The banquet hall was very spacious, as the banquet rule stipulated one
person per table. Huo Wujiu was also in a wheelchair, so there was no need
to add a chair, just bowls and chopsticks.
Jiang Suizhou sat abandonedly before his table. The eunuch saw that when
His Highness King Jing took his seat, he turned his head and gave the
general a cold and disgusted glare.
The eunuch hastily retreated.
He didn't see that when His Highness King Jing looked at Madam Huo, he
quickly apologized. "Forgive me."
Jiang Suizhou was in a cold sweat just now, not only because of his fear
that something would go wrong during his first contact with Pang Shao, but
more importantly, the series of actions he subjected Huo Wujiu to.
It was like pulling the tiger's whiskers!
Jiang Suizhou was petrified, so as soon as he found an opportunity, he
immediately apologized to Huo Wujiu.
He didn't expect Huo Wujiu to respond to him at all. He also thought about
how to logically explain it to him again later on their way back.
But Huo Wujiu looked at him and winked slowly.
He seemed to be conveying: I know.
Jiang Suizhou was startled, and he could hardly retain his ice-cold visage.
He quickly averted his eyes, picked up the teacup on the table and took a
sip to calm his nerves.
His wink just now…Was it a response to him? It shouldn't mean, "You're
dead tonight," right?
Jiang Suizhou's fingers trembled a little.
Behind him, Huo Wujiu shot him a pensive glance, concealing a bit of deep
meaning that was extremely difficult to detect in the depths of his eyes.
Jiang Suizhou was so calm and composed in front of so many people just
now, so why did he look at him and start acting scared again?
Nonetheless, this was the first time he saw Jiang Suizhou in front of people.
He was a superb actor, seeing how he even fooled Pang Shao. Jiang
Suizhou's performance indeed incited hatred. No wonder Ji Hongcheng
flew into a rage because of him and wrote obscenities in his letter.
But…
Huo Wujiu surprisingly found it a bit cute.
When Jiang Suizhou looked at him with that seemingly hostile stance that
actually hid pinches of nervousness, he felt like a paw was scratching his
heart somewhere, causing a tickling itch.
Huo Wujiao involuntarily raised his hand and gently stroked his chin with
his knuckles.
Jiang Suizhou's cold and soft touch seemed to linger there.
His hands had trembled gently, as if he tried his utmost best to control it,
but all to no avail.
Consequently, Jiang Suizhou's supposed insulting ferocity unexpectedly
acquired a piteous touch, making his viciousness like a paper tiger that would break with a poke. On the surface, he railed candidly, but in fact, he
swayed tremblingly, as if looking for support.
Restraining himself from grabbing Jiang Suizhou's hand into his own
demanded more determination than enduring the pain of cruel torture.
——
Outside the door, the rain pattered incessantly, but brilliant lights filled the
inside of the hall.
Amidst the gold and jade splendor, all high-ranking officials and lords were
celebrating with songs and dance. If Jiang Suizhou were someone else, he
really would have been dazzled and thought that the imperial court was at
the peak of its power and had centuries left to live.
But Jiang Suizhou knew that this prosperous gaiety in front of him was the
result of emptying the national treasury and also plundering countless
surrounding states and counties. It was barely scraped together.
Beneath the glitz was a rickety, empty frame.
It was getting late. The court eunuchs sang and drank, then silence suddenly
settled down everywhere.
His Majesty had arrived.
Jiang Suizhou rose to his feet with the courtiers and quietly waited for the
emperor to sit down on the throne. Afterward, with the eunuch's cry, he,
along with the ministers, knelt thrice and kowtowed nine times towards the
emperor, performing the most solemn of salutes.
When the last salute was over, the ministers kneeled in place, waiting for
the emperor to let them rise.
The grand eunuch inclined towards the emperor nearby with a horsetail
whisk in his hand waited for a moment, but he didn't hear a sound from the
man on the throne.
…What was he up to now?
The grand eunuch felt a bit apprehensive, so he cautiously looked up. On
the magnificent throne, the resplendently-dressed emperor sat askew,
touching his chin with one hand and looking thoughtfully at the bottom of
the step.
