Huo Wujiu raised his eyes and saw Wei Kai pursing his lips. A moment
later, he whispered, "That person said that Qianfan was shot by a stray
arrow on the day you crossed the river. He couldn't be saved."
His eyes reddened a bit.
He and Wu Qianfan grew up together since childhood. It wasn't an
exaggeration to say that they were brothers despite the lack of blood ties.
After he crossed the river with the General and the General got captured, he
complained about Wu Qianfan because he screwed up. Unexpectedly, it was
because he was already dead.
Huo Wujiu, however, fell into silence.
Dead?
Wu Qianfan was his strongest subordinate, and his relationship to him was
even closer than Wei Kai. When this man had perished, he should naturally
be sad, but…
Before today, he already had some conjectures.
If Wu Qianfan was executed because of poor command, it would be
justifiable. But the Great River was as wide as could be, so even if they
were engaged in a bloody battle on the riverside, it was impossible to shoot
arrows across the river. If Wu Qianfan was shot to death by an arrow, then it
was likely when he was in the process of leading his troops across the river.
But if that were the case, it was unlikely that not a single soldier arrived.
So, if Wu Qianfan died accidentally … it must be that he was silenced.
Because if he were executed, he certainly would have been detained for
interrogation, and the only way to keep him from spilling the beans was to
let him die accidentally.
After a moment of silence, Huo Wujiu asked, "Who is now guarding
Jiangbei?"
Wei Kai answered, "His surname is Li, and first name is Sheng, a former
subordinate of His Highness the Crown Prince. I am not familiar with him."
It wasn't surprising that his people died and were replaced by the Crown
Prince's people. After all, he was no longer in the Great Liang now, so it
was only natural for the Crown Prince to personally dispatch the army and
appoint generals. They should also be people he was more familiar with and
those whose capabilities he was more aware of.
However…
If Huo Wujiu hadn't seen the fake letter with the Crown Prince's personal
seal from Jiang Suizhou that day, perhaps he would still think so.
Huo Wujiu remained silent for a while.
Even if his cousin had no problem, there must be something wrong with his
cousin's men. This being the case, the General guarding the river wasn't
completely a trustworthy person.
Based on his character, once he found such a problem, he would have gone
forward to face the issue without fear.
When all was said and done, the general of the army guarding the river had
just changed, nothing more. Even if he retreated ten thousand steps, but that
general was bent on guarding the river bank and killing him, he had to
weigh who the soldiers under his command supported. As to who would die
at that time, that remained unknown.
On the contrary, as long as he prepared in advance, the time when that
person wanted to deal with him most would also be the time when he would most likely turn things around and obtain evidence to strike back.
But…
Although his eyes were fixed only on his knees, his mind was thinking of
another person.
That man had begged for his asylum in the name of cooperation. If he were
to escape alone, the man would surely bear the crime of releasing a captive
for him. Also, if he were to take that man away…
On the one hand, he was weak and knew nothing about martial arts, so it
would be difficult to protect him in front of two armies before a battle. On
the other hand, as a member of the Southern Jing royal family, how was he
supposed to deal with him after rashly bringing him back to Northern
Liang?
The pampered young prince naturally couldn't be a captive.
Huo Wujiu had always chosen the most direct and easiest way to succeed.
As for the consequences and risks, he never paid attention to them.
It never occurred to him that he would one day be indecisive, looking ahead
into the future and back into the past.
He wanted to give up that easiest shortcut all for the sake of one person.
When Wei Kai heard nothing from his general for quite some time, he could
not help being puzzled: "General?"
He knew that the General would definitely be sad after knowing that Wu
Qianfan died. But grief aside, they must also focus on the situation at hand.
Now that they had finally made contact with the guard of the Great Liang,
what was the General still hesitating about?
Just then, Huo Wujiu, who had been silent for a long time, slowly spoke.
"Wait for the time being," he said. "Don't disclose anything about my leg
being cured. Tell them it's not healed, but keep in touch with them. Send the contents of each letter exchanged for my review, and I will reply."
Wei Kai was dumbfounded.
"General?"
Their General seemed to have heard something and raised his eyes to look
out the window.
Then he spotted the guard of His Highness Jingwang appearing far outside
the entrance of Anyin Hall, followed by Jingwang in heavy coronet
stepping down from the carriage.
The general took a couple of glances and went straight to the bedside. He
neatly flipped over the bed covers and pulled the quilt upward. The man
who was still walking as if on wings just now could no longer move his legs
and was sickly sitting on the bed.
He also picked up the booklet by the bed with one hand and flipped through
it.
"Jingwang is coming. Pack up your things and get out of here," he
commanded.
Wei Kai took two steps forward, keeping in mind that he couldn't manage
anything else: "But General, why are you…"
"Because I want to take someone away with me."
He heard his general say this.
When Jiang Suizhou stepped into Huo Wujiu's room, he saw him sitting on
the bed reading a book.
When he entered the room, Meng Qianshan discerningly took off his cloak
and withdrew.
Jiang Suizhou walked straight into Huo Wujiu's bedroom and sat down by
his bed. Huo Wujiu had just put down the book in his hand when he saw
Jiang Suizhou sitting there looking at him.
