What was the purpose of his wife sending a letter to Huo Wujiu?
Seeing that Jiang Suizhou frowned and did not say anything, Meng
Qianshan added, "This letter is for Madam Huo."
Jiang Suizhou looked at Huo Wujiu, and saw him faintly lift his eyelids.
"Flower Appreciation Banquet." Huo Wujiu's voice was low and calm.
Flower appreciation?
Jiang Suizhou opened the envelope, pulled out the letter. There was a letter
of invitation inside inviting Huo Wujiu to go to his family's back courtyard
in a month's time to enjoy the flowers.
Jiang Suizhou frowned deeper and deeper, and before finishing reading the
letter, he stuffed the letter with the envelope into Meng Qianshan's hand.
All of them were bad news.
That fatuous emperor and those bunches of bootlickers in the court were
entirely to blame for why the Jing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.
They were plagued with leisure all day long and didn't know how to
enhance national strength against Northern Liang. On the contrary, they
were obsessed with finding ways to humiliate the captive of the enemy
country.
The emperor forced Jiang Suizhou to let Huo Wujiu take part in the palace
banquet earlier this morning, and now there was an insignificant official
also strutting around to have fun with Huo Wujiu. Jiang Suizhou was already tired, and the irritation that he had accumulated throughout the day
burst out uncontrollably.
He rarely displayed his anger, but his tone even contained a thin layer of it.
"Send it back to where it came from."
Meng Qianshan was startled: "Your Highness…"
Jiang Suizhou swept him a sidelong glance: "What? I don't want him to go
see the rubbish flowers in his garden. Is there a problem?"
Meng Qianshan shook his head repeatedly, and even though he had some
reservations, he did not dare to say anything.
But at that moment, Huo Wujiu spoke up.
"Pang Shao must have authorized him to do so, and they will not rest until
they achieve their goal."
Jiang Suizhou was about to pick his teacup on the table, when he heard the
low voice out of the blue. He moved with a start and looked at Huo Wujiu.
Huo Wujiu remained seated in his wheelchair, and when he saw Jiang
Suizhou staring at him, he quietly continued. "They are targeting me. It's
none of your business," he said.
Huo Wujiu knew that since he was in Southern Jing, such things would
definitely not be rare. He was lucky to escape once or twice before, all
because Jiang Suizhou defended him behind the scenes.
For every time Jiang Suizhou held them off, that group of people would
take the opportunity to rip a piece of flesh off of him. How many valuable
things could King Jing have on him that would be enough to keep them at
bay in front of him?
He did not want to be this shrinking tortoise, nor did he want to let another
person be a shield for him.
After saying these words, he distinctly felt Jiang Suizhou's stunned gaze.
This made Huo Wujiu's heartbeat inexplicably skip a couple of beats. Huo
Wujiu hastily averted his gaze and did not look at him again.
He hoped King Jing wouldn't think too much of it. He just wanted to clarify
that he could do without Jiang Suizhou's self-sacrificing goodwill…
But then he heard Jiang Suizhou's hoarse voice sink.
"None of my business?" He sneered. "You're married to me. How can it be
none of my business? Is it not my dignity that's trampled upon when you, a
big man, mingle with women to enjoy the flowers?"
After saying this, Jiang Suizhou went to the back room to shower.
As he walked out, he was still inwardly cursing.
If you let me live and don't cut off my head after three years, then it's
naturally none of my business!
Of course, he knew that Pang Shao was behind the little official who dared
to send such a letter to his palace. As for why Pang Shao supported him
—— it was naturally because this move would please the emperor very
much.
Of course, Pang Shao was also more than happy to see it.
During this period, that group of people tortured Jiang Suizhou, and he
learned how to understand their tricks. In any case, if he could stop
something, he would stop it. If he couldn't, he would put it off for a later
time.
With that decision, Jiang Suizhou cleaned up and took a bath, before
coming out of the back room.
He was exhausted from the day. Once cleaned, he felt as if he was treading
on air from the fatigue. He just wanted to fall into bed and get a good
night's sleep.
But as soon as he returned to his bedroom and was about to go to his couch,
he found Huo Wujiu sitting on his couch, quietly reading a book.
…What is he doing?
Jiang Suizhou was a bit confused and stopped in his place.
Huo Wujiu heard his footsteps and raised his head. He pointed in the
direction of the bed with his chin, poker-faced.
"Go sleep there." His tone was crisp and sharp, as if he was giving orders to
his soldiers.