What is…?
The grand eunuch followed his gaze and saw that among the kneeling
courtiers, there was only one person who stood out from the crowd, sitting
there quietly and silently opposite the emperor.
His gaze was calm and indifferent, and he stared directly at His Majesty
without any fear.
Huo Wujiu.
The grand eunuch knew this man. When Huo Wujiu was escorted back to
Lin'an, he went to the dungeon with His Majesty once. That was the first
time that man met His Majesty. Several officers and soldiers tried to force
Huo Wujiu down on his knees, but were unsuccessful.
It was also on that occasion that His Majesty ordered his hamstrings to be
picked off.
T-This man indeed can't kneel now…but the look on His Majesty seems like
he still wants to launch an attack, doesn't it?
The grand eunuch's heart throbbed uneasily.
Just then, he heard His Majesty speak lazily.
"My dear subjects, you may rise," he said.
Having received his decree, the ministers at the bottom of the stairs stood
up and returned to their seats.
The grand eunuch sighed with relief.
His Majesty was truly foolish. In the past, the previous emperor suppressed
him, so he was still restrained. However, now that he was the emperor, the
Grand Minister over the Masses blindly obeyed him, making him
sometimes ridiculous regardless of the occasion. Hence, servants like them
were also in constant fear.
It would be best if His Majesty didn't fly into a rage and instead, spent his
birthday smoothly…
However, he was just halfway relieved when he heard His Majesty speak
again.
"Hiss…Fifth Brother." The emperor rested his cheek on one hand. Without
announcing the start of the feast, he picked up a shrimp ball from the table
in front of him and stuffed it into his mouth.
"All the ministers have kneeled just now…except your wife. Why didn't he
kneel before me?"
Jiang Suizhou gave him a good dressing-down inwardly.
Kneel to you? Let me break your legs, and you try kneeling.
He raised his head to look at the emperor. Then his eyes swept through the
room. He saw that most of the courtiers around him were looking at him
with a touch of schadenfreude, looking calm and composed amid the mess.
Watching the emperor persecute him and Huo Wujiu must have been a
long-awaited show for them.
Jiang Suizhou paused and stood up. He turned around with grace and
bowed toward the emperor.
"My wife has been rude. Please forgive me, Royal Brother," he said.
Hearing his apology, the emperor slowly chewed the shrimp ball in his
mouth and languidly smiled. "All right, I'll forgive you. But how do you
intend to make me forgive you?"
Jiang Suizhou glanced at Huo Wujiu who was beside him.
"Although this thing is crippled, our intentions must be given priority and
can't be lacking." Jiang Suizhou's gaze was cold and contemptuous, as if he
had been tainted by a turbid object. A sprinkle of impatience and abhorrence
even tinged his tone.
After speaking, he raised his eyes to look at Meng Qianshan at the back,
and said, "Why aren't you bringing him over? Today, even if we drag him,
we must let him kowtow to my royal brother." The last few words were
almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
It was evident that His Highness, King Jing, indeed harbored an undying
hatred and disgust for Huo Wujiu, who had been stuffed into his mansion.
If that was so, did he still lock him up in the room for torture?
The emperor became more and more excited, while Meng Qianshan, who
was standing behind the seat, was stunned.
He knew that His Highness wanted to pretend to hate Madam Huo…but
was he going to do it for real?
H-How could he do this!
Just then, Meng Qianshan saw Jiang Suizhou frowning gently and looking
at him with an icy gaze.
"Be careful when you move," he said. "Don't let the dirty blood on his legs
get on the carpet and bring bad luck to the emperor."
During palace banquets, especially one for the emperor's birthday, one
should never shed blood. This had always been the precept of the Jing
Dynasty.
Sure enough, the emperor opened his mouth to ask when he heard these
words, "What dirty blood?"
Jiang Suizhou glanced at Meng Qianshan, slowly blinked, and then spoke
nonchalantly, "It's nothing, just be careful."
After saying that, Jiang Suizhou addressed Meng Qianshan again.
"If you dare stain the ground, even just a spot, I'll ask for your head."
