to squash something.
[Zhang Sheng clutched the soft and beautiful hand of the woman. It felt so
soft and boneless that it made his heart and soul flutter. He found that a rosy
tint had flown up to the lady's cheeks. Her eyes blinked timidly, and as the
saying went…]
… What kind of messy books did Meng Qianshan find!
He threw the book aside.
The person on the bed was startled by the light clatter, and his shoulders
trembled.
Huo Wujiu heard the slightest sound and looked at the person on the bed
who was wrapped tightly in the blanket. He appeared startled, but didn't
wake up. He just turned over and continued sleeping.
…How strange. When Jiang Suizhou slept in the past, I have not seen him
wrapped so tightly under the quilt.
Huo Wujiu frowned, then heard heavy breathing from the bed, which
sounded more strenuous than usual.
Could it be that he was sick?
Huo Wujiu didn't really want to care and was too lazy to cause trouble. He
thought he'd better call Meng Qianshan in.
But his hands seemed to rebel against his command. He clearly should have
maneuvered his wheelchair toward the door, but he inexplicably went
straight to Jiang Suizhou's bedside.
The man on the bed was wrapped tightly, and only his dark, silky hair could
be seen scattered across the pillow.
Huo Wujiu hesitated and stretched out his hand to touch Jiang Suizhou's
shoulder through the quilt.
The man was thin and so were his shoulders. Even through the heavy quilt,
Huo Wujiu easily enveloped it with one hand.
Huo Wujiu didn't have to exert much effort to turn him around.
…His face is abnormally pale. He's shaking, and his breathing is quivery.
His eyes were tightly closed, and there wasn't much blood on his lips. His
eyelashes fluttered, and his breathing was labored.
When Huo Wujiu saw his extremely fragile appearance, he froze. And then,
as if he was electric shocked, Huo Wujiu hastily let go of his shoulder in
fear that he would hurt him.
Then, he raised his hand somewhat clumsily and placed it on Jiang
Suizhou's forehead.
…I think this is how to test whether a person has a fever, right?
The temperature under his hand wasn't hot at all; instead, it was cool. He
was probably frozen and hadn't warmed up yet.
Huo Wujiu wanted to withdraw his hand and leave to call Meng Qianshan
in.
But at that moment, a cold hand strenuously stretched out from under the
blanket and grabbed his hand.
It was ice-cold and soft, and entirely frail, yet Huo Wujiu's hand froze in
place.
"Don't go" The man's voice in the bed shook. He was clearly lying on his
bed, but he sounded as if he had fallen into an ice cave, shivering and
holding a life-saving straw.
Huo Wujiu heard Jiang Suizhou's chattering voice.
"Don't tell my mom. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep," he said.
Huo Wugou didn't know who this "mom" was, but he could hear fear and
confusion in Jiang Suizhou's almost inaudible voice.
Jiang Suizhou sounded scared of making trouble.
Huo Wujiu paused and somehow grasped Jiang Suizhou's hand back.
His bony hand was quite long and slender. Huo Wujiu effortlessly wrapped
the thin and weak hand into his.
The unconscious Jiang Suizhou on the bed seemed to have found a heat
source. He sighed softly, and actually struggled to pull that hand closer.
The next moment, a cold and delicate cheek pressed against the back of
Huo Wujiu's veiny hand.
——