He put down his cup of tea and looked towards them.
Xu Du, who was sitting on the side, unhurriedly opened his mouth and
asked, "Although the ancestral hall repair isn't a big deal, several officials
in the Ministry of Rites won it with difficulty…Now, Pang Shao took it
away?"
He looked calm, and his expression was also bland, but in just a few words,
he gave off the feeling of a spring breeze.
Jiang Suizhou could not help but relax a little. "His Majesty asked for it.
There is no other way."
Next to him, Gu Changyun spoke, "Since he has borrowed the mouth of His
Majesty, it is indeed difficult for Your Highness to refuse. It's just a pity that
the money will fall into Pang Shao's hands again."
Xu Du said, "There is still a chance later on, so just wait. But the Ministry
of Rites' officials, can Your Highness appease them?"
Gu Changyun nodded. "Indeed. Those lords have done a lot of work for
Your Highness this time. If we annoy them, your agreements with them
recently will become a threat against you in their hands."
After speaking, the two of them turned sideways and looked at Jiang
Suizhou.
They were straightforward, clear and logical. It was easy to discern that all
the information the original owner usually obtained was shared with them.
These two people were extremely trustworthy to him.
But the premise was…They didn't find out that another person swapped
over Jingwang.
Hence, Jiang Suizhou was quite cautious. After taking down what they said,
along with the names of those ministers discreetly, he nodded and said
concisely, "I know. I've also advised Lord Qi today."
The two nodded.
Then, Jiang Suizhou briefly told them about the rest of the memorials in the
courtroom. Fortunately, the Huo Zhu was a consummate fatuous ruler and
nothing useful was discussed during the early morning court session, so
Jiang Suizhou didn't have much trouble.
Both naturally discussed with him.
What they considered was what Pang Shao would do under this dynasty,
and what chances they had to interfere and reap profits by the way. Jiang
Suizhou gradually realized that these two people must be the original
owner's think tank. They would analyze and deduce for him, and then it
was up to him to make the decision.
It was mainly because the original owner had a weak single power that his
means in fighting against Pang Shao were not so glorious. —— For
example, in the case of repairing the ancestral hall, the original owner's
intention was to also embezzle from the inside. The difference with Pang
Shao was in whose hands the money would fall.
Jiang Suizhou understood him. After all, the imperial court has reached
such a point. It was simply useless to blindly remain upright and clean.
Jiang Suizhou then listened carefully to the two's discussion and wrote
down the useful information for future use when fishing in troubled waters.
Time flew by. When they finished discussing things, half of the lamp oil
was used up.
They stopped. Jiang Suizhou said he was somewhat thirsty and again
picked up a cup of tea, drinking two sips of tea.
Then Gu Changyun spoke again.
"Master…how do you feel about Huo Wujiu?" he asked.
Jiang Suizhou froze.
…What do you mean, feel? Don't tell me you're still competing with him for
favor?
He looked at Gu Changyun. He wanted to say something but stopped and
did not speak for a moment.
Then he saw Gu Changyun rubbing his wrist and puffed out a laugh.
"Master, don't think too much. I have discussed with Xu Du today, and I
think on Huo Wujiu's side…There are still things that you must do
yourself."
Jiang Suizhou did not understand, so he inclined his head, signaling him to
continue.
Xu Du and Gu Changyun exchanged glances.
Gu Changyun then expounded, "In the last couple of years, Pang Shao and
His Majesty haven't stopped planting spies on you. However, you've
disposed of all those people, and none of them were left. Now, there are
only two of us in the house, and you brought both of us in yourself…
Therefore, when Pang Shao proposed the plan to His Majesty to give Huo
Wujiu to you as a concubine, I think it must have been with the intention of
testing you."
Jiang Suizhou frowned: "You mean…"
Gu Changyun nodded. "His Majesty doesn't care about it for the time
being, but Pang Shao still has doubts about your homosexuality. The people
he sent in before were all spies, but this time, Huo Wujiu is different…He is neither His Majesty's nor Pang Shao's. He was born with outstanding looks,
so Pang Shao must have sent someone to secretly spy to see if you…will
still favor Huo Wujiu."
Jiang Suizhou: "…"
Ah, let me spoil Huo Wujiu to prove that I am a gay? Why don't you guys
just cut off my head and hand it over to Huo Wujiu?
He immediately refused, "If I don't spoil Huo Wujiu, will that prove that
my homosexuality is fake? That's an inappropriate move."
But Xu Du, who has been silent, seconded.
He said, "But if you pamper him several times, that can prove that you're
gay Otherwise, I think it will not be long before Pang Shao's party will
still send people in. If you kill anyone who enters one by one…I think it
won't be long before it's exposed."
Gu Changyun nodded, "We discussed and felt that this is the most
appropriate way to go. Your Highness does not need to worry. Just spend
more nights at Huo Wujiu's place during this period of time."
They implied that it didn't matter whether he did or didn't do something to
him.
It was enough to physically let Pang Shao know that he, Jiang Suizhou,
could bear to sleep with even the most loathsome men as long as they were
good looking.
Xu Du then added, "Today is quite good. Changyun has just clashed with
Huo Wujiu, and it makes sense for you to visit him today."
For a time, two pairs of extremely serious eyes looked at Jiang Suizhou one
after another.
Jiang Suizhou looked at them and fell into silence.
He had made a lot of preparations, just so he could not sleep with the
original master's concubines.