"What?" Huo Wujiu asked.
Jiang Suizhou frowned and replied, "I just think they've treated you for so
long, but you still don't look well."
Huo Wujiu paused and skirted around the topic.
"Did Jiang Shunheng summon you to the palace?" he asked.
Jiang Suizhou smiled at his question. He took Huo Wujiu's book and
casually flipped through it.
"Hmm," he replied smilingly, "Recently, the imperial doctors who entered
the manor has never stopped. I've recovered somewhat these days, so
naturally, he wants to confirm with his own eyes whether I'm dead or not."
After saying that, he looked down at the book, unable to resist releasing a
soft sigh.
Before he transmigrated, he was in good health and never knew what it was
like to be a sick child. After staying here for so many days, although he had tried his best to change the fate of being killed by Huo Wujiu, he also knew
that his naturally frail body would never get better.
His lifespan perhaps was still uncertain.
But just then, he heard Huo Wujiu's voice.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he promised.
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes and saw Huo Wujiu looking at him quite
seriously
He burst out laughing.
"That's for sure," he said. "With General Huo protecting this Prince, I
believe that even if Jiang Shunheng was old friends with King Yama, there
was no way he could take my life."
He just thought Huo Wujiu was kidding and he didn't take him seriously
—— After all, it was all too easy not to get killed, but it was another story
when it came to dying due to illness.
Nevertheless, Jiang Suizhou had always been broad-minded, only thinking
of taking one step and looking around before taking another.
In front of him, Huo Wujiu's lips moved inaudibly, as if he wanted to say
something, but swallowed it.
Jiang Suizhou did not notice his abnormality. After the quip, he continued,
"However, this Prince did see Pang Shao today."
When Huo Wujiu heard these words, he raised his eyes and looked at Jiang
Suizhou quietly, waiting for his next words.
He heard Jiang Suizhou say, "Today, when I came out of the palace, I
happened to run into him. I spotted a eunuch next to him, so I think the
Emperor doesn't want to see him just yet. He went there on his own
initiative."
Huo Wujiu nodded in response: "Did you speak with him?"
Jiang Suizhou smiled and said, "Yes, I did. I feigned complete ignorance,
mocked him a couple of times, and acted the part of a villain intoxicated by
success."
Huo Wujiu hmmed. He didn't say anything, but when he raised his eyes to
Jiang Suizhou, the corners of his lips curled up imperceptibly.
This man didn't often smile, but every time he smiled, even the tiniest hint
of it made him look radiant. He was especially dazzling.
Jiang Suizhou was rather stunned.
When he spoke again, he almost stammered.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a trace of lump in his throat.
Huo Wujiu replied, "Nothing. I just recalled the birthday banquet at the
palace that day. You performed remarkably in front of Pang Shao."
Jiang Suizhou was rendered speechless, and actually blushed a little.
Even if Huo Wujiu didn't say it outright, the two of them knew it by heart.
As a last resort that day, he had to play a tenth of a pervert in front of Pang
Shao.
However, he did not expect that Huo Wujiu would one day joke about this
matter.
His blush receded, and he actually found it quite funny. He cleared his
throat and gave Huo Wujiu across him a glance, a condescending posture.
"Madam Huo," he said with an accent, "This Prince doesn't like people
who are arrogant because they're favored."
Huo Wujiu knew that he was joking and knew that he should have laughed
along at this time.
However, when he let this man give him a look across from him, a single
glance at his arrogant posture instantly drew his heart taut and rendered all
his meridians a bit numb.
His throat rolled, and he couldn't help but chant a heart cleansing mantra
deep down.
Jiang Suizhou failed to notice his strangeness. He burst out laughing, then
sternly continued, "However, on the way back from the palace today, this
Prince was thinking about one thing."
Huo Wujiu suppressed his thoughts and replied, "What is it?"
Jiang Suizhou said leisurely, "The rift between Jiang Shunheng and Pang
Shao is a foregone conclusion, but will they one day reconcile?"
Huo Wujiu fell silent for a moment, then answered, "It's inevitable."
Jiang Suizhou nodded.
"This Prince thinks so too," he said, "First of all, Jiang Shunheng is simple
minded and has been coddled by Pang Shao and Empress Dowager Pang
since childhood. He trusts them very much. Secondly, although several of
the Pang Shao related incidents hoodwinked Jiang Shunheng, they did not
infringe on his throne. It won't take long for Pang Shao to please him
again."
Huo Wujiu hummed in response.
"Then what do you think?" he asked.
Jiang Suizhou replied, "It takes more than one cold day for the river to
freeze three feet deep. It's impossible to accomplish something in one step.
For the following days, it's enough for us to take a breather and a chance to
expand our power and suppress Pang's party. Afterward… we need to
counter every trick."
Huo Wujiu said, "By all means, make up your mind."
Jiang Suizhou nodded thoughtfully.
But Huo Wu Jiu, who slowly retracted his gaze, had a complicated
expression.
Jiang Suizhou was right. Pang Shao would definitely regain the Hou Zhu's
trust, but it would take some time. And the best way for him to gain trust…
Huo Wujiu raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Suizhou.
It was to attack the hated Jingwang.
——