Jiang Suizhou was a bit overwhelmed. He looked in the direction of the
bed. He saw that the bed was neat and tidy. Moreover, there was a pill on
the low table next to the bed.
"And the medicine on the table, eat it." Jiang Suizhou heard Huo Wujiu say.
Jiang Suizhou decided that Huo Wujiu wasn't going to poison him to death.
But…Why was he giving him medicine?
He looked at Huo Wujiu suspiciously and stood motionless for a while.
Right at that moment, a breeze blew in from the open window. It was
perceptibly a refreshing warm breeze, but it swept the water vapor on Jiang
Suizhou's body and made him cough violently.
He had a hacking cough, probably because his immunity was already poor.
Plus, he was drained today, so his body was even weaker.
When he stopped coughing a few moments later, his voice was hoarse, and
his eyes were covered with a layer of mist.
Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes in a daze, and through the hazy mist, he found
that someone had closed the window.
Huo Wujiu sat under the window reading a book, without raising his eyes.
Jiang Suizhou regulated his breathing before sheepishly heading to the bed
and sitting on the edge of it.
…My bed, so comfy!
The bed was spacious; the quilt was thick; the material used was also thick
and soft. The mere touch of it made him feel like half of his soul was going
to sink in.
Jiang Suizhou was somewhat moved. After all, since his arrival in this
world, he still hadn't experienced what it was like to sleep in bed.
His original intention of excusing himself and letting the handicapped
person return to sleep in the bed was thus forsaken.
——Since Huo Wujiu gave it to him, it would be fine for him to sleep for a
night. He wasn't a bully.
With this in mind, he lifted the quilt. As he moved, the tiny object placed on
the table caught his eyes again.
His eyes fell on the medicine on the table.
What kind of m-medicine was it?
Jiang Suizhou was totally uncertain. He looked at the medicine, and then
looked at Huo Wujiu who did not say a word.
Jiang Suizhou didn't really want to eat it. After all, he didn't even know
what it was. But he also knew that even if Huo Wujiu wanted to poison him,
he would not use such a direct method.
What if Huo Wujiu was well-intentioned, and Jiang Suizhou upset him
because he didn't eat it?
After weighing his options for a moment, Jiang Suizhou still believed in
Huo Wujiu's character and ate the medicine before laying down on the bed.
It was so comfortable. How could there be such a thing as this bed?
Jiang Suizhou was so tired and dizzy that he pulled the covers over him and
disappeared into dreamland.
He did not see Huo Wujiu, who was sitting on the couch, quietly staring at
him after he drifted off to sleep.
…He looks shrewd, but he dares to take the medicine given by an enemy
without knowing what it is.
The medicine he put on the table was exactly the one he brought out of
prison. This pill was the most beneficial for boosting qi and blood. He took
one in prison when he was disoriented from the pain, hanging on for dear
life. A month down the road, he had a few pills left in his hand. Last time,
he also used two pills to intimidate Doctor Zhou.
He saw that Jiang Suizhou had fallen into a deep sleep on the bed.
…He's a bit stupid.
Huo Wujiu raised his hand and extinguished the candle flame at the table.
For a time, the bedroom fell into a quiet darkness, leaving only the window
paper blowing in the breeze, quietly drumming.
Huo Wujiu glanced at the window.
…I wonder how he turned so weak like this. A gust of wind that I didn't even
feel could blow the man straight into a coughing fit and cause him to cough
up tears.
Jiang Suizhou was in such a condition, yet he was still thinking of
protecting him?
——
When Jiang Suizhou woke up the next day, he felt refreshed, feeling like he
had never slept so well before.
He didn't know if it was because of him finally sleeping in a bed or because
of the medicine Huo Wujiu gave him. Regardless, Jiang Suizhou woke up
this day, feeling that his breath was a lot lighter.
However, the affairs of the Ministry of Rites still needed to be completed.
Jiang Suizhou has studied the ritual system of the Jing Dynasty. He knew
how cumbersome it was, but never imagined it to be troublesome to this
extent.
It was all because of the emperor's lavish extravagance.
Recently, due to the need to compare various details, Jiang Suizhou had
obtained the previous birthday banquet book records of the emperor.
When the emperor held a banquet in the first year of his accession to the
throne, it was less than a year after the death of the former Emperor, and the
palace in Lin'an was only half built. It was a time of war and chaos, and the
treasury was empty. But even then, the emperor's birthday banquet was
extremely extravagant, twice as much as the previous emperor's customs.