Meng Qianshan shuddered in fright, and in the next moment, he met Jiang
Suizhou's eyes.
He was immediately enlightened.
That's right…Before leaving the residence today, His Highness had
cautioned him!
Meng Qianshan promptly turned around and kneeled down with a poof
toward the emperor.
"Your Majesty, please help! Madam's leg…Yesterday, His Highness was…
His Highness was just careless! The wound on Madam's leg now bleeds
when touched, and it has not yet scabbed to this day…This servant does not
dare to cause bad luck for Your Majesty!"
Meng Qianshan finished stammering while trembling. When everyone
heard this, they immediately thought that Jiang Suizho must have tortured
Huo Wujiu yesterday. He took him out for fun, to let other people toy with
the cripple some more.
The emperor felt somewhat chilled deep inside.
Sure enough, his uncle was right. The most interesting thing was not to beat
the dog, but to put two dogs into a kennel and watch them tear at each other.
But…
It was pleasurable, but really forcing Huo Wujiu to kowtow in blood at his
banquet was also something he couldn't do —— He wasn't afraid of his
ancestors' decrees, but of bad luck. He feared that the Heavens would see it
and jeopardize his predestined lifespan.
However, he must regain his dignity and not lose it.
In the next moment, the smile on the emperor's face deepened, and his gaze
flickered between Jiang Suizhou and Huo Wujiu.
Finally, he looked at Jiang Suizhou and said, "Then forget it. He's bloody,
and I'm not such an unreasonable person either," he said.
Jiang Suizhou breathed a sigh of relief, but he still didn't forget to display a
look of reluctance on his face. He even coldly glared at Huo Wujiu.
However, before he could be completely relieved, the emperor spoke again.
"However, since he is your concubine, you two, more or less, are one and
the same, right?" The emperor said with a smile.
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes to look at him.
The emperor smiled smugly and said, "You kneel for him."
All the courtiers sat at the edge of their seats, all eyes centered on him.
…There was no doubt that the emperor was taking the opportunity to
trample on Jiang Suizhou's dignity again.
Jiang Suizhou took a deep breath and grit his teeth.
He knew that this accursed fatuous ruler would never give up after
receiving Pang Shao's guidance.
Forget it. Had he suffered any less from the emperor for Huo Wujiu's sake?
It was now just one more kowtow. It was just a disgrace and was no big
deal.
Jiang Suizhou quickly completed a good psychological construction, not
forgetting to show humiliation on his face. He looked at the emperor,
waiting for him to force him again. He would then kowtow like a duck
driven to a perch and end the matter.
But at that juncture, a low voice reverberated in the silent hall.
"Who is he to take my place?" This was said with a pinch of contempt.
Jiang Suizhou froze.
What was Huo Wujiu doing!
He looked behind him in surprise, and the ministers in the hall also looked
at Huo Wujiu, one after the other.
Jiang Suizhou saw Huo Wujiu on his wheelchair with his head raised,
looking at the emperor in the distance.
Just then, Huo Wujiu curled one corner of his lips and lazily showed a
provocative smile to the emperor.
For a moment, he was like the sun shining into the deep valley. His
flamboyant and sharp appearance suddenly glittered, and it called to mind a
war flag raised again by the wind, akin to the beacon fire roaring up in the
city.
This seemed to be his original appearance, dressed in fine clothes and
leading a luxurious life, arrogant and failing to show restraint.
Jiang Suizhou listened to Huo Wujiu, who continued, "I, Huo Wujiu, as a
minister, only kneel for my own monarch," he questioned slowly. "What
qualifications does he have to replace me?"
The raised end note of his voice sounded smooth and condescending.
The emperor was so livid that his eyes were almost popping out.
"Your monarch?" He gritted his teeth. "You, Huo, are originally the vassals
of my Great Jing, the watch dogs I raised. What kind of monarch do you
have?"
Jiang Suizhou saw Huo Wujiu laugh and shake his head, as if he had heard
some kind of joke.
It was the first time Jiang Suizhou saw Huo Wujiu laugh.
He was a bit wild, but extremely dazzling, like a blade buried in the mud
and sand, reflecting the brilliance of the blazing sun.