It never occurred to him that the original owner's concubines would look at
him eagerly and ask him to sleep with Huo Wujiu.
The door of the room opened and then closed again.
Jiang Suizhou left.
Gu Changyun walked back slowly to Xu Du's side and sat down, picking
up his own cup of tea.
"It's still early. Shall we play a game of chess and then go back?" He
suggested lazily, blowing on the floating leaves on the water.
Xu Du, however, made no sound.
Gu Changyun raised his eyes and saw that Xu Du was sizing him up.
They had worked together for a long time, and with a single look, Gu
Changyun understood what he was thinking.
He held his tea and let out a snort of laughter.
Xu Du opened his mouth and said, "You can see it too." It wasn't a
question, but a statement.
That, although clearly the King looked like the King, he was in no way the
King.
Both of their lives were tethered to His Highness, so His Highness never
worried that they would defect, let alone had to pretend in front of them…
He had never treated the two of them so calmly.
Especially when Pang Shao snatched away what was his, he was too calm.
As for Huo Wujiu…
His Majesty bestowed their marriage through a decree, so His Highness had
loathed him before even seeing him. His Highness transferred all his hatred
for Pang Shao and His Majesty to Huo Wujiu, wishing to let Huo Wujiu die
a violent death in his residence like those scouts, and let people drag him to
a mass grave.
After all, to His Highness, Huo Wujiu was a symbol of the emperor's
wanton humiliation of him. A day that Huo Wujiu stayed in his house meant
a day he was trampled under the feet of the good-for-nothing he had always
despised.
Therefore, at a glance, Xu Du saw through Gu Changyun's scrutiny with
his proposal just now.
Gu Changyun put down his cup of tea.
"What do I see? The one who came just now, isn't he the King?"
He spoke breezily. While speaking, he took out a chessboard and two chess
baskets, one black and one white, from under the table where he sat, and
placed one of them in Xu Du's hand.
"No matter what, the lives of my whole family are in His Highness's
hands." Gu Changyun drawled as he slowly and orderly moved the chess
pieces.
"As long as we obey the King's orders, we don't have to worry about
anything else, right?"
Saying that, he dropped a piece on the chessboard and raised his eyes at Xu
Du.
Flickers of excitement shimmered in those exquisite and delicate eyes, that
were as cold as a bottomless abyss.
——
Those two lulled Jiang Suizhou. After weighing the pros and cons, he still
went to Huo Wujiu's residence.
He had killed those previous spies sent in as concubines, but the more of
them he killed, the more suspicious he'd become. What was more, he was a
modern man and couldn't send someone to kill another.
This time…he could only rely on Huo Wujiu.
Along the way, Jiang Suizhou was chagrined.
He regretted speaking too harshly.
Last night, he had warned Huo Wujiu not to be an eyesore, yet today, he
himself rushed to his residence to be an eyesore.
Before he even arrived at Huo Wujiu's residence, he had already felt
embarrassed for himself.
The palanquin traveled for a long time before it finally arrived at a dimly lit
courtyard.
Jiang Suizhou sat in the palanquin and only glanced at it briefly before
withdrawing his gaze.
Next to the courtyard, it was pitch black with some faint lights in the
distance. That must be the house where the servants lived.
But unexpectedly, the palanquin stopped in front of this courtyard gate.
Jiang Suizhou looked askance at Meng Qianshan, who was beaming at him
from the side. Meng Qianshab stepped forward and tried to help him get out
of the palanquin.
As Jiang Suizhou walked down, he frowned and asked, "Here?"
Meng Qianshan nodded. "We're here! This is the courtyard that Your
Highness has arranged for Madam Huo. Did you forget?"
Jiang Suizhou stood still and looked up.
From a distance, this courtyard and the surrounding houses were in
harmony. He couldn't see anything special.
But when he stood closer, he could see that the courtyard was barren. There
were weeds everywhere and several big trees that had never been pruned
looked like they were baring fangs and claws in the yard. The ground was
covered with a layer of leaves that should have fallen in the autumn of last
year.
Through the dim light coming from the window, he could vaguely see the
broken window panes and window paper, rustling and trembling under the
breeze.
…This place was uninhabitable!
King Jing had driven Huo Wujiu to the corner of the palace and gave him
such a dilapidated house to live in. A quick glance around and it was clear
that the original owner never wanted Huo Wujiu to appear in front of him
for the rest of his life. He even deliberately made things difficult for Huo
Wujiu, so that he would live a bitter life in the King's residence.
The original owner was struggling in Southern Jing; he was probably
limited to seizing power from the Emperor and Pang Shao. For him, Huo
Wujiu was a traitor and an enemy he would never consider to win over.
——How could he have known what Huo Wujiu would do three years later?
Jiang Suizhou fell into a complicated mood for a while and couldn't help
but thank his two "concubines" in his heart.
If not for today's timely arrival, he probably would have had to shoulder the
original owner's blame again and be a credit on Huo Wujiu's account.
He sighed inwardly, and grunted, "I mentioned it offhand. I can't
remember."
After speaking, he lifted his feet and walked towards the courtyard.
Next to him, Meng Qianshan clicked his tongue in wonder.
How could he not remember? A few days ago, when he asked His Highness
where Madam Huo would live, His Highness's eyes were frighteningly
cold. He specifically said to throw Huo Wujiu a little further away and
never let him see him.