The palanquin was remodeled with even more security than a prison wagon,
as if he had the ability to grow wings and fly out.
Huo Wujiu had long been aware of how much he had terrified them in the
past, and how much their abuse of him would now intensify.
As long as he was in enemy hands, the enemy's fear would be transformed
into a knife used to stab at him. Only when he reached the point where he
was within a step from death's door would they be relieved.
They were also right to do so. After all, as long as he still had a breath in
him, then he, Huo Wujiu, would never sit around and wait for death.
But this Jingwang…
Huo Wujiu frowned.
He had never seen anyone like Jingwang. Jingwang was clearly afraid of
him, and he had plenty of ways to dispose of him, and yet, he did nothing.
Huo Wujiu didn't believe in the slightest that Jingwang was purely
benevolent, but it seemed that he didn't need to act on him yet.
Huo Wujiu closed his eyes.
He worked out a lot of the traps of his opponent as early as in the prison,
preparing himself to defend against them. He knew there was bound to be a
change, but he never thought…
The change he encountered was Jingwang himself.
——
Meng Qianshan, who was waiting at the door, was startled when he saw
Jiang Suizhou pushing the door open by himself.
He looked at the sky and hurriedly greeted him saying, "Master, there's still
more than an hour before the grand court assembly. Why don't you rest a bit
more?"
Jiang Suizhou closed the door.
Grand Court Assembly? He knew that the Jing Dynasty didn't practice a
daily morning court session, but rather had one court session every five
days, which was called the Grand Court Assembly.
It came as a surprise that the day after he came here, he would come across
it.
He nodded his head and spoke gently, his voice a bit quiet, "I woke up
early. It's nothing."
Meng Qianshan hastily answered, turned his head and ordered the servants
to go to the King's courtyard to prepare the meal, while he himself helped
lead Jiang Suizhou out of the courtyard.
Jiang Suizhou hadn't slept all night and was now dizzy and lightheaded, so
he didn't refuse and let Meng Qianshan help him.
Meng Qianshan carefully inspected him with a glance as they walked.
…Oh boy!
Dark blue eye bags, waxen face, unsteady gait; there was also a hidden
exhaustion in the eyes.
Err…The Prince had quite an intense night, didn't he?
Meng Qianshan took a look, then cautiously withdrew his gaze. But he
couldn't control himself, and looked back a second and third time.
He peeked too frequently that even Jiang Suizhou took notice.
Just as Jiang Suizhou boarded the palanquin parked at the gate of the
courtyard, he found Meng Qianshan sneaking a peek at him again.
Jiang Suizhou couldn't help but frown and asked, "What's the matter?"
Meng Qianshan quickly withdrew his gaze and replied with a smile,
"Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to ask Your Highness if there was anything
you wanted to eat this morning."
Jiang Suizhou shook his head. "Feel free to prepare whatever you wish."
Meng Qianshan promptly responded, commanded the servants to carry the
palanquin, and went in the direction of Anyin Hall.
Jiang Suizhou pondered for a moment and asked, "Meng Qingshan, have
the arrangements been made for the courtyard where Huo Wuj…Madam
Huo is moving to?"
Although his head was spinning, he still remembered his plans last night.
The place where they slept last night was the ceremonial chamber used for
wedding events in the royal residence. Today, Huo Wujiu was to move into
his residence.
Since Jiang Suizhou had made up his mind not to provoke him, then Huo
Wujiu must not be mistreated and lack these basic necessities.
Meng Qianshan was dumbfounded.
What? When did His Highness ask about such trivial matters in the
residence?
Jiang Suizhou heard no response for a while, and when he turned his head
sideways, he saw Meng Qianshan staring at him dumbfounded.
"Meng Qianshan," he prompted.
Meng Qingshan answered, "Your Highness, don't worry. I arranged it ages
ago!"
Jiang Suizhou paused and then said, "He seems to be badly injured. Ask
someone to examine him later."
Good lord, I can't believe I have to find a doctor for someone else.
Meng Qianshan nodded repeatedly, "I'll go find a doctor later to take a look
at Madam Huo."
Jiang Suizhou grunted and said, "Serve him snacks."
After saying that, he withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes and supported his
head with one arm as he took a nap.
He did not notice that Meng Qianshan, who was following beside him, had
long been stunned silly by his command.
He was already screaming deep inside.
He was sent to serve the Prince since he was ten years old and had been
with him for many years, but when had he ever seen him ask after these
matters?!
It was not that there were no other ladies in the mansion, but even if they
were favored, he had never seen such care for them from his master!
He did not forget that when the Prince arrived last night, he was as cold as
frost with anger. He threw the veil down and drank the wedding cup alone
yesterday. Just looking into his eyes sent cold sweat down Meng
Qianahan's spine.
But in just one night, h-he actually began to care about the Madam inside!
What else could let people change their attitude so quickly? He knew these
things even if he was just a eunuch.
But come to think of it…
The Prince's appearance of overindulgence and excessive lust today showed
him a glimpse or two of the methods used by the Madam inside.
Thinking of this, Meng Qianshan couldn't help but sigh.
Unexpectedly…unexpectedly, that cripple had such skills!
When Jiang Suizhou and his party left, the courtyard became completely
silent.
Huo Wujiu sat up, pulled the wheelchair closer, propped himself up on the
edge of the bed and moved himself into the wheelchair with a little effort.
He quietly gathered his hair, tied it up sharply behind his head, and looked
out the window.
It was dawn.
He has always been very adaptable. When he was in Yangguan in the past,
he was very tolerant of the airborne dust and sand in the north and could
ride his horse on the Gobi desert to his heart's content; he stayed there until
his father raised his army. He also adapted quickly to the successive years
of war and learned how to climb out of the mountain of corpses and blood,
lead his subordinates and be a sufficiently qualified general.
Now, he also learned how to live with a pair of legs that had lost all
functions in a very short time, and how to fight when alone in the enemy
camp.
The sun gradually rose outside the window, and the light fell through the
window onto the ground. With the rising sun, the rays advanced little by
little toward Huo Wujiu.
When that light was about to envelop the edge of his wheelchair, a knock
sounded at the door.
Huo Wujiu looked in the direction of the door, and his gaze sank without a
trace.
He knew that if he wanted any answers, now was a good opportunity.
——
Jiang Suizhou was unaware that Meng Qianshan had secretly drafted some
nasty thoughts behind his back. He closed his eyes, but wasn't very sleepy,
so he contemplated the grand court session later.
At the Grand Court Assembly, not only did the hundred officials pay their
respects, but they also had to discuss official business in the court. But…
But considering the South Jing Emperor's professional level as recorded in
history books, he reckoned they wouldn't be able to discuss any business
matters in the courtroom.
What worried Jiang Suizhou was his identity.
After all, the King Jing he had become now had scarcely any records in
literature, not even a few words in total.
He was the only surviving younger brother of the emperor, the sickly man
who died an untimely death. To add to that, he was also gay.
It was practically blank. So, he had no idea what his current position was,
much less what kind of people the original owner knew, what kind of
friendships he had, and how to deal with them.
What was more worrying was that he married the infamous General Huo
only yesterday. Hence, he was sure to become the target of criticism today.
Facts proved that his fears were spot on.
He wondered if there was a way to solve his official post. All in all, once
Jiang Suizhou changed into his official robe, he realized what his official
rank was; when Meng Qianshan brought him the ivory court tablet, he knew
where he should stand when he was in the court later.
The major he studied was unduly fitting, giving him more or less an
advantage in this matter of crossing.
However, his major didn't teach him how to face various strange glances
from civil and military officials.
From the moment he got off the palanquin and entered the Kaiyang Gate,
many of the officials nearby were given a start, and countless eyes looked
him up and down non-stop. One or two people looking at him was just fine,
but almost everyone looked at him a few times. Thus, it was inevitable for
Jiang Suizhou to be on the tenterhooks.
Those gazes were a mixture of Schadenfreude, abhorrence and disdain, and
also grief. Some wanted to speak but then hesitated.
A bold official even went to Jiang Suizhou's side, bumped him with his
shoulder and said with a smile, "Your Highness must have been exhausted
last night. When it comes to luck with romance, you are indeed blessed!"
From his official uniform, he wasn't a high-ranking official from the third
rank.
Although he wasn't in a high official position and was only idly working in
the Ministry of Rites, he was also a first-rate prince. If he dared to drip acid
with sarcasm on him, there must be someone backing him up.
The treacherous minister, Pang Shao, who was well-known in history
books, was in this dynasty.
Jiang Suizhou gave him a casual look, but made no response.
His cold and arrogant eyes have always been a strong deterrent, so with a
touch of warning in them, he immediately rendered the official frightened
and stunned. The wretched smile on his face, which was a bit of
schadenfreude and improper intimacy, was also put away awkwardly.
Jiang Suizhou withdrew his gaze from him, speeded up his pace, and
walked away from him.
His appearance somewhat deterred some people and made the second half
of his journey to the imperial court much smoother.
It also spared him some energy to scrutinize some things on the side.
Before the Jing Dynasty fled south, the capital of the country was in
Yecheng. Three years ago, Huo Wujiu led the Liang army and invaded the
capital. The previous emperor, Emperor Jing Ling, fled south in haste with
his family and numerous officials and died on the way. The present ruler,
Jiang Shunheng, hastily fled to Yuhang and changed his name to Lin'an,
which became the new capital of the country.
At present, it has only been three years since the capital was established
here, and the palace has been hastily built up.
The palace was roughly built, and the blueprint was also a mess. It took a
glance to see the result of the rushed work. According to historical records,
after the emperor fled to Lin'an, he insisted that wouldn't be emperor
without a royal palace, which forced South Jing to build the Imperial City
in a hurry within half a year.
Rough as it was, the cost was, by no means, paltry. Along the way, it
seemed that the whole imperial city was resplendent and decidedly
extravagant. At first glance, a large sum of gold and silver was spent.
Jiang Suizhou could not help but sigh in his heart.
There was no bias in the historical records of the preposterous deeds of the
Emperor of South Jing.
He walked up the long white marble steps in front of Guangyuan Hall and
saw that many courtiers were already standing inside. Because they studied
historical materials in the school, everything was fine and detailed, so Jiang
Suizhou didn't have much trouble finding his position and stood there.